UNIT 2

AGE OF REVOLUTIONS
1789-1871

4th LEVEL ESO

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Introduction
During the first half of the 19th century, a series of liberal revolutions spread across
Europe, inspired by the 1789 French Revolution.
These revolutions meant the end of absolutism and the Ancien Régime, and the
construction of a new society based on the equality of citizens before the law.
The new political system was created based on popular sovereignty (the right to vote).
Liberalism also defended the people's right to build their own state. The division of the
old empires allowed new states to emerge.

TOPICS

1. French revolution
 Causes of French Revolution
 Phases of French Revolution
 Legacy of French Revolution
2. Napoleon
 The Consulate
 Napoleonic Empire
 Why was Napoleon defeat?
3. Absolutism vs Liberalism
 Congress of Vienna
 Liberalism & Nationalism
 1848. Spring of Nations
 New European states in 19th
Century
DOSSIER ARTE

Vocabulary and terms

Ancien/Old Régime, Absolutism, Divine, freedom, social contract, separation of

powers, popular sovereignty, Third Estate, Enlightenment, civil code, Girondin,
Jacobin, Liberalism, Nationalism, unification, universal suffrage, sans culottes,
constitution, inalienable, storm, press, citizen, trade union, human rights, balance of
powers, reshape, powers, Restoration, uprising, empire, concordat.

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1. French revolution.

The spread of new Enlightenment ideals, the development of the bourgeoisie in

the 18thcentury and the example of the American Revolution stimulated the desire
for change in Europe.

A revolutionary wave began in France in 1789 and spread through Europe in the
first half of the 19th century. Its aim was to end absolutism and the Ancien Régime.
These were called the liberal revolutions. Revolutionaries wanted all male citizens
to be considered free and equal, with an end to feudal privileges and the right to
participate in political life.

Causes of French Revolution

The factors that led to revolution in France were:

 Ideological causes, the spread of

Enlightenment ideals (Rousseau, Voltaire,
Montesquieu) and American Revolution, the
Declaration of Independence, USA´s Constitution put
into practice the Enlightenment ideas: inalienable
rigths of the citizens, separation of powers, equality
and freedom, popular sovereignty.

 Social causes, the bourgeoisie wanted to end

with nobility and clergy priviledges. Bourgeoisie
wanted freedom of trade and to participate in political
life. Third Estate (bourgeoisie and peasants) were
opposed to the heavy taxes imposed on them.

 Economic causes.
 Economic crisis, which was the result of a series of poor harvests since
1760. The rise in the price of food, especially bread, generated discontent
and a spirit of rebellion among the people.
 Financial crisis, caused by the monarchy's lack of money. To resolve this
problem, Louis XVI's ministers proposed that the privileged begin to pay
taxes. They refused to accept this and demanded that Louis XVI convene
the Estates General, the only body that could approve tax reform.

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 Phases of French Revolution

The Revolution was a long and complex

process that surpassed its initial objectives.
The king and the privileged (nobility and
clergy) refused to accept the changes
proposed by the National Assembly, and the
working classes had to fight for greater social
equality. As a result, the revolution went
through different phases.

 1789: A revolution breaks out

The Estates General met in Versailles in May 1789. The meeting was chaired by the
king and made up of representatives of the nobility, clergy and the Third Estate.
However, the Third Estate representatives decided to leave the meeting when the
privileged classes refused to allow them greater representation and insisted on one
vote per estate rather than one per representative.

The representatives of the Third

Estate met in a pavilion in Versailles
(Jeu de Paume) and proclaimed
themselves the National
Assembly (representatives of the
nation). They pledged to draft a
constitution that reflected the will of
the majority of French people.

The people of Paris supported the

Assembly's proposals and, on July 14,
they stormed the Bastille. The
revolution spread to the countryside,
where nobles' homes were burnt
The Bastille was used as a prison. It was a symbol of the (the Great Fear).
king's absolute power.

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Louis XVI was frightened by the situation and, in the autumn of 1789, accepted the
National Assembly, which made France a constitutional monarchy and ended the
Ancien Régime.

 The Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792)

This was driven by the moderate bourgeoisie, who aspired to abolish the Ancien
Régime, elect a parliament by selective suffrage and establish a constitution (moderate
liberalism).

The new National Assembly abolished the pillars of Ancien Régime to turn France into
a parliamentary monarchy.

