To What Extent Were the Polices and Attitude of Charles X The Main Reason for his being Overthrown in 1830?

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Freya Ollerearnshaw

To What Extent Were the Polices and Attitude of Charles X

The Main Reason for his being Overthrown in 1830? 

The general opinion of historians as to the reasons for Charles X’s downfall in 1830 is that most of it was of his own doing, having the wrong attitude and imposing unpopular policies.

        From the very beginning of his reign, Charles X gave out the impression that he was a backward-minded monarch who had the old-fashioned belief of the divine right of kings. This was demonstrated at his coronation at Rheims, which was very elaborate and seemed to belong to the time of his ancestors.

        Later, his policy of compensating the émigré landowners by cutting government stocks penalised the middle class who were an increasingly influential group due to the on going economic growth of France. Charles failed to recognise the importance of this class and the fact that they opposed his Ancien Regime.

        Charles X also found it hard to control the liberals who were well organised and aided by Chateaubriand who owned a popular opposition paper, with a circulation of 40,000. This increased opposition to Charles X and his regimes. He could have limited the liberals power and influence by bringing Chateaubriand back to his government before he became a member of the opposition.

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        A major contributor to Charles X’s downfall was his policies on religion. He was deeply religious, believing that the Roman Catholic Church should have a greater role in people’s everyday lives. He therefore handed over control of education to the church. Charles X allowed the Jesuits, an extreme Catholic movement, to grow in strength. The invasion of the church into peoples live lessened further the number of supporters of Charles X.

        In 1829, Charles x replaced the fairly neutral Martignac ministry an extreme ultra one, headed by Polignac. Polignac was associated with the hated monarchy from before the revolution. The ...

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