Louis Philippe's government was very
unstable from 1830 - 1840. It was characterized by revolts, strikes and
demonstrations. These were master minded by republicans who felt
cheated in 1830 since they had played a leading role in the revolution
of 1830. They had wanted a republican government but had failed because
of the fear of the possibility of war with other monarchial governments
in Europe. From 1830-1840, ten different chief ministers (prime
ministers) held office. Adolph Thiers was the last who resigned in 1840
because of dissatisfaction over Mehemet All's affairs. From 1840 - 1848,
Guizot's cabinet held power. His policies greatly contributed to the
downfall of Louis Philippe in 1848. The following were the achievements,
failures and weaknesses of Louis Philippe's domestic policies.
Louis Philippe's government was constantly challenged right from 1830 when he rose to power.
Internally,
there were revolts, strikes, demonstrations, assassination attempts on
his life and conspiracies as he observed, "It is only in hunting me that
there is no close season". Opposition parties like Republicans,
Bonapartists, legitimists, liberals had varied and divergent interests
that made life hard for Louis Philippe.
External
events like the 1830 revolutions in Europe, 1840 Syrian question, 1846
Swiss crisis and the way he responded to them intensified domestic
opposition against him. In spite of all these, Louis Philippe managed to
sit on the throne for 18 years and this can be attributed to the
following:-
1) Louis Philippe's peaceful foreign
policy was the basis for his survival up to 1848. It made him to
legitimize his power amongst European powers who were scared of
revolutionary France. Although he was opposed as a coward, his failure
to interfere in events outside France like Belgium, Italy and Poland won
him the friendship of the 1815 Vienna signatories who would have fought
and overthrown him the way they did to Napoleon I.
More
so, his peaceful foreign policy pleased the middle class who were the
basis of his rise and hence survival up to 1848. This is because all
that the middle class needed was a peaceful atmosphere to conduct their
business and Britain's friendship that was won by Philippe. This
explains why when the middle class abandoned him in 1846 following the
Spanish marriage, Philippe became too vulnerable only to be ejected out
in 1848.
2) Similarly, Philippe's peaceful reign
won him the confidence of a large section of the Frenchmen who were fed
up with the vicious circle of violence and bloodshed since 1789. The
peasants and workers had suffered enough in 1789, 1792 -94, 1815 - 1817
and 1830 .All they wanted was a stable and peaceful era for economic
development. Indeed, under Philippe's administration, there was economic
progress and France was second to none other than Britain in Europe.
Although this was monopolized by the middle class, it nevertheless
helped to cool down criticism against him with the exception of the
socialists.
3) Philippe's survival can also be
gauged from the Anglo-Franco alliance that he forged. He realized that
France under a constitutional monarchy was bound to be isolated from
conservative and despotic powers like Russia, Austria and Prussia. This
made him to dance to the times of Britain and became Palmer stone's
rubberstamp in Europe. Although this was opposed by a large section of
Frenchmen, it earned him of official and diplomatic co-operation which
the despotic powers could not give him.
NB: 1 it was only in 1846 when Britain broke this diplomatic alliance that Philippe's popularity was seriously eroded
2:
The fact that France was not declared a republic in 1830 saved Philippe
from the hostility of divine monarchs who would have fought him right
from the beginning of his reign.
4) Louis
Philippe's humble personality and simple lifestyle and helped him to
consolidate his reign in France. Having suffered poverty and hard life
in exile, Louis Philippe developed a simple lifestyle that helped him to
gain and retain power, e.g. he walked freely on streets unguarded
holding a green umbrella, shave his own beards and sent his children to
the common man's school. This saved French resources that were used for
socio-economic development. His simple lifestyle earned him the support
Of the common man who used to suffer excessive taxation to supplement extravagancy of the royalists.
5)
Louis Philippe's policy of neutrality on religious affairs also enabled
his survival for 18 years. He granted freedom of worship, which Charles
x had undermined by making Catholicism the state religion. The
concordat that Napoleon had signed with the Pope was maintained and the
government continued to nominate Bishops and pay salaries of the clergy.
In 1831, Judaism was put on an equal footing with Christianity. The
government began to pay salaries of Jewish rabbis just as it paid the
protestant reverends and catholic priests. These gained Louis Philippe
support from different religious groups, hence consolidation of power up
to 1848.
6) The absence of revolutions in Europe
that would have inspired Frenchmen against Louis Philippe also made him
safe for 18 years. Metternich system was very effective in suppressing
revolutionary movements from 1830-1847. Thus, there was relative peace
and stability that favoured some degree of economic growth in many
states. Absence of a revolution in Europe by 1848 denied the opposition
of an event that they could have utilized to convince the Frenchmen to
revolt against Louis Philippe. The fact that the Frenchmen were the
first to revolt (Feb 1848) following the Italians (Jan 1848) is a clear
testimony that absence of such a revolution prior to 1848 helped Louis
Philippe to survive for the 18 years.
7)
Ideological difference amongst the opposition also accounts for the
survival of Louis Philippe up to 1848. The liberals wanted a more
democratic and liberal system of government, republicans demanded an
expanded franchise, legitimists desired consolidation of their
privileges, socialists aspired for nationalization of property and
establishment of state workshops and Bonapartists were nostalgic about
the revival of Napoleonic influence in Europe. By 1843, these factions
could not sacrifice their ideological interest for the purpose of
defeating Philippe who was their common enemy. Apart from leaning
towards the middle class, Philippe played the opposition well. He was
not an ultra-royalist as the Bourbons; neither was he a republican, a
Bonapartist nor an extreme liberal. Thus, ideological difference amongst
the opposition and Philippe's neutrality helped him to survive for
18years.
