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Evaluating Louis XVIII

Evaluating Louis XVIII. www.educationforum.co.uk. Hundred Days and the ‘Chambre Introuvable’.

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Evaluating Louis XVIII

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  1. Evaluating Louis XVIII www.educationforum.co.uk

  2. Hundred Days and the ‘Chambre Introuvable’ • The election following Napoleon’s 100days returned such an ultra dominated Parliament that Louis named it the ‘Chambre Introuvable’ – meaning it would be impossible to find such a royalist chamber anywhere else. • The upper House was also dominated by hereditary noble émigrés returning from exile seeking revenge • The ‘White Terror’ followed

  3. Louis Intervenes • In 1816 Louis used his power to dissolve Parliament, restricted voting to those financially qualified and aged over 40, and reduced the number of constituencies. • The result was a victory for the moderates and his Chief Minister Richelieu who was now able to preside over a period of moderate success – indemnity paid off, occupying troops out of France (1817), France invited back into the Congress system (1818)

  4. Further Progress • In 1817 Louis felt secure enough to return the franchise back to votes over 25 and slightly lowered the voting qualification = more liberals were returned to parliament in 1818 • Louis also appointed Duke Decazes as chief minister in 1818 who persuaded Louis to create 60 new life peers so his government could work with the Upper Chamber effectively • Decazes also granted further freedoms to the press and granted journalists legal protection from censorship and arrest

  5. 1820’s • With the murder of Berri in 1820 Louis was placed under tremendous pressure by the ultras to curb his moderate liberalism, pressure as his health declined he found impossible to resist. • The Bourbon restoration was arguably already slipping towards absolutism even before Charles X came to power Evidence 1822 severe law passed limiting both press freedom and trial by jury 1824 military intervention in Spain to prop up the Spanish absolutist monarchy

  6. Motives • Louis and Decazes have been interpreted by most historians as attempting to win support from moderate liberals and Bonapartists and to keep the ultras at bay. • Unfortunately it was a compromise that pleased nobody – greater press freedom resulted in the rapid spread of liberals and republican opposition to the Bourbons and the failure ‘to rule like a divine right monarch’ angered the ultras

  7. How then should we evaluate Louis? • Someone who genuinely attempted to make a constitution work? • A weak compromise figure who failed to please anyone? • A statesman with the best interests of France at heart? • An anachronism that was doomed to failure given the circumstances he found himself in

  8. The Bad Change

  9. Paired Task • Complete the reading (at least 2 of the following) and gather evidence to support one of the statements on the previous slide Reading France in Revolution  Sally Waller pages 126-137 European History 1815-1890 Cowie and Wolfson - pages 54-67France Monarchy Republic and Empire Keith Randell Chapter 2 • Advanced Reading (Library) • France The Bourgeois Century Roger Magraw pages 35-50 • A History of France Lucien Romier pages 373-382

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