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From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg's Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Throughout the empire, multiple national movements attempted to step outside the power of the Habsburg rulers in Vienna. Within its boundaries lived Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Romanians, Serbs, Italians, and Croats. Image File history File links Information_icon. ...
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The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as...
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as...
Panthéon, Paris|Panthéon]] behind), Paris, June 1848. ...
// Germany at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 was a collection of 38 states including Austria loosely bound together in the German Confederation after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. ...
// The Italian states in 1848 As with Germany, there was no Italy at the time of the Revolutions of 1848, but a hodge-podge of states. ...
Greater Poland Uprising of 1848 (Polish: ) was a military insurrection of the Polish people in the Grand Duchy of Poznań (or the Greater Poland region) against the occupying Prussian forces, during the Spring of Nations period. ...
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as...
The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ...
Ruthenians is a name that has been applied to different ethnic groups at different times; for an explanation of the reasons for this, see Ruthenia. ...
Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia. ...
Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ...
Nationalism
In 1848 European states lacked the defined borders and national identity that is now associated with a nation-state. The majority of the population of Europe was excluded from the original conception of the nation throughout the continent; the natio included only the nobility. Nationalism demands that the nation be the highest political principle, therefore, subordinating dynastic and religious loyalty, linking it to the left of the political spectrum.[1] In this way, nationalism directly challenged the Habsburg Empire.
The early rumblings The events of 1848 and 1849 were the product of mounting social and political tensions after the Congress of Vienna of 1815. During the "Pre-March" period, the Austrian Empire moved away from Enlightenment ideas, restricted freedom of the press, and limited many university activities, including banning fraternities. The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ...
The Age of Enlightenment (French: Siècle des Lumières, German: Aufklärung) refers to the eighteenth century in European and American philosophy, or the longer period including the Age of Reason. ...
Social and political conflict Conflicts between debtors and creditors in agricultural production as well as over land use rights in parts of Hungary (and France) led to conflicts that occasionally erupted into violence. Pervasive in pre-1848 Europe, was conflict over organized religion. Tension came from both within the Catholicism and members of different confessions. These conflicts were often mixed with conflict with the state. Important for the revolutionaries, were state conflicts including the armed forces and collection of taxes. The revolutions the Empire crushed to maintain Metternich's Congress System, left the Empire nearly bankrupt and in continual need of soldiers. Draft commissions led to brawls between soldiers and civilians. All of this further agitated the peasantry, who resented remaining feudal obligations. Klemens Wenzel von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (May 15, 1773 – June 11, 1859) was an Austrian politician, statesman and one of the most important diplomats of his era. ...
The Concert of Europe describes the broad cooperation between Europes great powers after 1815. ...
Despite lack of freedom of the press and association, there was a flourishing liberal (German) culture among students and those educated either in Josephine schools or German universities. They published pamphlets and newspapers discussing education and language, a need for basic liberal reforms was assumed. These middle class liberals largely understood and accepted that forced robota labor is not efficient, and that the Empire should adopt a wage labor system. The question was of how to institute such reforms.
Direct cause of the outbreak of violence Social conflict between nobility and serfs erupted in revolution in 1846 killing thousands of Galician nobility. The economic crisis of 1845-47 was marked by recession and food shortages throughout the continent. At the end of February 1848, demonstrations broke out in Paris. French King Louis-Philippe abdicated the throne prompting similar revolts throughout the continent. Galician (Galician: galego) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia. ...
Louis-Philippe, King of the French (October 6, 1773 – August 26, 1850) reigned as the Orléanist king of the French from 1830 to 1848. ...
Revolution in the Austrian lands
An early victory leads to tension After news broke of victories in Paris, uprisings occurred throughout Europe, including in Vienna. Emperor Ferdinand reluctantly dismissed conservative minister, Prince Klemens von Metternich, who fled to London on March 13, and appointed new liberal ministers. The great speed of the collapsing of the established order was due to the weakness of their armies. Field Marshall Joseph Radetzky was unable to keep his soldiers fighting Milanese insurgents in Northern Italy, and had to, instead, order the remaining troops to evacuate. Emperor Ferdinand Ferdinand I Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marchlin Emperor of Austria King of Hungary and Bohemia (April 19, 1793 – June 29, 1875) succeeded his father (Franz II Holy Roman Emperor/Franz I of Austria) as Emperor and King in 1835 and was forced to abdicate in 1848. ...
Klemens Wenzel von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (May 15, 1773 – June 11, 1859) was an Austrian politician, statesman and one of the most important diplomats of his era. ...
Josef Graf von Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz (en: Count John Joseph Wenceslaus Radetzky von Radetz, in Czech: Jan Josef Václav hrabÄ› Radecký z RadÄe) (November 2, 1766 – January 5, 1858) was a Bohemian nobleman and soldier, immortalised by Johann Strauss Is Radetzky March. ...
