Parker Story Bevins French 111 section 008 Le 19 Novembre 2013 Storming of the Bastille Life was very

y hard for the French in 1789. The general population of France was starving and homeless. Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and their court, however, lived lavishly. Being on the top tier of the French political system, they took advantage of their situation and enjoyed things that the regular Frenchman could not even dream of. The French knew this though, they watched as their rulers enjoyed the finer things in life while they struggled to survive day to day. This inequality festered hatred for the monarchs. Tired of living this unfair life, it was only a matter of time before the French revolted, and thats exactly what happened. Louis XVI had a special place for people who spoke against him. This place was a prison called Bastille. If anyone ever spoke against the king or if he just didnt like what someone had to say he would send the people there. The people of France grew to hate Bastille as it symbolized the lack of freedom and inability to speak in the country. So, eventually a plan formed. The struggling people of France, as many as they could muster, would destroy the Bastille. There were many rumors floating around of this plan, and the leader of the Bastille, Marquis de Launay, caught wind of this plan. However, de Launay only thought there would be around 100 angry citizens, so he got all his guards and 32 Swiss soldiers, but he wasnt too concerned. He was very wrong.

On July 14, 1789 a huge mob marched to Bastille. Earlier in the day 300 guards left in fear of what would happen, so the mob entered the first courtyard very easily. Upon arriving they demanded that de Launay lower the bridges. De Launay at first refused, but as the mob continued, he eventually lowered the bridges. The mob captured de Launay and his soldiers. The mob was extremely violent: they drug the soldiers through the streets, cut off heads and even put heads on sticks and ran the streets. These people were oppressed and made to live in horrible conditions, so it is no surprise that when given the chance; the mob went a little overboard. Although the mob came to free prisoners from the prison, and though so many people died, there were only 7 prisoners in Bastille at that time so only 7 people were freed during the Storming of the Bastille. However, the fact that some people were freed is not the most important fact about that day. The Storming of the Bastille was where the French people took a stand and fought for themselves. This was an attack on the symbolism of the monarchy, and was catalyst to the French Revolution. That is why that today in France on July 14 they celebrate Bastille Day also known as French Independence Day to celebrate the day that the French Revolution began and the day they started getting treated more fairly.

Work Cited: 1. "Storming of the Bastille." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. 2. "Bastille Day - July 14th, 1789." Storming of the Bastille on July 14th, 1789. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. 3. "Bastille Day the Beginning of the French Revolution." By Mary Bubbins. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.