Revolutions of 1848

I

Introduction

Revolutions of 1848, a series of violent uprisings in European countries where legal attempts at economic and political change had proved unsuccessful. The political reference points dated from the French Revolution of 1789 (particularly the assault on monarchy, the nobility, and the Church) and the long series of wars between 1792 and 1815 (see Napoleonic Wars). This experience promoted a polarization of opinion between conservative social and political élites and those groups, largely excluded from power, that wanted political liberalization and social reform. Two major waves of revolution occurred in Europe in the first half of the 19th century that threatened the internal and international order agreed on by the powers at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The first came in 1830-1832. In France the Bourbon monarchy, closely associated with aristocratic political predominance, was replaced by a monarchical regime which extended political rights to wider groups of property owners and increased the authority of parliament (see July Revolution); in the Low Countries the independence of Belgium was recognized. Elsewhere, and especially in Britain and some German states varying degrees of political liberalization were conceded. 1848 was revolution on a much greater scale, both geographically and in terms of the demands made for political and also social reform.

II

The Causes of the Revolutions

A

The Economic Crisis

In an influential article published in 1948 the French historian Ernest Labrousse insisted on the importance of economic crisis as a cause of social unrest but equally on the fact that not all such crises led to revolution. Differing levels of economic development between countries and regional variations within them render hazardous generalizations about the impact of economic difficulties. Nevertheless, the revolutions of 1789, 1830, and 1848 were all preceded by major crises. In many respects, and in spite of rising agricultural productivity, these were typical pre-industrial crises, caused by two or three successive poor harvests. These greatly intensified the social problems caused by population growth, and by the transition to capitalistic production in both agriculture and industry. As prices rose, consumers were forced to spend increasing portions of their incomes on basic foodstuffs and correspondingly less on manufactured goods. The result was widespread unemployment at just the time when the cost of living was dramatically rising. Significantly, however, both the most advanced economy (Britain) and some of the more backward, like Russia, least integrated into international trade, were less severely affected by crisis than those undergoing the initial stages of industrialization. For this and other reasons, these areas did not experience revolution.

B

The Political Crisis

Where revolution did occur, it appears that economic and political crises coincided. To a degree the two were obviously interrelated, with governments blamed for the misery and anxiety that afflicted most of the population. Throughout Western and Central Europe this situation reinforced demands for constitutional reform, re-awakening the liberal and democratic aspirations created in the aftermath of 1789. The disparate character of this political opposition should be noted, however. It included liberals interested in limited constitutional change and the rule of law, and radicals committed to manhood suffrage (the right to vote for all adult males) and to vague measures of social reform. In France, following the 1846 elections, government rejection of an extension of the property-based franchise encouraged those politicians who despaired of electoral victory to seek the support of the unenfranchized. They organized a series of banquets in order to evade laws regulating public meetings, and were able to mobilize substantial public support. They were certainly not revolutionaries, but helped to create a situation in which violent conflict became possible due to the arousal of political passions. In the German states and the Austrian Empire the situation was further complicated by the emergence of nationalist sentiment. In Germany this was expressed by demands for greater unity, in Austria by a growing will to question the decisions of a largely Germanic bureaucracy and the assertion of claims to linguistic and cultural equality, most notably in Bohemia, Hungary, and northern Italy.

III

The Outbreak and Course of the Revolutions

Discontent in itself, however, is not sufficient to lead to revolution particularly where, at least initially, hardly anyone was actively planning revolt. Revolutions occurred where governments failed to make concessions that might have satisfied at least some of their opponents, or else were unable to engage in sufficiently vigorous repression. Certainly, secret revolutionary societies had existed, but they were small, internally divided, and usually penetrated by the police. However, there was considerable potential for violence where opponents of a government resorted to demonstrating their opposition on the streets and were opposed by police, and undependable civilian militia, reinforced by troops. Nevertheless, the revolutionary overthrow of a regime will occur only if its military forces are defeated. This depends on mass participation. Looking at the geography of revolution an obvious point is that revolts began in capital cities—Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and Milan—the foci for political activity, but also urban centres experiencing rapid economic change and population growth. They only subsequently affected other towns and rural areas.