During the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* Ab ...
(1814–1830) and the
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
(1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of
French royalists who hoped to reconcile the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy ...
with the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
and
power with
liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
. Headed by
Royer-Collard, these
liberal royalists were in favor of a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...
, but with a heavily restricted
census suffrage—
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
, who had been restored to the throne, had granted a
Charter to the French with a
Chamber of Peers and a Chamber of Deputies elected under tight electoral laws (only around 100,000 Frenchmen had at the time the right to vote). The Doctrinaires were a
centrist, as well as a
conservative-liberal group,
but at that time, ''liberal'' was considered to be the mainstream
political left, so the group was considered a
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
group.
During the July Monarchy, they were an intellectual and political group within the
Resistance Party. Led by
the Duke of Broglie and
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848.
A conservative liberal who opposed the ...
, the Doctrinaires held powerful posts throughout the reign of
Louis-Philippe. Broglie (1835–1836) and Guizot (1847–1848) were both
Prime Ministers of France, although Guizot and the Doctrinaires dominated the political scenery during the premiership of Marshal
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...
(1840–1847).
[H. A. C Collingham (1988). ''The July Monarchy: A Political History of France 1830-1848''.]
History and characteristics
Origins
The Doctrinaires first obtained in 1816 the co-operation of
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
, who had been frightened by the violence of the
Ultra-royalists in the ''
Chambre introuvable'' of 1815.
However, the Ultras quickly came back to government, headed by the
comte de Villèle
''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus'').
Comte or Comté may refer to:
* A count in French, from Latin ''comes''
* A ...
. The Doctrinaires were then in the opposition, although they remained quite close to the government, especially to
Decazes who assumed some governmental offices. The Doctrinaires were opposed on their left by republicans and liberals, and on their right by the Ultras.
Finally, the Doctrinaires were destroyed by
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and L ...
, the
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the '' status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abs ...
successor of his brother Louis XVIII. Charles took the ultra
prince de Polignac
Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac, Count of Polignac (; 14 May 178030 March 1847), then Prince of Polignac, and briefly 3rd Duke of Polignac in 1847, was a French statesman and ultra-royalist politician after the Revolution. He served as pr ...
as his minister. This nomination in part caused the
1830 July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
, during which the Doctrinaires became absorbed in the
Orléanist
Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that cent ...
s, from whom they had never been separated on any ground of principle.
According to
René Rémond's famous classification of the various right-wing families in France, the Orléanists became the second right-wing tradition to emerge after the
Legitimist
The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They re ...
s, a term used to refer to the Ultras after the July Revolution.
Doctrinaires, a pejorative word quickly reappropriated
As has often been the case with party designations, the name was at first given in derision and by an enemy. In 1816, the ''
Nain jaune réfugié
Nain may refer to:
Places
* Nain, Iran, a city in Iran
* Nain County, an administrative subdivision of Iran
* Nain, Israel, a village in Galilee, mentioned in the New Testament (miraculous raising of the son of the widow of Nain)
* Nain, Jamaica ...
'', a French paper, published at
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
by
Bonapartist
Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...
and liberal exiles, began to speak of
Royer-Collard as the doctrinaire and also as ''le Pierre Royer-Collard de la doctrine chrétienne'', a name which came from Royer-Collard's studies under the ''
Prêtres de la doctrine chrétienne'', a French religious order founded in 1592 by
César de Bus and popularly known as the doctrinaires.
The choice of a nickname for Royer-Collard does credit to the journalistic insight of the contributors to the ''Nain jaune réfugié'', for he was emphatically a man who made it his business to preach a
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doctrina, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given ...
and an
orthodoxy. The term quickly became popular and was extended to Royer-Collard's colleagues, who came from different horizons. The
duc de Richelieu
Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it down ...
and
Hercule de Serre
Pierre François Hercule de Serre (12 March 1776 – 21 July 1824) was a French soldier, lawyer and politician. He was a deputy from 1815 to 1824, and was Minister of Justice in three successive cabinets from 1818 to 1821. He sat on the center-rig ...
had been royalist ''
émigrés'' during the revolutionary and imperial epoch.
Nationalize the monarchy and royalize France
Royer-Collard himself,
Jean Maximilien Lamarque and
Maine de Biran had sat in the revolutionary Assemblies.
Pasquier, the
comte de Beugnot, the
baron de Barante,
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...
,
Mounier Mounier is a surname, and may refer to:
* Anthony Mounier (born 1987), French footballer
* Emmanuel Mounier (1905–1950), French philosopher
* Flo Mounier, drummer
* Jean-Jacques Mounier (born 1949), French judoka
* Jean Joseph Mounier (1758†...
