![Pavillon royal de France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Pavillon_royal_de_France.svg)
The Bourbon Restoration was the period of
French history
The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age. What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul. The first writings on indigenous populations mainly start in the first century BC. Greek ...
during which the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
returned to power after the first fall of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
on 3 May 1814. Briefly interrupted by the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
War in 1815, the Restoration lasted until the
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 ...
of 26 July 1830.
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 ...
and
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 Loui ...
, brothers of the executed king
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, successively mounted the throne and instituted a conservative government intended to restore the proprieties, if not all the institutions, of 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 ...
. Exiled supporters of the monarchy returned to France but were unable to reverse most of the changes made by 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 considere ...
. Exhausted by
decades of war, the nation experienced a period of internal and external peace, stable economic prosperity and the preliminaries of industrialization.
Background
Following 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 considere ...
(1789–1799), Napoleon Bonaparte became ruler of France. After years of expansion of his
French Empire
French Empire (french: Empire Français, link=no) may refer to:
* First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 and by Napoleon II in 1815, the French state from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815
* Second French Empire, led by Nap ...
by successive military victories, a coalition of European powers defeated him in the
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...
, ended the First Empire in 1814, and
restored the monarchy to the brothers of Louis XVI. The Bourbon Restoration lasted from about 6 April 1814 until the popular uprisings of the
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 ...
of 1830. There was an interlude in spring 1815—the "
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
"—when the return of Napoleon forced the Bourbons to flee France. When Napoleon was again defeated by the
Seventh Coalition
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
, they returned to power in July.
At the peace council of the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, the Bourbons were treated politely by the victorious monarchies, but had to give up nearly all the territorial gains made by revolutionary and Napoleonic France since 1789.
Constitutional monarchy
Unlike the absolutist
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 ...
, the Restoration Bourbon regime was 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 dif ...
, with some limits on its power. The new king, Louis XVIII, accepted the vast majority of reforms instituted from 1792 to 1814. Continuity was his basic policy. He did not try to recover land and property taken from the royalist exiles. He continued in peaceful fashion the main objectives of Napoleon's foreign policy, such as the limitation of Austrian influence. He reversed Napoleon regarding
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, restoring the friendships that had prevailed until 1792.
Politically, the period was characterized by a sharp conservative reaction, and consequent minor but persistent civil unrest and disturbances. Otherwise, the political establishment was relatively stable until the subsequent reign of
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 Loui ...
.
It also saw the reestablishment of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as a major power in French politics. Throughout the Bourbon Restoration, France experienced a period of stable economic prosperity and the preliminaries of industrialization.
[de Sauvigny, Guillaume de Bertier. ''The Bourbon Restoration'' (1966)]
Permanent changes in French society
The eras of the French Revolution and Napoleon brought a series of major changes to France which the Bourbon Restoration did not reverse. First, France was now highly centralized, with all important decisions made in Paris. The political geography was completely reorganized and made uniform, dividing the nation into more than 80 ''départements'' which have endured into the 21st century. Each department had an identical administrative structure, and was tightly controlled by a prefect appointed by Paris. The thicket of overlapping legal jurisdictions of the old regime had all been abolished, and there was now one standardized legal code, administered by judges appointed by Paris, and supported by police under national control.
The Revolutionary governments had confiscated all the lands and buildings of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, selling them to innumerable middle-class buyers, and it was politically impossible to restore them. The bishop still ruled his
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
(which was aligned with the new department boundaries) and communicated with the
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
through the government in Paris. Bishops, priests, nuns and other religious were paid state salaries.
All the old religious rites and ceremonies were retained, and the government maintained the religious buildings. The Church was allowed to operate its own
seminaries
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
and to some extent local schools as well, although this became a central political issue into the 20th century. Bishops were much less powerful than before, and had no political voice. However, the Catholic Church reinvented itself with a new emphasis on personal piety that gave it a hold on the psychology of the faithful. Public education was centralized, with the Grand Master of the
University of France
The University of France (french: Université de France; originally the ''Imperial University of France'') was a highly centralized educational state organization founded by Napoleon I in 1808 and given authority not only over the individual (previ ...
controlling every element of the national educational system from Paris. New technical universities were opened in Paris which to this day have a critical role in training the elite.
Conservatism was bitterly split into the returning old aristocracy and the new elites arising under Napoleon after 1796. The old aristocracy was eager to regain its land, but felt no loyalty to the new regime. The newer elite, the "noblesse d'empire," ridiculed the older group as an outdated remnant of a discredited regime that had led the nation to disaster. Both groups shared a fear of social disorder, but the level of distrust as well as the cultural differences were too great, and the monarchy too inconsistent in its policies, for political cooperation to be possible.
The returning old aristocracy recovered much of the land they had owned directly. However, they lost all their old
seigneurial rights to the rest of the farmland, and the peasants were no longer under their control. The pre-Revolutionary aristocracy had dallied with the ideas of the
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
and rationalism. Now the aristocracy was much more conservative and supportive of the Catholic Church. For the best jobs, meritocracy was the new policy, and aristocrats had to compete directly with the growing business and professional class.
Public anti-clerical sentiment became stronger than ever before, but was now based in certain elements of the middle class and even the peasantry. The great masses of French people were peasants in the countryside or impoverished workers in the cities. They gained new rights and a new sense of possibilities. Although relieved of many of the old burdens, controls, and taxes, the peasantry was still highly traditional in its social and economic behavior. Many eagerly took on mortgages to buy as much land as possible for their children, so debt was an important factor in their calculations. The working class in the cities was a small element, and had been freed of many restrictions imposed by medieval guilds. However, France was very slow to industrialize, and much of the work remained drudgery without machinery or technology to help. France was still split into localities, especially in terms of language, but now there was an emerging French nationalism that focused national pride in the Army and foreign affairs.
Political overview
In April 1814, the Armies of the
Sixth Coalition
Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six.
* The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
Music
* Sixth interval (music)s:
** major sixth, a musical interval
** minor sixth ...
restored
Louis XVIII of France
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 ...
to the throne, the brother and heir of the executed
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
. A constitution was drafted: the
Charter of 1814
The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before h ...
. It presented all Frenchmen as equal before the law, but retained substantial prerogatives for the king and nobility and limited voting to those paying at least 300 Francs a year in direct taxes.
The king was the supreme head of the state. He commanded the land and sea forces, declared war, made treaties of peace, alliance and commerce, appointed all public officials, and made the necessary regulations and ordinances for the execution of the laws and the security of the state. Louis was relatively liberal, choosing many centrist cabinets.
Louis XVIII died in September 1824 and was succeeded by his brother, who reigned as
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 Loui ...
