In this Book
- French Peasants in Revolt: The Insurrection of 1851
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Princeton University Press
The triumphant rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte over his Republican opponents has been the central theme of most narrative accounts of mid-nineteenth-century France, while resistance to the coup d'état generally has been neglected. By placing the insurrection of December 1851 in a broad perspective of socioeconomic and political development, Ted Margadant displays its full significance as a turning point in modern French history. He argues that, as the first expression of a new form of political participation on the part of the peasants, resistance to the coup was of greater importance than previously supposed. Furthermore, it provides and appropriate testing ground for more general theories of peasant movements and popular revolts.
Using manuscript materials in French national and departmental archives that cover all the major areas of revolt, the author examines the insurrection in depth on a national scale. After a brief discussion of the main characteristics of the insurrection, he analyzes its economic and social foundations; the dialectic of repression and conspiracy that fostered the political crisis; and the armed mobilizations, violence, and massive arrests that exploded as the result. A final chapter considers the implications of the insurrection for larger issues in the social and political history of modern France.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-vi
- List of Maps
- pp. ix-x
- List of Tables
- pp. xi-xii
- Abbreviations
- pp. xiii-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. xvii-xxvi
- 3. The Social Geography of Revolt
- pp. 61-78
- 5. Political Modernization and Insurgency
- pp. 104-120
- 6. Building Underground
- pp. 121-137
- 7. Sources of Montagnard Solidarity
- pp. 138-161
- 8. The People's Leadership
- pp. 162-186
- 9. Patterns of Repression
- pp. 187-227
- 10. The Dynamics of Armed Mobilizations
- pp. 228-264
- 11. Collective Violence
- pp. 265-301
- 12. The Triumph of Counterrevolution
- pp. 302-335
- Conclusion
- pp. 336-344
- Bibliography
- pp. 345-370