REVOLUTIONS AND REFORM IN THE

1830SAPEURO: Lecture 6B Mrs. Kray

Some slides taken from Susan Pojer

The Revolutions of 1830

The political settlement of Vienna, designed to stop revolution, inadvertently fed the grievances of nationalism and liberalism in the period 1815-1848. This Age of Revolution gained fuel from industrial problems and the legacy of unfulfilled promises from the French Revolution. Among the great powers, only Great Britain avoided revolutionary outbursts through enactment of tentative Liberal reforms in this period.

Liberal Reform Comes to Great Britain

Aristocracy in Control British society both flexible and remarkably stable

Dominated by landowning aristocracy Classes weren’t closed or rigidly defined

Parliament was undemocratic House of Commons was less representative than at any time in its 50 year history

○ Only 8% of the pop. could vote for representatives in Parliament; manipulated by the king

○ “Rotten boroughs” – sparsely populated boroughs, some even had no people at all○ None of the new industrial towns in the north like Manchester had representation

French Revolution had frightened British aristocracy Hostile to any attempts to change the status quo

Conservative Tories in control after 1815 dominated by aristocracy & fearful of radical movements Repressed every kind of popular protest often w/censorship

The Corn Laws, 1815 Prohibited importation of grain

Unless price at home rose to improbable levels

Benefited landed aristocracy by providing them with a protected market for their crops

Hurt consumers w/high prices

Led to widespread protests by urban laborers & radical intellectuals Anti-Corn Law League

1817 Tory government temporarily suspended rights of peaceful assembly and habeas corpus

More Repression: The Six Acts, 1819

Symbol of government determination to repress reform

Passed as a result of the Peterloo MassacrePeaceful demonstration11 killed, 100s wounded

1819: The Six ActsPlaced controls on a heavily

taxed pressPractically eliminated all mass

meetings

Reform Begins

Parliament pressured by factory owners and merchants for change

1830s Whig Party gained power More responsive to commercial & manufacturing

interests

1832 Reform Bill passed Signaled emergence of House of Commons New industrial areas of the country gained

representation “rotten boroughs” eliminated Approx. 1 in 5 males could vote Workers, women, & the poor still disenfranchised

Temporarily released pressure that had been building Legislation could solve problems

The Chartist Movement, 1838 Disenfranchised workers demanded

more sweeping reforms

People’s Chart, 1838 Votes for all men. Equal electoral districts (rotten boroughs) . Abolition of the requirement that MPs be

property owners Payment for MPs. Annual general elections. The secret ballot.

Had widespread public support

Parliament refused to consider Chartist proposals

Most of their reforms, however, were ultimately adopted

Key

        Chartist settlements

         Centers of Chartism

      Area of plug riots, 1842

Anti-Corn Law League, 1845

Formed by prominent industrialistsExample of working class & middle joining

Advocated a free-trade policyHoped to lower food prices and increase industrial profitsOther goals: give manufactures more outlets for their products;

expand employment; lower the price of bread; make British agriculture more efficient and productive; promote international peace through trade contact

Wealthy landowners stubbornly resisted all reform proposals

Corn Law Repealed, 1846 Irish potato famine strengthened support for repealVictory for Britain’s urban population and for free trade

More Reform in England

The working class would ally with the middle class or aristocracy as needed to bring reform

Factory Act of 1833 Limited the number of hours women and

children worked in factories

Mines Act of 1842 Regulated working conditions and safety

standards for coal miners Children under 10 not permitted to work in

the mines Safety inspections

Ten Hours Act of 1847 Limited the workday for women and

children in factories to 10 hours per day

The Revolutions of 1830France’s “July Revolution”

France: The “Restoration” Era, 1815-1830

France emerged from the chaos of the revolutionary period as most liberal large state in Europe

Louis XVIII governed France as constitutional monarchAgreed to observe 1814 Charter or

Constitution of the Restoration Period○ Limited royal power○ Granted legislative power○ Protected civil rights○ Upheld the Napoleonic Code Louis XVIII

(r. 1814-1824)

The “Ultras”

France was divided by those who had accepted the ideals of the Fr. Revolution and those who didn’t.

The Count of Artois was the leader of the “Ultra-Royalists”reactionaries

“White Terror,” 1815Royalist mobs killed 1000s of former

revolutionaries.

1816 ElectionsThe Ultras were rejected in the

Chamber of Deputies election in favor of a moderate royalist majority dependent on middle class support.

The Count of Artois,the future King Charles X

(r. 1824-1830)

Conservative Backlash 1820 the Duke of Berri, son of Artois, was murdered.

