Louis XVIII (Reign of Three Kingdoms)

Louis XVIII was King of France, also known as Le Pacificatrice or The Peacemaker (24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894) was King of France reigning from 1853 to 1875. Shortly before his ninth birthday, Louis became King of France after Queen Jeanne IV died from childbirth. King Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz governed as regent during his minority, which ended officially in 1864. Louis died aged 36 in 1875, and was succeeded by his son, Louis XIX, who was born the following year.

Early Life
Born at the Louvre Palace, Louis XVIII was the eldest child of Queen Jeanne IV. Officially, his father was her husband, King Francisco de Asís. Alfonso's biological paternity is uncertain. There is speculation that his biological father may have been Edmond Dantès (the Captain of the Musketeers of the Guard). These rumours were used as political propaganda against Louis by the Legitimists.

His mother's accession created the second cause of instability, which was the Liberal Wars. The supporters of the Count of Artois as king of France rose to have him enthroned. As son of the queen, he was a Fils de France ("son of France"), and as the eldest son, Dauphin of France. Louis XVIII ascended the throne in 1854 after his mother died in Childbirth. His father acted as his Regent. Which ended when he was thirteen.

1850s-18s
Louis was a conscientious and hard-working monarch who, under the guidance of his father, sought radical modernisation of the French state and infrastructure. Under his reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced. His popularity increased when, during the cholera outbreak of 1853–1856, he visited hospitals handing out gifts and comforting the sick.

Within a few days after Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul took power as Premier, the new king, proclaimed on 29 December 1856, was crowned at the Cathedral of Reims. Initially led by Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul as moderate prime minister, what was thought at one time as a coup aimed at placing the military in the political-administrative positions of power, in reality ushered in a civilian regime that lasted until Charles de Gaulle's Ascendancy during World War II.

Louis's domestic reign was marked by a tedious and ineffective series of transitional governments called Rotativism formed at various times by the Liberals and the Catholic Conservatives, the Liberal Union secured their long term in office after 1863, and during its final year in power legislated the Hautopul Law of 1869. This law created free, secular, compulsory primary schools supported by the state and withdrew all state support from Roman Catholic primary schools. The Catholic Conservatives obtained a parliamentary majority in 1871, and four years later restored state support to Catholic schools.

1860s-1870s
In 1863 refused to sanction a law by which the ministers were to remain in office for a fixed term of 18 months. Upon the consequent resignation of Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul, he summoned Émile Ollivier, the Liberal leader, to form a new cabinet. Émile Ollivier played a major role in Louis XVIII's reign until his death. Under Louis and Ollivier, the crown successfully intervened in the Crimean War.

During Louis's reign other social changes were enacted into law. Among these were the right of workers to form labour unions and the abolition of the livret d'ouvrier, an employment record book. Laws against child labour were passed. Children younger than 12 were not allowed to work in factories, children younger than 16 were not allowed to work at night, and women younger than 21 years old were not allowed to work underground. Workers gained the right to be compensated for workplace accidents and were given Sundays off.

Africa
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Britain
Louis domestic reign saw France and Great Britain's relations improved. Lord Palmerston as Britain's Foreign Minister and Prime Minister had close personal ties with leading French statesmen, notably Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul himself. Palmerston's goal was to arrange peaceful relations with France in order to free Britain's diplomatic hand elsewhere in the world. Louis at first had a pro-British foreign policy and was eager not to displease the British government, whose friendship he saw as important to France. After a brief threat of an invasion of Britain in 1851, France and Britain cooperated in the 1850s with an alliance in the Crimean War and a major trade treaty in 1860.

From the start of his Reign, Louis XVIII sought an alliance with Britain. An opportunity soon presented itself: In early 1853, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia put pressure on the weak Ottoman government, demanding that the Ottoman Empire give Russia a protectorate over the Christian countries of the Balkans as well as control over Constantinople and the Dardanelles. The Ottoman Empire, backed by Britain and France, refused Russia's demands, and a joint British-French fleet was sent to support the Ottoman Empire. When Russia refused to leave the Romanian territories it had occupied, Britain Spain, and France declared war on 27 March 1854.

United States and the Americas
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