Author Bio: Louis Philippe Compte de Segur (1773 - 1850) - father supported the French revolution of the early 19th century; consistently supported the revolution himself; cousin, Louis XVIII retook the throne, however, they disagreed on many policies; supported by the liberal upper class; forced abdication of his cousin after attempts to instill a pre-revolutionary monarchy Louis Philippe was elected into position of King by the parliament; known as “King of the French”; promoted colonialism that ultimately failed; recognized Belgium as independent; a new mob appeared toward the end of his reign asking for voting rights for the middle class. The attempt at controlling them failed, and they ended up abdicating Louis Philippe and establishing the French Second Republic.
Speaker: See above
Date/Context: This was presumably written from 1793-1830, for that was the time between him fleeing France and returning while being named king. Compte de Segur wrote about the nobility as one of the “Estates” or classes of French at the time. The First Estate was the clergy; the Second Estate was the nobles, who Compte de Segur writes about here; and the Third Estate was composed of everyone else in the kingdom. There was even fighting in the classes. Rights and privileges were determined on one’s class which upset many as they did not have a political voice. Compte de Segur’s flight from France creates a notably harsh tone towards the ruling and powerful classes of the nation, for he was threatened with death because of his dissent against them.
Summary: The royal families believe that their position is safe and intact. They continuously believe that they will not lose their power. However, they only ever discuss trivial matters and not of improving the lives of their citizens. They were easily manipulated by others, and now, they regard the shifting of power and influence as an unwarranted assault on their power.
Key Quotations: “The heads of the old noble families, believing themselves as unshakeable as the monarchy, slept without fear upon a volcano.”
“Indifferent to the real affairs of state as to their provinces, others by their own intendants...”
I find that the summary is some what is explaining the meaning of the article but its not helpful as it still missing some important things like the why the nobles believe that they are unshakeable what makes them believe that they are the most important part of society even though they are not smart enough.
ReplyDeleteI will say a little more explanation could make this summary excellent still its good.