Unit 2: The Age of Revolution (1789-1870)

"In our country we wish to substitute morality for egotism, probity for honour, principles for conventions, duties for etiquette, the empire of reason for the tyranny of customs, contempt for vice for contempt for misfortune, pride for insolence, the love of honour for the love of money… that is to say, all the virtues and miracles of the Republic, for all the vices and snobbishness of the monarchy."

Maximilien Robespierre, speech on virtue and terror before the National Convention, 1794

1) The American Revolution: the birth of the United States of America

Enlightenment ideas crossed the Atlantic and gave birth to a series of thinkers who lived in the English colonies in the north. These men, known as the “Founding Fathers,” were the inspirations for independence. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were some of them.

In North America there were 13 British colonies, prosperous and rich in resources. The relationship with the mother country was not good: in England the colonies had no parliamentary representation and, however, they had to pay numerous taxes, since they were rich provinces and the crown had been impoverished by the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The motto of the Americans was “No taxation without representation”. Tensions between King George III and the colonies grew to the point that the War of Independence (1775-1783) broke out. On July 4, 1776, independence was declared in the city of Philadelphia.

The war was won by the thirteen colonies - with the help of France and Spain, enemies of England - and thus the United States was born, which was established as a democracy from its origins, based on political liberalism according to enlightened ideas, especially those of John Locke. The constitution of the new country was promulgated in 1787 and, in 1789, George Washington was named its first president. From its birth until today, the United States has been a democratic republic, although its prosperity was largely built on slave labor.

Once independence was achieved, the conquest of the West began: driven by Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers and third president of the union, who did not want the European powers to get ahead of him, the newborn country expanded towards the inhospitable West. These new lands were conquered either by purchase or by war. The greatest victims were the Native American Indians, who died by the hundreds of thousands and whose survivors were displaced to live on reservations.

2) The French Revolution (1789-1799)

The French Revolution, which took place between 1789 and 1799, was a crucial, watershed event in world history. It constitutes the end of the Ancien Régime in France and decisively influenced its end in the rest of Europe.

2.1. Social and Economic Causes:

France was in a terrible economic moment: they had spent a lot of money helping the 13 North American colonies become independent, the harvests were poor, and yet life at court was still lavish.

French society was divided into three esates of the realm (clergy, nobility and the Third Estate, which included the bourgeoisie, artisans, peasants and everyone who did not belong to the clergy or nobility). The tax burden fell mainly on the Third Estate, which generated resentment. Furthermore, Enlightenment ideas about individual rights and criticism of absolute monarchy influenced the thinking of the time.

2.2 Convocation of the Estates General (1789):

Faced with the financial crisis, King Louis XVI convened the Estates General, a parliament with the three estates of the realm, to see how to raise taxes and even make the nobility pay them. After a few sessions, the Third Estate felt ignored and they abandoned the Estates General to form their own meeting: the National Constituent Assembly (Tennis Court Oath). --> Review

2.3 The Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789):

The National Constituent Assembly, which represented the bourgeoisie and the people, confronted the king and the aristocracy. The storming of the Bastille, a prison where weapons and gunpowder were stored, marked the beginning of the popular revolt and symbolizes the beginning of the French Revolution. Today, the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille, July 14, is the French National Day.

2.4 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789) and First Constituion (September, 1791)

In Paris, the National Constituent Assembly abolishes feudal privileges and approves the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789), with equality before the law as a philosophy. The king has no choice but to give his approval to the revolutionaries.

In September 1791, a Constitution inspired by the great ideas of the Enlightenment was approved, which established: the division of powers, national sovereignty (Louis XVI is no longer "king of France", but "king of the French"), universal and free education, freedom of expression, religious freedom, right to private property, etc.

Louis XVI signed this constitution, but his word is in question.

At the end of 1791, the liberal bourgeoisie is happy: they have managed to make France a moderate constitutional monarchy, in which their rights and aspirations are recognized and they are the new ruling class, but not everything is happy. The common people are still unable to participate in politics. They feel like they have been deceived and betrayed. Tempers flare and minds become radicalized.

2.5 Radicalization and proclamation of the republic (1792)

The countries where the Ancien Régime still survives, and even those with moderate governments, are afraid that the revolution will spread to their countries and form a Coalition led by Austria to confront France. Thus began the Coalition Wars. The first of these coalitions were formed by: Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, England, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sardinia and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and were supported by the French royalists.