8) Although Philippe was surrounded by a
cocktail of pressure groups since 1830, he managed to survive for
18years because it was not until 1840's that they intensified their
criticism of him, Louis Blank (a socialist) gained prominence from
1840's when the conditions of workers reached frightening levels.
Bonapartism regained grounds after the return of Napoleon's body and the writings of Napoleon
Bonaparte.
It was even not until 1843 that the socialists, republicans and
liberals forged a united front through reform Banquets. Thus, Louis
Philippe managed to rule up to 1848 because his opponents were too
disorganized to put a formidable challenge to him. Secondly, by the time
his opponents got organized and united, he had effectively consolidated
his power and that is why they could not over throw him before 1848.
9)
The 1830 constitutional charter was an instrument that also helped
Louis Philippe to survive from 1830-1848. The charter provided for a two
chambered parliament i.e. the chambers of peers and deputies, which
transformed France from absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy
by 1840. The constitution acted as checks and balances to any despotic
tendency of the king, which could have earned Louis Philippe a
revolution. For example, he could no longer issue special decrees as
Charles X did in 1830 to dissolve the parliament. This could have
incited a revolution against Louis Philippe.
Secondly,
it was not the king but the parliament to introduce laws. This also
checked Philippe's despotism, which would have provoked a revolution
earlier than 1848. Thirdly, the charter limited the franchise (voting
power) to the rich middle class. Although this was too undemocratic
because it de-enfranchised majority peasants, it nevertheless offered
Philippe majority support in the parliament. In other words, he lacked
opposition to force him to resign in times of a national crisis.
10) Louis Philippe's throne was protected by the restored, transformed and re-equipped National Guard.
The
loyalty of the army to him was indisputable. Had it been the army other
than the different pressure groups who were disappointed by Louis
Philippe's cautious non-adventurous foreign policy, he would not have
survived up to 1848. Philippe used the National Guard to suppress
internal strikes, revolutions and demonstrations such as the republican
rising of 1830 and the Lavandee Legitimist uprising.
NB. It was not until 1848 when the National Guard fraternized with the socialists and republicans that Louis lost his power.
11)
On top of that, Philippe had a secret spying network against his
opponents in state organs. They were very effective in unearthing
subversive elements and conspirators against his government. For
example, assassination attempts against his life and Louis Bonaparte's
attempts to overthrow him in 1836 and 1840 were exposed by state
intelligence that promptly arrested such "bad" elements like Louis
Bonaparte.
12) Louis Philippe's violation of the 1830 charter also aided his survival on the French throne for 18 years.
When
opposition intensified their activities from 1840, Louis Philippe
resorted to severe laws that drove opposition against him underground.
He banned the press and this reduced open criticism against him. He also
passed the laws of discussion and association that prohibited any
obedience to past governments. These undermined Bonapartism and Bourbons
and left the Orleans monarchy unchallenged up to 1848.
13)
Socio-economic reforms were also used by Louis Philippe to consolidate
his power up to 1848. His pro-middle class and peaceful foreign policy
attracted massive investment that led to commendable progress in
industrialization, agriculture, education and trade. Transport and
communication networks were improved to enhance socio-economic
development. Many railway lines including the one from Paris to St
German were also constructed to facilitate transportation of raw
materials and finished products. These created more employment
opportunities, improved the income level and standard of living. All
these earned Louis Philippe support that he used to survive amidst
hostile opposition up to 1848.
14) Lastly,
Philippe's long reign can also be attributed to his chief ministers. His
government was managed by statesmen of talents, integrity and force of
brain like Thiers and Guizot whose patriotism and ability were great.
Theirs (1836 -1840) commanded a strong domestic loyalty and the great
powers' respect in favour of France. He effectively controlled liberal
attacks in the chamber of deputies that was against Louis Philippe. His
successor, Guizot (1840 —1848) supported his peaceful foreign policy to
the advantage of the middle class that earned him support in the chamber
of deputies. He also maintained a strong hold over the chamber of
deputies through bribery, corruption in tenders and was highly inclined
to Britain's interest. Although this was a weakness in government, it
nevertheless enabled Philippe to survive attacks in the chamber of
deputies.
1. Industrialization
Louis
Philippe made commendable progress in the industrialization of France.
His pro-middle class and peaceful foreign policy attracted massive
investment in the industrial sector from the middle class.
Consequently,
new machines were imported from England and new industries like wine,
steel and cotton ginning were established. Transport and communication
networks were improved to complement industrial progress. Many railway
lines including the one from Paris to St.German were also constructed to
facilitate transportation of raw materials and finished products. By
1940, France was the third most industrialized state in Europe.
Industrialization created more employment opportunities, improved the
standard of living and promoted other sectors like agriculture, trade
and transport.
2. Trade
Louis
Philippe under took special measures for the progress of trade. A
network of roads, canals, railways and harbours for docking of ships
were constructed to promote export trade. He also encouraged a free
market economy and free trade with the rest of Europe. However, free
trade policy was dropped when it was realized that the French infant
industries could not manage to compete with superior British
manufactured products. This forced Louis Philippe to resort to the
policy of protectionism that safeguarded infant industries in France and
promoted economic prosperity.
3. Education
In 1830, a law was passed to regulate education. Primary education was entrusted to the church.
However,
government control over secondary and higher institutions was
maintained. It was compulsory to educate children about spiritual and
social responsibilities. Louis Philippe also encouraged free education
and children were forbidden from any form of employment to avoid child
labour. His education policy produced useful citizens who steered the
socio-economic and political developments of France.
