For the longest time, the Bastille trapped the people of Paris under its terrorizing shadow.
It stood there tall in the middle of the city as an eternal reminder of royal despotism.
A sight of endless tortures, oppression, and fear. Yet when it was finally stormed on July 14th, 1789,
the people were unable to find the torture chambers and rotting corpses that the rumors led them to believe existed.
And of the few prisoners they found none of them were as frail and miserable as
writers such as Voltaire had once described them.
So how did the destruction of a mostly abandoned, old fortress that treated its few prisoners well
became a symbol of the French Revolution?
In the 14th century,
France was in the middle of the 100 Years War and the capital was threatened by the rotten scoundrels
commonly known as the English. The west of Paris was already protected by the Louvre.
Yes, this Louvre.
However,
it was much less glamorous back then.
But Paris's expansion meant that the East needed protection - this was especially true after the capture of the French King
following the disastrous Battle of Poitiers. As a result, the mayor of Paris, then known as a Provost,
undertook the strengthening of the city's defenses by expanding its walls in 1357
and building two large towers around the St. Antoine Gate.
These types of Defense's were known as "Bastilles"
And so the Gateway was named the Bastille St. Antoine. Following this, per French tradition, the mayor was executed in 1358.
A decade later, the King of France was still concerned by English attacks and ordered the new Provost of Paris, Hugh Aubriot,
to fortify the Bastille St. Antoine.
He did so by building six new towers thus giving the Bastille its iconic shape.
At 68 meters, the fortress stood far above everything surrounding it, which was mostly just
countryside and a few hamlets. His design was highly innovative for its time
as its round shape made it stronger than square counterparts and its regular height allowed for faster troop movement.
In recognition of this architectural marvel, per French traditions,
Aubriot was made the very first prisoner of the bestie what an honor.
Yet this was all in vain as in 1420 the King of England was able to capture Paris.
The fact that the Bastille was usually garrisoned by 20 people might have had something to do with it.
Sixteen years later, the French recaptured Paris
but just as they were getting over the humiliation of losing their capital, the Burgundians successfully captured a fortress and the city in 1464.
Throughout the 16th century, the Bastille was further developed
with the city of Paris which would reach a population of a quarter-million by the end of the century.
Through the addition of an arsenal and arms-depot, it became a prominent military center and as such, it was at the center of
numerous conflicts during France's brutal religious wars and subsequent civil wars.
In the 17th century, with the reign of Louis 14th, the Bastille gained its notoriety as the symbol of French despotism and
absolutism. As Louis 14th further strengthened and centralized power into his own hands,
It would detain over 2,000 individuals throughout his reign or an average of 43 yearly. A stark contrast
to the seven prisoners that remained in the Bastille when it was stormed in 17899.
What made the Bastille so unique,
so oppressive was the fact that (most of) its prisoners were put there by order of 'Lettre de Cachet'.
A 'Lettre de Cachet' were direct orders from the king which were generally used to imprison someone without trial for an
indefinite amount of time.
Even worse, Louis 14th was known to have used them for reasons as petty as disagreeing with him on religious matters.
The man in the iron mask, whose identity is still unknown today, is probably the greatest
symbol of this period having spent more than 30 years in prison while forced to wear a leather mask as to hide his identity.
By Louis 14th death, Paris' population reached 400,000
and the city has started to grow around the Bastille which now overshadowed the neighborhood. And while France's
absolutist zeal faltered along with the King's death, political uncertainty and growing tension against protestants
meant that the yearly number of prisoners spiked to over 180.
As Paris grew, the Bastille became a clear divide between the wealthy aristocratic neighborhood of the "Marais" and the densely populated,
working-class Faubourg St. Antoine. As such it became a symbol of the growing
Inequalities between the nobles and commoners and the people started to feel true resentment
against this symbol of oppression that was visible from anywhere in the neighborhood.
This wasn't aided by the numerous accounts of famous writers who stayed there such as Voltaire or journalist
Simon-Nicholas Linguet who wrote dramatized accounts of their stay at the Bastille.
Ironically as the bestie was being used less and less while living conditions improved, its image and reputation
became further and further tarnished.
By Louis 15th reign, the Bastille yearly prisoner count barely passed 20
and those who were in prison were treated relatively well. Even critics recount the wonderful dinners
they enjoyed, often with the governor of the Bastille himself. And life wasn't so bad for the common man
given that the prison spent twice as much as a laborers salary on their care.
The once-feared dungeons of the prison were no longer in use while the rooms were spacious and offered numerous amenities,
including external luxuries.
For example, the Marquis of Sade, whom we recently discussed, arrived with an elaborate wardrobe and over
130 books. Some even were allowed to bring their pets
whle others had their servants in prison with them as to continue getting pampered. If this wasn't enough the king would then offer
prisoners a yearly pension following their release as to encourage good behavior. it is no surprise that Jacques Necker
recommended closing the Bastille on an economic basis alone.
So no,
the Bastille wasn't the Tower of despotism and oppression that the people believed it to be.
But the secrecy, rumors, and literature that surrounded it made it a prominent symbol of it.
That, combined with the fact that it had recently received
250 barrels of gunpowder, made it the perfect target for the revolutionary zeal of Parisians.
on July 11th, 1789,
Louis 16 dismissed and banished his finance minister, the Swiss banker Jacques Necker.
This caused outrage
among the Parisians who strongly favored him due to his support of the Third Estate and the belief that only he could save France
from economic collapse.
Furthermore, his dismissal was seen as a shift towards a more conservative government and that, coupled with an increased
concentration of royalist troops in the capital, led to massive protests by the locals.