Austria and Prussia make an attempt to invade France, and France declares war on them on April 20, 1792. Louis XVI, who had signed the Constitution to please the revolutionaries, secretly conspires to make the Coalition win. The National Assembly proposes forming an army of volunteers to defend Paris, the king refuses and is accused of being a traitor by a good part of the deputies.

The war does not start well for Revolutionary France, and they lose some battles. The common people of Paris (sans-culottes) and some deputies of the main parties (Girondins and Jacobins) think that the king is conspiring against them and storm the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, where the entire royal family is arrested.

In September, the National Assembly changes its name to National Convention. His first action is to abolish the monarchy and proclaim the Republic.

2.6) The Republic of the Girondins (September 1792-June 1793)

The Girondins was a political party made up of members of the merchant bourgeoisie. Their leader was Jacques Brissot, and they wanted to establish in France a moderate liberal republic that guaranteed certain freedoms, which would be very beneficial for their businesses, but they rejected the social equality demanded by the sans-culottes and other more radical groups of the common people.

As representatives of the sans-culottes and the most revolutionary common people, another party was established: the Jacobins, rival of the Girondins. These Jacobins were not the majority in the National Convention, but they were in the streets, where they organized riots and revolts. With their leader Maximilien Robespierre at the helm, they lobbied for the king to be executed. After a swift trial full of fiery speeches, Louis XVI was guillotined in January 1793.

The situation was complicated: the execution of the king caused the First Coalition War to escalate, forcing the organization of new levies en masse. The rural population of the Vendée region, on the west coast, rebelled against levies and famine and ended up declaring a civil war between supporters and detractors of the revolution. Meanwhile, in Paris, the sans-culottes continue to demand social equality through street fighting.

2.7) The Republic of the Jacobins (June 1793-July 1794)

In this atmosphere of tension, the Jacobins accused the Girondists of ignoring popular demands and deposed the government by force, executing the Girondist leaders. The most relevant Jacobin leaders are Robespierre, Marat, D'Anton and Saint-Just.

They elaborated in 1793 a constitution (Constitution of the year I) more progressive than the one that existed, in which it is collected:

Popular sovereignty
Universal male suffrage
Right of rebellion against oppression

Other Jacobin reforms were:

-The law of the maximum (ceiling on the prices of basic necessities)

-Free and mandatory education

-The Republican Revolutionary Calendar

-Access of the popular classes to being officers in the army

All these reforms were opposed by the groups of moderate revolutionaries, conservatives and monarchists that still remained. The Jacobins decided to impose their reforms despotically, by force, and declared a state of war. They established a new government called the Committee of Public Safety and enacted the Law of Suspects, which basically meant that anyone who opposed the Jacobin Committee Public Safety would be arrested. This time is known as The Reign of Terror, and thousands of people were guillotined.

In 1794 the French revolutionary army managed to defeat the Coalition and the anti-speculation measures managed to refloat the economy, but the Reign of Terror had gone too far, all the enemies of the Jacobins united and staged a coup at the National Convention, where Robespierre and his supporters were arrested. The "Incorruptible" was executed in the summer of 1794.

2.8) The moderate Directory and the 18th Brumaire

After Robespierre's execution, the moderate bourgeoisie returned to power and the Jacobin party and its supporters were outlawed.

In 1795 a new Constitution appears (Constitution of the Year III), according to which the executive power fell to a new organ: the Directory, formed by five members. The Marseillaise, composed years before during the war against Austria, became the official anthem of the French Republic.

However, the country is still full of problems: the economic crisis cannot be stopped and the common people, the sans-culottes, continue to demand equality and the return of a Jacobin government. For their part, the absolutists have never accepted the republic, and proclaim that France remains a monarchy: they assume as king the ill-fated Louis XVII (son of Louis XVI) and later his uncle, Louis XVIII, who will become king, but not before 1814.

However, the Coalition Wars continue and France reaps many successes. So much so that the bourgeoisie began to notice a young Corsican general who has achieved fame on the battlefield: Napoleon Bonaparte. Supported by these upper classes and by the army, which idolizes him, he staged a coup on the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799) and became the country's leader with the title of consul.

The real strength of a republic, depends upon the insuperable attachment of its members to liberty and their rights.

