Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Let’s Not Forget July 14

Shuvajit Sarkar

July 14, 1789 marks the storming of Bastille Jail, which led to the outbreak of the revolution in France, which in turn changed the course of the world’s history. Prior to the outbreak of the revolution, French society was divided into three estates. The First Estate comprised the clergy; the nobles were part of the Second Estate; the rest of the population consisted of the Third Estate. The monarchy was brought to an end and the bourgeoisie took command of the reins of power. Gradually, after the monarchy’s demise, some sort of a ‘dictatorship of the bourgeoisie’ took over the country’s power structure. The direct hereditary tradition to transmit power was carried forward in a different way. The ones who owned the economic means of the society were the political leaders of the state. King Louis XVI was hacked to death along with his wife Marie Antoinette at their royal fort. 

The 14th of July, commemorated as Bastille Day in France, is a significant date for people across the globe because it marks the onset of several terms which play significant roles in our daily lives.

So What Happened at Bastille? 

Prisoners were released from prison, the Third Estate had no command over the movement  and was being used as a mere pawns in the revolution. 

“1789 is one of the most significant dates in history – famous for the revolution in France with its cries of ‘Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!’ that led to the removal of the French upper classes. The French Revolution didn’t just take place in 1789. It actually lasted for another six years, with far more violent and momentous events taking place in the years after 1789”

According to historians, the fortress of Bastille was built in medieval times and was one of the important places of detention for notable prisoners charged with heinous crimes. This same prison was stormed by an armed mob of people from the Third Estate of France. Many believe that it signified despotism and anarchy against the Bourbon Dynasty which had been ruling France since ages. The torment and pain of the commoners were utilised by the bourgeoisie to oust the land’s monarchy and get hold of state affairs. Indeed, this particular event can be considered an important day which flamed the French Revolution.

From one important source we come to know that, “On the morning of July 14, 1789, when only seven prisoners were confined in the building, a crowd advanced on the Bastille with the intention of asking the prison governor, Bernard Jordan, Marquis de Launay, to release the arms and munitions stored there. Angered by Launay’s evasiveness, the people stormed and captured the place; this dramatic action came to symbolise the end of the ancient regime.”

Lawyer and statesman Maximilien Robespierre’s political party, the Jacobin Party, emerged as an important force at the time. In fact, it turned out to be the vanguard organisation which channelised the revolution and changed societal structures, but didn’t negate the elements of the previous society. The Jacobin Party was initially a club, which later on developed into a revolutionary group and played a significant role in the revolution. Formed in 1789 with an anti-royalist approach,  it grew into a republican movement gradually emerging as a force to be reckoned in the coming years. 

I would put it this way — though many things got modified, as a whole, the power structure was getting more centralised under the garb of attempts at decentralisation. In reality, the concentration of wealth began to determine who would rule over the majority of the population. In the name of bourgeoisie democracy, people were exploited and in later years, the world witnessed the emergence of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

The French Revolution contributed three significant slogans to the people of the world, which were important weapons for the people who were exploited during the times; the slogans of liberty, equality, and fraternity — elements of any democratic society. The misconception that democracy simply means the conduct of elections needs to be corrected. Parliamentary democracy supports the idea that elections are the only constituent for it, however, democracy has existed even before the birth of the parliament as a body to deal with the issues of the public. On several historical sources one would come across the origin of the word ‘democracy’, which is a combination of two Greek words – ‘Demos’ and ‘Kartos’. The former, which denotes citizens living within a particular city-state, and the latter, which means power or rule. Democracy is a larger concept and elections are only a part of its many characteristic features. Horizontal democracy, in fact, is considered to have its roots in Ancient Greece. 

The Revolution in France didn’t provide the power of the state to the commoners or in Karl Marx’s terms, the proletariat (working class), but it did open up the concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity, which have people’s movements in the years following, whenever the have-nots were desperate to breaks the shackles of inequality. The struggle for independence is still on and it is a task for all of us to materialise such concepts in order to build a society for all. Let us not, therefore, forget the 14th of July.

Featured Image: La Liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty guiding the people) by Eugene Delacroix (1830)
(Musée du Louvre/Wikipedia)

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