19th Century European Revolutions: 1820s & 1830s Upheavals

19th Century European Revolutions

Three Waves: 1820, 1830, 1848

In the nineteenth century, there were three main revolutionary waves: 1820, 1830, and 1848. The term 'wave' is used because, typically, a revolution began in a specific nation and from there spread to other countries.

Driving Ideologies: Liberalism & Nationalism

In these revolutions, liberalism and nationalism often acted together, with one predominantly influencing the other, but democratic ideals also played a significant role. Liberals and Democrats were distinguished mainly by the type of suffrage they advocated for:

• Liberals defended census suffrage or restricted suffrage. For liberals, who staged the first revolutions, only individuals appearing in a census as property owners or contributors (based on their income) should be entitled to vote, which excluded the popular classes. Thus, liberalism was identified as a bourgeois ideology, which was the dominant kind.
• Democrats favored universal suffrage. They believed that all men were entitled to vote, regardless of income, although it should be noted that even into the twentieth century, this right was still denied to women.

Revolutions of the 1820s

In the early 1820s, the first challenge to the system of the Restoration emerged, driven by liberalism and nationalism.

Liberal Challenges to Restoration

Liberal uprisings broke out in different parts of Europe, such as Spain or Italy, against absolutism and to defend the Constitution. The Holy Alliance, acting under its founding objective to ensure stability, intervened to suppress these movements. These revolutions eventually failed.

Greek Independence: A Nationalist Victory

Inspired by nationalism, an insurrection of the Greeks against the Turks occurred in 1821. After a long and bloody war, Greece gained independence in 1830.

Revolutions of 1830

In 1830, revolution broke out again in France.

France's July Revolution & Monarchy

The motive was King Charles X's decision to suspend the Charter granted by his predecessor, Louis XVIII. During three days in July, known as the 'Three Glorious Days' (Les Trois Glorieuses), the streets of Paris were filled with barricades, and people protested against the Bourbons. Charles X, likely vividly remembering what had happened to Louis XVI, abdicated. The Restoration had come to an end in France.

Louis Philippe was named King of the French. This initially raised high expectations among liberals, but he simply made some modifications to the granted Charter and introduced some symbolic gestures, such as the adoption of the tricolor flag and a change in masculine court fashion: replacing aristocratic culottes (knee-breeches) with bourgeois trousers that reached the ankles. However, workers and the petty bourgeoisie still lacked secure rights.

Belgian Independence & Other Uprisings

Liberal movements also emerged in other places, such as Poland and Italy. But the only lasting success of a nationalist nature was the independence of Belgium, which separated from the Kingdom of the Netherlands (established by the Congress of Vienna).