Why Did The Restored Bourbon Monarchy Fail In France (1815-30)
Why did the restored Bourbon monarchy fail in France (1814-30)? Much of the historical interest in the restored Bourbon monarchy has concentrated on its shortcomings, often giving the impression that it was destined to failure from its very inception. Indeed, as both the First and Second Restorations ended in relatively swift revolutions, it is difficult to argue against the validity of this method. However, I don't believe that the question of "˜why a failure occurred' can be addressed properly without some prior discussion about the nature of this failure. Therefore, this essay will first concentrate on the sense in which the Bourbon monarchy can be said to have failed between 1814 and 1830, before progressing to deal with the reasons for this failure.
J.P.T. Bury argues that the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X could be termed a success in the financial and economic sphere, in its cultural achievement, and in foreign policy, and there is certainly a case to be made in each of these areas. For instance, it is widely agreed that France underwent a "profound economic change" during this period, with the appearance of savings banks and joint-stock companies, improvements in agriculture, and the expansion of the transport network. Moreover, the rapid repayment of the war indemnity was of important symbolic value as it represented the return to financial solvency for the first time in a generation. It must be acknowledged that many of these improvements are difficult to quantify accurately, and were due in some extent a wider evolution in the European economy, while the intermittent depression that France suffered after 1826 reduced the pace of progress. On the whole however, the Bourbon monarchy can claim success in its economic performance.
Similarly, the rich literary and fallout from the conflict between the Classicists and Romantics during the 1820's, the re-emergence of the Sorbonne as an international centre of education, and the political philosophy of
J.P.T. Bury argues that the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X could be termed a success in the financial and economic sphere, in its cultural achievement, and in foreign policy, and there is certainly a case to be made in each of these areas. For instance, it is widely agreed that France underwent a "profound economic change" during this period, with the appearance of savings banks and joint-stock companies, improvements in agriculture, and the expansion of the transport network. Moreover, the rapid repayment of the war indemnity was of important symbolic value as it represented the return to financial solvency for the first time in a generation. It must be acknowledged that many of these improvements are difficult to quantify accurately, and were due in some extent a wider evolution in the European economy, while the intermittent depression that France suffered after 1826 reduced the pace of progress. On the whole however, the Bourbon monarchy can claim success in its economic performance.
Similarly, the rich literary and fallout from the conflict between the Classicists and Romantics during the 1820's, the re-emergence of the Sorbonne as an international centre of education, and the political philosophy of
Bibliography: Artz, F, France under the Bourbon Restoration 1814-1930, New York, Russell & Russell Inc., 1963. Bury, J, France (1814-1940) 3rd ed., London, Meuthen & Co., 1954. Cobban, A, A History of Modern France (Vol. 2: 1799-1870), London, Penguin, 1961. Fortescue, W, Revolution and Counter Revolution in France 1815-52, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1988. Pilbeam, P, The Constitutional Monarchy in France, Harlow, Longman, 2000. Sperber, J, Revolutionary Europe 1780-1850, Harlow, Longman, 2000.