The 1848 Revolutions and Why They Failed

Often neglected, mocked gently and greeted with excessive sarcasm by historians, the 1848 revolutions of Europe were the largest revolutionary wave to strike the continent. They were a series of political upheavals and revolts in Europe that affected over 50 countries (with practically no coordination), toppling monarchies and reaching from Paris to Prague. Led by the united middle (particularly the bourgeoisie) and working classes in response to rampant absolutism by the ruling upper class and the feudal-serfdom systems, the revolutions faltered soon after due to inevitable differences between the classes.

You'd be forgiven if you haven't heard of any of these events before. By the end of 1848, all these uprisings had failed, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands and exile of thousands more. The only real lasting reforms being the abolition of the serfdom in Austro-Hungary, the end of the Capetian monarchy in France and the end of absolute rule in Denmark.

Painting of Battle at Soufflot barricades at Rue Soufflot Street on 24 June 1848. Horace Vernet

But what caused all this?

Historians (surprisingly) have managed to agree that the revolutions were a result of six factors:

• widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; 
• demands for more participation in government and democracy;
• demands for freedom of press; 
• the general demands of the working classes; 
• the upsurge of nationalism; 
• the regrouping of the reactionary forces based on the royalty, the aristocracy, the army, and the peasants

It should also be considerated that Europe was plagued with a severe famine in 1846 which drove up the prices of crops such as grain, whilst wages remained largely stagnant. Profits plummeted and tens of thousands of workers were laid off. With this high unemployment and high prices, the scene was set for a liberal revolt.

Fair enough. What really happened though?

A map of Europe, showing the major events of 1848 and 1849.

Good question. Though the earliest revolt in the year was the Sicilian revolution in January 1848, things started rolling when the middle and working class French of Paris openly revolted against oppression (see Campagne des banquets) on 22 February and managed to topple the monarchy by 24 February, thus proclaiming the second French Republic.In December, Louis Napoleon, nephew of the former emperor, was voted into office as president.

A revolutionary wave was sparked. In March, protests in the German states and Prussia resulted in reform and the establishment of a Prussian assembly respectively. With the autocracy in chaos, the liberals of the German states (civil servants, lawyers and intellectuals) met in Frankfurt in May to discuss plans to form a united, liberal Germany with the Kaisar of Prussia at the helm. The Kaisar refused, dooming such hopes.

In Austria, students, workers, and middle class liberals revolted in Vienna, setting up a constituent assembly. In Budapest, the Magyars led a movement of national autonomy in March. Similarly, in Prague, the Czechs revolted in the name of self-government. In August 1848, the Austrian army soundly defeated every revolt in its empire. In Vienna, in Budapest, in Prague, the Austrians legions crushed the liberal and democratic movements, returning the empire to the conservative establishment that ruled at the beginning of 1848.

The Danish peasantry and liberals marched upon Copenhagen, demanding the end of absolute rule by the Danish monarchy while still calling for a centralised state. The Danish King accepted a new constitution, establishing a parliament of the people.

Other revolts that took place include the Famine Revolt in Ireland, the Wallachian revolution in present-day Romania, the Greater Poland rebellion amongst others.

Sounds awesome! How did they fail?

Endless pragmatism. But really, the classes were united in their discontent towards the ruling upper class. Once they were overthrown, it was a matter of time before the unlikely alliance between the bourgeoisie and the workers crumbled down.

The revolutions probably failed due to lack of organization. In Austria, for example, the revolts in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest maintained no communication among them, allowing the Austrian army to attend to each in isolation, without a united front. Finally, the return of conservative and reactionary forces was probably due to the middle class. Another reason why the revolutions failed was because moderate liberals of the middle class feared the radicalism of the workers, preventing any type of lasting alliance. Therefore, when radicals took control of the revolutions in Paris and in eastern Europe, the middle class liberals turned their backs, preferring absolute rule and law and order, to the uncertainty of radical revolution.

And the concessions? In Prussia, the promised assembly had little power and was constituted by the aristocratic elite. In Austria, a new emperor, Franz Josef I, continued Austrian dominance over all the minorities of eastern Europe. To summarise, nothing had come of the revolutions of 1848.

A caricature by Ferdinand Schröder on the defeat of the revolutions of 1848/49 in Europe

Further reading:

•  Revolutions of 1848 by Encyclopedia Britannica
• The Revolution in Europe 1848 -- 1849: From Reform to Reaction. Edited by R. J. W. Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann (New York, Oxford University Press, 2000) 250 pp.
• The European Revolutions, 1848–1851 by Jonathan Sperber
• Revolutions of 1848 by SUNY Suffolk
• German Revolution of 1848 and Historiography in the German Democratic Republic by John F. Flynn

A Very Brief History of St. Patrick's Day

This may be a late blog post but nonetheless, on the occasion of St. Patrick's Day, I thought it would be fitting.

St. Patrick's day is held every year on March the 17th, and is held in honour of St. Patrick.

 St. Patrick was a Romano-Briton , born in the fourth century AD in present-day Britain , who practically introduced Christianity to Ireland and hence become the most popular of Ireland's patron saints.

Interestingly, St. Patrick wasn't even Irish, but was of Scottish-Roman English descent. His real name was said to have been Maewyn Succat. Due to his Anglicized Roman name, he eventually became known as Patrick.

St. Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903. The first St. Patrick's Day parade in the Irish Free State was staged in Dublin in 1931. Curiously, the parade in Montreal was first held almost 100 years earlier -- in 1824. It's one of the longest running St. Patty's Day parades in North America.

