Europe Ablaze: The 1848 Revolutions

Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:

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In 1848, more than three decades after his defeat, the shadow of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution still looms over Europe. The peace settlement of 1815 had been a triumph for reactionary forces. Europe’s great powers—Britain, France, Austria, and Russia—were committed to working together to ensure no more revolutions; radicalism and republicanism would not be allowed to disturb the peace of Europe.

Austrian Chancellor Prince Clemens von Metternich is regarded as the architect of this new conservative order, often referred to as the Metternich System. Yet across Europe, many still find inspiration in the ideals of the French Revolution. Liberals seek personal freedoms and civil rights, such as equality before the law, protected by constitutions, a free press, and regular elections. Nationalists share these aims, desiring national unification in Italy and Germany, or greater recognition and autonomy within the multiethnic Austrian Empire. Poles continue to seek the restoration of an independent Poland and have launched a bloody uprising against the Russians in 1830, supported by liberals across Europe.

In most countries, liberals and nationalists face severe censorship laws, arrests by secret police, and bans on political parties and meetings. However, there are always loopholes. In France, private banquets turn into political rallies; in Italy, scientific societies discuss politics; and in Germany, gymnastic groups do the same. These liberal movements are dominated by the middle class, who have their own local and national agendas but also share many values and aims. They are passionate, organized, and waiting for their opportunity.

But it isn’t just the middle classes that want change. By 1848, rising populations and food prices have created hunger, poverty, and social unrest across Europe. Low wages and hunger drive peasants to cities in increasing numbers, where they become cheap labor for the growing pace of industrialization. They live in slums and work long hours in dreadful conditions, if they can find work. Violent protests by workers and peasants are on the rise. Harvest failures and potato blight worsen the situation, leading to a deadly famine in Ireland and food riots across France. In the face of such crises, Europe’s governments offer little support or hope for reform.

When French Prime Minister François Guizot is challenged about the fact that only the richest half percent can vote in France, he merely replies, “Get rich.” In the winter of 1847-48, a sharp economic downturn throws thousands more out of work. The case for reform is more urgent than ever, but Europe’s governments fail to act. The stage is set for a European revolution.

In southern Italy, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is ruled by Spanish Bourbon King Ferdinand II. His disastrous agrarian reforms have united Sicilian landowners and peasants against him. His kingdom witnesses the first revolution of 1848 in Sicily, where furious crowds chase Bourbon troops out of Palermo, and the island declares independence, re-adopting its liberal Constitution of 1812. Revolutionary fervor spreads to the mainland, where mass rallies in Naples force King Ferdinand to issue his own constitution.

In Austrian-ruled Lombardy and Venice, Italian nationalists revolt in Milan and Venice, driving out the Austrian garrisons. But as dramatic as these events are, they are about to be eclipsed by news from Paris. Since France’s 1830 July Revolution, the country has been ruled by Louis-Philippe, the so-called Citizen King. He is a more moderate figure than his Bourbon predecessor, Charles X, but he opposes further reform despite the growing economic crisis. His Prime Minister, François Guizot, is widely disliked, especially when he bans the banquets that are really opposition rallies. Angry crowds march through Paris, chanting for reform. Guizot resigns, but it is not enough. Nervous troops fire on the crowds, killing 52 civilians. Louis-Philippe loses control of the capital, and as the mob advances on the Tuileries Palace, he abdicates and flees to England. A new provisional government is formed, and from the Hôtel de Ville, new foreign minister Alphonse de Lamartine announces that the Republic has been proclaimed. France’s monarchy has fallen in just three days.

The news is carried across Europe by the new telegraph system, and the effect is electrifying. The 75-year-old Austrian Chancellor Metternich is among the first to be informed of the revolution in Paris. His police chief assures him there is no chance of such a thing happening in Vienna, but on March 13, around 4,000 students inspired by the news from Paris march on the Landhaus, the Assembly Building, and force their way in. There is a confrontation with troops, who open fire and kill four. Workers in Vienna side with the students, and much of the crowd’s hostility is directed at Metternich. When the State Council suggests he resign, Metternich meekly agrees and heads into exile in England, marking the end of one of the most extraordinary political careers in Europe’s history.

