The Storming of the Bastille and the Revolution in the Countryside

The storming of the Bastille took place on 14 July 1789, when a Parisian crowd assaulted the fortress-prison in search of weapons and gunpowder. The Bastille symbolized the arbitrary power of the Old Regime, even though it held barely seven prisoners of little political significance at the time; its governor, Bernard-René de Launay, was captured and summarily executed after surrendering. The assault followed the dismissal of Necker, popularly read as the prelude to a royal military crackdown on Paris, and Camille Desmoulins's inflammatory speech at the Palais-Royal helped mobilize the crowd toward armed action. Louis XVI, on being informed of the event, is said to have asked "Is it a revolt?" and received the reply "No, sire, it is a revolution."