. The new king pursued a more conservative form of governance than Louis. His more reactionary laws included the
Anti-Sacrilege Act The Anti-Sacrilege Act (1825–1830) was a French law against blasphemy and sacrilege passed in April 1825 under King Charles X. The death penalty provision of the law was never applied, but a man named François Bourquin was sentenced to perpet ...
(1825–1830). Exasperated by public resistance and disrespect, the king and his ministers attempted to manipulate the general election of 1830 through their
July Ordinances
The July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830.
Compelled by what he felt to be a growing, manipulative radi ...
. This sparked a revolution in the streets of Paris, Charles abdicated, and on 9 August 1830 the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
affirmed
Louis Phillipe d'Orleans as King of the French, ushering in 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 F ...
.
Louis XVIII, 1814–1824
First Restoration (1814)
Louis XVIII's restoration to the throne in 1814 was effected largely through the support of Napoleon's former foreign minister,
Talleyrand, who convinced the victorious Allied Powers of the desirability of a Bourbon Restoration. The Allies had initially split on the best candidate for the throne: Britain favoured the Bourbons, the Austrians considered a regency for Napoleon's son,
François Bonaparte, and the Russians were open to either the
duc d'Orléans,
Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
, or
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius
, spouse =
, issue = Oscar I of Sweden
, house = Bernadotte
, father = Henri Bernadotte
, mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Pau, ...
, Napoleon's former
Marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
, who was
heir-presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the Swedish throne. Napoleon was offered to keep the throne in February 1814, on the condition that France return to its 1792 frontiers, but he refused. The feasibility of the Restoration was in doubt, but the allure of peace to a war-weary French public, and demonstrations of support for the Bourbons in Paris,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, and
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
s, helped reassure the Allies.
Louis, in accordance with the
Declaration of Saint-Ouen
The Declaration of Saint-Ouen is a statement made by the future King Louis XVIII of France on 2 May 1814, which paved the way for the “First Restoration” of the House of Bourbon on the throne of France following its defeat in the Napoleonic ...
, granted a written constitution, the
Charter of 1814
The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before h ...
, which guaranteed a
bicameral legislature
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
with a hereditary/appointive
Chamber of Peers and an elected
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
– their role was consultative (except on taxation), as only the King had the power to propose or sanction laws, and appoint or recall ministers. The
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
was limited to men with considerable property holdings, and just 1% of people could vote. Many of the legal, administrative, and economic reforms of the revolutionary period were left intact; the
Napoleonic Code, which guaranteed legal equality and civil liberties, the peasants' ''
biens nationaux
The biens nationaux were properties confiscated during the French Revolution from the Catholic Church, the monarchy, émigrés, and suspected counter-revolutionaries for "the good of the nation".
''Biens'' means "goods", both in the sense of "obj ...
'', and the new system of dividing the country into ''
départments'' were not undone by the new king. Relations between church and state remained regulated by the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...
. However, in spite of the fact that the Charter was a condition of the Restoration, the preamble declared it to be a "concession and grant", given "by the free exercise of our royal authority".
After a first sentimental flush of popularity, Louis' gestures towards reversing the results 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 considere ...
quickly lost him support among the disenfranchised majority. Symbolic acts such as the replacement of the
tricolore flag with the
white flag
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.
Contemporary use
The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...
, the titling of Louis as the "XVIII" (as successor to
Louis XVII
Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...
, who never ruled) and as "King of France" rather than "King of the French", and the monarchy's recognition of the anniversaries of the deaths of
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
and
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
were significant. A more tangible source of antagonism was the pressure applied to possessors of ''biens nationaux'' (the lands confiscated by the revolution) by the Catholic Church and the returning ''
émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...
s'' attempts to repossess their former lands. Other groups bearing ill-feeling towards Louis included the army, non-Catholics, and workers hit by a post-war slump and British imports.
The Hundred Days
Napoleon's emissaries informed him of this brewing discontent, and, on 20 March 1815, he returned to Paris from
Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...
. On his
Route Napoléon
The Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now concurrent with sections of routes N85, D1085, D4085, and D6085.
The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginning ...
, most troops sent to stop his march, including some that were nominally royalist, felt more inclined to join the former Emperor than to stop him. Louis fled from Paris to
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
on 19 March.
After Napoleon was defeated in the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
and sent again into exile, Louis returned. During his absence a small revolt in the traditionally pro-royalist
Vendée
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. was put down but there were otherwise few subversive acts favouring the Restoration, even though Napoleon's popularity began to flag.
Second Restoration (1815)
Talleyrand was again influential in seeing that the Bourbons were restored to power, as was
Fouché, Napoleon's minister of police during the Hundred Days. This Second Restoration saw the beginning of the
Second White Terror
The Second White Terror (french: Deuxième Terreur Blanche) occurred in France in 1815–1816, following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) and the enthronement of Louis XVIII as king of France after the Hundred Days. ...
, largely in the south, when unofficial groups supporting the monarchy sought revenge against those who had aided Napoleon's return: about 200–300 were killed, while thousands fled. About 70,000 government officials were dismissed. The pro-Bourbon perpetrators were often known as the ''
Verdets'' because of their green cockets, which was the colour of the comte d'Artois – this being the title of Charles X at the time, who was associated with the hardline
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, or Ultras. After a period in which local authorities looked on helplessly at the violence, the King and his ministers sent out officials to restore order.
![Talleyrand floatingwiththetide0001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Talleyrand_floatingwiththetide0001.jpg)
A new
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
was signed on 20 November 1815, which had more punitive terms than the
1814 treaty. France was ordered to pay 700 million francs in indemnities, and the country's borders were reduced to their 1790 status, rather than 1792 as in the previous treaty. Until 1818, France was occupied by 1.2 million foreign soldiers, including around 200,000 under the command of the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
, and France was made to pay the costs of their accommodation and rations, on top of the reparations. The promise of tax cuts, prominent in 1814, was impracticable because of these payments. The legacy of this, and the White Terror, left Louis with a formidable opposition.
![Élie, comte Decazes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/%C3%89lie%2C_comte_Decazes.jpg)
Louis's chief ministers were at first moderate, including Talleyrand, 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
Élie, duc Decazes
Élie, 1st Duke of Decazes and Glücksbierg (born Élie Louis Decazes; 28 September 178024 October 1860) was a French statesman, leader of the liberal ''Doctrinaires'' party during the Bourbon Restoration.
Early life and family
Élie Decazes wa ...
; Louis himself followed a cautious policy. The ''
chambre introuvable
The ( French for "Unobtainable Chamber") was the first Chamber of Deputies elected after the Second Bourbon Restoration in 1815. It was dominated by Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution. The na ...
