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What led to the storming of the bastille and therefore to the start of the french revolution?

User Maldred
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Final answer:

The storming of the Bastille was precipitated by economic hardship, demands for political reform, and Enlightenment ideas. The resentment towards royal mismanagement and aspirations for equality and national sovereignty led to the French Revolution's outbreak after the fall of the Bastille.

Step-by-step explanation:

The storming of the Bastille was a critical event that signified the start of the French Revolution. The causes leading up to this moment were multifaceted, involving dire economic conditions, social inequality, and rising revolutionary sentiment. A series of poor harvests and the French Crown's financial crisis pushed many to the brink of starvation. Resentment toward the regime's inability to alleviate the hardship led to widespread unrest.

Attempts to reform the tax system met with resistance from aristocrats, while an increasingly vocal middle class, inspired by Enlightenment ideas of rights and liberties, demanded political change. Dissatisfaction peaked with the formation of militia groups guarding the National Assembly. On July 14th, these militias stormed the Bastille, a symbol of royal despotism, catalyzing the revolution. Following this, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted, emphasizing natural law and the sovereignty of the nation over the king.

User Matthiasgiger
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The storming of the Bastille was caused by multiple reasons that were building up in the French society for some time. France was in a bad situation. The economy was in dire state, largely because of the bad policies and the French intervention in the United States. The aristocracy was acting terribly towards the ordinary people who were suffering and in the verge of survival.

After the initial few attempts failed to reason the king to make certain reforms and to improve the countries situation and the situation of the people in it, the French people decided that enough is enough and that they will take things into their own hands.

The medieval castle, also a prison, and a symbol of the aristocracy of France, Bastille, got broken into it by the people. They released the prisoners who were sentenced because of refusal to shoot at the citizens.

The ordinary people outnumber the aristocracy by far, as the aristocracy was only 2% of the population, so the people, united, managed to take down the king and the aristocracy with relative ease.

User Msharp
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