,
Guizot and
Decazes had been imperial officials, but they were closely united by political principle and also by a certain similarity of method. Some of them, notably Guizot and Maine de Biran, were theorists and commentators on the principles of government. The baron de Barante was an eminent man of letters. All were noted for the doctrinal coherence of their principles and the
dialectic
Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
al rigidity of their arguments. The object of the party as defined by the future duc Decazes was to "nationalize the monarchy and to royalize France".
The king, who had been king of France during the
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
, ultimately became king of the French under the July Monarchy. This illustrated the change from the
divine right of kings
In European Christianity, the divine right of kings, divine right, or God's mandation is a political and religious doctrine of political legitimacy of a monarchy. It stems from a specific metaphysical framework in which a monarch is, befor ...
to
national sovereignty as sovereignty was not derived from God anymore, but from the people.
The means by which they hoped to attain this end were a loyal application of the
Charter granted by
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
and the steady co-operation of the king with themselves to defeat the
Ultra-royalist
The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Catho ...
s, a group of
counterrevolutionaries who aimed at the complete undoing of the political and social work of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. The Doctrinaires were ready to allow the king a large discretion in the choice of his ministers and the direction of national policy. They refused the principle of
parliamentary responsibility
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bra ...
, that is to allow that ministers should be removed in obedience to a hostile vote in the chamber.
Their ideal in fact was a combination of a king who frankly accepted the results of the Revolution and who governed in a liberal spirit, with the advice of a chamber elected by a very limited constituency in which men of property and education formed, if not the wholes at least the very great majority of the voters. This king was not to be found until
Louis-Philippe's reign during the
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
. Guizot set forth the Doctrinaires' ideology in his 1816 treatise ''Du gouvernement représentatif et de l'état actuel de la France''. The chief organs of the party in the press were the ''Indépendant'' (renamed the ''Constitutionnel'' in 1817) and the ''
Journal des Débats''. The Doctrinaires were chiefly supported by ex officials of the empire who believed in the necessity for monarchical government, but had a lively memory of
Napoleon's authoritative rule and a no less lively hatred of the Ancien Régime — merchants, manufacturers and members of the liberal professions, particularly the lawyers.
English terminology
The word ''doctrinaire'' has become naturalized in English terminology as applied in a slightly contemptuous sense to a theorist as distinguished from a practical man of affairs.
Prominent members
*
The Baron of Barante
*
Jacques Claude Beugnot
*
Louis Becquey
Louis Becquey (24 September 1760 – 2 May 1849) was a French counter-revolutionary. He was born in Vitry-le-François, Marne Marne can refer to:
Places France
*Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine
*Marne (department), a département in north ...
*
Maine de Biran
*
The Duke of Broglie
*
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830).
Biography Early life
He was born at Sompuis, near Vitry-le-Fr ...
*
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Franco-Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
A committed republican from 1795, he backed t ...
*
Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin (; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of " eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. A ...
*
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...
*
Élie Decazes
*
The Marquis Dessolles
*
Tanneguy Duchâtel
*
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848.
A conservative liberal who opposed the ...
*
Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne
Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne (3 August 1798, Rouen – 20 May 1881, Herry Herry may refer to:
People
* Herry Iman Pierngadi (born 1962), Indonesian badminton coach
* Herry Janto Setiawan (born 1973), Indonesian cyclist
* Herry Kiswanto (born ...
*
Hippolyte François Jaubert
Count Hippolyte François Jaubert (28 October 1798 – 5 December 1874) was a French politician and botanist.
Jaubert was born in Paris, the son of François Hippolyte Jaubert (a commissioner of the French Navy, killed at the Battle of the Ni ...
*
Camille Jordan
Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan (; 5 January 1838 – 22 January 1922) was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential ''Cours d'analyse''.
Biography
Jordan was born in Lyon and educated ...
*
Théodore Simon Jouffroy
*
The Marquis of Lafayette
Electoral results
See also
*
Modification of political parties under the Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history during which the House of Bourbon returned to power after the first fall of Napoleon on 3 May 1814. Briefly interrupted by the Hundred Days War in 1815, the Restoration lasted until the ...
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Craiutu, Aurelian. ''Liberalism under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaires''. Lexington Books, 2003.
* Rosanvallon, Pierre. ''Le Moment Guizot''. Gallimard, 1985.
* Siedentop, Larry. "Two Liberal Traditions". ''The Idea of Freedom: Essays in Honour of Isaiah Berlin''. Oxford University Press, 1979.
* Starzinger, Vincent E. ''The Politics of the Center: The Juste Milieu in Theory and Practice, France and England, 1815-1848.'' Transaction Publishers, 1991.
Bourbon Restoration
Classical liberal parties
Conservative liberal parties
Conservative liberalism
Centre-left parties in Europe
Centrist parties in France
Orléanist parties
Political parties of the Bourbon Restoration