04 LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS
2 THE CONSOLIDATION OF LIBERAL REGIMES
In the middle of the 19th century
1 THE RESTORATION IS OVERTURNED
After the Congress of Vienna
There were three waves of antiabsolutist revolutionary movements in Europe
Some had a strong nationalist component
They followed the same route as the 18th-century revolutions
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAVE OF 1820
In 1820, in parts of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Piedmont, there were revolutions
They were inspired by the Spanish Constitution written in Cádiz in 1812
The Holy Alliance took part in military interventions and reinstated absolutism
The Holy Alliance declined due to divisions among its members and to Great Britain’s criticism of its work
The absolutist troops did not penetrate Portugal due to British opposition
This allowed the Portuguese revolutionaries to establish a constitutional regime
In 1822, there were revolutionary outbreaks in France and Russia, which were easily stopped
A democratic assembly declared Greece’s independence from the absolutist power of the Ottoman Empire
Was supported by many European liberals and which led to war
Great Britain, Russia and France took part in the war in 1827 in defence of their strategic interests and in support of the Greeks
Gained independence in 1830
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAVE OF 1830
The king of France, Louis XVIII, was succeeded by Charles X
He hoped to reign in an absolutist way ignoring the limits of his predecessor’s French Charter
Large sectors of the French bourgeoisie had liberal ideas
Which did not match the monarch’s aspirations
In 1830, groups of intellectuals, students and workers organised the July Revolution in Paris
Against the absolutist tendencies of Charles X
After the king abdicated, a parliamentary monarchy was established under Louis Philippe of Orleans
He recognised national sovereignty
Influenced by what had happened in France
The Belgians proclaimed their independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Established a parliamentary monarchy subject to a constitution
REVOLUTIONARY MEETINGS
Europe’s liberal revolutions, especially the ones in 1830 and 1848, were closely linked to industrial growth in cities
There were constant raids by absolutist police
LIBERTY LEADING THE PEOPLE BY FERDINAND-EUGÈNE-VICTOR DELACROIX (1798–1863)
Was inspired by the French Revolution of 1830
Led to Louis Philippe of Orleans being crowned king
Victor Hugo also described this revolution in his book Les Misérables
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAVE OF 1848
Social advances and the role of the workers led to fear and opposition from the bourgeoisie,
This all led to a revolution in which the Second French Republic was proclaimed
An intense international economic crisis that began in 1845
The workers suffered the most from the effects
In France, Louis Philippe of Orleans’ reign was becoming more conservative
This caused discontent among radical liberals
He proclaimed the Second French Empire in 1851, and was crowned Napoleon III
The Revolution of 1848 spread to cities in Austria, the German Confederation, Italy and Russia
Nationalist, democratic and social demands were also particularly important
With successive revolutionary waves and the progressive articulation of the labour movement
Pressure to extend citizens’ right to vote started to increase
They called themselves democrats
Becasue they defended universal manhood suffrage under the principle of ‘one man, one vote’
Due to this political pressure and the transformation of industrialised societies
Parliamentary representation expanded in regimes with census suffrage
Parliamentarians or deputies represented the concerns of the upper bourgeoisie and the middle classes
They organised themselves into political parties to promote their ideas and interests
The representativeness of liberal political regimes increased
EUROPE
FRANCE
GREAT BRITAIN
PRUSSIA AND AUSTRIA
Under the Second French Empire, a regime was established that maintained universal manhood suffrage
There was no real separation of powers, as everything depended on Napoleon III
Instead of elections, the emperor called plebiscites or referendums to justify his position
Suffrage was recognised, it was not put into practice
For most of the 19th century, Britain’s monarch was Queen Victoria
British parliamentarism became very stable
Power alternating between two political parties
The Conservative Party (Tories) and the Liberal Party (Whigs)
The Revolution of 1848 led to the establishment
Of censitary suffrage and constitutional texts in the Kingdom of Prussia and in Austri
In Austria, the mobilisation of the Hungarian nationalists converted the two countries into a dual monarchy in 1867
It was called the Austro-Hungarian Empire
RUSSIA
Russia had an absolutist political system
It didn't have a parliament and based on a mainly agricultural economy
AMERICA
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ELLIS ISLAND
Extended universal manhood suffrage made considerable progress
Several states recognised it for white men in the early 1800s
There was also great territorial expansion to the west
This resulted in the submission of the indigenous population and violent repression of any resistance
The northern states wanted to abolish slavery but the southern states opposed this
They tried to form an independent state
This led to the American Civil War or War Between the States
In 1870, former black slaves were granted the right to vote
However, the former Confederate States later passed laws that took the vote from black and poor white citizens
They also established racial segregation
They also established racial segregation
Industrialisation and American economic prosperity attracted mass immigration from Europe
In the 19th century, some 45 million Europeans emigrated to young countries
Ellis Island, in the port of New York, became a symbol of great waves of European migrants
Today, the island is a museum
Pays tribute to all the people who passed through it
