European Revolutions and Political Shifts: 1789-1848

European Political Upheavals: 1789–1848

Causes of Liberal Revolts

Causes included financial crises, political marginalization, and demands for tax reform. Surveys conducted by liberal activists and soldiers aimed to stop absolutism in various countries.

Waves of Revolution

• 1830: Revolutions affected Europe. Success was seen in Central Europe, and Belgium became independent of Holland.
• 1848: Revolts involving workers, unions, and political parties. A popular movement started in France, leading to a reversion to authoritarian monarchy.

Key Concepts

• Holy Alliance: A common European army established to oppose liberal revolutions.
• Suffrage Censitari (Censitary Suffrage): The right to vote was restricted to those who possessed property.
• Universal Suffrage: The personal opinion was that everybody should be able to vote.

Political Ideologies

• Nationalism: A political ideology sustaining the right of peoples to decide their own destiny.
• Liberalism: A political system based on the rights of the individual.

Unifications and Democratic Emergence

The unifications of Italy and Germany were led by the most developed regions and achieved after intense armed conflicts. The bourgeoisie were the leading class in these new states.

The Spring of Peoples (1848) signified the emergence of democratic ideas.

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution (change occurring in England in the 19th century) consisted of replacing manual work with machines. The main branch developed was Textiles.

Phases of the French Revolution

Constitutional Monarchy (1789–1792)

• Storming of the Bastille (1789).
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789).
• Constitution of 1791.
• Assault on the royal palace.

The National Assembly began reforming France, establishing a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. The 1791 Constitution introduced indirect and censitary suffrage, dividing citizens into passive and active groups. A Legislative Assembly was formed.

Democratic Republic (1792–1794)

• Execution of Louis XVI.
• Constitution of 1793.
• Fall of the Jacobins (1794).

The Republic was initially in the hands of the Girondins. In the spring of 1793, the Republic faced danger from internal counter-revolutions. In 1793, the Jacobins gained power. Executive authority was held by the Committee of Public Safety, concentrating all power in Robespierre.

The Bourgeois Republic (1794–1799)

• Constitution of 1795.
• Return of exiles (1796).
• The Directory period.
• Coup of Napoleon (1799).

The conservative bourgeoisie regained control of the Revolution and enacted the 1795 Constitution. The new government aimed to return to the principles of the 1791 Constitution. In 1799, Napoleon staged a coup that ended the Directory and began a new era.