Cinco mitos sobre a Revolução Francesa

5 myths about the French Revolution

By David A. Bell July 9

David A. Bell teaches French history at Princeton. His “Shadows of Revolution: Reflections on France, Past and Present” is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Two hundred twenty-six years after the fall of the Bastille, the French Revolution stirs passions mostly among historians like myself. But many of the myths surrounding the revolution have proved more difficult to extinguish. Even the name Bastille Day is something of a misnomer. France’s national holiday actually commemorates two separate events: the fall of the Bastille fortress in Paris to revolutionary crowds on July 14, 1789, but also — because 19th-century legislators wanted something less bloody to celebrate — the massive, peaceful “Festival of Federation” held throughout the country on July 14, 1790, to express the French people’s commitment to liberty and unity. To mark this year’s remembrance, here are the real stories behind five other canards.
Mais