Arming the people against revolution royalist popular militias in restoration Europe

Abstract

During the Restoration era, a number of popular militias were created by monarchical regimes, in France, Spain, Portugal and various Italian states. These various experiences have not received the same attention from historians as the civic militias implemented by the Revolution and then by the liberal monarchies. Inspired by the latter but also by older precedents, these royalist popular militias were to demonstrate the ability of conservative regimes to mobilize the people and fight liberalism with its own weapons. Their importance was therefore both symbolic, as a demonstration of the loyalty and support of the popular masses, and practical, providing more extensive, cheaper and sometimes more reliable forces than regular armies to guarantee order and control the contesting oppositions. Their recruitment and manpower thus provide instruments for measuring active popular support for traditional monarchies.