Transcript Modern Europe II

Modern Europe II
Unit 4 – Revolutions and Order, 1848-1870
“Hungry Forties”
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Europe suffered economically during the 1840s
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Industrial economic downturn late 1830s
Led to a slowdown in industry and high unemployment
Bad harvests throughout Europe in 1839-1842
Potato blight high northern Europe hard in 1846 (esp. Ireland
and Germany)
By 1847, food prices doubled
Bread and potato riots broke out throughout Europe
People lost faith in their governments
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Governments sent in military to suppress the riots
Made them look more authoritarian and incompetent
Revolutions of 1848
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Near universal uprisings
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Goals of the revolts
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Occurred throughout Europe
Timing was nearly simultaneous
Only Russia, the Netherlands, and Great Britain avoided
upheaval
Constitutional governments
Independence and unification
End to the remnants of serfdom and manorial systems
Revolutions of this period were short lived
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Brought to an end through military means
Start a new period of reactionism
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Republique Française
French Revolution of 1848
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July Monarchy remained separate from changing French
society
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Still no true representation for the bourgeoisie class
Only elite enjoyed privileges
Radicals called for universal male suffrage and a republic
Liberals wanted greater enfranchisement with a constitutional
monarchy
Louis-Philippe did not support any changes
French eyed the changes taking place in Britain
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Called for greater enfranchisement
Also demanded better wages and “right to work”
French Revolution of 1848
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Problems for France
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Prime Minister Guizot refused their calls for reform
Reformers organized a banquet for February 22, 1848
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Bad harvests in 1846
Economic depression in 1847
Peasant rebellions throughout 1846-7
Day before, government banned the meeting
February Revolution (February 22-24, 1848)
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Fighting broke out between Parisians and local guards
National Guard opened fire on the crowd, killing 20 people
City broke into riots
On February 24, Louis-Philippe fled to England
French Revolution of 1848
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Second Republic
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Provisional government was set up
Made up of seven political republicans and three social
republicans
National Workshops
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Louis Blanc, social republican, called for the creation of
National Workshops to help unemployed
A program of public works in and around Paris
Planned to support twelve thousand workers
By June 1848, unemployment reached 65%
Workers wanted to join the Workshop which could not handle
the numbers
Increased from 66,000 participants in April to 120,000
French Revolution of 1848
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Popular politics
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Constitutional Assembly
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Provisional government lifted restrictions on freedom of
speech and political activity
Women’s clubs and newspapers appeared
Elected in April 1848 by universal male suffrage
Worked on a new constitution
Temporary executive board was more moderate
Less sympathetic towards the needs of the worker
Not everyone supported the revolution
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Conservativism popular in the countryside
Rural farmers resented higher taxes to “pay” the unemployed
French Revolution of 1848
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Some felt it was not enough
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Wanted greater changes especially in the workplace
Still suffered from long days at low pay
Workers attacked the Assembly in May calling for its
dissolution
Assembly wanted an end of socialist influences
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Decided to bring an end to the Workshops
They were considered a financial drain
Told unemployed to join army or transfer to provincial
workshops
In May, closed the Workshops to future enrollment
On June 21, the government ended the program
French Revolution of 1848
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June Days (June 23–26, 1848)
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Over 20,000 workers took up arms
Parisian workers barricade the streets, creating a maze effect
Put down by National Guard under General Cavaignac
In the end, over 3,000 killed and 7,000 wounded
Over 11,000 were arrested and deported to colonies
Reaction
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Many were fearful of a full-blown revolution or class war
One Frenchwoman wrote that society was “a prey to a feeling
of terror incomparable to anything since the invasion of Rome
by the barbarians”
Workers moved more towards socialism
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Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte
Rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
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Constituent Assembly created the elected position of
president
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Four presidential candidates:
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Designed to act as strong executive power
Elections were to be held in December 1848
Alphonse de Lamartine – Republican
General Cavaignac – Republican
Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin - Socialist
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
Bonaparte won by a landslide
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Won with 5,400,000 votes (74% of total)
Rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
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Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873)
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Des Idées napoléoniennes (Napoleonic Ideas)
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Nephew of Napoleon
