Monarchy, Republic, Empire

The Bourbons returned to the throne, but they were not popular. The last Bourbon, Charles X. was unseated in 1830 and Louis Philippe of the House of Orleans was crowned as a constitutional monarch. During his reign, Algeria was conquered and annexed to France. An uprising forced Louis Philippe to abdicate in February, 1848. A provisional government was formed that lasted until December, when Louis Napoleon, a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, became president of the Second Republic. In 1851, he assumed dictatorial powers, and in 1852 he proclaimed himself emperor as Napoleon III.

In the 1850's, France joined Great Britain to defeat Russia in the Crimean War. French troops helped expel the Austrians from several Italian states, making possible unification of Italy. In the 1860's, a French occupation of Mexico ended in failure. In Europe the German state of Prussia was rapidly becoming a powerful rival to France. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war broke out after a series of disputes. The German states allied themselves with Prussia. The inefficient French armies were outmatched by the Germans, and after the battle of Sedan Napoleon III surrendered with 100,000 troops.