1. The Reign of Charles X www.educationforum.co.uk

2. Charles X Louis was succeeded by Comte D’Artois (leader of the White Terror) who became Charles X

3. First Act Charles’ first act was to compensate the émigrés for their loss of land during the Revolution using 1000 million francs of government money Charles raised this money by reducing the interest on the National Debt – so in effect it was funded by middle class investors

4. Second Act Charles encouraged a Catholic revival in France by: 1. Making sacrilege and criticism of the ‘divine right of kings’ criminal offences 2. Allowing the religious orders (banned during the Revolution) to return and flourish such as the Jesuits. New religious groups also emerged such a the ‘Congregation’ who spread Catholic propaganda and the ‘Chevaliers de La Foi’ who were dedicated to restoring the church and 2 nd estate to its pre- Revolution position 3. Allowing the Church to assert control over education – made a bishop Minister of Education and gave clerics the right to appoint and dismiss primary school teachers

5. Third Act 1826 freedom of the press abolished and the Parisian National Guard disbanded (the middle class militia set up in the early days of the Revolution) Result – election of 1827 returned a liberal majority and Charles’ chief Minister Villele had to resign

6. Fourth Act Charles appointed Martignac – a moderate royalist as Chief Minister triggering a short lived attempt at conciliation Martignac lifted press censorship and halted growing Church influence over education Charles objected to both these measures and dismissed Martignac

7. Fifth Act Charles replaced Martignac with Polignac – an ultra ultra from an ancient aristocratic family. Polignac was deeply committed to divine right monarchy and to restoring feudalism and believed himself to be guided by visions of the Virgin Mary Parliament in the meantime was dominated by liberals and was directly challenging the authority of the King by insisting that al government Ministers should be appointed and answerable to Parliament and not the King

8. Sixth Act Charles horrified by this threat dissolved Parliament and called fresh election The subsequent election resulted in an even more liberal Parliament

9. Seventh Act Charles responded by declaring a state of emergency and issuing the ORDINANCES OF ST CLOUD 1. Banned all newspapers without government approval 2. Dissolved Parliament (again!) 3. Restricted electorate to the 25,000 richest of existing voters 4. Arranged for fresh elections Charles then went off on a hunting expedition!

10. Revolt Immediately there were disturbances in Paris and other urban areas – liberals and Bonapartists takes to the barricades with the ‘Paris Mob’ – the start of the 1830 Revolution