Analyse the causes of the 1848 revolution in France Essay

fail the causes of the 1848 variation in France.With the ascension of Louis-Phillipe to the pile in July 1830, after the abdication of Charles X he waited to produce m some(prenominal) eventors in his favour that would front to warrant a successful monarch and long brave outing government activity. However, after 14 years the monarch, Louis-Phillipe, felt forced into a position where he had to abdicate, why then did the regime collapse so suddenly and out of the blue? Especially after it had overcome so more early difficulties to essay itself in the minds of the cut as an acceptable form of brass. I conceptualize the answer lies in a number of factor/causes.Long terminal CausesNotably, unrivaled of the sterling(prenominal) weaknesses of the monarchy was the fact that Louis-Phillipe could claim no even out to the thr superstar of France. The French Tradition concerning the crown was that of heredity right, and had occurred so for centuries, organism based, it was cl aimed, on the will of God. Therefore, although disliked no one could dispute the right of the Bourbons to suck the throne of France. Louis-Phillipe had no such divine right as in that location was no belief that the legitimate monarch should be re put by one of his relatives if he became unpopular. On what basis, then, was he ability? There only appear to be three basiss for a regime contagious right, the will of the people or the force of arms. Louis-Phillipe fulfilled none of these criteria. Indeed, the Orleaninst Monarchy was merely a useful compromise clutched at by desperate bring down owners who feared for their welfare in context of the future. The only way such forms of government can survive is if they manage to continue convincing their nation that they have the moral right to be in power and in so doing inspire confidence in their affirmers.Other long-term causes of Louis-Phillipe eventual spill can be traced to his policies, both foreign and house servant. What essential be remembered is that for the previous(prenominal) five hundred years France had been the most powerful nation in europium, a heroic and glorious past in which the French placed great importance in. This had ended with napoleons defeat at the hands of the tail coalition of European powers who had felt that their safety had been placed in question. This, napoleons last defeat, had occurred fifteen years previous and sufficient cartridge holder had lapsed for the French people to yearn a return to their glorious past and a reinstatement of their empire.However, Louis-Phillipe thought differently, ignoring his past (as a young man he was a refugee abroad which led him to view active/ scrappy foreign indemnity with suspicion) and his natural caution and desire for peace, one has to take into account the fact that the different major European Powers were determined not to let France hazard the security of the other European states once again. The fairy realized that it was likely that any provocation the Powers would attempt to impose their will upon France as they had done in 1815. He recognised the precarious position he was in thereof his highest priority was to avoid a general European war where he was sure to be opposed by Austria, Russia, Prussia and Britain. Evidence of this opinion came in the form of the Belgium question.Belgium previously of the French empire had been annexed to the Netherlands in an attempt to realise a buffer to future French expansion. The Belgiums were not apt with this blank space and so rebelled. They were successful. There was general fear throughout Europe that France would then again annex Belgium, simply this did not happen. France did not interject even though Louis-Phillipes son was offered the crown. Instead, France worked closely with Britain to ensure the license of Belgium. Later in Spain there was a power struggle, an area considered to be Frances sphere of influence, but again Louis-Phillipe t ried to gain no unjust advantage in the area. This behaviour of the French king was abnormal in the eyes of the French and wholly disappointing as again and again he refused to gain international advantage.In the late 1830s a foreign crisis emerged that would make the French people feel more than disappointment. The puff of air Empire was an empire that was struggling. The only way it managed to maintain its control was by establishing local rulers who had relative freedom as long as they well-thought-of the suzerainty of the Sultan in Constantinople. However, one leader emerged, Mehemet Ali of Egypt that had almost as a good deal power as the Sultan himself. This pleased the French as Ali was a client of theirs using a lot of their technology and intelligence. The European powers were insult with this and compulsioned to limit Alis powers. Thiers, the leading minister, began an obstructionist policy hoping that Ali would steadiness matters in his own way, Thiers even implied i t would be an issue that France would go to was over. unluckily Britain called Frances bluff as Britain and Russia forced Ali to accept their terms. Louis-Phillipe was humiliated as he wasnt prepared to risk a war with Britain and Russia he ignore Thiers and had to accept national humiliation. This specific incident led to enormous fretfulness and discontent among the French people. They felt that in backing down Louis-Phillipe had acted disgracefully and had humiliated the country. Furthermore, the subsequent friendship that evolved with Britain (a situation which Louis-Phillipe felt would be thriving to his position in Europe) added more salt to the wounds. France was playing a immature adjournner to Britain, the traditionalistic enemy. Louis-Phillipe was in a position where he could do no right. He wasnt in the position to adopt an aggressive foreign policy (that is aside from the fact that he didnt want to) which disappointed his subjects and in the scenario where he did become active he espouse positions that led to even more humiliation than inertia would have bestowed. other aspect of Louis-Phillipes reign that could of led to his downfall can be rooted in his domestic policy. Again here inactivity was favoured by the king. Once the regime was established and certain basic rules changed to the kings liking the kings view was that everything was working well so there was no use in tampering with it. Almost, that the system was beyond improvement. Unfortunately for the king, this was not a widely shared view. The main bone of discontent was concerning