Victory at the Bastille

What did the storming of the Bastille symbolize for the revolutionaries?

The Storming of the Bastille and what it symbolized for the brave working-class Parisian citizens who Stormed the Bastille. This event is remembered and symbolized in the works of art and literature written about it in the after math of it. This was a very important event that brought a group of soldiers from one of the regiments stationed in the city and the working class together to fight against the tyrannical monarchy. This was a gamble and last stick effort to save the revolution and it just so happed to pay off for the revolutionaries and send a very powerful message to the monarchy and most importantly the king. For the revolutionaries the storming of the Bastille stood as a physical symbol against the Declaration of the rights of man and citizen as well as it stood for unjust tyrannical power. By demolishing the Bastille, the revolutionaries are tearing down royal privilege and saying they aren’t going to stop fighting for justice and equality for all.

The Bastille was used by the Kings of France as a state prison and thus it became the target for the revolutionaries because it was seen as a symbol of the monarchy. There had been unrest among the trades people, shopkeepers, and artisans in the months leading up to the Storming of the Bastille. There had been small riots going on all over the city because the working class was worried about their daily bread. It became a very critical concern when July 14th of 1789 rolled around because there was a 3-day supply of flour for baking bread. (Varma, p. 719) With hanging over their heads the working class had, had enough and stormed the Bastille as a way of saying we are done with this not being heard crap. The Prison was only holding 7 people at the time the Bastille was stormed and it was guard by only a few hundred troops. One of the reasons for the trades people, shopkeepers, and artisans to fight was the growing numbers of troops that were on the move to Paris to end the revolution. (Popkin, p. 27)

Fig 1. Demolition if the Bastille, painted with watercolors by an unidentifiable artist (1789). Held by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

This is a depiction of workers on the roof and common people helping to tear down the Bastille prison by taking stones away from the lower parts of the prison. This marked a very important event in the Revolution and the stones that were used to build it soon after they were removed from the building were among the most important symbols of the Revolution and very highly sought after.

Fig 2. Taking of the Bastille, printed in color by Jean-François Janinet (1789-1791). Held by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

This is a depiction of the working class aided by a group of people dressed as soldiers from one of the regiments stationed in the city fighting to take the Bastille being under heavy enemy fire. If you look up at the top of the Bastille you can see the guards firing down on the trades people, shopkeepers and artisans and soldiers and it looks like it is going to be a landslide victory for the guards of the Bastille and a total slaughter of the brave Parisian citizens. This whole seen is very chaotic and there are people all over the place, there is no formation like what you would have in the military when there is an attack. As well as the revolutionaries didn’t have guns or ammunition and that was one reason for storming the Bastille but they had pikes, hammers and anything else they could use as weapons. Then those of whom were the enemy once they were killed their heads were placed on pikes to parade around. The revolutionaries wanted the King and the aristocracy to realize that the working class was done being ignored and the only way for the King and the aristocracy to really see and hear what they were trying to say was by destroying the Bastille. The reason the attach turned violent is because the revolutionaries wanted the weapons inside of the Bastille and the guards would not surrender them to the revolutionaries. The threats towards the revolution that led the storming of the Bastille were the king had brought in extra troops that were stationed right outside of Paris to crush the revolution. So, the time to attack was now or never otherwise most likely the revolutionaries would have been crushed and killed there for the revolution would be in dyer need of help if it was to succeed. It did prove to be very successful for protecting the revolution because it meant that the king couldn’t just throw them all in the Bastille and it showed what the revolutionaries were capable of.

Fig. 3 Awakening of the Third Estate, engraved by an unidentifiable artist (1789). Held by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

This shows members from all three social classes. The man on the ground is from the Third Estate and is breaking his chains, the clergy member and the other man is from the nobility and they are both shocked at what they are seeing. In the background the Bastille is being attacked and falling apart. As I am sure you can see in this image the clergy and nobility are reeling back in fear and disgust that the third class represented by the man on the ground is breaking their bonds of obedience and cooperation to the nobility and the monarchy. They have had enough of their poor treatment and the lies of the monarchy and are talking up arms to fight for their rights and better treatment for themselves and their families. I think the artiest was trying to say that there is this momentous change happing as well as a real power shift happing. Not to mention the fight for justice and putting an end to the wrongful imprisonment of so many incent people. I also think the artist is trying to show what the revolutionaries were literally trying to say by storming the Bastille and how they were breaking their chains / bonds with the king and the monarchy and becoming free of their tyranny.

As shown in these pictures the trades people, shopkeepers and artisans prevailed in the fight for the Bastille and secured a victory for the Revolutionaries. This was a small victory but as I have said earlier in this paper it was a very crucial victory because it really made a statement to the National Assembly, the Aristocracy, and the Monarchy. In doing this they broke down a huge symbol of the monarchy and aristocracy because the king could throw anyone in the Bastille for no reason and not even tell then why. By tarring done this symbol of unjust and corrupt power the revolutionaries are taking this symbol of monarchial tyranny and removing this prison that violates the constitution of the rights of man and citizen.

This event gave the Revolutionaries a foot in the door to start to make the changes they felt needed to be made. They mustered up their courage and strength to make the brave fight on the Bastille with what seemed like impossible odds and won. This was not a huge military victory but a victory non the less and helped to get things in motion to help the people of France.

Works cited

None Identified, Demolition of the Bastille. 1789. Etching and colored wash, 29.5 x 45.5 cm. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France. From: https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/29. (accessed April 21, 2020)

Jean-François Janinet, Taking of the Bastille 1789-1791. Engraving, 19.5 x 23.5 cm . The Bibliothèque Nationale de France. From: https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/56. (accessed April 21, 2020)

None Identified, Awakening of the Third Estate 1789. Engraving, 20.5 x 24.5 cm. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France. From: https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/160. (accessed April 21, 2020)

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. doi:10.1093/jsh/sht108.

Varma, Lal Bahadur, and Lal Bahadur Verma. "VICTORS OF BASTILLE." Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 43 (1982): 719-25. Accessed April 22, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/44141315.

Soboul, Albert. 1975. The French Revolution, 1787-1799: From the Storming of the Bastille to Napoleon. New York: Vintage Books.

Popkin, Jeremy D., A short history of the French revolution/Jeremy D. Popkin, University of Kentucky.-Sixth edition.