Social and political conflict as well as inter and intra confessional hostility momentarily subsided as much of the continent rejoiced in the liberal victories. Mass political organizations and public participation in government became widespread.
However, liberal ministers were unable to establish central authority. Provisional governments in Venice and Milan quickly expressed desire to be part of a united Italian state, a new Hungarian government in Buda-Pest announced intentions to separate from the rest of the Empire and elect Ferdinand as its King, and a Polish National Committee announced the same for the province of Galicia.
Social and political tensions after the "Springtime of Peoples" The victory of the party of movement was looked at as an opportunity for lower classes to renew old conflicts with greater anger and energy. Several tax boycotts and attempted murders of tax collectors occurred in Vienna. Assaults against soldiers were common, including against Radetzky's troops retreating from Milan. The archbishop of Vienna was forced to flee, and in Graz, the convent of the Jesuits was destroyed.
The demands of nationalism and its contradictions became apparent as new national governments began declaring power and unity. Carlo Alberto, King of Piedmont-Savoy, initiated a nationalist war on March 23 in the Austrian held northern Italian provinces that would consume the attention of the entire peninsula. The German nationalist movement faced a crucial question of whether Austria should be included in the united German state. This question divided the Frankfurt National Assembly. The liberal ministers in Vienna were willing to allow elections for the German National Assembly in the Habsburg's lands, except, undetermined was in which part of the territory this would take place. Hungary and Galicia were not viable options; German nationalists felt the old crown lands rightfully belonged as part of a united German state, despite the fact that people of Bohemia and Moravia spoke Czech -- a Slavic language. Czech nationalists viewed the language as far more significant and called for a boycott of elections to the German National Assembly in Bohemia, Moravia, and neighboring Austrian Silesia. Tensions in Prague between German and Czech nationalists grew quickly between April and May. Charles Albert (October 2, 1798 – July 28, 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. ...
The Frankfurt Parliament is the name of the German National Assembly founded during the Revolutions of 1848 that tried to unite Germany in a democratic way. ...
The Frankfurt Parliament is the name of the German National Assembly founded during the Revolutions of 1848 that tried to unite Germany in a democratic way. ...
By early summer, conservative regimes had been overthrown, new freedoms (including freedom of the press and freedom of association) had been introduced, and multiple nationalist claims had been exerted. New parliaments quickly held elections with broad franchise to create constituent assemblies, which would write new constitutions. The elections that were held produced unexpected results. The new voters, naïve and confused by their new political power, typically elected conservative or moderately liberal representatives. The radicals, the ones who supported the broadest franchise, lost under the system they advocated because they were not the locally influential and affluent men. The mixed results led to confrontations similar to the "June Days" clash in Paris. Additionally, these constituent assemblies were charged with the impossible task of managing both the needs of the people of the state and determining what that state physically is at the same time. The Austrian Constituent Assembly was divided into a Czech faction, a German faction, and a Polish faction, and within each faction was the political left-right spectrum. Outside the Assembly, petitions, newspapers, mass demonstrations, and political clubs put pressure on their new governments and often expressed violently many of the debates that were occurring within the assembly itself. The June Days Uprising (French: les journées de Juin) refers to the workers revolt on June 21, 1848, after the closure of the National Workshops created by the Second Republic to give work to the unemployed. ...
Counter-Revolution On May 13, barricades were built in Naples, the capital city of the Italian radicals. Insurgents quickly lost in street fighting to King Ferdinand's troops led by General Radetzky, prompting several liberal government ministers to resign in protest. Ferdinand, now restored to power in Vienna, appointed conservatives in their places. These actions were a blow against revolutionaries. By August most of northern Italy was under Radetzky's control. In Bohemia, the leaders of both the German and Czech nationalist movements were both constitutional monarchists, loyal to the Habsburg Emperor. Only a few days after the Emperor reconquered northern Italy, Prince Alfred Windischgrätz took provocative measures in Prague to prompt street fighting. Once the barricades went up, he led Habsburg troops to crush the insurgents. After having taken back the city, he imposed martial law, ordered the Prague National Committee dissolved, and sent delegates to the "Pan-Slavic" Congress home. These events were heralded by German nationalists, who failed to understand that the Habsburg military would crush their own national movement as well. Josef Graf von Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz (en: Count John Joseph Wenceslaus Radetzky von Radetz, in Czech: Jan Josef Václav hrabÄ› Radecký z RadÄe) (November 2, 1766 – January 5, 1858) was a Bohemian nobleman and soldier, immortalised by Johann Strauss Is Radetzky March. ...
Alfred Candidus Ferdinand, Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz (also written zu Windisch-Grätz, or zu Windischgrätz), (May 11, 1787, Brussels — March 21, 1862, Vienna) was an Austrian army officer who distinguished himself throughout the wars fought by the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th century. ...
Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid 19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic people. ...
Attention then turned to Hungary (which will be discussed in more detail in the next section). War in Hungary again threatened imperial rule and prompted Emperor Ferdinand and his court to once more flee Vienna. Viennese radicals welcomed the arrival of Hungarian troops as the only force able to stand up against the court and ministry. The radicals took control of the city for only a short period of time. General Windischgrätz led soldiers from Prussia to quickly defeat the insurgents. Windischgrätz restored imperial authority to the city. The reconquering of Vienna was seen as a defeat over German nationalism. However, it put an end to the power of all constitutional monarchists in the capital, as Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne to his nephew Franz Joseph. Parliamentarians continued to debate, but had no authority on state policy. Alfred Candidus Ferdinand, Fürst zu Windisch-Graetz (also written zu Windisch-Grätz, or zu Windischgrätz), (May 11, 1787, Brussels — March 21, 1862, Vienna) was an Austrian army officer who distinguished himself throughout the wars fought by the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th century. ...
Franz Joseph I. Francis Joseph I (in German Franz Josef I. (August 18, 1830 – November 21, 1916) of the Habsburg Dynasty was Emperor of Austria and King of Bohemia from 1848 until 1916, and Apostolic King of Hungary from 1867 until 1916. ...
Ethnic disputes Of all the nationalities—Germans, Czechs, Italians, Slovenes, Poles, Serbs, Croats, Slovaks, Romanians, and Hungarians—the Hungarians pushed hardest for self-determination. Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ...
In Hungary, a new national cabinet took power under Lajos Kossuth, and the Diet (parliament) approved a sweeping reform package—referred to as the March Laws—that changed almost every aspect of Hungary's economic, social, and political life, giving the Magyar nobility and lower gentry in the parliament control over its own military, its budget, and foreign policy. Lajos Kossuth Lajos Louis Kossuth [] (Monok, September 19, 1802–Turin, March 20, 1894) was a Hungarian lawyer, politician and Regent-President of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1849. ...
The Czechs held a Pan-Slav congress in Prague, primarily composed of Austroslavs who wanted greater freedom within the Empire, but their status as peasants and proletarians surrounded by a German middle class doomed their autonomy. They also disliked the prospect of annexation of Bohemia to a German Empire. Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid 19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic people. ...
Nickname: City of a Hundred Spires Motto: Praga Caput Rei publicae Location within the Czech Republic Coordinates: Country Czech Republic Region Capital City of Prague Founded 9th century - Mayor Pavel Bém Area - City 496 km² (191. ...
Distribution of Races in Austria-Hungary, showing the areas inhabited by Slavic peoples (from the Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1911) Austroslavism was a political concept and program aimed to solve problems of Slavic peoples in the Austrian Empire. ...
The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. ...
Both the Czech and Italian revolutions were defeated by the Habsburgs, by some means or other—more on the Italians below. Prague was the first victory of counter-revolution in the Austrian Empire.
On the meeting of the peoples of the Empire that was held in Bratislava, the Serbs had pleaded for the acknowledgement of their nation, education in their language, and their separate region. Lajos Kossuth, the leader of Hungary, rebuffed them, and announced that "The only nation that exists in the Hungarian Kingdom is the Magyar nation" and that "the rebels should be punished by sword". Bratislava (see below for other names) is the capital of Slovakia, and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ...
Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia. ...
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Louis Kossuth [] (Monok, September 19, 1802–Turin, March 20, 1894) was a Hungarian lawyer, politician and Regent-President of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1849. ...
Revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary -
The Hungarian Diet (parliament) was reconvened in 1825 to handle financial needs. A liberal party emerged in the Diet. The party focused on providing for the peasantry in mostly symbolic ways because of their inability to understand the needs of the laborers. Lajos Kossuth emerged as the leader of the lower gentry in the Diet. The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many revolutions that year and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. ...
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Louis Kossuth [] (Monok, September 19, 1802–Turin, March 20, 1894) was a Hungarian lawyer, politician and Regent-President of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1849. ...
News of the outbreak of revolution in barcelona arrived as a new national cabinet took power under Kossuth, and the Diet approved a sweeping reform package, referred to as the "April Laws", that essentially created an autonomous national kingdom of Hungary with the Habsburg Emperor as its king. They also demanded that the Hungarian government receive and expend all taxes raised in Hungary and have authority over Hungarian regiments in the Habsburg army. Further, the new laws ended the special status of Transylvania and Croatia-Slavonia. These demands were not easy for the imperial court to accept, however, its weak position provided little choice. One of the first tasks of the Diet was abolishing serfdom, which they did rather quickly.
The declaration of the new liberal government did not lead to national unity, but to proclamations of many new national movements.
