Augustin Thierry, “The Emancipation of the Bourgeoisie” (1853)

Abstract

Thierry, a historian, chronicles a 600-year struggle for emancipation of the “inferior and oppressed classes” into a free and independent bourgeoisie, literally the inhabitants of the free towns and cities of Europe. Two forces were at work. One from the north was the Gallo-Frankish system of municipal, communal government; the other from the south was the Roman notion of city governance by consuls within a Roman legal framework of natural law. The two combined and created a unique system of city governance which acknowledged the right of resistance to unjust rule, equality under the law for all inhabitants of the city, and the dignity of labor. Out of the city charters evolved the idea of constitutions which limited the power of the rulers and guaranteed the rights of the citizens.