Storming of the Bastille - wikipedia Storming of the Bastille Storming of the Bastille Part of the French Revolution Storming of The Bastile by Jean - Pierre Houël Date 14 July 1789 ; 228 years ago ( 1789 - 07 - 14 ) Location Paris, France 48 ° 51 ′ 11 '' N 2 ° 22 ′ 09 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 48.85306 ° N 2.36917 ° E ﻿ / 48.85306 ; 2.36917 Coordinates : 48 ° 51 ′ 11 '' N 2 ° 22 ′ 09 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 48.85306 ° N 2.36917 ° E ﻿ / 48.85306 ; 2.36917 Result Bastille captured, rebellion begins Belligerents French government Parisian militia Gardes françaises Commanders and leaders Bernard - René de Launay Camille Desmoulins Pierre - Augustin Hulin Strength 114 soldiers, 30 artillery pieces probably fewer than 1,000 insurgents Casualties and losses One ( six or possibly eight killed after surrender ) 98 The Storming of the Bastille ( French : Prise de la Bastille ( pʁiz də la bastij ) ) occurred in Paris, France, on the afternoon of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the center of Paris. The prison contained just seven inmates at the time of its storming but was a symbol of abuses by the monarchy ; its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. In France, Le quatorze juillet ( 14 July ) is a public holiday, usually called Bastille Day in English. Contents 1 Background 2 Necker 's dismissal 3 Armed conflict 4 Storming the Bastille ( 14 July 1789 ) 5 Aftermath 6 References 6.1 Additional sources 7 Further reading 8 External links 9 In popular culture Background During the reign of Louis XVI, France faced a major economic crisis, caused in part by the cost of intervening in the American Revolution, and exacerbated by a regressive system of taxation. On 5 May 1789, the Estates - General of 1789 convened to deal with this issue, but were held back by archaic protocols and the conservatism of the Second Estate, consisting of the nobility and amounting to only 2 % of France 's population. On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate, with its representatives drawn from the commoners, reconstituted themselves as the National Assembly, a body whose purpose was the creation of a French constitution. The king initially opposed this development, but was forced to acknowledge the authority of the assembly, which renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July. The commoners had formed the National Guard, sporting tricolour cockades ( cocardes ) of blue, white and red, formed by combining the red and blue cockade of Paris and the white cockade of the king. These cockades, and soon simply their colour scheme, became the symbol of the revolution and, later, of France itself. Paris, close to insurrection and, in François Mignet 's words, `` intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm '', showed wide support for the Assembly. The press published the Assembly 's debates ; political debate spread beyond the Assembly itself into the public squares and halls of the capital. The Palais - Royal and its grounds became the site of an ongoing meeting. The crowd, on the authority of the meeting at the Palais - Royal, broke open the prisons of the Abbaye to release some grenadiers of the French guards, reportedly imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people. The Assembly recommended the imprisoned guardsmen to the clemency of the king ; they returned to prison, and received pardon. The rank and file of the regiment, previously considered reliable, now leaned toward the popular cause. Necker 's dismissal On 11 July 1789, Louis XVI - acting under the influence of the conservative nobles of his privy council -- dismissed and banished his finance minister, Jacques Necker ( who had been sympathetic to the Third Estate ) and completely reconstructed the ministry. The marshals Victor - François, duc de Broglie, la Galissonnière, the duc de la Vauguyon, the Baron Louis de Breteuil, and the intendant Foulon, took over the posts of Puységur, Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin, La Luzerne, Saint - Priest, and Necker. Jacques Necker ( 1732 -- 1804 ), French minister of finance News of Necker 's dismissal reached Paris in the afternoon of Sunday, 12 July. The Parisians generally presumed that the dismissal marked the start of a coup by conservative elements. Liberal Parisians were further enraged by the fear that a concentration of Royal troops -- brought in from frontier garrisons to Versailles, Sèvres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint - Denis -- would attempt to shut down the National Constituent Assembly, which was meeting in Versailles. Crowds gathered throughout Paris, including more than ten thousand at the Palais - Royal. Camille Desmoulins successfully rallied the crowd by `` mounting a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming : ' Citizens, there is no time to lose ; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint Bartholomew for patriots ! This very night all the Swiss and German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to