July 14, 1789 - Storming of Bastille - Paris, France 🇫🇷 Key to Bastille on Display GW Home Mount Vernon [View all]

- Storming the Bastille, July 14, 1789, Paris.
More than any other event of the 18th century, the French Revolution, which began in 1789, changed the face of politics across Europe and the world. (7 mins).
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(Wiki) - The Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress and political prison known as the Bastille. After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths the insurgents were able to enter the Bastille. The governor de Launay and several members of the garrison were killed after surrender.
The Bastille then represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained only seven inmates at the time of its storming and was already scheduled for demolition, but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuse of power. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille
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- The Key to the Bastille is on display in the center hall at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It was sent to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette as a symbol of unity and their friendship. Thomas Paine and John Rutledge, Jr. carried the key from Europe. It was presented to Washington by Rutledge, Jr. in summer 1790.
In 1824 a special reunion took place at Mount Vernon. The Marquis de Lafayette and his son George Washington Lafayette began a year-long tour of the United States. At Mount Vernon they found the principal key of the Bastille. For Lafayette it was a highly charged moment of sentimental reflection on past events of international significance and personal triumph. Lafayette and his son were but two of the thousands of pilgrims who made their way annually to Mount Vernon to view the home and tomb of George Washington..
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/bastille-key

Video shows Bastille Key mounted on the wall,
https://youtube.com/shorts/v-Rp4lpZ97w