The Storming of the 18th Century

By: M. Gilchrist

July 14th of 1789 was when one of the most iconic conflicts of the French revolution occurred: the Storming of the Bastille. The Bastille, an old fortress and a state prison since 1659, was a symbol of the monarchical cruelty present during the reign of King Louis XVI and the French disliked its corruption and inequality. The Parisians also feared the King was planning on arresting the National Assembly and overruling the streets of Paris. Following by the economic hardship faced by the French and their anger and distrust towards the monarchy, the Bastille Saint-Antoine was invaded and encircled by Parisians. A standing image of the monarchy’s abuse of power it fell due to the rage amongst the ordinary people of Paris, making this the turning point and start of the French Revolution.

As the dissatisfaction of the people grew in June of 1791, King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and their children intended on fleeing towards the small town of Varennes-en-Argonne. King Louis XVI was discontent with the revolution and its attacks towards the Catholic Church, making him plan to flee on 20-21 of June 1791. However, the royal family was arrested in the town of Verennes, forcing them to turn back to Paris. This was a pivotal moment for the French Revolution, asserting that King Louis XVI could not be trusted along with his lack of credibility as a constitutional monarch. This was when the citizens of France began to demand a French Republic.

King Louis XVI was convicted of high treason and during his trial, no one voted “not guilty”, however multiple deputies refrained. Finally, they condemned him to death by guillotine. On 21st January 1793 he was executed on Place de lá Révolution in Paris, finally turning the longstanding French Monarchy on to a Republic. This is seen as a critical juncture in French and European history, impacting and leading to many future alterations of the political and social structure of France. Nine months after his death, Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and King Louis’s wife, encountered her own death.

As a breaking point amongst the whole world, there are many perspectives towards the event. On one hand, it symbolized the end of the thousand-year era of the monarchy in France and the beginning of democracy in the nation, despite the fact that King Louis would not be the last king. To others, it represented amoral bloodshed amongst the land of France and the uncontrollable new rule of violence, even to those who supported the revolution. Despite the debatable reactions, the revolution and the execution of King Louis was a moment of truth towards the republic and termination of the monarchy.