The Rise of Liberalism and Nationalism

Even after the Concert of Europe was established, movements seeking freedom and national rights did not stop. In the 1830s and in 1848, waves of revolution spread throughout Europe.

The Revolution of 1830 and the July Revolution

In 1830, the July Revolution broke out in France. In opposition to the reactionary policies of Charles X, including the suppression of speech and the dissolution of the legislature, the citizens of Paris rose up. Charles X abdicated, and the constitutional monarch Louis-Philippe ascended the throne, beginning the July Monarchy. The July Revolution spread to various parts of Europe: Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands in 1830, and an uprising also took place in Poland, although it was suppressed by Russia. It attracted attention as a movement in which nationalism—national consciousness and the desire for national independence—and liberalism—constitutional government and freedom of speech—came together.

The Revolutions of 1848—the Springtime of the Peoples

1848 was a year in which revolutions spread throughout Europe in such a chain that it became known as the “Springtime of the Peoples.” The February Revolution in France overthrew Louis-Philippe, established the Second Republic, and introduced universal male suffrage unusually early in the world. Its effects led to the March Revolution in Vienna, and Metternich, the symbol of the Concert of Europe, fell from power and went into exile. Uprisings also occurred one after another in Prussia, Hungary, and various parts of Italy. Although many of these revolutions were ultimately suppressed, the ideal of the nation-state—“one country, one nation, one state”—came to be widely shared, leading to the full-scale development of the movements to unify Italy and Germany.

Practice

1. Which king abdicated in the French Revolution of 1830?
2. Who fell from power during the March Revolution in Vienna in 1848?
3. Explain why 1848 was called the “Springtime of the Peoples.”