The city of Paris, in France, may have the greatest history of any city in the world. Culturally as well as historically, Paris has always been a beautiful city with many monuments. Iconic locations such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe have stood erect for many centuries and are a beacon in Paris' long, and turbulent history. Founded on the island where a natural north-south highway crosses the Seine River, some 233 miles (375 kilometres) upstream from the river mouth on the English Channel, Paris, is over 2,000 years old. One of the most troubling times in French and Parisian history is the French Revolution which, although mainly undertaken in Paris, spanned across the entire country and affected many other nations as well. The French Revolution was an exciting, dramatic, and violent episode in western history. The rise of the middle class, the use of the guillotine, the fall of the monarchy, the outbreak of European warfare, the growing role of women, and the harsh realities of mob violence all contributed to making this episode truly significant and memorable.
             By 1789 the French Government of Louis XVI was in trouble. Significant discontent was evident throughout the country. Intellectuals were dissatisfied with the scope of absolutist controls, the bourgeoisie was antagonized by the excessive financial burdens that fell upon them, the peasants decried the various feudal obligations that remained, and the urban workers struggled to survive amidst inflating prices and stagnant wages. It was the financial issues that forced the King to call a meeting of the Estates-General, a national assembly that had not been met since 1614. Needless to say there was tremendous excitement about that meeting as hopes for change arose from all sides. France would never be the same again. On one fateful day in July of 1789, peasants finally crossed the line to insanity when a mob of men and women, looking for weapons and prisoners take...