Spent most of his life in exile
Initiated a Bonapartist coup at Strasbourg in 1836
Attempted a coup in Boulogne in 1840 which led to his arrest
In 1846, he escaped to England
Set down his political program
Called for a strong centralized state but also social reform
Focus was on bringing glory and peace
L'Extinction du paupérisme (Extinction of Poverty)
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Pushed for greater social reforms
Rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
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Rise of the Napoleonic Legend
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New Legislative Assembly met in May 1849
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In 1836, the Arch de Triumph was completed
In 1840, Napoleon was returned to France for burial
Louis Napoleon was associated with the greatness of the
Napoleonic era
2/3 were royalists: Legitimists (favoring the line of Charles X)
and Orléanists (favoring the line of Louis-Philippe)
Rest were either Socialists or political Republicans
In June, an insurrection occurred
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Failed to gain a following but led to reaction
33 Socialists were removed from the Assembly
All public meetings were banned
Rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
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In 1850, the Assembly terminated universal male suffrage
Role as president
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At first, supported the more conservative actions of the
Assembly
Put all the schools under control of the Catholic Church
Lay teachers were associated with republicanism and socialism
Needed the support of the radicals as well
Did this by supported the restoration of universal male
suffrage in 1851
Promoted the idea that wealthy were trying to control the
government
“Counteracted” this by putting his own men in high positions
Rise of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
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Coup d’Etat (December 2, 1851)
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Election of December 20, 1851
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Held on the anniversary of Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz
Posted placards all over Paris stating the Assembly was
disbanded
Members who showed up were dispersed or arrested
Was some fighting throughout the country
Louis Napoleon was elected president for a ten year term
Official count was 7.4 million to 646,000
Napoleon III
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In 1852, he declared himself Emperor of the French
Impact of the 1848 French Revolution
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Significance of the 1848 Revolution in France
Its dynamics would be repeated elsewhere
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The pivotal role of the middle classes
Many saw the June Days as naked class struggle
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Created a domino effect throughout Europe
Shattered many liberal aspirations
Led to an anti-Republican reactionary movement
Middle-class and working-class politics were more sharply
differentiated
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Working class turned more radical
Middle class turned more conservative
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Europe in 1848
Revolutions in Central Europe
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Revolutions broke out throughout central Europe in 1848
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Roots of revolution
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France provided the spark
Social antagonisms between the privileged and middle class
Economic crises from the depression of 1846-7
Desire for political change
Liberal goals
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Representative government
An end to privilege
Economic development
National unity
Austrian Empire in 1848
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Austrian Empire was one of the most diverse in Europe
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Population was exceeded only by Russia
Germans were most populous
In Romania, there were the Romanians
In Hungary, there were the Magyars
Also had a huge conglomerate of Slavic groups: Czechs, Poles,
Croats, Slovaks, and Slovenes
The groups mainly lived in blocks but in some areas were
intermixed
Huge spread of both culture and language
Each one of these groups wanted their own independent state
Austrian Empire in 1848
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Austria also exerted influence on numerous areas in
central Europe
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Included the German Federation and Italy
Many of these regions had been touched by the nationalistic
sparked
Metternich prevented any nationalistic movements from
growing in these regions
Could not stop the growing liberalism among the middle class
Problems for Austria
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The economic recession and food shortages of 1846-7 also
affected the Empire
The French Revolution of 1848 had an impact as well
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Lajos Kossuth
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(1802-1894)
March Days
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The momentum of revolution began on March 3, 1848
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Led by Lajos Kossuth, leader of the liberal faction in the
Hungarian Diet
Demanded representative institutions
Autonomy for the Hungarian Magyar nation
Demonstrations of March 15, 1848
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Revolutionaries marched in the cities of Buda and Pest
demanding their “12 point plan”
Called for a representative government, equality before the law,
and an end to censorship
Were accepted by the imperial governor
March Days
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New Hungarian government
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Pushed through major reforms known as the “April Laws”
Created an autonomous Hungarian state with the Habsburg
Emperor as its king
Called for all taxes collected in Hungary to go to Hungary
Demanded the Diet be in control of the Hungarian army
In Prague, working and middle class revolted in the first
half of March
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Demanded a meeting of the Bohemian Diet
Wanted more social reforms including an end to serfdom and
civil liberties
Provincial governor agreed to call the Diet
March Days
