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(1830–1848). Name given to the rule of Louis Philippe in France, after the events in July 1830 (see revolutions of 1830–2) which led to his proclamation as king. The abdication of his predecessor, charles x , had resulted from widespread discontent with that monarch's ultra-royalist policies and in particular his contempt for the constitution. Louis Philippe (Duke of Orléans and Charles's cousin) was seen as a safe representative of bourgeois values, and became king after accepting a revised constitutional charter that kept effective power in the hands of the wealthy. His regime was characterized by a cautious foreign and domestic policy. Both the king and guizot , who as foreign minister dominated the government from 1840, refused to meet demands for extension of the franchise to the lower middle class. However, this intransigence provoked a political campaign which got out of hand early in 1848 when an economic depression brought students and workers on to the streets of Paris (see revolutions of 1848–9). Unwilling to shed blood, and mindful of the eventual fate of louis xvi , Louis Philippe abdicated and moved to England where he died in 1850. (See also legitimism ; orleanism ) ... log in or subscribe to read full text