French Revolution Essay

What Is the Best Known Event of the French Revolution and Why It Is So Well-Known?

The best-known event of the French Revolution was Storming of the Bastille, which happened on 14th July of 1789. Every citizen of France knows this date because of the bitterly major scales of the conflict which had led France to be the country it is now with its laws and political state. The storming of the Bastille shows the effect revolution can have in the country; the power people have over their governments and the price it takes to inflict such significant changes.

The storming of the Bastille did not happen without reasons; there was a context behind it that led to the bloody escalation of the conflict. The situation in France began to destabilize after its intervention to the American Revolution, which could not pass without negative economic consequences for France, as well as inevitable casualties among the recruited French citizens. Then, King Louis XVI has made a lot of mistakes when dealing with the proposed ways of bringing back the economic stability due to his archaic ways of handling the position of the ruler of the country (Prendergast, Christopher). The final step was made when King decided to dismiss the National Constituent Assembly and dismissed the finance minister, Jacques Necker, proceeding with the total reformation of the ministry with nobility holding power.

Of course, citizens who sympathized Necker were very dissatisfied and viewed his dismissal as an act of tyranny. The fact that the attention and the sympathy of the crowd were focused on one person has brought the coming of the great revolt which later transformed to a full-scale revolution. One of the events that have put an end to King’s attempts to hold power over the situation was Storming of the Bastille, which was not originally planned by the rebels (Prendergast, Christopher). The reason for intervening into the fortress was to find weapons for the accelerating revolution but has turned into a battle because of the stressed crowd. The commander of the Bastille’s garrison was ready to surrender when two of the rebels have opened the gate, and the crowd has started to move inside the fortress. The whole massacre could have been avoided if the crowd has correctly heard screams of surrender and not misinterpreted it for screams of mocking.

The consequences of the Storming were scary: commander of the garrison, Marquise De Launay and Monsieur Flesselles, Prévôt des Marchands were lynched by the crowd after 1000 of rebels were killed during the unwanted siege (Harris, Nathaniel). This event has made the King realize the scale of the situation and act according to people’s will. The fact that the Storming had such trivial reasons and happened due to the huge emotional stress of the crowd has persuaded the government of that time and the governments that proceeded to control the country take people’s concerns into account. The symbol of the royal power was destroyed, which gave people a visual sign that they have won, which has raised their morale. Generations have seen Bastille towering over the surrounding houses just as the King was towering over the ordinary people with no more than his shadow put on ordinary people. Surely, this event could not get forgotten due to its scales and effect that has shifted the political paradigm of the country. The ministry has been reformed again, this time with a huge portion of people’s candidates instead of the purely noble ones who could not correctly represent the interests of the population (Harris, Nathaniel). The national flag of France was also changed, now consisting of blue and red colors of Paris (and rebels), and the white color which symbolized the King’s part. This chain of events has left much of visual signs of liberation and the successful revolution. In fact, even now revolutions are often associated with France as an example of a positive change inflicted by citizens themselves.

As it could be seen, the results of the Storming of the Bastille makes it the best-known event of the French Revolution of the XVIII century. The fact that the day of the event is now a public holiday highlights the importance of the Storming for the country. It was not the strategic importance of the Bastille as a military object, but the symbolic representation of the King’s tyranny and undisputable power which was brought down by unsatisfied people of France. This way, Storming of the Bastille holds a place of the demonstration of people’s power and a reminder for governments that they must serve their people rather than ignore them. Until these days, the memorial of the event is located on the place where Bastille once stood, acting as a reminder and the proof that this is the most known event of the French Revolution. However, it also acts as a reminder of the wild nature of crowds who can wreak havoc without realizing who are they harming and the consequences of their actions. Victory has not come without unnecessary casualties, which is also a thing the history bitterly remembers.

Works Cited

Harris, Nathaniel. The Fall Of The Bastille. 1st ed., London, Dryad Press, 1986.
Prendergast, Christopher. The Fourteenth Of July. 1st ed., London, Profile Books, 2008.