4. Religion
In
the field of religion, Louis Philippe's government followed a policy of
neutrality. He allowed freedom of worship, which Charles x had
undermined by making Catholicism a state religion. The Concordat that
Napoleon had signed with the pope was maintained and the government
continued to nominate Bishops and pay salaries of the clergy. In 1831,
Judaism was put on an equal footing with Christianity. The government
began to pay the salaries of Jewish rabbis just as it paid the
protestant reverends and catholic priests. This promoted freedom of
worship as opposed to religious intolerance that was being propped up by
the restored Bourbons.
5. Constitutionalism
Louis
Philippe tried to rule as a constitutional monarch, which Charles x had
discarded. He rose to power in 1830 through the revised constitution of
1830. From 1830 up to 1840, Louis Philippe ruled according to the
provisions of the constitution. This includes fundamental human rights
and freedoms like freedom of speech, press, worship and association. He
was assisted by a two chambered parliament i.e. the chambers of peers
and deputies. These transformed France from absolute monarchy into a
constitutional monarchy by 1840.
6. Restoration of the National Guard and the tri colour flag
Louis
Philippe is credited for the restoration of the National Guard and the
tri colour flag. The National Guard that had been disbanded by Charles x
in 1827 was reinstated and reorganized into a disciplined national
army. It was used to maintain internal stability and protect the
territorial integrity of France. The revolutionary tri colour flag that
Charles x had discarded was restored as the national flag. This was
recognition of the French revolutionary changes, which 'harvested' Louis
Philippe support from the patriotic Frenchmen.
7. Political freedom
From
1830-1840, Louis Philippe granted political freedom. Many political
groups surroimded him with varied interests. Such were the Bonapartists,
republicans, liberals, legitimists and socialists. He allowed them to
operate and granted political liberties like freedom of association,
speech, assembly, press etc. He also adopted the policy of Golden Mean
in which he tried to follow a middle path policy and satisfy all the
parties. This promoted democracy, fundamental human rights and freedoms
like freedom of association and press.
8. Financial management
Louis
Philippe is on record as the only King in the history of France who was
most economical with resources. His days in exile and the many years of
poverty taught him a lesson to avoid extravagancy and luxuries. He
pursued a non-interventionist foreign policy partly to avoid wasting
human and financial resources. Similarly, he lived a simple life style
like walking in the street with no bodyguards and living principally on
soup to avoid unnecessary expenses. Some historians have argued that
Louis Philippe's life style was an economic asset to France because it
saved French resources and enhanced economic progress.
NB:
Louis Philippe's simple lifestyle became a political liability to him
as it reduced his popularity amongst the nobles and clergy who
underrated him as not worthy to be a king.
9. Consolidation of power
Louis
Philippe used repression to consolidate his power against internal
opposition. There were uprisings, demonstrations and coup attempts
engineered by internal opposition i.e. the Bonapartists, republicans,
liberals, Catholics, royalists and socialists. However Louis Philippe
consistently used the National Guard and the police to suppress any
oppositeion activities against his government. For instance, from
1830-1835 he quelled down six uprisings in Paris, Lyon, Lavandee and
Marsailles. Louis Napoleon Ill's assassination attempt against Louis
Philippe and the coup attempts of 1836 and 1840 were foiled for which
Louis Napoleon was imprisoned. These helped to create internal stability
that fostered economic development
1) Side effects of Industrialization
Industrialization
had negative effects on the welfare of peasant, workers and craft men.
Machines displaced many artisans and craft men rendering them jobless.
The working class suffered low payments or long of work, poor
accommodation and sanitary conditions amongst others. There was child
labour where a kid of 5 years old could work for 16 hours a day. This
led to the growth of socialism under the leadership of Louis Blanc and
Ledru Rollin. The socialists demanded for immediate solution to
unemployment and poor working condition. Louis Philippe kept a deaf ear
and a blind eye to the appalling conditions of the workers and the
jobless craft men. It was therefore not a surprise that the socialists
mobilized the unemployed and the disgruntled workers through reform
banquests that climaxed into the 1848 revolution, which terminated Louis
Philippe's reign.
2) The low Franchise (The right to vote)
Louis
Philippe failed to democratize and liberalize French politics. Many
French citizens were disenfranchised because of the high tax and age
qualification. When there was a massive demand for reduction of taxes,
Guizot his chief minister insisted that those who wanted to vote or be
voted should work hard, save money and qualify to vote. Consequently,
the chamber of deputies was dominated by the propertied middle class
members whose wealth made them eligible to contest i.e. they could
afford the high, tax fee. This was undemocratic as it disenfranchised
majority French peasants and the poor from political representation.
3) Political repression and dictatorship
By
1840, Louis Philippe had drifted from his good intentions because of
the growing opposition and threats unleashed against him by the
different political factions e.g. Bonapartists, liberals, republicans
etc. These factions had intensified criminal activities like strikes,
demonstrations, attempted coups and assassination attempt on the life of
King Louis Philippe. Eventually, Louis Philippe dropped the policy of
Golden Mean and resorted to conservative, radical and reactionary
policies. For instance, in April 1834 he passed the law of association,
which restricted the freedom of association. He also imposed the law of
discussion and banned the press in 1835. Those who defied these laws
suffered arrest, imprisonment, death and exile. Although these measures
checked the subversive activities of the opposition, it nevertheless
brewed more political dissatisfaction that led to the downfall of Louis
Philippe in 1848.
