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Liberty Leading the People by Eugne Delacroix: a tableau of the July Revolution. Other names The July Revolution Participants Location Date Result French society France 2629 July 1830 Abdication of Charles X Ascension of Louis-Philippe to the French throne and establishment of the constitutional July Monarchy
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or Trois Glorieuses in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orlans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown. It marked the shift from one constitutional monarchy, the Bourbon Restoration, to another, the July Monarchy; the transition of power from the House of Bourbon to its cadet branch, the House of Orlans; and the substitution of the principle of popular sovereignty for hereditary right. Supporters of the Bourbon would be called Legitimists, and supporters of Louis Philippe Orlanists.
Background
On 16 September 1824, Charles X ascended to the throne of France. He was the younger brother of Louis XVIII, who, upon the defeat of Napoleon I, and by agreement of the Allied powers, had been installed as King of France. The fact that both Louis and Charles ruled by hereditary right rather than popular consent was the first of two triggers for Les Trois Glorieuses, the "Three Glorious Days" of the July Revolution. Upon the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, continental Europe, and France in particular, was in a state of disarray. The Congress of Vienna met to redraw the continent's political map. Although there were many European countries attending the congress, there were four major powers that controlled the decision making: United Kingdom, represented by her foreign secretary Viscount Castlereagh; Austria, represented by the chief minister (and chairman of the congress) Klemens, Frst von Metternich; Russia, represented by Emperor Alexander I; and Prussia, represented by King Frederick William III. Another very influential person at the Congress was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, a French diplomat under Napoleon. Although France was considered an enemy state, Talleyrand was allowed to attend the Congress because he claimed that he had only cooperated with Napoleon under duress. Talleyrand proposed that Europe be restored to its "legitimate" (i.e. pre-Napoleon) borders and governments; a plan that, with some changes, was accepted by members of the Congress. France returned to its 1789 borders and the House of Bourbon, deposed by the Revolution, was restored to the throne. In the eyes of the Congress, the political situation in France and Europe was now back to normal. However, the new king, Louis XVIII, knew that ideas of nationalism and democracy still lingered in his country; hence the establishment and signing of the Charte
constitutionnelle franaise, the French Constitution otherwise known as La Charte. A document both liberal and monarchical, La Charte was the second trigger of the July Revolution.
crown, on 30 April the king abruptly dissolved the National Guard of Paris, a voluntary group of citizens and an ever reliable conduit between the monarchy and the people. Cooler heads were appalled: "[I] would rather have my head cut off", wrote a noble from the Rhineland upon hearing the news, "than have counseled such an act: the only further [5] measure needed to cause a revolution is censorship." That came in July 1830 when, on Sunday, 25 July Charles X signed the July Ordinances, also known as "The Ordinances of Saint-Cloud". On Monday 26 July, they were published in the leading conservative newspaper in Paris, Le Moniteur. On Tuesday 27 July, the revolution began in earnest Les trois journes de juillet, and the end of the Bourbon monarchy.
Scenes of July 1830, a painting by Lon Cogniet alluding to the July revolution of 1830.
The few liberal politicians who still remained in Paris gathered in private to protest, exchange notes, point fingers, and avoid any real course of action. Liberal journalists, on the other hand, took action. While conservative newspapers such as the Journal des dbats, Le Moniteur, and Le Constitutionnel had already ceased publication in compliance with the new law, nearly 50 liberal and radical journalists from a dozen city newspapers met in the offices of the liberal Le National. There they signed a collective protest, and vowed their newspapers would continue to run.[7] That evening, when police raided a news press and seized contraband newspapers, they were greeted by a sweltering, unemployed mob angrily shouting, " bas les Bourbons!" (Down with the Bourbons!) "Vive la Charte!" (Long live the Charter!) Armand Carrel, a Republican journalist, wrote in the next day's edition of Le National: "France... falls back into revolution by the act of the government itself... the legal regime is now interrupted, that of force has begun... in the situation in which we are now placed obedience has ceased to be a duty... It is for France to judge how far its own resistance ought to extend."[8] As if living in a dream world, the Paris Prfet de police wrote on the evening, " ...the most perfect tranquility continues to reign in all parts of the capital. No event worthy of attention is recorded in the reports that have come through to me."[9]
Taking of the Htel de Ville (revolutionaries went there in 1789, and later 1848 and 1870), by Amde Bourgeois
The King ordered Marchal Auguste Marmont, Duke of Ragusa, the on-duty Major-General of the Garde Royale, to repress the disturbances. Marmont was personally liberal, and opposed to the ministry's policy, but was bound tightly to the King because he believed such to be his duty; and possibly because of his unpopularity for his generally perceived and widely criticized desertion of Napoleon in 1814.