'',
elected in 1815, given the nickname "unobtainable" by Louis, was dominated by an overwhelming ultra-royalist majority which quickly acquired the reputation of being "more royalist than the king". The legislature threw out the Talleyrand-Fouché government and sought to legitimize the White Terror, passing judgement against enemies of the state, sacking 50,000–80,000 civil servants, and dismissing 15,000 army officers. Richelieu, an ''émigré'' who had left in October 1789, who "had had nothing at all to do with the new France", was appointed
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. The ''chambre introuvable'', meanwhile, continued to aggressively uphold the place of the monarchy and the church, and called for more commemorations for historical royal figures. Over the course of the parliamentary term, the ultra-royalists increasingly began to fuse their brand of politics with state ceremony, much to Louis' chagrin. Decazes, perhaps the most moderate minister, moved to stop the politicisation of the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
(many ''Verdets'' had been drafted in) by banning political demonstrations by the militia in July 1816.
Owing to tension between the King's government and the ultra-royalist Chamber of Deputies, the latter began to assert their rights. After they attempted to obstruct the 1816 budget, the government conceded that the chamber had the right to approve state expenditure. However, they were unable to gain a guarantee from the King that his cabinets would represent the majority in parliament.
In September 1816, the chamber was dissolved by Louis for its reactionary measures, and
electoral manipulation resulted in a more liberal chamber in 1816. Richelieu served until 29 December 1818, followed by
Jean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles
Jean-Joseph Paul Augustin, 1er Marquis Dessolles (3 July 1767 – 3 November 1828) was a French soldier and statesman. He was the Prime Minister of France from 29 December 1818 to 18 November 1819.
Early life
Born in Auch, in 1767, he was ed ...
until 19 November 1819, and then Decazes (in reality the dominant minister from 1818 to 1820) until 20 February 1820. This was the era in which the ''
Doctrinaires
During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Head ...
'' dominated policy, hoping 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 considere ...
and
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
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 ...
. The following year, the government changed the electoral laws, resorting to
gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
, and altering the franchise to allow some rich men of trade and industry to vote, in an attempt to prevent the ultras from winning a majority in future elections. Press censorship was clarified and relaxed, some positions in the military hierarchy were made open to competition, and mutual schools were set up that encroached on the Catholic monopoly of public primary education. Decazes purged a number of ultra-royalist
prefects
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
and sub-prefects, and in by-elections, an unusually high proportion of
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 ...
s and republicans were elected, some of whom were backed by ultras resorting to
tactical voting
Strategic voting, also called tactical voting, sophisticated voting or insincere voting, occurs in voting systems when a voter votes for another candidate or party than their ''sincere preference'' to prevent an undesirable outcome. For example, ...
. The ultras were strongly critical of the practice of giving civil service employment or promotions to deputies, as the government continued to consolidate its position.
By 1820, the
opposition liberals—who, with the ultras, made up half the chamber—proved unmanageable, and Decazes and the king were looking for ways to revise the electoral laws again, to ensure a more tractable conservative majority. In February 1820, the assassination by a Bonapartist of the
Duc de Berry
Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family ...
, the ultrareactionary son of Louis' ultrareactionary brother and heir-presumptive, the future
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 Loui ...
, triggered Decazes' fall from power and the triumph of the Ultras.
![François-René de Chateaubriand by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy Trioson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Fran%C3%A7ois-Ren%C3%A9_de_Chateaubriand_by_Anne-Louis_Girodet_de_Roucy_Trioson.jpg)
Richelieu returned to power for a short interval, from 1820 to 1821. The press was more strongly censored, detention without trial was reintroduced, and ''Doctrinaire'' leaders, such as
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 a ...
, were banned from teaching at the
École Normale Supérieure
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
. Under Richelieu, the franchise was changed to give the wealthiest electors a double vote, in time for the
November 1820 election. After a resounding victory, a new Ultra ministry was formed, headed by
Jean-Baptiste de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following:
Persons
* Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...
, a leading Ultra who served for six years. The ultras found themselves back in power in favourable circumstances: Berry's wife, the
duchesse de Berry, gave birth to a "miracle child",
Henri
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...
, seven months after the duc's death;
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
died on
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
in 1821, and his son, the
duc de Reichstadt
, house = Bonaparte
, father = Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
, mother = Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Tuileries Palace, Paris, French Empire ...
, remained interned in Austrian hands. Literary figures, most notably
Chateaubriand, but also
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...
,
Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...
,
Vigny, and
Nodier
Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier (29 April 1780 – 27 January 1844) was a French author and librarian who introduced a younger generation of Romanticism, Romanticists to the ''conte fantastique'', gothic literature, and vampire tales. His dream rela ...
, rallied to the ultras' cause. Both Hugo and Lamartine later became republicans, whilst Nodier was formerly. Soon, however, Villèle proved himself to be nearly as cautious as his master, and, so long as Louis lived, overtly reactionary policies were kept to a minimum.
![Cruikshank - Old Bumblehead](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Cruikshank_-_Old_Bumblehead.png)
The ultras broadened their support, and put a stop to growing military dissent in 1823, when intervention in Spain, in favour of Spanish Bourbon King
Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
, and against the
Liberal Spanish Government, fomented popular patriotic fervour. Despite British backing for the military action, the intervention was widely seen as an attempt to win back influence in Spain, which had been lost to the British under Napoleon. The French expeditionary army, called the
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis
"The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" was the popular name for a French army mobilized in 1823 by the Bourbon King of France, Louis XVIII, to help the Spanish Royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the absolute power of which he ha ...
, was led by the
duc d'Angoulême, the comte d'Artois's son. The French troops marched to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and then to
Cadiz, ousting the Liberals with little fighting (April to September 1823), and would remain in Spain for five years. Support for the ultras amongst the voting rich was further strengthened by doling out favours in a similar fashion to the 1816 chamber, and fears over the ''charbonnerie'', the French equivalent of the ''
carbonari
The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
''. In the
1824 election, another large majority was secured.
Louis XVIII died on 16 September 1824 and was succeeded by his brother, the Comte d'Artois, who took the title of
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 Loui ...
.
Charles X
1824–1830: Conservative turn
The accession to the throne of Charles X, the leader of 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 ...
faction, coincided with the ultras' control of power in the Chamber of Deputies; thus, the ministry of the
comte de Villèle was able to continue. The restraint Louis had exercised on the ultra-royalists was removed.
As the country underwent a
Christian revival
Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
in the post-
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
years, the ultras worked to raise the status of the Roman Catholic Church once more. The Church and State
Concordat of 11 June 1817
The Concordat of 11 June 1817 was a concordat between the kingdom of France and the Holy See, signed on 11 June 1817. Not having been validated, it never came into force in France and so the country remained under the regime outlined in the Conco ...
was set to replace the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...
