The Destruction Of The Bastille Essay, Research Paper

The destruction of the Bastille came as the culmination of years of oppression and poverty suffered by the Third Estate of France, who had become more and more angered by the class system, King Louis XVI s abuse of power, and price inflation. This, accompanied by the inspiration brought on by the Enlightenment documents and by other successful revolutions, made the Third Estate realize it was time for a change.

The French class system was one of the main factors leading to the decision to storm the Bastille. The class system in France divided the French populace into three parts; the First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate. The First Estate consisted of the king, his family, and the clergy. The Second Estate consisted of nobles, while the Third Estate consisted of everyone else. The Third Estate made up 97% of the French population and was treated horrendously by the first two estates. They had to work hard for very little, and most of what they managed to earn went to the first two estates, who gave them no say in the government. All of the Third Estate suffered because of the problems presented to them. However, it was the French Middle Class who felt this the most. Many of the French Middle Class were rich and knowledgeable individuals and believed they were just as important as the nobles, but, because of the class system, socially they were equal to ordinary peasants.

Another factor in the decision to attack the Bastille was the king s abuse of power. The fact that all of the taxing, law-making, and decision-making rested in the hands of one person was, depending on that person, the thing that made or broke a monarchy. If the person in power was just, wise, and capable, then the monarchy was a success. However, if the person in charge was harsh, foolish, and incapable, then the monarchy was a failure. The French monarch was the latter of the two. The actions of King Louis XVI, the ruler at the time of the revolution, contributed greatly to the peasants decision to destroy the Bastille. Louis abused his power constantly; he over taxed his subjects; he wrongly imprisoned people; he spent much of France s money on the construction of the Palace of Versailles; and he fired the French financial minister, Necker, when Necker warned him about his spending. His actions caused the French to lose faith in the monarchy and, eventually, to despise it.

Other events that influenced the destruction of the Bastille were the French economy, and the success of other revolutions. The French Third Estate was living in poverty at the time of the destruction of the Bastille. They were over-taxed, earned very little, and, to make matters worse, prices kept going up. The price inflation was devastating the French population. It cost them a large portion of their weekly wages just to buy bread. So, when the French discovered the successes of the English and American revolutions, they were more than willing to make an attempt on a revolution of their own. And, so, the Third Estate prepared to storm the Bastille.

Once the seeds of revolution had been planted in the Middle Class, they needed a way to spread their desire and ideas, and they used everything they could to do this. They met at the Palace Royal where they were free to speak of the revolution, because it was out of the police jurisdiction. They continuously printed Enlightenment documents and other pamphlets spreading the ideas of a revolution. They even used their living quarters to their advantage. Because of the design of their houses, everyone at some point had to go to two places: the well and the main shop area. Thus, it was a simple task for the owner to track down his tenants and inform them of what was going on. The living quarters also gave the owner the ability to force his tenants to participate in the destruction of the Bastille or be evicted. Thus, the decision to assault the Bastille was spread.

That was how on July 14 of 1789 the Bastille came under assault by angry French mobs. The mobs consisted of 662 self employed businessmen and 149 employees who had been pushed too far. They demanded a change in the French economy, a change in France s social system, and a change in leadership. So it was that, inspired by the other movements of the Enlightenment, that the Third Estate of France stormed the Bastille-their first step on the long road to recovery.