Age of Metternich

Europe from the Congress of Vienna

through the Unification of Italy & Germany

Age of Metternich

Dominated by “conservatism”

Wanted Europe to forget about Napoleon, the French

Revolution, and the Enlightenment

Wanted to achieve a “balance of power” in Europe

Power between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia,

and France

Wanted “legitimacy” to return rightful monarchs or

their heirs to their thrones

Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolutions in

France spread conservative ideas throughout Europe

1815 Europe

Liberalism

Metternich wanted conservatism

Liberalism was dominant among the

commoners who didn’t benefit from noble

privilege

Liberalism was defined by freedoms –

freedom of speech, religion, and the press

Liberalism stressed constitutional monarchies

Liberalism stressed meritocracy – value in

what you achieve, not who you were born to

Utilitarianism

The greatest good for the greatest number.

Normally associated with liberalism – the greatest

numbers were non-nobles

Jeremy Bentham – father of

Said government should only interfere in people’s

lives to bring order and harmony

John Stuart Mill said the role of the government is to

help people achieve happiness

Mill’s On Liberty and On the Subjection of Women

outlined utilitarianism and feminism

Nationalism

Hotbeds were in Ottoman Empire and

Austrian Empire

Leads to unification of Germany and Italy

Glorified the past and culture of unified

groups

England in the Age of Metternich

Rights of commoners actually is expanded

1815 Parliament only elected by wealthy

1820s – labor unions legalized

Chartist Movement (People’s Charter) wanted

expanded voting rights

1832 – Great Reform Bill – allowed 50%

more people to vote; redrew district

boundaries

1846 – Repeal of the Corn Laws

More on England

In 1866 – Whig party (liberal) Prime Minister

William Gladstone attempted to expand voter

registration.

In 1867 – Tory Party (Conservative Party)

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. 2nd Reform

Bill = gives right to vote to workers.

Back to England

At the turn of the century Great Britain’s laws laid down the foundation of the social welfare state (but first programs started in Germany)

All citizens guaranteed a free public education --compulsory

Unions were legalized

Secret ballots (Australian)

Government workers insurance

Unemployment insurance

Old age pensions

End of child labor; safety regulations in factories

Review English Eras

Magna Carta – King has to follow the law

War of the Roses – leads to Parliament supported a new king

Henry VIII – religious upheaval – power of the monarch

Elizabeth – relied upon Parliament for support

James I – absolutist

Charles I – English Civil War; Parliament overthrows monarch

Charles II returns – at the request of Parliament

Glorious Revolution –Parliament invites William and Mary to return

Bill of Rights – habeas corpus and freedom of speech

Prime Minister gains power during the reign of Queen Victoria

France in the Age of Metternich

Louis XVIII was the king – granted a new

constitution

Charles X was a reactionary and make

people mad

1830 – July Revolution – Charles overthrown

Louis Philippe chosen as king of “the French”

Louis had problems with workers – constant

uprisings

Back to France

Began the Revolutions of 1848

July Revolution of 1830 was against Charles X

Louis Phillip replaced Charles and gave a voice to the “bourgeoisie” but no one represented the proletariat (workers)

February, 1848 Louis Phillip abdicates and a new legislature is elected – dominated by conservatives –riots break out between the government and the workers

Universal male suffrage approved and a constitution that set up a one house legislature and had a strong president.

Napoleon Again

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected president of the Second Republic (1st Republic was during the French Revolution)

Goals: law and order; eradication of socialism and radicalism; adherence to conservative groups: Church, army, property owners and business.