, but, despite being signed, it was never validated. The Villèle government, under pressure from the ''
Chevaliers de la Foi'' including many deputies, voted in the
Anti-Sacrilege Act The Anti-Sacrilege Act (1825–1830) was a French law against blasphemy and sacrilege passed in April 1825 under King Charles X. The death penalty provision of the law was never applied, but a man named François Bourquin was sentenced to perpet ...
in January 1825, which punished by death the theft of
consecrated hosts. The law was unenforceable and only enacted for symbolic purposes, though the act's passing caused a considerable uproar, particularly among the ''
Doctrinaires
During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Head ...
''. Much more controversial was the introduction of the Jesuits, who set up a network of colleges for elite youth outside the official university system. The Jesuits were noted for their loyalty to the Pope and gave much less support to Gallican traditions. Inside and outside the Church they had enemies, and the king ended their institutional role in 1828.
New legislation paid an indemnity to royalists whose lands had been confiscated during the Revolution. Although this law had been engineered by Louis, Charles was influential in seeing that it was passed. A bill to finance this compensation, by converting government debt (the ''rente'') from 5% to 3% bonds, which would save the state 30 million francs a year in interest payments, was also put before the chambers. Villèle's government argued that ''rentiers'' had seen their returns grow disproportionately to their original investment, and that the redistribution was just. The final law allocated state funds of 988 million francs for compensation (''le milliard des émigrés''), financed by government bonds at a value of 600 million francs at 3% interest. Around 18 million francs were paid per year. Unexpected beneficiaries of the law were some one million owners of ''
biens nationaux
The biens nationaux were properties confiscated during the French Revolution from the Catholic Church, the monarchy, émigrés, and suspected counter-revolutionaries for "the good of the nation".
''Biens'' means "goods", both in the sense of "obj ...
'', the old confiscated lands, whose property rights were now confirmed by the new law, leading to a sharp rise in its value.
In 1826, Villèle introduced a bill reestablishing the law of
primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
, at least for owners of large estates, unless they chose otherwise. The liberals and the press rebelled, as did some dissident ultras, such as Chateaubriand. Their vociferous criticism prompted the government to introduce a bill to restrict the press in December, having largely withdrawn censorship in 1824. This only inflamed the opposition even more, and the bill was withdrawn.
The Villèle cabinet faced increasing pressure in 1827 from the liberal press, including the ''
Journal des débats
The ''Journal des débats'' ( French for: Journal of Debates) was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times. Created shortly after the first meeting of the Estates-General of 1789, it was, after the ou ...
'', which sponsored Chateaubriand's articles. Chateaubriand, the most prominent of the anti-Villèle ultras, had combined with other opponents of press censorship (a new law had reimposed it on 24 July 1827) to form the ''Société des amis de la liberté de la presse'';
Choiseul-Stainville,
Salvandy and
Villemain were among the contributors. Another influential society was the ''Société
Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera
Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera ( French idiom, meaning "God helps those who help themselves"; literally, "Help yourself, heaven shall help you"), simply called Aide-toi, was a French society that aimed to stir up the electorate against the government d ...
'', which worked within the confines of legislation banning the unauthorized meetings of more than 20 members. The group, emboldened by the rising tide of opposition, was of a more liberal composition (associated with ''
Le Globe
''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. After ...
'') and included members such as
Guizot,
Rémusat, and
Barrot. Pamphlets were sent out which evaded the censorship laws, and the group provided organizational assistance to liberal candidates against pro-government state officials in the
November 1827 election.
In April 1827, the King and Villèle were confronted by an unruly
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
. The garrison which Charles reviewed, under orders to express deference to the king but disapproval of his government, instead shouted derogatory anti-Jesuit remarks at his devoutly Catholic niece and daughter in law,
Marie Thérèse, Madame la Dauphine. Villèle suffered worse treatment, as liberal officers led troops to protest at his office. In response, the Guard was disbanded. Pamphlets continued to proliferate, which included accusations in September that Charles, on a trip to
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
, was colluding with the Pope and planned to reinstate the tithe, and had suspended the Charter under the protection of a loyal garrison army.
By the time of the election, the moderate royalists (constitutionalists) were also beginning to turn against Charles, as was the business community, in part due to a financial crisis in 1825, which they blamed on the government's law of indemnification. Hugo and a number of other writers, dissatisfied with the reality of life under Charles X, also began to criticize the regime. In preparation for the 30 September registration cut-off for the election, opposition committees worked furiously to get as many voters as possible signed up, countering the actions of ''préfects'', who began removing certain voters who had failed to provide up-to-date documents since the 1824 election. 18,000 voters were added to the 60,000 on the first list; despite préfect attempts to register those who met the franchise and were supporters of the government, this can mainly be attributed to opposition activity. Organization was mainly divided behind Chateaubriand's Friends and the ''Aide-toi,'' which backed liberals, ''constitutionnels'', and the ''contre-opposition'' (constitutional monarchists).
The new chamber did not result in a clear majority for any side. Villèle's successor, the
vicomte de Martignac, who began his term in January 1828, tried to steer a middle course, appeasing liberals by loosening press controls, expelling Jesuits, modifying electoral registration, and restricting the formation of Catholic schools. Charles, unhappy with the new government, surrounded himself with men from the ''Chevaliers de la Foi'' and other ultras, such as the
Prince de Polignac and
La Bourdonnaye. Martignac was deposed when his government lost a bill on local government. Charles and his advisers believed a new government could be formed with the support of the Villèle, Chateaubriand, and Decazes monarchist factions, but chose a chief minister, Polignac, in November 1829 who was repellant to the liberals and, worse, Chateaubriand. Though Charles remained nonchalant, the deadlock led some royalists to call for a ''coup'', and prominent liberals for a tax strike.
At the opening of the session in March 1830, the King delivered a speech that contained veiled threats to the opposition; in response, 221 deputies (an absolute majority) condemned the government, and Charles subsequently
prorogued
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...
and then dissolved parliament. Charles retained a belief that he was popular amongst the unenfranchised mass of the people, and he and Polignac chose to pursue an ambitious foreign policy of colonialism and expansionism, with the assistance of Russia. France had intervened in the Mediterranean a number of times after Villèle's resignation, and expeditions were now sent to Greece and
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. Polignac also initiated French colonization in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
; victory was announced over the
Dey of Algiers
Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 on ...
in early July. Plans were drawn up to invade Belgium, which was shortly to undergo its
own revolution. However, foreign policy did not prove sufficient to divert attention from domestic problems.
Charles's dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, his ''
July Ordinances
The July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830.
Compelled by what he felt to be a growing, manipulative radi ...
