page_title: July Monarchy
section_title: Colonization of Algeria
hierarchical_section_title: July Monarchy / Evolution towards parliamentarianism (1835–1840) / The second Thiers cabinet (March – October 1840) / Colonization of Algeria
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Prise de Constantine - L’ennemi repoussé des hauteurs de Coudiat-Ati - 10 octobre 1837 - Peinture d'Horace Vernet
context_page_description: The July Monarchy was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under Louis Philippe I, starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848. It marks the end of the Bourbon Restoration. It began with the overthrow of the conservative government of Charles X, the last king of the House of Bourbon.
  Louis Philippe, a member of the more liberal Orléans branch of the House of Bourbon, proclaimed himself as Roi des Français rather than "King of France", emphasizing the popular origins of his reign. The king promised to follow the juste milieu, or the middle-of-the-road, avoiding the extremes of both the conservative supporters of Charles X and radicals on the left.
  The July Monarchy was dominated by wealthy bourgeoisie and numerous former Napoleonic officials. It followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of François Guizot. The king promoted friendship with Great Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the French conquest of Algeria. By 1848, a year in which many European states had a revolution, the king's popularity had collapsed, and he was overthrown.
context_section_description: The conquest of Algeria, initiated in the last days of the Bourbon Restoration, was now confronted by Abd-el-Kader's raids, punishing Marshal Valée and the duc d'Orléans's expedition to the Portes de Fer in autumn 1839, which had violated the terms of the 1837 Treaty of Tafna between General Bugeaud and Abd-el-Kader. Thiers pushed in favor of colonizing of the interior of the country, up to the edges of the desert. He convinced the king, who saw in Algeria an ideal theater for his son to cover the House of Orléans with glory, and persuaded him to send General Bugeaud as first governor general of Algeria. Bugeaud, who would lead harsh repression against the natives, was officially nominated on 29 December 1840, a few days after Thiers's fall.
caption: Siege of Constantine in 1837
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