The Fall of the Bastille --- 14 July 1789
reactions to the fall of the Bastille
' it is a revolt ' Louis XVI is to have said when informed of the news. ' no, sire, it is a revolution' ( grand Master of the wardrobe) this portrayed Louis as a man not knowing of the threat against the throne. Louis XVI would not have seen the fall of the Bastille as challenging his royal authority. because he believed his was appointed to that roll by God. he would have viewed it as a working class disturbance.
King Louis Louis XVI
Escorted by the commander of the National Guard travelled into Paris to reaffirm the promises of the previous days to confirm the withdrawal of the remaining royal troops from Paris to the Champ de Mars and the reassurance to the members of the National Assembly their personal safety
Gardes Francaises
Gardes Francaises marched to the Bastille to join in the battle.Gardes Francaises had stolen 5 cannons from the veteran retirement home and the positioned the guns on the main gate.
Mayor of Paris
Jean-Sylvain Bailey appointed Mayor of Paris ( was originally head of National Assembly)
what happened after the surrender
Launay was taken prisoner after ordering for the draw bridge to be lowered and six of his garrison had been killed in the defense of the Bastille. on the way to the Hotel de Ville launay was murdered.
what Louis XVI thought Fall of Bastille was
Louis XVI thought the Fall of Bastille was a bread riot and promised days before to protect National Assembly and bring Constitutional Monarchy
Day after Fall of Bastille
National Guard was formed called Gardes Bourgeois (wore tricolour cockades) to keep order an if needed defend Paris from attack, Under Command of Lafayette
Municipal Government
To stabilise the anarchy in Paris a Municipal government was formed by electors of the city, set up at Hotel de Ville and overwhelming Bourgeois character ( most members Bourgeois) became know as First Paris Commune, head of committee Jacques de Flesselles.
Bastille
Visible symbol of Royal authority and absolutism. housed prisoners arrested as a result of Lettres de Cachet. 14 July 1789 it helf 7 prisoners. only one person was there for political offences.
Constitutional Monarchy was Born
When Louis XVI stepped out on the balcony wearing the revolutionary cockade
what the delegation did
a delegation from the Hotel de Ville ( town hall) arrived under a white flag of truce to persuade the crowd to stop firing. a handkerchief was raised at one of the tower indicating that the Bastille had surrendered.
the fall of the Bastille was....
a political male driven Journee.
The results of entering the bastille
either by accident or by an order. whether from the crowd or soldiers shots were fired. 98 civilians died and 78 were wounded and only six soldiers were killed.
the crowds reaction to their representatives negotiation taking so long
fearing that the govenor -Launay had detained their representatives and they had succeeded in lowering the draw bridge that led into the courtyard of the bastille. the mob began to leave but 40 members rushed into the Bastille.
what did this mean
it meant the breakdown of the symbol of royal authority and immediate protection of the national assembly from the threat of foreign troops. the crowd took control for the first time in the french revolution and saw itself as having saved the revolution, of having protected the work of the National assembly from destruction by the king. the crowd was proud of its actions.
Launay's reaction
launay threatened to blow up the Bastille but was persuaded by his men to surrender.
what louis did after the fall of the Bastille
on the 15th July louis showed up at the National Assembly and it was astonishing to the deputies. the king went by foot with his brother flanking him. Louis XVI confirmed to the assembly the withdrawal of the remaining royal troops from Paris and denied and design against the safety of the deputies of the assembly.
flag of truce
once at the Bastille the mob raised a flag of truce and sent a representative of the mob into the Bastille to demand that the govenor handed over all amunition and weapns the mob wanted.
what the nobility did
over 20,000 passports were issued to people departing France including the kings brother Comte d'Artois. the deputies of the assembly were not without concerns rioting mobs meant attack on property and most nobility owned property.
the refusal and threat of violence
the govenor refused the mobs demand and said that the cannon over looking the Rue Saint Antoine would not be fired unless the Bastille came under attack and the representatives of the mob withdrew.
how the mob veiwed the Bastille
the mob veiwed the Bastille as a source of weapons and gunpowder.
what the people realized
the people of France began to realize that it had power when it acted as one and from July 1789 the people of France took on an identity and a potency which was to intervene at crucial moments in the revolution ( revolutionary journees) . The radicalization of this crowd was going to drive the revolution forward during 1792-94