'' which set up rigid control of the press, and his restriction of suffrage resulted in the
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 ...
of 1830. The major cause of the regime's downfall, however, was that, while it managed to keep the support of the aristocracy, the Catholic Church and even much of the peasantry, the ultras' cause was deeply unpopular outside of parliament and with those who did not hold the franchise, especially the industrial workers and the bourgeoisie. A major reason was a sharp rise in
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
, caused by a series of bad harvests 1827–1830. Workers living on the margin were very hard-pressed, and angry that the government paid little attention to their urgent needs.
Charles abdicated in favor of his grandson, the
Comte de Chambord
Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...
, and left for England. However, the liberal, bourgeois-controlled Chamber of Deputies refused to confirm the Comte de Chambord as Henri V. In a vote largely boycotted by conservative deputies, the body declared the French throne vacant, and elevated
Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, to power.
1827–1830: Tensions
There is still considerable debate among historians as to the actual cause of the downfall of Charles X. What is generally conceded, though, is that between 1820 and 1830, a series of economic downturns combined with the rise of a liberal opposition within the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, ultimately felled the conservative Bourbons.
Between 1827 and 1830, France faced an economic downturn, industrial and agricultural, that was possibly worse than the one that sparked the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
. A series of progressively worsening grain harvests in the late 1820s pushed up the prices on various
staple food
A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...
s and
cash crop
A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...
s. In response, the rural peasantry throughout France lobbied for the relaxation of protective
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s on grain to lower prices and ease their economic situation. However, Charles X, bowing to pressure from wealthier
landowners
In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...
, kept the tariffs in place. He did so based upon the Bourbon response to the "
Year Without a Summer
The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by . Summer temperatures in Europe were the extreme weather, coldest on record between the years of 1 ...
" in 1816, during which Louis XVIII relaxed tariffs during a series of famines, caused a downturn in prices, and incurred the ire of wealthy landowners, who were the traditional source of Bourbon legitimacy. Thus, between 1827 and 1830, peasants throughout France faced a period of relative economic hardship and rising prices.
At the same time, international pressures, combined with weakened purchasing power from the provinces, led to decreased economic activity in
urban centers
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
. This industrial downturn contributed to the rising poverty levels among Parisian artisans. Thus, by 1830, multiple demographics had suffered from the economic policies of Charles X.
While the French economy faltered, a series of elections brought a relatively powerful liberal bloc into the Chamber of Deputies. The 17-strong liberal bloc of 1824 grew to 180 in 1827, and 274 in 1830. This liberal majority grew increasingly dissatisfied with the policies of the centrist
Martignac and the ultra-royalist
Polignac, seeking to protect the limited protections of the Charter of 1814. They sought both the expansion of the franchise, and more liberal economic policies. They also demanded the right, as the majority bloc, to appoint the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
Also, the growth of the liberal bloc within the Chamber of Deputies corresponded roughly with the rise of a liberal press within France. Generally centered around Paris, this press provided a counterpoint to the government's journalistic services, and to the newspapers of the right. It grew increasingly important in conveying political opinions and the political situation to the Parisian public, and can thus be seen as a crucial link between the rise of the liberals and the increasingly agitated and economically suffering French masses.
By 1830, the Restoration government of Charles X faced difficulties on all sides. The new liberal majority clearly had no intention of budging in the face of Polignac's aggressive policies. The rise of a liberal press within Paris which outsold the official government newspaper indicated a general shift in Parisian politics towards the left. And yet, Charles' base of power was certainly toward the right of the political spectrum, as were his own views. He simply could not yield to the growing demands from within the Chamber of Deputies. The situation would soon come to a head.
1830: The July Revolution
The Charter of 1814 had made France a constitutional monarchy. While the king retained extensive power over policy-making, as well as the sole power of the Executive, he was, nonetheless, reliant upon the Parliament to accept and pass his legal decrees. The Charter also fixed the method of election of the Deputies, their rights within the Chamber of Deputies, and the rights of the majority bloc. Thus, in 1830, Charles X faced a significant problem. He could not overstep his constitutional bounds, and yet, he could not pursue his policies with a liberal majority within the Chamber of Deputies. He was ready for stark action and made his move after a final no-confidence vote by the liberal house majority, in March 1830. He set about to alter the Charter of 1814 by decree. These decrees, known as the "Four Ordinances", dissolved the Chamber of Deputies, suspended the liberty of the press, excluded the more liberal commercial middle-class from future elections, and called for new elections.
Opinion was outraged. On 10 July 1830, before the king had even made his declarations, a group of wealthy, liberal journalists and newspaper proprietors, led by
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic.
Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
, met in Paris to decide upon a strategy to counter Charles X. It was decided then, nearly three weeks before the Revolution, that in the event of Charles' expected proclamations, the journalistic establishment of Paris would publish vitriolic criticisms of the king's policies in an attempt to mobilise the masses. Thus, when Charles X made his declarations on the 25th of July 1830, the liberal journalism machine mobilised, publishing articles and complaints decrying the despotism of the king's actions.
![Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%C3%A9_guidant_le_peuple.jpg)
The urban mobs of Paris also mobilised, driven by patriotic fervour and economic hardship, assembling barricades and attacking the infrastructure of Charles X. Within days, the situation escalated beyond the ability of the monarchy to control it. As the Crown moved to shut down liberal periodicals, the radical Parisian masses defended those publications. They also launched attacks against pro-Bourbon presses, and paralysed the coercive apparatus of the monarchy. Seizing the opportunity, the liberals in Parliament began drafting resolutions, complaints, and censures against the king. The king finally abdicated on 30 July 1830. Twenty minutes later, his son,
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (6 August 1775 – 3 June 1844) was the elder son of Charles X of France and the last Dauphin of France from 1824 to 1830. He was disputedly King of France and Navarre for less than 20 minutes before ...
, who had nominally succeeded as Louis XIX, also abdicated. The Crown nominally then fell upon the son of Louis Antoine's younger brother, Charles X's grandson, who was in line to become Henri V. However, the newly empowered Chamber of Deputies declared the throne vacant, and on 9 August, elevated Louis-Philippe, to the throne. Thus, 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 F ...
began.
Louis-Philippe and the House of Orléans
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...
ascended the throne on the strength of the
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 ...
of 1830, and ruled, not as "King of France" but as "King of the French", marking the shift to
national sovereignty
Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
. 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 centu ...
s remained in power until 1848. Following the ousting of the last king to rule France during the
February 1848 Revolution
The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...
, the
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...
was formed with the election of
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte as President (1848–1852). In the
French coup of 1851
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
, Napoleon declared himself Emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
of the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to:
* Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783
* Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
* Second French Empire (1852–1870)
** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
, which lasted from 1852 to 1870.
