Insurrection of 10 August 1792
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| - | '''Louis XVI''', born '''Louis-Auguste de France''' ([[August 23]] [[1754]] – [[January 21]] [[1793]]) ruled as King of '''France'''. His execution signaled the end of [[absolute monarchy]] in France and would eventually bring about the rise of [[Napoleon I|Napoleon Bonaparte]]. | ||
| - | Louis XVI ruled as [[List of French monarchs|King]] of [[France]] and [[List of Navarrese monarchs|Navarre]] from 1774 until 1791, and then as [[Popular monarchy|King of the French]] from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the [[10 August (French Revolution)|Insurrection of 10 August 1792]], he was tried by the [[National Convention]], found guilty of [[treason]], and executed by [[guillotine]] on 21 January 1793. He was the only king of France to be executed. | + | On 10 August [[1792]], during the [[French Revolution]], a mob—with the backing of a new municipal government of [[Paris]] that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" [[Paris Commune (French Revolution)|Paris Commune]]—besieged the [[Tuileries]] palace. [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis XVI]] and the royal family took shelter with the [[Legislative Assembly (France)|Legislative Assembly]]. This proved to be the effective end of the [[House of Bourbon|French Bourbon Monarchy]] (until it was [[Bourbon Dynasty, Restored|restored]] in [[1814]], the monarchical system of an [[French First Empire|empire]] had been introduced [[1804|ten years earlier]]). The formal end of the monarchy occurred six weeks later, as one of the first acts of business of the new [[French Convention|Convention]]. |
| - | Although Louis was beloved at first, his indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to eventually view him as a symbol of the perceived tyranny of the [[Ancien Régime]]. After the [[Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy|abolition of the monarchy]] in 1792, the new republican government gave him the surname Capet, a reference to the nickname of [[Hugh Capet]], founder of the [[Capetian dynasty]], which the revolutionaries wrongly interpreted as a family name. He was also informally nicknamed ''Louis le Dernier'' (Louis the Last), a derisive use of the traditional nicknaming of French kings. Today, historians and French people in general have a more nuanced view of Louis XVI, who is seen as an honest man with good intentions, but who was probably unfit for the herculean task of reforming the monarchy, and who was used as a scapegoat by the revolutionaries. | + | This insurrection and its outcome are most commonly referred to by historians of the Revolution simply as "the '''10th of August'''"; other common designations include "the '''''journée'' of the 10th of August'''" ({{lang-fr|'''journée du 10 août'''}}), "the '''insurrection of the 10th of August'''", or even "the '''revolution of the 10th of August'''". |
| - | ==Image and memory== | + | ==The aftermath== |
| + | The aftermath was to be [[The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy#Insurrection and constitutional crisis|six weeks of chaos]], resulting in the end of the monarchy and the replacement of the Legislative Assembly by the new [[French Convention|Convention]]. During this six weeks, the insurrectionary Paris Commune held more actual power than the Assembly. It demanded and received custody of the royal family, obtained indefinite powers of arrest, and instigated the [[September Massacres]], in which over 1400 of those arrested were killed in the prisons. | ||
| - | The [[regicide]] has loomed as a shadow over French history. The 19th-century historian, [[Jules Michelet]], attributed the restoration of the French monarchy to sympathy engendered by the execution. Michelet's ''Histoire de la Révolution Française'' and Alphonse de Lamartine's ''Histoire des Girondins,'' in particular, showed the marks of the feelings aroused by the revolution's regicide. The two writers did not share the same sociopolitical vision, but they agreed that, even though the monarchy was rightly ended in 1792, the lives of the royal family should have been spared. Lack of compassion at that moment contributed to a radicalization of revolutionary violence and to greater divisiveness among Frenchmen. Because Louis XVI was a merciful man, the revolutionaries' passions needed to be balanced by compassion and by less fanatical sentiments. For 20th century novelist [[Albert Camus]] the execution signaled the end of the role of God in history, for which he mourned. For 20th century philosopher [[Jean-François Lyotard]] the regicide was the starting point of all French thought, the memory of which acts as a reminder that French modernity began under the sign of a crime. | + | The ''ad hoc'' executive council of the Assembly had no root in law and little hold on [[public opinion]]. When Lafayette's troops would not follow him to Paris to defend the [[French Constitution of 1791|Constitution of 1791]], he chose to surrender himself to the Austrians. |
| - | The duchess of Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI, survived and lobbied Rome energetically for the canonization of her father as a saint of the Catholic Church. Despite his signing of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy," Louis had been described as a martyr by Pope Pius VI in 1793. In 1820, however, a memorandum of the Congregation of Rites in Rome, declaring the impossibility of proving that Louis had been executed for religious rather than political reasons, put an end to hopes of canonization. | + | The elections to the Convention were by almost universal suffrage, but indifference or intimidation reduced the voters to a small number. Many who had sat in the [[National Constituent Assembly]] and many more who had sat in the Legislative Assembly were returned. The Convention met on 20 September and became the new ''de facto'' government of France. One of its first acts was to [[Proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy|abolish the monarchy]]. |
