Background of the Second French Revolution
During his reign, first as consul and later as emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte waged many wars against the conservative monarchies which neighbored France. Though Napoleon won most of them, he lost the final ones and was forced from power first in 1814, then again in 1815.
Held by the victors of the war, the Congress of Vienna reinstated the monarchy of France, putting back in power the old House of Bourbon, now led by King Louis XVIII. However, the French Revolution opened a pandora's box, which could not easily be closed; the people of France expected moderate governments which respected their rights. In response to those demands, King Louis XVIII issued the Charter of 1814, which proclaimed the continuation of many of the rights won by the French Revolution, including equality before the law and due process. Furthermore, the charter established that Louis's reign would be limited and that power would be shared slightly with institutions that were partially democratic in nature. However, the king still held the most power in the country.
Despite King Louis's efforts, France was still a deeply divided country. Many wished for a more limited monarchy or even an outright republic, particularly Paris's influential workers, students, and philosophers. Meanwhile, many noblemen sought to do away with the constitution and return to the absolutism of the monarchy before the French Revolution. Ultimately, King Louis XVIII died in 1824 from various ailments. The throne passed to Louis's brother, also of the House of Bourbon, who became King Charles X.
The Rule of King Charles X
Unlike his brother, King Charles did not believe in a constitutional monarchy; he believed that kingship was granted to him by God himself. Once in power, King Charles began implementing policies to strengthen the monarchy and the nobility. These included paying the noblemen whose land was taken from them in the revolution, dismissing prime ministers he did not approve of, and establishing strict penalties for disrespecting Catholic sacred vessels, including forced labor, mutilation, and execution. These decisions plummeted King Charles's popularity.
Tensions between the king and his more moderate populace spiked in 1830. In March, King Charles gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the legislature but was not answered with the expected support. When the legislature rejected an effort to censor the press and attempted to limit his power, King Charles dismissed it and delayed elections. In April, he dissolved the National Guard, which he saw as a threat to his power.
The king and his prime minister, Polignac, issued the July Ordinances on July 25 in response to growing backlash to those actions. These laws, published on July 26, suspended newspaper publications that served as a source for dissenting voices that opposed the reign of King Charles X, again dissolved the Chamber of Deputies, and limited other rights.
Beginning of the July Revolution
The July Ordinances' actions triggered the July Revolution of 1830. The next day, radical newspapers called for the overthrow of King Charles, people marched in the streets of Paris, and the king mobilized armed forces to crack down on those who resisted him. Fighting erupted in the evening.
Historians also argue that political disputes were not the only motivator for the July Revolution but economic factors as well; high unemployment fueled dissatisfaction, adding kindling to the fires of revolt.
Day Two of the July Revolution
Violence continued through July 28. The monarchical response was led by Maréchal Auguste Marmont, the Duke of Ragusa, who sent the Royal Guard to Paris to secure key sectors of the city.
Meanwhile, moderate bankers, politicians, and military officers organized a committee that issued a call for the July Ordinances to be reversed. Although King Charles took this as a sign that the committee was against him and the whole House of Bourbon, the committee did not actually call for the king to step down. King Charles did not undo the July Ordinances.
The committee then reached out to Marmont himself and asked him to see reason, but Marmont insisted the revolutionaries first needed to lay down their arms for the monarchy to change any policies. At the end of the second day, the revolutionaries were gaining strength, but the monarchy planned for a counterassault.
This painting depicts the personification of Liberty leading revolutionaries in 1830.
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Day Three of the July Revolution
On July 29, the monarchy's response puttered out, and the revolutionaries, which far outnumbered the Royal Guard, cemented their control of Paris. By the afternoon, revolutionaries broke into the Tuileries Palace, the king's place of residence, and other major sites in Paris, such as the Hotel de Ville and the Palais de Justice. They soon set about creating a true liberal monarchy.
In this period, Polignac fled from Paris. He was eventually caught, put on trial, and imprisoned, only to be released later. King Charles X, meanwhile, continued his attempts to restore authority in Paris for several days until finally abdicating on August 2.
Outcomes of the 1830 French Revolution
The Second French Revolution resulted in the downfall of King Charles X. Revolutionaries turned to his distant relative, Louis Philippe, and gave him the throne as the new king. Louis Philippe was well-known for his more liberal sympathies.
The July Revolution encouraged like-minded revolutions throughout Europe in Belgium, Italy, Poland, and beyond. However, the revolution in France was the most successful.
While technically related to Charles, Louis Philippe was part of a different branch of his dynasty. The July Revolution marked the transition of power from the old House of Bourbon to Louis Philippe's House of Orléans and the restoration of constitutional monarchy. King Charles X, fleeing abroad, died in 1836.
The so-called July Monarchy lasted until 1848 when King Louis Philippe was also overthrown and replaced with a brief democracy: the French Second Republic.
Lesson Summary
The July Revolution was a major French revolution in France in 1830. In the late 1700s, the First French Revolution toppled the reign of King Louis XVI and replaced it first with a radical republic, then with a dictatorship ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte. When Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated, King Louis XVIII was put on the throne, restoring the House of Bourbon to power. Seeing that France had changed, King Louis XVIII issued the Charter of 1814, announcing he would be a constitutional monarch who respected the rights of citizens.
King Louis XVIII ruled until his death in 1824, when the much more conservative King Charles X took the throne. Gradually, Charles whittled away at the constitution, taking more and more power for himself, angering liberals in France. In 1830, he issued the July Ordinances, which censored newspapers and took power from the legislature. These actions triggered a revolution in Paris; liberals seized control of the city and put the sympathetic nobleman Louis Philippe on the throne. Charles was forced to abdicate, ending Bourbon rule in France. Louis Philippe, leader of the House of Orléans, ruled until 1848, at which point he too was overthrown.