Political parties under Restoration
Political parties saw substantial changes of alignment and membership under the Restoration. The Chamber of Deputies oscillated between repressive ''ultra-royalist'' phases and progressive ''liberal'' phases. The repression of the ''
White Terror
White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...
'' excluded opponents of the monarchy from the political scene, but individuals of influence who had different visions of the French
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 dif ...
still clashed.
All parties remained fearful of the common people, who had no voting rights and whom
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic.
Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
later referred to by the term "cheap multitude". Their political sights were set on a class favoritism. Political changes in the Chamber were due to abuse by the majority tendency, involving a dissolution and then an inversion of the majority, or critical events; for example, the assassination of the
Duc de Berry
Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family ...
in 1820.
Disputes were a power struggle between the powerful (royalty against deputies) rather than a fight between royalty and populism. Although the deputies claimed to defend the interests of the people, most had an important fear of common people, of innovations, of socialism and even of simple measures, such as the extension of
voting rights
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
.
The principal political parties during the Restoration are described below.
Ultra-royalists
![Prince de polignac](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Prince_de_polignac.jpg)
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 wished for a return to the
''Ancien Régime'' which prevailed before 1789:
absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...
, domination by the nobility, and the monopoly of politics by "devoted Christians". They were anti-Republican, anti-
democratic, and preached ''Government on High''. Although they tolerated ''vote censitaire,'' a form of democracy limited to those paying taxes above a high threshold, they found the
Charter of 1814
The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before h ...
to be too revolutionary. They wanted a re-establishment of privileges, a major political role for the Catholic Church, and a politically active, rather than ceremonial, king:
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 Loui ...
.
Prominent ultra-royalist theorists were
Louis de Bonald
Louis Gabriel Ambroise, Vicomte de Bonald (2 October 1754 – 23 November 1840) was a French counter-revolutionary philosopher and politician. He is mainly remembered for developing a theoretical framework from which French sociology would ...
and
Joseph de Maistre
Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (; 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his clos ...
. Their parliamentary leaders were
François Régis de La Bourdonnaye
François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of ...
, comte de La Bretèche and, in 1829,
Jules 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 ...
. The main royalist newspapers were ''
La Quotidienne
''La Quotidienne'' was a French Royalist newspaper.
History
It was set up in 1790 by M. de Coutouly. It ceased publication in the face of events in 1792, before returning to print in July 1794 under the title ''Le Tableau de Paris'', returning to ...
'' and ''
La Gazette
''La Gazette'' (), originally ''Gazette de France'', was the first weekly magazine published in France. It was founded by Théophraste Renaudot and published its first edition on 30 May 1631. It progressively became the mouthpiece of one royal ...
,'' supplemented by the ''Drapeau Blanc'', named after the Bourbon white flag, and the ''
Oriflamme
The Oriflamme (from Latin ''aurea flamma'', "golden flame"), a pointed, blood-red banner flown from a gilded lance, was the battle standard of the King of France in the Middle Ages. The oriflamme originated as the sacred banner of the Abbey of St ...
'', named after the battle standard of France.
Doctrinaires
The ''
Doctrinaires
During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Head ...
'' were mostly rich and educated middle-class men: lawyers, senior officials of the Empire, and academics. They feared the triumph of the aristocracy, as much as that of the democrats. They accepted the
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
as a guarantee of freedom and civil equality which nevertheless reined in the ignorant and excitable masses. Ideologically they were
classical liberals
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...
who formed the centre-right of the Restoration's political spectrum: they upheld both capitalism and Catholicism, and attempted to reconcile parliamentarism (in an
elite, wealth-based form) and monarchism (in a
constitutional, ceremonial form), while rejecting both the
absolutism and
clericalism
Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the Church or broader political and sociocultural import.
Clericalism is usually, if not always, used in a pejorative sense ...
of the Ultra-Royalists, and the universal suffrage of the liberal left and republicans. Important personalities were
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-Franç ...
,
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 a ...
, and the
count of Serre. Their newspapers were ''
Le Courrier français'' and ''
Le Censeur
''Le Censeur'' was a French journal of institutional and legal reform, described sometimes as a ''Journal Industrialiste'', founded in 1814 by Charles Dunoyer and Charles Comte as a platform for their liberal, radical, anti-Bourbon and anti-Bonapa ...
''.
Liberal Left
![Lafayette 1825](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Lafayette_1825.png)
The
Liberals were mostly
petite-bourgeoisie: doctors and lawyers, men of law, and, in rural constituencies, merchants and traders of national goods. Electorally they benefitted from the slow emergence of a new middle-class elite, due to the start of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
.
Some of them accepted the principle of monarchy, in a strictly ceremonial and parliamentary form, while others were moderate republicans. Constitutional issues aside, they agreed on seeking to restore the democratic principles of the French Revolution, such as the weakening of clerical and aristocratic power, and therefore thought the
constitutional Charter
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princi ...
was not suffiçiently democratic, and disliked the
peace treaties of 1815, the
White Terror
White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...
and the return to pre-eminence of clergy and of nobility. They wished to lower the taxable quota to support the middle-class as a whole, to the detriment of the aristocracy, and this they supported universal suffrage or at least a wide opening-up of the electoral system to the modest middle-classes such as farmers and craftsmen. Important personalities were parliamentary monarchist
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
A committed repub ...
, officer of the Empire
Maximilien Sebastien Foy, republican lawyer
Jacques-Antoine Manuel
Jacques-Antoine Manuel (10 December 1775 – 20 August 1827) was a French lawyer, politician, and noted orator.
Biography
Manuel was born in the hamlet of La Conchette, in Enchastrayes (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), near Barcelonette. His family in ...
, and the
Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
. Their newspapers were ''
La Minerve
''La Minerve'' (French for "The Minerva") was a newspaper founded in Montreal, Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) by Augustin-Norbert Morin to promote the political goals of Louis-Joseph Papineau's Parti patriote. It was notably directed by Ludge ...
'', ''
Le Constitutionnel
''Le Constitutionnel'' (, ''The Constitutional'') was a French political and literary newspaper, founded in Paris during the Hundred Days by Joseph Fouché. Originally established in October 1815 as ''The Independent'', it took its current name ...
'', and ''
Le Globe
''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. After ...
''.
Republicans and Socialists
The only active
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
were on the left to far-left, based among the workers. Workers had no vote and were not listened to. Their demonstrations were repressed or diverted, causing, at most, a reinforcement of
parliamentarism
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
, which did not mean democratic evolution, only wider taxation. For some, such as
Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism.
Biography Early life, political activity and first imprisonment (1805–1848)
Bla ...
, revolution seemed the only solution.
