jjares reviewed The Revolutions of 1848: The History and Legacy of the Massive Social Uprisings across Europe on + 3270 more book reviews
This is a very interesting story of European uprisings and revolutions in the mid-1800s. This book specifically focuses on France, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. The revolutions outlined here benefitted the bourgeois classes and peasantry. They got the vote and some protections. However, most of the lands and property were beyond their grasp, and there was little they could do to better their lives.
FRANCE --
I really know little French history, so it was a surprise to see that France had more trouble, so soon after the French Revolution. Another surprise was learning that Napoleon did away with feudalism in Western Europe.
ITALY --
This book explains very well why Italy was not a united country; most people spoke a dialect and only knew the history of their local area. Different sections of Italy were ruled by outsiders (the French and Austrians come to mind) and all of them wanted things to remain the same. Probably because of Pope Pius IX's shocking pull out of the War for Italian Independence, the Italians would have to fight a second war later.
GERMANY --
Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna instituted a German Confederation, a weak and ineffective government. The emperor of Austria acted as their president. The story of the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria and how they controlled lands within Germany and outside, is interesting and confusing. There were huge land masses involved, but the Germans wanted to unify the German-speaking peoples.
When Frederick VII of Denmark took in the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig (areas with German-speaking people), revolution broke out. However, it wasn't until 1866, when Bismarck's Prussia defeated Austria. Later, Prussia defeated France and created the German Empire.
HUNGARY --
In the 17th-century, the Austrian monarchy conquered Hungary from the Ottomans and became part of the Habsburg crown. The peasants, still under feudal obligations (determined by the nobility) wanted freedom and lower taxes (the nobles were exempt from taxes).
There were large ethnic groups who clamored for independence. In 1867, Austria changed from an empire to a dual-monarchy, with Hungary and Austria separate but equal. But the Croats, Slovaks, Serbs, and Romanian minorities would have to wait until the end of World War I (and the dissolution of the Astro-Hungarian union in 1918), to earn their freedom.
FRANCE --
I really know little French history, so it was a surprise to see that France had more trouble, so soon after the French Revolution. Another surprise was learning that Napoleon did away with feudalism in Western Europe.
ITALY --
This book explains very well why Italy was not a united country; most people spoke a dialect and only knew the history of their local area. Different sections of Italy were ruled by outsiders (the French and Austrians come to mind) and all of them wanted things to remain the same. Probably because of Pope Pius IX's shocking pull out of the War for Italian Independence, the Italians would have to fight a second war later.
GERMANY --
Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna instituted a German Confederation, a weak and ineffective government. The emperor of Austria acted as their president. The story of the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria and how they controlled lands within Germany and outside, is interesting and confusing. There were huge land masses involved, but the Germans wanted to unify the German-speaking peoples.
When Frederick VII of Denmark took in the Duchy of Holstein and the Duchy of Schleswig (areas with German-speaking people), revolution broke out. However, it wasn't until 1866, when Bismarck's Prussia defeated Austria. Later, Prussia defeated France and created the German Empire.
HUNGARY --
In the 17th-century, the Austrian monarchy conquered Hungary from the Ottomans and became part of the Habsburg crown. The peasants, still under feudal obligations (determined by the nobility) wanted freedom and lower taxes (the nobles were exempt from taxes).
There were large ethnic groups who clamored for independence. In 1867, Austria changed from an empire to a dual-monarchy, with Hungary and Austria separate but equal. But the Croats, Slovaks, Serbs, and Romanian minorities would have to wait until the end of World War I (and the dissolution of the Astro-Hungarian union in 1918), to earn their freedom.
