Chambre introuvable

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The deputies of the Chambre introuvable.

The Chambre introuvable (

Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution. The name was coined by King Louis XVIII,[1] referring to the impossibility of cooperating with the chamber.[2]

History

The elections held on 14 August 1815, under

census suffrage and the impact of the "White Terror", produced a heavy Ultra-royalist majority: 350 of the 402 members were Ultra-royalists.[2]

The "Unobtainable Chamber", which was first assembled on 7 October 1815, was characterized by its zeal in favour of the

Conventionnels who had voted for Louis XVI's execution.[4] The chamber pursued its militant policy even in defiance of the king himself, proclaiming Vive le roi, quand même ("Long live the king, no matter what").[2]

Louis XVIII, confronted with rising discontent in French society, followed the counsels of a group of figures including the liberal leader

Pozzo di Borgo, and dissolved the Chamber on 5 September 1816.[5]

The subsequent elections resulted in the Ultras being temporarily replaced by the moderate royalist Ministériels and the more liberal Doctrinaires, who attempted to reconcile the Revolution's legacy with the monarchy.[6][7]

When the Ultra-royalists regained their parliamentary majority at the elections of February–March 1824, the resulting chamber was dubbed the Chambre retrouvée, the "Recovered Chamber", in reference to the Chambre introuvable.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bury 2003, p. 15.
  2. ^ a b c d Skuy 2003, p. 36.
  3. ^ Bury 2003, p. 16.
  4. ^ Hudson 1936, p. 64.
  5. ^ Hudson 1936, p. 69.
  6. ^ Skuy 2003, p. 38.
  7. ^ Evans & Godin 2014, p. 22.
  8. ^ Bury 2003, p. 24.
  9. ^ Alexander 2003, p. 187.

Bibliography

  • Alexander, Robert (2003). Re-Writing the French Revolutionary Tradition: Liberal Opposition and the Fall of the Bourbon Monarchy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
  • Bury, J. P. T. (2003) [1949]. France, 1814–1940 (6th ed.). London: Routledge. .
  • Evans, Martin; Godin, Emmanuel (2014) [2004]. France Since 1815 (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. .
  • Hudson, Nora E. (1936). Ultra-Royalism and the French Restoration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Skuy, David (2003). Assassination, Politics, and Miracles: France and the Royalist Reaction of 1820. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press. .

Further reading