The Storming of the Bastille set off a series of events that led to the overthrow of King Louis XVI and the French Revolution. The success of the revolutionaries gave commoners throughout France the courage to rise up and fight against the nobles who had ruled them for so long.
The Bastille, stormed by an armed mob of Parisians in the opening days of the French Revolution, was a symbol of the despotism of the ruling Bourbon monarchy and held an important place in the ideology of the Revolution.
On July 14, 1789 a Paris mob stormed the Bastille, in search of large quantities of arms and ammunition that they believed was stored at the fortress. Also, they hoped to free prisoners at the Bastille, as it was traditionally a fortress in which political prisoners were held.