Nationalism creates a sense of identity between individuals and countries. When citizens unite around a common desire, the pride created can topple even the most authoritarian regimes. During the French Revolution in the late 1700s, French nationalism reached an unprecedented level. Unfortunately, death and destruction were undeniable consequences. In the late 1700s, the most important events that allowed the French Revolution to build were the storming of the Bastille, the creation of the National Assembly, the execution of the monarchy, and the Reign of Terror. The beginning of the change in nationalism in France during the 1700s. This was during the storming of the Bastille. During this event, an angry mob surrounded the Bastille and demanded the guards inside lower the bridges so they could destroy the prison. They entered and stole all the armor, weapons, ammunition and freed the prisoners. This happened on July 14, 1789. Inside the prison they found only 7 political prisoners. “The Bastille symbolized the tyranny of absolute monarchy in France” (Beers. 1989, p. 31). This quote tells us the whole reason why the people stormed the Bastille that day in July. The French people wanted a new monarchy or government, because the one they had was doing a terrible job imposing high taxes on the third power that couldn't afford them and starting unnecessary wars with other countries. Plus, the king was spending ridiculous amounts of money on his own entertainment, so they destroyed a symbolic building of their monarchy to show they wanted change and fight against King Louie XIV. This is the reason why the storming of the Bastille was one of the most important events that triggered the change in nationalism and sparked the French Revolution. The next big event that happened during...... middle of paper ...... had many wars to fight, which also strengthens nationalism as the nation worked together. At the end of the revolution, these 4 events were the biggest that changed France and made it what it is today. They were also the greatest at producing more nationalism and creating a better national identity. These 4 events were the storming of the Bastille, the creation of the National Assembly, the execution of the monarchy and the reign of terror. All these events were very important during the revolution in creating this feeling of nationalism. ReferencesBeers, Burton F. (1989). World history: models of civilization. Scarborough: Prentice Hall. Gardner, R., Hoogeven, M., McDevitt, D., Scully, A. (2008). Exploring nationalism. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Sexton, T. (2008). Related content. The French Revolution: the National Assembly. Yahoo Contributor Network.