Transcript document

THE CONSERVATIVE ORDER
AND THE CHALLENGES OF
REFORM
Chapter 21
What were the goals of nationalist movements in
Europe? What led to the rise of new political
movements (Conservatism, Liberalism and
Socialism? How did these ideas spread?
UNDERSTANDING NATIONALISM
Nationalism is an easy concept…a state should be
comprised of a single group of people who united by a
common language, common historical background,
common customs who should experience the same
common rights and freedoms
 Nationalist ideas were a reaction to the inequalities
inherent in conservative large empires, that only
large states ruled by stable monarchies and familial
dynasties should have absolute power of authority
 Areas at the beginning of the 19th C where one could
find Nationalist movements and ideas formulating:
British Isles (Ireland), Hapsburg Austria (Belgium,
Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia), Prussia and
Russia (Poland), the Spanish overseas colonies and
the Ottoman Empire (Greece, Serbia, Romania and
Bulgaria)
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UNDERSTANDING LIBERALISM
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To be liberal in the early 19th century meant that you
desired complete access to suffrage and representation in
government AND limited government interference in
economic affairs (NOT the same today)
The doctrine of early 19th C liberals came from English
Common Law and from the words written in the French
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen…liberals wanted a
limited government (NOT the same today) that was less
authoritarian and looked out for the individual rights of the
people (only thing true about liberals today)
Liberalism was not necessarily akin to Nationalism…not all
ethnic groups desired individual freedoms for other minor
ethnic groups in Europe during this era (like Hungarian
Magyars) while liberals in some areas did make ties with
other ethnicities within their boundaries (Greece)
CONSERVATISM
To be a Conservative in the 19th C was to support the
status quo, the monarchy and the aristocracy, who were
trying so desperately after the French Revolution to save
face
 Nowhere is this more evident than in the Congress of
Vienna (1815) which sought to restore monarchical order
Europe
after
the mess was
left by Napoleon
otoThe
goal of
conservatism
simple…REACT to the
revolutionary movements
emerging in European states to
prevent further radicalism and
overthrow of their position in the
status quo
o Conservatives made sure to be
actively part of any “constitution”
discussions in their states
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CONSERVATISM – REACTIONS IN CERTAIN STATES
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In Hapsburg Austria, the Conservative voice was Prince
Klemens von Metternich, champion of the Vienna Congress
movement…he recognized growing liberalism and nationalism
as a threat to his family’s empire…to Metternich, the future was
clear, PREVENT constitutional movements among the factions
in the Hapsburg Empire
In Prussia, Frederick William III remained absolute, denying
the creation of a national legislature in favor of a Council of
State, comprised of Junkers
In other parts of Germany, the states that had been
confederated and several student movements formed to demand
greater popular sovereignty in what was once the Holy Roman
Empire…these student movements were eventually suppressed
by Metternich and the Carlsbad Decrees
In Britain, several different laws and acts were passed:
 Corn Laws – protectionist tariff on imported grain meant to
increase the value of domestic grain…would actually prove
disastrous in the long run as food prices increased as well as
poverty in Britain
 The Six Acts – 1) forbade unauthorized public meetings 2)
raised fines for libel 3) speeded up trials for political
agitators 4) increased newspaper taxes 5) prohibited
training of locally armed groups & 6) allowed open searches
of homes in areas where political unrest occurred
THE BOURBON (BURP) RESTORATION
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All of Louis XVI children died during the
revolution…Louis’ brother Louis (XVIII) was
crowned king of France and agreed to rule under
a Constitutional Monarchy
The Charter was considered to be a mild
accommodation between French liberals and
conservatives…it created a bicameral legislature
and recognized the rights enumerated by the
Dec. of Rights of Man and Citizen…it promoted
religious tolerance and property rights
Opposite this friendly cooperation was an ultraroyalist movement bent on revenge against
