The French Revolution

Watch this video before reading this post to get a better picture of the situation.

On January 21, 1793, the Place de la Revolution in Paris was packed with men, women and children. In the middle of the Square stood the guillotine which was used by the French to execute criminals and traitors. The crowd was eagerly awaiting someone.

Suddenly, a stir ran through the expectant people. The man whom they were ail awaiting was in sight in an open cart. The cart stopped before the guillotine. The man stepped out. He mounted the guillotine and laid his head on the block. That man was Louis XVI, King of France.

The Execution of Louis XVI

Nineteen years before, in 1774, Louis had been crowned King amid cheers and cries of 'Long live the King!' And now in 1793, he was executed amid cheers and cries of 'Long live the nation! What had caused this striking change in the French people? There were many reasons. But perhaps the chief reason was the injustice of the French administrative system. Almost all the taxes were paid by the peasants. They alone paid a property tax and a salt tax. They alone paid a tax when they pressed their grapes and a tax when they ground their corn. There were many parts of France where the peasants lived like animals. Arthur Young, an Englishman who visited pre-revolutionary France, mistook a 28 years old woman for an old woman of 70! 

Even the peasants who were more prosperous feared to live well. They knew what happened when they did so. Their taxes were increased. All of this led to the development of a great revolution in France. All of this led to the development of a great revolution in France. This episode demonstrates that no matter how much the ruling class subverts the common people, if they rise up at any time, the consequences are terrible.

Let's watch this interesting video about the French Revolution &

learn more from Mr. Peabody and Sherman.