The storming of the Bastille was the first violent act against the monarchy

The Storming of the Bastille by the French Revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, was one of the most significant acts against the Monarchy and a movement that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Before the Storming of the Bastille, France was in turmoil. People were suffering from food shortages and high taxes, as they were paying off King Louis XVI's large debts. France was in political turmoil caused by the opening of the Estates-General.^[1] The Bastille prison's military governor Bernard-René Jordan de Launay feared that the Parisian Revolutionaries would target his base. Launay called for reinforcements, which came as gunpowder and men.^[2] A large crowd armed with muskets, spears, and assorted homemade weapons started to assemble around the Bastille at dawn on July 14. Launay's men were able to push back the crowd, but Launay lifted a white flag of surrender over the fortress as more and more Parisians were converging on the Bastille. Launay and his men were taken into custody, gunpowder and cannons were recovered from the Bastille, and the seven inmates were released. Upon arrival at the Hotel de Ville, where a revolutionary council was to arrest and prosecute Launay, he was instead taken away by a mob and killed. The Revolutionaries tore down the Bastille brick by brick.^[2] The Storming of the Bastille gave the Revolutionaries the momentum to end the Ancien Regime as it was the first official violent act against the monarchy, and there was no turning back.^[2] When King Louis XVI was informed of the storming the next morning by Duke of La Rochefoucauld, the king replied: "Is it a revolt?" asked Louis XVI. The duke replied: No sire, it’s not a revolt; it’s a revolution. "^[3]