UNIT 7.

THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS

(1789-1871)
1.-WHY DID A REVOLUTION BREAK OUT IN FRANCE?
A revolutionary wave began in France in 1789 and spread through Europe in the
first half of the 19th century. Its aim was to end absolutism and the Ancien Régime

1.1.The impact of the Enlightenment and the American revolution

Enlightenment principles and the American Revolution gave the bourgeoisie
new ideas to help them confront absolutism and the stratified system of society. They
proposed new forms of social organization and government.

1.2. The social and economic crisis

In the late 18th century, the Third Estate (composed of the bourgeoisie, peasants and
artisans) aspired to profound social reforms. The peasants complained about the heavy
taxes and rents imposed by the feudal lords. The bourgeoisie wanted to end the
privileges enjoyed by the nobility and the clergy.
The descent into revolution was caused by discontent among the population and the
arrival of two major crises in 1789:
-The economic crisis, which was the result of a series of poor harvests. The rise in
the price of food generated discontent.
-The financial crisis caused by the monarchy’s lack of money. Louis XVI’s
ministers proposed that the privileged should begin to pay taxes. They refused to accept
this and demanded the reunion of the Estates-General, the only institution that could
approve a tax reform.

1.3. 1789: A Revolution breaks out

The Estates-General met in May 1789. The meeting was chaired by the king and
made up of representatives of the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate. However, the
Third Estate representatives decided to leave the meeting when the privileged classes
insisted on one vote per estate rather than one per representative.
The representatives of the Third Estate met in a pavilion in Versailles (Jeu de
Paume) and proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. They pledged to draft a
constitution that reflected the will of the majority of French people.
The people of Paris supported the Assembly’s proposals and, on July 14, they
stormed the Bastille. The revolution spread to the countryside, where nobles’ homes
were burnt (the Great Fear).
Louis XVI was frightened by the situation and accepted the National Assembly,
which made France a constitutional monarchy and ended the Ancien Régime.
2.- THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
2.1. The Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792)
It is the first phase of the Revolution. The moderate bourgeoisie tried to reach an
agreement with the king and create a parliamentary monarchy.
The National Assembly approved important reforms:
-Feudalism was abolished in France.
-Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which recognized the rights,
individual freedoms and equality of all citizens.
-Constitution of 1791 based on separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal
equality. Census suffrage was also introduced, giving the vote to people with a certain
level of wealth.

A constitutional monarchy was established, but the royal family and the
privileged classes did not accept the changes and asked absolute monarchies in Europe
to help restore absolutism.
The Austrian army invaded France and Louis XVI fled Paris, but he was
arrested.

2.2. The Social Republic (1792-1794)

The betrayal by the king and the military invasion led to the revolt by the
common people (sans-culottes). On August 1792, they stormed the Royal Palace and
imprisoned the royal family. A republic was declared.

The Girondin Convention (1792-1793)

The Girondins, moderate republicans, controlled the Republic. A new assembly,
the National Convention, was elected by universal male suffrage. Louis XVI and Queen
Marie Antoinette were convicted of treason and executed (1793).

The Jacobin Convention (1793-1794)

In June 1793, the Jacobins, the most radical party, seized power. The Revolution
had now entered its most extreme phase. The constitution of 1793 recognized universal
male suffrage. The government was led by the Jacobin leader Robespierre.
To satisfy the demands of sans-culottes, a series of social laws were introduced.
Many people opposed the dictatorial government of the Jacobines, and a coup in
July 1794 ended the Jacobin government.

2.3. The Conservative Republic: The Directory (1794-1799)

The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution and it entered its
third and final phase. Jacobin laws were cancelled. A moderate constitution (1795) was
approved. The government was held by a Directory of 5 members.
The Directory was unstable and the General Napoleon Bonaparte organised a
coup d´etat in 1799 that ended the Directory.
3.- NAPOLEON RULES EUROPE
3.1. The Consulate (1799-1804)
In 1799, Napoleon was named consul and the Consulate’s rule began. The aim
of Napoleon was to stop instability, ensure economic development and maintain the
moderate achievements of the Revolution.
The new political system did not include the separation of powers. Liberties
were very limited and censorship was imposed to control public opinion.

3.2. The Napoleonic Empire (1804-1815)

Napoleon was crowned emperor by the Pope in 1804. His large army and the use
of new military tactics enabled him to defeat most European monarchies.
In 1808, the French invaded Spain and Joseph Bonaparte, one of the emperor’s
brothers, was made king, In 1811, the Napoleonic Empire had reached its zenith: it
extended from Germany to Spain. France now controlled most of Europe.

