In the 19th century, France experienced a succession of political regimes, rapid industrialization, and significant social upheaval. It transitioned through two empires, two monarchies, and two republics and evolved from a centralized military power (often governed by kings or self-proclaimed emperors) into a modern industrial democracy. After undergoing frequent and violent revolutions–notably in 1830, 1848, and 1871–the century concluded with the stabilization of the Third Republic and the construction of the institutional foundations of modern France.
Overview This timeline is organized in the following sections:
Rise and Fall of the First Empire (1800–1815) – This was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. The Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830) was the return to power of the House of Bourbon (a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France) after the fall of Napoleon. The July Monarchy (1830–1848) was a liberal constitutional monarchy under , starting with the revolutionary victory in the July Revolution of 1830, and ending with the Revolution of 1848. The Second Republic and a coup-d’état (1848–1851) — Napoleon's nephew, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, established himself as a popular anti-establishment figure and was elected president of the newly created Second Republic in 1848. The Second French Empire (1852–1870) was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed himself Emperor of the French as Napoleon III. The Third Republic and the Belle Époque (1870–1900) — The Third Republic was France's system of democratic government from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France during World War II. The Belle Époque was a period of optimism, enlightenment, regional peace, economic prosperity, nationalism, colonial expansion, and technological, scientific and artistic innovations.
Rise and Fall of the First Empire (1800–1815)
1800: Napoleon establishes the Bank of France to stabilize the economy after the Revolution. Three years later, the Bank received its first official charter granting it the exclusive right to issue paper money in Paris for fifteen years.
1801: The Concordat of 1801 is signed with Pope Pius VII, reconciling the French state with the Catholic Church and solidified the Catholic Church as the majority church of France. Most of the Church’s civil status was restored after having been taken away during the Revolution. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, where it remains in force.
1802: The Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) is established as the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. The order has been retained, with occasional minor alterations, by all subsequent French governments and regimes.
1803: France sells the Louisiana territory to the United States (Louisiana Purchase) in order to fund impending wars. The territory consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river.
1804:
March 21: The Napoleonic Code (a Civil Code) comes into effect. It recognized the principles of civil liberty, equality before the law (but not in the same way for women) and the secular nature of the state. With regard to family, the code established the supremacy of the husband over his wife and children – the status quo in Europe at the time. Women had even fewer rights than children. Divorce by mutual consent was abolished."The Code Napoléon: French Legislation on Divorce," Exploring the European Past: Texts & Images, Second Edition, ed. Timothy E. Gregory (Mason: Thomson, 2007), 62–64. The Code influenced the law of other countries during and after the Napoleonic Wars.29 - The French Revolution and the Law, in Part IV - The Age of Reforms (1750–1814), Cambridge University Press, 31 July 2017; Antonio Padoa-Schioppa, Translated by Caterina FitzgeraldRobert B. Holtman, The Napoleonic Revolution (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981) May 18: Napoleon is declared emperor by the French Senate. This marked the beginning of the French Empire and the end of the Consulate. December 2: Napoleon Bonaparte is consecrated Emperor of the French. The coronation of Napoleon was a sacred ceremony – invented by him – held in the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in the presence of Pope Pius VII.
1805: Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz cements French dominance in Central Europe. The battle is often cited by military historians as one of Napoleon's tactical masterpieces.
1808: The Baccalauréat is created by Napoleon. It remains the standard French high school exit exam to this day.
1812: The Invasion of Russia (Campagne de Russie): Napoleon's "Grande Armée" is decimated by the Russian winter. The Invasion is among the most devastating military endeavors ever undertaken. In less than six months, it claimed the lives of nearly a million soldiers and civilians.
1814: The Treaty of Fontainebleau is concluded on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed in Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April.Napoleon and the Marshals of the Empire, J. B. Lippincott of Philadelphia, 1855. p. 284 With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's first rule as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on Elba. Louis XVIII returned to Paris as monarch.