massacre us all ; one resource is left ; to take arms ! ' '' The Swiss and German regiments referred to were among the foreign mercenary troops who made up a significant portion of the pre-revolutionary Royal Army, and were seen as being less likely to be sympathetic to the popular cause than ordinary French soldiers. By early July, approximately half of the 25,000 regular troops in Paris and Versailles were drawn from these foreign regiments. The French regiments included in the concentration appear to have been selected either because of the proximity of their garrisons to Paris or because their colonels were supporters of the reactionary `` court party '' opposed to reform. During the public demonstrations that started on 12 July, the multitude displayed busts of Necker and of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, then marched from the Palais Royal through the theater district before continuing westward along the boulevards. The crowd clashed with the Royal German Cavalry Regiment ( `` Royal - Allemand '' ) between the Place Vendôme and the Tuileries Palace. From atop the Champs - Élysées, the Prince de Lambesc unleashed a cavalry charge that dispersed the remaining protesters at Place Louis XV -- now Place de la Concorde. The Royal commander, Baron de Besenval, fearing the results of a blood bath amongst the poorly armed crowds or defections among his own men, then withdrew the cavalry towards Sèvres. Meanwhile, unrest was growing among the people of Paris who expressed their hostility against state authorities by attacking customs posts blamed for causing increased food and wine prices. The people of Paris started to plunder any place where food, guns and supplies could be hoarded. That night, rumors spread that supplies were being hoarded at Saint - Lazare, a huge property of the clergy, which functioned as convent, hospital, school and even as a jail. An angry mob broke in and plundered the property, seizing 52 wagons of wheat, which were taken to the public market. That same day multitudes of people plundered many other places including weapon arsenals. The Royal troops did nothing to stop the spreading of social chaos in Paris during those days. Armed conflict The Bastille of Paris before the Revolution. The regiment of Gardes Françaises ( French Guards ) formed the permanent garrison of Paris and, with many local ties, was favourably disposed towards the popular cause. This regiment had remained confined to its barracks during the initial stages of the mid-July disturbances. With Paris becoming the scene of a general riot, Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc ( Marshal of the Camp, Proprietor of the Royal Allemand - Dragoons ), not trusting the regiment to obey his order, posted sixty dragoons to station themselves before its dépôt in the Chaussée d'Antin. The officers of the French Guards made ineffectual attempts to rally their men. The rebellious citizenry had now acquired a trained military contingent. As word of this spread, the commanders of the royal forces encamped on the Champ de Mars became doubtful of the dependability of even the foreign regiments. The future `` Citizen King '', Louis - Philippe, duc d'Orléans, witnessed these events as a young officer and was of the opinion that the soldiers would have obeyed orders if put to the test. He also commented in retrospect that the officers of the French Guards had neglected their responsibilities in the period before the uprising, leaving the regiment too much to the control of its non-commissioned officers. However, the uncertain leadership of Besenval led to a virtual abdication of royal authority in central Paris. On the morning of 13 July the electors of Paris met and agreed to the recruitment of a `` bourgeois militia '' of 48,000 men from the sixty voting districts of Paris, to restore order. Storming the Bastille ( 14 July 1789 ) People to the Castle of Bastille On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The partisans of the Third Estate in France, now under the control of the Bourgeois Militia of Paris ( soon to become Revolutionary France 's National Guard ), had earlier stormed the Hôtel des Invalides without meeting significant opposition. Their intention had been to gather the weapons held there ( 29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot ). The commandant at the Invalides had in the previous few days taken the precaution of transferring 250 barrels of gunpowder to the Bastille for safer storage. At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty, housing only seven prisoners : four forgers, two `` lunatics '' and one `` deviant '' aristocrat, the Comte de Solages ( the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier ). The high cost of maintaining a garrisoned medieval fortress, for what was seen as having a limited purpose, had led to a decision being made shortly before the disturbances began to replace it with an open public space. Amid the tensions of July 1789, the building remained as a symbol of royal tyranny. The regular garrison