3.3. Why was Napoleon defeated?

Rejection of the Invasion

The French armies occupied the European nations by force. This caused the
emergence of resistance movements and provoked strong nationalist feelings in
conquered countries such as Spain, Germany or Italy.
The Fall of Napoleon
The failure of his invasion of Russia in 1812 and the revolt in Spain marked the
decline of the Napoleonic Empire.
In 1815, the imperial armies were finally defeated in the battle of Waterloo by
Great Britain and Prussia. Napoleon abdicated after the defeat and was sent into exile.

4.- WHAT WAS THE LEGACY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?

4.1.-The Basis of the Liberal systems
The organization of states and political systems that are used in most western
democracies are based on the same principles that drove the French Revolution.
-People as citizens with rights recognized by the state
-Popular sovereignty. Citizens had right to vote and choose their representatives who
meet in Parliament to make laws.
-The Constitution as the fundamental law that establishes the rights and duties of both
citizens and rulers.
-Equality before the law, based on legal codes and an independent justice system.

5.- BETWEEN ABSOLUTISM AND LIBERALISM (1815-1848)

5.1 The restoration of absolutism

The powers that defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna because they
wanted to stop the spread of liberal ideas and restore absolutism in Europe.
After reinstating monarchs on their thrones, the four great powers (Russia,
Britain, Prussia and Austria) reshaped the European map. France returned to its borders
in 1792.
The Holy Alliance treaty was signed, that stipulated that the absolute monarchs
would unite against any threat of liberal revolution.

European map after the Congress of Vienna

5.2. The revolutionary wave of 1830
After 1815, liberalism and nationalism became the two main opposition forces
prompting the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 that ended the restoration of absolutism.
The insurrections had significant popular support. When they were successful,
absolutism was replaced by liberal political systems governed by a constitution in which
the bourgeoisie held power.
In 1830, a new revolution in France ended definitively with the Absolutist
monarchy and the Bourbon dynasty. Louis Philippe I of Orleans was proclaimed new
constitutional monarch of France.

5.3. 1848: “The Spring of Nations”

The revolutions of 1848 (“the Spring of Nations”) showed how countries under
the control of empires wanted to pursue the idea of nationalism and the creation of new
liberal governments.
The revolutions of 1848 were significant because they demonstrated the
emergence of democratic ideals and also the importance of workers as a political force.
There were revolutions in France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria. These
revolutionary movements proved the impossibility of going back to the old times of
Absolutism.
6.- WHAT NEW STATES WERE CREATED IN EUROPE IN THE 19 th
CENTURY?
Nationalism defends the right of nations to exercise their sovereignty and create
their own state, making it necessary for state and nation to coexist.
Nationalist movements spread across Europe in the 19th century. They divided
plurinational empires and unified fragmented nations.

6.1.- Greek and Belgian Independences

Independence movements developed in plurinational empires:
-In 1821, Greek nationalists started a war against the Turkish empire. They defeated the
Ottomans and a new independent country was created, Greece.
-In 1831, Belgium accessed to independence from Netherlands.

6.2.-Italian and German Unifications

In the early 19th century, Italy was divided into several states and Austria had
annexed Lombardy-Venetia. Germany was divided into 36 states and associated with
the German Confederation, in which Prussia and Austria were the strongest territories
and were competing fo power.

Italy
In 1859, the liberal monarchy of Piedmont-Sardinia, governed by Prime Minister
Cavour, started an unification process. They declared war on Austria and annexed
Lombardy. At the same time, a popular uprising led by Garibaldi overthrew the absolute
monarchies in central and southern Italy
In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy was proclaimed King of Italy. In 1866,
Austria left Venetia, and in 1870 the Papal stated were conquered by the Italians and
they established the capital in Rome.
Germany
In 1861, the first moves towards an united Germany were made as William I
became King of Prussia and made Otto von Bismarck chancellor. Prussia declared war
on Denmark in 1864, on Austria in 1866, and on France in 1870.
Prussia was victorious in all three wars, making the unification of Germany
possible: in 1871, Wiliam I was proclaimed Kaiser (emperor) of the Second German
Empire (Reich).

7.- THE NEW ART OF THE BOURGEOISIE

7.1.-Romanticism
Romanticism spread throughout Europe as a reaction against Neoclassicism.
This new movement brought a new aesthetic and celebrated a love of freedom
and the glorification of the individual. It promoted emotion over the rationalism of
Enlightenment.

7.2.-Realism
Romanticism was displaced by Realism in the second half of the 19th century.
Realist artists were interested in understanding the reality of their time and made
every effort to describe it truthfully.

7.3.-Modernism
Modernism emerged in the late 19th century and was basically an architectural
movement.
The movement was decorative and inspired by forms found in nature.