Willi Fortescue - France and 1848, The end of monarchy (2005)

France and 1848
1848 was a year of revolution throughout Europe. In France, the monarchy of King
Louis-Philippe was overthrown, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and manhood
suffrage was introduced. In the subsequent national and local elections, contrary to
previous expectations, conservative candidates generally triumphed. In this
comprehensive and authoritative study, which provides an analysis of original sources,
William Fortescue considers recent research and offers new interpretations of events.
Examining the economic, social and political crises, France and 1848 evaluates the
political history of France during the revolution of 1848 and the French political culture
of the time. This title will be of interest to all students of nineteenth-century European
history, political scientists and all those with an interest in the historical development of
French political culture.
William Fortescue was formerly Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Kent
at Canterbury. He is the author of The Third Republic in France, 1870–1940: conflicts
and continuities (2000).
France and 1848
The end of monarchy
William Fortescue
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2005 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis 270 Madison Ave, New
York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge's collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 2005 William Fortescue
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by an electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Fortescue, William, 1945– France and 1848: the end of monarchy/William Fortescue 1. France—
History—February Revolution, 1848. 2. France—History— Second Republic, 1848–1852 3.
France—Politics and government— 19th century. 4. Conservatism—France—History—19th
century. 5. Political culture—France—History—19th century. 1.Title. DC270.F67 2005
944.06’3—dc22 2004021437
ISBN 0-203-32287-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-415-31461-5 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-31462-3 (pbk)
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 The French revolutionary tradition from 1789 to the July monarchy 3
2 The economic, social and political crises 33
3 The February Revolution and the Provisional Government 58
4 The Executive Commission and the June Days 99
5 Cavaignac and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte 118
6 Conclusion 137
Notes 141
Bibliography 168
Index 186
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been written without the help of the archivists and librarians of
the Archives Nationales, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the former annexe of the
Bibliothèque Nationale at Versailles, the British Library and the British Newspaper
Library at Colindale. The Templeman Library at the University of Kent, particularly its
Inter-Library Loan Department, also provided invaluable assistance.
I am grateful to the British Academy for a grant that financed two research trips to
Paris. I am also grateful to Professor William Doyle and Professor Roger Price for their
support of my grant application. In Paris I was privileged to enjoy the hospitality of Mme
Marie-Renée Morin. Trish Hatton rescued my footnotes and helped enormously with the
final presentation of the typescript. My wife Clare tried once again to improve my literary
style.
Introduction
Throughout the nineteenth century, some form of monarchy was the constitutional norm
for European states of any significance. Switzerland was an obvious exception to this
generalisation, but Switzerland clearly constituted a special case. The other important
exception was France, ruled by republican regimes from 1792 to 1804, from 1848 to
1852 and from 1870. France’s experience of revolution and republicanism gave it a
unique political culture that helps to explain the character of the French Revolution of
1848. The year 1848 witnessed an explosion of revolutionary and nationalist movements
in many European states, with similar causes and with largely similar outcomes. Harvest
failures, economic recession, high urban unemployment and a collapse of financial
confidence were European-wide phenomena in the years 1846 to 1849. Similarly, the
capitulation of illiberal regimes to popular urban revolts, the introduction of liberal and
democratic reforms, and the eventual triumph of reaction and re-assertion of traditional
authorities through military force characterised the fundamental pattern of events in the
European states af...