July 14, 1789Reputable sourceWell documented
The Storming of the Bastille
On the timeline · around July 14, 1789 ·
What happened
On 14 July 1789, after Louis XVI dismissed the popular finance minister Jacques Necker and massed troops near Paris, a crowd of ordinary Parisians and mutinous soldiers — among them veterans of the American Revolutionary War — attacked the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison that symbolized the oppression of the Ancien Régime. They stormed the gate, seized its arms and gunpowder, and freed its handful of prisoners.
Why it matters
The fall of the Bastille showed the king had lost control of his capital. It became the enduring symbol of the Revolution and is still commemorated as France's national day.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Storming of the Bastille · Reputable source