Garnier-Pagès, and
Louis-Eugène and
Éléonore-Louis Godefroi Cavaignac
Éléonore-Louis Godefroi Cavaignac (30 May 18015 May 1845), better known as Godefroi Cavaignac, was a French politician and journalist.
He was born in Paris, the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac and the brother of Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, ...
considered themselves to be Republicans, while
Cabet and
Raspail were active as socialists.
Saint-Simon was also active during this period, and made direct appeals to Louis XVIII before his death in 1824.
Religion
By 1800 the Catholic Church was poor, dilapidated and disorganised, with a depleted and aging clergy. The younger generation had received little religious instruction, and was unfamiliar with traditional worship. However, in response to the external pressures of foreign wars, religious fervour was strong, especially among women. Napoleon's
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...
provided stability and ended attacks on the Church.
With the Restoration, the Catholic Church again became the
state religion
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
, supported financially and politically by the government. Its lands and financial endowments were not returned, but the government paid salaries and maintenance costs for normal church activities. The bishops regained control of Catholic affairs. The aristocracy before the Revolution was lukewarm to religious doctrine and practice, but the decades of exile created an alliance of throne and altar. The royalists who returned were much more devout, and much more aware of their need for a close alliance with the Church. They had discarded fashionable skepticism and now promoted the wave of Catholic religiosity that was sweeping Europe, with a new reverence for the Virgin Mary, the saints, and popular religious rituals such as praying the rosary. Devotion was far stronger and more visible in rural areas than in Paris and other cities. The population of 32 million included about 680,000 Protestants and 60,000 Jews, who were extended toleration. The anti-clericalism of Voltaire and the Enlightenment had not disappeared, but it was in abeyance.
At the elite level, there was a dramatic change in intellectual climate from intellectual classicism to passionate
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. An 1802 book by
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
entitled ''
Génie du christianisme
''The Genius of Christianity, or Beauties of the Christian Religion'' (french: Le Génie du christianisme, ou Beautés de la religion chrétienne, link=no) is a work by the French author François-René de Chateaubriand, written during his exile ...
'' ("The Genius of Christianity") had an enormous influence in reshaping French literature and intellectual life, emphasising the centrality of religion in creating European high culture. Chateaubriand's book "did more than any other single work to restore the credibility and prestige of Christianity in intellectual circles and launched a fashionable rediscovery of the Middle Ages and their Christian civilisation. The revival was by no means confined to an intellectual elite, however, but was evident in the real, if uneven, rechristianisation of the French countryside."
Economy
With the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, the reactionary aristocracy with its disdain for entrepreneurship returned to power. British goods flooded the market, and France responded with high tariffs and protectionism to protect its established businesses, especially handcrafts and small-scale manufacturing such as textiles. The tariff on iron goods reached 120%. Agriculture had never needed protection, but now demanded it due to the lower prices of imported foodstuffs, such as Russian grain. French winegrowers strongly supported the tariff – their wines did not need it, but they insisted on a high tariff on the import of tea. One agrarian deputy explained: "Tea breaks down our national character by converting those who use it often into cold and stuffy Nordic types, while wine arouses in the soul that gentle gaiety that gives Frenchmen their amiable and witty national character." The French government falsified official statistics to claim that exports and imports were growing – actually there was stagnation, and the economic crisis of 1826-29 disillusioned the business community and readied them to support the revolution in 1830.
Art and literature
Romanticism reshaped art and literature. It stimulated the emergence of a wide new middle class audience.
Among the most popular works were:
* ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'',
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's novel which is set in the 20 years after Napoleon's Hundred Days
* ''
The Red and the Black
''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (; meaning ''The Red and the Black'') is a historical psychological novel in two volumes by Stendhal, published in 1830. It chronicles the attempts of a provincial young man to rise socially beyond his modest upbringing t ...
'',
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...
's novel set in the final years of the regime
* ''
La Comédie humaine
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'', a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays by
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
, set during the Restoration and the July Monarchy
Paris
The city grew slowly in population from 714,000 in 1817 to 786,000 in 1831. During the period Parisians saw the first public transport system, the first gas street lights, and the first uniformed Paris policemen. In July 1830, a popular uprising in the streets of Paris brought down the Bourbon monarchy.
Memory and historical evaluation
After two decades of war and revolution, the restoration brought peace and quiet, and general prosperity.
Gordon Wright says, "Frenchmen were, on the whole, well governed, prosperous, contented during the 15-year period; one historian even describes the restoration era as 'one of the happiest periods in
rance'shistory.
France had recovered from the strain and disorganization, the wars, the killings, the horrors, of two decades of disruption. It was at peace throughout the period. It paid a large war indemnity to the winners, but managed to finance that without distress; the occupation soldiers left peacefully. France's population increased by three million, and prosperity was strong from 1815 to 1825, with the depression of 1825 caused by bad harvests. The national credit was strong, there was significant increase in public wealth, and the national budget showed a surplus every year. In the private sector, banking grew dramatically, making Paris a world center for finance, along with London. The Rothschild family was world-famous, with the French branch led by
James Mayer de Rothschild
James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a German- French banker and the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family.
Early life
James de Rothschild was born ...
(1792–1868). The communication system was improved, as roads were upgraded, canals were lengthened, and steamboat traffic became common. Industrialization was delayed in comparison to Britain and Belgium. The railway system had yet to make an appearance. Industry was heavily protected with tariffs, so there was little demand for entrepreneurship or innovation.
Culture flourished with the new romantic impulses. Oratory was highly regarded, and sophisticated debate flourished. Châteaubriand and
Madame de Stael Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
(1766-1817) enjoyed Europe-wide reputations for their innovations in romantic literature. She made important contributions to political sociology, and the sociology of literature. History flourished;
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 a ...
,
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
A committed repub ...
and Madame de Staël drew lessons from the past to guide the future. The paintings of
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
set the standards for romantic art. Music, theater, science, and philosophy all flourished. The higher learning flourished at the Sorbonne. Major new institutions gave France world leadership in numerous advanced fields, as typified by the
École Nationale des Chartes
The École Nationale des Chartes (, literally National School of Charters) is a French ''grande école'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at ...
(1821) for historiography, the
École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
in 1829 for innovative engineering; and the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
for the fine arts, reestablished in 1830.
Charles X repeatedly exacerbated internal tensions, and tried to neutralize his enemies with repressive measures. They totally failed and forced him into exile for the third time. However the government's handling of foreign affairs was a success. France kept a low profile, and Europe forgot its animosities. Louis and Charles had little interest in foreign affairs, so France played only minor roles. For example, it helped the other powers deal with Greece and Turkey. Charles X mistakenly thought that foreign glory would cover domestic frustration, so he made an all-out effort to conquer Algiers in 1830. He sent a massive force of 38,000 soldiers and 4,500 horses carried by 103 warships and 469 merchant ships. The expedition was a dramatic military success. It even paid for itself with captured treasures. The episode launched the second French colonial empire, but it did not provide desperately needed political support for the King at home.
