The Storming of the Bastille

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The Storming of the Bastille

Parisians absolutely hated the Bastille. It was a feared place, a prison, surrounded by myths of dying prisoners, innocent people chained to the walls, torture chambers and stinking dungeons, of people being sent there by sealed letters, (lettres de cachet) directly from the King.

On the 14th of July, a crowd broke into the Bastille. They were angry. The fortress was a symbol of everything they hated about the monarchy. The smashed inside, killing and breaking anything in their way.

The Storming of the Bastille was one of the most important events in French history. It was a symbol of the victorious French peasants over the monarchy and everything to do with it. But did it really happen like so many paintings suggest? ...

Glossary

WHAT THE PEASANTS THOUGHT		WHAT MANY HISTORIANS THINK		DO THEY AGREE?
	The Bastille was a terrible prison belonging to a cruel King.		The Bastille was a prison for enemies of the King, who were not allowed a trial.
	There were hundreds of prisoners kept in chains on the walls for life, without ever being released.		There were usually only about ten prisoners. None of them were kept in dungeons, they ate well, and had a wash at least 3 times a week.
	It was attacked because the king was going to crush Paris with foreign soldiers.		The King had asked foreign armies to help him crush the rebellious peasants. Many of those armies had agreed but hadn't actually any intention of doing so.	&
	The peasants seized weapons and used them against the guards, they demanded surrender of the Bastille. They broke into the Bastille and executed many people, including the governor.		The peasants took weapons from the guards and shot at them. The governor at the Bastille tried hard to avoid trouble. He opened the gates and surrendered. The crowd murdered him.	&
	The peasants freed hundreds of poor and dying prisoners.		The peasants freed 7 - 10 prisoners.

The table shows there is difference in opinion about what really happened. According to this account, written by Jacques Godechot, a leading French historian, the Storming of the Bastille did not happen as the peasants remembered...



	A Cell in the Bastille painted by Jean-Pierre Houël in 1789

"The attackers were surprised to find so few captives. Many believed there were others, hidden in some secret cavern or dungeon...On 18th July, the four gaolers were questioned separately. They confirmed that the Bastille contained, on 14th July, only 7 prisoners: Solages, Whyte, Tavernier, Béchade, La Corrège, Pujade and Larroche. The latter four, common prisoners accused of forgery, disappeared soon after and were never seen again. The Count of Solages had been imprisoned at the request of his family...Whyte was an Englishman, afflicted by madness, and on the 15th July he was imprisoned in Chareton. Tavernier was equally mad and he too was sent to Chareton. "

Jacques Godechot, La Prise de La Bastille, (The (Taking) Storming of the Bastille,1965)

Louis XVI considered sending his army to recapture the Bastille. But his war minister advised him that the army would probably refuse to do so, and hearing this, Louis was forced to give up control of Paris. He allowed the people to set up their own military force, called the National Guard, to keep order in Paris. The Paris Commune, a new local government was subsequently set up by leading third estate officials.

Towns and Cities all over France followed Paris' example and rioted. Crowds attacked town halls, and, having forced out royal officials, started up their own Communes and National Guard units.

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