Jacques Brissot, Girondins'

leader

Virtue without terror is murderous, terror without virtue is powerless.

Maximilien Robespierre, Jacobins' leader

REVIEW

3) Napoleon (1799-1815)

3.1) Rise to power

The Directory waged wars to expand French territory and gain economic resources, hence the conquest of northern Italy, but it could not stop the internal crisis and, in addition, it was losing battles against the Coalition.

Napoleon was a general who had won important battles against the Coalition and was the architect of the invasion of Italy. His troops adored him, and he even enjoyed a good reputation among civilians.

In 1799, Sieyès and Ducos, two of the five members of the Directory, came into contact with Napoleon and proposed to him to carry out a coup d'état to save the Revolution. This uprising took place on November 9 (18 Brumaire in the revolutionary calendar, hence the coup is often named after this date). Napoleon was named first consul, that is, he became the new leader of the French Republic.

It soon became clear that Napoleon was going to be an authoritarian and dictatorial figure: he declared the Revolution over and instituted a Civil Code which, although it introduced certain liberal measures, it had popular support, as he was seen as the saviour of France.

3.2) Emperor

Convinced of his messianic role, in 1804 he proclaimed himself Emperor of the French and began to lead expansive military campaigns with his Grande Armée, successively conquering the Netherlands, the Germanic Confederation - the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by its last emperor, Francis II, who did not want the imperial crown to be usurped by Napoleon -, Italy, Prussia, Spain and Poland.

His greatest enemy was England. As he saw that he could not defeat the English navy (naval defeat at Trafalgar, 1805), he decided to isolate it by means of the Continental System: a large-scale blockade against the British Empire. This tactic did not work either, as Portugal refused to apply this blockade against its ally, England, and Napoleon proceeded to invade Portugal. This was also the reason for his entry into Spain, initially as an ally and, shortly after, as an invader.

1812 was a turning point: in Spain he lost the almost definitive battle of Arapiles and the attempted invasion of Russia ended with a resounding defeat and the loss of most of his army: out of 647,000 soldiers only 58,000 returned.

A note related to Spain: the Spanish-American provinces took advantage of the fact that peninsular Spain was fighting Napoleon to declare their independence with little opposition, since most of their soldiers were at war with France. Between 1810 and 1828, Spain lost almost all of its possessions in America.

3.3) Fall and Exile:

In 1813, the Sixth Coalition (Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Spain) defeated him at Leipzig and he was forced to abdicate. Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, ascended the throne and sent Napoleon into exile on the island of Elba, near the coast of Italy.

Louis XVIII wanted to return to absolutism and a large part of his people and army turned against him. Napoleon took advantage of this to gather a group of loyal soldiers and return to France, where he was welcomed with joy by the army officers. He became Emperor of France again, but only between March and July 1815 ("The Hundred Days Empire"), as a Seventh Coalition was formed to fight against him and was definitively defeated at Waterloo (June 18, 1815). Napoleon was exiled again, but this time to the island of Saint Helena, in the middle of the Atlantic. There he would die in 1821.

5) Conservative Order (Restoration of absolute monarchs in Europe)

5.1) The Europe of Congresses

Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia have defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, but the fear of revolutionary ideas remains. These countries are in contact to prevent the Ancien Régime from falling apart. These four countries are joined by France, which has returned to the Ancien Régime the figure of Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI.

These countries meet in the Congress of Vienna (1815) and decide to help each other in case of threat. Its objectives, set by Clemens von Metternich (Austrian chancellor and host of the congress) are:

-Return to the political situation and the map of Europe before 1789

-Resolve conflicts through dialogue, that is why they hold numerous congresses.

-Fight liberalism and nationalism to the death. At the idea of Tsar Alexander I, a military league called the Holy Alliance was created, with armies from Russia, Prussia and Austria.

5.2) Liberalism and nationalism

Liberalism vindicates the Enlightened ideals: national sovereignty, constitutional monarchies (limited king power) and individual rights and freedoms (political, expression, association, religious, economic, etc.).

Nationalism proclaims that the nation must be defended above all else. It was born from the French Revolution and its defense of the territory against foreign invasion attempts. There are two types of nationalism:

-Binding: it tries to include several territories with common characteristics within a single country.

-Separatist: it tries to separate itself from a country to which it belongs, claiming differentiating characteristics.

