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Belgium annexed to the former Dutch Republic in 1815
ebelled and created an independent state. Both Poland and Italy, which were ruled by foreign powers, made efforts to break free. These efforts, however, were less successful. Russian troops crushed the Polish attempt to establish an independent Polish nation. -
Governments in Europe attempted to maintain the old order during the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1830
the forces of change liberalism and nationalism began to break through the conservative domination of Europe. In France the Bourbon monarch Charles X, a reactionary, attempted to censor the press and take away voting rights from much of the middle class. In response, liberals overthrew Charles X -
Revolution in France again the spark
Revolution in France was again the spark for revolution in other countries. Severe economic problems beginning in 1846 brought untold hardship in France to the lower middle class, workers, and peasants. At the same time, members of the middle class clamored for the right to vote. The government of Louis-Philippe refused to make changes, and opposition grew. -
The monarchy was finally overthrown in 1848
A group of moderate and radical republicans set up a provisional, or temporary, government. The republicans were people who wanted France to be a republic a government in which leaders are elected. -
demonstrations erupted
In March 1848, demonstrations erupted in the major cities. To calm the demonstrators, the Hapsburg court dismissed Metternich, the Austrian foreign minister, who fled to England. In Vienna, revolutionary forces took control of the capital and demanded a liberal constitution. To appease the revolutionaries, the government gave Hungary its own legislature. In Bohemia, the Czechs clamored for their own government. -
revolees in italian states
In 1848 a revolt broke out against the Austrians in Lombardy and Venetia. Revolutionaries in other Italian states also took up arms and sought to create liberal constitutions and a unified Italy. By 1849, however, the Austrians had reestablished complete control over Lombardy and Venetia. The old order also prevailed in the rest of Italy. -
the new french constitution
The new French constitution, ratified on November 4, 1848, set up a republic called the Second Republic. The Second Republic had a single legislature elected by universal male suffrage. A president, also chosen by universal male suffrage, served for four years. In the elections for the presidency held in December 1848, Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
