Revolutions of 1848
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Transcript of Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
Overview of 1848• Attempted revolutions sprang
from liberal and nationalist ideals, and largely failed due to conflicting nationalist interests
• Alliance between middle-class liberals and working-class leaders sparked revolutions, but then splintered as alliance broke down
• Only in France did revolution succeed, but it’s results were disappointing for liberal instigators
• Revolutions of 1848 demonstrated the potential of nationalism to destabilize Europe
• Success of conservative forces in controlling revolutions demonstrated staying power of conservatism
la Barricade de la rue Soufflot , Paris, Février 1848
France: Louis Napoleon• 1846-7: Poor harvests, high prices,
unemployment• 1848: Liberal opponents of Louis
Philippe organized “banquets,” that government cancelled
• Parisian workers rioted; Louis Philippe fled to England
• Liberals allied with working class: “workshops” in Paris, universal suffrage
• But nation elected conservative government, closed workshops, Parisians rioted
• Louis Napoleon elected to restore conservative order
• 1851: declared himself emperor, disbanded assembly, ruthlessly put down dissent, plebiscite strongly supported him as Napoleon III
Europe at 1848:National Groups
1848 Austria-Hungary• News of liberal uprising in France
caused “March Days” across Empire– Liberals, workers, students rioted in
Vienna– Hungarians demanded independence– Serfs rioted against oppression
• Metternich fled to England: end of Age of Metternich
• Flight of Metternich sparked rebellions across Germanic kingdoms
• Emperor Ferdinand – granted constitutional autonomy to
Hungary and Bohemia; – Freed the serfs, thereby undermining
strength of revolt• Italian provinces revolted, declaring
independence• German confederation called a national
assembly to create a unified Germany
Germany: Failed Unification• March Revolution: rebellions for
liberal change across German kingdoms
• Frankfurt Assembly: liberal pan-German national assembly elected to consider unification options
• Included all German kingdoms, including German areas of Prussia and Austria
• Declared a new German government; offered position of “kaiser” to Frederick William IV of Prussia; he refused. Regency given to Archduke Johann of Austria
• Kleindeutsch vs. Grossdeutsch.• Weakness of Frankfurt Assembly
led to war with Denmark over Schleswig-Holstein; called on Prussia for help, and dissolved
Frankfurt Assembly 1848
Bohemia: Pan Slavism• Pan-Slav assembly met,
imitating German Frankfurt Assembly; chose to avoid independence, preferring unity under Hapsburgs to chaos
• Sudeten Germans attracted to Frankfurt Assembly: friction in Bohemia between Slavs and Germans
• Friction created Czech insurrection, put down by Austrian army general Windischgrätz
Prague 1848
Austrian Hapsburgs: Magyar Revolt• Hungarian Louis Kossuth:
liberal and Magyar nationalist• Moved official Hungarian
capital to Budapest, declared Hungarian national language
• But Slovaks, Germans, Romanians, Serbs violently resisted
• Hungary dissolved into “war of all against all” predicted by Metternich
• Ferdinand abdicated• Austrian army general
Windischgrätz marched from Bohemia, took Vienna, and allied with Magyars to reassert antebellum Hapsburg control over Hungary
Magyar Revolt, 1848
Austrian landsGerman Confederation
Piedmont
Italy: Failed Unification• With chaos in Austria, in
1848 Milan and Venice declared independence
• Austrian army crushed revolt
• Pope’s minister assassinated, Pope Pius IX fled, Roman Republic declared in former Papal States
• Louis Napoleon sent French army and restored Pope; Mazzini and Garibaldi fled
• Failures showed clash between Catholicism and Liberalism
Garibaldi