Preserving the Old Order
Conservatives of the 1815’s had different goals from conservatives in the US today. They wanted to turn back the clock and restore order as it was in 1789. They wanted a monarchy and rule by royal families, before Napoleon had taken over.
Conservatives attacked the lower classes saying that they should respect and obey their socials superiors. They also backed up an established church for certain regions. For example, in Austria and other southern European countries would be Catholic, in Eastern Europe they would be Orthodox and Protestant in Britain , the Netherlands , Prussia , and the Scandinavian lands.
However with restoring these rights conservatives like Metterich opposed freedom of the press. He thought that all revolutionary ideas had to be crushed and encouraged others to do the same.
The Liberal Challenge
Going against the Conservatives were the Liberals. They spoke against the Divine right of Kings, established churches, and anything dealing with the aristocracy. They strongly defended the natural rights of liberty, equality, and property.
Most liberals spoke for the Bourgeois or middle class. Liberals ranged from business owners, bankers, lawyers to politicians and newspaper editors.
Liberals strongly supported laissez-faire. They read and believed heavily in the writings of Adam Smith and David Ricardo. They saw laissez-faire as an opportunity for capitalist entrepreneurs to succeed.
Nationalist Stirrings
Another challenger to those trying to restore the monarchy was the nationalists. Like liberalists they grew out of the French Revolution and its enlightenment.
Due to wars many territories kept switching and exchanging from family to family. And in the early 1800’s some Balkans revolted against their rulers the Ottomans, who had ruled them for 300 years. The first Balkan people to rebel were the Serbs. They attacked once in 1804 and once later in 1817. Both times they suffered horrible defeats.
But later the Serbs got autonomy, or the ability to rule themselves, with the Ottoman empire . This separation created a great sense of nationalism in Serbian identity.
Challenges to the Old Order
Other challenges to the Vienna settlement happened in the 1820s. Revolts sparked everywhere from Spain , Portugal , and other Italian states.
Like always Metternich urged leaders to stop these rebellions. So later a French army marched into Spain suppressing a revolt, while the Austrian forces crossed the Alps crushing Italian rebels.
Troops everywhere tried to stop and kill the storms of Liberalism and nationalists. This problem would eventually grow bigger, because of the growing middle class, and there wanting of rights and freedom.
France after the Restoration
With the Congress of Vienna King Louis XVIII was restored to power. Also a new constitution was made, including a two-house legislature and some rights of freedom of the press.
However not everyone was happy with this decision. The “ultras” (the people who sat on the far right) thought that the King should have full and absolute power. They thought that having a two-house legislature was ridiculous!
So as a result when Louis XVIII died, his brother Charles X, inherited the thrown. He believed in absolutism, and rejected the idea of the charter. He therefore suspended the legislature and limited voting and the rights of the press.
The French Revolution of 1848
People were upset by Charles X and his rule so in the 1840s they set up secret societies to work for and to a French Republic . Utopian socialists called for an end of private land owning. Even Liberals said the government was corrupt and needed reform.
Also at the end of the century France was in an economic slump, shutting down factories and leaving people jobless. Also the harvest had been poor that year, so bread prices were ridiculously high. Also during this time corruption in the high offices was everywhere in the papers, leaving people with distrust of their government. So just like 1789, France was ready for a revolution, again.
In February 1848 the government took steps to try and quiet the people about revolts and discourage them from forming secret groups. So as this turmoil spread they set up the second republic.
“ Europe Catches Cold”
In 1830 and 1848 the revolts in Paris helped to spark other uprising elsewhere in Europe . This led to the saying “When France sneezes, Europe catches a cold”. Although most were stopped, some later made leaders make other changes.
At the Congress of Vienna it was decided to combine Holland and the Netherlands and put them under a Dutch king. This was odd because the two countries had different cultures, religious ideas, and economic ideas. These differences led to a revolution in Belgium . No other countries cared to stop this revolution so in 1831 Belgium became an independent country.
Poland tried to do as Belgium and separate however the poles failed to win independence. They instead were mad that almost all of Poland ’s land was given to Russia in the Congress of Vienna.
