It is 1789 and France is beset by a number of problems. The treasury is empty and the country is facing bankruptcy. While the majority of the common people live in unimaginable poverty, the nobility and the clergy do not have to pay taxes and are living in luxury. In this situation, King Louis XVI decides to convene the Estates-General at Versailles. The negotiations go nowhere, so the Third Estate decides to invite the other Estates to join it, and a National Assembly is proclaimed. Some of the nobility and clergy do indeed join. All involved swear not to disperse until a constitution is drawn up. On July 9, 1789, this assembly declared itself the Constituent National Assembly. In this situation, King Louis XVI decides to send troops to Versailles. In protest against this move, the Parisians storm the royal armoury. Here they seize thousands of rifles and form a militia. Early in the morning of 14 July 1789, they attack the Bastille, a symbol of royal oppression. After a five-hour battle, they succeed in taking the prison. Thus begins the Great French Revolution, which changed Europe forever. An event that brought many progressive ideas, but also a bloody terror that eventually brought not only King Louis XVI to the guillotine, but also most of the leaders of the revolution itself.