4) Internal instability
Louis
Philippe's repressive measures led to violent opposition and internal
instability. The laws; of association, discussion, ban on the press,
arrest and imprisonment of the opposition provoked
uprisings,demonstrations and coup attempts from the Bonapartists,
republicans, liberals and socialists. For instance, from 1830-1835 there
were six uprisings in Paris, Lyon, Lavandee and Marsailles. In 1836 and
1840, there were assassination and coup attempts against Louis
Philippe's life and his regime. Although violence was contained from
1840onwards, they had nevertheless led to lawlessness, death and loss of
property.
5) The return of Napoleon's body
Louis
Philippe's return of Napoleon's body in 1846 was a boomerang that
contributed to his downfall. To satisfy the revolutionaries and the
Bonapartists, Louis Philippe requested to be given Napoleon's body from
St. Hellena, brought it to France and laid him in the most magnificent
of resting places at the Invalids. Some roads and streets were named
after Napoleon. He further decorated Versailles with pictures of
revolutionary events and periods. However, this rekindled the memories
of Napoleon I's achievements and when the Frenchmen tried to compare it
to Louis Philippe's, they realized as Lamar time put it that "France was
bored". It aroused Napoleonic nostalgia and strengthened Bonapartism
under the leadership of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte III, a nephew of
Napoleon Bonaparte III. Thus, the event boomeranged by reducing Louis
Philippe's popularity and conditioning his downfall by 1848.
6) Middle class/Bourgeoisie oriented policy
Louis Philippe pursued middle class oriented policies and programs at the expense of the Frenchmen.
They
monopolized key government positions and the National Guard. They also
dominated the chamber of deputies since they could afford the property
qualification and were the only ones that enjoyed freedom of discussion.
The middle class were also aided with soft loans to boost their
investments and trade. All these were done against the conditions of
workers and peasants that deteriorated with industrial revolution.
Actually,
Louis Philippe set up a government of the middle class, by the middle
class and for the middle class. His pre-occupation was the interest of
the middle class and capitalists who were the basis of his power and
hence survival. His popularity was eventually confined to the middle
class and no wander that he fell in 1848 following desertion by the
middle class after the Spanish marriage in 1846.
7) Unrealistic Economic policy
Louis
Philippe's labour policy was unfair to the working class. The
government did not restrain the middle class's exploitation and
oppression in form of low payments, long working hours, poor sanitation
and accommodation. These led to poverty, famine, low standard of living
and unemployment. Poor sanitation and accommodation led to the outbreak
of calamitous diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery and death of
some workers. Trade unions that the workers had formed to voice their
grievances were banned. Louis Philippe's labour policy accelerated
exploitation and oppression of workers by middle class industrialists.
The overall consequence was high income gap between the rich and the poor in France.
8) Corruption and embezzlement of funds
Corruption,
bribery and embezzlement of funds characterized Louis Philippe's 18
years reign. The middle class who dominated key government positions and
the chamber of deputies made corruption and bribery part of their
lifestyle. Guizot, chief minister (1840-1848) rigged elections and
maintained a strong hold over the chamber of deputies through bribery
and corruption in awarding tenders. According to Karl Marx; Louis
Philippe's government was like a joint stock company which was using up
national wealthy and whose profit was distributed between ministers,
members of the national assembly and limited voters.
The
overall impact was lack of integrity in leadership, high income
inequality and inadequate socio economic developments i.e. education,
health and transport.
9) Personality and character
Louis Philippe's humble personality and character was a personal weakness that reduced his popularity.
The long years of poverty and hard life in exile made Louis Philippe to be too economical with resources.
Consequently,
he lived a very simple life style e.g. he walked freely on streets
unguarded holding a green umbrella, lit his own study fire and lived
principally on soup. This made some sections of the Frenchmen
particularly the royalists and Bonapartists who were used to seeing
their kings living luxuriously to disown him as unworthy to be a king.
10) Inglorious foreign policy
Louis
Philippe's inglorious foreign policy was a disappointment to the glory
seekers, Bonapartists, liberals, Catholics and revolutionaries. He
pursued a non interventionist foreign policy in order to avoid wastage
of resources and conflicts with other powers like Britain. For example,
he refused to be moved by pressure from the liberals, Bonapartists and
glory seekers to intervene in the 1830 revolutions in Belgium, Italian
states and Poland not excluding the Syrian war of 1831 -184 1. This made
him to be regarded as a person who was incompetent of reactivating and
consolidating France's high status in Europe that had been established
by Napoleon 1.
After his rise to power, Louis
Philippe was immediately faced with a series of complicated problems
across the borders of France. There were political unrest and
disturbances in some parts of Europe right from 1830. The different
political factions i.e. Bonapartists, republicans, liberals, legitimists
and Catholics expected and pressurized Philippe to intervene in such
affairs and bring glory for France. They wanted Louis Philippe to revive
French military glory that was achieved by Napoleon I but disappeared
during the reign of the restored Bourbons.
Unfortunately,
Louis Philippe was not bellicose (warlike), he was a man of peace who
did not wish to find himself in a hostile relationship with any of his
neigbours. He therefore, pursued a peaceful, cautious, unadventurous and
often inglorious foreign policy. This was dictated by some
considerations; First he wanted to avoid war with the great powers of
Europe who had fought and defeated Napoleon I. This is because they were
still suspicious of France as a distabiliser of peace. Secondly,
Philippe accurately realized that France had a different political
ideology with despotic Russia, Prussia and Austria except constitutional
and liberal Britain. He therefore, forged a cordial Franco-Anglo
alliance where he took extra-care not to antagonize the interest of
Britain. This also helped him not to antagonize the interest of the
middle class who could not do without Britain (as the workshop of
Europe). Lastly, he was aware that although public opinion favoured war,
France was not yet militarily strong enough to engage in war.
