WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -During the French Revolution, the guillotine became the primary symbol of the Reign of Terror and was used to execute thousands of people, including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.

Detailed explanation-2: -Some common methods of execution at that time were boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading, and drawing and quartering.

Detailed explanation-3: -It was originally developed as a more humane method of execution. The origins of the French guillotine date back to late-1789, when Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed that the French government adopt a gentler method of execution.

Detailed explanation-4: -During the ‘Reign of Terror’ in France, as many as 40, 000 people were executed by ‘Madame Guillotine’. A version of the guillotine, called a ‘Halifax gibbet’, had been in use in England since as far back as the 1200s. A similar machine called ‘the Maiden’ was used in Scotland between the 1500s and 1700s.

Detailed explanation-5: -The device soon became known as the “guillotine” after its advocate, and more than 10, 000 people lost their heads by guillotine during the Revolution, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the former king and queen of France.