In this episode of pplpod, we take a deep dive into what really happened during the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 — separating the mythology of the French Revolution from the chaotic, deeply human reality behind one of history’s most famous uprisings.

The Bastille is often remembered as a towering prison packed with political martyrs, violently liberated by heroic revolutionaries. But the historical reality was far stranger. The fortress was already scheduled for demolition, housed only seven prisoners, and was staffed largely by elderly veterans and a small contingent of Swiss soldiers. The crowd that marched there was not initially trying to free prisoners or make a grand philosophical statement about liberty. They were desperately searching for gunpowder after seizing tens of thousands of muskets elsewhere in Paris.

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