The Storming of the Bastille, in Paris, was the flashpoint of the French Revolution and signified the fall of the monarchy and royal authority. A crowd of about 1,000 armed civilians gathered in front of the Bastille around mid-morning on the 14th and demanded the surrender of the prison. Negotiations began but, a few hours later, the angry crowd attacked the undefended outer courtyard and cut the drawbridge chains. The governor Bernard-...