July Revolution

The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, was a revolt by the middle class against Bourbon King Charles X which forced him out of office and replaced him with the Orleanist King Louis-Philippe (the "July Monarchy").

Charles X's reign

When Louis XVIII died in 1824 his brother, Charles X, took the throne. Charles was not as concerned with the will of the people as his late brother was. He was anti-democracy, anti-nationalism and pro-absolute monarchy. His goal was to restore as much of the France of 1789 as possible and erase most traces of a democratic government.

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Charles introduced a number of controversial polices. He pledged that all of the nobles that fled the country during the French Revolution would be compensated for their lost property. While the settlement was fairly moderate, great controversy arose as this meant taxing the public to benefit nobles. For obvious reasons this policy was not popular with the tax-paying public. Charles also removed some of the liberal provisions in the constitution that was ratified under his brother’s rule. He imposed new and strict penalties against the sacrilegious. Finally, he tried to restore many of the features of the old regime, including removing the revolutionary tricoleur, which also aroused popular animosity.

Related Topics:
Liberal - Tricoleur

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In 1827 the parliamentary election that January de colère et de vengeance gave the leftists a majority. The resultant short-lived Martignac ministry tried to revive the Right Centre which had supported Richelieu and Élie Decazes.

Related Topics:
1827 - Martignac - Richelieu - Élie Decazes

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