The French Revolution: Its Violence and Decapitations
Assaults, decapitations, persecutions and mutilations were all very predominant in Europe. Violent infractions, battles, insurrections and even riots had been a huge part of Europe’s early modern history. Even though society was oppressing each other, the ruler of the country often commanded very unacceptable punishments for criminals. When Louis XVI had absolute power over Europe, the punishments on merchants, criminals, peasants, and overall just the lower class would be mutilations, decapitations or public humiliations. What would induce a cropper to shovel or hoe and physically invade a French authority? What amusement did the French citizens had on witnessing lots of decapitations?
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It consisted of a machine called guillotine, it was a frame made of out of wood with a pointed blade which ran down till it reached the victim’s head and it cut it off completely causing it to be a very bloody and awful sight. For us now it is very difficult to understand the infractions and tumults of the French Revolution, especially because our cultures and traditions have different perspectives and points of view. It is even worse to picture how a government could end up eliminating its own kind and even including integral towns that would rebel against them. All this chaos was what the French Revolution mainly consisted of. Nearly at the end of the French Revolution, more than 30,000 people were executed, and millions were in jail. The citizens suddenly noticed all the trouble they had caused and stepped back just so horrible things would not continue to happen. They though they got rid of an ineffective leader which was Louis XVI, but they did not know that they gave the power to another corrupt ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte. Way before The Storming of the Bastille, criminal and violent acts were habitual, and increased more and more as the Revolution proceeded.
There was a diverse act of assaults prior to the Reign of Terror such as The Champ de Mars, The Massacres in 1792 and The March to Versailles. Many important characters were sinking in horrible assassinations and were being executed. The common tool used to do this cruel acts was the guillotine which was passed down from 1789 to 1793. Many people argue that violence started at the beginning of the French Revolution, but that is not quite accurate. Way before the French Revolution started, many acts of violence were occurring across Europe, even though they were not major problems it still caused issues. Many times, the criminal or peasant was surrounded by thousands of people to be taken back to the scene of the crime so they could confess. It depended on the type of violence or crime they had committed, they would get their hands cut off, but usually the one they used to commit the crime. Then the criminal would have had to hang their hand around their neck till they got to the court. Many times, they would stop for authorities to reveal what was the crime committed, the penalty and what happened. Cutting hands off was not the only punishment for peasants or criminals, they were tortured in many ways such as whipped or stripped. One of the worse punishments was the one of a priest condemned of treason, he was tied by his legs and left hanging from a day before his execution. To torture him and make him suffer even more, the authorities were throwing rocks and stones at him while he was upside down hanging from a tree. Unlike peasants, nobles were treated differently. They had a less painful death. Nobles typically evaded public embarrassments or cruel punishments like the one of the priest. Their deaths did not include torture, it was straight to the point. They often used the guillotines for their decapitations because it was
more fitting according to their status. Often, the punishments did not just include an individual; it also included a couple participants. A good example of this statement would be the decapitation of prisoners in the Act of Faith. This was like a show to the viewers and it also gave them clues of what the judgment day might look like. The sentenced criminals would walk through the whole town wearing a robe or carrying candles as a gesture of their absence of faith. When the marched finished, the outcome of their consequences were read out loud and that was how the authorities decided the criminal’s fate and their sentence. Everyone that lived-in town was expected to be in acts of this type because whoever did not attend, could have been seen as a suspect. Decapitations were like an easy way out of death. This is because the individual did not have to go through any torture before his or her death. The use of the guillotine, provided a quick and “easier” death. That is why it was mostly used by the nobles and clergy, because they did not want to feel any pain, they wanted it fast to just get it over with. Executions depended on what type of crime it was. The people in charge of the guillotine hated witches and heretics, that is why they most likely burned their bodies alive. Fire was used as a symbol of purification. This way, the soul was cleaned. They would give the heretics or witches a last opportunity to confess the truth, and that was their chance to go to heaven instead of hell. But those were not the fates of all heretics. Some were attached to poles; their bodies were pierced with red colored tongs and their tongue would be ripped out. After that they would be executed and had daggers through their chest. But they were not regular daggers, they were burning in flames when it went through their chest. To finish the job, the body or bodies would be hanged from a church for about fifty years. The French Revolution it is very well known for its famous executions and characterized for the use of guillotines. During the Reign of Terror from 1793- 1794, the usage of the guillotine boosted and it increased drastically. The Public Safety Committee led by Maximillian Robespierre, entrenched a mood of terror among all the French citizens. They did this to preserve their new government which was a Republic, and to only maintain alive those who were revolutionaries. Under this arrangement, as many as 40,000 people were executed, over 300,000 women and men were killed and 10 out of 50 were arrested in a period of 10 months which would be from September 1793- 1794. Incorporated to these deaths were the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Their deaths represented tranquility, peace and calmness for the French citizens. Now, they did not have to worry about having a monarchy as a government and ineffective rulers. It meant a new and fresh beginning for everyone. When the Reign of Terror terminated in July 1794, The French Revolution and its controversies came to a termination. Those who participated in events like executions were most likely killed and the leaders of the wave that caused French citizens to be in terror were killed as well, including Robespierre. He had disagreed with wars since he started his occupation, but he led French to a generation full of terror. Maximillian feared being guillotined, so he decided to commit a suicide but failed. He somehow got access to a gun and aimed for his head but ended up disfiguring his jaw. The executioner had no mercy with Robespierre and took his bandages off for his head to properly fit in the hole of the guillotine. Even after his death people continued to be guillotined but not as much. It persisted to be the method of tortures and executions in French. In 1981 this cruel punishment was abolished and the last event of decapitation used by a guillotine was in September 10, 1977. Violence did define the French Revolution and it got uglier and bloodier as it progressed.
