Bourbon Dynasty

(1589–1848)

   The ruling dynasty of France from 1589 until the proclamation of the First Republic in 1792 and the execution of Louis XVI on January 21, 1793. Upon the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte on April 11, 1814, the Bourbons were restored to the French throne in the person of Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI. Forced to flee when Napoleon returned from exile, Louis XVIII was again returned to the throne after Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo. In 1830, the reactionary Bourbon Charles X was toppled in favor of the Duke of Orleans, Louis-Philippe, and the establishment of the “July Monarchy,” which lasted until 1848 and the proclamation of the Second Republic.

   FURTHER READING:

    Cobban, Alfred. A History of Modern France. 3 vols. New York: Braziller, 1965;

    Grant, A. J. The French Monarchy, 1483-1789. New York: H. Fertig, 1970 ;

    Roche, Daniel. France in the Enlightenment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998.

   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE