July 14, 2007
Happy Bastille Day
A very special holiday message from Brickmuppet Blog!
It's Bastille Day everybody!
Jerry Pournelle:
On July 14 I usually write an exposition on just what
happened on Bastille Day seven prisoners, all aristocrats, were
liberated. Four forgers, two madmen, and a young man who had
challenged the best swordsman in Paris to a duel, and had been
locked up by the king at the request of the lad's father. The
forgers vanished. The madmen were put into the common madhouse.
The young aristocrat took a revolutionary name, joined the
liberation forces, and was later beheaded during the Terror. The
garrison of the Bastille consisted of retired soldiers, many of
them missing limbs, and were as much waiters and attendants as
guards, since the Bastille contained only aristocrats who were
confined in relative comfort. The garrison was slaughtered and
their heads put on pikes.
The Revolution brought in a new vision of man and government.
Before it was over, French armies had ended the Venetian
Republic, the oldest republic in history. The Revolution ended
when Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, failed to
incorporate all of Europe into a new Empire. Revolutions often
have unintended consequences. Few people seem to learn anything
other than "Next time for sure."
Of course many important things came from the French Revolution...but as today is Bastille Day we'll focus only the positive....
.........Oh yeah....the metric system!
Well that was short.
Here is a view from Europe by the late Eric von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, (who agrees with me about the metric system!)
Read the whole thing.
This concludes our special holiday presentation.
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It's Bastille Day everybody!
Jerry Pournelle:
On July 14 I usually write an exposition on just what
happened on Bastille Day seven prisoners, all aristocrats, were
liberated. Four forgers, two madmen, and a young man who had
challenged the best swordsman in Paris to a duel, and had been
locked up by the king at the request of the lad's father. The
forgers vanished. The madmen were put into the common madhouse.
The young aristocrat took a revolutionary name, joined the
liberation forces, and was later beheaded during the Terror. The
garrison of the Bastille consisted of retired soldiers, many of
them missing limbs, and were as much waiters and attendants as
guards, since the Bastille contained only aristocrats who were
confined in relative comfort. The garrison was slaughtered and
their heads put on pikes.
The Revolution brought in a new vision of man and government.
Before it was over, French armies had ended the Venetian
Republic, the oldest republic in history. The Revolution ended
when Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, failed to
incorporate all of Europe into a new Empire. Revolutions often
have unintended consequences. Few people seem to learn anything
other than "Next time for sure."
Of course many important things came from the French Revolution...but as today is Bastille Day we'll focus only the positive....
.........Oh yeah....the metric system!
Well that was short.
Here is a view from Europe by the late Eric von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, (who agrees with me about the metric system!)
Read the whole thing.
This concludes our special holiday presentation.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
06:37 PM
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