UNIT #5 – EARLY 19TH CENTURY – Rebellions

ITALY - 1821

Guiseppe Mazzini: Young Italy

Italians in Naples rebelled against Austrian dominance in 1820

King of 2 Sicilies accepted constitution

rebellion crushed by Austrians in 1821; restored King of 2 Sicilies

SPAIN - 1823

Rebellion against autocratic king by army officers (he’d promised a constitution, but rejected it)

Crushed by France in 1823 and occupied country until 1827

SERBIA - 1830

Had been fighting a guerilla war for independence since 1804

Russia became protectors in 1820s

Won independence from Ottoman Empire in 1830

Strove to unite all Serbs in Europe (tensions with Austria)

FRANCE - 1830

King Charles X attacked in July, 1830

Charles abdicated & fled to England

Lower house (chamber of Deputies) chose: Louis Philippe (cousin of Charles)

Louis Philippe & the July Monarchy

chosen by lower house: citizen king

wore top hat and frock: looked and acted like Middle Class

well aware of national sentiment; corrupt government, upper bourgeois prospered

POLAND - 1830

rebellion in 1830

army officers and civilians

suppressed by Russia

opposition eliminated: brutal repression resulted (happened again in 1863)

BELGIUM - 1831

placed under Dutch king in 1815 by Congress of Vienna

Belgians complained: dif. lang., rel. source of wealth

1831 Belgium given independence from Netherlands

French speaking, Catholic, industrial

Netherlands: Dutch, Protestant, Traders

New king: Leopold I (uncle of Queen Victoria)

SWITZERLAND - 1847

1832: Swiss Confederation opted for greater central government

1847: Civil War (aristocracies fought federalism)

aristocrats not supported, since rest of Europe in turmoil

Switzerland became a Federal State in 1848

Universal Male suffrage; declared neutrality in all


1848-the year of MAJOR rebellions

poor harvests created unrest since 1846

(Ireland was most dramatic example, losing 1/5 its population in 10 years,

and ½ its population in 50 years; universal potato blight of 1845-1848)

farmers moved to cities, already suffering from recession, adding to unemployment

Political liberals used workers in one last try to usurp power

France - February, 1848 – Paris exploded in chaos

Disgruntled Parisian workers took to streets

The next day, the crowd grew; military was called, barricades went up

The next day, the government under Liberal Louis Philippe resigned

Liberals called for a new const; Representation incl. Albert Martin(“Albert the Worker”

Workers forced provisional government to open national workshops

New National Assembly was elected by universal male suffrage

was conservative; goal: reduce wasteful spending

number of entrants to workshops limited in June

Austria - March, 1848 – Vienna broke out in rebellion

Hungarians rejected Vienna’s leadership

Students led rebellion; army unable to quell

Metternich resigned and fled, then the Emperor fled

The government’s first act was to free the serfs (feared general rebellion)

Czechs joined rebellion against both Hungarians and Hapsburgs

Italians joined rebellion for their own independence from Austria

Austrians responded by bombarding their own capital, crushing rebellion

Russians provided troops, and rebellions were crushed

Prussia - March, 1848 – popular disturbances in Berlin

The king refused to attack rebels with his army

The king allowed for a Prussian constituent assembly to write a constitution

The king then suggested his support for a unified Germany

In May, the FRANKFURT PARLIAMENT met to write a constitution for Germany

In 1949, the parliament offered the crown to the Prussian king; he refused

France - June, 1848 – Paris again exploded in chaos

Barricades appeared again

Repression resulted

By the fall, all were looking for someone to create order; Bonaparte!

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew) ran for President

He quarreled with National Assembly (HE represented the people -?)

NA refused to change const to let him run again; he disbanded them

200 killed resisting; 10,000 exiled to Algeria

7,500,000 voted YES in plebiscite (600,000 NO)

next year: declared Emperor (Napoleon III)

Italy - November, 1848 – Italy targeted by nationalists

Nationalists first turned to King of Sardinia – defeated by Austrians

Nationalists then turned to the Pope, who was then threatened by radicals

The Pope fled, and the radicals then declared Rome a republic

The French arrived in 1849 to win Rome back for the Pope (remained until 1870

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