The Heigardian Civil War was the conflict which led to the secession of the Departments of the Heigardian Islands from the Republic of France to establish an independent Republic of Heigard. Liberals and much of the population regarded Louis XVI’s reign as despotic and the French Republic extremist, and were turning heads to a possible union with Charles IV. There were high levels of unemployment and industrial unrest among the working classes, despite the fact Heigard was one of the wealthiest regions in France. On January 22, 1793, due to the beheading of Louis XVI a day before, riots erupted in the streets of Crèbourg, followed by uprisings elsewhere in the country. Factories were occupied and machinery destroyed.