Revolution Era in Europe: 19th Century

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UNIT 10. REVOLUTION ERA IN EUROPE. XIX CENTURY 1. THE END OF THE ANCIENT REGIME. 1.1The bourgeois revolution and the end of the Ancien Régime The revolutions that began at the end of the 18th century were called the 'bourgeois revolutions', since they were led by the bourgeoisie, a group that stood to greatly benefit from the changes. Nonetheless, other social groups also participated in the revolutions and benefited from them as well. The bourgeois revolutions were mainly political revolutions. But other aspects of life were also influential in the desire to change and break away from the old system.

1.2Revolutionary changes On a political level, the aims of the revolutionaries were to put an end to absolutism and establish a liberal political system, based on respect for the rights of citizens, national sovereignty and separation of powers. The first political revolutions that sought to achieve these objectives took place in the United States in 1766, and in France in 1789. Both revolutions became models for other American and European countries.

The profound consequences of the French Revolution rightly justify it as the reference for the end of the Modern Period and the year of the beginning of a new historical period, known as the Contemporary Period, which leads all the way up to the present day. On an economic level, the Industrial Revolution put an end to the dominance of the agrarian economy and imposed a new urban and industrial economy. On a social level, the three-state system, based on birth right and other privileges, gave way to a new class-based society, founded on values and personal merit measured by wealth. In this society, the bourgeoisie became the dominant social group.

On an artistic level, Neoclassicism was substituted by Romanticism and realism, which blazed a trail for the artistic avant-gardes that were to follow. 3. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 3.1The causes of a historical revolution In France, the revolution was sparked by different causes: Political and ideological. In the second half of the 18th century, absolutism had been criticised by the Enlightenment, and the American Revolution showed that it was possible to topple this system. Social and economic. All social groups were unhappy. The nobility and the clergy had lost power to the absolute monarchy and, despite their wealth, many experienced economic difficulties due to their increasing expenses.

The bourgeoisie lacked political influence and their businesses were limited by the monarchical control of the economy. The peasantry, suffering from taxes, hardly had enough to survive, and the urban poor were living in misery. 3.2The revolutionary spark The spark that set off the revolution was a double economic crisis: a food crisis, due to the poor harvests of the previous years, which lead to hunger throughout the country; a financial crisis, caused by government debt and the high expenses of the military and the court. The only solution to the financial crisis was for the privileged class to pay taxes.

At their refusal to do so, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General, an assembly that had been created in the medieval period and had not met since 1614, made up of representatives of the three estates, or classes. It was the only institution with the power to approve new taxes. 3.3The beginning of the revolution. The meeting of the Estates-General The sessions of the assembly began on 5 May 1789. The first discussion dealt with the voting system. The nobility and the clergy wanted a voting system based on order or class; while the Third Estate, which was more numerous, demanded a voting system based on one vote per person.

When their demands were rejected, representatives of the Third Estate redefined themselves as the National Assembly, representing the people of the nation. Louis XVI, alarmed by the situation, tried to dissolve the assembly but was unable to do so. Furthermore, the representatives moved to a tennis court nearby and took a solemn collective oath not to separate until a constitution had been established. This was how a revolutionary process was begun that would impact the entire world and become a model for subsequent revolutions. 4.

EVOLUTION OF FRENCH REVOLUTION 4.1The National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791) On 7 July 1789, the National Assembly voted to become the National Constituent Assembly, seeking to draw up a constitution for France. Fearing that the army would dissolve the new assembly, the people of Paris stormed the fortress and prison known as the Bastille in order to seize its weapons and defend its representatives.

In the days following the storming of the Bastille, rioting continued in other cities and in the countryside, where peasants attacked houses and properties of the lords.The first orders approved by the National Constituent Assembly were to abolish feudalism, limiting the rights of feudal lords and the tithe, they also nationalised the Church's property. They approved a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), which recognised the rights to freedom, property and equal protection by the law. Two years later they approved the first French constitution: the Constitution of 1791.

It established popular sovereignty, separation of powers and censitary suffrage, which was restricted to men who possessed certain property. Absolutism gave way to a liberal political system. 4.2The Legislative Assembly (1791-1792) After approving the Constitution, the National Constituent Assembly was dissolved and was substituted by a Legislative Assembly, that faced several problems.

The most important ones were opposition by exiled nobles who conspired from abroad against the revolution, opposition by the king, who was arrested when he tried to flee the country (1791) and the war against Austria and Prussia, two countries that supported the counterrevolutionaries for fear of the revolution spreading to their territories. There were also clashes between moderate revolutionaries –the Girondins–; and radical groups –the Jacobins–, who turned against the sans-culotte, which were popular groups made up of independent workers, small merchants and artisans.

To deal with these problems, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved and a new assembly was formed: the National Convention. 4.3The National Convention (1792-1795) The National Convention was initially dominated by the Girondins. In this period the monarchy was abolished, the Republic (1792) was founded and Louis XVI was sentenced and guillotined* (1793). As a consequence, European absolutist regimes declared war on France. Popular discontent with the war allowed the radical Jacobins to rise to power in 1793. Their leader Robespierre opposed foreign invasion, helped create a more democratic constitution (1793) that allowed for universal male suffrage.

