Storming of the Bastille

Question 1

Why did the revolution centre around Paris?

Answer 1

1)Close to versailles- 20km
2)Literacy rates = high (60%)
3) Palais Royal: Duc D’Orleans and Desmoullins radicalised 3rd estate
4) Bad harvests meant bread prices were highest since 1715
5) Presence of 30,000 royal troops and mercenaries around Paris

Question 2

What caused the Storming of the Bastille?

Answer 2

-Necker dismissed on 11 July (popular with society)
- 30,000 soldiers and German mercenaries in Paris made everyone paranoid

Question 3

Who stirred the Parisians into action in the storming of the bastille and to challenge the King’s authority?

Answer 3

-Desmoullins and Danton

Question 4

When was the storming of the Bastille?

Answer 4

-14 July 1789

Question 5

What happened on the 12th and 13th July 1789 in the buildup to the storming of the Bastille?

Answer 5

-Parisian electors took over the hotel de ville and established the Paris Commune and the National Guard

Question 6

How did the Parisians arm themselves?

Answer 6

• 8000 Parisians stormed the les invalides where 32,000 muskets and some artillery were found (useless without gunpowder) so they stormed the Bastille.

Question 7

Why did the Parisians storm the Bastille?

Answer 7

-It was a symbol of repression - 7 prisoners by the lettre de cachet
-It housed gunpowder stores

Question 8

How many people were killed in the storming of the Bastille?

Answer 8

-93 people killed
-70 Parisians killed
-marquis de lunay was killed and his head was paraded on a pike
-intendant of Paris, Bertier de Sauvigny killed
-Mayor of Paris, Flesselles was also killed and was replaced by Bailly

Question 9

What was the response of the King to the storming of the Bastille

Answer 9

-accepted the Paris Commune and the National Guard at the Hotel de ville on the 17th July
-Wore the revolutionary cockade.

Question 10

What was the significance of the storming of the Bastille?

Answer 10

-King ordered the disperse of mercenaries and accepted the Paris Commune and the National Guard: led to deputies cheering “viva le roi” and praised Louis as the saviour (not completely revolutionary)
-July 17 met with and accepted Bailly- PC and Lafayette -NG
-Meant unrest spread to the provinces clear in the Great Fear as they thought change was imminent