It
should be emphasized that Louis Philippe's inglorious foreign policy
was a great disappointment to the Frenchmen. This intensified internal
opposition against his rule and by 1848 he was very unpopular even to
his legislators. For example, in an assembly session of1847 one member
rose up and shouted what have they done for the past 17years? Lamantine shouted back. Nothings Nothing, Nothing, France is bored. This combined with his failure in domestic policy to cause the 1848 revolutions that sent him to exile.
Added on: 29 Jul 2015
Last Modified on: 29 Jul 2015
1. The Belgium Revolution (1830)
The
Belgium revolution of1830 was an event that put Louis Philippe in a
precarious position. The various political groups wanted Philippe to
assist the Belgians for various reasons. The Bonapartists wanted
Philippe to revive French military glory in Belgium that had once been
under Napoleon Bonaparte I. The republicans wished to establish a
republican's government in Belgium. The liberals were bent on destroying
the 1815 Vienna settlement that had forced the Belgians under Dutch
administration. The Catholics hated the Dutch Protestants and preferred
Catholic control of education, press and state amongst others.
However,
Louis Philippe knew very well that any assistance to the Belgians would
be a violation of the Vienna settlement to which France was a
signatory. His intervention would provoke the other four powers to
declare war on him in accordance with the quadruple alliance that had
pledged to maintain by force for 20 years the territorial arrangements
of Vienna. He therefore decided not to assist the Belgians. This made
him to be in good terms with other powers. In Dec 1830, the big powers
met in London over the Belgian question. After realizing the strength of
Belgian nationalism and the extent of Dutch mal-administration, they
accepted the Belgium independence but under some conditions and one was
that Belgium should choose a king acceptable to the great powers. The
Belgians promptly offered the throne to Duke of
Nemours who was Louis Philippe's second son.
Britain
openly opposed the choice and Louis Philippe turned down the offer in
favour of Leopold Soxe Coburg (a British choice) who was accepted by the
Belgians out of their desire for freedom. This was a diplomatic victory
for Britain and a loss for France. He was criticized for bending too
low and promoting British supremacy over France. This offered a rallying
ground for opposition against him. However, Louis Philippe regained
some prestige when other powers gave him freedom to repel Dutch
invasion, which he successfully accomplished in 1831. Nevertheless, he
was still accused of cowardice only to act when told to do so.
2. The1830revolution in Italy
Napoleon
I s conquest and re-organization of Italy had instilled the spirit of
nationalism amongst the Italians. The Vienna settlement of1815 ignored
this and instead gave Austria direct and indirect influence over the
Italian states. The Italians therefore rose in a revolt in 1830 against
Metternich's unfortunate policies. Austria began using force to suppress
the revolutions and restore the ousted kings. Italians and the liberals
in France wanted Louis Philippe to give military assistance. However,
Louis Philippe as usual followed a cautious policy. He was not slow to
declare that he had no desire to clash with Austria over the situation
in Italy.... my government is opposed to all foreign intervention in the
peninsular. This was a great disappointment to the liberals and
Bonapartists who viewed the revolution as a heaven sent opportunity to
rekindle (revive) French influence in Italy. They accused him of being
too weak to revive French military glory in Europe.
3. The 1830 Revolution in Poland
The
1830 revolution in Poland was yet another event that put Louis Philippe
in an awkward situation. Like the Italians, Polish nationalism had been
strengthened by Napoleon's conquest and reorganization of the Grand
Dutchy of Warsaw from 1807. This was tampered with at the Vienna
settlement of 1815 by the Great powers. Poland was shared as a wedding
cake between Austria, Prussia and Russia (greatest share).
Their
desire for independence took them to the revolution in 1830. The
liberals in France argued Louis Philippe to support the Poles in their
struggle. Aware of a possibility of fighting Austria, Prussia and
Russia, Louis Philippe refused to assist the Poles. So as early as 1830,
the revolt died down. Although he avoided war with the great powers,
his popularity at home was undermined.
4. The Syrian question (1840)
Louis
Philippe's peaceful foreign policy received a diplomatic blow over the
Syrian question. In the Greek war of independence, Mehemet Ali of Egypt
had helped the Sultan of Turkey after being promised territorial rewards
amongst which was Syria. However, the Sultan did not keep his promise
and Mehemet Ali occupied Syria forcefully. The war was sparked off
between Egypt and Turkey over Syria. The French glory seekers led by
Adolph Thiers argued Louis Philippe to extend military support to Egypt.
They
wanted to revive the Napoleonic tradition in Egypt and gain a valuable
ally in the East for commercial prosperity. Louis Philippe welcomed the
ideas and sent French troops to fight alongside Egypt against Turkey. It
threatened other powers particularly Britain and Russia who pledged to
fight Mehemet Ali and his ally (France). This forced Louis Philippe to
resort to his usual policy of "do nothing" and withdrew the French
soldiers. The 1840 London conference in which France was not invited
gave Egypt part of Syria. This intensified opposition against Louis
Philippe to the extent that his chief minister Adolph Thiers resigned
his post. Even Louis Philippe became so furious that he threatened
Palmer stone with war. However, when Palmer stone took the challenge and
started to prepare for war, Philippe got so scared and backed down.
This act injured the national pride of France.
