154760Influence of the July Revolution in France

154760

Influence of the July Revolution in France

The French July Revolution was a revolution in 1830 when the French people overthrew the restored Bourbon dynasty.

After the second king of the Restoration Dynasty, Charles X, ascended the throne in 1824, he was keen to restore the old system destroyed by the Great Revolution, which caused widespread dissatisfaction among all social strata, and public opinion also turned to the bourgeois liberals.

Background

Political and economic policy

Charles X purged the soldiers who had served Napoleon in the army, causing dissatisfaction among the people. The power of the landed aristocracy was restored; 650,000 francs were paid to the old aristocracy (émigré) who had lost property in the French Revolution; the interest on the national debt was reduced from 5% to 3%, which angered the middle class.

Cultural and Religious Policy

Charles X tightened the control of speech: In 1826, Congress passed a new publishing law, press censorship was reintroduced, fines were greatly increased, and publishers were subject to prosecution.

The government’s religious policy aimed to revive the ancient regime, and the clergy suppressed pagan activities in the name of fighting revolutionary forces, such as passing a bill in Congress that made blasphemy punishable by death; the status of the Jesuits was reaffirmed, and dissatisfaction with liberals.

In education: in 1824 the bishop was authorized to appoint all primary school teachers, and by 1830 about a third of philosophy teachers in schools were priests. The intellectuals thus resented the church’s control over education and worried about the church’s extreme conservative actions.

The Diplomatic Setback of Charles X

In order to win the support of the people of Charles X, the government intervened in the Greek independence movement and sent troops to expedition to Algiers. However, the nation has been slow to see its success and is therefore disappointed. Therefore, in March 1830, Congress cast a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet; after the parliamentary re-election in July of the same year, there was still a situation in which liberals and opposition dominated Congress, and government governance was seriously threatened.

Direct cause

On July 25, 1830, King Charles X issued the Ordinances of St. Cloud, which announced restrictions on freedom of the press, dissolved the newly elected Congress, and passed a new electoral law. In the new elections in September Three-quarters of eligible voters (mostly middle-class) were ineligible to vote.

Go through

On July 25, 1830, Charles X (reigned from 1824 to 1830) promulgated an edict: amending the publishing law, restricting the freedom of the press; dissolving the newly elected parliament; modifying the electoral system. The edict broke the spirit of the Charter of 1814, and the working masses and the free bourgeoisie were outraged.

That afternoon, editors and reporters from the main opposition newspapers rallied in the editorial office of the National newspaper to draft a protest letter. They refused to admit the dissolution of Parliament and declared that the government had lost its legitimacy, but did not deny the kingship.

On the 27th, thousands of workers and craftsmen took to the streets and clashed with the military and police.

At dawn on the 28th, the uprising began. Workers, craftsmen, students and the National Guard built barricades, seized weapons depots, and captured the town hall. The mass protest turned into a real armed revolution. The moderates of the big bourgeoisie, led by the banker Jacques Laffitte, pushed for negotiations with the king, but Charles X and Prime Minister Polignac refused to negotiate.

On July 29, the insurgents took control of Paris, occupied the Louvre and the Tuileries, and the uprisings launched by the provinces were also victorious. The insurgent masses and their leaders demanded the proclamation of a republic. A municipal council headed by Jacques Lafitte and the Marquis de Lafayette, commander-in-chief of the National Guard, was established at the Paris City Hall. At this time, Charles X had to withdraw the edict and ordered the Duke of Montmard to organize a government, but it was impossible to restore the situation.

On the 30th, Jacques Lafitte convened a meeting of 60 members and decided to appoint Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, as regent.

On the 31st, Louis Philippe, accompanied by Lafayette, appeared on the balcony of the Royal Palace with the tricolor flag in his hand and accepted the title of Regent.

On August 2, Charles X abdicated the throne to his grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux (also the “Count of Chambord”). Louis-Philippe refused to admit.

On August 7, the House of Representatives summoned Louis Philip to the throne and established the Orleans Dynasty (also known as the “July Dynasty”) ruled by the financial bourgeoisie.

Influences

The most obvious influence of the July Revolution was that it reflected the growing awareness of liberal democracy among the French people . Throughout the entire European history, it can be found that the July Revolution had a considerable influence, and he opened the prelude to the European Revolution . This July Revolution was also the first successful revolution after the Vienna Conference, breaking the conservative forces organized by the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire.

Before the July Revolution, France was ruled by Charles X of the Bourbon Dynasty, but the Bourbon Dynasty’s oppression of the French people had obviously reached a critical point, and the French people were already preparing to resist. Just need a fuse. And Charles X, who was unaware of the mood of the crowd, lit the fuse.

In the end, the French people overthrew the Bourbon dynasty, and it was too late for Charles X to restore it. The French people established the July Dynasty, and this was the starting point of the influence of the July Revolution, after which he opened the prelude to the European Revolution.

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