The Storming of the Bastille
History: KS3, topic 13.1.3
The Storming of the Bastille, 1789
Although France was very powerful throughout most of the 1700s, towards the end of the century it faced financial and political problems. These problems caused tensions within society, which led to demands for change.
Tensions
- Tensions began to grow within Paris.
- The National Assembly were demanding political reform, but this was not being acknowledged.
- Rumours spread that the king was intending to use force to shut down the National Assembly, as French soldiers and foreign mercenaries (foreign soldiers employed by the king) appeared around the city.
Storming the Bastille
- After Necker, the king’s popular finance minister, resigned from his post, tensions reached a height in Paris.
- On 14th July an angry mob stole nearly 30,000 muskets from an army barracks and stormed (attacked) the Bastille, which was a large fortress and prison in Paris.
- The Bastille represented royal authority, so the attack was meant to show their hatred for the vast power of the king.
The Revolution begins
- The angry mob entered the Bastille by force, murdered its governor, and put his head on a spike for all of Paris to see.
- Louis XVI was powerless to respond; many of his own French troops had deserted him to support the storming of the Bastille, and it was obvious that he had lost all control.
- This was the beginning of the French Revolution.
Test yourself on The Storming of the Bastille
Why did the revolutionaries choose to storm the Bastille?
What caused rumours to spread that the king was intending to use force to shut down the National Assembly?
Why was King Louis XVI powerless to respond to the storming of the Bastille?