1852 declares himself Emperor Napoleon III

Internal improvements – highways, canals, railroad construction

Subsidized industry allowed organized unions

Everyone was doing well –

Liberal Empire – eased censorship and granted amnesty to political prisioners

Mexican Empire

Napoleon sets up an “Emperor of Mexico” – a

Hapsburg cousin who was to answer to

Napoleon – the Mexicans kill him and the

United States is outraged at the violation of

the Monroe Doctrine

Crimean War (1854-1856)

French and English went to war to prevent

the Russians from establishing dominance

over Ottoman possessions

Ended the peace set up after the Congress of

Vienna

Franco-Prussian War (1870)

Was the last war of Prussian/German

unification

Napoleon surrendered rather than let the

Prussian army invade Paris; Napoleon is

taken captive and France declares the Third

Republic

Third Republic

Controlled by monarchists and the bourgeoisie

Counter radical government was set up – Paris

Commune (where have we heard of this before?)

1875 – Chamber of Deputies – set up – foundation of

French government until WWII when so many parties

kept leading to its downfall

1894 – Dreyfus Affair embarrassed France; Dreyfus

was a Jewish military officer who was convicted of

espionage; Emile Zola was a writer who “broke” the

story that there was no evidence – anti-Semitism led

to arrest and conviction

Let’s Review Major French Eras

War of the Three Henrys Religious toleration

Bourbons vs. Hapsburgs

Age of Absolutism Louis XIV – Sun King

Wars of Louis XIV

Bourbons expand into Spain

Great Debt

Enlightenment Radical ideas that change the world

Participate in American Revolution

Revolution Starts off as moderate – wanted a

Constitutional monarchy

Becomes radical – Reign of Terror

Paris mainly radical

Wars with others

Napoleon Military hero

Spread enlightenment ideas across Europe – not always enlightened himself

Monarchy Part II Louis XVIII – constitution that benefited

bourgeois and nobles

Charles X – wanted to return to absolute power – abdicates in face of rebellion

Louis Phillip – citizen king; benefits bourgeoisie but not workers

Workers rebel

Second Republic Voting rights to men

Napoleon III Same as uncle – pretty enlightened,

but wants total power

Loses for military reasons (sound familiar)

Third Republic Sets up a true democracy

Russia in the Age of Metternich

Alexander I was the Tzar

Younger people had been influenced by Enlightenment – students

Nicholas I became Tzar in 1825

Decembrist Revolt -- young army officers wanted a constitutional monarchy

Many were executed

Nicholas became very reactionary and repressive

Created the Third Section – secret police

Nicholas put down revolts in Poland but aided revolutionaries in Greece (why?)

Russia

Alexander I extended the reforms of Catherine the Great

Freedom of Jews in empire

When Napoleon invaded Alexander ordered statewide censorship and required membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Nicholas I takes over when Alexander dies –Decembrist Revolt was led by military soldiers. Created Third Section.

Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality

Russia

Alexander II began as a reformer and ended as a reactionary.

Emancipated the serfs in 1861, but required them to pay for their freedom.

Polish Revolt led to autocracy – killed by militants called Narodniks who were socialists. (1866)

Industrialization had taken place under Alexander and a Trans-Siberian Railroad was important in Russia’s economic development.

German States

The Holy Roman Empire was ended by Napoleon.

Remember various princes controlled German states and the Hapsburgs controlled Austria.

The Congress of Vienna set up the Germanic Confederation to deal with similar German state problems.

Burschenschafts were radical student organizations who wanted a unified German state led by a constitution. They organized national conventions.

Carlsbad Decrees outlawed the Buschenschafts, censored materials that advocated unification, and set up secret police in universities (started by Metternich).

Prussia

Zollverein – was an economic union of

German states. Economic unity…

Prussia (Frederick William IV) dealt quickly

with revolutionary activity by calling a

legislative assembly rather than the military

(why was this a good idea?).

1850 Prussia set up a constitution that

established a House of Representatives

elected by universal male suffrage.

Frankfurt Assembly

Met outside the “legal” authority of Prussia.

Set up a plan for future union of Germany.

Greater Germany wanted German and Austrian unification.

Lesser Germany wanted to exclude Austria.

Offered the crown of “Germany” to Frederick William IV – he declined.

Advisor Bismarck said if someone gives you something it can be taken away – take it through “blood and iron.”

Austria

Ethnic mix of Austria included Germans, Hungarians, Slavs, Czechs, Italians, Serbs, Croats, and others.

