CHAPTER 16

THE REVOLUTIONS

OF 1848

I he year 1848 was the year of barricades in Europe, the
“springtime of the peoples.” Few took note when an uprising occurred in
January 1848 in Palermo, Sicily, against King Ferdinand II of Naples. But
when a revolution drove Louis-Philippe from the throne of France in Feb­
ruary, nationalists exiled in London, Brussels, Paris, and Zurich excitedly
returned to their native lands, convinced that their time had come. Every­
thing seemed possible.
The establishment of a republic in France became the catalyst for revolu­
tionary movements in Central Europe. In the face of clumsy attempts by
governments to repress opposition by force, street insurgency and barricades
forced the rulers of Prussia, Austria, and several other German and Italian
states to accept more liberal constitutions when confronted by determined
crowds. The existence of the Habsburg monarchy was threatened by insur­
rections against its rule. People in Lombardy and Venetia in northern Italy,
and Czechs, Poles, and South Slavs put forth demands for autonomy. In Aus­
tria, liberals demanded political reforms, while some German speakers
sought inclusion in a unified Germany. Magyar nobles forcefully asserted
demands for Hungarian autonomy. Turkish and Russian troops put down an
uprising by Romanian nationalists in Bucharest. Of the European powers,
only Britain (the most economically and politically advanced) and Russia (the
most economically backward) did not experience revolutions. Yet in Britain,
the Chartist petition campaign for the extension of political rights revived in
1848 with news from the continent. Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), a bar­
rister, had stimulated national awareness among Irish peasants. The radical
Irish Confederation grouped militants determined to work for indepen­
dence. The government feared an Irish uprising and searched ships arriving
from the United States for weapons. In several countries, monarchs capitu­
lated to liberal demands. In Sweden, the king appointed a new, more popu­
lar government. Danish nationalists pressured their king to grant a liberal
constitution. The Netherlands received a new constitution in October

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