Arrest and execution of Louis 16, King of France

The history of many European powers is extremely interesting and informative, since over the centuries there have been many events in those parts: from the curious to the tragic. The latter includes the execution of Louis 16. Perhaps, from this moment begins the history of France as the Fifth Republic. The death of this king forever put an end to the French bourgeois republic.

The Arrest of the King

As you know, Louis was quite a compliant king. In particular, he obeyed the demands of the revolutionaries, renounced the absolute character of the monarchy, agreeing to the establishment of a constitutional form of government. But at the same time he tried to put pressure on the revolutionaries, resisting the most radical reforms. Soon it became obvious that for a long time it could not continue.

Of course, at that time no one thought that the execution of Louis 16 was possible. The date of her (January 21, 1793) was the day after which the European monarchs finally realized that they were also mortal.

The royal family decided to flee the country. The plot was dedicated to several of the most approximate people, who for several days constituted the most preferable flight plan. In the hour of X the monarch's family had supper without breaking the protocol, talked to the courtiers, and then all of them went to bed ... But this was only an appearance, since the monarch's households with him, using secret passages, left the palace and boarded the carriage.

At first the flight took place strictly according to plan, but because of the King's love for comfort (which at least had to give up the carriages), his procession was identified, and in the city of Varenna the whole family was seized and arrested. Shortly thereafter, the execution of Louis 16 took place. The date of this event in modern France is revered as the day of the final transition to the republican form of state structure.

How it all began

On January 16, 1793, the French Convention discussed three very interesting questions:

• First, is the king guilty? Over 683 members of the convention voted, the decision was taken almost unanimously.
• Secondly, is it not to convey the decision of his fate in the hands of the people? As in the previous case, the decision was unanimous. No majority vote.
• Finally, what punishment should be chosen for the king ... This is the only issue whose opinions have been divided. For the execution of Louis 16 voted 387 people, for imprisonment - 334 people.

Thus, the opinion of 53 people was decisive, and Louis and Marie Antoinette were sentenced to death. Despite this, the heated debate continued for several days. But on January 19, the final decision was made - to execute the execution of Louis 16 within 24 hours. The method was chosen as usual, guillotining. Thus, the arrest and execution of Louis 16 shared only a few days.

How did the king react to this?

At that time, the king himself was imprisoned in the Temple. Learning about the decision of the Convention, he asked that the Abbe Edgeworth de Freemont be admitted to the cell. As the priest himself later recalled, they were both alone for several hours, as the king had a severe nervous shock. At first they both burst into tears, but soon Ludovic found the strength to calm down.

He asked the priest to forgive him for such an indelicate manifestation of his own weakness. The king confessed that he had been living among enemies for so long, that he was almost touched by the sight of the almost loyal loyal subject. After this, Louis invited the abbot to follow him to the next room. The priest was unpleasantly struck by the asceticism of the cabinet: there were no wallpaper on its walls, an inferior faience furnace answered the heating, and all the furniture consisted of a pair of chairs and a small sofa. Louis 16, King of France (the arrest and execution of which is described in the article) planted the abbot in front of him.

Regret…

Louis admitted that he had only one thing, which requires immediate resolution. The abbot said that at the mention of the Duke of Orleans, the king sighed and sighed bitterly. He lamented that his cousin pursued him and wished him harm. Louis forgave his relative and said that he would not want to be in his position, since "he will inevitably betray."

But the conversation was interrupted by the revolutionary commissars. They, having descended from the upper floors of the prison, reported that the king was allowed a meeting with his family.

Meeting with family

The first was the queen, leading her son by the hand. Behind her is the sister of King Elizabeth. All of them rushed into the arms of the autocrat, and in the next few minutes only sobs were heard. After that, the king called on everyone to proceed to the dining room.

There they hardly talked, all the members of the family only cried and hugged each other. Soon it was time to say goodbye. The queen, when she was leaving, asked Louis to see them tomorrow. To this the king responded with fervent assurances of his immense love for his household members and asked to pray for himself and for him.

