MAY 10 - Coronation of Louis XVI and Marie Antionette & the Indian Rebellion of 1857

On this day 1774, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette ascend the throne as King and Queen of France. Louis-Auguste was born 23 August 1754 at the Palace of Versailles. At the age of 15, he married 14-year old, Austrian born, Marie Antoinette. The match was not met with much enthusiasm from the people of France, as the alliance between France and Austria had pulled them into the Seven Years’ War (better known as the French and Indian War in the US) in which they were defeated. The couple would eventually go on to have 4 children and Louis also adopted 4 more children During the early part of his reign Louis focused heavily on enlightenment ideals such as religious freedom. It was also under Louis XVI that France entered the American War of Independence on the side of the American’s. Under Louis, France moved from being an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. This limited the king’s powers, giving more power to the French parliament. In 1791, convert resistance transformed into a revolutionary force. On 21 June 1791, Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee secretly from Paris to Montmédy where they would be protected by Austria . Within 24 hours, the family was arrested and returned on 25 June to Paris, where they were placed under tight house arrest. On 13 August 1792, the king was formally arrested for treason and in September was stripped of all his titles. On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was beheaded by guillotine at the age of 38. His wife, would follow him to his fate a few months late on 16 October. With the abolition of the monarch on 21 September 1792, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became the last reigning monarchs of France.

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On this day in 1857, the Indian Rebellion of 1857 began and would go on to last for next year a half. The Indian Rebellion was an uprising in India against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The uprising began with the mutiny of sepoys of the Company’s army in the town of Meerut. This lead to the eruption of other mutinies and civilian rebellions. The uprising continued until the rebel defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858, though hostilities were not declared formally ended until 8 July 1859. In November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder. During the uprising, civilians including women and children were not safe from either side of the conflicts. In Oudh, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur, and Lucknow, british forces massacred thousands, including civilians. Different forms of torture were practiced by both sides and against all people. In the aftermath, Bahadur Shah was arrested and exiled brining and end to the Mughal dynasty when he died in 1862. In 1877, Queen Victoria took the title of Empress of India, however, the British Crown had been in control of India since August 1858, when the Government of India Act 1858, formally dissolved the East India Company’s power of India. It would not be until 1947 when India would finally see it’s total independence from the British government.

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