July Monarchy: period, features, results

In July 1830, an uprising took place in France, which resulted in the overthrow of the last representative of the senior line of the Bourbon dynasty, King Charles X, and his relative, the Duke of Orleans Louis Philippe, who was elevated to the throne. As a result, the Bourbon regime, which was established in 1814, was established, and tried to restore the country's order in the country before the 1789 revolution. The ensuing period in the history of France went down in history as the July monarchy.

What brought the country the next revolution

The period of the July monarchy is characterized by the fact that as a result of the uprising, which was called the Second French Revolution, a new Constitution was adopted (an updated Charter), which ensured greater respect for civil rights and expanded the powers of the parliament.

The ruling class is still the big bourgeoisie, and if earlier it was subjected to pressure from the feudal nobility, now the danger for it proceeded from below - from the petty bourgeois and the working class that had been formed by that time. Since ordinary citizens of the country had practically no opportunity to defend their rights through the parliament, they still represented a potential danger for the established order in the country.

The struggle of parliamentary factions

However, this does not mean the homogeneity of the composition of parliament and its inaction. The peculiarities of the July monarchy are precisely the extreme aggravation of the internal parliamentary struggle caused by the contradictions between representatives of various parties.

The opposition, for example, was not satisfied with the adoption of the old Constitution in an updated form and required its full revision. Their main goal was the establishment of universal suffrage in the country and the further expansion of civil liberties.

Spreading the ideas of socialism

In this climate of acute political struggle, the July monarchy became a fertile ground for the spread of various forms of socialist doctrine. In the 30 years of the XIX century, it gained many supporters thanks to the active work of the founder of the school of utopian socialism - Count Saint-Simon. He and his followers, called the sensitonists, appealed to the people of France immediately after the victory of the Second Revolution and in subsequent years acquired considerable political weight.

In addition, the spread of the ideas of universal equality and the socialization of the means of production contributed to the popularity of the works of Proudhon and L. Blanc. As a result, the July monarchy in France was often shaken by major popular unrest, which was clearly socialist in character.

Street disorders of the early 30-ies

Their exacerbation sharply emerged in November of the same year, 1830, when the newly appointed head of the government, Jacques Lafitte, was to organize a trial of the ministers of the former Cabinet, formed during the reign of the deposed King Charles X.

The crowds, spontaneously gathered in those days on the streets of Paris, demanded for them the death penalty, and the verdict of the court on life imprisonment seemed to them too mild sentence. The socialists who tried to take advantage of this disturbance, whose purpose was to lead the country to a new revolution, tried to use it.

They added fuel to the fire and supporters of the restoration of the former regime and the enthronement of the young Henry V, in favor of which the newly deposed monarch abdicated from the throne. In February 1831, they organized a demonstration, giving it the form of a requiem for the deceased one year before the other heir to the throne, the Duke of Berry. However, this action was not due to time, and outraged crowds of the people routed not only the church where it was held, but also the house of the archbishop himself.

Rebellions against the regime of Louis Philippe

During the entire 30-ies the July monarchy was shaken by a number of popular uprisings. The largest of them was organized in June 1832 in Paris by members of the secret society of "human rights", supported by numerous foreign emigrants. The rioters built barricades and even proclaimed a republic in the country, but after a brief battle they were scattered by government troops.

Another major performance of this period occurred two years later in León. He was provoked by tough police measures against political organizations. Within five days, the gendarmerie detachments tried to storm the barricades erected by the workers, and when they succeeded, they organized unprecedented bloodshed on the streets of the city.

In 1839, another popular unrest swept through Paris. Their initiator was a secret political organization, hiding under the faceless name "Society of the Seasons". This manifestation of general hatred of the government was also suppressed, and its instigators appeared before the court.

Attempts at the King

In addition to mass demonstrations aimed at overthrowing the regime of King Louis Philippe, 7 attempts on his life were committed by individuals in the same years. The most famous of them was organized by Corsican Josef Fieski. To kill the monarch, he designed, built and secretly installed on the path of his following a unique design consisting of 24 loaded rifle barrels.

