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Urban Workers in Provincial France, February-June 1848

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

George Fasel
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Historians of the Second Republic have long given over stage center in their accounts to Paris. Indeed, the role of the capital in most histories of the period has been so great that we often seem to be reading not about the French revolution of 1848, but the Parisian revolution. Correspondingly, the role of the provinces has rarely been recognized: Paris acts and France reacts. It is from Paris, not only the seat of government but also France's most important and most turbulent city, that all the great revolutionary stimuli proceed. Until lately, we have been accustomed to thinking of the provinces as conditioned to salivate at the sound of the Parisian bell – voting in negative response to Parisian radicalism, sending off volunteers to help crush the June insurgents, and so forth.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of Social History , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , August 1972 , pp. 661 - 674
Copyright
Copyright © Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis 1972

References

page 661 note 1 See, for example, the major studies by Vigier, Philippe, La Seconde République dans la région alpine: Etude politique et sociale (Paris, 1963), 2 volsGoogle Scholar; Dupeux, Georges, Aspects de l'histoire sociale et politique du Loir-et-Cher, 1848–1914 (Paris, 1962)Google Scholar; Marcilhacy, Christianne, Le Diocèse d'Orléans au milieu du XIXe siècle: Les hommes et leur mentalité (Paris, 1964);Google Scholar André Armengaud, Les Populations de l'Est-Aquitain au debut de 1'époque contemporaine: Recherches sur une région moins déVeloppée (vers 1845 – vers 1871) (Paris, 1961); and Chevalier, Louis, “Les Fondements économiques et sociaux de l'histoire politique de la région parisienne (1848–1870)” (unpublished thèse ès lettres, University of Paris, 1950), I.Google Scholar

page 661 note 2 For one detailed regional account of this process, see Loubère, Leo A., “The Emergence of the Extreme Left in Lower Languedoc, 1848–1851: Social and Economic Factors in Politics”, in: The American Historical Review, LXXIII (1968), pp. 1019–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 662 note 1 The authoritative study is Rémi Gossez, Les ouvriers de Paris, livre premier: L'Organisation, 1848–1851 [Bibliothèque de la Révolution de 1848, XXIV] (La Roche-sur-Yon, n.d.).

page 662 note 2 For an introduction to the state of French urbanization at mid-century, see, among many others, Pouthas, Charles H., La Population francaise pendant la première moitié du XIXe siècle (Paris, 1956)Google Scholar; Friedmann, Georges, ed., Villes et Campagnes: Civilisation urbaine et Civilisation rurale en France (Paris, 1952)Google Scholar; Lavedan, Pierre, Histoire de l'urbanisme (Paris, 1952), III.Google Scholar A useful bibliographical guide is Dollinger, Philippe et al. , Bibliographic d'histoire des villes de France (Paris, 1967).Google Scholar

page 663 note 1 Archives départementales de la Marne, Châlons-sur-Marne (hereafter cited as ADM), 189 M 5.

page 663 note 2 See especially Labrousse, C.-E., ed., Aspects de la crise et de la dépression de l'économie française au milieu du XIXe siècle, 1846–1851 [Bibliothèque de la Révolution de 1848, XIX] (La Roche-sur-Yon, 1956).Google Scholar

page 663 note 3 See the returns of the Enquête sur le travail agricole et industriel, conducted by the Comité de travail of the Assemblée nationale constituante, Archives nationales, Paris (hereafter cited as AN), C 944–69.

page 663 note 4 For accounts of some more or less typical municipal revolutions see, in addition to the works cited above, p. 661, note 1, Appolis, Emile, “Les débuts de la seconde république dans l'Hérault”, in: Revue historique et littéraire du Languedoc, XVII (1948), pp. 278–79Google Scholar; Desaunais, A., “La Révolution de 1848 dans le département du Jura (24 février – 10 decembre 1848)”, in: Mémoires de la Société d'émulation du Jura, XIV-XVI (1946–1948), pp. 74–84Google Scholar; Tricaud, L. de, Histoire du département de 1'Ain du 24 février au 20 décembre 1848 (Bourg-en-Bresse, 1872), I, pp. 21–22, 31–33;Google Scholar (?) Notice, Josserandhistorique sur l'établissement de la république dans le département de l'Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse, 1860), pp. 10–11Google Scholar; report of the Procureur général (Douai) on the events of February 25, 1848, to the Minister of Justice, May 21, 1848, AN, BB3060.

page 664 note 1 See the correspondence scattered through AN, BB30 316, 363, 365, and Soboul, Albert, “Les troubles agraires de 1848”, in: La Pensée, Nos 18–20 (1948), pp. 55–66, 25–37, 46–56Google Scholar, lately reprinted in Soboul, A., Paysans, Sans-culottes et Jacobins (Paris, 1966), pp. 307–350.Google Scholar

page 664 note 2 Labrousse, ed., Aspects de la crise, passim.

page 664 note 3 Reports in the AN from the Procureur général (Amiens), March 25, 1848, BB30 359; Procureur de la République (Saint-Etienne), May 24, 1848, BB30 361; Procureur général (Montpellier), May 15, 1848, BB30 362.

