In December 1792, the National Convention placed the deposed Louis XVI on trial. After weeks of testimony and argument, the Convention’s deputies voted in favour of Louis’ guilt and condemned him to die. On January 21st 1793 Louis Capet, as he was by then officially known, was taken to the guillotine and decapitated before thousands of his former subjects. The trial and execution of Louis XVI would cause a sensation across France and around the world.
Contents
1 Background
2 Trial or no trial?
3 The hearing begins
4 Louis’ defence
5 Guilt and sentencing
6 The king condemned
7 Responses
Background
The fate of the king was probably decided after the August 10th attack on the Tuileries. As Louis and his family took refuge in the chamber of the Legislative Assembly, the crowd outside bayed for their arrest and the abolition of the monarchy.
The deputies of the Assembly eventually agreed to both. The former king was suspended from power, arrested and removed to the Temple, an ancient fortress in the northern quarter of Paris. Stripped of his royal and noble titles, Louis became known as ‘Citizen Louis Capet’, a more humble name derived from his ancestors.
