The storming of the Bastille was an event that occurred in Paris, France, on July 14, 1789, in which Parisian workers and civilians seized the Bastille with arms.

This fact represents the end of the Old Regime in France and the beginning of the French Revolution .

The Bastille was a military fortification that was built to guard the eastern entrance to Paris during the Hundred Years War . Therefore, it played an important role in the internal troubles of France and was also used as a state prison for 400 years.

In this way, the Bastille was a representative symbol of despotism and the French absolute monarchy , so its taking, by Parisian civilians, meant the beginning of the triumph of republicanism over said monarchy . Storming of the Bastille causes

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Causes and consequences of the storming of the Bastille

Causes

The most important causes that led to the storming were the following:

• At that time, the Bastille was holding as prisoners great thinkers of the French revolution , which prompted the revolutionaries to carry out the capture.
• The excess of power of Luis XVI, financed by the increase of taxes to the population.
• The strong ideals of the revolutionaries and the desire to impose a republican form of government to overthrow the monarchy of that time.

Consequences

The main consequences that were generated from the storming of the Bastille were the following:

• The Constituent Assembly was formed in order to develop a republican constitution.
• This assembly eliminated the rights and privileges of the feudal system and the nobility.
• A serious political and social crisis for the country, with strong ideals confronted between the power and the people.
• The beginning of the French R evolution together with an agrarian revolution by the peasantry, who attacked the castles and feudal residences.

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Storming of the Bastille characters

Among the protagonists of the storming of the Bastille we can highlight the following characters:

• Bernard-René Jordan de Launay (1740 – 1789) : last governor of the Bastille, who died during the taking.
• Pierre-Augustin Hulin (1758 – 1841) : French soldier who played an important role during the storming of the Bastille and the main events of the revolution.
• Louis XVI (1754 – 1793) : King of France during the storming of the Bastille, who repeatedly tried to apply tax policies in favor of the nobility and upper classes of the country, which caused great discontent.
• Jacques Necker (1732 – 1804) : Swiss politician and financier, in charge of managing the finances of the monarchy of Louis XVI until the French Revolution. He resigned under pressure from discontent after his management and decisions at the command of French finances.