Lesson 5 - The storming of the Bastille
What really happened at the Bastille?
The fall of the Bastille was the most famous event of the French Revolution. It was a symbol of the victory of ordinary people over the power of their rulers. It is the day the French have chosen as their national day. Their victory was recorded in many thousands of drawings and paintings. The Bastille doesn't exist today, it was torn down soon after the revolution. Consider the six images in the presentation below.
The fall of the Bastille was the most famous event of the French Revolution. It was a symbol of the victory of ordinary people over the power of their rulers. It is the day the French have chosen as their national day. Their victory was recorded in many thousands of drawings and paintings. The Bastille doesn't exist today, it was torn down soon after the revolution. Consider the six images in the presentation below.
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Discussion in pairs
How would you describe the Bastille as a building? How are the crowd of revolutionaries depicted in the images? How are the prison cells depicted? |
The events at the Bastille were celebrated all over Europe. Image 6 above 'The Triumph of Liberty' was produced by the English cartoonist James Gillray who we have seen before and who we will see again. The English Romantic poet William Wordsworth wrote of the revolution “Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven.” Perhaps the most famous English perspective on the revolution was provided by Charles Dickens in his novel 'A Tale of Two Cities'. (We will also come across Dickens again later in Matu 4)
In the following famous scene, Dickens has the character 'Defarge of the wine shop' and his wife attacking the Bastille. Read the text carefully and then in pairs consider the questions which follow.
Cannon, muskets, fire and smoke; but, still the deep ditch, the single drawbridge, the massive stone walls, and the eight great towers. Slight displacements of the raging sea, made by the falling wounded. Flashing weapons, blazing torches, smoking waggon-loads of wet straw, hard work at neighbouring barricades in all directions, shrieks, volleys, execrations, bravery without stint, boom, smash and rattle and the furious sounding of the living sea; but, still the deep ditch, and the single drawbridge, and the massive stone walls, and the eight great towers, and still Defarge of the wineshop at his gun, grown doubly hot by the service of Four fierce hours.
A white flag from within the fortress, and a parley - this dimly perceptible through the raging storm, nothing audible in it - suddenly the sea rose immeasurably wider and higher, and swept Defarge of the wine-shop over the lowered drawbridge, past the massive stone outer walls, in among the eight great towers surrendered!
So resistless was the force of the ocean bearing him on, that even to draw his breath or turn his head was as impracticable as if he had been struggling in the surf at the South Sea, until he was landed in the outer court-yard of the Bastille. There, against an angle of a wall, he made a struggle to look about him. Madame Defarge, still heading some of her women, was visible in the inner distance, and her knife was in her hand. Everywhere was tumult, exultation, deafening and maniacal bewilderment, astounding noise...
‘The Prisoners!’
‘The Records!’
‘The secret cells!’
‘The instruments of torture!’
‘The Prisoners!’
Of all these cries, ‘The Prisoners!’ was the cry most taken up by the sea that rushed in, as if there were an eternity of people, as well as of time and space.
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Discussion in pairs
How does Dickens describe the Bastille? How does Dickens portray the crowd of revolutionaries? What is the goal of the revolutionaries? Now watch the film version of a Tale of Two Cities. How does it support what we have already seen in the pictures and in the words of Dickens. |
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The historical record
Many of the artists who were inspired by the French Revolution were rather less concerned with the historical record than the drama of the event. They helped to create and perpetuate a series of myths about what happened at the Bastille. A myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people and supernatural explanations. You will have come across myths in 9e, when studying Greece and Rome. Myths may be based on real events but they are not supported by the historical record. Myths continue to be repeated because they are useful.
History is very different to myths. Historical accounts must be based on the evidence that the past has left behind. So let's look at some of the evidence.
History is very different to myths. Historical accounts must be based on the evidence that the past has left behind. So let's look at some of the evidence.
