Is History on the Brink of Repeating Itself? (A Bastille Day Reflection)

The slogan of the French Revolution as it appears on the side of one of the cabinets at Twelfth Night Coffee

Today is Bastille Day, but what exactly is the Bastille and what is its importance? The Bastille was a royal prison in Paris used to house political prisoners. It was raided on July 14th, 1789 because it was also being used as a large store house for gunpowder. What led to this moment and what can we learn from this historic event?

Before the French Revolution ignited, France was a society based on a feudal system and was organized into three estates:

I. The First Estate, which consisted of 1% of the population, was the clergy. They were exempt from paying taxes due to their religious standing.

II. The Second Estate, which consisted of 1% of the population, was the aristocracy. This group, despite owning most of the wealth, also didn’t pay any taxes.

III. The Third Estate, 98% of the population, included merchants, artisans, peasants, and all the rest of the working class. This group carried the tax burden of the nation.

Although the 1st and the 2nd Estates did not pay taxes, they nevertheless reaped all of the benefits of the taxes that were paid. Through their consolidated power they would lobby and overrule any changes that would negatively affect their wealth and power.

As unrest brewed Charles Alexandre de Calonne, the Controller-Gerneral , suggested a solution that involved major financial reform through a universal land tax that did not exempt the upper classes. These reforms were ignored.

The results of this social system lead to deep disparities in the Third Estate. So much so that they organized to overthrow the monarchy which became an oligarchical system. They amassed arms, but they didn’t have gunpowder, thus they raided the Bastille so that they could combat the various species of violence being inflicted on them.

I don’t think we need to elaborate on how eerily similar we are edging in the same direction. Trickle down economics has only increased the fortunes of the wealthy, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, and the price of living is constantly increasing.

History repeats itself if we don’t learn from it and try to forge a better path. Let us use today as a time to reflect on how we can create Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in a civil, nonviolent manner.

With a double espresso of good will raised,

Santé!

Eric Gabourel (Founder of Twelfth Night Coffee)

Eric Gabourel in Place de la Bastille in Paris.