5. French imperialistic designs over Tahiti Island
In
1840, Louis Philippe conquered Tahiti one of the islands in the south
pacific. This satisfied the glory seekers and militants in France.
However, Tahiti was so close to S. America where Britain had built a
commercial empire, so she threatened France to withdraw. As usual, Louis
Philippe withdrew the French troops from the island in 1843 in favour
of Britain. This frustrated a large section of the Frenchmen especially
glory seekers who accused him of cowardice,
6. Control of Algeria
Algeria
was colonized by France in 1830 under Charles X. When Louis Philippe
came to power, the liberals urged him to withdraw but Louis Philippe
ignored them and consolidated French rule in Algeria.
Charles
X had occupied only the coastal areas with only 20.000 settlers. But
Louis gradually penetrated into the interior. However, Abdel Kader
declared a jihad against the French. Philippe sent General Bugeaud with
about 100.000 troops who captured Abdel Kader in 1847 and consequently
the whole of Algeria. By 1848, the number of settlers had risen to about
100.000. This was the beginning of the French colonial empire.
7.The 1846 Swiss Civil War
1846,
a civil war erupted between Catholics and Protestants in Switzerland
over the form of government be adopted. The Protestants were secretly
assisted by Britain and the Catholics appealed for French resistance.
The British foreign secretary Palmer stone outmaneuvered Philippe by
blindfolding him that was organizing a conference to settle the Swiss
crisis. Indeed before the conference sat, the Swiss Protestants had
defeated the Catholics. The French Catholics felt betrayed. They
expected Philippe to resist Co-religionists/brothers in faith. However,
Philippe was conscious to note that it would antagonize Britain and the
liberals at home. It made him to refuse to support the Swiss Catholics.
This disappointed the Catholics and glory seekers who accused him of
pursuing a boring foreign policy.
8. The Spanish marriage 1846
In 1846, Louis Philippe took a bold stand and registered some degree of success over Palmer stone.
Princess
Isabella and her sister Infanta of Spain were still not yet married.
Royalists were sought from Europe to marry them. Britain and France were
the most interested powers in providing candidates to marry the two
sisters. This was because of the possibility of providing a heir to the
Spanish throne since Spain was strategically located. So France and
Britain agreed that Isabella was to be married to Francisco Duke de
Cadiz, a German Prince (favoured by Britain) and her sister Infanta
Maria was to get married to Duke de Montpensier, a French prince.
However, it was rumoured that the German prince was impotent and yet
Infanta was not to marry the French prince until Isabella was married
and had children with the German prince.
Following the above discovery, Philippe and Guizot organised and celebrated the marriage of Infanta on the same day (October 10th
1846) when Isabella got married to the German prince. This was a
triumph for Philippe, which so ably and so completely satisfied the
glory seekers. However, Palmer stone protested bitterly against the
'indirect influence' and the 'illegitimate methods' of Louis Philippe.
This was a blow to the Anglo-French diplomatic relationship. It deprived
him of the only ally and undermined his support from the middle class.
This made Britain to just watch Louis Philippe pack up for exile without
raising any accusing finger in 1848.
Right from 1830 when he was elected, Louis Philippe was surrounded by internal and external problems.
This
weaknesses in settling internal and external problems made his downfall
inevitable by 1848. It was largely his inglorious and non adventurous
foreign policy that made his fall a foregone conclusion .The reasons as
to why Philippe fell from power are hereby discussed below:-
1.
He was the first elected king in the history of France with the title
by the grace of God and will of the election. This meant that the
Frenchmen could use their votes to unseat him if he went contrary to
their expectations. The revised 1830 constitution greatly reduced his
powers. Amongst others, he could not like special decrees, dissolve the
parliament and the parliament was composed of voted members who could
even debate the budget. These made him a weak king with no proper
control over the social, political and economic affairs of France hence
contributing to his downfall.
2. Louis Philippe was
not the most popular politician at that time. He won election by a mere
majority of 219 votes out of430 members in the chamber of deputies.
This meant that right from the start he had a majority of 211 opposition
members in the chamber of deputies. Even his election was largely due
to misconception rather than any concrete support for him. The liberals
thought that he would be a liberal king. The workers thought that the
long years of poverty had taught him a lesson of the need to alleviate
poverty. The Bonapartists thought that he would revive Napoleon's glory
over Europe. Unfortunately, Louis Philippe had none of such in his
political programs. Apart from the middle class who were appeased up to
1846, the rest were disappointed and their disappointment was displayed
in the 1848 revolutions that sent Louis Philippe to exile.
3.
Louis Philippe made a fatal mistake by over relying on the middle class
who had elected him. He pursued middle class oriented policies and
programs at the expense of the Frenchmen. The middle class dominated key
government positions, the chamber of deputies, trade and were granted
soft loans for investment. The conditions of the workers and peasants
that deteriorated with industrial revolutions were ignored. His
popularity was eventually confined to the middle class. Unfortunately,
the very middle class deserted him after the Spanish marriage in 1846.
This left him with almost no support and made him vulnerable to the
revolution of 1848.
4. The rise and growth of
socialism became a stumbling block to Louis Philippe's reign. The
worsening conditions of peasants and workers due to industrial
revolution led to the rise of socialism. The socialists condemned the
bourgeoisie government of Louis Philippe and his insensitivity to the
plight of the workers.
Louis Blank demanded that
the state must guarantee a living wage to all workers. He said; to the
able bodied citizens the state owes work, to the aged and infirm, it
owes aid and Protection. The socialist propaganda did a lot to add on
the discontentment of the people. Socialist Propaganda was more
instrumental in the reform Banquet of 1848 through which Louis Philippe
lost his power.
