French Revolution and 1820-1848 Revolutions: Rise of Liberalism and Nationalism
The Radicalization of the French Revolution
The French Revolution radicalized, leading to the formation of a new bourgeois regime that ultimately ceded power to Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Girondin Convention (1792-1793)
At the dawn of the Republic, the September Massacres occurred, where Parisian sans-culottes stormed prisons, killing aristocrats and religious prisoners. The French victory at the Battle of Valmy temporarily eased tensions. Elections were called for a new National Convention, controlled by the moderate Girondins and the more radical Jacobins (Montagnards). The Assembly aimed to break with the past. Louis XVI was tried for treason and executed, leading to the First Coalition (Britain, Spain, etc.) declaring war. A royalist and Catholic uprising erupted in the Vendée region. To win the war, the Revolution established the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Committee of Public Safety.
The Montagnard Convention and the Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
Fear of defeat led to a sans-culottes coup against the Girondins. Robespierre and the Montagnards seized power. They drafted a new democratic constitution, but Robespierre established a dictatorship. The assassination of Marat, a sans-culottes leader, triggered the Reign of Terror. The constitution was suspended, and laws allowed for trials and executions without due process. Robespierre’s attempts to control the economic crisis by limiting wages led to conflict with the sans-culottes. He lost support, and the Thermidorian Reaction (July 27, 1794) resulted in his trial and execution.
The Directory and the End of the Revolution (1795-1799)
To prevent another dictatorship, a moderate government drafted the Constitution of Year III, a liberal regime based on national sovereignty and separation of powers. It established census suffrage and a bicameral legislature. Executive power rested with a five-member Directory. Royalist attempts to restore the Bourbons were thwarted by Napoleon Bonaparte, who suppressed the Vendémiaire uprising. Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1796 ended the First Coalition. By 1799, European powers formed the Second Coalition. Napoleon, backed by the bourgeoisie, launched the Coup of 18 Brumaire, ending the Directory and becoming First Consul.
A New Revolutionary Wave (1820-1848): Liberalism and Nationalism
The revolutionary cycles of 1820, 1830, and 1848 were fueled by liberalism and nationalism. Early 19th-century liberalism rejected absolutism and embraced the French Revolution’s ideals of rights and freedoms. Nationalism stemmed from Napoleonic expansion, which fostered a sense of national belonging. The Vienna Congress’s reorganization disregarded the cultural identities of various peoples (Polish, Belgian, Norwegian, Italian, German), leading to calls for independence within empires like the Ottoman, Russian, and Austrian.
Revolutions of 1820 and 1830
The first revolutionary wave began in 1820 with a Spanish uprising against Ferdinand VII’s absolute monarchy, leading to the Liberal Triennium and the reinstatement of the 1812 Constitution. The Holy Alliance intervened in 1823, restoring absolutism. In 1821, Greece revolted against Ottoman rule, gaining independence in 1829. The second wave in 1830 started in France, where Charles X attempted to dismantle the Charter granted by Louis XVIII. The July Revolution ousted him, and Louis Philippe of Orléans, a bourgeois leader, took the throne. An uprising in Brussels against the Dutch King led to Belgian independence in 1831.
The Revolutions of 1848
The 1848 revolutions spread across Europe, incorporating social and labor elements alongside liberalism and nationalism. It began in France, where Louis Philippe’s corrupt regime was overthrown in February, leading to the Second Republic. Worker demands remained unmet, resulting in the June Days Uprising, which was crushed. The bourgeoisie drafted the 1848 Constitution. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte won the elections and established an authoritarian government, culminating in the Second Empire in 1852. The 1848 revolutions were significant for three reasons: they initiated the unification of Italy and Germany, advanced democracy by extending voting rights in some countries, and prompted a more modern labor movement.