Charles X of France
When Charles X ascended the throne (1824) he was 67 years old. He had become bigoted and 'set in his ways'. However, the people of France seemed to welcome his ascension due to their jealousy over the British Monarchy. Had Charles X perhaps been more accommodating to the needs of the 'ordinary' people of France, or acted more subtly, his reign promised to be a successful one. So why was it that it lasted only 6 years (1824-30)?One of the mistakes that Charles X made was his failure to reconcile the gains of the revolution with the Ultras. This may have caused some conflict. Charles X, who was the leader of the Ultras, was open about the connection and made it clear that the aims of the Ultras went against the Charter and many of the main gains of the revolution. For example, the revolution had gained freedom of the press, of association, of speech and movement, as well as careers being open to talent and equality before the law. However, the Ultras wanted a return to a feudalistic system where strict censorship of the press was enforced, and aristocratic privileges restored. The prospect of these aims being gratified was abhorrent to the people of France, hence their suspicions of a monarch so obviously
Although the recession of 1826 could not have been prevented by Charles X or his government, it presented itself as an opportunity for him to redeem himself in the eyes of his people. These elections however, failed to gain a majority, and the king conducted a coup d'etat. It was then that Charles appointed Martignac, who was a much more moderate minister and who tried to gain more support for the government. Although he could have done so in helping the people of France, through charities or welfare, Charles X and his government pronounced themselves as powerless in the situation and basically ignored the situation. Due to his involvement with the Ultras, people were not willing to give Charles X the benefit of the doubt, and he was deeply distrusted by the majority of the pays legal whose support he needed as they could refuse to pass legislation. The French people were scared of a return to the unjust era, which preceded the revolution of 1789. In conclusion I feel that, although there were a number of factors, that were not the fault of Charles X, which contributed to his downfall, Charles himself could have prevented his abdication in 1830. These were just some of the disadvantages facing Charles X during his reign. As a result of the revolution, there was no longer a state religion, so many people saw the Jesuits as a threat to their religious freedom, and all of Charles X's religious policies were seen in the worst light. When Martignac's ministry was overthrown, in 1829, Charles thought that he could now appoint 'the Ultra of Ultras', Polignac. These suspicions grew when Charles X began to put some of the aims of the Ultras into practice. One of the fears of the French people was that Charles X would recover the estates that used to belong to the emigres, as this was an aim of the Ultras. Charles X (at that time, the Comte d'Artois) was responsible for handing over control of education to the church, which caused some fears on the part of the French people over Charles's stance on religion, and rumours began to spread that Jesuits were taking control of the King and ministers. The following day, barricades were erected, riots broke out and Charles was forced to abdicate.
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