consisted of 82 invalides ( veteran soldiers no longer suitable for service in the field ). It had however been reinforced on 7 July by 32 grenadiers of the Swiss Salis - Samade Regiment from the regular troops on the Champ de Mars. The walls mounted 18 eight - pound guns and 12 smaller pieces. The governor was Bernard - René de Launay, son of the previous governor and actually born within the Bastille. Arrest of de Launay, by Jean - Baptiste Lallemand, 1790 Arrest of de Launay by an anonymous artist. A 2013 analysis of the Bastille dimensions showed that it did not tower over the neighborhood as was depicted in the paintings but was more of a comparable height to other buildings in the neighborhood. The official list of vainqueurs de la Bastille ( conquerors of the Bastille ) subsequently compiled has 954 names, and the total of the crowd was probably fewer than one thousand. A breakdown of occupations included in the list indicates that the majority were local artisans, together with some regular army deserters and a few distinctive categories such as 21 wine merchants. The crowd gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the cannon and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two representatives of the crowd outside were invited into the fortress and negotiations began, and another was admitted around noon with definite demands. The negotiations dragged on while the crowd grew and became impatient. Around 1 : 30, the crowd surged into the undefended outer courtyard. A small party climbed onto the roof of a building next to the gate to the inner courtyard and broke the chains on the drawbridge, crushing one vainqueur as it fell. Soldiers of the garrison called to the people to withdraw but in the noise and confusion these shouts were misinterpreted as encouragement to enter. Gunfire began, apparently spontaneously, turning the crowd into a mob. The crowd seems to have felt that they had been intentionally drawn into a trap and the fighting became more violent and intense, while attempts by deputies to organise a cease - fire were ignored by the attackers. The firing continued, and after 3 : 00 pm, the attackers were reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises, along with two cannons. A substantial force of Royal Army troops encamped on the Champ de Mars did not intervene. With the possibility of mutual carnage suddenly apparent, Governor de Launay ordered a cease - fire at 5 : 00 pm. A letter offering his terms was handed out to the besiegers through a gap in the inner gate. His demands were refused, but de Launay nonetheless capitulated, as he realised that with limited food stocks and no water supply his troops could not hold out much longer. He accordingly opened the gates to the inner courtyard, and the vainqueurs swept in to liberate the fortress at 5 : 30. Ninety - eight attackers and one defender had died in the actual fighting, a disparity accounted for by the protection provided to the garrison by the fortress walls. De Launay was seized and dragged towards the Hôtel de Ville in a storm of abuse. Outside the Hôtel, a discussion as to his fate began. The badly beaten de Launay shouted `` Enough ! Let me die ! '' and kicked a pastry cook named Dulait in the groin. De Launay was then stabbed repeatedly and died. An English traveller, Doctor Edward Rigby, reported what he saw, `` ( We ) perceived two bloody heads raised on pikes, which were said to be the heads of the Marquis de Launay, Governor of the Bastille, and of Monsieur Flesselles, Prévôt des Marchands. It was a chilling and a horrid sight !... Shocked and disgusted at this scene, ( we ) retired immediately from the streets. '' The three officers of the permanent Bastille garrison were also killed by the crowd ; surviving police reports detail their wounds and clothing. Two of the invalides of the garrison were lynched, but all but two of the Swiss regulars of the Salis - Samade Regiment were protected by the French Guards and eventually released to return to their regiment. Their officer, Lieutenant Louis de Flue, wrote a detailed report on the defense of the Bastille, which was incorporated in the logbook of the Salis - Samade and has survived. It is ( perhaps unfairly ) critical of the dead Marquis de Launay, whom de Flue accuses of weak and indecisive leadership. The blame for the fall of the Bastille would rather appear to lie with the inertia of the commanders of the 5,000 Royal Army troops encamped on the Champ de Mars, who did not act when either the nearby Hôtel des Invalides or the Bastille were attacked. Engraving, c. 1789 : militia hoisting the heads of Flesselles and the marquis de Launay on pikes. The caption reads `` Thus we take revenge on traitors ''. Returning to the Hôtel de Ville, the mob accused the prévôt dès marchands ( roughly, mayor ) Jacques de Flesselles of treachery, and he was assassinated en route to an ostensible trial at the Palais - Royal. Aftermath Sans - culottes wearing iconic Phrygian caps and tricolor cockades The Place de la Bastille and the July Column where the Bastille