Why was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille's workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King's letter could set him free. Over the years, the number of arrests by King's letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726. For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King's complete power. This passage mainly   _  .
tells how the prisoners were controlled by the King tells how little was known about the Bastille shows the inner workings of the Bastille gives a brief history of the Bastille