Key Events Leading to the French Revolution

The Storming of the Bastille (14th July 1789)

Morning of 14th July 1789: Fear and panic in Paris.
Rumors that the army would fire on citizens.
7,000 men and women gathered to form a people's militia.
They sought arms from government buildings.
Marched to the Bastille Fortress prison (a symbol of the king's power).
Confrontation led to the death of the Bastille's commander and release of seven prisoners.
The Bastille was demolished and its stones sold as souvenirs.
Subsequent riots across Paris and the countryside over high bread prices.
Historians view this as the beginning of events leading to the king's execution.
Artists commemorated the event in prints and paintings.

Louis XVI ascended the throne in 1774 at age 20.
Married to Austrian Princess Marie Antoinette.
Inherited a nation in crisis: empty treasury and mounting debt.
Years of war depleted resources.
Extravagant maintenance of Versailles.
Support for American colonies in their War of Independence against Britain added debts.
Total debt was over 3 billion livres; state was charged 10% interest on loans.
Taxes were increased but were insufficient.

Society divided into three estates:
- First Estate: Clergy (tax-exempt)
- Second Estate: Nobility (tax-exempt, feudal privileges)
- Third Estate: Everyone else, including peasants, workers, and the middle class (paid all taxes).
Peasants (90% of the population) had no land ownership.
60% of land owned by nobles, church, and wealthy members of the Third Estate.
Third Estate bore the financial burden: taxes to the state, tithes to the church, and dues to the nobles.