Respecting social and individual rights and liberties gives rise to a fair, free, and balanced society, and the French Revolution did indeed elevate society and turn it into one of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”
On July 14, 2023, the French people, both in France and abroad, celebrated the anniversary of the day Bastille Prison was stormed in 1789. The French commemorate this day as a major turning point in the French Revolution. It is also the “Fête de la Fédération,” a national French national holiday that celebrates the unity the French people showed on that day in 1789. And so, every July 14, Bastille Day, a military parade is held on the Champs-Élysées in central Paris.
Most of the poor nations of the world are familiar with what happened during the revolution, either after studying it at school or by reading about it in history books or other materials. Thus, this very brief article serves as a mere reminder of a revolution that became a historical turning point, precipitating the shift from absolute monarchy to a republican system that created the separation of powers, state and religion, abolished internal customs barriers, and introduced new standards and measures. What happened on July 14, 1789?
On July 11, 1789, French King Louis XVI (1754 - 1793), taking the advice of conservative nobles in the Estates General, used his forces at the Palace of Versailles to dismiss Finance Minister Jacques Necker, who sympathized with the Third Estate. This was the first spark that ignited the people’s anger.
Afraid that the royal army or foreign mercenary regiments from Switzerland, Germany, or other military groups could clamp down on them and their representatives and leaders (the most famous of whom are: Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, Denis Diderot, and others whose revolutionary ideas pushed the French masses to fight for their rights, exposing the incompetence of king and his government), the people’s primary objective became acquiring rifles and weapons.
All of this left the people of Paris, which is close to where the mutiny was taking place, “drunk on freedom and excitement,” as François Mignet put it. They thus rose up in anger and panic, as Parisians saw Necker’s dismissal as an omen for a coup by the country’s conservative elements.
The anger of the Parisians fighting for their freedom heightened after they began to fear that the royal forces heading towards Versailles would try to shut down the National Constituent Assembly set up in Versailles, which was established after France had undergone a severe economic crisis under Louis XVI due to its intervention in the American War of Independence and its attempts to invade Great Britain. What angered the people more than anything else was the unfair tax system that exacerbated this crisis.
Indeed, when the Estates General met to discuss this matter on May 5, 1789, the old regime and the conservative classes represented by the First and Second Estates - composed of nobles who made up 2 percent of France’s population at the time - hindered change. This compelled the members of the Third Estate, who hailed from the middle class (the bourgeoisie), to declare themselves a national assembly with the aim of drafting a French constitution on June 17, 1789. Initially refusing to do so, the king was eventually forced to recognize the legitimacy of this assembly, which named itself the “National Constituent Assembly” on July 9. But why was the Bastille stormed?
Only eight prisoners were being held at the Bastille prison on the day it was stormed on July 14, 1789: four for forgery, two for madness, one (Count de Solages) for incest, and the philosopher Marquis de Sade. Nevertheless, the fall of this prison was immensely significant because of the massive quantities of weapons, ammunition, and other items stored there, as well as the fact that it was a major symbol, in the middle of Paris, of the tyranny of the monarchy and the French regime. The events of that day thus became the first spark of the revolution and subsequently became a symbol of the French Republic. But why the Bastille prison?
Initially, the “Bastille Fortress,” it was built between 1370 and 1383 to defend Paris from the east before being turned into the “Bastille prison” we know today, which held the regime’s opponents, politicians, clergymen, and agitators, and was used as a depot for gunpowder, cannons, and other weapons.
The prison was not a fortress defending Paris before it fell into the hands of the revolutionaries; it was a fortress of tyranny and torture. The Bastille was only considered a palace except in the reign of King Louis XIV, who issued a royal decree declaring the Bastille a royal palace in 1667.
From the 15th Century until the reign of Louis XIV (1638 - 1715), it was used to store crown jewels, the kingdom’s treasures, and state coffers. The middle class manned the National Guard, whose forces wore hats with tri-colored (blue, white, and red) ribbons - red and blue for the municipal ribbons of Paris, and white for the king’s ribbons. These ribbons and their three colors later came to symbolize France itself, becoming the colors of its flag.
The French Revolution had a major implication for Europe and the world, so much so that historians see it as a world-historical event. Indeed, it would turn out to be the dawn of a new era, becoming a model for the movements that followed it and all future revolutionary movements. Its slogans and symbols became central themes for the contentions of modern history.
There, this was not just a French revolution but a global revolution that impacted humanity as a whole. It contributed to giving rise to democratic republics and became a pivotal juncture for the development of modern political ideologies, a precursor for liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, and socialism.