1815:
March 1: The Hundred Days of Napoleon re-taking power begins as he escapes from Elba and he and his followers land on the French mainland at Golfe-Juan. Marching towards Paris, they pass through the foothills of the Alps, taking a route now known as the Route Napoléon. They encounter little resistance and entered Paris on 20 March. Napoleon then launches his restored, but short-lived rule. March 20: With Napoleon at the gates of Paris, Louis XVIII quits the capital with a small escort at midnight, first traveling to Lille, and then crossing the border into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, halting in Ghent. June 18: Napoleon's final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army under the command of Napoleon I was defeated by two armies of the Seventh Coalition. One was a British-led force with units from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick, and Nassau. The second army consisted of three corps of the Prussian army under Field Marshal Blucher. June 22: Napoleon abdicates for the second time. The British government decides to imprison him and deport him to the island of Saint Helena, situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with the intention of ensuring that he could no longer "disturb the tranquility of the world." Louis XVIII is restored as the king of France after an absence of only a few months. The Congress of Vienna is convened as a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of Napoleon.
Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830)
1816–1820: With Louis XVIII as king of France, the "Second White Terror" inflicts reprisals against former revolutionaries and Bonapartists. Several hundred are killed by angry mobs or executed after a quick trial.Gwynn Lewis, "The White Terror of 1815 in the Department of the Gard: Counter-Revolution, Continuity and the Individual" Past & Present No. 58 (Feb., 1973), pp. 108-135 online
1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena. In 1815, the British government had selected Saint Helena as the place of exile, following his defeat at Waterloo and subsequent abdication. He was taken to the island in October 1815 and died there on 5 May 1821.
1823: The French invasion of Spain is launched to help the Spanish Bourbon royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the absolute power he held prior to the Liberal Triennium (the three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled following a military uprising in January 1820 against the absolutist rule of Ferdinand VII).Pierson, Peter. The History of Spain. p. 95.
1824: Death of Louis XVIII: His brother, the ultra-royalist Charles X, ascends to the throne. The governments appointed under his reign reimbursed former landowners for the abolition of feudalism at the expense of bondholders, increased the power of the Catholic Church, and reimposed capital punishment for sacrilege.
1827: The first French railway begins operations between Saint-Étienne and Andrézieux (it was horse-drawn initially). The 21 kilometer line carried coal from the Saint Etienne mines to ports on the Loire river.
1830:
July 5: French forces capture Algiers, marking the beginning of the French conquest of Algeria. This initiated a campaign of conquest that was largely completed by 1847, shortly before Algeria's formal annexation by France. July 26: The July Ordinances are issued, suspending freedom of the press and dissolving the Chamber of Deputies. The Ordinances were intended to restore the previous political order, but they angered the citizens of France.Mansel, Philip. Paris Between Empires: 1814-1852. Chp. XIII, page 237 July 27–29: The July Revolution (Trois Glorieuses) consisted of three days of street fighting, leading to the abdication of Charles X and the end of the Bourbon dynasty.
July Monarchy (1830–1848)
1830: Louis-Philippe I is proclaimed "King of the French" (rather than King of France), signaling a shift toward popular sovereignty.1831: The Canut Revolts is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers () which first occurred in 1831, and later in 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period known as the Industrial Revolution.
1832: A major Cholera epidemic hits Paris, killing nearly 20,000 people and sparking the June Rebellion (the uprising depicted in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables).
1836: The Arc de Triomphe is inaugurated, 30 years after it was commissioned by Napoleon in order to honor those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
1840: The Return of the Ashes (Retour des cendres): Napoleon's remains are brought back from Saint Helena and interred at Les Invalides.
1842: The Railway Law of 1842 is passed, creating a national network with Paris as the "hub" (the étoile system), which still defines French rail today.
1847: The "Banquet Campaign" begins. Since political meetings were illegal, the opposition held large private dinners to organize against Louis-Philippe.
Second Republic and a coup-d’état (1848–1851) 1848:
February Revolution: Louis-Philippe abdicates after a violent uprising. The Second Republic is proclaimed. This sparked a Europe-wide wave of revolutions. Louis-Philippe lived for the remainder of his life in exile in the United Kingdom. Abolition of Slavery: France officially abolishes slavery in all its colonies for the second and final time. France becomes the first nation to permanently adopt universal male suffrage. This is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. June Days Uprising was a bloody crackdown on Parisian workers protesting the closure of National Workshops (state-funded jobs). The number of insurgents killed was estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000, in addition to approximately 1,500 who were shot without trial. Several thousand were deported to Algeria.Pierre Milza, Napoléon III, Éd. Perrin, collection Tempus, Paris, 2006, .