Liberal Wars (Reign of Kings)

The **Liberal Wars**, also known as the **French Civil War**, the **War of French Succession** was a war between over royal succession that lasted from 1845 to 1853. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the French monarchy; the conservative supporters of the late king's uncle, Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, became known as Absolutists, while the parliamentarian supporters of the regent, Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, acting for Louis XVIII, were called Legitimists.

Aside from being a war of succession about the question who the rightful successor to king Louis XVII of France was. The Absolutists’ goal was the return to an absolute monarchy, while the Legitimists sought to defend the constitutional monarchy. Prussia, Spain, and the United Kingdom supported the regency, with British troops stationed in France to enforce Louis's rule.

## A new constitution

### Bayonet Constitution

The new constitution was written by Marquis de Lafayette who used the National Guard as threat against Louis XVIII, and he attempted to reconcile absolutists and liberals by allowing both factions a role in the government. Louis XVIII was forced under threat of assassination to dismiss his cabinet ministers and sign a new constitution which greatly lessened his power. It would become known as the "Bayonet Constitution" due to the threat of force used. The Constitutional Charter of 1815 allowed the monarch to appoint cabinet ministers, but had stripped him of the power to dismiss them without approval from Parliament.

The upper chamber, the Chamber of Peers, was composed of life and hereditary peers and clergy appointed by the king. The lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, was composed of 111 deputies elected to four-year terms by the indirect vote of local assemblies, which in turn were elected by universal suffrage that favored the position of the commercial class in the new parliament. Judicial power was exercised by the courts; executive power by the ministers of the government; and moderative power by the king, who held an royal veto over all legislation but was would be obligated to sign all bills repassed by Parliament with a two-thirds majority. The Ultra-Royalists and the Church, however, were not satisfied with this compromise, and continue to be problematic.

## Rebellion

### Succession

Upon Louis XVII's death, his grandson Louis assumed the throne in the middle of an regency crisis. His mother Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became regent, but was overthrown in a palace coup. And his grandmother Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily became his regent instead. The Ultra-Royalist Party did not want to lose its position. Its members knew that regent Maria Amalia would make liberal reforms, so they looked for another candidate for the throne; and their natural choice,was their leader Charles Philippe, Count of Artois. The differing views on the influence of the army and the Church in governance, as well as the forthcoming administrative reforms paved the way for the expulsion of the Ultra-Royalists from the higher governmental circles, not that it opened the doors to the most progressives.

On May 18, the garrison in Calais, the center of Legitimists, declared its loyalty to Louis XVII, and the Constitutional Charter, while The Ultra-Royalists declared its loyalty to Charles, promising new reforms not in the initial plans in order to appeal to progressives, by bringing a "liberal regeneration. The Ultra-Royalist rebellion against the Legitimist spread to other cities. On the other side, the liberals and moderates united to defend the new order represented by María Amalia and her three-year-old grandson, Louis. They controlled the institutions, almost the whole army, and the cities; the Carlist movement was stronger in rural areas. The liberals had the crucial support of United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. The Liberals were strong enough to win the war in two months. But, an inefficient government and the dispersion of the Absolutist forces gave Charles time to consolidate his forces and hold out for almost seven years in the northern and eastern provinces.