once stood. The king first learned of the storming only the next morning through the Duke of La Rochefoucauld. `` Is it a revolt ? '' asked Louis XVI. The duke replied : `` No sire, it 's not a revolt ; it 's a revolution. '' The citizenry of Paris, expecting a counterattack, entrenched the streets, built barricades of paving stones, and armed themselves as well as they could, especially with improvised pikes. Meanwhile, at Versailles, the Assembly remained ignorant of most of the Paris events, but eminently aware that Marshal de Broglie stood on the brink of unleashing a pro-Royalist coup to force the Assembly to adopt the order of 23 June and then to dissolve. The vicomte de Noailles apparently first brought reasonably accurate news of the Paris events to Versailles. M. Ganilh and Bancal - des - Issarts, dispatched to the Hôtel de Ville, confirmed his report. By the morning of 15 July, the outcome appeared clear to the king as well, and he and his military commanders backed down. The Royal troops concentrated around Paris dispersed to their frontier garrisons. The Marquis de la Fayette took up command of the National Guard at Paris ; Jean - Sylvain Bailly -- leader of the Third Estate and instigator of the Tennis Court Oath -- became the city 's mayor under a new governmental structure known as the Commune de Paris. The king announced that he would recall Necker and return from Versailles to Paris ; on 17 July, in Paris, he accepted a tricolour cockade from Bailly and entered the Hôtel de Ville to cries of `` Long live the King '' and `` Long live the Nation ''. Nonetheless, after this violence, nobles -- little assured by the apparent and, as it was to prove, temporary reconciliation of king and people -- started to flee the country as émigrés. Among the first to leave were the comte d'Artois ( the future Charles X of France ) and his two sons, the prince de Condé, the prince de Conti, the Polignac family, and ( slightly later ) Charles Alexandre de Calonne, the former finance minister. They settled at Turin, where Calonne, as agent for the count d'Artois and the prince de Condé, began plotting civil war within the kingdom and agitating for a European coalition against France. The news of the successful insurrection at Paris spread throughout France. In accord with principles of popular sovereignty and with complete disregard for claims of royal authority, the people established parallel structures of municipalities for civic government and militias for civic protection. In rural areas, many went beyond this : some burned title - deeds and no small number of châteaux, as the `` Great Fear '' spread across the countryside during the weeks of 20 July to 5 August, with attacks on wealthy landlords impelled by the belief that the aristocracy was trying to put down the revolution. On July 22, 1789 the populace lynched Joseph Foullon de Doué and his son - in - law Louis Bénigne François Bertier de Sauvigny. Both held official positions under the monarchy. Although there were arguments that the Bastille should be preserved as a monument to liberation or as a depot for the new National Guard, the Permanent Committee of Municipal Electors at the Paris Town Hall gave the construction entrepreneur Pierre - François Palloy the commission of disassembling the building. Palloy commenced work immediately. The demolition of the fortress itself, the melting down of its clock portraying chained prisoners, and the breaking up of four statues were all carried out within five months. On July 16, 1789, two days after the Storming of the Bastille, John Frederick Sackville, serving as ambassador to France, reported to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, `` Thus, my Lord, the greatest revolution that we know anything of has been effected with, comparatively speaking -- if the magnitude of the event is considered -- the loss of very few lives. From this moment we may consider France as a free country, the King a very limited monarch, and the nobility as reduced to a level with the rest of the nation. '' In 1790, Lafayette gave the cast - iron, one - pound and three - ounce key to the Bastille to American President George Washington. Washington displayed it prominently at government facilities and events in New York and in Philadelphia until shortly before his retirement in 1797. The key remains on display at Washington 's residence of Mount Vernon. References Jump up ^ Simon Schama, pp. 60 -- 71 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 ^ Jump up to : Simon Schama, p. 402 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 ^ Jump up to : M.J. Sydenham, p. 46 The French Revolution, B.T. Batsford Ltd London 1965 Jump up ^ Georges Lefebvre, p. 114 The Coming of the French Revolution, ISBN 9780691121888 ^ Jump up to : Mignet 1824, § Chapter I Jump up ^ Simon Schama, pp. 370 -- 71 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 371 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 375 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Munro Price, pp. 85 -- 87 