page 664 note 4 Dubuc, André, “Les émeutes de Rouen et d'Elbeuf (27, 28 et 29 avril 1848)”, in: Etudes d'histoire moderne et contemporaine, II (1948), p. 245.Google Scholar

page 665 note 1 Comité du centenaire de la IIe République, 1848 dans les Ardennes (Mézières, 1948), pp. 5–50.Google Scholar On a somewhat smaller scale, workers from the départements of Loire and Rhône tried to destroy a new factory in neighboring Saône-et-Loire; see the correspondence in AN, BB30 361.

page 665 note 2 ADM, 194 M 9; Gustave Laurent, “La Révolution de 1848”, in: Comité départemental marnais de célebration du centenaire de la révolution de 1848, Le département de la Marne et la révolution de 1848 (Châlons-sur-Marne, 1948), pp. 48–57.Google Scholar

page 665 note 3 This is consistent with the findings of Stearns, Peter N., “Patterns of Industrial Strike Activity during the July Monarchy”, in: The American Historical Review, LXX (1965), pp. 371–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 665 note 4 See the correspondence in AN, BB30 361.

page 665 note 5 Agulhon, Maurice, “Aperçus sur le mouvement ouvrier à Toulon sous la Monarchic de Juillet”, in: Provence historique, VII, fasc. 28 (1957), pp. 131–42.Google Scholar

page 665 note 6 Reports of the Procureur de la République (Dunkerque), April 3, 1848, and the Juge de paix (Douai sud), April 3, 1848, AN, BB30 360.

page 665 note 7 Dubuc, , “Les émeutes de Rouen et d'Elbeuf”, pp. 245, 249.Google Scholar

page 665 note 8 Report of the Procureur général (Bourges), March 29, 1848, AN, BB30 359.

page 665 note 9 General circular of Marie, A.-T., Minister of Public Works, 03 16, 1848, AN, F1A45.Google Scholar

page 665 note 10 For example, the directive from the Ministry of the Interior to the Prefecture of the Marne, April 18,1848, ADM, 51 M 18.

page 666 note 1 The Enquête sur le travail agricole et industriel took the problem seriously enough to make the role of cheap competitive labor in such institutions an issue in its inquiry.

page 666 note 2 Tricaud, , Histoire du département de l'Ain, I, pp. 21–22.Google Scholar

page 666 note 3 Desaunais, , “La Révolution de 1848 dans le département du Jura”, pp. 146–48.Google Scholar

page 666 note 4 See the Enquête sur le travail agricole et industriel, AN, C 956 (Loire); Pierre Guillaume, “La situation économique et sociale du département de la Loire d'après l'enquète sur le travail agricole et industriel du 25 mai 1848”, in: Actes du 86e Congrès national des sociétés savantes, Montpellier, 1961: Section d'histoire moderne et contemporaine (Paris, 1962), pp. 429–50; Merley, Jean, “La Révolution de 1848 et les débuts de la Seconde République à Saint-Étienne” (unpublished Diplóme d'études supérieures, 1950), pp. 10–95.Google Scholar I am deeply grateful to M. Merley for the opportunity to consult his study.

page 666 note 5 Merley, , “La Révolution de 1848”, pp. 98–99.Google Scholar

page 666 note 6 Letter from Baune to'the Procureur général (Lyon), March 30, 1848, AN, BB30 361.

page 667 note 1 Letters from Baune to Procureur général (Lyon), April 17, 1848, and April 21, 1848, AN, BB30 361; see also Merley, , “La Révolution de 1848”, pp. 101–131.Google Scholar

page 667 note 2 General circular of the Ministry of the Interior, March 15, 1848, AN, F1A 45.

page 667 note 3 See, for example, Desaunais, , “La Révolution de 1848 dans le département du Jura”, pp. 258–75.Google Scholar

page 667 note 4 Dubuc, , “Les émeutes de Rouen et d'Elbeufrd;, pp. 251–52.Google Scholar

page 667 note 5 Merley, , “La Révolution de 1848”, p. 89.Google Scholar

page 667 note 6 Report of the Procureur général (Amiens), April 29, 1848, AN, BB30 359.

page 667 note 7 See, for example, Rocal, Georges, 1848 en Dordogne (Paris, 1934), I, p. 135.Google Scholar

page 667 note 8 Report of the Procureur général (Nancy), April 14, 1848, AN, BB30 362; Baudry, J., “Les cahiers du capitaine Dauné: Mémoires inédits sur la Révolution de 1848 à Nancy”, in: Le Pays lorrain, VIII (1911), pp. 688–89.Google Scholar

page 668 note 1 Report of the sous-commissaire (Roanne), April 1, 1848, AN, BB30 362.

page 668 note 2 See Girard, Louis, La Garde nationale, 1814–1871 (Paris, 1964), pp. 291–304.Google Scholar

page 668 note 3 Dubuc, , “Les émeutes de Rouen et d'Elbeuf”, p. 247Google Scholar and passim.