Marmont's plan was to have the Garde Royale and available line units of the city garrison guard the vital thoroughfares and bridges of the city, as well as protect important buildings such as the Palais Royal, Palais de Justice, and the Htel de Ville. This plan was both ill considered and wildly ambitious. Not only were there not enough troops but, worse, from bullets to bread to clean drinking water, there were nowhere near enough provisions. The Garde Royale was mostly loyal for the moment, but the attached line units were wavering: a small but growing number of troops were deserting; some merely slipping away, others leaving, not caring who saw them. The 73-year-old Charles X, prudently remaining at Saint-Cloud, was kept abreast of the events in Paris, and assured by his ministers that the troubles would end as soon as the rioters ran out of ammunition. After all, his ministers assured him, had not Marmont himself sent a report to His Majesty just the previous night assuring him all was under control? In Paris, a committee of the liberal opposition, composed of banker-and-kingmaker Jacques Laffitte, Casimir Perier, Generals tienne Grard and Georges Mouton, comte de Lobau, among others, had drawn up and signed a petition in which, not surprisingly, they asked for the ordonnances to be withdrawn; more surprising was their criticism "not of the King, but his ministers" thereby disproving Charles X's conviction that his liberal opponents were enemies of his dynasty."[13] After signing the petition, committee members went directly to Marmont to beg for an end to the bloodshed, and to plead with him to become a mediator between Saint-Cloud and Paris. In the near-chaos of his headquarters, Marmont explained with tired patience that petitions and humble requests were all well and good, but that the first step lay with the people of Paris they must lay down their arms and return to their homes. Then, and only then, could there be talk. Discouraged but not despairing, the party then sought out the king's chief minister, the haughty, eerily calm de Polignac "Jeanne d'Arc en culottes" as he was whisperingly called at Saint-Cloud. From Polignac they received even less satisfaction. He refused to see them, perhaps because he knew that discussions would be a Battle outside the Htel de Ville, by Jean Victor Schnetz waste of time. Like Marmont, he knew that Charles X considered the ordonnances vital to the safety and dignity of the throne of France. Thus, the King would not withdraw the ordonnances. At 4pm, Charles X received Colonel Komierowski, one of Marmont's chief aides. The colonel was carrying a note from Marmont to his Majesty: "Sire, it is no longer a riot, it is a revolution. It is urgent for Your Majesty to take measures for pacification. The honour of the crown can still be saved. Tomorrow, perhaps, there will be no more time... I await with impatience Your Majesty's orders."[14] The king asked Polignac for advice, and the advice was to resist. Meanwhile, in Paris, a group of serious men met and talked. The name of the duc d'Orlans was mentioned for the first time.
Result
The revolution of July 1830 created a constitutional monarchy. Charles X abdicated rather than become a limited monarch and departed for Great Britain. In his place Louis Philippe of the House of Orlans was placed on the throne, and he agreed to rule as a constitutional monarch. This period became known as the July Monarchy. The July Column, located on Place de la Bastille, commemorates the events of the Three Glorious Days. One month after the revolution, in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Belgian Revolution would commence, leading to the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
Louis-Phillipe going from the Palais Royal to the Htel de Ville, 31 July 1830, by Horace Vernet
References
[1] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p.198 [2] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p.200 [3] Ledr, Charles La Presse l'assaut de la monarchie. (1960). p.70. [4] Marie Amlie, 356; (17 April 1827); Antonetti, 527. [5] Duc de Dolberg, Castellan, II, 176 (letter 30 April 1827) [6] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p. 238 [7] Mansel, 2001, p.238 [8] Pinkey, 8384; Rmusat, Mmoires II, 313314; Lendr 107 [9] Pickney, David. The French Revolution of 1830 (Princeton 1972), p. 93. [10] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires, (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p.239. [11] Olivier, Juste, Paris en 1830, Journal (27 July 1830) p.244. [12] Olivier, Juste, Paris en 1830, Journal (28 July 1830) p.247. [13] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p.245. [14] Mansel, Philip, Paris Between Empires (St. Martin Press, New York 2001) p.247. [15] de Vigny, Alfred, Journal d'un pote, 33, (29 July 1830). [16] Mmoires d'outre-tombe, III, 120; Fontaine II, 849 (letter of 9 August 1830).
Further reading
Pilbeam, Pamela (June 1989). "The Economic Crisis of 182732 and the 1830 Revolution in Provincial France". The Historical Journal 32 (2): 319338. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00012176. Guy Antonetti, Louis-Philippe, Librairie Arthme Fayard, Paris, 2002 ISBN 2-213-59222-5 Pilbeam, Pamela (December 1983). "The 'Three Glorious Days': The Revolution of 1830 in Provincial France". The Historical Journal 26 (4): 831844. Price, Roger (December 1974). "Legitimist Opposition to the Revolution of 1830 in the French Provinces". The Historical Journal 17 (4): 755778. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00007895.
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