Britons Caught in the French Revolution

On 14 July 1789 an insurgent Paris crowd captured the Bastille, a venerable fortress which had long symbolised royal despotism. A schoolboy from London who was sojourning in the French capital wrote up these events in his diary, describing what would become known as the first day of the French Revolution: ‘Could not stir out’, he scribbled, ‘the revolt continued the Bastille was taken the Governor and several others were killed for having fired upon the people.’