The July Revolution 1830

Tension between King Charles X and the Chamber of Deputies mounted in the years preceding 1830. The deputies feared that appointment of Jules de Polignac as president of the council was a prelude to an attempt by the king to return to absolutist rule. Frustrated with the opposition to his rule, Charles X dismissed the chamber in 1829 but the 1830 election which followed resulted in even greater opposition. In response, the king announced that he would henceforth rule by decree. Charles X with Polignac issued a series of decrees, published on July 26th, known as the July Ordinances (also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint Cloud) which suspended freedom of the press and disenfranchised about three-quarters of the adult male population. The newly elected Chamber of Deputies was once again dissolved.

Angry Parisians revolted the following day, July 27, 1830. Among those manning the barricades were students, many workers left unemployed by liberal business owners (who shuttered their shops in protest to the ordinances), as well as former members of the National Guard which Charles X had disbanded in 1827. Intense fighting broke out between the Parisians and the armed forces. What began as a protest against the ordinances and a demand to remove Polignac from power was rapidly transformed into a revolution. By July 29, 1830, soldiers had not only stopped fighting but were fraternizing with the rebels and Paris was effectively under the control of revolutionaries. However, the rebels were divided on what to do next.

Republicans, centered at the Hotel de Ville, composed many workers and students, wanted to reestablish the Republic of 1793 now under the Marquis de Lafayette. Constitutional monarchists, occupying the Palais Bourbon wanted to install Louis Philippe as king. There was a tangible threat of civil war. Meanwhile, Charles X officially rescinded the July Ordinances and dismissed Polignac on July 30th but, by then, it was too late to save his rule. Lafayette declined to lead a republic and embraced Louis Philippe as the new king on July 31st. Charles X formally abdicated and fled on August 2nd, by which time the new July Monarchy was already in place. Polignac was arrested and condemned to life imprisonment but amnestied in 1836.

Notes

[1] Clodfelter claims 1260 government casualties (killed or wounded) and 6000 revolutionary casualties (dead or disabled). The estimates of fatalities are based on a 1:3 ratio of killed to wounded.

References

Clodfelter, 287; COW513; Dixon and Sarkees, 247-8; EB - France; EB1910V10, 864-5; Kohn, 182.

Category

Intra-State War

Region

Western Europe

Belligerents

French Government, French Revolutionaries

Dispute

Governance

Initiation Date

July 27, 1830

Termination Date

July 29, 1830

Duration

3 days

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Revolutionary victory)

Fatalities

Total: 1,815
Government: 315^[1]
Revolutionaries: 1,500^[1]

Magnitude

3.3