Piece of the Bastille, Paris, France, ca. 1380

1789

The storming of the Bastille, a former royal garrison and prison in the city of Paris, on July 14, 1789, was a seminal event in the history of the French Republic and a revolutionary symbol that has been celebrated in Franco-American relations ever since. The demolition of the Bastille left a debris field that fed the market for Revolutionary relics in France, England, and the United States. The Marquis de Lafayette, for example, presented George Washington with a key to the Bastille that Washington proudly displayed in the center hall at Mount Vernon.