On July 14, 1789, angry demonstrators took the Bastille, a medieval Paris fort where King Louis XVI imprisoned his enemies. The riot launched the French Revolution.
The Bastille Falls
To the armed mob of Parisians who captured it, the Bastille was “a symbol of the despotism of the ruling Bourbon monarchy,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Louis XVI had ascended to the throne in 1774, facing a debt-ridden government and a population plagued by rising food costs, unjust work conditions, and an oppressive nobility and clergy, PBS reports. The King’s inept, autocratic rule worsened matters, and widespread crop failures led to famine.
In May 1789, the Estates General met at Versailles, according to historian Frank E. Smitha. Within weeks, thousands of Parisians took to the streets, marching to the Bastille, demanding gunpowder and arms from the building and ultimately seizing control of it, The History Guide reports.
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