The Execution of Louis XVI, 1793
Louis XVI, king of France, arrived in the wrong historical place at the wrong time and soon found himself overwhelmed by events beyond his control. Ascending the throne in 1774, Louis inherited a realm driven nearly bankrupt through the opulence of his predecessors Louis XIV and XV. After donning the crown, things only got worse. The economy spiraled downward (unemployment in Paris in 1788 is estimated at 50%), crops failed, the price of bread and other food soared. The people were not happy. To top it off, Louis had the misfortune to marry a foreigner, the Austrian Marie Antoinette.
On January 20, 1793, the National Convention condemned Louis XVI to death, his execution scheduled for the next day. Louis spent that evening saying goodbye to his wife and children. The following day dawned cold and wet. Louis arose at five. At eight o'clock a guard of 1,200 horsemen arrived to escort the former king on a two-hour carriage ride to his place of execution. Accompanying Louis, at his invitation, was a priest, Henry Essex Edgeworth, an Englishman living in France. Edgeworth recorded the event and we join his narrative as he and the fated King enter the carriage to begin their journey:
"The King, finding himself seated in the carriage, where he could neither speak to me nor be spoken to without witness, kept a profound silence. I presented him with my Bible, and he seemed to accept it with pleasure: I pointed out to him the psalms that were most suited to his situation, and he recited them attentively with me.
The procession lasted almost two hours; the streets were lined with citizens, all armed, some with pikes and some with guns, and the carriage was surrounded by a body of troops, formed of the most desperate people of Paris. As another precaution, they had placed before the horses a number of drums, intended to drown any noise or murmur in favour of the King; but how could they be heard? Nobody appeared either at the doors or windows, and in the street nothing was to be seen, but armed citizens - citizens, all rushing towards the commission of a crime.
The carriage proceeded thus in silence to the Place de Louis XV, and stopped in the middle of a large space that had been left round the scaffold: this space was surrounded with an armed multitude extended as far as the eye could reach. As soon as the King perceived that the carriage stopped, he turned and whispered to me, 'We are arrived, if I mistake not.' My silence answered that we were. As soon as the King had left the carriage, three guards surrounded him, and would have taken off his clothes, but he repulsed them with haughtiness - he undressed himself, untied his neckcloth, opened his shirt, and arranged it himself. The guards surrounded him again, and would have seized his hands. 'What are you attempting?' said the King, drawing back his hands. 'To bind you,' answered the guards. 'To bind me,' said the King, with an indignant air. 'No! I shall never consent to that: do what you have been ordered, but you shall never bind me. . .'
The path leading to the scaffold was extremely rough and difficult to pass; the King was obliged to lean on my arm, and from the slowness with which he proceeded, I feared for a moment that his courage might fail; but what was my astonishment, when arrived at the last step, I felt that he suddenly let go my arm, and I saw him cross with a firm foot the distance of the whole scaffold; and in a voice so loud, that it must have been heard at the Pont Tournant, I heard him pronounce distinctly these memorable words: 'I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge; I Pardon those who have occasioned my death; and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France.'
Many voices were heard encouraging the executioners. They dragged him under the axe of the guillotine, which with one stroke severed his head from his body. All this passed in a moment. The youngest of the guards, who seemed about eighteen, immediately seized the head, and showed it to the people as he walked round the scaffold. At first an awful silence prevailed; at length some cries of 'Vive la Republique!' were heard. By degrees the voices multiplied and in less than ten minutes this cry, a thousand times repeated became the universal shout of the multitude, and every hat was in the air." The Congress of Vienna 1814-1815
The Congress of Vienna was held from September of 1814 to June of 1815. After the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, this international conference was called to create a balance among the European powers in such a way so as to prevent future wars and maintain peace and stability on the European continent. The means of achieving this goal would be through a major reshaping of European interior borders.
Important People: Mainly, the four major powers of Europe (Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain) were left to make most of the big decisions. Austria sent Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian minister of State who was also acting as a president of the Congress. The Russian Empire was represented by Alexander I, the emperor of Russia. The main delegate from Prussia was Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, and Great Britain was represented by Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington. This group of major powers decided that France, Spain, and the smaller powers would have no voice in important decisions. However, the French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, was successful in allowing France to have an equal voice in the negotiations. Talleyrand became the deciding vote in many of the decisions.
Important Decisions: France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon. The French monarchy was restored under the rule of Louis XVIII. Austria was given back most of the territory it had lost and was also given land in Germany and Italy (Lombardy and Venice). Russia got Finland and control over the new kingdom of Poland. Prussia was given much of Saxony and the Rhine Province. Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas. The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler. Switzerland was declared neutral and Spain was restored under Ferdinand VII
Results of the meeting: The goal of the congress was to re-establish a balance of power among the countries of Europe and have peace between the nations. The Congress proved to be highly successful in achieving its goal, for the peace in Europe was left almost undisturbed for nearly 40 years.
After Napoleon was defeated, it was necessary to make changes to the boundaries of Europe. Napoleon’s conquered territories needed to be reviewed. The leaders of this congress intended to make France pay for all of the disruptions that Napoleon caused. The congress was chaired by Prince Metternick who at that time was the Austrian Prime Minister. Metternick was under orders from his emperor to make sure that the monarchy would be preserved as well it should be restored in France mainly because the emperor felt threatened in his own country. Since borders between countries would be re- written, Metternick would attempt to secure for Austria all its former territories and more if necessary.
The French Revolution would be criticized by the delegates at the congress mainly because of the legacy that it left behind of nationalism and the execution of the monarchs.
The Conference of Vienna also decided: 1. Compensation – France would have to pay more than 700 million francs to countries that Napoleon invaded and caused damage. France would have to give up any claim to conquered territories. 2. Security – it was decided that in order to prevent somebody like Napoleon from coming to power again, the great monarchies of Europe would enter into alliances with each other. In 1815, the Holy Alliance came into effect, including Russia, Austria and Prussia. The Quadruple Alliance of Russia, Austria, Prussia and Britain was also formed in 1815. This system of alliances was only a temporary measure and unfortunately it did not prevent war from happening in Europe.