5. The return of Napoleon I's
remains from St. Hellena to France was a boomerang that led to the
downfall of Louis Philippe. In 1846, Louis Philippe returned Napoleon's
body and reburied it at a place called Invalids. It provoked Napoleonic
nostalgia as the Frenchmen remembered all that Napoleon did for them.
Consequently,
Napoleonic legend became very popular with the writings of Louis
Napoleon who was the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. The result of
Napoleonic legend was that Louis Philippe became more unpopular with the
Frenchmen who compared his achievements with those of Napoleon
Bonaparte and practically found nothing. This made him to be rejected by
the Frenchmen.
6. Louis Philippe's personality
also undermined his popularity. Having experienced poverty and hard life
in exile, Philippe became obsessed with how to economize resources. He
lived a very simple life style, for instance he walked freely on streets
unguarded, lit his own study fire and lived principally on soup. This
made some sections of the Frenchmen particularly the nobles and clergy
to disown him as not worthy to be a king. They were used to seeing their
kings living luxuriously. They therefore criticized his simple
lifestyle and undermined his popularity.
NB His personality and character won him the admiration of the common people who viewed him as a citizen king.
7.
Louis Philippe's dictatorial tendencies strengthened his opponents and
led to his downfall. By 1848, he had censored the press and restricted
people's liberty through the laws of discussion and association. All
kinds of people were thrown in prison for leading strikes,
demonstrations and revolts. However, prison life became one of the main
breeding grounds for republican propaganda and socialist ideas that blew
Louis Philippe out of power in 1848. It should be stressed that Louis
Philippe's dictatorship was a violation of the revised 1830
constitution, which was a disappointment to the Frenchmen who had
trusted him as a leader who would revive constitutionalism in France.
8. Internal political instability also contributed to the downfall of Louis Philippe and Orleans monarchy.
Louis
Philippe's unrealistic policies e.g. dictatorship, favouratism of the
bourgeoisie and inglorious foreign policy were used by the opposition to
mobilize the masses in a series of uprisings, demonstrations and coup
attempts. For instance, from 1830-1835 there were six uprisings in
Paris, Lyon, Lavandee and Marsailles. In 1836 and 1840, there were
assassination and coup attempts against Louis Philippe's life and his
regime. These undermined the credibility of the Orleans Monarchy and
denied it internal support. It should be emphasized that Louis
Philippe's suppression of violence by 1841 backfired as it strengthened
the opposition and left them more united. This explains why opposition
e.g. the liberals, republicans, socialists etc coordinated and mobilized
the masses to over throw the Orleans monarchy of Louis
Philippe through the 1848 revolutions.
9.
Corruption, bribery and embezzlement of funds also contributed to the
downfall of Louis Philippe. The middle class who dominated political,
social and economic affairs of France were very corrupt and took bribes
shamelessly. Guizot, the chief minister (1840-1848) was too corrupt to
the extent that corruption became official government policy e.g. in
awarding tenders and bribing opposition members of the chamber of
deputies. Corruption and embezzlement made the government inefficient in
provision of social services and incapable of addressing the challenges
of unemployment and poor working conditions. The opposition most
especially the liberals, republicans and socialists capitalized on these
problems to decampaign the Orleans monarchy under Louis Philippe's
leadership. This caused the 1848revolution that led to the downfall of
Louis Philippe and Orlean monarchy.
10. The
economic crisis that befell France prior to 1848 fomented troubles for
Louis Philippe. The bad harvest of 1846 gave way to a serious famine.
Besides, epidemic diseases like Typhoid and gonorrhea had psychological
and physical effects on the masses. Louis Philippe was unbothered about
the conditions of the people. This forced people to move to a few large
towns and became desperate mobs who greatly participated in the
revolution that ousted Louis Philippe from power in 1848.
II.
Louis Philippe's insensitivity to public outcry for parliamentary
reforms became a turning point in his political career. Property
qualifications made the chamber of deputies to be flooded with middle
class members who were not concerned with the welfare of other classes
especially peasants and workers. The Frenchmen wanted an expanded
Franchise by lowering property qualification but Louis kept a deaf ear.
When
Guizot his chief minister was questioned, he insisted that those who
wished to vote or be voted should work hard, save money and qualify to
vote. This prompted the socialists and republicans to organize reform
banquets with barricades that forced Louis Philippe to exile in 1848.
12.
it’s in foreign policy that Louis Philippe clashed head long with all
the political groupings in France. He pursued a submissive and
non-adventurous foreign policy, contrary to the expectations of the
Frenchmen except the middle class. This made him very unpopular to be
ousted out of power in 1848.
The first event was
the Belgium revolt of 1830. The Belgians expected assistance from
Philippe and the Frenchmen even wanted Louis to intervene and gain
glory. But Louis declined to assist the Belgians for fear of
antagonizing other powers. Even when the Belgians offered the throne to
Louis Philippe's son, he backed down after a stem warming from Palmer
stone. This disappointed the liberals, Bonapartists, republicans,
legitimists and glory seekers who viewed him as a stooge of Palmer
stone. It reduced his popularity and made his fall inevitable by 1848.
13.
Similarly, the poles and the Italians revolted in 1830. Both of them
had keen eyes on French assistance. But Louis declined to assist them
for fear of the hostility of other powers. He refused to assist the
Poles because he feared war with Austria, Prussia and Russia who had
Polish subjects. In a similar manner, he declined to aid the Italians
for the fear of Austria. This frustrated the liberals, Bonapartists and
glory seekers who wanted him to utilize such opportunities to revive
French influence in Europe. By 1848, they were fed up with his boring
foreign policy and decided to participate in the revolution that sent
him on his feet to exile.
