Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress and state prison in Paris, stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789. Its fall became a defining event of the French Revolution.
Charles V of France: King of France from 1364 to 1380, known for strengthening royal administration and fortifying Paris. He ordered the Bastille built as part of Paris’s defenses during the Hundred Years’ War.
French Guards: A French infantry regiment stationed in Paris before the Revolution, many of whose soldiers joined the revolutionary cause. Their defection supplied military experience and support to the crowd.
French Revolution: A period of political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that ended the monarchy and transformed French society. The Bastille’s capture became an early turning point in the Revolution.
Political prisoners: People imprisoned because of their political beliefs, activities, or perceived threat to governing authorities. The Bastille’s reputation rested partly on its role as a place of arbitrary royal detention.
Vincennes: A town east of Paris, known for its medieval fortress and former state prison. Like the Bastille, its fortress held prisoners under royal authority, but it survived the Revolution.
Hundred Years’ War: A series of conflicts between England and France from 1337 to 1453 over territory and claims to the French crown. The war created the military need for the fortress that later became the Bastille.
Invalides: A Paris complex founded by Louis XIV to house and care for disabled and elderly soldiers. The crowd seized weapons there before moving to the Bastille for gunpowder.
Great Fear: A wave of rural panic and revolt across France in the summer of 1789, driven by rumors of aristocratic plots. News of the Bastille’s fall helped intensify the crisis spreading through the countryside.
Marquis de Sade: A French aristocrat and writer whose works explored sexual violence, power, and transgression. He was transferred from the Bastille shortly before the fortress was stormed.
Conciergerie: A former royal palace and prison on the Île de la Cité in Paris. It remained a prison during the Revolution, unlike the demolished Bastille.