He also enacted economic measures that were popular with the people and defeated his opponents with terror and the guillotine*. The revolution was entering its bloodiest period. Out of fear, the National Convention deposed and guillotined Robespierre and his supporters. Power went to more neutral representatives who drafted the Constitution of 1795, which was more moderate and established limited suffrage. 4.4The Directory and the Consulate (1795-1799) According to the Constitution, executive power was concentrated in a five- member Directory. The Directory carried out numerous military campaigns in Italy, Prussia, Austria and Egypt.

In these campaigns a young general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte soon rose to prominence. Using his prestige to his advantage, in 1799 he overthrew the Directory by a coup d'état, substituting it with a Consulate made up of three consuls. Napoleon became First Consul and seized power. 5. EUROPE UNDER NAPOLEON 5.1Napoleon. From Consulate to Empire As First Consul (1799-1804), Napoleon consolidated the revolution's conquests: He achieved peace in France by squashing his radical opponents, allowing the exiled nobility to return and signing the Concordat of 1801 with the Holy See.

In this agreement he recognised the Catholic religion and, in turn, the Church agreed not to reclaim land that had been taken from it during the revolution. The most important internal reforms he instituted were: the Civil Code of 1804, which codified revolutionary achievements (equality under the law, liberty, prosperity, separation of Church and State), the establishment of economic freedom, the creation of public welfare assistance and public education, and the construction of several monuments in Paris. These achievements brought Napoleon widespread popularity. He was made First Consul for Life in 1802 and later became Emperor of the French in 1804 through a vote of the people.

5.2The empire of Napoleon Bonaparte (1805-1815) Napoleon also sought to expand the revolution, creating a vast European empire under French authority. Thus, from 1805 to 1810 he fought several coalitions of European countries that were against him and defeated them in successive battles: Austerliz, Ulm, Jena, Eylau, Friendland and Wagram. These victories led to control over a large part of Western Europe. The only exception was the United Kingdom, which defeated Napoleon's fleet of ships in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and resisted the economic blockade he had established (1806). Napoleon set up governments made up of family members and French generals in conquered countries.

They all spread the ideas of the revolution, established constitutions, implemented the Napoleonic Civil Code and abolished feudal taxes and the tithe. 5.3The fall of Napoleon French domination was not accepted in many countries and strong nationalist movements against French rule grew. After the failure of the Great Army in Russia (1812) and his defeat in Spain (1814), a coalition of European powers formed by the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia entered Paris. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, and the French monarchy was restored by Louis XVIII. The following year, Napoleon escaped and recaptured the throne for one hundred days.

He was defeated for the last time by the allies at Waterloo (1815) and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. 6. RESTORATION AND REVOLUTIONS OF XIX CENTURY 6.1 Restoration. From 1814 to 1815, the powers that defeated Napoleon (United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia and Russia) met at the Congress of Vienna. They had two objectives: Restoring the old regime. In doing so, they restored the monarchs that had been deposed by Napoleon. Redrawing the political map of Europe. France was forced to return to the boundaries of 1791 and other territories were divided up among the powers.

However, new boundaries were established without consulting certain nations, who found themselves separated or joined together against their will. 6.2 New Ideologies. In spite of the attempts of absolutism, the Restoration could not contain the expansion of new ideas and values throughout Europe, represented by liberalism and nationalism. Liberalism defended individual liberty, expressed by the rights of the citizens, equality under the law and the suppression of privileges, as well as the implementation of constitutional regimes based on national sovereignty and separation of powers. Liberal ideology spread extensively among the bourgeoisie and commoners of the major cities.

Nationalism was the idea that the fundamental framework for public life was the nation or community with common historical traits and a common language and culture. Its objective was for each nation to have its own State (nation-state), and therefore it demanded that nations' borders be those of the States. The nationalist ideology spread to territories under foreign power, such as Greece, and to those who aspired to form a unified State, such as Italy and Germany. 6.3 Revolution of XIX CENTURY. The revolutions of 1820 were concentrated in the Mediterranean area and Russia. Army officials and secret societies played significant roles.

Liberals in Spain, Portugal, Naples, Piedmont and Russia rose up against absolutist regimes. Some monarchs initially accepted the constitutions, but in the end they imposed absolutism. The revolutions of 1830 affected practically all of Europe and placed liberals in power in many States. They began in France with the ousting of Charles X and the implementation of the constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans. The revolution then spread to Belgium, which achieved independence from Holland, and then to Spain, Portugal and several Italian and German states.

However, once power was taken, liberal leaders limited rights and freedoms and established censitary, or limited, suffrage, excluding commoners from politics and power. The revolutions of 1848 were more extensive, had greater participation and were more radical. They began in France, where Louis-Phillipe was ousted from power and the French Second Republic was created, which implemented a constitution establishing universal male suffrage. The revolution also reached Prussia, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, the German Confederation and some Italian states.

In all of them, revolutionaries set up barricades in the streets and demanded more rights, as well as popular sovereignty, universal male suffrage and social equality. These demands terrified the bourgeoisie, who suppressed them and implemented a conservative liberalism.