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Munro Price, p. 85 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Munro Price, p. 76 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Micah Alpaugh, `` The Politics of Escalation in French Revolutionary Protest : Political Demonstrations, Nonviolence and Violence in the Grandes journees of 1789 '', French History ( Fall 2009 ) Jump up ^ Simon Schama, page 385 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Richard Cobb and Colin James, p. 73 The French Revolution. Voices From a Momentous Epoch 1789 -- 1795, CN 8039 Guild Publishing 1988 Jump up ^ Munro Price, page 88 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Louis, Bergeron ( 1970 ). Le Monde et son Histoire. Paris. p. Volume VII, Chapter VI. Micah Alpaugh, `` The Politics of Escalation in French Revolutionary Protest : Political Demonstrations, Nonviolence and Violence in the Grandes Journees of 1789 '', French History ( 2009 ) Jump up ^ Terry Crowdy, p. 6 French Revolutionary Infantry 1789 -- 1802, ISBN 1 - 84176 - 660 - 7 Jump up ^ Munro Price, pp. 96 -- 97 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Comments recorded in diary entries made by Louis - Philipp during 1789 Jump up ^ Munro Price, page 88 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 ^ Jump up to : Richard Cobb and Colin James, p. 75 The French Revolution. Voices From a Momentous Epoch 1789 -- 1795, CN 8039 Guild Publishing 1988 Jump up ^ Richard Cobb and Colin James, p. 68 The French Revolution. Voices From a Momentous Epoch 1789 -- 1795, CN 8039 Guild Publishing 1988 ^ Jump up to : Simon Schama, p. 399 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Civilisation : A Personal View, Kenneth Clark, Penguin, 1987, p. 216 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 398 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Connelly, Owen ( 2006 ). The Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon 1792 -- 1815. New York : Routledge. p. 18. Jump up ^ Christopher J. Tozzi, p. 54 `` Nationalizing France 's Army. Foreign, Black and Jewish Troops in the French Military, 1715 -- 1831, ISBN 978 - 0 - 8139 - 3833 - 2 Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/arts/design/paris-3d-a-digital-model-of-the-french-capital.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Jump up ^ Hibbert, Christopher. The French Revolution ( 1980 ), p. 82 ( 1982 Penguin Books edition ) ^ Jump up to : Simon Schama, p. 400 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, pp. 400 -- 01 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Munro Price, page 89 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 403 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, pp. 403 -- 04 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 404 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 405 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Rigby, Edward, Dr. Rigby 's Letters from France &C. in 1789, HardPress Publishing, 2013, 264 p., ISBN 978 - 1313441636 Jump up ^ J.B. Morton, appendix The Bastille Falls : and other studies of the French Revolution, Longmans, Green & Co, London 1936 ^ Jump up to : `` Relation de la prise de la Bastille le 14 juillet 1789 par un de ses défenseurs '', in Revue Rétrospective, vol. 4 ( Paris : M.J. Taschereau, 1834 ) Jump up ^ Christopher Hibbert, p. 70 The French Revolution, ISBN 978 - 0140049459 Jump up ^ Hibbert, Christopher ( 1980 ). The Days of the French Revolution. New York : William Morrow and Co. pp. 69 -- 82. ISBN 0 - 688 - 03704 - 6. Jump up ^ Guy Chaussinand - Nogaret, La Bastille est prise, Paris, Éditions Complexe, 1988, p. 102. Jump up ^ `` The Séance royale of 23 June 1789 ''. Fitchburg State College. Retrieved 22 January 2009. Jump up ^ Simon Schama, pp. 419 -- 20 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Munro Price, p. 92 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Terry Crowdy, p. 9 French Revolutionary Infantry 1789 -- 1802, ISBN 1 - 84176 - 660 - 7 Jump up ^ François Furet and Mona Ozouf, eds. A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution ( 1989 ), pp. 519 -- 28 Jump up ^ M.J. Sydenham, p. 50 The French Revolution, B.T. Batsford Ltd London 1965 Jump up ^ Munro Price, page 93 The Fall of the French Monarchy, ISBN 0 - 330 - 48827 - 9 Jump up ^ Richard Cobb and Colin James, p. 129 The French Revolution. Voices From a Momentous Epoch 1789 -- 1795, CN 8039 Guild Publishing 1988 Jump up ^ M.J. Sydenham, p. 54 The French Revolution, B.T. Batsford Ltd London 1965 Jump up ^ Richard Cobb and Colin James, p. 77 The French Revolution. Voices From a Momentous Epoch 1789 -- 1795, CN 8039 Guild Publishing 1988 Jump up ^ M.J. Sydenham, p. 55 The French Revolution, B.T. Batsford Ltd London 1965 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 412 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Simon Schama, p. 414 Citizens : A Chronicle of the French Revolution, ISBN 0 - 670 - 81012 - 6 Jump up ^ Wikisource, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Englishmen_in_the_French_Revolution/Chapter_II Jump up ^ `` Bastille Key ''. Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington. Mount Vernon Ladies ' Association. Retrieved 15 November 2015. Additional sources This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh, ed. ( 1911 ). `` ``. Encyclopædia Britannica ( 11th ed. ). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from the public domain History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814, by François Mignet ( 1824 ), as made available by Project Gutenberg. Further reading Paris portal History portal France portal Communism portal Alpaugh, Micah. `` The Politics of Escalation in French Revolutionary Protest : Political Demonstrations, Nonviolence and Violence in the Grandes journees of 1789 '', French History ( Fall 2009 ). Alpaugh, Micah. `` A Self - Defining Bourgeoisie in the Early French Revolution : The Milice bourgeoise, the Bastille Days of 1789, and their Aftermath '', Journal of Social History 47, no. 3 ( Spring 2014 ), 696 -- 720. Lüsebrink, Hans - Jürgen ; Reichardt, Rolf ; Schürer, Norbert ( 1997 ). The Bastille. Duke University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8223 - 1894 - 1. Mignet, Francois - Auguste ( 1 January 2006 ). History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814. Taylor, David ( 1997 ). The French Revolution. Heinemann. pp. 16 -- 17. ISBN 978 - 0 - 435 - 31694 - 5. Stephens, Henry Morse ( 1886 ). A History of the French Revolution. C. Scribner 's sons. pp. 128 -- 68. Sewell, William H. `` Historical Events as Transformations of Structures : Inventing Revolution at the Bastille '', Theory and Society 25, no. 6 ( Dec., 1996 ), 841 -- 81. Abbott, John Stevens Cabot ( 1887 ). The French Revolution of 1789 as Viewed in the Light of Republican Institutions. Jefferson Press. pp. 112 -- 22. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Storming of the Bastille. Place de la Bastille -- Official French website ( in English ) Thomas Jefferson 's letter to John Jay recounting the storming of the Bastille In popular culture Austrian composer Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf wrote his Symphony in C Major as a tribute to the event. The first movement of the piece is known as La Prise De La Bastille. In Book 2 of Charles Dickens ' A Tale of Two Cities, the Defarges help lead the assault on the Bastille. 1789 : Les Amants de la Bastille, stage musical whose main characters are split up during the early stages, then reunited during the storming of the Bastille The protagonist of Assassin 's Creed Unity, Arno Dorian, is depicted as being one of the prisoners in the Bastille when it gets stormed, and manages to escape in the confusion. Bastille Day was a song written in 1975 by the Progressive Rock band Rush about the siege, and was included on their album Caress of Steel. French Revolution Causes Timeline Ancien Régime Revolution Constitutional monarchy Republic Directory Consulate Glossary Significant civil and political events by year 1788 Day of the Tiles ( 7 Jun 1788 ) Assembly of Vizille ( 21 Jul 1788 ) 1789 What Is the Third Estate ? ( Jan 1789 ) Réveillon riots ( 28 Apr 1789 ) Convocation of the Estates - General ( 5 May 1789 ) National Assembly ( 17 Jun -- 9 Jul 1790 ) Tennis Court Oath ( 20 Jun 1789 ) National Constituent Assembly ( 9 Jul -- 30 Sep 1791 ) Storming of the Bastille ( 14 Jul 1789 ) Great Fear ( 20 Jul -- 5 Aug 1789 ) Abolition of Feudalism ( 4 - 11 Aug 1789 ) Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 27 Aug 1789 ) Women 's March on Versailles ( 5 Oct 1789 ) 1790 Abolition of the Parlements ( Feb -- Jul 1790 ) Abolition of the Nobility ( 19 Jun 1790 ) Civil Constitution of the Clergy ( 12 Jul 1790 ) 1791 Flight to Varennes ( 20 -- 21 Jun 1791 ) Champ de Mars Massacre ( 17 Jul 1791 ) Declaration of Pillnitz ( 27 Aug 1791 ) The Constitution of 1791 ( 3 Sep 1791 ) Legislative Assembly ( 1 Oct 1791 -- Sep 1792 ) 1792 France declares war ( 20 Apr 1792 ) Brunswick Manifesto ( 25 Jul 1792 ) Paris Commune becomes insurrectionary ( Jun 1792 ) 10th of August ( 10 Aug 1792 ) September Massacres ( Sep 1792 ) National Convention ( 20 Sep 1792 -- 26 Oct 1795 ) First republic declared ( 22 Sep 1792 ) 1793 Execution of Louis XVI ( 21 Jan 1793 ) Revolutionary Tribunal ( 9 Mar 1793 -- 31 May 1795 ) Reign of Terror ( 27 Jun 1793 -- 27 Jul 1794 ) Committee of Public Safety Committee of General Security Fall of the Girondists ( 2 Jun 1793 ) Assassination of Marat ( 13 Jul 1793 ) Levée en masse ( 23 Aug 1793 ) The Death of Marat ( painting ) Law of Suspects ( 17 Sep 1793 ) Marie Antoinette is guillotined ( 16 Oct 1793 ) Anti-clerical laws ( throughout the year ) 1794 Danton and Desmoulins guillotined ( 5 Apr 1794 ) Law of 22 Prairial ( 10 Jun 1794 ) Thermidorian Reaction ( 27 Jul 1794 ) Robespierre guillotined ( 28 Jul 1794 ) White Terror ( Fall 1794 ) Closing of the Jacobin Club ( 11 Nov 1794 ) 1795 Constitution of the Year III ( 22 Aug 1795 ) Conspiracy of the Equals ( Nov 1795 ) Directoire ( 1795 -- 99 ) Council of Five Hundred Council of Ancients 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor ( 4 Sep 