| - | *[[Louisville, Kentucky]] is named for Louis XVI. In 1780, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] bestowed this name in honor of the French king, whose soldiers were aiding the American side in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. The Virginia General Assembly saw the King as a noble man, but many other continental delegates disagreed. | + | Mignet writes that the 10th of August "marked... the insurrection of the multitude against the middle classes and the constitutional throne, as the [[Storming of the Bastille|14th of July]] had seen the insurrection of the middle class against the privileged class and the absolute power of the crown. On the 10th of August began the [[dictatorship|dictatorial]] and arbitrary epoch of the revolution... The nature of the question was then entirely changed; it was no longer a matter of liberty, but of public safety; and the Conventional period, from the end of the Constitution of 1791, to the time when the [[Constitution of the Year III]] established the [[French Directory|Directory]], was only a long campaign of the revolution against parties and against Europe." |
| - | ===In films and literature=== | + | |
| - | Louis XVI has been portrayed in numerous films depicting the French Revolution. In ''[[Marie Antoinette (1938 film)|Marie Antoinette]]'' (1938), he was played by [[Robert Morley]]. In [[Sacha Guitry]]'s ''[[Si Versailles m'était conté]]'', he was portrayed by one of the film's producers, Gilbert Bokanowski (using the alias Gilbert Boka), who arguably resembled him. Several portrayals have upheld the image of a bumbling, almost foolish King, such as that by [[Jacques Morel (actor)|Jacques Morel]] in the 1956 French film ''[[Marie-Antoinette reine de France]]'' and that by [[Terence Budd]] in the ''[[Lady Oscar (film)|Lady Oscar]]'' live action film. In ''[[Start the Revolution Without Me]]'', Louis XVI is portrayed by [[Hugh Griffith]] as a laughable [[cuckold]]. [[Mel Brooks]] played a comic version of Louis the XVI in [[The History of the World Part 1]], who was portrayed as a libertine who had such a distaste for the peasantry he used them as targets in skeet-shooting. | + | |
| - | In the two-part film ''[[La Révolution française (film)|La Révolution française]]'', [[Jean-François Balmer]] gave a critically-acclaimed performance as Louis XVI, whom he portrayed as an insecure, shy, yet decent and intelligent man. In ''[[Ridicule]]'', the king was played by [[Urbain Cancelier]]. In ''[[Jefferson in Paris]]'', Louis XVI was played by [[Michael Lonsdale]] who, at 64 years old, greatly exceeded the King's actual age. In ''[[Marie Antoinette (2006 film)|Marie Antoinette]]'' (2006), he was played by [[Jason Schwartzman]], in a movie known not to be historically accurate because the historical Louis was quite tall and is known to have gained a great deal of weight towards the end of his life. In the 1997 movie ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', a necklace called the [[Heart of the Ocean]] held a precious, heart-shaped blue diamond, supposedly fashioned from Louis XVI's crown, which disappeared after his execution. The history of the necklace was inspired by that of the [[Hope Diamond]]. | + | ==See also== |
| + | * [[The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy]] provides a slightly broader historical context. | ||
| - | In the American supernatural television drama [[Moonlight (TV series)|''Moonlight'']], Louis XVI is mentioned as the progenitor of a vampiric bloodline which discovered a temporary cure for [[vampirism]]. | ||
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| - | == Mentioned in == | ||
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| - | * [[Libertine]] | ||
| - | * [[Empire Style]] | ||
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On 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, a mob—with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune—besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and the royal family took shelter with the Legislative Assembly. This proved to be the effective end of the French Bourbon Monarchy (until it was restored in 1814, the monarchical system of an empire had been introduced ten years earlier). The formal end of the monarchy occurred six weeks later, as one of the first acts of business of the new Convention.
This insurrection and its outcome are most commonly referred to by historians of the Revolution simply as "the 10th of August"; other common designations include "the journée of the 10th of August" (Template:Lang-fr), "the insurrection of the 10th of August", or even "the revolution of the 10th of August".
The aftermath
The aftermath was to be six weeks of chaos, resulting in the end of the monarchy and the replacement of the Legislative Assembly by the new Convention. During this six weeks, the insurrectionary Paris Commune held more actual power than the Assembly. It demanded and received custody of the royal family, obtained indefinite powers of arrest, and instigated the September Massacres, in which over 1400 of those arrested were killed in the prisons.
The ad hoc executive council of the Assembly had no root in law and little hold on public opinion. When Lafayette's troops would not follow him to Paris to defend the Constitution of 1791, he chose to surrender himself to the Austrians.
The elections to the Convention were by almost universal suffrage, but indifference or intimidation reduced the voters to a small number. Many who had sat in the National Constituent Assembly and many more who had sat in the Legislative Assembly were returned. The Convention met on 20 September and became the new de facto government of France. One of its first acts was to abolish the monarchy.
Mignet writes that the 10th of August "marked... the insurrection of the multitude against the middle classes and the constitutional throne, as the 14th of July had seen the insurrection of the middle class against the privileged class and the absolute power of the crown. On the 10th of August began the dictatorial and arbitrary epoch of the revolution... The nature of the question was then entirely changed; it was no longer a matter of liberty, but of public safety; and the Conventional period, from the end of the Constitution of 1791, to the time when the Constitution of the Year III established the Directory, was only a long campaign of the revolution against parties and against Europe."
See also
- The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy provides a slightly broader historical context.