The Hungarian government set limits on the political activity of both the Croatian and Romanian national movements. Slavs and Romanians had their own desires for self-rule and saw no benefit in replacing one central government for another. Armed clashes between the Hungarians and the Croats, Romanians, Serbs, along one border and Slovaks on the other ensued. Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ...
Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia. ...
Croatia-Slavonia severed relations with the new Hungarian government in Pest and devoted itself to the imperial cause. Conservative Josip Jelačić, who was appointed the new Ban, or provincial governor of Croatia-Slavonia, in March by the imperial court, was removed from his position by the constitutional monarchist Hungarian government. He refused to give up his authority in the name of the monarch. Thus, there were two governments in Hungary issuing contradictory orders in the name of Ferdinand von Habsburg.[2] Motto: none (Historically Antemurale Christianitatis (Latin), Bulwark of Christianity) Anthem: Lijepa naÅ¡a domovino Our beautiful homeland Croatia() on the European continent() — [] Capital (and largest city) Zagreb Official languages Croatian1 Government Republic - President Stjepan Mesić - Prime minister Ivo Sanader Independence - SFR Yugoslavia dissolved June 25, 1991 - from Habsburg monarchy October...
Josip Jelačić of Bužim (born 1801 in Petrovaradin, died 1859 in Zagreb; also spelled Jellachich) was the Ban of Croatia between March 23rd, 1848 and May 19, 1859. ...
Aware that they were on the path to civil war in the summer of 1848, the Hungarian government ministers attempted to gain Habsburg support against Jelačić by offering to send troops to northern Italy. Additionally, they attempted to come to terms with Jelačić himself, but he insisted on the recentralization of Habsburg authority as a pre-condition to any talks. By the end of August, the imperial government in Vienna officially ordered the Hungarian government in Pest to end plans for a Hungarian army. Jelačić then took military action against the Hungarian government without any official order.
With war raging on three fronts (against the Croats, in the Banat, and in Transylvania), Hungarian radicals in Pest saw this as an opportunity. Parliament made concessions to the radicals in September rather than let the events erupt into violent confrontations. Shortly thereafter, the final break between Vienna and Pest occurred when Field Marshall Count Lamberg was given control of all armies in Hungary (including Jelačić's). In response to Lamberg being attacked on arrival in Hungary a few days later, the imperial court ordered the Hungarian parliament and government dissolved. Jelačić was appointed to take Lamberg's place. War between Austria and Hungary had officially begun.
The war led to the October Crisis in Vienna, when insurgents attacked a garrison on its way to Hungary to support Jelačić's forces. After Vienna was recaptured by imperial forces, General Windischgrätz and 70,000 troops were sent to Hungary to crush the last challenge to the Austrian Empire. By the end of December, the Hungarian government evacuated Pest.
The Second Wave of revolutions Revolutionary movements of 1849 faced an additional challenge: to work together to defeat a common enemy. Previously, national identity allowed Habsburg forces to conquer revolutionary governments by playing them off one another. New democratic initiatives in Italy in the spring of 1848 led to a renewed conflict with Austrian forces in the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia. At the one year anniversary of the first barricades in Vienna, German and Czech democrats in Bohemia agreed to put mutual hostilities aside and work together on revolutionary planning. Hungarians faced the greatest challenge of overcoming the divisions of the previous year, as the fighting there had been the most bitter. Despite this, the Hungarian government hired a new commander and attempted to unite with Romanian democrat, Avram Iancu. However, division and mistrust were too severe.
Three days after the start of hostilities in Italy, Carlo Alberto abdicated the throne, essentially ending the Piedmontese return to war. Renewed military conflicts cost the Empire the little that remained of its finances. Another challenge to Habsburg authority came from Germany and the question of either "big Germany" (united Germany led by Austria) or "little Germany" (united Germany led by Prussia). The Frankfurt National Assembly demanded the entire Austrian Empire, including Hungary, be united with the German provinces. In the end, Friedrich Wilhelm refused to accept the constitution written by the Assembly. Prince Schwarzenberg dissolved the Austrian Constituent Assembly in March 1849, and, instead, adopted by decree a new constitution for the Empire. It left virtually all the power in the hands of the emperor, rejecting even pre-1848 status quo by eliminating the Hungarian Diet. To finally suppress Kossuth's Hungarian forces, the Empire asked for Russian intervention. Austria and Russia successfully defeated Hungarian insurgents by August of 1849, bringing the revolutions of 1848 to an end.
References - ^ Jonathan Sperber, The European Revolutions, 1848-1851, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 91.
- ^ Jonathan Sperber, The European Revolutions, 1848-1851, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 143.
Further reading - Robin Okey, The Habsburg Monarchy c. 1765-1918: From Enlightenment to Eclipse, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).
- Jonathan Sperber, The European Revolutions, 1848-1851, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
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