July 14, 1789 — the storming of the Bastille. Duncan covers the pivotal day that transformed a political crisis into a revolution, when a Parisian mob seized a royal fortress that had become a symbol of tyranny.
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Highlights
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Symbols matter more than substance in revolutionary moments
The Bastille held only seven prisoners and was militarily irrelevant. But as a SYMBOL of royal tyranny, its fall electrified France and signaled the Revolution had become irreversible.
Violence, once unleashed, establishes its own logic
The storming of the Bastille was initially chaotic and unplanned. But once blood was shed, the violence created new political realities that neither side could reverse.