In Europe there are several peoples who feel one of the two types: the German-speaking peoples or the Italian-speaking peoples want to unite, respectively, in two countries. On the other hand, Greece and other Balkan peoples want to separate from the Ottoman Empire; Belgium from the Netherlands; Norway, from Denmark. In the Austrian Empire multiple nationalities coexist, the same as in the Russian and the Ottoman. In Spanish America, many countries become independent from Spain, taking advantage of the fact that it was involved in the Coalition Wars.

Faced with this agitated situation, the nineteenth century will be loaded with revolutions.

Liberals, nationalists... Total scumbag!

Klemens von Metternich, Austrian chancellor

6) Revolutionary waves of 1820, 1830 and 1848

6.1) 1820:

Enlightened ideas about the freedom of the individual are now encompassed under the umbrella of liberalism. This doctrine comes from numerous sources (Bill of Rights, United States Constitution, Constitutions of the French Revolution, Napoleonic Civil Code, Spanish Constitution of 1812, etc.) but the common denominator is the desire for political, civil and economic freedom.

The first of these liberal revolutions had its origin in Spain: Colonel Rafael de Riego, rose up in 1820 against the absolutism of Fernando VII, whom he required to swear by the Constitution of 1812. The movement triumphs and the king has to swear to the Constitution, but three years later a French army (the Hundred Thousand Sons of San Luis) enters Spain to defeat the rebels and return the country to absolutism. Other revolutions occurred in Portugal, Naples, Piedmont and Russia, but all of them were crushed.

In Greece the nationalist movement triumphed. This country, invaded by the Ottoman Empire, had the sympathy of the signatories of the Congress of Vienna: being a Christian people subjected to a Muslim empire encouraged Russia and England to help. After ten years of war, Greece achieved its independence in 1830.

6.2) 1830:

The liberal system will prevail in Spain (after the death of Fernando VII in 1833), France and Portugal after several revolutions and riots.

On the other hand, in Belgium the nationalist revolution broke out and they achieved independence from the Netherlands.

6.3) 1848

This period is also known as the 'Spring of the Peoples'.

France: Republicans revolutionaries rose up and dethroned Louis Philippe I, the new French Republic proclaimed universal male suffrage. However, Napoleon III, who won the election in 1848 and became president, turned himself into an emperor and ruled as such until he was defeated by the Prussians in 1870. He was the last king of France.

Germanic Confederation: this was the country that replaced the Holy Roman Empire after its disolution. People wanted civil rights and also the union of German-speaking regions, so this is a liberal and nationalist movement at the same time.

Austrian Empire: There was a violent revolution in Vienna that led to the fall of Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, absolutist and anti-liberal, and who was the main promoter of the Congress of Vienna. The new emperor, Francisco José I, will harshly repress the revolutions and will sign a good number of death sentences. The following year, in 1849, he promulgated a very centralist constitution that establishes his power, but the liberal and nationalist outbreaks in the different regions of the empire will constantly shake his reign. In 1867, The Austrian Empire changed its name to Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Italian States: in the Kingom of Piedmont-Sardinia, king Carlos Alberto abdicated and his succesor, king Victor Manuel II proclaimed a liberal constitution. Also, there is a unifying movement throughout the whole Italian Peninsula and, besides, there was a great anti-Austrian effort to recover territories in the Alps that the Italians considered theirs (this area was known as Italia Irredenta = Unliberated Italy).

In principle, the common armies of the countries participating in the Congress of Vienna are going to drown all these revolutions in blood, but some reforms have been achieved and the ideas are still alive. The Ancient Régime's days are numbered, and Germans and Italians are determined to shape their respective unified nations. Furthermore, the labor movements are finally organizing themselves. It is precisely in 1848 when the Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is published.

Liberal revolutions in the 1820s inspired by Riego's coup in Spain

This well known musical movie is based on a homonym novel based in a 1832 Revolution in France.

7. Unifications of Italy and Germany

These are two examples of unifying nationalism, although the struggle between liberals, moderates, absolutists, etc. was also involved in the process. These unification movements are complex, because it is not just about making a country, but about how to do it. In fact, both processes were marked by war.

7.1) The bases of nationalism

The common identity is built on a common heritage. Thus, it is necessary that, to start a nationalist movement, there has to be a discourse that emphasizes the common characteristics of the peoples to ignite the unifying desire. This task of preparing the nationalist discourse corresponds to the intellectuals of the bourgeoisie.

