Storming of the Bastille
Q: How many prisoners were being held at the Bastille on July 14th, 1789?
A: Seven
The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, is one of the most iconic events of the French Revolution, symbolizing the end of absolute monarchy and the birth of the people's power. Ironically, despite its imposing reputation as a fearsome state prison, the Bastille housed very few prisoners at the time of its capture.
When revolutionaries broke into the Bastille that day, they found just seven prisoners inside:
- Four forgers, imprisoned for economic crimes,
- Two “lunatics,” held at the request of their families,
- And one aristocrat, imprisoned at the request of his own family for misconduct.
No political prisoners of the type that had filled the Bastille in earlier decades were there. The prison was largely symbolic — a fortress of royal tyranny and arbitrary imprisonment under the infamous “lettres de cachet” (orders signed by the king allowing imprisonment without trial).
Thus, the fall of the Bastille was less about freeing masses of wrongly imprisoned people and more about striking a dramatic blow against the monarchy’s oppressive power. The fortress was soon demolished, and its stones were distributed as patriotic souvenirs across France and beyond.
Today, Bastille Day is celebrated every July 14th in France as a national holiday, honouring the spirit of revolution, liberty, and the will of the people.