Emperor Ferdinand, who suffers from epilepsy and a speech impediment, is a largely passive figure. However, when his council announces elections for an assembly to draft a constitution, crowds cheer him in the streets. The secret police disappear, censorship is ignored, and the people of Vienna celebrate. Nationalists within the Austrian Empire are also inspired by events in Hungary, where politician Lajos Kossuth makes a fiery speech denouncing Habsburg absolutism. His speech is printed and circulated widely, inspiring others across the Empire. Hungarians launch their own revolution with demands for greater autonomy, a free press, and parliamentary reform. Czech liberals in Prague form a National Committee and send their demands to Vienna. There is even a Romanian nationalist uprising in the Ottoman province of Wallachia, forcing the abdication of the local prince.

Across the smaller states of Germany, rulers face popular demands for reform. Most quickly grant concessions to avoid losing their thrones. The black, red, and gold tricolor, symbol of a united Germany, is prominent among the crowds. Germany’s first-ever National Assembly meets in Frankfurt with elected delegates from across Germany. They debate how to achieve the liberal dream of a unified Germany and begin drafting its national constitution. In the Prussian capital, Berlin, students and liberals celebrate Metternich’s fall. King Frederick William IV promises reform but also moves extra troops into the city. Tensions escalate between Berliners and soldiers, and on March 18, protesters erect barricades. The army attacks, leading to vicious fighting in the streets, with 800 protesters killed. The king loses his stomach for the slaughter and withdraws troops from the city, promising a new constitution.

Not all of Europe is embracing change. In Russia, Emperor Nicholas firmly opposes any reforms, having been badly shaken by the Decembrist revolt on the opening day of his reign. Since then, he has tightened censorship and created a new secret police unit. There is a crackdown on all suspected subversives. Writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is among those arrested and subjected to a mock execution before being exiled to Siberia. There will be no concessions in Russia. By European standards, Britain is already a liberal constitutional monarchy, and the middle classes broadly accept the status quo. However, there is a popular movement calling for more democratic reforms, known as the Chartists. They wish to implement a six-point charter. A mass rally is organized for April 10 in London, and although authorities fear violence and draft in extra police, the event passes off peacefully.

In the Netherlands, King William II backs a new constitution and reforms, successfully preempting any revolutionary disturbance. With fortuitous timing, Frederick VII of Denmark abolished royal absolutism in January, avoiding revolution. However, he faces a German nationalist revolt in Schleswig-Holstein, which leads to war with the German Confederation. Denmark ultimately prevails in this war thanks to diplomatic support from other European powers.

In 1848, Polish hopes are high that these revolutions will pave the way for the restoration of an independent Poland. Europe’s liberals had frequently expressed enthusiasm for the idea, but in reality, no major power is willing to risk confrontation with Russia for the sake of the Poles. A Polish rising in Posen is put down by the Prussians, while the Austrians deal with uprisings in Galicia. The first euphoric phase of the European revolutions becomes known as the Springtime of the Peoples. With censorship relaxed, there is an explosion in the number of newspapers, including a radical new daily edited by Karl Marx. It feels like the dawn of a new era.

However, these early successes are built on an uneasy alliance. Middle-class liberals want constitutions, more inclusion in politics, and a free press, while workers, who are the revolutionary foot soldiers in many cities, want cheaper food and the right to work. German radicals sum it up with a pun: freedom to read versus freedom to feed. Europe’s new assemblies are under pressure from conservatives who think they are going too far and radicals and socialists who think they are not going far enough. Most horrifying to Europe’s middle class is the threat of mass direct action and social revolution.

