I believe
@Patine's argument is that the game cannot model precisely the historical events as they happened, with all their historical consequences, and that to attempt that is to place the game in a historical strait jacket that results in zero replay value.
I agree with both of you.
The game cannot be designed or set up to reproduce precise historical events. Both because this makes for a really lousy game, and also because historians argue constantly over what exactly the historical events really were, how they came about, and what their consequences really were.
On the other hand, many historical events of an apparently negative nature in the short term have major consequences in the long term, and it is a shame to leave them out completely.
The answer, I think, is to concentrate on the Conditions that cause such events. Revolutions, civil wars, decapitation, defenestration or deposing of kings take place for Reasons which can occur under various forms of government and cultural/social system and so can happen in 'game terms' to anyone. The French Revolution does not necessarily have to happen to France, or at any exact date in the early Industrial Era (especially given that their revolution was preceded by the whole Enlightenment intellectual movement of the preceding century and specifically by American events, and succeeded by at least 2 other 'revolutions' in France in 1830 and 1871).
So, if you want to add Playable mechanics for revolutions, civil wars, and other negative events, I suggest that you will need the following:
1. A system of political, social, civil and cultural events over which the gamer has only partial control, or better yet concerning which he has to make decisions. And each decision will result in an on-going event/system which has both Positive and Negative consequences.
Example: A Tax Farming system of tax collection, available since at least Classical times in Rome, China and other Civs, in which the government does not have to spend any Gold to get Gold from Taxes, but a large percentage of the total revenue disappears into the hands of the Tax Farmers and the depredations of the Tax Farmers are blamed on the government.
Example: Exempting some segment of the population (merchants, nobles, warriors, etc) makes that segment immensely loyal to the government (like the exempt French aristocracy and church administrators in 1789) but makes everybody else in the Civ immensely and (in 1789) murderously Disloyal. It also, of course, reduces the Gold income, which puts extra stress on the government and Civ in general.
2. A system of social, cultural, political, religious and military events in which EVERY event must have both Negative and Positive results. Disregard strictly historical results: if the event is going to be played there must be some benefit to the gamer or it will be gamed out of the game: someone Will find a way to avoid the French Revolution or its equivalent if all of its results are negative to the French player (leaving aside French Civ players who are also Masochists, which no game company can assume will be the majority of players and buyers)
Example: Every 'successful' revolution changes the form or specifics of the government. This might be the only 'easy' way to go from Absolute Divine Right Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy or Republic without taking a century or more. There will be some (possibly considerable) Unpleasantness in the form of revolutionary excesses (read: massacres, deportations, decapitations, etc) but in a relatively short time you convert to a spanking new form of government with all of its (different) Positive and Negative attributes.
Example: Every momentous Political event may also include momentous Cultural, Social or Civic changes. That could include everything from fashion (look at the differences in women's dresses from pre-1789 and post-1815 throughout Europe, for instance) to social structure ('rise of the Middle Class' is not just a platitude: it was a real and transforming event, and included cultural and political consequences as well as immediate social and political ones)
3. EVERY decision made by the Gamer should have both Immediate and Long Term effects, and these may be (or should be) very, very different.
Example: Exempting the aristocracy from paying taxes gets you a very loyal bunch of aristocrats, and if they came from an original Warrior Class you get a very cheap bunch of Officers to lead your units, which may slightly lower Maintenance Costs for them (and, in game terms, possibly a better chance of getting Great Generals) - this is the immediate Effect. Long Term, it excludes everybody else from the Officer group, so the overall quality of the officers and military units goes down over time for lack of any access to the Civ's total Talent Pool. And, of course, it makes everybody who is not exempt (everybody not an aristocrat) resentful of the system and government, until they demand Changes (as in storming the Bastille and 'vertically deporting' a bunch of aristocrats by locking them in a barge and sinking it in the Seine River just outside of Paris)
Example: A successful Revolution throws open all the government jobs and military leadership to Anyone of Talent. This increases the efficiency of the government functions (like Tax Collecting, among others) and gives a bonus to military units from better leadership, BUT the first Great General generated by the new system may seize the State and convert it from a nascent Republic into a Military Monarchy (can you spell Buonaparto or Cromwell?)