the on-line(prenominal) voting system. Many hankered for a reform oddly as there was emerging a new class, a group of men who considered themselves to be part of the social elite and yet who didnt have the right to vote. Their cause was championed by the Legislative assembly (with Thiers an ardent supporter) a situation which made manners more difficult for the king and his government.Another fo rmer for the eventual collapse of the July monarchy can be traced back to the actual soul of the king. By 1843 the king had reached his 70th birthday and although fit and alert he was, decidedly old and traits that he had exhibited earlier on in life became more pronounced. His talkativeness became something to be endured, he avoided making decisions altogether being satisfied with the current situation, His public appearances became less which meant he couldnt pass water and maintain personal loyalties, significantly he stopped reviewing the content concur in 1840, what Louis-Phillipe couldnt see was that he was leaving a pointlessness that could easily be filled be someone else on the author of a crisis. However these werent his only problems for the king one of his other problems was that he failed to play the part of the grand and great king that was traditional in France. He dull and boring, to be honest, he lived like a bourgeoisie merchant doing much for himself, wander ing through Paris unattended he was not the inaccessible monarch of previously. He looked and dressed in an undistinguished manner. This led to the claim that the king was insufficiently different from the habitual man to be worth having as king.Short Term Causes angiotensin-converting enzyme of the major problems that surrounded the Revolution of 1848 was the current economic depression. Due to industrial Revolution Paris had grown considerably which, even when the economy was healthy, created problems of indigence and poor live conditions. By 1846 there was far-flung unemployment tens of thousands of people were living in poverty or near starving. Also, around the same time a social conscience had begun to develop among the upper classes and the opinion was that something must be done. The king responded with his usual stoicism and stubbornness in that he felt that nothing could be done. This isolated some of his natural supporters and disenchant those who thought that the Jul y monarchy would be a flexible and responsive regime.There were many opponents of Guizot in Parliament, many of whom wanted to see him ousted form power. (NB. They wanted to grasp power for themselves not overthrow the king) One way which the felt impelling was the organization of banquets to champion the cause of electoral reform. They arranged a series of local meeting to whip up popular support. Instead the reformers addled control as they were taken over by extreme republicans who desire the overthrowing of the regime.Consequently the meeting were banned and made illegal. There was one repayable to take place in Paris on 22 February 1848 but subsequently it was illegal. A march took its place. When Louis-Phillipe then called on the National bulwark he recognized their reluctance and realized he judged the general irritability wrongly. He lost his nerve. He dismissed Guizot in order to propitiate the opposition but this instead gave hope to the agitators. The next day se rviceman then fired on a good natured crowd violent death 80. The Republicans used this to whip up anger and the vulgarilize a mob in Paris. On 24 February 1848 Louis-Phillipe abdicated.In a situation as complex as that of the Revolution of 1848 with so many interdependent causes it is asinine to attempt to satisfy such a wide ranging issue with one simple answer. There was a fundamental weakness in the July Monarchy in that it seemed to have no right to the throne what was unfortunate for Louis-Phillipe was that there were already alternative forms of government available if the current one became unpopular. Furthermore, his changing constitution was leaving a vacuum that could easily be filled be someone else on the occasion of a crisis. These both led to the kings support being considerable diminished at a time when it was most need.Moreover The kings lifestyle contributed to the widespread heart that the July monarchy had outlived its usefulness it was not that Louis-Philli pes lifestyle and nature glum friends into enemies rather, they contributed to the slump n moral which left the way open to those who stormily wanted change. As well as this his both unsuccessful domestic and foreign led to a more hostile general feeling towards the king as well as contributing to the internal tumult that eventually led to the kings unseating. In the immediate events leading to the kings abdication Louis-Phillipes senile imbecility (A. de Tocqueville) had a large part to play.His loss of nerve lost many of his last supporters, he failed to stand firm and weather a modest storm. His handling of the situation and especially his failure to call the army which might well have relieve him eventually led to his downfall. He allowed a small molehill to become a mountain for no strong reason. It is difficult to assess which of these factors played the greatest role, for, all of the long term factors appear of equal importance, on a par also with the backdrop of economi c depression and social soul that was concurrent at the time however the questions still remains whether these on their own would have been enough to make a successful revolution and if whether the king had acted correctly and strongly, he would not have fallen It seems it was the kings inactivity that pervaded every part of his professional and personal life (foreign and domestic policy, personality and lifestyle and ultimately in the last days leading up to his abdication) that eventually led to his downfall.(Felt that this wasnt a satisfactory conclusion, found it cloggy to articulate here, how could I improve it, there seemed to be so many possibilities)Use ready made alternative forms of govment in conclusion to direct why fist point was important.Domestic policy if their had been an electorate reform the regime would have won the cative support of the new groupPersonality- he was lifestyle- theyHort term- Louis-Phillipes lose of stubbornessdismayed his supporters who say this as an indication that the end was near and nobody wants to support a lost acuse. Louis-Phillipe was still in the position to use the army and stand strong but the lack of support shown by the National Guard seemed to have b