revolutionaries and imperialists…the count of
Artois led the White Terror…several ultraroyalists found themselves elected to the
legislature
However, when the son of the count of Artois was
assassinated in Feb. 1820, the ultra-royalists
convinced Louis to be repressive…the press was
censored, rights were suspended, schools and
other institutions were put under the direct
control of the church, and liberals found
REVOLT, REBELLION, REVOLUTION
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In several locations, anti-conservative backlash coupled with
nationalist ambitions and anti-colonialism caused revolutions
and rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s
The Bourbon Restoration had a direct impact on Spain and
Italy…Ferdinand VII ruled as an absolute, denying the activities
of legislative bodies…meanwhile, as rebellion broke out in Italy,
Metternich of Austria who had ambitions of expansion south,
sent troops to restore order (w/support from Prussia and Russia)
Greece sought independence from the Ottoman Empire, part of
what became known as “the Eastern Question”, what to do about
the declining Ottoman Empire?...several larger states (Austria
and Russia) want to take the territory…others (France and
England) wanted to prop up the Ottoman to prevent such
imperial designs…Greece was not seen as a threat to any
European nation in the region, and as such, as a Christian state,
it was granted independence in 1830
The result of Greek independence was Serbian independence
that same year…the difference here was that Serbia was coveted
by Austria but seen by Russia as a Slavic brother
THE WARS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
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Four sparks that cause REVOLUTION
1. The American Revolution – model for rebellion
against the mother nation
 2. The French Revolution – provided base ideology
though the radical end was rejected by LA
revolutionaries
 3. Haitian Slave Revolt (and Independence movement)
– led by Toussaint L’Overture in 1791, led to Haiti
becoming only the second new world free country in
1804…became an example to avoid amongst elites in
rest of Latin America
 4. Turmoil in Spain and Portugal – the Napoleonic
invasions of both countries disrupted political control
over the colonies…Creoles declared loyalty to the crown
yet managed to gain power of rule over the colonies
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THE WARS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
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Creoles (Spanish born in the Americas) began to
distrust Peninsulares (Spanish who came over/ruled
from Spain)…Creoles had slowly gained numbers and
power in Latin America, but were still second class
citizens to the Spanish Peninsulares
The Bourbon Reforms heaped on the colonies before
and after the Napoleonic period served to break the
backs of the Creole elites who ended up sending a lot of
their wealth and profits to the Spanish Bourbon crown
rather than keeping it for themselves…when social
unrests (slave and native revolts) threatened the
established Peninsulares order, the crown sent troops
to heap oppression
Creoles would form political juntas of like minded
Enlightened landowners and trained military men who
sought to liberate the colonies from all despotic
Peninsulares control
SOUTH AMERICA – BOLIVAR AND SAN MARTIN
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In the viceroyalty of New Granada (Colombia
and Venezuela) rose the wealthy Creole
officer Simon Bolivar, the George
Washington of Latin America…he was
trained in the military arts in Spain and
used his skills to mobilize support for a
movement…between 1817 & 1822, he won
battle after battle in Venezuela with his
llaneros, Colombia and Ecuador and united
them as one nation, Gran Colombia…which
fell apart in 1830
Jose San Martin was from Buenos
Aries…also trained in the military arts in
Spain, he led the portenos (merchant traders
of BA) in a push for autonomy from Spanish
trade restrictions…after freeing the
Viceroyalty of La Plata (many parts of which
split into different nations) he crossed the
Andes and led independence movements
against the Spanish in Chile and Peru (w/his
buddy Bernard O’Higgins)
MEXICO, 1810-1821
Father Miguel Hidalgo, a mestizo priest,
knew the Creoles were plotting…he rallied
ALL Mexicans with his speech, the El
Grito De Delores on Sept. 16, 1810
(Mexican Independence Day)…he won
support of the masses but lost the support
of the Creoles, who naturally feared a
rising by the peasantry…eventually he
