Bastille Day and the French Revolution
"Bastille Day, on the Fourteenth of July, is the French symbol of the end of the Monarchy and the beginning of the French Revolution" (www.hightowertrail.com). It is very much like Independence Day in the United States because it is a celebration of the beginning of a new form of government. There are several factors that led to the Revolution. King Louis XV and King Louis XVI both led extremely extravagant lives. They spent a lot of the government's money on luxuries even while the government had some financial problems. One of the government's main jobs back then was to protect their country from, and manage wars. In the Seven Years War against England, France spent large sums of money on the war effort but they still lost the war and had to give up their colonies in North America. Many French citizens regarded this loss as a major humiliation. The population was divided into three estates. The Third Estate, also known as the commoners was made up of the bourgeoisie, wage earners and the peasantry. They were the majority of the population. The Second Estate was for the nobility. The First Estate was composed of the clergy. The Upper Clergy were very wealthy and powerful and therefore they related to the First Estate. The
The National Assembly abolished all feudal courts and all feudal obligations. "For the peasant class, the Bastille stood as a symbol of the hypocrisy and corruption of the aristocratic government - controlled mostly by nobility and clergy. Although they were the richest, they were exempt from taxes. On July 14, 1789 the people banned together and stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of the corrupt political system, beginning the Revolution. They claimed their acts were justified because of the European monarchy allegiances just outside of France and the growing number of uprisings within the borders. The upper-middle class controlled the new government. Bastille Day was proclaimed a national holiday in 1880 and in 1848 the motto "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" was reinstated. The First Republic was established in 1792. The Clergy were forced to take an oath to fully support the constitution, which created anger among Catholic leaders all over Europe. This period is known as the Reign of Terror. They were also the only members in society who could hold positions of importance such as Officers in the army" (www.
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