When the king came up to her, the conspirator made a powerful volley, as a result of which Louis Philippe was not injured, but 12 people from the surrounding suite were killed, and many were injured. The conspirator was immediately seized and soon guillotined.

The war with the press and the change of ministers

However, the main danger for the king came from the press, which the July Monarchy granted much greater freedom than the previous Bourbon regime. Many periodicals were not ashamed to openly criticize both Louis Philippe himself and the government he created. They did not stop their actions even despite the systematic legal proceedings against them.

The crisis of the July monarchy was vividly marked by a frequent change of cabinet members, which began in 1836. The head of government, François Guizot, and Louis-Philippe himself tried to organize the work of the supreme authority in such ways, while at the same time reassuring both the parliamentary opposition and the masses.

By the way, in world history there are many examples of how weak and incompetent rulers tried to delay the collapse of the regime they created by frequent personnel reshuffles. Suffice it to recall the "ministerial leapfrog" that preceded the fall of the House of Romanovs.

Moods that dominated the parliament

For a long time, the Prime Minister managed to skillfully maneuver between parties that put forward various demands. For example, the dynastic opposition wanted a parliamentary reform that would give deputies the right to hold various posts in state institutions. They also insisted on expanding the electorate with the introduction of new categories of persons into it.

Despite the fact that the reasons for the July monarchy were that the representatives of the bourgeoisie were dissatisfied with the reactionary tendencies of the former government, they themselves were not able to put forward any radical demands.

Worse was the case with representatives of the extreme left wing. They insisted on the introduction of universal suffrage in the country and the establishment of a number of civil liberties, which were heard from the socialists.

Having in the parliament the votes of the majority of deputies obedient to him, Guizot easily coped with the disobedient, but against the external opposition, expressed in the constantly growing popular discontent, he was powerless. Not only the republican, but also the socialist sentiments in the country grew stronger every year, and there was nothing to counter them.

The ghost of Napoleon

If the causes of the July Monarchy crisis lie mainly in the discontent of the masses with the absence of radical changes expected after the overthrow of Charles X, the fall of his successor, King Louis Philippe, was largely brought about by the revived popularity of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Propaganda of the ideas of a return to the state system that preceded the restoration of the monarchy (1814) was largely promoted by the government itself. By his decision, the ashes of the great Corsican were transported to Paris, and the statue was erected on top of the Vendome column, towering in the center of the French capital and allegedly cast from Russian captured cannon.

The posthumous exaltation of the name of Napoleon was also promoted by prominent public figures of the era, such as the famous historian Louis Adolphe Thiers and writers Pierre Jean de Beranger and George Sand. At the same time, on the political horizon, the figure of the nephew of the late Emperor Charles Louis Napoleon loomed more distinctly.

The descendant of the emperor

Being a descendant of the universal idol, he twice tried to come to power through poorly organized and mediocre coup attempts, which Louis-Philippe did not attach the slightest importance and did not even arrest their instigator. He simply was not taken seriously.

However, the situation radically changed after the formation of a large and very representative party around Louis Napoleon. One of its leaders was a prominent politician of the era of Odilon Barro. With its light hand, the opposition movement took the form of a so-called banquet campaign.

Banquets that culminated in a revolution

It was concluded that in the beginning in Paris, and then in other cities of France, so as not to violate the law on rallies, which required from its organizers the receipt of permission of local authorities, the most real public banquets were held, on which several thousand people gathered.

There were tables with wine and a snack, which gave the meeting the appearance of a large but not forbidden banquet. Before the heated wine guests were speakers, who then took seats at common tables. Realizing all the true background of the events held, the authorities, nevertheless, could not find fault with anything, and agitation was in full swing.

Such mass feasts, organized by rich politicians, eventually led to the next French revolution, as a result of which, on February 24, 1848, King Louis Philippe abdicated.

The results of the July monarchy were reduced to the fact that a republic was established in France, led by its first president, Louis Adolf Napoleon. Fate would have liked that after two unsuccessful attempts at a coup he finally came to power legally, and went down in history under the name of Napoleon III.