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The Bastille
Consider this image of the Bastille painted at a time before the revolution. How does it compare to the images you saw earlier? |
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The crowd of revolutionaries
Much more recently, historians have used sources from the time to trace the professions of about 700-800 members of the crowd that stormed the Bastille. They have found out the following:
About five sixths were skilled craftsmen (such as joiners, locksmiths, cobblers, clockmakers), shopkeepers and other small tradesmen, clerks and journeymen. There were some labourers and wage-earning workers but nearly all were skilled workmen or ‘artisans’. About one sixth was made up of richer tradesmen - including some factory owners and merchants - soldiers, officers and a handful from the professions (such as lawyers, doctors and teachers).
How do these conclusions compare to the descriptions of the crowd you saw earlier?
Much more recently, historians have used sources from the time to trace the professions of about 700-800 members of the crowd that stormed the Bastille. They have found out the following:
About five sixths were skilled craftsmen (such as joiners, locksmiths, cobblers, clockmakers), shopkeepers and other small tradesmen, clerks and journeymen. There were some labourers and wage-earning workers but nearly all were skilled workmen or ‘artisans’. About one sixth was made up of richer tradesmen - including some factory owners and merchants - soldiers, officers and a handful from the professions (such as lawyers, doctors and teachers).
How do these conclusions compare to the descriptions of the crowd you saw earlier?
The prisoners
The French historian Jacques Godechot has studied the sources of 1789 and concluded the following
'The attackers were astonished to find so few captives. Many believed there were others, hidden in some secret cavern or dungeon . .. On 18 July the four gaolers were questioned separately. They confirmed that the Bastille contained, on 14 July, only seven prisoners: Solages, Whyte, Tavernier, Béchade, La Corrège, Pujade and Laroche. The latter four, common law prisoners accused of forgery, disappeared soon after and were never seen again. The Count of Solages had been imprisoned at the request of his family ... Whyte was an Englishman, afflicted by madness, and on 15 July he was imprisoned in Charenton. Tavernier was equally mad and he too was sent to Charenton.'
The French historian Jacques Godechot has studied the sources of 1789 and concluded the following
'The attackers were astonished to find so few captives. Many believed there were others, hidden in some secret cavern or dungeon . .. On 18 July the four gaolers were questioned separately. They confirmed that the Bastille contained, on 14 July, only seven prisoners: Solages, Whyte, Tavernier, Béchade, La Corrège, Pujade and Laroche. The latter four, common law prisoners accused of forgery, disappeared soon after and were never seen again. The Count of Solages had been imprisoned at the request of his family ... Whyte was an Englishman, afflicted by madness, and on 15 July he was imprisoned in Charenton. Tavernier was equally mad and he too was sent to Charenton.'
The following sources are extracts from the diary of the Marquis de Sade who was a prisoner inside the Bastille until a week before it was attacked. One is a list of some of the meals he ate there. The other is an account of his spending for the month of December 1787.
How does this evidence contrast with what you saw earlier?
How does this evidence contrast with what you saw earlier?
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Activity
1. With reference to the artistic evidence provided above (paintings, novels and film), what do we mean by the 'myth' of the storming of the Bastille? Give examples of the myth to illustrate your answer.
2. With reference to other evidence provided, what was the reality of the storming of the Bastille?
3. Why do you think a myth of the storming of the Bastille developed and became so important?
1. With reference to the artistic evidence provided above (paintings, novels and film), what do we mean by the 'myth' of the storming of the Bastille? Give examples of the myth to illustrate your answer.
2. With reference to other evidence provided, what was the reality of the storming of the Bastille?
3. Why do you think a myth of the storming of the Bastille developed and became so important?
Extension and extras - More on myths and myth making, the example of Voltaire
In July 1791, the French Revolutionaries held a huge parade in Paris to honour the philosopher Voltaire by moving his remains to the Panthéon, a grand building that had recently been turned into a temple to celebrate France’s greatest citizens. This wasn’t just a funeral — it was a powerful piece of political theatre. Voltaire had been famous for speaking out against injustice, especially the power of kings and the Catholic Church. By celebrating him, the Revolution showed that it stood for freedom, reason, and human rights. His coffin was carried in an enormous, decorated cart with messages like “He inspired tolerance” and “He fought tyranny,” turning him into a kind of revolutionary hero.