In August 1789 the assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen which recognised the rights, individual freedoms and equality of all citizens
in law and taxation.

In 1791 a Constitution was drawn up. It was inspired by political liberalism based on
the separation of powers, national sovereignty and legal equality, though the king
reserved the right of veto. Census suffrage was also introduced, giving the vote to
people with a certain level of wealth.

Once the Constitution was approved, a Legislative Assembly was formed. This drafted
new laws to implement liberalism, forced the nobility to pay taxes and abolished the
guilds. A new army, the National Guard, was also created to defend the Revolution.

Finally, in order to solve the financial crisis, Church property was expropriated
(confiscated) and sold. In return, the state promised to fund the practice of
Catholicism. A Civil Constitution of the Clergy separated the Church and the state.

A constitutional monarchy was established in 1791, but the royal family and the
privileged classes did not accept the changes and asked absolute monarchies in Europe
to help restore absolutism. The Austrian army invaded France in 1792.

 The social republic (1792-1794)

The radical bourgeoisie, encouraged by the working classes, proclaimed the Republic
and began a transformation into a democratic and equal society with universal male
suffrage and social laws.
The betrayal by the king and the military invasion led to a revolt of common people or
sans-culottes. A Republic was declared and a new Constitution (1793) established
popular sovereignty universal male suffrage.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoniette were convicted of treason and executed. In response
to the king's death, monarchies in Europe formed an absolutist coalition against
France. Inside the country, counter-revolutionary revolts broke out and the former
privileged classes organised royalist plots.

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 At the beginning of this period the Republic was in the hands of Girondins, from June
1792 was in the hands of Jacobins.

✓ Girondins: moderate bourgeoisie

✓ Jacobins: radical sector of bourgeoisie.

The executive power was led by a

Committee of Public Safety controlled by
Robespierre. A series of laws were
introduced and the Reign of Terror was
imposed to fight against conspirators. Many
people opposed the dictatorial government,
and a coup in July 1794 ended the Jacobin
government. Robespierre and other Jacobin
leaders were executed by guillotine.

The Jacobin leader Marat on the shoulders of

the sans-culottes
 The Conservative Republic (1794-1799)

Despite the radicalisation of the French Revolution, the moderate bourgeoisie took
power and implemented a new moderate liberalism.

The moderate bourgeoisie took back control of the Revolution and it entered its third
and final phase. Jacobin laws were cancelled and exiles from the Reign of Terror
were encouraged to return. A new Constitution (1795) granted executive power to a
collegial government, known as the Directory, and restored census suffrage.

The Directory was permanently unstable because it faced opposition from the
aristocracy, which sought to re-establish the monarchy and recover its privileges, and
the common people, who supported the return of the Jacobins. In this context of crisis
and war against the absolutist powers, general Napoléon Bonaparte organised a coup
in 1799 that ended the Directory.

 Legacy of French Revolution

French revolution marked the beginning of the late modern period. It started an era in
which western society began the construction of a future based on respect for
fundamental and basic human rights, equality and popular sovereignty

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2. Napoleon

 The Consulate (1799-1804)

Napoleon´s coup d´état was supported by a large part of bourgeoisie. His aim was to
implement the more moderate ideologies that had inspired the French Revolution in
1789.

Napoleon was named consul in 1799, and

the Consulate's rule began. This was a period
of autocratic and authoritarian rule.
Napoleon aspired to put an end to the
political instability of the Revolution,
consolidate some of the revolutionary
principles and promote economic recovery
through a government that represented the
interests of the bourgeoisie.

The Constitution of 1800 of the new political

system did not include the separation of
powers or a declaration of rights. Liberties
were very limited and censorship was
imposed to control public opinion.

Napoleon Bonaparte
The state was organised into departments that were run by prefects who implemented
government policies. The public finance sector was reformed, and state schools
(lyceés) were created to educate an elite of civil servants.

Napoleon allowed exiles to return if they accepted the new government and signed an
agreement with the Church called a concordat, and a civil code for all citizens was
drawn up.

Furthermore, a commercial code was established to stimulate the economy, the Bank
of France was created, and new banknotes were issued.

 Napoleonic Empire (1804-15)

Napoleon began his conquest of Europe in 1803 and was crowned emperor by the
Pope in 1804. His large army and the use of new military tactics enabled him to defeat
most European monarchies (e.g. Russia, Austria, Naples, the Kingdom of Holland,
Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw).

