French Revolution

The Revolution began in 1789, and went on for a long while until it ended in the late
1790's. The Revolution, decided by most historians, ended with the ascent of the small officer,
Napoleon Bonaparte. The Revolution began when the people of France were beginning to starve,
due to a food shortage. This worried the people, and this caused a gap between the rich people
and the poor. There was no more middle class; there was only the rich and the poor. The king and
queen had no concern with the troubles the people were enduring. The King and Queen were
serious spenders, The king was said to eat the amount of a thousand men. Mr. Robes Pierre met
the king when he was a young speech and language scholar; he was in charge of greeting the
king when he arrived at his schooling place. Robes Pierre would go on to lead the Revolution,
until he would be betrayed and killed by the guillotine. The people were stressed over money and
food, while the royals spent tons of money on useless items. The devastation would continue
until a tipping point in the 1789.
In 1789, the people began to become dissatisfied and restless, they realized the royals
were not helping them, or planning on helping them. The people began to hate the royals. The
Incorruptible, Robes Pierre, would lead the people in to a rebellion. On June 20th all the officials
were locked out of their regular meeting hall. They occupied a tennis court and swore to each
other they would no stop until France had a new constitution. They did not think that what was
happening was fair, and they thought they should be treated better. This action, upon all of the
other actions, broke the people and made them come to the conclusion that it wouldn't get better
anytime soon.
The government disliked the oath to abolish the constitution. When the king heard the
news, he immediately began gathering troops to dissolve the idea of rebellion. This did not work

so well for the king, the people had greater numbers than the kings army, and their determination
defeated the Royal Counter-Insurgency. In July of 1789, the people of France stormed the
Bastille, which was a symbol of Royal Tyranny. After a while, the King and Queen were
imprisoned, but the entire country was at war with Austria and other invaders. The People were
trying to govern themselves, but it was not working. Robespierre stepped in to control the
government. Once the King and Queen had been executed, Robespierre rose to an almost
dictatorship level.
The Great Terror, as it was known, was period of time where Robespierre was in total
control. He changed the seasons, he tried to kill off the entire Catholic Church, and he rose to a
God-like standard. The country was slowly descending into darkness with this murderer in power
of their country. Robespierre killed more people than the total amount of people who died in the
Revolution alone. The people even began to see this as a serious problem. Eventually, the people
decided it was enough, and killed Robespierre.
The Guillotine
The guillotine was a major part of the Revolution, and it was a symbol of hope and
change. The guillotine, first introduced by Dr. Guillotin, was a large structure that dropped a
blade on the victims head. The guillotine took place of the death penalty, and executed people
regularly. The guillotine was responsible for most of the deaths during the Revolution.
The guillotine was originally made with a crescent blade, but it did not work very well.
To execute the victim, it would often take more than one blow. The design was later changed to a
slanted blade, which allowed the machine to kill faster, and in only one blow. Although, this
machine may sound like the worst way to be executed, although the guillotine took the place of a

deadly device called the breaking wheel. The breaking wheel was a device that was also used in
torture. The wheel would spin in circles breaking almost every bone in your body. The wheel was
originally used as capital punishment, until the guillotine arrived. Both of these devices were
seen as moral.
The guillotine was used many, many times. It was responsible for a large sum of the
deaths during the revolution, but the guillotine wasnt only used in the revolution. During World
War II, The infamous Hitler thought the device was a good idea. Adolf Hitler used the Guillotine
as a way to kill people during his reign. The guillotine was actually responsible for 16,500 deaths
during World War II. The guillotine was also used as Capital punishment in Antwerp, Belgium
for almost 100 years. It did not kill nearly as many as Hitler did, or the total headcount in France.
The guillotine is seen as a horrible, and inhumane way to be killed, but it wasnt out ruled
that long ago. The guillotine was used, in private, all the way up until the 1970's when France out
ruled all types of capital punishment. After this law was set in place, there was no more death
penalty. The guillotine, born from Dr. Guillotin, was the most innovative, and humane way to be
killed, in France, up until early September in 1977
Works Cited
"French Revolution." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06
Dec. 2016. <https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution>.
History.com Staff. "French Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 07
Dec. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution>.
French documentary & First quarter essay