Led to Revolutions of 1848.

Louis Kossuth – Hungarian nationalist aroused separatist sentiments.

Rioting in Vienna led to Metternich having to flee Austria.

Prague Conference was called by the Czechs (like the Frankfurt Conference) wanted Austroslavismwhere the slavs would had some autonomy from the Austrians (but remain in the empire).

Those who tried to rebel were suppressed by the Hapsburgs.

Franz Joseph (1848-1916)

Very conservative

Suppressed all opposition

Saw the Revolutions of 1848 collapse

because of ethnic conflicts – not a bad thing

for him!

Liberalism Redefined

Liberalism started as laissez-faire economics,

freedom of speech, press, and religion

Beginning of 20th century – expanded suffrage and

improve living conditions for all citizens

Unions were legalized

Government education for all

End of child labor

Pensions for the elderly

Medical insurance for all

Universal suffrage achieved

German Unification

The Zollverein set up

the foundations of a

unified economic state.

Political unification

wasn’t far off.

Prussian Hohenzollerns

looked to be the leading

contenders for created

a German empire.

Austrian Hapsburgs

were not so sure.

German States

Bismarck’s Realpolitik

Otto von Bismarck was a Junker (landowning

noble) who was willing to battle Parliament

Collected taxes without the approval of

Parliament, enlarged the army, and killed

democracy in Prussia.

Unified Germany through war and power:

Danish-Prussian War – all-German war

against Denmark over Denmark’s desire for

Schleswig – Denmark defeated by Germans,

included Austria

Austro-Prussian War (7 Weeks War)

of 1866

Prussia was superior in arms, training, and

leadership

Austria chose not to interfere with Bismarck’s

plans anymore

North German Confederation

1867 the North German Confederation was

established to replace the German

Confederation

21 States united under Prussia

2 House Legislature – Reichstag (lower

house) and Bundesrat (upper house)

Franco-Prussian War

Technically a disagreement over the Spanish throne – series of diplomatic correspondents between Prussia and France

EMS Dispatch was reworded to sound like Napoleon III was insulted by William I

Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in July of 1870.

In four months, the Prussian army had defeated the French and taken Napoleon prisoner.

France lost Alsace-Lorraine.

Baden, Bavaria, Hesse, and Wurttemberg – joined the Confederation and King William became the Keiser of all the Germans (except Austria)

Bismarck as Chancellor

Kulturkampf (cultural

conflicts) repressed

Catholics and socialists

in the German states.

To counter appeal of

the socialists, Bismarck

sponsored some

“reforms” of his own –

the first in Europe:

Workman’s

Compensation

Old-age pensions

Medical assistance

Unification of Italy

Italy had unified somewhat since the Italian City-States of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Kingdom of Naples (Two Sicilies) was made up of Sicily and the southern part of Italy.

The Papal States included Rome and the middle of Italy.

Lombardy-Venetia was the northern part of Italy and was ruled by Austria (Tuscany, Lucca, Modena, and Parma).

Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont-Sardinia) included the northwestern provinces of Nice, Savoy, and Piedmont.

Italy

Sardinia

Was ruled by a constitutional monarchy led by Victor Emmanuel II.

Camillo di Cavour became prime minister during the Revolutions of 1848.

Rejected the idea of a “family” destined to be united by divine intervention (idea of Mazzini) and decided that Italy had to be united by force.

Cavour reformed Sardinia by weakening the power of the papacy, investing in public works (railroads and harbors), abolishing internal tariffs (another economic unification), encouraging industry, emancipating the peasants tied to land, and highlighting “constitutional” powers.

Unification

Cavour got Napoleon III to support a Sardinia war against Austria. France would get Nice and Savoy in exchange.

1859 Austria declared war on Sardinia and the French fought for Cavour. (Napoleon left early to deal with Prussia).

Garibaldi took over the military forces and his Red Shirts.

March, 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as the ruler.

1870 the Papal states (excluding Vatican) were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.