Critical Thinking

Worksheet Description

This educational worksheet provides a concise historical account of the Bastille, setting the stage for students to explore its role in the French Revolution. Constructed in the 1300s during the Hundred Years’ War, the Bastille was initially a fortress with a key defensive role, featuring formidable stone walls and a wide moat. However, its purpose shifted over the centuries, and by the time of the French Revolution, it had become a notorious state prison overseen by King Louis XVI, incarcerating without trial prominent figures such as Voltaire and Marquis de Sade.

The second part of the worksheet prompts reflection on the Bastille’s symbolism as a hated icon of absolute monarchy and its eventual storming in 1789, which marked a pivotal moment in the fight against tyranny. It invites students to consider the grievances of the revolutionaries, particularly their perception of the Bastille as a symbol of the excesses and injustices of the British monarchy, despite it being a French institution. The final question encourages critical thinking, asking students to deduce what the various aspects of the Bastille’s history might have represented to those who saw it as the embodiment of all that was wrong with the ancien régime.