# Storming of the Bastille (1789)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1789-storming-of-the-bastille
Location: Paris
Categories: main-event

A Parisian crowd seized the royal fortress-prison, becoming an enduring symbol of the Revolution. Within the broader French Revolution period, The Revolution dismantled legal privilege and absolute monarchy, declared new rights and created a republic. War, popular mobilization, civil conflict and political terror repeatedly transformed the revolutionary state. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Louis XVI (King of France). Storming of the Bastille mattered because collective action and political conflict altered the relationship between society and governing authority. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Storming of the Bastille mattered because collective action and political conflict altered the relationship between society and governing authority.

Ruler at the time: [Louis XVI](https://history-france.com/rulers/louis-xvi)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Storming of the Bastille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Storming+of+the+Bastille&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Storming of the Bastille](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Storming+of+the+Bastille)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)