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The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 and its subsequent demolition became the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution. The event is commemorated on Bastille Day (Quatorze juillet), the French national holiday.
Built around 1370 as part of the defences of Paris, the structure was converted into a prison in the 17th century by Charles VI, housing mainly political prisoners, but also religious prisoners, 'seditious' writers, and young rakes held at the request of their families. It began to acquire a poor reputation when it became the main Bourbon prison for those taken under lettres de cachet.
By the late 18th century the building was made up of eight close-packed towers, around 24 meters (80 feet) high, surrounding two courtyards and the armoury. The prisoners were held within the five- to seven-storey towers, each having an room around 4.6 meters (15 feet) across and containing various articles of furniture. The infamous cachots - the oozing, vermin-infested sub-surface cells were no longer in use. The governor of the prison was given a daily allowance per prisoner, the amount depending on their status - from nineteen livres per diem for scientists and academics down to three for commoners. In terms of standards there were many worse prisoners in France, notably the other Parisien jail, the dreaded Bicêtre . However, in terms of popular literary accounts, the Bastille was a place of horror and oppression - a symbol of autocratic cruelty.
For a more detailed description, see Storming of the Bastille.
The confrontation between the commoners and the ancien régime ultimately led to the people of Paris storming the Bastille on July 14 1789. At this point, the jail was near empty, only seven inmates were housed there and the garrison consisted of just 32 men under the governor Bernard-René de LaunayBernard-Rene de Launay was the Commandant of the Bastille when it was stormed..
A crowd of around a thousand gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the guns and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two deputiesA deputy can be: in politics, a member of many national legislatures, particularly those legislative bodies styled Chambers of Deputies. in law enforcement, a slang term referring to a deputy sheriff, a title for county police in the United States. Exampl were invited into the fortress and slow negotiations began.
In the early afternoon the crowd broke into the undefended outer courtyard and the chains on the drawbridgeA drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle, but the term is also used to describe modern bascule bridges. The most common type of drawbridge consists of a wooden platform with one fixed side (normally with to the inner courtyard were cut. A spasmodic exchange of gunfire began, in mid-afternoon the crowd were reinforced by gardes françaises and also two cannons. Governor de Launay ordered a cease fire and, despite his surrender demands being refused, he capitulated and the vainqueurs swept in to liberate the fortress at 17:30.
Ninety-eight attackers had died and just one defender. De Launay was seized and dragged towards the Hôtel de VilleIn French, a hotel de ville or mairie is a town hall (and not a hotel!). The Hotel de Ville of Paris is located in the IVe arrondissement. The building was the short-lived seat of the Paris Commune of 1871. The French Third Republic was declared in that b, but was stabbed to death by the mob in the street outside the Hôtel.
Many historians believe that the storming of the Bastille was more important as a rallying point and symbolic act of rebellion than any practical act of defiance. No less important in the history of France, it was not the image typically conjured up of courageous French patriots storming a towering fortress and freeing hundreds of oppressed peasants. This myth-making began on July 17 1789 with the publication of the Révolutions de Paris with a colourful description of the attack and an entirely false description of the many prisoners freed.
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