Unfortunately, he died before experiencing Haiti’s separation from France in 1804. However, along the way of success of both revolutions, a toll occurred on the numerous lives lost. The Reign of Terror in France was created as a way to protect the republic from its internal enemies, but instead 16,000 people were guillotined. Many documents were shown to be describing the execution of the Reign of Terror to be gruesome and wrongful such that J.G. Milligen stated, “The process of execution was also a sad and heartrending spectacle”, in The Revolutionary Tribunal. Milligen continued to describe the vivid scene of the execution, but this was only one event and many others have died in the fall of the Bastille and the attack on the royal palace.
A guillotine is a decapitation device that quickly chops off it’s victims head in the blink of an eye. According to document F, About 16,000 people were believed to have died at the hands of it. No matter how small or petty a crime was, people would have been executed for it. Even Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, the leaders of France before the Revolution, were decapitated by one, as was the leader of the Reign of Terror, Maximilien Robespierre. Another method to weed out the counter revolutionaries was a network of spies that watched out for anyone who spoke out against the government, “A careless word of criticism spoken against the government could put one in prison or worse” (Document E). The punishment for a crime as small as ththis was more often than not
It is no surprise then that with such heavy issues weighing on the minds of the peasantry, that there was such a surge of violence with the murder of Monéy. When the town of Hautefaye began to celebrate the commemoration of the First Empire on August 15th, drinking became the main activity causing the celebration to become a likely place for violence. Corbin suggests that what makes the murder of Monéy distinguishable from other acts of violence, was that the event was past the French period where such violence was common, as well as it was unusual for the crime to take place at the time of day that it did. Ultimately, given the amount of heavy issues weighing on the minds of the peasantry at a time when France was in such turmoil, it’s logical that a surge of violence occurred within the town of Hautefaye.
In Mexico, in 1900 the population was so poor that 29% of all male children die within the first year and the ones who did survive had to work in sweatshops. Also, the only ¼ of the population was literate. ("The Mexican Revolution: November 20th...) This shows that the government did not help save the children but if they did live they got a job. During the French revolution, 1 in 50 Frenchmen and women were arrested and at least 40,000 people were killed.(History World International. "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.) One of the most common ways of killing was the guillotine. The guillotine was a quick and rational means of execution and eliminate human error from the equation. (LYNN, MICHAEL. "Executions, the Guillotine and the French Revolution) A number of people arrested and killed are a good representation of the type of leadership during the french revolution and how they tortured and killed their own people. This is way different from the Mexican revolution because in Mexico did not go to the extreme. This is not the only difference between the
Was the Terror of 1793/4 inherent from the revolutions outset or was it the product of exceptional circumstance?
Criminals were not dealt with in private. They were displayed in towns and the middle of the marketplace for all the people to see. Many were witnessed by hundreds of people. Commoners treated punishment days as “exciting” days out("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). The crowds of people who gathered for the public punishments and executions could be considered twisted individuals. They relished these days. For example, theft resulted in public hanging for all of the people to watch. Often times crimes were falsely accused and the crowds knew it, but nothing could be done. Small crimes, such as stealing bird eggs would result in a death sentence. It was the terrible price starving people had to pay because the government made begging illegal("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). Many crimes resulted in brutal beatings. Beatings and executions were definitely not an issue, the only question was the type of beating a person would get or how they a would be executed("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). A lot of times the Upper class was exempt from punishment unless it was a serious crime. Unfortunately, the Commoners did not get that valuable treatment because they were almost always in trouble. With any evidence of relationships with evil spirits condemned a person to death by hanging, burning, or drowning. More punishments included: beheading, pressing, and the drunkard's cloak. The drunkard’s cloak was basically a big barrel
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
...st powerful symbols of the French Revolution and killed an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 people during the Reign of Terror. (Doc F) The guillotine was a sharp, angled blade that killed quickly the most deadly and feared method of invoking fear during the revolution. (Doc F) These methods; however, became too extreme and the deaths of the incident was not justified.
