How did Planche react to the European revolutions of 1848?
Similarly to how most middle-class English people did–with concern, both for stability and also for the welfare of the poor. In “The Seven Champions of Christendom,” one of his revues, Planche suggests that most of the unrest is owing to a lack of education on the part of the common people, and to some insensitivity on the part of the governments in question. He blames the government of Napoleon III with creating poverty, and shows a representative Italian as a victim, Povero Lazzarone (“Poor Beggar”). He implies Spain’s government is corrupt (a common British perception of the time). When it came to the British Isles, he was almost critical of the English dominion of Ireland, but not quite. He provides ample humor at the expense of the Irish, of course, but also suggests that high rents and a lack of economic opportunity is the worst part of Ireland’s plight. Scotland and Wales are suggested as needing more development, too, and England as being too frenetic–but no real criticisms a