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Kossuth’s speech had an impact in Vienna as well
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On March 13, 1848, students and workers rose up
Demanded political and social reforms
Built barricades and attacked the imperial palace
Metternich was forced to resign and fled to Britain
Austrian government concessions
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Male suffrage and single house of representatives
Withdrew troops from Vienna
Worked toward the abolition of serfdom
Yielded to Czech demands in Bohemia
March Days
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Germany was not free of revolts
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There was a rise in the number of political clubs
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Growing tensions already taking place
Students and other radicals joined with middle-class reform
groups
New demands for representative government
Attacked autocracy and bureaucratic authority
Revolts broke out in Berlin on March 15, 1848
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Demanded a representative government
King Frederick William IV agreed to draw up a constitution
Also agreed to a meeting of a German assembly to discuss
possible unification
March Days
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Italy was still a patchwork of small states
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Piedmont-Sardinia, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies
Lombard and Venetia controlled by Austria
Tuscany, Parma, and Modena ruled by the Habsburgs
Revolts in Italy
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Citizens of Milan drove out Austrians and set up a provisional
government
Tuscany kicked out their Grand Duke and set up a republic
King Charles Albert of Sardinia declared war against the
Austrians
This sparked an all out Italian war against the Austrians
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Barricades in Prague
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May 1848
Reaction to the Revolutions
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Impact from the revolutions continued to spread
Pan-Slav Assembly (June 1848)
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Created in response to the nationalistic fervor
Slavs did not want to participate in an all-German assembly
Wanted to bring forth a Slavic Revival
Not all wanted to break from the Empire
Saw it as a “necessary evil” to protect their interests from
Germany and Russia
By June, the fervor had died down
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Old regimes were bruised by not broken
The revolutions were losing their momentum
Reaction to the Revolutions
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Biggest problem was the lack of cohesion
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Peasants only cared about gaining emancipation
Workers did not have the organization nor education to see
the revolution to its logical conclusion
Rest of the revolution was made up of the intelligentsia who
did not have the political or economic power to make long
term change
Starting in June 1848, there were a number of victories
for the counterrevolution
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Worked to support the old regimes
Brought about an end to liberalism in the short term
Reaction to the Revolutions
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On June 12, 1848, another insurrection broke out in
Prague
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Supported by Czech separatists
Was violently put down by Prince Alfred Windisch-Grätz
Implemented martial law to keep the peace
The Pan-Slavic assembly was dissolved
Sardinians lost to the Austrians
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General Joseph Radetzky von Radetz successfully retook both
Milan and Venice
King Charles Albert was forced to retreat to Sardinia
Both Lombardy and Venetia were returned to Austria
Reaction to the Revolutions
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Things were not going well for Hungary
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Growing tensions between Magyars and non-Magyars
In June 1848, anti-Magyar Josip Jellachich was appointed as
provincial governor of Croatia
Kossuth severed all ties between Hungary and Austria
Leads to a civil war between Serbo-Croatians and the Magyars
Vienna responded with another insurrection in
September 1848
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Windisch-Grätz captures Vienna after 5 days
Ferdinand abdicates in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph
Reaction to the Revolutions
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Austrian Empire became more reactionary than ever
before
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Control was placed in the hands of Chief Minister Prince Felix
of Schwarzenberg
Constitutionalism, self‐expression and nationalism were
“rooted out”
Bach System
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Designed by Austrian Minister of the Interior, Alexander Bach
Centralized the government to keep smaller provinces under
control
Made some reforms including emancipation of the serfs, tariff
reform, and legal reform
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Prince Felix of
Schwarzenberg
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Chief Minister of Austria
(1848-1852)
Frankfurt Assembly
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The Frankfurt Assembly (May 1848 – May 1849)
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Most delegates represented the professional classes
Most were moderate liberals
Desired a constitution for a liberal, unified Germany
No resources, no sovereign power, and no single legal code
The nationalist question
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Großdeutsche Lösung (“Great Germany”) called for the
incorporation of a greater German state, including Austria
Kleindeutsche Lösung (“Small Germany”) wanted Germany to
contain only lands not held by larger nations
Both Ferdinand I and Franz Joseph refused to divide up Austria
Assembly accepted the “Small Germany” solution
Frankfurt Assembly
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Assembly offered the crown of Emperor to Frederick
Wilhelm IV on April 3, 1849
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The delegates left the Assembly disillusioned
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Did not want a crown based on revolutionary ideals
He wanted the crown and larger state on his terms alone
Perhaps liberal and nationalist goals were incompatible?