Over 10,000 Parisians garnered around the "Palais Royal", where Camilled Desmoulins, standing on a table with a pistol in hand,
famously rallied the mob by screaming,
"Citizens, there is no time to lose;
The dismissal of Necker is the kneel of a Saint Bartholomew for Patriots!
This very night all the Swiss and German battalions would leave the Champs de Mars to massacre us all;
one resource is left; to take arms!"
The Swiss and Germans mentioned were the foreign mercenary troops that made up half of the royalist army in the
capital and that were believed to be less sympathetic to the popular cause as opposed to the French troops that had often
defected to them. This fear proved itself to be somewhat accurate at the Royal German dragoons
charged into the protesting crowd to disperse it.
On July 13th, mass looting ensued as the Parisians sacked any place that could include weapons,
food and supplies.
The royal troops did nothing to stop the ransacking as it became clearer and clearer that they had lost control of the city.
On the same day a bourgeois militia of
48,000 man was formed to restore order. General Lafayette's was then given control of the militia,
which he would rename the National Guard. On the following morning, the famous July 14th,
the newly created militia stormed the Hôtel des Invalides,
a vast military complex the held up to
32,000 muskets. However, they had no gunpowder as the commander of the Invalides had transferred it to the Bastille,
which was now the last remaining loyalist stronghold in Paris. By late morning a crowd of
954 Parisians, later called "Les Vainqueurs de la Bastille", gathered around the Bastille prison.
The crowd demanded its surrender along with its supply of arms and gunpowder.
Bernard-René de Launay, a minor officer who commanded the Bastille, invited two representatives to start negotiations.
However, the negotiations dragged on and the impatient crowd stormed the outer courtyard and released a drawbridge which fell on a Vainqueur and killed him.
Gunfire from the Bastille suddenly started and the Vainqueurs feared that they had fallen into a trap.
The crowd now became a senseless mob.
By mid-afternoon, mutinous French troops had joined among along with two cannons. These weren't powerful enough to destroy the Bastille walls
and so they are aimed at its gates. De Launay feared that if the crowd entered the inner courtyard,
he would have to aim his cannons at them
and commit a massacre. Instead, he decided to declare a ceasefire by 5:00 p.m. And a half-hour later,
he opened the doors of the Bastille to allow the Vainqueurs to deliver it. By the end,
98 Vainqueurs had been killed as opposed to only one defendant.
In one of the very first acts of violence of the revolution,
De Launay was brutally dragged to the town hall as he begged to be killed already.
As the revolutionaries argued his fate,
he kicked a pastry chef in the groin which resulted in him getting stabbed multiple times to death.
His head was then cut off and put onto a spike along with the heads of three other officers of the Bastille.
An English traveler who witnessed the scene described it as a chilling and horrid sight
Following the storming of the Bastille, the more despotic and evil
it was described, the more justified the revolution became. And so that's what the
revolutionary press did. Old pieces of armor and printing presses became gruesome torture devices
while the Buried remains of 15th-century soldiers became prisoners that had been left to rot in the dungeons for decades.
This was all propaganda and lies
but the truth is it didn't matter. The storming of the Bastille succeeded in its main goal,
legitimizing the revolution.
Louis 16th learned about the event the following day and asked if it was a revolt to which he was replied, No sire,
It's not a revolt; It's a revolution."
Following this, the King announced he would recall Necker and return to Paris from Versailles.
There, he was given a tricolour cockade by the new mayor of Paris,
Jean Sylvain Bailly, and entered the town hall, surprisingly, under the praises of the people who screamed 'Long live the King!'.
At first, the revolutionaries were unsure of the fate of the Bastille,
but Mirabeau symbolically started destroying the prison himself and at that point, he didn't leave much choice to anyone else.
By November of the same year, the fortress had been destroyed. And in1793, a fountain was built on the new Place de la Bastille.
However, Napoleon disliked the revolutionary image associated with the Place de la Bastille and decided to erect a large
imperial elephant there, which will later become a prominent location of Victor Hugo's famous, "Les Misérables".
Despite this, the ancient location of the Bastille remained a strong symbol of the revolution and so,
1833, the July column was built there as to commemorate the Three Glorious Days.
The first official celebration of Bastille day occurred in 1790
on the Champs de Mars and was called the "Fête de la Fédération". Despite the rain,
over 260,000 Parisians, or over a third of the population then, watched as Général Lafayette and the King took oath on the new constitution.
This was then followed by four days of celebrations and feasting, burning replicas of the Bastille and,
much like a kid who has recently joined college, running nude in the streets of Paris as to celebrate new-found freedom.
It was under Napoleon 1st that Bastille day became more militarized
as to favor national unity in the face of numerous foreign threat.
During the 1870s, near the end of Napoleon 3rd reign, Bastille Day became a rallying point for Republicans as the
celebrations had been made illegal by the Emperor.
Finally, with the permanent re-establishment of the republic, it became a national holiday on 1880
and has remained the most important holiday in France ever since. Since the Treaty of Versailles in 1918,
the military parade now takes place on the Champs-Élysées with the participation of our Allies.
And even during Nazi occupation in World War 2,
Bastille day was still celebrated under the command of Général De Gaulle in London.
But compared to July 4th in the US, it isn't really celebrated that much.
Sure, there are fireworks and the parade in Paris that we all watch but we don't really do any flag-waving and above all,
no barbecue, or maybe my family was just sad like that. Nevertheless my friends,
I hope you have a great Bastille day, French or not.
Well, this was Baris, I will see you soon but until then my friends,
Merde!