Revolutions of 1830–1831
The Revolutions of 1830–1831 were a series of uprisings that emerged in response to growing liberal sentiments across Europe, challenging the conservative order established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The revolutionary wave began in France on July 26, 1830, following King Charles X's unpopular July Ordinances, which imposed restrictions on the press and voting rights. The ensuing unrest in Paris led to violent confrontations, where citizens built barricades and engaged in conflicts with the military, ultimately resulting in Charles X's abdication and the rise of the duke of Orleans as king.
Inspired by the events in France, the Belgian population also revolted against Dutch rule, leading to a successful push for independence that was internationally recognized following an armed conflict. Conversely, the Polish uprising sought to challenge Russian dominance, but after initial declarations of independence and military engagement, the Polish forces were ultimately defeated, resulting in the reassertion of Russian control over Poland. The revolutions significantly reshaped the political landscape in France and Belgium but underscored the limitations faced by nationalist movements in Eastern Europe during this period.
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Revolutions of 1830–1831
At issue: Constitutional form of government
Date: July 26, 1830-September 8, 1831
Location: Belgium, France, Poland
Combatants: Belgian royals vs. citizenry; French royals vs. citizenry; Poles vs. Russians
Principal commanders:Belgian, royal, Prince William of Orange (1772–1843); French, citizenry, marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), royal, Auguste Marmont, duke of Ragusa (1774–1852); Russian, Hans Diebitsch (1785–1831)
Result: Dynasty changed in France; Belgium became independent from Holland; Poland reverted to total control by Russians
Background
A rising tide of liberal thought and activism challenged the conservative reconstruction of Europe adopted at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Revolutionary tendencies emanating from France were still feared by the other governments of Europe, but they made some effort to accommodate popular demands. Although unrest spread from France, where it began on July 26, 1830, all across Europe from Belgium to Poland, military confrontations between the old governments and the new popular movements occurred only in three places: France, Belgium, and Poland.
Action
The restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty in France in 1815 lost popularity in the late 1820’s, as a rising tide of liberalism led to the election of large numbers of liberal deputies to the lower house of the French legislature, created by the charter of 1815. King Charles X’s despotic tendencies became clear, especially when he sought to restrict the electorate and impose stringent controls on the press in the July Ordinances (July 26, 1830). The government appointed Auguste Marmont, duke of Ragusa, commander of all the French troops in the vicinity of Paris.
The first acts of popular violence in Paris occurred on July 26. On July 27, as reports of troops moving into position around Paris circulated, the Parisians began erecting barricades in the streets. Attempting to regain control, the troops under Marmont began firing on citizens building barricades. On July 28, some troops began to defect. Marmont abandoned his tactics of sending small units into areas of trouble and instead opted to send three major columns down the main streets of Paris, with the mission of destroying the barricades. As soon as the troops had dismantled the barricades and moved on, the citizens rebuilt the barricades. The troops then brought in artillery and began firing down the streets. By July 29, the troops had lost almost all control of the city; they had either retired to their barracks or bivouacked in the Champs-élysées. Some 500 citizens had been killed, more than 800 wounded; the army had lost 150, with more than 600 wounded.
On July 30, by which time the insurgents had established a municipal commission to run the city, the marquis de Lafayette, though seventy-three years old, had agreed to command a new National Guard, the old one having been disbanded by Charles X three years earlier. Former members of the guard living in Paris rejoined. The appointment of the king’s cousin, the duke of Orleans, as lieutenant general of France, signaled the end of Charles X’s reign. A delegation of leading liberals, at the head of a formation of the new National Guard, marched to the old king’s palace at Rambouillet and persuaded him to abdicate and go into exile. The duke of Orleans became king of France.
Stimulated by the revolution in Paris, Belgian liberals challenged the authority of the Dutch government, given control of Belgium in the Vienna settlement of 1815. Supported by workers hurt by the economic depression that began in 1827, workers effectively took over the streets of Brussels, leading to a major riot on August 25. On August 28, the Dutch government sent troops to Brussels under the command of Prince William of Orange (later William II), heir to the Dutch throne. The Dutch troops arrived on the outskirts of Brussels on August 30, but did not begin an assault until September 26. Artillery was used to clear barricades from the streets, but snipers on rooftops harassed the troops. On September 27, the decision was made to withdraw the troops from the city. A brief bombardment of Antwerp further alienated the Belgians.
An international conference organized by Great Britain dissolved the union of Belgium and the Netherlands established in 1815 and approved the conversion of Belgium to an independent monarchy ruled by a prince from a small German principality.
Although the Russians had ruled central Poland since 1815 through a separate kingdom, of which the czar was the hereditary ruler, it had in fact been dominated in the years immediately before the 1830 revolution by the czar’s brother, Constantine, who ruled as grand duke. Although his political tendencies were entirely reactionary, Constantine had built up the Polish army, separate from the Russian army, into a respectable military force. Officers of this army, spurred by Polish national aspirations, made common cause with the small liberal movement in Warsaw and declared the czar and his brother deposed on January 25, 1831. One stimulant to revolution had been the rumor that the Polish army might be used to suppress the revolution in France and Belgium.
A Russian army under the command of General Hans Diebitsch invaded Poland, and met the Polish forces at Ostrolenka on May 26, 1831. Although their victory was not by itself decisive, the Polish army henceforth was unable to protect Warsaw, and Russian troops captured it on September 8. While the Polish army refused to surrender to the Russians, it finally was forced to flee the country and was disarmed by the Prussians when the fleeing troops crossed the Prussian border.
Aftermath
The revolutions of 1830–1831 brought about change in France, Belgium, and Poland. In France, the revolution brought about the abdication of Charles X and the ascension of the duke of Orleans as king. Belgium succeeded in gaining its independence from the Netherlands. However, Poland’s revolt failed, and the Russians gained total control over Poland.
Bibliography
Gieysztor, Aleksander, et al. History of Poland. Warsaw: PWN-Polish Scientific, 1968.
Pilbeam, Pamela M. The 1830 Revolution in France. New York: St. Martin’s, 1991.
Pinkney, David H. The French Revolution of 1830. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972.
Rooney, John W., Jr. Revolt in the Netherlands: Brussels-1830. Lawrence, Kan.: Coronado Press, 1982.