was captured and killed and his cause was
taken up by a Father Jose Morelos, who
also eventually was martyred
 Rebellion festered in Mexico for a decade
until 1820 when Creoles under the
direction of Augustin de Iturbide raised his
armies and took control of Mexico City
 Iturbide was declared emperor, and the
conservative Creoles set forth to establish
a monarchy, which eventually fell apart by
1824
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BRAZILIAN “INDEPENDENCE”
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Portugal was not going to let Brazil go
easily…Brazil was Portugal’s number #1
economic production center’
Same story as in Spanish LA…the elite
want freedom but fear what the
minorities and crown would do to them
In 1807, the Napoleonic invasion of
Portugal forced the crown to move to
Brazil where they established an
empire…this helped raised Brazil to equal
status with Portugal and gave the elite
what they wanted, greater freedom for
trade
King Joao (John) VI ruled in Brazil until
1820 when he returned to Portugal and
took the crown with him…but he left his
son Pedro to rule Brazil…Dom Pedro I
rebelled against his father and declared
Brazil a free empire in 1822…after a 3
year struggle, Brazil remained a
monarchy, free from Portugal and the
social structure remained status quo
RUSSIA AND THE DECEMBRIST REVOLT
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Napoleon tried his best to invade
Russia in 1812 but failed…this cause
an instant backlash against the
previous Westernization policies of
Peter and Catherine
The Conservative nobles, with the
support of Czar Alexander I, pulled
back into isolation in order to
strengthen the stranglehold over the
serfs
In 1825, a group of western-liking
army officers led the Decembrist
Revolt to overthrow the new Czar,
Nicholas I…it was repressed and as a
result, Nicholas put a stranglehold on
freedoms, limiting schools, the press,
and creating a secret police
(precursor to the KGB)
Thanks to this despotic repression
(Orthodoxy, Autocracy and
Nationalism), Russia avoided the
spread of other revolutions that
impacted Europe (1830, 1848,
1849)…Russia did, however, continue
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (AGAIN?!?) OF 1830
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In 1824, the ultra-royalist Count of Artois, Charles X,
succeeded to the French throne with the goal of
eliminating as much of the revolutionary fervor in
France as possible in favor of, you guessed it,
Absolutism
When national elections in 1830 resulted in a major
victory for liberals in France, Charles issued the
Four Ordinances to consolidated his power
 1) Restricted freedom of the press
 2) dissolved the elected body that was full of
liberals
 3) limited trade rights to the wealthy
 4) demanded new elections
Charles was met with instant rebellion in Paris that
he could not repel…he abdicated in August 1830 in
favor of the Duke of Orleans (Louis Philippe)
Louis Philippe cooperated with the liberal factions
in government, HOWEVER, social conditions in
France did not change…the working class and poor
STILL festered at the bottom…another revolution
would eventually come in 1848 from these classes
BELGIUM AND BRITAIN
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The “July Days” of 1830 started an independence movement in Belgium…the
Congress of Vienna had merged Belgium with the Kingdom of Holland in
1815, however, the nobility of Belgium never had any true allegiance to a
state that had a different language, religion and economic tradition
Reacting to rebellions in Italy in 1830, Belgians rebelled against Dutch
rule…William of Holland sent troops to quell the disorder only to be handed
defeat…the Belgians wrote their own Constitution and chose a monarch
(Leopold I) to lead as executive…Belgium’s right to exist was recognized by
Britain
Britain was the only European state during this era that saw cooperation
between conservatism and liberalism, mainly because of the economic
prosperity of the state demanded it
The Emancipation Act of 1829 was the government’s attempt to quell the
“Irish Question”…it allowed Irish Catholics to become members of
Parliament…the only negative effect of this move was the end of Tory power
in Parliament under hero the Duke of Wellington
The Whig’s came to power under Earl Grey (the tea guy) and launched
sweeping domestic reform with the Great Reform Bill of 1832…it increased
the number of enfranchised individuals in Britain (through gerrymandering),
however, still holding to the “property holding to vote or participate” ideal