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Full size version. The parade wasn’t only about Voltaire himself — it was about creating a new story for France. The Revolution wanted to replace old traditions with new ones, based on Enlightenment ideas like liberty and equality. By honouring Voltaire in this way, they made him part of a new national myth. This event helped the Revolution feel more meaningful and united people behind shared values. Again it shows how the past can be used not just to remember events, but to shape the future. Enlarge the image and see if you can indentify: Model of the Bastille, The National Guard, Deputies of the National Assembly, The "Truth" Statue and Voltaire’s Funeral Cart |
The historian Simon Schama explains: 'For the procession to the Pantheon a monumental chariot, as high as a two-story house, was designed by a small committee that included Quatremere de Quincy and Jacques-Louis David. Its wheels were cast in bronze and according to Roman models. The sarcophagus was of imperial por- phyry and was raised on three steps. At its top reposed Voltaire on an antique couch-bed in an attitude of sleep, his face settled into the benign expression made famous by replicas of Houdon's portrait busts. By his side was a broken lyre and behind the bolster the figure of Eternity placed a crown of stars on his head. At the corners of the catafalque figures representing Genius were seated in expressions of mourning, their torches reversed. Inscriptions from Voltaire's works were engraved on its four sides, including Brutus's "O gods, give us death rather than slavery." Four white horses caparisoned only with the tricolor drew the chariot. The cortege included the usual cast of characters — Jacobins, deputies, representatives of the Commune, National Guardsmen — but was made much more interesting by the inclusion of representations from Voltaire's works and life. The twenty-third model of the Bastille to be made by Palloy from its stones was given prominence and a troupe of men dressed in Roman costume carried as trophies of glory editions of all Voltaire's works. Another group of actors from Talma's troupe represented the family of Jean Galas, the Protestant who had been executed for allegedly murdering his son and whose vindication became \ oltaire's most famous cause celebre. Citizens of the faubourg Saint-Antoine carried banners on which had been painted the faces of other comparable worthies: Franklin, Rousseau and Mirabeau.
As usual in a Paris July, it rained. But a hundred thousand turned out nonetheless to watch as the procession made its way in a series of "stations" to the Pantheon, stopping at the sites of Voltairean triumphs: the Opera, where actresses sang a special hymn written by Gossec and Ghenier; the Theatre-Frangais, where the aria from Samson was sung urging "people to awake, break your chains, ascend to your greatness of old." It took from three in the afternoon until ten at night for Voltaire to finally arrive at the Pantheon to become the third in the rather oddly assorted trinity. In many ways, however, the old Newtonian was a more suitable roommate for Mirabeau than for Descartes. It was said that as the immense procession passed by the Pont-Royal, Louis XVI was watching furtively from an upstairs window.' Simon Schama - Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, 1989.
As usual in a Paris July, it rained. But a hundred thousand turned out nonetheless to watch as the procession made its way in a series of "stations" to the Pantheon, stopping at the sites of Voltairean triumphs: the Opera, where actresses sang a special hymn written by Gossec and Ghenier; the Theatre-Frangais, where the aria from Samson was sung urging "people to awake, break your chains, ascend to your greatness of old." It took from three in the afternoon until ten at night for Voltaire to finally arrive at the Pantheon to become the third in the rather oddly assorted trinity. In many ways, however, the old Newtonian was a more suitable roommate for Mirabeau than for Descartes. It was said that as the immense procession passed by the Pont-Royal, Louis XVI was watching furtively from an upstairs window.' Simon Schama - Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, 1989.