In May 1789 Louis XVI convened the États-Généraux, made up of more than 1118 deputies representing the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate (‘common people’), to moderate dissent. Denied entry, the Third Estate’s reps met separately on this 1686-built royal tennis court, formed a National Assembly and took the Serment du Jeu de Paume (Tennis Court Oath), swearing not to dissolve it until Louis XVI accepted a new constitution.
Less than a month later, a mob in Paris stormed the prison at Bastille.