The Bakery by the Bastille 1789
1789, Paris. A loaf of bread costs half a day's wage. At Versailles the Estates-General has opened. You are a baker's daughter in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, and every morning the queue outside the shop grows longer.
Historical background
After the bad harvest of 1788, bread in Paris in the summer of 1789 was dearer than it had been in decades, and labourers had to spend more than half their wages on it. With the treasury empty, Louis XVI opened the Estates-General at Versailles on 5 May 1789 — the first in 175 years. In June the deputies of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, and on 14 July people from the faubourg Saint-Antoine, home to many artisans and workers, led the storming of the Bastille. On the night of 4 August the Assembly declared feudal privileges abolished.
On 5 October the women of Paris marched to Versailles demanding bread, and the next day the royal family was brought to Paris as "the baker, the baker's wife and the baker's boy". The king's flight to Varennes and the Champ de Mars massacre in 1791, the proclamation of the Republic in 1792, the execution of Louis XVI, the Law of Suspects and the Terror in 1793 followed, until Robespierre fell on 27 July 1794 (9 Thermidor). The revolutionary government printed assignats and imposed a maximum price on grain, but the bread question never went away.
Who you are
You begin as a 25-year-old baker’s daughter in the faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris. You have neither land nor sword, but you have a shop and neighbours — and bread is at the heart of this revolution. Manon, a laundress next door, Antoine Roussel, a carpenter and sergeant of the National Guard, Simon Leclerc of the section’s watch committee and Boissier the grain merchant are the people of this life.
The current of history: French Revolution
An invitation called "The summer of the Estates" arrives, followed by stages for the night of Varennes, the Terror and 9 Thermidor. The side you choose really changes your allegiance, your home and your disposition; the losing side faces a reckoning and the winning side a reward.
Sides you can take
- Revolutionary Throw yourself into the revolution with the National Guard and the clubs. You win renown, at great risk.
- Constitutionalist Support a path where king and constitution go together, looking for a way with less bloodshed.
- Royalists Defend the king and the old order — the side of faith and tradition.
Tips
Questions and answers
How close is this scenario to real history?
The bread prices of 1789, the Estates-General of 5 May, the National Assembly, the storming of the Bastille on 14 July and the faubourg Saint-Antoine, the night of 4 August, the October march on Versailles, the flight to Varennes, the Champ de Mars, the Republic, the Law of Suspects and the Terror, 9 Thermidor and the assignats are historical. The starting map, realms, real historical figures and the major events of the current of history follow actual history. You and the companions, rivals and loves around you are fictional people who could have lived then, and once you start, history may diverge according to your choices and those of the AI rulers.
What station do I start in?
You start as a 25-year-old common woman of the faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris, a baker's daughter. You have no land.
Is it free? Can I play right away?
Yes. Crown & Plough is a free browser game with no account and nothing to install. The "Start in this scene" button on this page opens the scenario's intro screen directly, and progress is saved automatically in your browser. It works on phones too.