Shortly thereafter, Louis returned to the abbot, the latter observing that the king was in a state of severe nervous shock. The priest stayed with him until late at night, and then offered the king a break, as he noticed his deep fatigue. Servant Clary stayed awake at the bedside of the monarch, and the abbot himself went to rest in the closet, in which the servant usually slept. Thus ended the last day. In the morning the execution of Louis 16 was to be held ...

Morning of the last day

The servant woke the king at exactly five in the morning. The valet proceeded to comb his hair, and Louis 16, the king of France, at the same time tried to put on that engagement ring that he usually hid in his pocket watch. After this, he again sent for the abbot, with whom he spoke for another hour. Having finished with this, the priest served a mass, the king stood kneeling on the bare floor all this time.

It seemed that Louis was completely calm. The abbot for a time leaves the king, and when he returns, he sees him kneeling beside the stove and his body shaking in the strongest chill. At the same time, in the morning sky, the dawn broke out more clearly, and throughout Paris beat the drums. In the period from seven to eight in the morning, the jailers increasingly knocked at the door of the cell, finding various pretexts for this. What was Louis felt at that time? The execution of the king was to take place in just a couple of hours, and so he was probably nervous.

Soon to start off ...

To this, Louis noticed with a smile that his supervisors, apparently, are afraid that their former king would take poison or commit suicide in any other way. At eight o'clock the members of the local municipality came to the autocrat. The King gave them his official will and the last of his 125 louis, which he asked to give to one of the creditors. Some visitors at first behaved arrogantly, but then still agreed to fulfill all the petty requests of the king. So Louis 16, whose execution was soon to take place, behaved in a surprisingly dignified and calm manner.

After that, he asked his escorts "to suffer a few minutes" and again retired to the priest. He rushed to his knees and asked him to bless him, because he felt that he would soon appear before the Lord ...

A few minutes later a decisive voice came from behind the door, reminding Louis of the need to go. "Well, let's go," the king agreed. There was an incredible silence when the coach with the convict moved into the Revolution Square. The scaffold in the circle was fenced with guns, the vents of which were directed directly into the crowd. The grounds for this approach were, since many of the onlookers themselves were armed to the teeth. Very soon the execution of King Louis 16 in France was to take place ...

The last moments of the king's life

When the crew stopped, the monarch turned to the priest and said: "I believe we arrived." The door of the coach was opened by one of the executioners. The king held back the gendarmes who came out first, and said that they should look after the abbot after his death and that no one should be allowed to harm him.

On the scaffold the king ascended himself, his gait was firm. At this time, the drums were beating so hard that Louis shouted, demanding silence. His self-control was such that he himself undressed, remaining in his shirt, pants and stockings. The executioners approached the king with the intention of tied up, but he recoiled from them and said that he would not interfere with the execution, but they seemed to be about to decide to use force.

Seeking support, he turned to the priest. The abbot replied that the martyred king Louis 16 should not resist, for humility makes him look like Christ. In response, the monarch began his speech, in which he forgave everyone and called for the pleasure of France. But the execution of King Louis 16 happened faster than he had time to say.

How it all ended

At this time, General Santer, who commanded the execution, on horseback jumped out ahead. He shouted the order, the drums started to beat again, and the executioners attacked the monarch, trying to tie him to the blackboard. Since there were six of them, the struggle quickly ended. The board with the attached to it by Louis was placed under the fixed knife of the guillotine.

The priest bowed to him and whispered: "Son of Saint Louis, ascend to heaven." At this time, the executioner lowered the knife of the guillotine, a deaf echo of which echoed on the square. A moment later the crowd cried out, someone bellowed: "Glory to the Republic!" One of the executioners raised his severed head and showed it to the raging people. This was the execution of Louis 16 in France. It was 9:10 am on January 21, 1793.