Bonapartism and Revolutionary Tradition in France: The Fédérés of 1815

by R. S. Alexander

Overview

Bonapartism and Revolutionary Tradition in France is a study of the fédérés, the massive paramilitary political movement that supported Napoleon throughout France in 1815. The first part analyzes the political and social character of the fédérés, their organization, activities, ideology and self-interest. Professor Alexander shows how groups divided by events after 1789 reunited in 1815 in common opposition to Bourbon rule. He explains why Napoleon encouraged this surprising development, despite the fact that the movement was largely led by old Jacobins. Part Two discusses how fédérés went on to organize opposition to the Second Restoration and pave the way for the Revolution of 1830. This study is crucial to the socio-political history of France from 1789-1830, in that it demonstrates clearly continuities in revolutionary personnel throughout the period, and shows how revolutionary tradition and Bonapartism came to fuse in 1815—a development of profound significance for the subsequent course of French history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521361125
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/26/1991
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

List of tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Origins and development of the federative movement; 2. Organisation and official role of the federations; 3. The federative movement in general: social and political characteristics; 4. The fédérés of Rennes during the Hundred Days; 5. The fédérés of Rennes during the Second Restoration; 6. The fédérés of Dijon during the Hundred Days; 7. The fédérés of Dijon during the Second Restoration; 8. The fédérés of Paris during the Hundred Days; 9. The fédérés of Paris after the Hundred Days; 10. The fate of the fédérés - White Terror; 11. Fédérés and opposition to the Bourbon Monarchy during the Second Restoration; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Alexander's research....seems impeccable....[T]he work contains many valuable conclusions....The author aims to break down broad interpretations through research and thus to provide a more inclusive study...[and] succeed[s]." American Historical Review

"Based on exhaustive research, including various French Archives, and containing an exhaustive bibliography of primary and secondary works in English and French, Alexander's work constitutes a thorough study of this significant institution in French history." Choice

"This superb book describes the last, the most extensive, and perhaps the most important confrontation of the French Revolution....it marks the entry of a brilliant and gifted scholar into an often-ignored period." Edgar Leon Newman, Nineteenth-Century French Studies

"...solidly conceived, well researched, and clearly written." Journal of Modern History

From the Publisher