(2) Drawing of King Louis XVI being executed after he was dethroned by the revolution.

The French Revolution

In 1789, the meeting of the States General started a revolt by the peasants and middle class against the Monarchy of France. The Bastille was taken by revolutionaries in July of that year, and by October King Louis XVI and and his family were removed from Versailles to Paris. The King was brought to trial and executed by guillotine and following his death began a reign of terror. During this time, the ruling faction killed all potential threats. French rule shifted from a Legislative Assembly, to the National Convention, to the Directory, and finally to Consulate before Napoleon Buonaparte became Emperor in 1804.(1)

The Revolution is considered by some to have ushered in a culture of genocide for the 20th century that was then copied by many other governments. The Revolution itself, however, pales in comparison to the scale of the genocides it may have influenced. (3)

1)http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist7.html
(2)Execution picture
(3)http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_power4.html