The Siècle | iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher

When the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France after Napoleon, they didn't restore the old, pre-Revolution regime. Instead, they set up a constitution granting various rights to their people, including an elected parliament with the power to check the king.

But this parliament was shockingly restrictive by today's standards. The right to vote wasn't universal, but was dependent on how much money you had. Only people who paid at least 300 francs per year in direct taxes could vote — as if only modern Americans who earned at least $420,000 per year could cast ballots. And yet, weird and retrograde as this seems to us, it wasn't that bizarre by the standards of 1814 — even, you might be surprised to know, by the standards of 1814 America.

Subscribe above or stream it here.