1848 revolutions in Europe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q82twrdr0U
Summary
STATE/EMPIRE SUCCEEDED?
France Louis Philippe- favoured the
upper bourgeoisie
-Recession- factories shut down
and people lost their jobs
-Poor harvest caused bread
prices to rise
Hungary ( part of Louis Kossuth
Austrian empire) -After the French revolution of
1848, Kossuth made a speech in
the Hungarian Diet (parliament)
asking for self-government.
-He claimed this was a right and
wanted the old system
dismantled.
-University students called for
liberal changes that included
press freedom, emancipation of
the serfs and constitutional
government.
-The issues were discussed in
the Austrian Diet. People
gathered outside the Diet and
police tried to break it up
leading to a riot.
-Emperor Ferdinand, weak and
mentally unstable gave in to the
demands.
-Metternich who was hated by
most government officials
panicked and fled to Britain.
FAILURE
Success-
-It created a strong president and a one-house
legislature ( unicameral)
-It gave vote to all adult men, Nine million
Frenchmen could vote (before only 200,000 could
vote.
-When election were held, Louis Napoleon,
Nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte was elected
president.
Partly successful
AUSRIA- VIENNA was the largest city of the
Empire where the economic crisis of the 1840s
was mainly felt. Between 12th and 15th March
1848, the demonstrators demand a constitution.
There were clashes with the royal troops until
Metternich was persuaded to resign. The
Emperor lifted press censorship and promised a
constitution. The revolution seemed to have
succeeded in Vienna.
Hungary: The revolution partly succeeded as
Hungary was granted autonomy ( but still swore
loyalty to the king of Austria)
The April laws gave Hungary the much needed
Autonomy and Count Battyany became the
leader and Kossuth became minister for finance.
Later in 1867: The empire became known as the
Austria-Hungarian empire.
-Other states like Croats, Serbs, Slovaks and
Romanians demanded the same reforms like
Hungary. But were given limited reforms by each
national send a representatives to parliament in
Vienna elected on a narrow franchise ( selected
category of voters)
-Major cause of failure for a revolution to
succeed in these smaller nationalities was
divisions among the classes
-Radicals and moderates, middle class liberals
were suspicious of any reforms that would take
away their privileges.
1

Italians states Giuseppe Mazzini
( under Austrian -Dream of unified Italy
empire) -Hated the presence of Austrian
rule
-Grave economic difficulties
resulted in social conflict in both
towns and countryside.
Prussian empire/ King Fredrick William
German states. -Failed to support the Frankfurt
parliament that had convened
in March 1848 in an attempt to
unite all the German speaking
states in what was called
DECLARATION OF HEIDELBERG.
- The parliament was moderate
and liberal and wanted the
Prussian King to be the leader of
a united Germany.
-When a deputation from
Frankfurt offered Frederick
William the German crown in
APRIL 1849, he refused on the
grounds that it was not for
parliament to offer. He would
only accept the crown if it came
from fellow princes.
THE IDEOLOGIES OF CHANGE
A. Liberalism
1. Owed much to the Enlightenment of the 18th Century and to the American and French
Revolutions
2. All liberals believed that people should be as free from restraint as much as possible
3. Embraced most by members of the industrial middle class
4. Economic liberalism had laissez-faire as its primary tenet
B. Population growth and Agricultural crisis.
5. The case against government interference in economic matters was greatly enhanced by
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
-Middle class liberals wanted a limited franchise
and affirmed their loyalty to the monarchy
- The fall of Metternich sparked nationalism in
Italy with uprisings in Milan, Piedmont and
Lombardy
- All revolts were defeated.
PRAGUE (Bohemia): The Czech Nationalists
secured their triumph over the Imperial
Government on 8th April, when the Emperor
promised a constituent assembly for the Kingdom
of Bohemia.
-Was indecisive – he supported liberal ideas to
the masses and confessed conservatism to the
army.
-Most of the parliament members had no wish to
be violent revolutionaries and little interest in
social reforms
-Parliament failed to agree on a new constitution
- Schleswig and Holstein were taken by Denmark.
Having no army of its own, it looked to Prussia to
defend German interests. Fredrick briefly
occupied the two territories but withdrew as he
did not want war with Denmark. Russia and
Britain were also opposed to Prussia taking
Schleswig and Holstein.
- Austria did not want to see a united Germany,
she wanted them weak.
2
a. Wrote Essay on the Principles of Population

b. Argued that population must be held in check for any progress to take place

6. The ideas of Malthus were further developed by David Ricardo (1772-1823)

a. Wrote Principles of Political Economy

b. Developed the idea of the “iron law of wages” which was an unstoppable vicious cycle of
economics related to workers’ wages