In the wake of the revolution, France’s provisional government sets up national workshops, a public works program to alleviate unemployment in Paris. But just three months later, a new, more conservative government announces their closure, leaving 100,000 workers suddenly jobless. The response is immediate and furious. Over three days in June, Paris radicals take on the middle-class National Guard and regular troops in a bloody battle of the barricades. The Archbishop of Paris attempts to mediate but is cut down in crossfire. By the time it is all over, General Cavaignac’s troops have killed at least 1,500 workers and arrested 12,000 more, a third of whom are deported to Algeria. He believes he has saved France from anarchy, declaring that the sacred cause of the Republic has triumphed. The French Revolution has split between left and right, with bloody consequences, paving the way for the return of a famous name from the past, promising unity and order.

That spring, conservative governments had been caught off guard by the speed of events, but now they begin to fight back. In Prague, Czech students clash with troops. The wife of Austrian Commander General Windischgrätz is killed by a stray bullet, prompting him to withdraw his troops and bombard the city’s old town with artillery, killing 43 before the students surrender. In Italy, King Carlo Alberto of Piedmont-Sardinia declares an Italian war of liberation against Austria and invades Lombardy-Venice, supported by other Italian states and nationalist volunteers, including the Italian Legion led by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Austrian forces in Italy are commanded by 81-year-old Field Marshal Radetzky, a distinguished veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. Vienna orders him to negotiate, but Radetzky wages a masterful campaign, fending off the Piedmontese advance and then launching a decisive counterattack. The Piedmontese forces retreat in disarray, and Carlo Alberto negotiates a truce.

Meanwhile, Austrian relations with Hungary are in crisis. The country is now effectively independent with its own elected parliament and a prime minister, Lajos Kossuth. However, not everyone wants to be part of the new Hungary. Ethnic conflicts break out between Hungarians and Romanians in Transylvania and between Hungarians and Serbs in Vojvodina, leaving thousands dead. An even greater threat is Croatian General Josip Jelačić, a loyalist who takes matters into his own hands and invades what he regards as a renegade province. The emperor hopes for a peaceful resolution and sends a loyal general, Count Lamberg, to take command of Hungarian military forces. However, upon arrival, he is brutally murdered by a mob. Appalled, the Imperial government declares war on the Hungarian revolutionaries, which outrages liberals and radicals in Vienna. Fresh violence erupts on the streets, and the Austrian Minister of War is lynched. Troops evacuate the city while the emperor flees to Olmütz. Jelačić marches to the government’s aid, joining forces with Windischgrätz outside Vienna. Together, they bombard the city, and the October Rising is crushed with the loss of 2,000 lives. Twenty-five revolutionary leaders are executed, including Robert Blum, a member of the German Parliament in Frankfurt, who becomes a celebrated martyr of the revolutions.

With Vienna secure, the Austrian invasion of Hungary can begin. The Hungarians are heavily outnumbered, and Budapest falls. The Hungarian government evacuates to Debrecen. Following the violence in Berlin that March, the King of Prussia withdraws to his palace at Potsdam, surrounded by loyal troops and conservative advisers, including a 33-year-old aristocrat named Otto von Bismarck. When asked for his view on what should be done, Bismarck says nothing but leans over to a piano and taps out the march of the Prussian infantry. The forces of conservatism are strong in Prussia, with deep loyalty to the state and the king. Allies like Bismarck adopt the enemy’s tactics, launching conservative political organizations and newspapers to mobilize support.

By November, King Frederick William has noted the infighting of his opponents and the defeat of the Vienna Revolution. He decides to act, ordering General von Gagern to lead 13,000 troops into Berlin. They enter the city unopposed and order the Prussian assembly to disperse. It has no option but to comply. Prussia will get its constitution, but it is one handed down by the king, under which he retains full executive power.

Russian dreams of a true parliamentary system, even a republic, are dashed in December. Two new players take the stage who will play key roles in shaping the fate of Europe’s revolutions. In Vienna, Emperor Ferdinand abdicates in favor of his 18-year-old nephew, Franz Joseph, who will reign until his death in 1916. In Paris, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Emperor Napoleon, is elected president of the French Republic in a landslide victory. He promises to heal divisions, restore order, and bring France back to her former glory.