14. Louis Philippe also met his political fate through the Mehemet Ali's affairs in the Syrian question.
Mehemet
Ah had declared war on the Sultan of Turkey for failing to give him the
territories he had promised after assisting him (the Sultan) in the
Greek war of independence. Frenchmen wanted Philippe to assist Mehemet
Ah and revive the Napoleonic tradition in Egypt. He sent troops but
withdrew after being threatened by Britain and Russia. To crown up the
humiliation, Palmer stone called the 1840 London conference to settle
the issue and did not invite France. This provoked a wave of protests
from the liberals, Bonapatists and glory seekers. His liberal chief
ministers Adolph Thiers urged him to organize war against the powers
that had excluded France from the London conference but Louis declined
to do so.
This made Thiers to resign his seat and
join the opposition. This was a blow to Louis Philippe and Orleans
monarchy. Thiers was the most influential leader whose resignation
weakened the government and strengthened the opposition. His successor
Guizot was very unpopular and his policy made the fall of Louis Philippe
inevitable.
15. By colonizing Tahiti Island, Louis
had lived to the expectations of the glory seekers and bellicose (war
like) French citizens. However, his withdrawal due to protest from
Pahner stone destroyed the little popularity he might have gained and
made him more unpopular. They accused him of being too weak to uphold
France's high status and humiliating her in Europe and consequently
rejected him.
16. The 1846 Swiss crisis was yet
another diplomatic setback for Philippe. He refused to assist the
Catholics who were battling with the Protestants about the form of
government to adopt. This led to the defeat of Catholics by the
Protestants. It made the Catholics in France to be very bitter for they
felt he was morally bound to support their fellow brothers in faith. The
glory seekers equally denounced him for not rendering the assistance.
These undermined his power and contributed to his eventual downfall in
1848.
17. Louis Philippe's fall can be explained
from the Spanish marriage campaign. Although he succeeded over Britain
by breaching the agreement and arranging the marriage of Infanta on the
same day with that of Isabella, nevertheless, he lost the friendship of
Britain, the only ally at the time. Britain cut off diplomatic ties and
trade with France. This touched the pockets of the middle class whose
trade suffered since Britain was the workshop of Europe. They therefore
denounced him and henceforth he was left with no support in France. The
middle class joined the workers and peasants in the February 1848
revolution through which Louis Philippe was unceremoniously seen off the
French throne. Britain just watched him pack without raising any
accusing finger.
18. Lastly, the outbreak of the
1848 revolutions in Europe (France inclusive) prompted the downfall of
Louis Philippe. The revolution started from Palermo in Italy on 12th Jan
1848, spread to other Italian slates and reached France in Feb 1848,
The outbreak of the revolution in Italian states inspired the Frenchmen
who were already dissatisfied with Louis Philippe's policies to revolt.
The various opposition groups most especially the socialists mobilized
the French men through reform banquets to start the revolution that
swept Louis Philippe and Orleans monarchy from power.
Note:
- Louis Philippe lost control of French political affairs largely
because of his over reliance on the propertied middle class. They were
very small in number and had no moral or historical right to control a
government that was hated by the aristocracy and the masses. If he had
made reforms in the social, political and economic fields, he would have
won over people's support. However, he closed his eyes and ears to the
problems that faced the masses and no wonder that he was dethroned. He
would have perhaps escaped the fate that befell him if he had pursued an
adventurous foreign policy that would have cooled down most domestic
factions who yearned for glory. All the same, we should not over condemn
Louis
Philippe for if he pursued a vigorous
foreign policy, he would have entered war with the big powers and risked
to be defeated in the very way Napoleon I was defeated in 1815.
As Louis Philippe increasingly
became adamant to parliamentary reforms and the issue of franchise the
republicans and socialists organised reform banquets in Paris and other
centers. At these Banquets, a great number of people turned up to listen
to reformist political propagators. The reform Banquets gained
popularity throughout France and people were fully mobilized for
reforms.
The largest of these reform Banquets was scheduled to take place in February 1848 in Paris. The principle
Guests
were to be 87 sympathizers from the chamber of deputies. Sensing
danger, Guizot banned it and the organizers called it off. Although it
was cancelled, all the same people turned up in big numbers. They
assembled and shouted for reforms. On the night of 22"^, barricades were
put up throughout Paris. The next day, Louis ordered the National
Guards to restore order but demoralized as they were, they just joined
the people; the crowd shouted down with Guizot and Louis Philippe asked
him (Guizot) to resign.
The situation went out of
control when the soldiers guarding Guizot's residence fired on the
demonstrators killing 23 and injuring 30. The demonstrators put the dead
bodies on a wagon and displayed the same to the people of Paris in the
glaring daylight. This resulted into a revolution. More Barricades were
erected in Paris and Placards with the following contents were displayed
in all parts of the city; Louis Philippe massacres us as did Charles X
let him go to join Charles X. Hopeless as he was, Louis Philippe
abdicated the throne in favour of his grandson Count of Paris. On 24th
February 1848, the revolutionaries plundered his palace and set it
ablaze. This was the end of the road for the Orleans monarchy and
monarchical rule in the history of France. Thus, the 1848 revolution in
France was successful and socialist leader Lamar time proclaimed the
Second French Republic in Hotel de Ville on 24th February 1848.
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