*Includes pictures *Describes the history of the Bastille before the French Revolution *Includes accounts of the storming of the Bastille by one of the defenders *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents As one of the seminal social revolutions in human history, the French Revolution holds a unique legacy, especially in the West. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. But history remembers the French Revolution in a starkly different way, as the same leaders who sought a more democratic system while out of power devolved into establishing an incredibly repressive tyranny of their own once they acquired it. The French Revolution was a turbulent period that lasted several years, but the most famous event of the entire revolution came near the beginning with the storming of the Bastille. Throughout the day on July 13, 1789, rumors of an impending attack by the French army spread through the city of Paris. A large mob formed, first taking some 28,000 rifles from the Invalides, the veterans' hospital in the city, and in search of powder for the rifles, the mob stormed the Bastille, an old and largely unused prison in the city. While the Bastille, with its imposing turrets and fort-like construction, was a symbol of oppression, their intent was less political and more practical; they needed ammunition, and the prison was under relatively light guard with only a few prisoners. The guards first attempted to negotiate with the group, hoping to buy time for extra troops to arrive, but finally the guards fired on the mob when negotiations failed. Hundreds in the mob were killed, and when additional troops arrived, rather than defending the Bastille, they joined with the mob, providing canons and soldiering skills to ensure the success of the people over the Bastille guards. Late in the afternoon, the Bastille guards surrendered and were killed by the mob, while future revolutionaries like Robespierre supported the actions of the mob as a reflection of the will of the people, even when they killed the governor of the Bastille. News of the incident at the Bastille reached the royal palace of Versailles the same day, but King Louis XVI did not respond or act, even when the Assembly requested he pull back troops from the city. Indeed, the royal response was mixed, with Queen Marie Antoinette favoring military action to put down the rebellion at once while Louis XVI continued to hope for some sort of peaceful solution. Louis eventually agreed to pull the troops back on the afternoon of July 15, and after some of his troops had joined the mob at the Bastille, Louis XVI now understood that he could not trust or rely upon the army. When he asked if it was a revolt, he was famously told that it was a revolution, and as news of the violence spread throughout the country, revolutionary groups took control of many city governments. Grain shortages led to outright rebellion in some areas as hungry people broke into granaries and landlords' estates, and pillage, destruction and arson impacted towns, cities and small rural communities throughout France. With that, the stage was set for the French Revolution to take its course. The Storming of the Bastille analyzes the history and legacy of one of the French Revolution's seminal events. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the storming of the Bastille like never before, in no time at all.

This book is both an analysis of the Bastille as cultural paradigm and a case study on the history of French political culture. It examines in particular the storming and subsequent fall of the Bastille in Paris on July 14, 1789 and how it came to represent the cornerstone of the French Revolution, becoming a symbol of the repression of the Old Regime. Lüsebrink and Reichardt use this semiotic reading of the Bastille to reveal how historical symbols are generated; what these symbols’ functions are in the collective memory of societies; and how they are used by social, political, and ideological groups. To facilitate the symbolic nature of the investigation, this analysis of the evolving signification of the Bastille moves from the French Revolution to the nineteenth century to contemporary history. The narrative also shifts from France to other cultural arenas, like the modern European colonial sphere, where the overthrow of the Bastille acquired radical new signification in the decolonization period of the 1940s and 1950s. The Bastille demonstrates the potency of the interdisciplinary historical research that has characterized the end of this century, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, and taking its methodological tools from history, sociology, linguistics, and cultural and literary studies.

First Published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 and the beginning of the French Revolution.

From an award-winning historian, a “vivid” (Wall Street Journal) account of the revolution that created the modern world The French Revolution’s principles of liberty and equality still shape our ideas of a just society—even if, after more than two hundred years, their meaning is more contested than ever before. In A New World Begins, Jeremy D. Popkin offers a riveting account of the revolution that puts the reader in the thick of the debates and the violence that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new society. We meet Mirabeau, Robespierre, and Danton, in all their brilliance and vengefulness; we witness the failed escape and execution of Louis XVI; we see women demanding equal rights and Black slaves wresting freedom from revolutionaries who hesitated to act on their own principles; and we follow the rise of Napoleon out of the ashes of the Reign of Terror. Based on decades of scholarship, A New World Begins will stand as the definitive treatment of the French Revolution.

The Storming of the Bastille is said to be the official start of the French Revolution. In this history book, you’re going to learn about the events that led to the uprising of the French. Reading about historical facts will help you to create a full picture of the past, especially the struggles and victories. So go ahead and grab a copy of this book today!

For most of us, the French Revolution has been reduced to jokes about Marie-Antoinette, guillotines and the Scarlet Pimpernel. But for Mark Steel, bestselling author of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, the French Revolution was one of the most inspirational moments in human history - a moment when ordinary people changed the world and became extraordinary. It deserves better jokes than that. In this revolutionary new book, Steel banishes stuffiness from history, telling us what happened in France between the storming of the Bastille and the rise of Napoleon, bringing to life the people who made them happen. His account is dominated by bizarre events and splendid characters, from the famously odd Robespierre, Danton and Thomas Paine, to the less well known Drouet, the local postman who arrested the fleeing King because he recognised him as the man off of the money. VIVE LA REVOLUTION is an uproariously serious work of history - brilliantly funny and insightful, it puts the peculiarity of individual people back at the centre of the story.

As one of the seminal social revolutions in human history, the French Revolution holds a unique legacy, especially in the West. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. But history remembers the French Revolution in a starkly different way, as the same leaders who sought a more democratic system while out of power devolved into establishing an incredibly repressive tyranny of their own once they acquired it. The French Revolution was a turbulent period that lasted several years, but the most famous event of the entire revolution came near the beginning with the storming of the Bastille. Throughout the day on July 13, 1789, rumors of an impending attack by the French army spread through the city of Paris. A large mob formed, first taking some 28,000 rifles from the Invalides, the veterans' hospital in the city, and in search of powder for the rifles, the mob stormed the Bastille, an old and largely unused prison in the city. While the Bastille, with its imposing turrets and fort-like construction, was a symbol of oppression, their intent was less political and more practical; they needed ammunition, and the prison was under relatively light guard with only a few prisoners. The Storming of the Bastille analyzes the history and legacy of one of the French Revolution's seminal events. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the storming of the Bastille like never before, in no time at all.

Analysis of the political, economic, social and demographic aspects of the storming of the Bastille in Paris.