1797 ) Second Congress of Rastatt ( Dec 1797 ) 1799 Coup of 30 Prairial VII ( 18 Jun 1799 ) Coup of 18 Brumaire ( 9 Nov 1799 ) Constitution of the Year VIII ( 24 Dec 1799 ) Consulate Revolutionary campaigns 1792 Verdun Thionville Valmy Royalist Revolts Chouannerie Vendée Dauphiné Lille Siege of Mainz Jemappes Namur ( fr ) 1793 First Coalition Siege of Toulon ( 18 Sep -- 18 Dec 1793 ) War in the Vendée Battle of Neerwinden ) Battle of Famars ( 23 May 1793 ) Capture of San Pietro and Sant'Antioco ( 25 May 1793 ) Battle of Kaiserslautern Siege of Mainz Battle of Wattignies Battle of Hondschoote Siege of Bellegarde Battle of Peyrestortes ( Pyrenees ) First Battle of Wissembourg ( 13 Oct 1793 ) Battle of Truillas ( Pyrenees ) Second Battle of Wissembourg ( 26 -- 27 Dec 1793 ) 1794 Battle of Villers - en - Cauchies ( 24 Apr 1794 ) Battle of Boulou ( Pyrenees ) ( 30 Apr -- 1 May 1794 ) Battle of Tournay ( 22 May 1794 ) Battle of Fleurus ( 26 Jun 1794 ) Chouannerie Battle of Tourcoing ( 18 May 1794 ) Battle of Aldenhoven ( 2 Oct 1794 ) 1795 Peace of Basel 1796 Battle of Lonato ( 3 -- 4 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Castiglione ( 5 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Theiningen Battle of Neresheim ( 11 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Amberg ( 24 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Würzburg ( 3 Sep 1796 ) Battle of Rovereto ( 4 Sep 1796 ) First Battle of Bassano ( 8 Sep 1796 ) Battle of Emmendingen ( 19 Oct 1796 ) Battle of Schliengen ( 26 Oct 1796 ) Second Battle of Bassano ( 6 Nov 1796 ) Battle of Calliano ( 6 -- 7 Nov 1796 ) Battle of the Bridge of Arcole ( 15 -- 17 Nov 1796 ) The Ireland Expedition ( Dec 1796 ) 1797 Naval Engagement off Brittany ( 13 Jan 1797 ) Battle of Rivoli ( 14 -- 15 Jan 1797 ) Battle of the Bay of Cádiz ( 25 Jan 1797 ) Treaty of Leoben ( 17 Apr 1797 ) Battle of Neuwied ( 18 Apr 1797 ) Treaty of Campo Formio ( 17 Oct 1797 ) 1798 French invasion of Switzerland ( 28 January -- 17 May 1798 ) French Invasion of Egypt ( 1798 -- 1801 ) Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( 23 May -- 23 Sep 1798 ) Quasi-War ( 1798 -- 1800 ) Peasants ' War ( 12 Oct -- 5 Dec 1798 ) 1799 Second Coalition ( 1798 -- 1802 ) Siege of Acre ( 20 Mar -- 21 May 1799 ) Battle of Ostrach ( 20 -- 21 Mar 1799 ) Battle of Stockach ( 25 Mar 1799 ) Battle of Magnano ( 5 Apr 1799 ) Battle of Cassano ( 27 Apr 1799 ) First Battle of Zurich ( 4 -- 7 Jun 1799 ) Battle of Trebbia ( 19 Jun 1799 ) Battle of Novi ( 15 Aug 1799 ) Second Battle of Zurich ( 25 -- 26 Sep 1799 ) 1800 Battle of Marengo ( 14 Jun 1800 ) Battle of Hohenlinden ( 3 Dec 1800 ) League of Armed Neutrality ( 1800 -- 02 ) 1801 Treaty of Lunéville ( 9 Feb 1801 ) Treaty of Florence ( 18 Mar 1801 ) Algeciras Campaign ( 8 Jul 1801 ) 1802 Treaty of Amiens ( 25 Mar 1802 ) Military leaders French Army Eustache Charles d'Aoust Pierre Augereau Alexandre de Beauharnais Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte Louis - Alexandre Berthier Jean - Baptiste Bessières Guillaume - Marie - Anne Brune Jean François Carteaux Jean Étienne Championnet Chapuis de Tourville Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine Louis - Nicolas Davout Louis Desaix Jacques François Dugommier Thomas - Alexandre Dumas Charles François Dumouriez Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino Louis - Charles de Flers Paul Grenier Emmanuel de Grouchy Jacques Maurice Hatry Lazare Hoche Jean - Baptiste Jourdan François Christophe de Kellermann Jean - Baptiste Kléber Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Jean Lannes Charles Leclerc Claude Lecourbe François Joseph Lefebvre Jacques MacDonald Jean - Antoine Marbot Jean Baptiste de Marbot François Séverin Marceau - Desgraviers Auguste de Marmont André Masséna Bon - Adrien Jeannot de Moncey Jean Victor Marie Moreau Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise Joachim Murat Michel Ney Pierre - Jacques Osten ( fr ) Nicolas Oudinot Catherine - Dominique de Pérignon Jean - Charles Pichegru Józef Poniatowski Laurent de Gouvion Saint - Cyr Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier Joseph Souham Jean - de-Dieu Soult Louis - Gabriel Suchet Belgrand de Vaubois Claude Victor - Perrin, Duc de Belluno French Navy Charles - Alexandre Linois Opposition Austria József Alvinczi Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Count of Clerfayt ( Walloon ) Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze ( Swiss ) Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth Pál Kray ( Hungarian ) Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc ( French ) Maximilian Baillet de Latour ( Walloon ) Karl Mack von Leiberich Rudolf Ritter von Otto ( Saxon ) Prince Josias of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss - Plauen Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló ( Hungarian ) Karl Philipp Sebottendorf Dagobert von Wurmser Britain Sir Ralph Abercromby Admiral Sir James Saumarez Admiral Sir Edward Pellew Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Dutch Republic William V, Prince of