Storming of the Bastille PDF

# The storming of the Bastille So far the power struggle had been fought with words. However, the middle-class members of the National Assembly did not plan to share the power with all the people in the country. Many working-class people and peasants wanted much greater changes in the way France wa...

# The storming of the Bastille So far the power struggle had been fought with words. However, the middle-class members of the National Assembly did not plan to share the power with all the people in the country. Many working-class people and peasants wanted much greater changes in the way France was governed. Food prices were still rising. The atmosphere in Paris became increasingly tense. While the National Assembly was endlessly discussing the problems, the ordinary people of Paris wanted more action to improve their lives. On 14 July, 1789, a crowd of 8000 broke into a building called the Invalides where they captured weapons. Then they turned to the Bastille which they believed contained political prisoners. The governor of the Bastille refused to hand the fortress over to the people. The panic-stricken guards opened fire, killing about one hundred people. The furious crowd then attacked and captured the Bastille. They cut off the governor's head and carried it through the streets of Paris in triumph. There had been only seven prisoners inside the Bastille. Despite this the people who had stormed the Bastille were excited by their victory. To them the Bastille stood for all that was wrong in France: It was a symbol of the King and his poor government. The storming of the Bastille was the sparking-plug for more violence. All over France workers and peasants attacked the powerful and the rich. The revolution was getting more and more violent. ## Tasks 1. Try to explain the sudden outbreak of violence! 2. Why do you think the French made July 14th a national holiday? | English | German | |---|---| | storming | Erstürmung | | power struggle | Machtkampf | | to share | teilen | | working-class people | Arbeiter | | to govern | regieren | | increasingly | zunehmend | | tense | gespannt | | to improve | verbessern | | prisoner | Gefangener | | to refuse | weigern, ablehnen | | to hand sth. over | etwas übergeben | | fortress | Festung | | furious | wütend | | to capture | einnehmen, erobern | | despite | trotz | | to be excited | begeistert sein | | victory | Sieg | | violence | Gewalt | | sudden | plötzlich | | national holiday | Nationalfeiertag |