COMMON FEATURES / CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS

COMMON FEATURES / CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS

The 1848 Revolutions in Europe had common features. The similar characteristics of these revolutions are found in the causes, course and consequences.

1. The origin of the 1848 Revolutions in Europe can be traced back to the French Revolution of 1789.

The revolution came with the ideas of equality, liberty, fraternity and nationalism that spread and contributed to the outbreak of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. It should be noted that the 1848

Revolutionaries used similar strategies and tactics that was adopted from the French revolutionaries.

2. Apart from France, the 1848 revolutions in other countries was a protest against the Vienna Settlement of 1815. The settlement imposed foreign rule and influence over smaller states. For instance, Austrian and Metternichian influence were imposed on the Hungarians, Italian and German states. Thus, the revolutions in these states were primarily to undo the Vienna settlement and the Metternich system.

3. The revolutions were either liberal or nationalistic in nature. The revolutionaries aimed at achieving liberal or nationalistic goals. The revolutions in France and Austria were liberal because people had achieved political independence but were denied political liberties. However, the revolutions in Hungary, German and Italian states were both liberal and nationalistic. This is because the masses were struggling for political liberty as well as independence.

It should be noted that the outcome of these revolutions strengthened the forces of nationalism and liberalism, which led to the unifications of Italy and Germany by 1871. This is because the revolutions led to the rise of Bismarck, Cavour and Victor Emmanuel who learnt lessons from the revolutions and championed the unification of both nations.

4. The immediate events that sparked off the 1848 revolutions were the effects of natural disasters and epidemic diseases. Bad weather and epidemic diseases led to famine and psychological problems in the agrarian economies of France and the Austrian Empire, which conditioned the outbreak of the revolutions in those states.

5. The 1848 revolutions were more pronounced in less industrialized states and those who depended on agriculture (agrarian economies). It was because agricultural states are more vulnerable to the devastating impact of natural calamities and diseases. This explains why the agrarian economies of France and the Austrian empire experienced the revolutions while the industrialized states of Britain and Belgium survived.

6. The timing and spread of the revolutions provides yet another common feature. All these revolutions broke out in the same year, i.e. 1848 from January to June. The spread of the revolutions were contagious and sequential i.e. it started from Sicily and spread like a bush fire to other Italian states, France, German states, Austria and Hungary.

7. The 1848 revolutions were also characterized by lack of foreign assistance and foreign intervention.

The revolutions broke out in the same year and countries who were busy suppressing the revolutions could not give foreign assistance to revolutions in other countries. Those who survived the revolutions were also tied by political disturbances and shocks that they could not also support revolutions outside their boundaries. On the contrary, there was foreign intervention, which led to the failure of the revolutions in different states. France suppressed the revolution in Rome and frustrated the success of the revolution in Italy, Russia suppressed the revolution in Hungary and Austria did the same in Italian and German states.

8. Military weakness and lack of support from domestic army (except France) are other characteristics of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. The revolutionary armies were poorly armed, coordinated, trained and disorganized. They lacked support from domestic armies, which explains why the ruling kings used the army to suppress the revolutions.

9. The 1848 revolutions were urban based. There was poor mobilization that left the revolutions confined to a few cities and towns like Paris and Versailles in France, Vienna in Austria, Budapest and Press burg in Hungary, Milan in Piedmont and Berlin in Prussia. This is because urban centers were administrative areas, which made it the target of the middle class and intellectuals who were also residents in such cities and towns. The other reason is that urban centers had the greatest impact of side effects of industrial revolution. Besides, workers were also resident in such urban centers, which explain why they massively participated in the revolutions.

10. The Revolutions were led by intellectuals and financed by the middle class. These included university students, lectures, professors, journalists, lawyers and other professionals. For example, Mazzini in Italy, Stephan Bora in Prussia, Louis Blanc and Lamartine in France and Kossuth in Hungary. This explains why the rural peasants did not participate in the revolutions. It's for this reason that some historians have described the 1848 Revolutions as Intellectual movements of1848-1850.

11. The 1848 revolutionaries were divided along ideological, racial, religious and social lines. The Italians were divided between the supporters of the Pope, Mazzini and Charles Albert. The Germans were divided into North German states, which supported Prussia and South German states, which supported Austria. Besides, there were betrayers and cowards like Charles Albert of piedmont, Pope Pius ix of the Papal states, Fredrick William IV of Prussia and Kossuth (betrayed Croats and Slovenes) of Hungary. All these, explain the failure of the revolutions in such states. This was precisely because the existing kings who could have supported the revolutions declined to do so.

12. The failure of the revolutions by 1850 is yet another similar characteristic of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. Due to military weakness, disunity, economic backwardness, foreign intervention etc, the revolutions in Austria, Hungary, Italian and German states were completely suppressed by 1850. The earlier concessions such as parliamentary democracy and constitutional rule were also withdrawn. In France, the second French republic, which was a great success of the 1848 revolutionaries, was dissolved by Napoleon III who replaced it with an empire in 1851. However, there were permanent achievements like destruction of feudalism and serfdom, constitutional rule and parliamentary democracy.

13. Lastly, the revolutions were characterized by heavy bloodshed, destruction of property and exile to thousands of people. The counter revolutionary measures by the existing governments led to the loss of thousands of lives and self-exile of key suspects. There were also key revolutionary targets like Metternich who fled to exile. Besides, there was destruction of infrastructure and other valuable assets during the revolutions