Many delegates fled to the United States
Popular revolution
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Peasants ransacked tax offices and burned castles
Workers smashed machines
Formation of citizen militias
Newspapers and political clubs
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Cartoon of
Frederick William
refusing the
crown
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(1849)
Marxism
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Karl Marx (1818–1883)
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Studied philosophy but became a journalist
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The Rheinische Zeitung (1842–1843)
Marx exiled to Paris, then Brussels, then London
Partnership with Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)
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Influenced by Hegel’s philosophy
Experience in the Manchester textile factories
The Condition of the Working Classes in England (1844)
In 1847, Marx and Engels joined the League of the Just
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Later renamed the Communist League
Marxism
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The Communist Manifesto (1848)
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History and conflict
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Master and slave
Lord and serf
Bourgeois and proletariat
Capitalism would “dig its own grave”
With the collapse of capitalism, the workers would seize the
state
Communism
Dialectical materialism
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Karl Marx
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(1818-1883)
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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Very different from his uncle
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Rejected many radical ideas
Believed that France should become a more “modern” state
Previous rulers had been controlled by special interests
Wanted to be the “sovereign of the people”
Believed in personal rule and a centralized state
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Felt he could do more than an assembly
Created an elected Assembly that had no real power
Control of finances, the army, and foreign affairs
Undermined traditional elites and fashioned a new relationship
with the people
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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Economic changes
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Took steps to develop the economy
Founded the Crédit Mobilier
Helped to bring France fully into the modern period
Built new railroads and the Suez Canal
Faith in the ability of industrial expansion to bring prosperity
and national glory
Passed new limited-liability laws
Reluctantly permitted trade unions and the legalization of
strikes
Helped France get through the economic depression of 1857
Signed a free-trade agreement with England (1860)
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Boulevard Montmartre: Afternoon Sunshine (c. 1897)
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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Improving Paris
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Massive rebuilding of the medieval infrastructure
Built railway stations, roads, and other public works projects
Erected 34,000 new buildings
New water pipes and sewer lines
Wholesale renovation did not benefit everyone
Aggressive foreign policy
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It was his foreign policy that undid Napoleon III
Started his reign with the slogan “L’Empire, c’est la paix” (the
Empire means peace”)
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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Crimean War (October 1853–February 1856)
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French, British and Ottomans against the Russians
First major scramble for territory from the declining Ottoman
Empire
Started when France declared itself as “sovereign authority” in
the Holy Land
Russia refused to go along
The alliance won the war, ending the Congress System
Second Opium War (1856-1860)
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Again allied with Britain against Qing Dynasty in China
Won more trading rights with China and large indemnity
Coincided with greater involvement in Vietnam
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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Second Italian War of Independence (April 29 - July 11,
1859)
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Worked with Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to drive out the
Austrians from northern Italy
France received Savoy and Nice
Sardinia received Parma, Modena, Tuscany, and Papal States
Intervention in Mexico (January 1862–March 1867)
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Wanted to bring back a monarchy to Mexico
Also wanted to extend France’s sphere of influence in the New
World
Installed a new emperor, Maximilian I
Napoleon III (1852-1870)
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French plans for the American Civil War
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Napoleon was the leading European force supporting the
Confederacy
Never officially gave support
Did supply weaponry in the form of firearms, submarines, and
ironclads to both sides
Franco-Prussian War (July 1870 - May 1871)
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Brought the final decline of France’s Second Empire
Napoleon was already in declining health
France lost Alsace-Lorraine
Led to German unification