The springtime of the Peoples
In 1848, Unrest came out of everywhere. Middle class liberals demanded more rights and freedoms, while factory workers demanded that working conditions improve.
Metternich a strong political leader against revolution had to flee because he had been over powered by students and other workers wanting reform and equality. He fled in disguise out of Vienna , while the emperor was left to promise his people reform.
In 1848, delegates from many German states met in the Frankfurt assembly, hoping to create a strong constitutional government for everyone. However in making this document people argued whether the new government should be a republic or a monarchy and whether to include Austria as a united German state.
Looking Ahead
“By 1850, the flickering light of rebellion faded, ending the age of liberal revolution that had begun in 1789.” Unfortunately most rebellions failed because of lack of mass support.
For example, in Poland in 1830 peasants didn’t take part in any uprisings. Leaving no one to back up what a few individuals had said.
Although Metternich fled his conservative system remained. However freedoms would later come not through revolutionary changes but through political changes.
Climate of Discontent
Political reforms in Europe had spread to Latin America and its Spanish ruler who had ruled them for over 300 years. Only Spanish born men got the highest church and government offices, leaving the natives without rights.
At this same time a growing number of mestizos and mulattoes were growing angry at being denied jobs and rights that only whites could have. Whites had both status and wealth over the Native Americans living there at the time.
Latin Americans saw the dethroning of the Spanish King an ideal time to attack their over seers. As Napoleon put his own brother on the thrown most people were eager for a revolution.
Haiti ’s Struggle
In the 1700s Frances most valued possession, Hispaniola (It is known today as Haiti ) led a revolution. French planters owned great sugar plantations which were run by half a million enslaved African slaves. The sugar business was a huge profit, yet life for workers was horrible.
Although Haiti had many slaves it also had a few free individuals who were still badly treated by the French. So in the 1790’s revolutionaries in France decided whether to ban slavery in the West Indies .
But this debating did little good because it was only words and not actions. So as a result in 1791, a slave revolt led by Toussaint L’Ouverture started in Haiti .
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Toussaint L’Ouverture was born into slavery in Haiti . He was told to be proud of his African Heritage, and so to defeat his enemies he learned to speak both French and the African language of his ancestors.
When a slave revolt broke out in 1791 Toussaint was 50 years old. However because of his intelligence and military skills he soon earned himself a position as a leader.
By 1789 Toussaint had achieved his goal of freeing the slaves. And although Haiti was a France colony, Toussaint and his soldiers controlled the entire island.
A Call to Freedom in Mexico
“The slave revolt in Haiti frightened creoles in Spanish America .” So in 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo raised a cry for freedom through out the land.
On September 16, 1810 Father Hidalgo presided over the poor of Dolores. His speech asked for people to “recover the lands that had been stolen from them”. His speech later became known as “el Grido de Dolores”.
Father José Morelos was another reformer like Hidalgo . He wanted to improve the majority of the lives of Mexicans and wanted to give all men the right to vote. For four years he led rebellions until he was captured and shot in 1815.
New Republics in Central America
“Spanish-ruled lands in Central America declared Independence in the early 1820s.” However many intruders tried to add these territories to their own.
After the overthrow of the Republic, local leaders set up a republic called the United Provinces of Central America .
But the Union was short lived. It soon separated into the republics of Guatemala , Nicaragua , Honduras , El Savador, etc.
Revolutions in South America
In South America Native Americans had rebelled against Spanish rule as early as the 1700s. But these rebellions had little results. The major steps were made in the 1800s.
The wars of independence had ended by 1824. Bolívar now worked harder than ever to try and liberate a mass of small countries into one strong nation.
In 1816 San Martín this smart general led an army across the Andes . He did this to defeat the Spanish before they could go into Peru .
Independence for Brazil
All throughout this time of revolution Brazil remained untouched. Brazil already had its independence when Napoleons armies conquered Portugal .
So after napoleon defeated Portugal the royal family fled to Brazil . While there the Brazilian family introduced some reforms such as free trade.
As Napoleon left the king went back to Brazil and left his son alone to rule Brazil . In 1822 Pedro became the emperor of Brazil , but later in 1889 Brazil became a Republic.