The declaration of the Terror was a direct result of the growing discontent and ravenous violence that had been occurring since 1789. Revolution could have occurred in an orderly member as it was obvious that Louis XVI was a weak leader but the French citizens set the tone early on with the Storming of the Bastille. This event shows that the French were inclined to achieve their desires through violence and not negotiations. The Bastille was attacked as a response to Louis’ addition of troops in Paris and the fear that they would be attacked. Munitions were transferred to the poorly guarded Bastille just a few days before the attack. A mob descended upon the Bastille on July 14 of 1789. The Governor of the prison Launay tried to reassure that
The Great Cat Massacre with out a doubt has one of the most unusual titles ever created especially for a book about history. Now this unusual title perhaps fits this book better than any other straight - forward title Mr. Darnton could have conjured. You see the text contained in the book isn’t just your standardized, boring, and redundant view of history. Most historical text looks at history from a political standpoint, of which king did what and what were the political effects of a war; then what were the politics like after the war, how were they changed and by which major political figures did the changing. Darnton instead of the old style of viewing history looks at it through the eyes of the people, and not the figures of history. Mr. Darnton’s book The Great Cat Massacre, reexamines French culture during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteen century with the eyes of the peasant’s. Robert Darnton looks at the writings of the peasant’s, and traces them to their origins and compares them to other text of similar origins and text, to create credible accounts or views of particular topics of the people during the era. In this review your going to see a summarization of the book, describing the various subjects of this book. After that I will comment on Mr. Darnton’s on some topics like his organization, writing style, and fairness to his subject material, then discuss the historical importance of the topics that Robert Darnton mentions in his book and give you my personal opinion of the book its self. Next I will discuss with you a battery of topics like why I choose the book, is the book controversial, what was the authors purpose for writing the book, what were some of the major theses, who or what Darnton’s sources were? Lastly I will end this review with a compare and contrast of potentially different views of what Robert Darnton is telling us in his book.
The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval, lead by the lower class of France, which began the decline of powerful monarchies in France and the rise of nationalism and democracy. In A Tale Of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, he highlights these aspects of the war between classes and makes them personal to the reader. Throughout the novel, Dickens’ establishes and develops several symbols in order to help the reader better understand the Revolution and the way people acted during this time. He shows that while emotion, desperation, and irrationality run high, humanity, justice, and morality are scarce. The blue flies, Madame Defarge’s knitting, and the sea are three of Dickens’ symbols that develop his theme of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man throughout the novel.
The Tudor era, from 1485-1603, still had excruciating punishments towards criminals. They were intended to prevent others from committing the crimes. Public executions were very common during the Tudor era, and extremely popular. Beheading was a common for those who committed treason, and even for not complying with the correct religion. They were usually publically displayed, and attracted many crowds who had no entertainment, despite the true purpose of public executions. This expresses not only the views of physical pain and death to deter people, but also the entertainment that people had for seeing the death of people.
There are several horrific punishment methods and devices put in place during the revolution, though the most commonly known is the guillotine. History.com says, “Over some 200 years of use, the guillotine claimed the heads of tens of thousands of victims ranging from common criminals to revolutionaries, aristocrats and even kings and queens” (Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 15 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.). The guillotine takes the lives of many, and affects the families of the one it takes. While the gullone was scary for the victim, it was also used as entertainment for many. Often people watched and cheered as the guillotine executed its next victim. History.com says, “Children often attended guillotine executions, and some may have even played with their own miniature guillotines at home” (Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 15 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.). Often the gullone is used as entertainment as people and even children watch the victim lose their head. The guillotine is a major punishment for aristocrats, revolutionaries, and even normal
Several other punishments of the medieval period were also rather gruesome. If you were charged with treason, but you were a noble person otherwise, you were to be simply hanged and buried. If you committed murder, and were found guilty of attempted murder, you’d be tied up, near the scene of the crime and left to starve to death. If you were convicted of a successful murder, you’d be hung for a little while, have your hands cut off, and then led to where you’d be executed. Rouges were to be sent to the stockades and whipped, anyone who disturbed the peace were to be continuously du...
The Reign of Terror was a time during the French Revolution hundreds of thousands of people were executed by various means: guillotine, shot, and drowned. The Committee of Public Safety, lead by Maximilien de Robespierre, were in charge of these executions, and with the job of finding anti-revolutionaries forces. Many thought that what Robespierre was doing would just lead to a greater anti-revolution movement, which would in turn increase the number of executions. Others did not take action against the terror; for fear that they themselves might be executed. Those who were still loyal to the revolution saw the terror as a noble cause; they saw it as a way to rid France of anti-revolutionary forces.