In Italy, the tumult continues into 1849. In the Papal States, the reforms of Pope Pius IX had seen him held up as an unlikely liberal role model. However, escalating radicalism and violence, notably the assassination of his justice minister, Pelino Rossi, cause Pope Pius to flee Rome. In his absence, a Roman Republic is declared, led by Giuseppe Mazzini, the iconic figurehead of Italian nationalism who has devoted his life to the unification of his homeland. However, elsewhere, the Italian cause fares badly. Carlo Alberto resumes his war with Austria, suffering disastrous consequences at the Battle of Novara, where Radetzky inflicts another heavy defeat. Carlo Alberto abdicates in favor of his son, Vittorio Emanuele II, to avoid a republican revolution. Twelve years later, he will become the first king of a modern united Italy.

In the south, Ferdinand reverts to absolute rule and sends troops to Sicily to stamp out the revolution. To the dismay of liberals across Europe, French President Louis Napoleon sends troops to crush the Republic of Rome and restore the pope to his throne, prioritizing the support of French Catholics over the fate of Italian Republicans. French forces are led by General Oudinot, son of the famous marshal. Despite skilled and courageous resistance, Rome is forced to surrender after a two-month siege. That summer, Radetzky also retakes Venice, ending its republic.

In March, the German national parliament in Frankfurt finally agrees on a constitution for a united Germany, to be a constitutional monarchy under an emperor. The man intended to play this role is Frederick William of Prussia. However, when he declines the offer, the plan is killed. He publicly states it is impossible without the consent of the other German princes and privately says he would never accept a crown from the gutter. Disgraced by the stinker revolution, revolts in support of the national constitution break out in Saxony, the Palatinate, and the Grand Duchy of Baden, but they are crushed by local forces assisted by Prussian troops. The Frankfurt Parliament itself is dissolved, and what hope there had been for a united Germany under a liberal constitution lies in ruins.

In Austria, the new Emperor Franz Joseph issues his own new constitution, reclaiming almost all political power and revoking all the liberal reforms passed by the Hungarian Parliament, known as the April Laws. In response, Kossuth declares formal Hungarian independence, and the country begins an extraordinary campaign of military mobilization. Hungarian Commander General Görgei retakes Budapest and launches a bloody assault on Buda Castle, overpowering its Austrian garrison. In desperation, the Austrian Emperor travels to Warsaw to formally request military aid from the Emperor of Russia. Russian troops have already moved into Moldavia and then Wallachia to put down the Romanian liberal revolution. Nicholas now agrees to send troops to Hungary to crush those he describes as the enemies of order and tranquility. Hungary faces an impossible strategic situation, surrounded and outnumbered more than two to one. The combined onslaught is irresistible, and the Hungarian forces are driven south and finally forced to surrender. In the aftermath, around 100 to 120 Hungarian politicians and army officers are executed.

Thus ends Hungary’s war of independence. The year 1848 was a year like no other, a series of seismic political events following one upon another like falling dominoes. But what had been achieved? A British historian famously described 1848 as the turning point at which modern history failed to turn. For all the euphoria of Europe’s Springtime of the Peoples, by 1849 it seemed that counter-revolutionaries had won everywhere. However, some gains did endure, such as the abolition of serfdom in Austria and the popular vote in France, though France became a little less democratic in 1852 after Louis Napoleon made himself Emperor.

Across Europe, governments modernized and paid more attention to economic and social issues, partly in response to the new challenges that had emerged from socialist and working-class politics. The causes of German and Italian unification had been defeated but made giant strides and learned crucial lessons. Their goals would not be achieved by ideas alone but through the realities of force. In the words of Bismarck, the great questions of the day were to be settled not through speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood. It would be wars waged by powerful monarchies that united Germany and Italy. The legacy of 1848, for good and ill, would be felt for decades to come.

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