[rajsd]

Hi can you help

Why did the Storming of the Bastille happen, can you give me a couple of reasons why and links

Thanks

Raj

[Mrs Faithorn]

What sparked off the Storming of the Bastille was the fact that Louis XVI had dismissed his Finance Minister, Jaques Necker. Necker was sympathetic to the Third Estate, and people in Paris who supported what had happened so far (ie the setting up of the National Assembly) were afraid that now the king would dismiss the Assembly. Also, there were troops stationed at the palace of Versailles (just outside Paris) and people were convinced that they would be used to close the Assembly down. People were very angry and so they attacked the Bastille (a prison in Paris) which symbolised all that they hated about the power and authority of the king.

Links:
http://utut.essortme...mingof_rksu.htm ... scroll down past the ads.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revo..._bastille.shtml
http://en.wikipedia....of_the_Bastille


I hope that helps?

[NordicNemesis]

This is a good summary but there are some more details to note. It is important that you understand the Estate system, and how its tension basically caused the French Revolution. The First and Second Estates consisted of the upper class members of French society (the first were the Catholic clergymen and the second were artistocrats). The Third Estate was comprised of the poorest citizens of French society, yet they were the majority. The First and Second estates always had the power to vote together against the Third Estate. This effectively made a system of tyranny in France that was orchestrated by the aristocratic classes.

This oppression and lack of representation in their government caused the masses of French citizens to make armed revolution against King Louis XVI. A primary reason why the Bastille was chosen as an attacking point was because it housed large numbers of the King's political prisoners, and it was also an ominous reminder of the monarch's power over the people.

I hope that this has helped in enhancing your perspective

[Mrs Faithorn]

Thank you for your attempt to be helpful, Nordic Nemesis.

However, can I just point out a couple of things:

• Raj has posted a number of questions relating to the French revolution recently, so that my answer to his question about the Storming of the Bastille deliberately related just to that event.
  
• He is posting in the under 13 section so that it is important to phrase answers at an appropriate level.

Finally, it is not true that the Bastille in 1789 housed "large numbers of the King's political prisoners". That is a myth. In fact, at the time of the event, there were only 7 political prisoners. It is truer to say - as I also pointed out in my original answer - that the Bastille was a symbol of the hated power and authority of the monarchy.

Before student members of the Forum attempt to answer other people's questions, please can they try to make sure that they really are being helpful.

[NordicNemesis2]

I understand your point and will drift over to the upper sections. However, in the U.S. it is commonly taught in both World Civilizations classes and on the History Channel (they had a special on the event) that there were political prisoners held in the Bastille and this was one of the major reasons for which the citizen's passions were inflamed and chose to storm it. I understand my error in saying that there were "large numbers" of them, but they did have a significant appeal for the location of the start of the Revolution.

[Mrs Faithorn]

I think we are agreed that it was the reputation that the Bastille had amongst Parisians that led to the attack being focused on the prison., but that any further discussion in this thread is probably not going to help Raj very much.

[rajsd]

Mrs Faithorn, on May 7 2006, 12:04 AM, said:

I think we are agreed that it was the reputation that the Bastille had amongst Parisians that led to the attack being focused on the prison., but that any further discussion in this thread is probably not going to help Raj very much.

Thanks for helping me during the topic of the French Revolution. I have to write up a assignment of the Storming of the Bastille. I understand what happened during the event but when the crowd of people get inside the Bastille, there is hardly any sources or information on what happened inside.

Do you know any information on what happened.

thanks

Raj

[Mrs Faithorn]

rajsd, on May 11 2006, 08:59 PM, said:

...... I understand what happened during the event but when the crowd of people get inside the Bastille, there is hardly any sources or information on what happened inside.

Do you know any information on what happened.

Did you not follow up the links I gave in my first reply in this thread, Raj?

You can find out what you want to know by reading the section under the heading 'The Bastille is stormed' on this webpage.

I'm not sure that you'll be able to find much more detail than that on the web though there might be more on a site written in French. Is your French up to that????