page 668 note 4 Chazelas, Victor, “Un épisode de la lutte des classes à Limoges”, in: La Révolution de 1848, VII (1910–1911), pp. 252–54Google Scholar; Perrier, Antoine, “La Societé populaire de Limoges en 1848”, in: Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Actes du 90e Congrès national des Sociétés savantes, Nice, 1965Google Scholar: Section d“histoire moderne et contemporaine (Paris, 1966), III, pp. 285–87.Google Scholar

page 668 note 5 Masson, Paul, ed., Les Bouches-du-Rhône: Encyclopédic dáepartementale, V: Raoul Busquet and Joseph Fournier, La Vie politique et administrative (Paris and Marseille, 1929), pp. 160–69Google Scholar; Christofferson, Thomas Rodney, “The Revolution of 1848 in Marseille” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Tulane University, 1968), pp. 128–31.Google Scholar

page 668 note 6 Helpful indications of the extent of club activity may be found in the reports of the Club des clubs delegates who circulated through the provinces during the election campaign; their correspondence with the Parisian coordinators may be found in the AN, C 938–40.

page 669 note 1 For example, the reports of the Procureur général (Aix), May 9, 1848, AN, BB30 358; the Procureur général (Amiens), April 16 and April 18, 1848, and the Commissaire général Bergeron, April 30, 1848, AN, BB30 359; Rocal, 1848 en Dordogne, I, pp. 30–48; Rossi, Prosper, Mes Souvenirs (Toulon, 1888), I, p. 87.Google Scholar

page 669 note 2 On election results, see Fasel, George, “The French Election of April 23, 1848: Suggestions for a Revision”, in: French Historical Studies, V, No 3 (1968), pp. 285–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 669 note 3 The remainder of this paragraph is based upon Dubuc, , “Les émeutes de Rouen et d'Elbeuf”, pp. 243–75.Google Scholar

page 670 note 1 Perrier, Antoine, “Esquisse d'une sociologie du mouvement socialiste dans la Haute-Vienne et en Limousin”, in: Comité des travaux historiques et scientifi-ques, Actes du 87e Congrès national des Sociétés savantes, Poitiers, 1962:Google ScholarSection d'histoire moderne et contemporaine (Paris, 1962), pp. 378–83.Google Scholar

page 670 note 2 Chazelas, , “Un épisode de la lutte des classes”, pp. 240–43, 332–35.Google Scholar

page 670 note 3 Ibid., pp. 337–38.

page 670 note 4 Perrier, , “La Société populaire de Limoges”, pp. 285–87.Google Scholar

page 670 note 5 Chazelas, , “Un épisode de la lutte des classes”, pp. 404–411.Google Scholar

page 671 note 1 Soldiers voted for candidates in their home constituency, regardless of where they were stationed at election time; ballots were then transported to the various parts of the country, so that army votes were the last ones to come in.

page 671 note 2 See the Acte d'accusation against persons charged with various misdeeds on this day in Limoges, AN, BB30 361; this official account must, however, be compared with Chazelas, , “Un épisode de la lutte des classes”, pp. 41–44.Google Scholar

page 671 note 3 Acte d'accusation, AN, BB30 361.

page 671 note 4 Ibid.

page 671 note 5 Ibid.

page 671 note 6 Chazelas, , “Un épisode de la lutte des classes”, pp. 44–45, 49–50.Google Scholar

page 671 note 7 Busquet, and Fournier, , La Vie politique et administrative, pp. 160–69Google Scholar; Christofferson, , “The Revolution of 1848 in Marseille”, pp. 51–157Google Scholar; Guiral, Pierre, “Le cas d'un grand port de commerce: Marseille”, in: Labrousse, ed., Aspects de la crise, pp. 200–225Google Scholar; Dubosc, P., Quatre mois de République à Marseille (Marseille, 1848)Google Scholar; and the various reports of the Procureur général (Aix), AN, BB30 358.

page 672 note 1 Zeldin, Theodore, Emile Ollivier and the Liberal Empire of Napoleon III (Oxford, 1963), pp. 12–20Google Scholar; for a general evaluation of Ollivier's performance in Marseille, see Christofferson, , “The Revolution of 1848 in Marseille”, pp. 177–91.Google Scholar

page 672 note 2 Christofferson, ibid, pp. 117–18.

page 672 note 3 Ibid., pp. 128–29. 142–43.

page 672 note 4 Ibid., pp. 123–25,14–51.

page 673 note 1 Acte d'paccusation of persons charged with various crimes during the Marseille June Days, dated November 1848, AN, BB30 358; cp. Christofferson, ibid., pp. 155–56.

page 673 note 2 Acte d'accusation, AN, B30 358; Christofferson, ibid., pp. 153–55; Busquet, and Fournier, , La Vie politique et administrative, p. 167.Google Scholar

page 673 note 3 This paragraph and the next are based largely upon documents from the trial of the insurgents, held in the Cour d'Assises de la Drôme and now in the AN, BB30 358, and Christofferson, ibid., pp. 158–170.

page 674 note 1 In addition to the trial documents, see Christofferson, ibid., pp. 171–76.