Orange Prussia Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe - Ingelfingen Russia Alexander Korsakov Alexander Suvorov Spain Luis Firmin de Carvajal Antonio Ricardos Other significant figures and factions Society of 1789 Jean Sylvain Bailly Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld - Liancourt Isaac René Guy le Chapelier Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Charles - Maurice de Talleyrand - Périgord Nicolas de Condorcet Feuillants and monarchiens Madame de Lamballe Madame du Barry Louis de Breteuil Loménie de Brienne Charles Alexandre de Calonne de Chateaubriand Jean Chouan Grace Elliott Arnaud de La Porte Jean - Sifrein Maury Jacques Necker François - Marie, marquis de Barthélemy Guillaume - Mathieu Dumas Antoine Barnave Lafayette Alexandre - Théodore - Victor, comte de Lameth Charles Malo François Lameth André Chénier Jean - François Rewbell Camille Jordan Madame de Staël Boissy d'Anglas Jean - Charles Pichegru Pierre Paul Royer - Collard Girondists Jacques Pierre Brissot Roland de La Platière Madame Roland Father Henri Grégoire Étienne Clavière Marquis de Condorcet Charlotte Corday Marie Jean Hérault Jean Baptiste Treilhard Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve Jean Debry Jean - Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil Olympe de Gouges Jean - Baptiste Robert Lindet Louis Marie de La Révellière - Lépeaux The Plain Abbé Sieyès de Cambacérès Charles François Lebrun Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot Philippe Égalité Louis Philippe I Mirabeau Antoine Christophe Merlin de Thionville Jean Joseph Mounier Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours François de Neufchâteau Montagnards Maximilien Robespierre Georges Danton Jean - Paul Marat Camille Desmoulins Louis Antoine de Saint - Just Paul Nicolas, vicomte de Barras Louis Philippe I Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint - Fargeau Jacques - Louis David Marquis de Sade Jacques - Louis David Georges Couthon Roger Ducos Jean - Marie Collot d'Herbois Jean - Henri Voulland Philippe - Antoine Merlin de Douai Antoine Quentin Fouquier - Tinville Philippe - François - Joseph Le Bas Marc - Guillaume Alexis Vadier Jean - Pierre - André Amar Prieur de la Côte - d'Or Prieur de la Marne Gilbert Romme Jean Bon Saint - André Jean - Lambert Tallien Pierre Louis Prieur Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Antoine Christophe Saliceti Hébertists and Enragés Jacques Hébert Jacques Nicolas Billaud - Varenne Pierre Gaspard Chaumette Charles - Philippe Ronsin Antoine - François Momoro François - Nicolas Vincent François Chabot Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte Jean - Baptiste - Joseph Gobel François Hanriot Jacques Roux Stanislas - Marie Maillard Charles - Philippe Ronsin Jean - François Varlet Theophile Leclerc Claire Lacombe Pauline Léon Gracchus Babeuf Sylvain Maréchal Others Charles X Louis XVI Louis XVII Louis XVIII Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien Louis Henri, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Marie Antoinette Napoléon Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Fesch Joséphine de Beauharnais Joachim Murat Jean Sylvain Bailly Jacques - Donatien Le Ray Guillaume - Chrétien de Malesherbes Talleyrand Thérésa Tallien Gui - Jean - Baptiste Target Catherine Théot List of people associated with the French Revolution Influential thinkers Les Lumières Beaumarchais Edmund Burke Anacharsis Cloots Charles - Augustin de Coulomb Pierre Claude François Daunou Diderot Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson Antoine Lavoisier Montesquieu Thomas Paine Jean - Jacques Rousseau Abbé Sieyès Voltaire Mary Wollstonecraft Cultural impact La Marseillaise French Tricolour Liberté, égalité, fraternité Marianne Bastille Day Panthéon French Republican Calendar Cult of the Supreme Being Cult of Reason Temple of Reason Sans - culottes Metric system Phrygian cap Women in the French Revolution Symbolism in the French Revolution Historiography of the French Revolution Influence of the French Revolution BNF : cb119567399 ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Storming_of_the_Bastille&oldid=801533807 '' Categories : 1789 events of the French Revolution 18th century in Paris Conflicts in 1789 1789 events Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing French - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016 Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with no article parameter Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Interlanguage link template link number Use dmy dates from May 2011 Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aragonés Azərbaycanca Беларуская Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge 한국어 Հայերեն Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Română Русский Српски / srpski ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 September 2017, at 07 : 20. 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Question: what was the significance of the storming of bastille
Answer: flashpoint of the French Revolution