V. The Modern Period, 1789–1914 > B. The French Revolution and Europe, 1789–1914 > 4. Western and Central Europe, 1815–1848 > e. France > 1. The Restoration Monarchy > 1816, Sept
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  The Encyclopedia of World History.  2001.
 
 
1816, Sept
 
Under pressure from abroad as well as from his minister Richelieu at home, the king dissolved the government and called elections, which returned a moderate majority to support Richelieu and his successors.  1
 
1816–17
 
Grain crisis resulted in high prices for bread and other foodstuffs. The crisis was worsened by the arrival of allied troops in the summer of 1815, who disrupted the growing season by trampling the crops. The food shortage led to riots and demonstrations at markets in the spring of 1816 and again in the spring of 1817.  2
 
1818
 
Payment of the French indemnity, and consequent evacuation of French soil by allied troops, saved the French government the cost of provisioning these troops. Richelieu masterminded these payments by borrowing from banks in London and Amsterdam.  3
 
1818
 
Rights restored to Jews.  4
 
1820
 
Electoral and conservative reforms. The murder of the duke of Berri, the presumed last heir of the Bourbon line, reinforced the belief in a threat to monarchy from the liberals within the emerging independent party. The day after the murder (Feb. 13, 1820), a new electoral law was passed (the Law of the Double Vote), which increased the weight of voters in the upper tax brackets. This law followed further restriction of press freedoms and suspension of personal liberty.  5
Secret societies developed throughout France and drew their strength from the noncommissioned officers in the army, middle-class elements who opposed the monarchy, and students. A series of demonstrations in 1820 culminated in the plan of Aug. 19 to bring the military to arms against the government while the students roused Paris to insurrection. This plot was discovered and the leaders, Joubert and Dugied, fled to Italy. They became initiated into the Italian Carbonari and, when they returned to France, adapted the rituals to the French situation. The Carbonari staged a number of insurrectionary actions during 1822, but they were crushed by the government and disintegrated under pressure. Nonetheless, they helped establish a groundwork for revolutionary action that would be utilized in 1830.  6
Conservative legislation continued to be implemented under Charles X.  7
 
1820–30
 
Initial French industrialization. Rapid spread of factories in the north and in Alsace, for cotton and wool textiles. Expansion of coal mining and formation of several modern metallurgical plants, such as Decazeville (1826).  8
 
1822–25
 
Smallpox epidemics in France.  9
 
1825, April 15
 
Death sentence imposed for certain sacrilegious actions.  10
 
April 27
 
A law of indemnity compensated nobles for the losses of their lands during the Revolution.  11
 
 
 
The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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