The common characteristics can be very varied, but there are always three that are present:

Language
Religion
The commercial bourgeoisie, because it is always easier to sell products in large and united countries.

But a nationalist movement, in order to consolidate, needs support from a foreign power that can see some interest in the process. It was the case of the France of Napoleon III, which saw the possibility of breaking the European balance of the Congress of Vienna by helping the nationalist outbreaks. Thus he thought that when the new Italian nation was constituted with his help, he would obtain new territories in compensation.

7.2) Italian unification (1848-1870)

The common heritage of the various countries of the Italian Peninsula were the Italian language, the glorious past of the Roman Empire and the Catholic religion. On the other hand, Italian-speaking regions in the north were occupied by Austria, so hatred of the invader also acted as a spur to this movement that was popularly known as Il Risorgimento.

Two unification models were proposed:

Republican and democratic: with the activists Giuseppe Mazzini, who led the revolutionary society Giovine Italia and Giuseppe Garibaldi, revolutionary by vocation, they proposed an openly democratic country with profound social reforms.
Piedmontese: based on unifying Italy around the powerful northern state of Piedmont, under the moderate Savoy monarchy. This model would be the winner, guided by King Victor Emmanuel II and the skillful parliamentarian Count of Cavour.

The definitive unification began in 1859, when, with the support of Napoleon III, the kingdom of Italy was created after taking away from the Austrians their possessions in the north of the peninsula, which were incorporated into Piedmont. So will the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Sicily and Naples) from the south, which had been conquered by Garibaldi, who gave it to Piedmont convinced by Cavour. In exchange for the aid, France gets Nice and Savoy.

In 1866 the annexation of the Veneto, in Austrian power, to Piedmont takes place. In this endeavor, the Italians were aided by Prussia, which was then at war against Austria. Finally, in 1870, Rome was annexed, to the great chagrin of Pope Pius IX, as the Papal States disappeared, and Italy was already a nation united from north to south under King Victor Emmanuel II. There will still be areas in the north (Trento, Trieste) under Austrian power that the Italians continue to claim, it is the Italia Irredenta, and it will be a new war objective in the First World War.

7.3) German unification (1864-1871)

The common heritage is the German language, the long-lived Holy Roman Empire, and the Hanseatic League, a trade and military federation that existed in the Baltic area in the Middle Ages.

There were two models of unification:

Under Austrian control
Under Prussian control, which will be the one that finally prevails

The German unification has a fundamental difference with the Italian one: while the latter was carried out from the bottom up, by the people in arms and at the end naming Victor Emmanuel II as constitutional king, the former has an authoritarian character: it is carried out from power without the participation of the people.

In Prussia, the chancellor was Otto von Bismarck, an intelligent statesman, who cleverly maneuvered so that German unification would take place around Prussia and leave Austria out.

In 1864, Bismarck declared war on Denmark, because in the south of this country there were two dukedoms, Holstein and Schleswig, whose population was mostly of Germanic origin and he wanted to incorporate them into Prussia. Bismarck convinced Austria to cooperate in this war and ultimately divide the duchies, but in 1866, the Danes defeated, Bismarck did not comply with the agreement and Schleswig and Holstein remained Prussian. Austria, humiliated, prepared its revenge.

In 1866, the Austro-Prussian War begins. Bismarck already counted on this and knew that the Prussian army was superior to the Austrian. The war was very brief (it is also known as the Seven Weeks War), Prussia wins and becomes the dominant power in Central Europe, while Austria is left out of the future German unification.

Now, the devious Bismarck contemplates how in the area of Bavaria, in the south of Germany, the French influence is very great. To avoid possible interference from this country, he plans the war against Napoleon III, but he lacks an excuse. To achieve it, he will not hesitate to use surreptitious tricks, such as manipulating a telegram from the King of Prussia, to get France to declare war on him and appear as the enemy to beat. Between 1870 and 1871 the Franco-Prussian War takes place, with total victory of Prussia. This country annexes the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine and Napoleon III was deposed by his subjects, who proclaimed the republic. He will be the last monarch of France.

In 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia proclaimed himself Emperor (Kaiser) of unified Germany... at the Palace of Versailles. The humiliation of France is total, and its enmity with Germany will last until the end of World War II, more than 70 years later.