On the 14th of July in 1789, a crowd of nearly one thousand protesters stormed the Bastille in Paris, France, a major event in the French Revolution, commemorated annually as "Bastille Day".

In the months running up to the uprising, the people of France were facing a dire economic crisis, food shortage, and increased militarization of Paris on orders of King Louis XVI. The Bastille was an armory and prison, perceived by many as a symbol of royal authority in the city.

On the morning of July 14th, a crowd of approximately one thousand people surrounded the Bastille, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of its cannon, and the release of the arms and gunpowder stored there.

After negotiations stalled, the crowd surged into the courtyard of the Bastille and were fired upon by troops in the garrison. In the carnage that followed, ninety-eight protesters and one defender of the Bastille were killed.

Governor Marquis de Launay, fearing his troops could not hold out, capitulated to the crowd and opened up the Bastille doors. He was captured and dragged towards the Hôtel de Ville in a storm of abuse. While the crowd debated his fate, the badly beaten Launay shouted "Enough! Let me die!", kicked a pastry cook in the groin, and was then promptly stabbed to death.

As news of the successful seizure of the Bastille spread throughout the country, revolutionaries established parallel structures of power for government and militias for civic protection, burned deeds of property, and in some cases attacked wealthy landlords.

King Louis XVI first learned of the storming the next morning through the Duke of La Rochefoucauld. "Is it a revolt?" asked the King. The duke replied: "No sire, it's not a revolt; it's a revolution."

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  • ashinadash [she/her]
    ·
    2 months ago

    I'm so fucking numbed out and desensitised that I have no idea what qualifies Big Events anymore. Is it truly Joever for my Amerikkkan comrades? Will there be state-commissioned fascist militia in the street?

    • SSJMarx@lemm.ee
      ·
      2 months ago

      I can't shake the feeling that all of America is this way, and that by November people will have forgotten this happened.

      • ashinadash [she/her]
        ·
        2 months ago

        That's my impression too, IME it seems like the status quo is extremely intent on grinding onward. They're puppeteering a corpse for president rn and not fussing about it much.

    • magi [null/void]
      ·
      2 months ago

      desensitised

      Same, I've seen so much and grown through a lot.. I can't gauge this.

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      2 months ago

      This is probably just another minor incident on America's long slide deeper in to the mire of fascism. I don't think trump has any street fighters the way he did during 2016-2020 so idk how much immediate reaction to expect from MAGA. The Blue MAGA however did deploy the nypd in New York in force, so there are state commissioned fascist paramilitaries in some streets lol

      • ashinadash [she/her]
        ·
        2 months ago

        Hey that's what I said to my wife =) lol do you think bluemaga will go all THE MAGAS ARE CUHRAYZEE and then do nothing except field more subway cops?