Title

The French Insurrection of 1820

Description

The French Insurrection of 19-20 August 1820.

The most detailed account of the 19-20 August 1820 insurrection against the Bourbon King Louis XVIII and his ministers is Joseph Rey’s (1779-1855) unpublished description of it [Bibliothèque Municipale de Grenoble, Mss. T8938]. Following the second White Terror (1815-16) and the repressive policies that followed the assassination on 13 February 1820 of the Duc de Berry, the son of the Comte d’Artois and heir to the throne, Rey established a secret society called the Union whose aim was to overthrow the Bourbons. Modeled on the Italian Carbonari, the Union counted among its supporters leading liberals such as General Lafayette, the Duc d’Argenson, the political economist Charles Dunoyer, and the philosopher Victor Cousin. The planned insurrection had widespread support in the military and among students. It was over a month in planning and was to be launched on 19 August with various military regiments seizing power in cities throughout France and marching under the tricolor on Paris where they were to be joined by armed students. Disputes over what kind of government would replace the Bourbons led to some young soldiers betraying the conspirators’ plans. The plot’s leaders became aware of these leaks and lost their nerve. At the moment when 600 troops under the future Saint-Simonian leader Saint-Amand Bazard were to storm the fortress at Vincennes, no order was given. The authorities were more decisive, and the plot failed. Rey evaded arrest. Supported by a network of sympathisers throughout Europe he found refuge in 1821 in London.

Spatial Coverage

France

Temporal Coverage

19-20 August 1820

Date

1820

Subject

groups

ideologies

liberalism

people

repression

secret societies