Storming of the Bastille July 14th is a day that will always be remembered in French history.

It was on this day in 1789 that French revolutionaries and insubordinate troops attacked the stronghold that was being used as a prison known as the Bastille. It was not the actual capturing of the prison that was so important (there was only seven prisoners inside), but it was what the Bastille symbolized and what the seizing of that symbol meant to the people of France at the time. To fully understand the storming of the Bastille one must understand the events that led to July 14th 1789. During the winter of 1789 there was a major bread shortage. Because of this the people began to question their government and King Louis XVI. In France at the time, the population was split into three different groups. The clergy (first), the nobles (second), and everyone else (the third estate). During this time the Third Estate felt like as if they were under represented and this led to conflict among the different estates while meeting as the Estates General. On June 20th the Third Estate was locked out of their usual meeting place. The Third Estate believed that the King might have turned against them. The group was forced into a frenzy because they knew that they could never out vote the other two classes. In order to receive the representation they deserved the people vowed to never separate until a constitution had been written and formed the National Assembly. The King was now forced to have the clergy and nobles join the new National Assembly. While the King had made a concession to the people for the National Assembly, he was scheming against the people by raising an army to control the uprising. The King was still not trusted and rightly so. The people became even more uneasy when the ministry of finance Jacques Necker was fired. Necker was a supporter of the Third Estate and his dismissal caused

an outcry across the country. Riots began to take place all over Pairs and the next target was the Bastille. The Bastille at this time was only holding seven prisoners, but it was holding a fairly large amount of gunpowder and weapons and most importantly it was a symbol of tyranny. A crowd started to from outside the Bastille which led to the stationing of 85 troops at the fortress. The people began to become more and more hostile and on July 14th when a few revolutionaries with muskets jumped the fence and the soldiers inside fired killing and wounding about a hundred. The French soldiers were able to hold them off until a group of deserters brought five cannons in aid of the rioters. Upon seeing this the French surrendered the stronghold. The storming of the Bastille meant very little in reality, but the falling of the fortress gave the French people the belief that they could overthrow their government, and it would lead to the eventual capturing of Louis XVI and dissolving of the monarchy. Today July14th or Bastille Day is a national holiday in France where they have music, food, and shout the motto Vive le 14 juillet! (Long live the 14th of July!)

Works Cited
"French Revolution." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219315/French-Revolution>. French revolutionaries storm Bastille. 2013. The History Channel website. Dec 3 2013, 10:19 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/french-revolutionaries-storm-bastille. "Storming of the Bastille." TheFreeDictionary.com. 2013. Farlex, Inc. 3 Dec. 2013 http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/storming+of+the+Bastille