7. Political liberals believed in the protection of civil liberties above all else

8. Many liberals advocated a system in which the ministers of the king would be responsible to
the legislature rather than the king

9. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

a. One of the most important advocates of liberalism in the 19th Century

b. Wrote On Liberty (1859)

c. Considered a classic statement on the liberty of the individual

d. Mill’s On the Subjection of Women advocated equal rights for women

e. Argued the legal subordination of females to males is wrong since men and women did not
possess different natures

C. Nationalism

1. Was based on an awareness of being part of a community that has common institutions,
traditions, language, and customs

2. was fundamentally radical in that it threatened to upset the existing political order, both
internationally and nationally by encouraging people to shift their loyalties away from kings

3. Allied with supporters of liberalism

D. Early Socialism

1. Ideology that rose out of the pitiful conditions found in slums, mines, and factories of the
Industrial Revolution in the first half of the 19th Century

2. Wanted to introduce equality into social conditions and believed that human cooperation was
superior to the competition that characterized early industrial capitalism

3. Later became associated with Marxism

4. Utopian socialist were against private property and industrial competition (EX: Charles
Fourier’s plan for cooperative communities called ‘phalansteries’)

3
5. One female socialist, Flora Tristan (1803-1844), demanded absolute equality of the sexes
(largely ignored by her contemporaries)

Louis-Philippe (1830-1848)

a. Called the “bourgeois king” because political support of his monarchy came from the upper
middle class

b. Instituted reforms in the constitution which favoured the upper middle class

c. Considered a severe disappointment to lower middle class and Parisian working class

d. In the Chamber of Deputies, the king cooperated with Francois Guizot and the more
conservative Party of Resistance over the more liberal Party of Movement led by Adophe Thiers

e. Backed by the Party of Resistance which constituted a large majority in the chamber, the king
effectively suppressed reform until 1848

-Louis Philippe-The citizen King- Because he owed his throne to the people

- Louis got well with the liberal bourgeoisie and they were appointed in his government

- Under Louise Philippe, the upper bourgeoisie prospered

- Louise extended suffrage, but only to France’s wealthier citizens and the vast majority of
people still could not vote.

What caused the revolution?

- Radicals formed secret societies to work for a republic

- Socialist called for an end to private ownership of property
- Even liberals denounced Louis Philippe government for corruption and called for
expanded suffrage
- Recession- factories shut down and people lost their jobs
- Poor harvest caused bread prices to rise
- Radical republicans, socialists, and the Party of Movement combined forces under
Adolphe Thiers to force change
- -When the government could not halt their combined efforts, Louis-Philippe was forced
to abdicate and flee to England on February 24, 1848
-
- FEBRUARY DAYS: In Feb , when government took steps to silence critics and prevent
public meetings, angry crowds took to the streets- overturned crats, paving stones and
toppled trees to block the roads, church bells rand alarms, while women and men sang
revolutionary anthem “La Marseillaise”
- A group of liberals, radicals and socialist leaders proclaimed the second republic (the
first republic had lasted from 1792-1804 when Napoleon became empire.
JUNE DAYS- 1848: By June, the upper middle class interest shad won control of
government

4
 - Furious workers took to the street of Paris, but bourgeoisie liberals turned violently
against the protesters
- Peasants who feared that the socialists might take over their land also attacked the
rioting workers, killing 1500 of them before the government crushed the rebellion
- The national assembly who wanted to restore order issued a constitution for the second
republic.
- A new provisional government was established which called for a new constitution to be
drawn up by universal manhood suffrage
- Government also established national workshops under the influence of Louis Blanc
(despite high hopes, workshops became little more than unemployment compensation
units through public works projects)
- -New constitution, ratified on November 4, 1848, established a 2nd Republic with:
- -A unicameral legislature of 750 members serving three year terms elected by male
Frenchman universally
- -President elected to a four year term
- It created a strong president and a one-house legislature ( unicameral)
- It gave vote to all adult men, Nine million Frenchmen could vote (before only 200,000
could vote.
- When election were held, Louis Napoleon, Nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte was elected
president.
- Working classes voted for him as Napoleon presented himself as favouring them
- At the same time, his famous name linked with order and past French glory, helped him
win the conservatives votes.
- By 1852 Louis Napoleon used his position and called for a referendum in 1852 and 90%
of the French revolution allowed him to declare himself emperor, taking the title
Napoleon III.

-Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon, was elected president and soon established
an authoritarian order in France

Revolution in Central Europe

a. The social and political upheavals in central Europe through 1848-1849 led to mass
demonstrations for political reform in Germany

b. The student response in Germany to the French Revolution of 1848 was one of enthusiasm
and optimism for potential reforms in France

c. Demonstrations in Budapest, Prague, and Vienna led to Metternich’s ouster

d. Louis Kossuth led a movement within Hungary to gain autonomy from Austria in every way
except the sharing of the same Hapsburg monarch

e. After much upheaval, new Austrian king Francis Joseph (1848-1916) was able to put down all
revolutions within his empire with the invaluable aid of the Russians

5
3. Revolts in the Italian States

a. Under the leadership of Giuseppe Mazzini’s nationalist organization Young Italy, Italian
unification seemed to be on the verge of reality in 1848 with revolutions taking place all over
Italy

b. Mazzini’s efforts to achieve Risorgimento failed by 1849 due to opposition of the French, the
Austrians, and the Pope.

4. Failures of 1848 Revolutions

a. Throughout Europe in 1848, popular revolts had initiated revolutionary upheavals that had
led to the formation of liberal constitutions and liberal governments

6
b. Divisions among the revolutionaries shattered their ranks in most cases and ended up causing
the collapse of the revolutions. Different social groups had very different interests.

-middle class liberals secured the election of their own assemblies, but were afraid of social
revolution whom they feared would take away their property.

- Working-class movements and radical left organisations were much more concerned about
their economic welfare as opposed to political power. They also lacked the intellectual capacity
to understand the prevailing political ideologies.

c. Armies of most of the Europeans states remained loyal to the established rulers. Nowhere did
any army declare for a constitution. Except in Hungary and the Roman Republic, capable
revolutionary armies were not created.

d. Britain and France seen as liberal governments failed to support the revolutions

e. The failure of the 1848 revolution to a large extent helped ensure that a conservative political
and social order maintained its hold on Europe until WW1. That the unification of Germany and
Italy occurred within a conservative rather than a liberal framework.

f. The old order was helped by the return of general economic growth and prosperity post 1848.

DID THE REVOLUTIONS FAIL?

The revolutions were not a total failure:

- The remnants of feudalism in central Europe were abolished

- Manhood suffrage were introduced in France
- Parliamentary government was introduced in Prussia and Austria
- After 1848 virtually every monarchical regime accepted the need to modernise, even if it
was not prepared to accept a dilution of traditional forms of power
- The revolutions had helped stir national consciousness across a wide swathe of Europe.

Revolution failed in Austrian empire

17th May 1848: the Emperor escaped from Vienna and went to Innsbruck to avoid making
further concessions to the revolutionaries. These, in turn, set up a Provisional Liberal
Government.
June 1848: Following a riot in Prague, the Imperial General Windischgratz, bombarded the city
and established a military dictatorship. This was the first defeat of the revolutionaries.
July 1848: In Italy another General, Radetsky defeated the Piedmontese army regained control
of Lombardy for the Emperor.
September 1848: the Emperor enlisted help of the Croats by accepting their demand for a
Croatian Governor (Baron Jellacic) and the official use of the Croat language in Croatia. Jellacic
was allowed to lead an army against the Hungarians.
October 1848 : The Imperial Government sent troops from Innsbruck to march against Vienna
and help Jellacic in his attack against Kossuth in Budapest. This order produced another revolt in
Vienna. But the imperial armies under Jellacic and Windeschgratz occupied Vienna and crushed
the revolution there.

7
December 1848: Emperor Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his 18-year old nephew Francis
Joseph.
April 1849: the Austrian delegates were withdrawn from the Frankfurt Parliament.

The Austrian Constituent Assembly was dissolved and absolute power was again given to the
Emperor, his Ministers, the imperial bureaucracy and the army. The reforms of the
revolutionaries were discontinued, but with one significant exception. The abolition of
feudalism throughout the Empire emancipated (freed) over three million peasants. These
were given the possibility to buy farmland at generous terms.

Hungary- failed

Early in 1849, the radical faction of the revolutionaries, led by Kossuth, took control of the
Hungarian Diet. They made the mistake of declaring Hungary a Republic. For the next four
months the Hungarian patriots held their own against the Imperial Forces and the republic
survived.
June 1849: Prince Schwarzenburg, the Austrian Chancellor after Metternich, took a decisive
decision: he formally asked for the assistance of Russian troops. Czar Nicholas I was very much
eager to destroy the Hungarian republic which was so near to Poland. Thus, 80,000 Russian
soldiers invaded Hungary and in August 1849 the Hungarian forces surrendered to the Russians.
Kossuth escaped first to Constantinople and later to England.

The Hungarians acquired political autonomy from Vienna in 1867, following Austria’s defeat in
the war against France and Sardinia-Piedmont (1859). From then onwards, the Empire became
officially known as Austria-Hungary (as a dual monarchy).