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Troubling times in France
Societal imbalances and financial hardships had been pressuring the French people for years. The perceived efforts of the king to undo the work of the Estates-General of 1789, which had resulted in the formation of a National Assembly dominated by members of the Third Estate, combined with rising bread prices to send the people of Paris into a panic, causing them to lash out against symbols of royal authority, including the ever-looming Bastille. -
Dismissal of Jacques Necker
The event was the culmination of multiple different causes. The catalyst for the attack was the dismissal of popular Genevan commoner Jacques Necker (1732-1804) from the ministry of King Louis XVI of France -
Riots of july 12-13
The Palais-Royal, Paris residence of the revolution-sympathizing Duke of Orléans, had become a favorite meeting spot for Parisian revolutionaries. It was here where the word of the dismissal and exile of Jacques Necker became public knowledge; an outrage occurred. By the afternoon, over 6,000 people had congregated at the palace, looking for somewhere to direct their anger. -
Riots of july 12-13
Thousands of Parisians made their way to the Champs-Élysées, alarming royal officials. Cavalry units were sent to push people back. there, Parisians showered the men in rocks, chairs, and pieces of sculptures. soldiers begin to charge injuring many people. the people would not hold back so they were ordered to hold back to avoid bloodbath. The next day, with much of the city in the hands of the masses, the true rioting began. the people stole guns but did not have ammo. they went to bastille. -
storming of bastille
Bernard-René de Launay, governor of the Bastille, was now responsible for defending. he had little at his disposal. his garrison consisted of 82 invalides, veteran soldiers incapable of serving in the field, as well as 32 Swiss troops who had come as reinforcements; cannons atop the walls; had food and water supplies that could last 2 days limiting his ability to withstand a siege. The prize the crowds were after, 250 barrels of gunpowder, sat guarded within. -
storming of bastille
Meanwhile, the immense and impatient crowd outside the walls had inched closer, spilling over into the outer courtyard, which was separated by a single wall from the inner, where the real gate of the fortress was located. The wall separating the two courtyards contained a small drawbridge. Half an hour after the Parisian delegates had left, two men climbed the wall and cut the drawbridge’s chains. Calls by the soldiers to turn around or be shot were misheard as encouragement to come closer. -
storming of bastille
people began to accuse de Launay of luring the crowd into the inner courtyard so they could more easily be massacred. Those Parisians with weapons began firing back at the defenders. a white flag of a delegate was ignored. A second drawbridge was lowered. The civilian army ran in the bastille, liberating prisoners and taking whatever arms and powder they could find. 82 revolutionaries had been killed during the Storming of the Bastille, with 15 others later dying of their wounds.