 St. Patrick is probably one of the most iconic figures of Irish culture; with legends of him banishing the snakes from Ireland to him explaining the concept of trinity to the pagan Irish by using the Shamrock plant

The Shamrock, otherwise known as the Irish clover

The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire (hence everything is green!) , public parades and processions, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol,

Saint Patrick's day is a national holiday in Ireland and is widely celebrated amongst the Irish diaspora.

If you'd like more insight, here are some works:
About Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick's Day

Explain To Me : Ireland's 20th Century History

A country I find intriguing is Ireland. For some reason, it reminds distinctively of Bahrain (perhaps my readers could point out why ?) so I had thought it would be fair to post an essay about Ireland in the 20th Century.

Ireland's British problem (or Britain's Irish problem) has been a dominant theme of United Kingdom politics between 1914-1922 and since 1969 (refer to The Troubles). In September 1914, a political solution to British-Irish relations seemed to have been made.

A Home Rule Act, granting limited self government, was passed by the Westminster Parliament but was suspended for the duration of the First World War. However, by 1922, Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.

The Easter Rising,of which Eamon de Valera was a leader in.(Image not mine)

The latter was a state within the British Empire with internal self-government. These political developments occurred mainly because of the effects of a failed armed rebellion (known as the Easter Rising) against British rule made by extreme Nationalists in Dublin in 1916,

From the founding of the Irish Free State to the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1949, some Irish politicians attempted gradually to weaken the links with the British Empire. The most notable (and perhaps controversial) was Eamon de Valera.

From 1932 to 1937, he severed many of these links. In 1937, he introduced a new constitution that created an independent republic "in all but name". In addition, he laid claim to Northern Ireland as part of a united Ireland. In 1949, Ireland became a fully independent sate outside the Commonwealth.

Northern Ireland did receive Home Rule. From 1921 to 1972, it was dominated by the Ulster Unionist party (Ulster being the traditional name for the region that comprised of Northern Ireland). This party was predominantly Protestant and discriminated heavily against Catholics, who were seen as Nationalists who wanted a united Ireland.

By 1968, Catholic civil rights (coinciding with the American Civil Rights era) had become a major issue in Northern Ireland politics. It sparked off a Protestant unionist reaction that led to major sectarian violence in 1969.

A textbook scene of The Troubles. Bombings were common occurrences.

The British government first sent troops to Northern Ireland in 1969 in an attempt to maintain law and order. In 1972, the British government suspended the Northern Ireland Parliament and ruled the area directly from London.

From 1969 to 1998, Northern Ireland was badly affected by political violence. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Loyalist paramilitary groups engaged in guerrilla warfare and sectarian murder. Successive British governments, both of the Labour and Conservative parties, have attempted to find a political solution.

Attempts to involve both Nationalists and Unionists in government failed. In 1985, a new attempt was made with the Anglo-Irish (Hillsborough) Agreement (actual document here), signed under the Thatcher era, which involved co-operation between the British and Irish governments.

By the 1990s, attempts to solve the conflict in Northern Ireland involved a fusion of previous attempts at a political solution: co-operation in government between political parties within Northern Ireland and co-operation between Britain and Ireland.

Whether a permanent political solution is to be found, will depend on an end to political violence and the disarming of armed paramilitary groups.

Debunking 4 History Myths

This post will feature 5 frequently asked questions about various aspects of History ranging from the Roman and Classical era till the Modern day.

1. Did the Romans keep track of executions and had kept Criminal Records?

Ans:) While most historians do not know if the Romans in fact, kept criminal records, what is known is that it is highly unlikely that Romans had kept records of executions.  In fact, one of the few sources that show the number of executions was recorded, was when Crassus had ordered the crucifixtion of 6,000 slaves at the end of the Gladiator War (read more here).

Another reason why historians believe that Romans didn't keep criminal records was because of the expensiveness of paper at that time.

      2. Why did Most Nazis flee to South America after the Second World War?

Ans:) The best answer historians can say is that South America (specifically Argentina) offered a safe-haven to Nazis, a far place where no one would suspect them being there. Of course, to add to their attractiveness, a large German population was present in Argentina (more information here).

And for one other reason, the Peron regime of Argentina was very profitable for them to work in, compared to war-torn Europe, at the time.

     3. Did an Irishman discover America ?

Ans:) Vikings have been to Vineland (believed to be North America) way before Columbus did. But what most people are asking; did an Irishman by the name of St. Brendan actually discover America before the Vikings had (484 AD).

St Brendan and his monks, landing in Newfoundland ?

Now while there aren't any real records to prove this ever happened, it is deemed plausible by historians, especially when considering that the remains of Catholic missionaries that predated Columbus were found in North America.

So until the present day, it still remains a myth. (Read more here)

     4. Does the crescent really signify Islam ?

Ans:) The crescent is seen as a symbol of Islam these days, ever since it was adopted by the Ottoman Empire. However, during the time of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), There were no symbols so one cannot say that the crescent was an original symbol. Perhaps it is a link to the Hijra Calendar, which itself is a Lunar calendar (based on the moon) ?

Some say it was an old Byzantine symbol that was adopted by the Ottomans after the fall of Constantinople.
Historians believe the symbol dates prior to the Islamic era but was adopted by the Ottomans. It is widely accepted predominately due to its close link to the Hijra Calendar.

That concludes the post for today, I hoped you enjoyed it.