The Fall of Napoleon and the Return of the Bourbons

The period between 1814 and 1830 marked a turbulent chapter in European history as nations struggled to redefine themselves after the Napoleonic Wars. In France, this era became known as the Bourbon Restoration, when the monarchy returned to power under Louis XVIII following Napoleon’s defeat. The restoration represented not just a political transition, but a profound ideological battleground between competing visions for France’s future.

Two distinct factions emerged among royalist supporters. The Ultra-Royalists, or “Ultras,” advocated for a complete return to pre-1789 conditions, viewing the Revolution as an aberration that needed erasure. As royalist émigré Joseph de Maistre famously declared in his 1797 work “Considerations on France,” true restoration meant “not a counter-revolution, but the opposite of revolution.” Meanwhile, moderate forces led by figures like Talleyrand and Benjamin Constant recognized that the ancien régime in its pure form could not be revived. They argued that lasting stability required incorporating key revolutionary principles like individual rights, press freedom, and judicial independence.

The Charter of 1814 and Early Restoration Politics

The political framework for the Restoration came in the form of the Constitutional Charter of 1814, a compromise document that reflected moderate rather than Ultra-Royalist ideals. This charter established a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, preserving some revolutionary achievements while restoring the Bourbon dynasty. The document’s very existence demonstrated how the revolutionary legacy could not be entirely dismissed.

Initial elections in August 1815 produced an Ultra-Royalist majority in what Louis XVIII famously called the “Chambre introuvable” (Unobtainable Chamber). This victory led to severe reprisals against Napoleonic supporters, including the execution of Marshal Ney and violent “White Terror” purges in southern France. The Ultras’ dominance became so extreme that even conservative voices like Chateaubriand began calling for ministerial responsibility and parliamentary monarchy.

The Liberal Experiment and Its Collapse

A shift occurred in the 1816 elections when “Charterists” – moderate candidates supported by the Duc de Richelieu’s government – gained ground. By 1818, France achieved significant milestones including the end of war indemnities and foreign occupation, restoring its status as a great power. The 1819 elections saw the first left-leaning liberals influenced by Constant’s ideas enter parliament, including the aging Lafayette.

Under Count Decazes’ leadership from 1818, the government moved toward liberal policies, implementing press freedoms and administrative reforms. This brief liberalization ended abruptly in February 1820 with the assassination of the Duc de Berry, Charles X’s son. The Ultras blamed liberal policies for the murder, forcing Decazes’ resignation and ushering in stricter censorship and electoral laws favoring wealthy landowners through the controversial “double vote” system.

The Rise of Reaction and Charles X’s Reign

The 1820s saw growing opposition to Bourbon rule, manifested through secret societies like the Carbonari that staged several failed revolts. Fear of revolution helped Ultra-Royalists regain power, with Joseph de Villèle becoming prime minister in 1821. His six-year administration marked a turn toward reaction: strict press censorship, academic restrictions, and electoral manipulation became hallmarks of governance.

Foreign policy successes, particularly France’s 1823 military intervention in Spain to restore Ferdinand VII, temporarily boosted the government’s popularity. Subsequent elections in 1824 produced an overwhelming Ultra majority in what became known as the “Chambre retrouvée” (Rediscovered Chamber). With Louis XVIII’s death in September 1824, his reactionary brother Charles X ascended the throne, beginning what historians consider the true era of counter-revolution.

Parallel Developments in the German States

While France experienced its Restoration drama, German lands underwent similar struggles. The transition from defensive to offensive reaction occurred even faster here. Disillusioned liberals, especially university students who had fought against Napoleon, formed Burschenschaften (student fraternions) promoting German unity under the black-red-gold colors of the Lützow Free Corps.

The 1817 Wartburg Festival celebrated both Luther’s Reformation and the Battle of Leipzig, but took a radical turn when participants burned “un-German” books and symbols. Conservative alarm grew after the 1819 murder of playwright August von Kotzebue by student Karl Sand, leading to the infamous Carlsbad Decrees that imposed strict censorship and dissolved student organizations.

Prussia and Austria used the German Confederation to suppress constitutionalism, though southern states like Baden and Bavaria maintained liberal constitutions. The 1820 Vienna Final Act reinforced monarchical principles while allowing some parliamentary participation, creating a contradictory system that favored larger states. Prussia’s economic modernization outpaced southern Germany, but political development lagged behind, creating tensions that would erupt in 1848.

Britain’s Conservative Reaction and Gradual Reforms

Across the Channel, post-war Britain experienced its own reactionary phase. The 1815 Corn Laws protecting landowners sparked widespread unrest, met with repressive measures like the suspension of habeas corpus. The 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where cavalry charged a peaceful reform rally, became emblematic of government brutality, followed by the restrictive Six Acts.

Political change came gradually after 1822 with George Canning’s more liberal foreign policy and Robert Peel’s penal reforms. Catholic emancipation became a major issue, particularly regarding Ireland, where Daniel O’Connell’s Catholic Association campaigned successfully for rights. By 1829, both Catholics and Dissenters gained legal equality, though social discrimination persisted.

Russia’s Autocratic Exception

Under Alexander I and Nicholas I, Russia remained Europe’s most autocratic power. Despite early reform attempts by Mikhail Speransky and constitutional experiments in Poland and Finland, the empire resisted meaningful change. The failed Decembrist uprising of 1825, led by Western-influenced officers, prompted even harsher repression under Nicholas I, cementing Russia’s reputation as the “gendarme of Europe.”

The Legacy of Restoration Europe

The Restoration period created lasting tensions between reaction and reform that would explode in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. While monarchies temporarily regained dominance, they could not fully erase revolutionary ideals of constitutional government and civil liberties. The era’s complex interplay of nationalism, liberalism, and conservatism shaped European politics for generations, demonstrating how the French Revolution’s legacy continued to transform the continent long after Napoleon’s fall.