July Monarchy

(1830–1848)

   The reign of the “bourgeois king,” Louis Philippe, on the restored throne of France is known as the July Monarchy. After the July Revolution of 1830, Louis Philippe (1773–1850) became the French monarch by invitation from the Chamber of Deputies. His rule was hated by conservatives, liberals, and socialists alike. The overwhelmingly bourgeois regime presided over national prosperity until an economic depression in 1846–1847, but it was bereft of any governing principle. It did not look into the grievances of the working class and violently suppressed their revolts in 1831 and 1834.

   The regime’s foreign policy was uninspiring. Differences with Britain arose over the question of Egypt, and military successes in Algeria were derided as pathetic attempts at reviving Napoleonic glory. The growing upsurge of socialism in the 1840s took the July monarchy to its inevitable end; during its final months, Prime Minister François Pierre Guizot failed in his endeavor at reconciling contradictory ideologies - the revolution with the ancien régime and authoritarianism with democracy. Discontent against the regime mounted when demands for extension of electoral suffrage were rejected and rioting broke out on February 23, 1848. The next day Louis Philippe abdicated and the Second Republic was established.

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   FURTHER READING:

    Beik, Paul H. Louis Philippe and the July Monarchy. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1965;

    Howarth, T.E.B. Citizen-King. The Life of Louis-Philippe King of the French. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1961;

    Lucas-Dubreton, J. The Restoration and the July Monarchy. Putnam, New York, 1929;

    Rudé, George. Debate on Europe 1815–1850. New York: Harper and Row, 1972.

   PATIT PABAN MISHRA