Royalists blamed the Left.

Louis XVIII moved the gov’t more to the rightChanges in electoral laws narrowed the eligible voters.Censorship was imposed.

Liberals were driven out of legal political life and into illegal activities

1823: Triumph of reactionary forces!French troops were authorized by the Concert of Europe to

crush the Spanish Revolution and restore another Bourbon ruler, Ferdinand VII, to the throne there.

King Charles X of France,(r. 1824-1830)

His Goals:Lessen influence of the middle class.Limit the right to vote.Put clergy back in charge of education.Public money used to pay nobles for the

loss of their lands during the French Revolution.

His Program:Attack the 1814 Charter.Control the press.Dismiss the Chamber of Deputies when it

turned against him.Appointed an ultra-reactionary as his first

minister.

Charles Sparks Another Revolution

Election of 1830repudiated the Charles’ policiesbrought in another liberal majority.

July OrdinancesCharles dissolved the entire parliament. Imposed strict censorshipChanged the voting laws so that the government in the future

could be assured of a conservative victory.

Discontent with these and other arbitrary policies united the working class and bourgeoisie against the monarchy Ignited three days of rioting in July 1830

“To the Barricades” Unity between

working class and bourgeoisie proved brief

Workers wanted a republic

Bourgeoisie wanted a constitutional monarchyThey prevailed

Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People

Louis Philippe – “The Citizen King,”1830-1848 Duke of Orleans

Relative of the Bourbons but had steered clear of the Ultras

His Program:Abide by Constitution of 1814Property qualifications reduced enough to

double eligible voters.Press censorship abolished.The King ruled by the will of the people, not

by the will of God – he was “King of the French”

The French Revolution’s tricolor replaced the Bourbon flag.

The government was now under the bourgeoisie’s control

Francois Guizot Accepts the Charter from Louis Philippe

Continuing Worker Resentment

His government ignored the needs and demands of the workers in the cities. They were seen as another nuisance and

source of possible disorder.

July, 1832 an uprising in Paris was put down by force and 800 were killed or wounded.

1834 Silk workers strike in Lyon was crushed. Seething underclass. Strike was seen as a violation of the status

quo set down at the Congress of Vienna.Caricature of Louis Philippe

“The Pear”

Other Revolutions in 1830

Revolution in Belgium,

1830 Its union with Holland

after the Congress of Vienna had not proved successful. Wide cultural differences

between North & South○ North: Dutch, Protestant,

seafarers and traders○ South: French, Catholic,

farmers and individual workers

But there had been very little popular agitation for Belgian nationalism before 1830 Seldom had nationalism arisen so

suddenly.

Treaty of London, 1839 Great Powers & the Netherlands

recognized Belgian independence exchange for Belgium’s perpetual neutrality

Belgian Revolution, 1830

Stirrings of Polish Nationalism, 1830 The bloodiest struggle of the 1830 revolutions.

The Poles in and around Warsaw gained a special status by the Congress of Vienna within the Russian Empire.Their own constitution.Local autonomy granted in 1818.

Poles became restless under the tyrannical rule of Tsar Nicholas I.Polish intellectuals were deeply influenced by Romanticism.Rumors reached Poland that Nicholas I was planning to use

Polish troops to put down the revolutions in France and Belgium.

Several Polish secret societies rebelled.

Failed Revolution in Poland

Revolutionaries were split into moderate and radical factions United they might have been

successful The Poles had hoped that Fr & Eng

would come to their aid, but they didn’t.

Took Russian army a year to suppress this rebellion.

The irony by drawing the Russian army to Warsaw for almost a year, the Poles may well have kept Nicholas I from answering Holland’s call for help in suppressing the Belgian Revolt.

Unrest in Italy Austria dominated Northern Italy

Italian nationalists formed a secret society called the Carbonari

Hoped to drive out the Austrians and unify Italy

Inspired by events in France and Belgium, the Carbonari rebelled

Metternich sent in Austrian troops to restore order

Carbonari’s failure left Giuseppe Mazzini as Italy’s foremost nationalist leader

1. The Concert of Europe provided for a recovery of Europe after the long years of Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

2. The conservatives did NOT reverse ALL of the reforms put in place by the French Revolution.

3. Liberalism would challenge the conservative plan for European peace and law and order.

4. These revolutions were successful only in W. Europe: Their success was in their popular support. Middle class led, aided by the urban lower classes.

5. The successful revolutions had benefited the middle class the workers, who had done so much of the rioting and fighting, were left with empty hands!

6. Therefore, these revolutions left much unfinished & a seething, unsatisfied working class.

The Results of the Revolutions