STORMING THE BASTILLE

 In the morning of July 14, 1789 in Paris, France an epic event in history occurred. The French's Third Estate revolted, beginning with an attack of the medieval fortress and prison called "la Bastille". The Bastille represented authority in central Paris. Destroying the Bastille symbolize destruction of the French monarchy, which is what the peasants wanted. Soon the revolution was getting out of hand for the original leaders and  Louis XVI was forced to send mercenaries to restore peace in Paris and Versailles. Then on top of that a National Guard was created to attempt to end the revolt. It was a military force different from the ordinary army and was made to defend the Constitution. Each city in France was assigned their own National Guard and this intelligent idea of Louis XVI saved France's feudal system Louis XVI's reign as king...for now anyways!

THE GREAT FEAR

     "la Grande Peur" (The great fear) was the official start of the French revolution. It began with bad weather, which then spoiled most crops. A grain shortage was the result of this, and the small portion of grain was hoarded and guarded by militias. The French peasants took this as a threat of death by starvation, and in rage attacked many noble manors and burned their remaining crops. The final threat which was sure to abolish the unfair feudal system was the storming of the "Chateaux de Aristocrats". This was a huge storming of noble peoples houses and the peasants even went to the point where they attacked office and burned feudal papers that stated the feudal agreement. Many nobles and their families also died in this enormous encounter. This bold statement represented the end of the feudal system in the now great country of France, where people have many rights and freedoms.