Did Louis Riel Deserve His Fate

On November 16 1885, 41 year-old Metis father Louis David Riel passed away at 8:00am(CTZ) .After a long battle in court, he was sentenced to execution for treason which led him to be hung in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Louis Riel was a strong and devoted political leader. He was someone who cared greatly for his people, the Metis. He was very persistent in every one of his opinions. He was extremely single-minded and pertinacious which compelled many people to claim that he was insane. He was well-educated but disliked among the British because he of his racial background. Louis Riel was both a hero and a traitor. To the Metis people he was seen as an honorable hero because he protected his people and his land from the British. From the British point of view, he was seen as a threat and a criminal. In my opinion he should be remembered as a hero and should have been found not guilty.

Louis Riel was born in 1844. He was captured and executed by Canadian authorities in November 16, 1885. He was a leader who gave up his life and time to fight for the right of the Metis, Indians and the western settlers. He was an well-educated young man fluent in both French and English. He was also selected as the Metis’s spokesman to negotiate with the Canadian government. During the 1869-70, he led the rebel when Canada purchases Manitoba from the Hudson’s bay company. Also, he organized and led a similar rebellion in 1885. Above all, is he a patriote or a traitor? It was inappropriate to accuse Riel as a traitor. He tried to defend the traditional rights of Metis and made sure they treated as equally as the

The screams and spirits weeped inside the walls of Versaille while the queen herself, Marie Antoinette lays on her freshly washed out white covers in sorrow. Baskets full with several heads, countless corpses, and terror, roamed the streets of France. France was in steep debt with a very high amount of starving poor civilians throughout the lowlife of the town. In addition, Louis created a severely unfair tax system by allowing only the peasants and lower class to pay taxes while the 3% of the upper class did not pay at all. The majority of France began to become angry and rebelled. A man named Maximilien Robespierre was a chief prosecutor who helped France turn on Louis and had him executed. Louis’ execution on January 21, 1793 was start of a 19 month period known as “The Reign of Terror” led by Maximilien. The Reign of Terror was not justified because the lack of rights given to the people, the amount of deaths, and the abstraction of power.

The first reason Louis Riel should be viewed as a hero is due to his noble acts at the Red River Settlement. Louis Riel continued to respect the English people despite their attempt at taking over his land. He allowed the English people to become part of the provisional government he created. He also, gave them an equal number of representatives even though they were in the minority. Furthermore, Louis Riel helped Manitoba to become a province and join the Confederation. That happened since if Louis Riel had never stopped the English people from taking over the Red River settlement, Manitoba would have never been formed. Louis Riel also sent Father Ritchot to Ottawa in order to discuss the creation of Manitoba with John A. Macdonald.

On the morning of January 21, 1793, an innocent man was executed in front of his entire country, by means of the guillotine. That man was King Louis XVI. King Louis XVI, who was married to Queen Marie Antoinette, was the King of France during the beginning stages of the French Revolution. Which took place throughout 1788, and up until King Louis XVI was charged with treason, in 1792. Before the French Revolution really started, France was divided by a strict class system and there were three estates. The third estate were restless and angry with the government. To do something about their complaints, they soon created the National Assembly at the Tennis Court Oath and the well known, violent, events of the French Revolution soon came to being. King Louis XVI was innocent of committing treason against France, because he showed throughout his rulership of the country

On October 23, 1844, in Red River Manitoba, Louis Riel Sr and Julie Lagimodiere, devout Christians, brought a young Métis boy into the world. Little did they know, Louis Riel Jr. would grow up to become known to many as “the founder of Manitoba.” His life was filled with excitement, both political and personal. The question is, were his actions against the government acts of honor and truth, or deception and lies?

Louis Riel was one of the most controversial figures in Canadian history, and even to this day – more than a century after his execution – he continues to be remembered. Many believed him to be a villain; others saw him as a hero. So who was he really? Born in St. Boniface at the Red River Settlement of Canada (present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba) on October 22, 1844, Louis Riel hoped one day to follow his father’s footsteps and become a great Métis leader just like him. Eventually, Riel was seen as a hero to the French-speaking Métis. In the Canadian West, however, most people regarded him as a villain due to his execution in 1885. Nevertheless, Louis Riel was not really a villain by heart; only a flawed man who made many mistakes in his life.

Your honour as an esteemed member of the jury, I find Louis Guilty of Treason. I have come to this conclusion based on three main reasons. 1: he caused an army to march against the citizens of Paris, 2: he went against the constitution and the legislative assembly and kept the Swiss guards with him and 3: on the 21st of June you fled France.

During 1780s to 1790s France was in total chaos. France was ruled by the Bourbon family King Louis XVI from 1754 to 1793, it was an absolute monarch and they had absolute power and did not share it with a legislature. The situation was already bad before Louis XVI began his reign, but situation got worse. In the end, there was a revolution in France and a vast amount changes to the society and the government of France. Louis XVI himself was executed and killed; while France was established as a democratic country. There were different reasons for Louis's downfall: social, economic, political conditions. Also reasons such as the Age of Enlightenment when some philosophers had new ideas of how the country should be ruled, the inequalities

It is often debated whether or not the reign of King Louis XIV had a positive or negative effect on France. Although there were improvements during his reign in transportation, culture, and national defense, there were far more negative aspects. He depleted the national treasury with his liberal spending on personal luxuries and massive monuments. His extreme fear of the loss of power led to poor decision making, which caused the court to be of lower quality. King Louis XIV’s disastrous rule brought about a series of effects that influenced the French Revolution in the following century.

“I am more convinced everyday that without a single exception I did right. And I have always believed that, as I have acted honestly, the time will come when the people of Canada will see and acknowledge it.”- Louis Riel. We believe that Louis Riel is innocent of treason. Also, 92% of the class believes that Louis Riel is innocent. Mr.Riel is an ambitious, daring, well educated, political leader, who is a proud leader of the Metis. First, he was protecting the Metis rights. Secondly, he was threatened by racism and the Canadian Party. Finally, he negotiated with the Canadian government to create Manitoba. As you see, Louis Riel is innocent of treason.

"We must cherish our inheritance. We must preserve our nationality for the youth of our future. The story should be written down to pass on." (Louis Riel, 1884). Louis Riel, a man of great nature and abiding love for his western Métis heritage, is proven to be one of the most revolutionary men looked upon in the chronicles of the Dominion of Canada. In spite of this, he remains as one of the most controversial and cryptic figures throughout the course of Canadian history, leading to the question, is he recognized as the Father of Confederation or a treasonous rebel? A period of revolution lasting from the 1870’s to the late 1880’s was condemned with constant revolts justified as an intervening year for those involved; initiated by Riel.

Of all of the mistakes king Louis XVI made, whether it be not taxing the rich, his frivolous spending and just overall weakness, I think the worst mistake he made was trying to flee the country. With the country already on edge from the revolution and the fact that the people who hated you the most and you screwed over the most were the ones in charge,it kind of seemed like a bad time to flee the country.

In November 1780 he was thankfully freed during a prisoner exchange. In that same year, Laurens was called upon by Congress as a special minister to France in that year of december.