Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Louis XIV ya yi amfani da Bastille a matsayin kurkuku ga manyan 'yan ajin Faransa waɗanda suka yi adawa da shi ko suka fusata shi ciki har da, bayan soke Dokar Nantes, Furotesta na Faransa. Daga 1659 zuwa gaba, Bastille ya yi aiki da farko a matsayin gidan kurkuku na jihar; ta 1789, fursunoni 5,279 sun wuce ta ƙofofinsa. A karkashin Louis XV da XVI, an yi amfani da Bastille don tsare fursunoni daga wurare daban-daban, da kuma tallafawa ayyukan 'yan sandan Paris, musamman wajen tilasta takunkumin gwamnati na kafofin watsa labarai. Ko da yake an tsare fursunoni a cikin yanayi mai kyau, zargi na Bastille ya girma a lokacin karni na 18, wanda aka yi wahayi zuwa gare shi ta hanyar rubuce-rubucen da tsohon fursunoni suka rubuta. An aiwatar da gyare-gyare kuma an rage adadin fursunoni sosai. A shekara ta 1789, rikicin kudi na gwamnatin masarauta da kuma kafa Majalisar Kasa ya haifar da kumburi na jin dadin jama'a a tsakanin mazauna birni. A ranar 14 ga Yuli, taron masu juyin juya hali sun mamaye Bastille, galibi mazauna faubourg Saint-Antoine waɗanda suka nemi yin amfani da barbashi mai daraja da ke cikin sansanin soja. An sami sauran fursunoni bakwai kuma an sake su kuma gwamnan Bastille, Bernard-René de Launay, taron sun kashe shi. An rushe Bastille bisa ga umarnin Kwamitin Hôtel de Ville. An kwashe abubuwan tunawa na sansanin soja a duk faɗin Faransa kuma an nuna su a matsayin gumakan da aka kifar da mulkin kama karya. A cikin ƙarni na gaba, wurin da kuma tarihin Bastille ya fito fili a cikin juyin juya halin Faransa
, zanga-zangar siyasa da almara na jama'a, kuma ya kasance muhimmiyar alama ce ga ƙungiyar Jamhuriyar Faransa.