[Bury, ''France 1814 – 1940'' (1949) pp 43-44.]
Restoration in recent popular culture
The French historical film ''
Jacquou le Croquant
''Jacquou le Croquant'' is a 2007 French historical film, based on the 1899 novel of the same name by Eugène Le Roy. Set in the Dordogne during the Bourbon Restoration, it tells the story of a young peasant who leads a revolt against an evil ...
'', directed by
Laurent Boutonnat
Laurent Boutonnat (born 14 June 1961) is a French composer and film and music video director, best known as the songwriting partner of Mylène Farmer and the director of several groundbreaking music videos.
Career
Born in Paris, Laurent Bouton ...
and starring
Gaspard Ulliel
Gaspard Thomas Ulliel (; 25 November 198419 January 2022) was a French actor. He was known for having portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007), fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic '' Saint Laurent'' (2014 ...
and
Marie-Josée Croze
Marie-Josée Croze (; born February 23, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She also holds French citizenship, which she obtained in December 2012.
Early life
Croze was born in Montreal, Quebec, was adopted, and grew up in Longueuil with four other ch ...
, is based on the Bourbon Restoration.
See also
*
French Restoration style
*
Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas
Pierre-Louis Jean Casimir, Count of Blacas d'Aulps (10 January 1771 – 17 November 1839), later created 1st Duke of Blacas (1821), was a French antiquarian, nobleman and diplomat during the Bourbon Restoration.
Biography Early life
He was ...
*
Mathieu de Montmorency
Mathieu Jean Felicité de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency-Laval (10 July 1767 – 24 March 1826) was a French statesman during the French Revolution and Bourbon Restoration. He was elected as the youngest member of the National Assembly in 178 ...
*
French Empire mantel clock
A French Empire-style mantel clock is a type of elaborately decorated mantel clock that was made in France during the Napoleonic Empire (1804–1814/15). Timekeepers manufacturing during the Bourbon Restoration (1814/1815–1830) are also included ...
*
French monarchs family tree
Below are the family trees of all French monarchs, from Childeric I to Louis Philippe I.
For a more simplified view, see Family tree of French monarchs (simplified)
Key
Unlike in some other family trees, siblings here are not listed in birth order ...
*
France in the long nineteenth century
The history of France from 1789 to 1914 (the long 19th century) extends from the French Revolution to World War I and includes:
* French Revolution (1789–1792)
* French First Republic (1792–1804)
* First French Empire (1804–1814/1815)
* Bo ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Artz, Frederick B. "The Electoral System in France during the Bourbon Restoration, 1815-30." ''Journal of Modern History'' 1.2 (1929): 205–218.
online* Artz, Frederick (1934). ''Reaction and Revolution, 1814–1832''; covers all of Europe
*
* Beach, Vincent W. (1971) ''Charles X of France: His Life and Times'' (Boulder: Pruett, 1971) 488 pp
* Brogan, D. W. "The French Restoration: 1814-1830" ''History Today'' (Jan 1956) 6#1 pp 28–36; part 2, (Feb 1956), 6#2, pp 104–109.
*
* Charle, Christophe. (1994) ''A Social History of France in the 19th Century'' (1994) pp 1–52
*
* Counter, Andrew J. "A Nation of Foreigners: Chateaubriand and Repatriation." ''Nineteenth-Century French Studies'' 46.3 (2018): 285–306
online*
*
*
* Fenby, Jonathan. "Return of the King." ''History Today'' (Oct 2015) 65#10 pp 49–54; Very well illustrated popular history.
* Fortescue, William. (1988) ''Revolution and Counter-revolution in France, 1815-1852'' (Blackwell, 1988).
* Fozzard, Irene. "The Government and the Press in France, 1822 to 1827." ''English Historical Review'' 66.258 (1951): 51–66
online* survey of political history by leading scholar
* Hall, John R. ''The Bourbon Restoration'' (1909
online free* Haynes, Christine. ''Our Friends the Enemies. The Occupation of France after Napoleon'' (Harvard University Press, 2018
online reviews*
*
* Jardin, Andre, and Andre-Jean Tudesq. ''Restoration and Reaction 1815–1848'' (1988)
*
* Kelly, George A. "Liberalism and aristocracy in the French Restoration." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 26.4 (1965): 509–530
Online* Kieswetter, James K. "The Imperial Restoration: Continuity in Personnel and Policy under Napoleon I and Louis XVIII." ''Historian'' 45.1 (1982): 31–46
online*
* Knapton, Ernest John. (1934) "Some Aspects of the Bourbon Restoration of 1814." ''Journal of Modern History'' (1934) 6#4 pp: 405–424
in JSTOR*
* Lucas-Dubreton, J. ''The Restoration and the July Monarchy'' (1929) pp 1–173.
* Merriman, John M. ed. ''1830 in France'' (1975). 7 long articles by scholars.
*
* Newman, Edgar Leon, and Robert Lawrence Simpson. ''Historical Dictionary of France from the 1815 Restoration to the Second Empire'' (Greenwood Press, 1987
online edition*
*
*
* Pinkney, David. ''The French Revolution of 1830'' (1972)
*
*
* de Sauvigny, Guillaume de Bertier. ''The Bourbon Restoration'' (1966)
*
* Stewart, John Hall. ''The restoration era in France, 1814-1830'' (1968) 223pp
* Wolf, John B. (1940) ''France: 1815 to the Present'' (1940
online freepp 1–75.
Historiography
*
* Haynes, Christine. ''Our Friends the Enemies. The Occupation of France after Napoleon'' (Harvard University Press, 2018
online reviews on H-DIPLO 2020* Haynes, Christine. "Remembering and Forgetting the First Modern Occupations of France,” ''Journal of Modern History'' 88:3 (2016): 535-57
online*
Primary sources
* , complete text online
* Collins, Irene, ed. ''Government and society in France, 1814-1848'' (1971) pp 7–87. Primary sources translated into English.
* Lindsann, Olchar E. ed. ''Liberté, Vol. II: 1827-1847'' (2012) original documents in English translation regarding politics, literature, history, philosophy, and art.
online free 430pp
* Stewart, John Hall ed. ''The Restoration Era in France, 1814-1830'' (1968) 222pp; excerpts from 68 primary sources, plus 87pp introduction
External links
*
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1814 establishments in France
1830 disestablishments in France
19th century in France
States and territories established in 1814
States and territories disestablished in 1815
States and territories established in 1815
States and territories disestablished in 1830