Storming of the Bastille

money on gratuitous luxuries, the rapidly growing population starved due to out of control inflation that made buying staples like bread astronomically expensive. This all changed after the uprising of the lower classes, which included the storming of the Bastille, and the creation of the National Assembly. After these events, Nobles left the country in droves leaving behind their positions of power and military posts. Many with the privileges that came with their titles wanted to stay around to…

Jacques Necker was born in Switzerland and moved to France to embark on a financial career. He was named director general of finance following France’s defeat in the Seven Years’ War. Necker’s main goal was to downplay France’s dwindling economy, which he accomplished by releasing a misleading financial report. He is remembered for his selfishness and providing pensions to nobles in order to boost his popularity (Kagan 355-356). At the beginning of his career, Necker proved to be sly by gaining…

assess 1791 as a turning point is the suggestion that the nature of the revolution had changed and this is true in several cases. The violence of the revolution transitioned from the relatively less vicious, and more symbolic events, like the storming of the Bastille in 1789 where no more than a dozen people were killed to the Danton instigated massacre of about 1,200 Royalists held in Parisian prisons, this move from a generalised revolt to mass execution signals a real change in ferocity and…

the lower classes culminated into the Storming of the Bastille, when crowds of the Parisian middle class attacked the Bastille, a moderately guarded prison, in search of weapons. Aided by rogue soldiers, the crowd managed to get the guards and officials to surrender, and then they proceeded to slaughter the fortress’s commander and his troops and parade their severed heads held on spikes around Paris (Cannistraro 635-636). In the wake of the fall of the Bastille, many citizens started taking up…

The French Revolution was an uprising in France that resulted in the establishment of France as a republic. It began in 1789 and lasted until 1799. The revolution had major social and political impacts on France. There were many causes of the French Revolution. Some of these causes include debt and taxes, changes in culture, and an ineffective leader. Due to France’s major debt, the king had to raise the taxes. The commoners of France were forced to pay the majority of these taxes, while the…

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, revolutionary spirit was everywhere. The world was shocked at the success of the American Revolution, in which the oppressed colonies gained independence from Britain. This success, along with several other causes, motivated the oppressed lower class of France to have their own revolution. Shortly after the French Revolution, Haiti, a French colony, was inspired by the same ideals and had one of their own. The French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution are…

for independent thoughts, and field of mathematics, astronomy, physics, economic, philosophy etc. The people became aware of the political and social situation of France and the unfairness of the structure of the society. The Bourgeoisie storming of the Bastille would have been prevented if King Louis XVI and his advisers did not dissolve the Assembly. The Assembly was which represented the third estate, common people. Their mistake allowed the Bourgeoisie to form an armed force, “National…

the common people. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens captures the transition of power from the nobles to the peasants through the course of the novel. The suffering, desperation, and anger inside of the peasants is released first in the Storming of the Bastille in retaliation to the power of the nobles to put anyone they please into prison without a reasonable cause. Their vengeance, however, transitions quickly into a blood bath. The first spark of the fire hidden deep within the oppressed…

The Tennis Court Oath Oil painting by Jacques Louis David One of the most pivotal important moments in French History happened to also be a major turning point for the French society now seen today. That moment would be the Tennis Court Oath. The painting shows what appears to be the meeting of which was held June 20, 1789 as the Third Estate of France swore to each other never to disband until the Monarchy adopted a constitution limiting the King’s power for their New Assembly. The Tennis…

Many people were killed in the fight. Eventually the enraged people broke through the defenses. They killed the guards and the commander and released prisoners. Although they succeeded, they did not find any weapons. Bastille day is still celebrated today, and a symbol Bastille is up today. I represented the years of abuse by the monarchy. It hit me bad, it showed me what is actually happening in the world. This event showed a challenge to the sheer existence of the regime. Since 1880, …