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The Bastille had historically been used as a prison; more especially, as a place to which people could be sent under a 'lettre de cachet' - a sealed letter, signed by the King, which directed a person's imprisonment for an indefinite period and without trial or appeal. This was one of the more obvious misuses of absolute royal power. Noblemen who wanted somebody out of the way could apply for a lettre de cachet, and often (especially if they bribed the right courtier) get it. Off to the Bastille went their enemy (or troublesome child, or creditor, or whoever), never to be heard of again. Actually, the power had been less and less used in the years before the revolution, and when the insurgents took the Bastille, they found precisely seven prisoners: four forgers, two lunatics, and a young nobleman locked away by his own family.

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Q: Why was Bastille considered a symbol of royal authority?
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What did the Storming of the Bastille represent to the French people?

Revolution and independenceIn 1789, during the storming of the Bastille, there were 7 prisoners. The Bastille represented royal authority and this was exactly what the French people didn't want anymore. Also, it was randomly known there was a lot of gunpowder stored in the Bastille and since the people feared that King Louis XVI was planning a counter revolution, they wanted to arm themselves against the foreign troops that Louis had ordered from abroad.The French saw it as a victory when they freed the 7 prisoners and tore down the Bastille. They conveniently forgot the fact that among them were 4 forgers, 2 lunatics and 1 pedophile.Revolution and independence


What is a symbol for a royal colony?

A crown


What weapons did they use at the Storming of the Bastille?

The people who stormed the Bastille had muskets, which they had taken from Les Invalides earlier that morning; but they had limited supplies of powder, which was why they were at the Bastille in the first place. In the course of the day they were reinforced by two cannon pillaged from the royal furniture store. Many of the attackers had swords stolen overnight from cutler's shops.


What is Bastile Day?

Yes, it's a French holiday. Think of it as the 4th of July for the French. Bastille Day represents the French Revolution in 1789 against the tyranny of King Louis XVI, who had brought upon starvation and injustice to the people. The classes were separated by too big of a margin, and on the 14th the people began to riot and stormed the famous French prison, la Bastille, releasing those prisoners taken by the King and arming themselves against their own government. In the end, they cut off his head.


Why was the Bastille destroyed?

The storming of the Bastille on July 14th, 1789 occured because the people felt the need to arm themselves and arms were stored up at the Bastille. During the reign of Louis XVI, France faced a major financial crisis, triggered by the cost of intervening in the American War of Independence, and exacerbated by an unequal system of taxation. On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General of 1789 convened to deal with this issue, but was held back by archaic protocols and the conservatism of the Second Estate. On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate, with its representatives drawn from the middle class, or bourgeoisie, reconstituted themselves as the National Assembly, a body whose purpose was the creation of a French constitution. The king initially opposed this development, but was forced to acknowledge the authority of the assembly, which subsequently renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July. Paris, close to insurrection, and, in François Mignet's words, "intoxicated with liberty and enthusiasm, showed wide support for the Assembly. On 11 July 1789, with troops at Versailles, Sèvres, the Champ de Mars, and Saint-Denis, Louis XVI, acting under the influence of the conservative nobles of his privy council, dismissed and banished his finance minister, Jacques Necker, who had been sympathetic to the Third Estate, and completely reconstructed the ministry. News of Necker's dismissal reached Paris in the afternoon of Sunday, 12 July. The Parisians generally presumed that the dismissal marked the start of a coup by conservative elements. Liberal Parisians were further enraged by the fear that a concentration of Royal troops brought to Versailles from frontier garrisons would attempt to shut down the National Constituent Assembly, which was meeting in Versailles. Crowds gathered throughout Paris, including more than ten thousand at the Palais-Royal. Camille Desmoulins, a known freemason from the lodge of the Nine Sisters, successfully rallied the crowd by "mounting a table, pistol in hand, exclaiming: 'Citizens, there is no time to lose; the dismissal of Necker is the knell of a Saint Bartholomew for patriots! This very night all the Swiss and German battalions will leave the Champ de Mars to massacre us all; one resource is left; to take arms!' The demonstrators had earlier stormed the Hôtel des Invalides to gather arms (29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot), and were mainly seeking to acquire the large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the Bastille - on the 14th there were over 13,600 kg (30,000 lb) of gunpowder stored there. At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty of prisoners, housing only seven inmates: four forgers, two "lunatics" and one "deviant" aristocrat. The governor of the Bastille prison was monsieur De Launay. Ninety-eight attackers and one defender had died in the actual fighting. De Launay was seized and dragged towards the Hôtel de Ville in a storm of abuse. Outside the Hôtel a discussion as to his fate began. The badly beaten de Launay shouted "Enough! Let me die!" and kicked a pastry cook named Dulait in the groin. De Launay was then stabbed repeatedly and fell, and his head was sawed off and fixed on a pike to be carried through the streets.

