A European Informational Website
learn more
Louis-Philippe's July Monarchy (1830–1848) is generally seen as a period during which the haute bourgeoisie was dominant. Louis-Philippe, who had flirted with liberalism in his youth, rejected much of the pomp and circumstance of the Bourbons and surrounded himself with merchants and bankers. Ruling as a constitutional monarch, Louis-Philippe left much of the governing to the parliament. The period was one of economic growth, and also major change in the Catholic Church, as it dropped much of its rigidly reactionary views. At the same time the church became seen as less of an enemy by the left.