Related questions

What is Bastlille Day?

Bastille Day is a French holiday, July 14th, commemorating the storming of the Bastille, a fortress and prison located in Paris, France, in 1789.Related Information:Bastille Day is comparable to the 4th of July in the USA, or the 5th of May in Mexico. The Bastille became a symbol of royal authority, and the successful storming of it was the "flash point of the French Revolution."


What does the Bastille Day mark?

Bastille day is the French National Holiday that marks the start of the French Revolution, which began on the 14th of July, 1789. On this day, the French prison and medieval fortress known as the Bastille, was stormed. It represented the royal authority that the people hated.


What is the significance of Bastille day in France?

The Bastille was the Royal Prison. By taking the Bastille, the people were telling the King he had lost his power of threat.


What is Bastille in France?

It was a Royal fortress and prison.


What does the sceptre means the french revolution?

the sceptre was an attribute of the king as a symbol of authority. French kings had the sceptre adorned with a stylised lily flower (their personal emblem). They also used a different one, 'la main de justice' ("Justice's hand") as a symbol of their power as supreme judge.


What is the of name of the royal prison that symbolized the despotism of the bourbons?

The Bastille.


What represent the storming of the Bastille to the french people?

It was randomly known there was a lot of gunpowder stored in the Bastille and since the people feared that King Louis XVI was planning a counter revolution, they wanted to arm themselves against the foreign regiments of the King. Also, the Bastille, where people could be imprisoned at the whim of the monarch, represented royal authority and this was exactly what the French people didn't want anymore. The French saw it as a victory when they freed the 7 prisoners and tore down the Bastille. They conveniently forgot the fact that among them were 4 forgers, 2 lunatics and 1 pedophile. The revolutionaries turned the rioters into the 'heroes' of the Bastille, fighting under the bullets of the monarchy, and the event into a symbol of the fight for Liberty.


Why is a royal sceptre a symbol a Zeus?

The royal sceptre was a symbol of authority and power in ancient Greece. Zeus, as the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus, was often depicted holding a sceptre to signify his supreme authority over both gods and mortals. The sceptre also represented Zeus's role as a protector and upholder of law and order.


What is the royal symbol?

a consistent symbol of Mesopotamian royal power was the bearded bull.


Why is Bastille significant to the french revolution?

As a specific event, the storming of the Bastille is only a raid on a supposed arms and weapons depot, by a mixed mob of Parisians and National Guards. On a symbolic level, the seven prisoners it hosted were set free and the Bastille was turned into a symbol of royal abuse of justice (even though no prisoner was detained there for political reasons, the simple signature of the king was enough to justify the emprisonments). That event is also for the French historians, the official beginning of the French revolution.


How man people were in the Bastille in 1798?

In1789, during the storming of the Bastille, there were 7 prisoners. The Bastille represented royal authority and this was exactly what the French people didn't want anymore. Also, it was randomly known there was a lot of gunpowder stored in the Bastille and since the people feared that King Louis XVI was planning a counter revolution, they wanted to arm themselves against the foreign troops that Louis had ordered from abroad. The French saw it as a victory when they freed the 7 prisoners and tore down the Bastille. They conveniently forgot the fact that among them were 4 forgers, 2 lunatics and 1 pedophile.


What does de le Bastille mean in English?

"de la Bastille" means "of the Bastille" in English. Bastille was the name of a fortress in eastern Paris (located on what is nowadays Bastille square) which was famous for being a royal prison at the beginning of the French revolution. La prise de la Bastille (the storming of the fortress by a Parisian mob on July 14, 1789) marks the beginning of the historical period of the French revolution.