After France's victory over Austria and Russia at Austerlitz (1805), the French troops
seemed unstoppable.

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 In 1808, the French invaded Spain, and Joseph Bonaparte, one of the emperor's
brothers, was made king. In 1811, the Napoleonic Empire had reached its zenith: it
extended from Germany to Spain. France now controlled most of Europe.

Napoleonic Empire (1811)

But the revolt in Spain against a foreign

king and the failure of his invasion of
Russia marked the beginning of the end of
the Napoleonic Empire.
In 1815 Napoleon was defeated in
Waterloo by Great Britain and Prussia.
Napoleon abdicated and went into exile on
the island of Saint Helena where he died a
few years later.

Napoleon on the island of Saint Helena

 Why was Napoleon defeat?

 Napoleon contributed to the spread of political liberalism and the French

revolution ideals.
The abolishment of absolute monarchies and the end of manorial rights had thesupport
of European liberals.
 Napoleon´s conquest contributed to develop Nationalism.
The resistance movements to French invasion caused the emergence of nationalist
feelings in conquered countries such as Spain, Poland, Germany and Italy.

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3. Absolutism vs Liberalism

 Congress of Vienna

Between 1814.-15 the powers that defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna.
The organiser, Austrian chancellor Metternich, wanted to stop the spread of liberal
ideas and restore absolutism in Europe.

The goals of this congress were:

 To establish a much-needed
balance of power for a secure Europe.
(Reshaped the European map)
 To restore absolutism
(Restoration).
 To contain France within its
current borders.
 To learn how to cooperate with
each other for long-term peace.

Europe after the Congress of Vienna (1815).

The Holy Alliance was signed in 1815: the absolute monarchs would unite against any
threat of liberal revolution.

 Liberalism & Nationalism

The Congress of Vienna did not respect the liberal principles or the nationalist
aspirations of some European peoples. After 1815, liberalism and nationalism became
the two main opposition forces, prompting the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 that
ended the restoration of absolutism.

The insurrections had significant popular support. When they were successful,
absolutism was replaced by liberal political systems governed by a constitution in
which the bourgeoisie held power.

The movement began in France when Charles X, the absolute monarch who succeeded
Louis XVIII a few years after the fall of Napoleon, was overthrown in July 1830. Louis
Philippe I became the new constitutional monarch. He was called the 'Citizen King'.

In 1831, a revolt also broke out in Poland, which was under the autocratic rule of the
Russian Empire, but was harshly suppressed by the tsarist army.

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  1848. Spring of Nations

In 19th-century Europe, many people lived under the rule of an empire (e.g. Austrian,
Russian and Ottoman) or were fragmented into various states (e.g. Germany and
Italy). For this reason, in many areas, the rise of liberalism was accompanied by an
expansion of nationalism, which advocated for independent nations free from the
control of absolutist empires.

The revolutions of 1848 ('the Spring of Nations') showed how countries under the
control of empires wanted to pursue the idea of nationalism and the creation of new
liberal governments.

The revolution of 1848

represented democratic
ideals and the political
importance of workers.
Democrats defended the
principles of liberalism and
the concept of popular
sovereignty (universal male
suffrage).

Although these revolutions were suppressed, democratic reforms and many nationalist
aspirations were consolidated in the second half of the 19th century.

 New European states in 19th century

Nationalism defends the right of nations to exercise their sovereignty and create
their own state, making it necessary for state and nation to coexist; in other words,
members of the same national community are grouped within given geographical
borders. Nationalist movements spread across Europe in the 19th century. They
divided plurinational empires and unified fragmented nations. Greece and Belgium
gained their independence, and the unifications of Italy and Germany took place
during this time.

Unification of Italy

Meeting between King

Victor Manuel II and
Garibaldi in Naples, 1860

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DOSSIER ARTE
Romanticismo
Movimiento artístico y cultural que surge en Gran Bretaña y Alemania. Surge como
reacción al racionalismo de la Ilustración y el Neoclasicismo. Sus características más
importantes son:

 El individualismo como valor

predominante.
 Subjetividad y expresión de los
sentimientos
 La naturaleza adquiere importancia como
una fuerza poderosa a la que el hombre se siente
incapaz de controlar.
 Interés por la historia nacional de cada
país.
 Temas: paisajes, episodios históricos,
fantasías, expresión de sentimientos…

El caminante sobre el mar de nubes.

Friedrich

En su vertiente pictórica destaca el movimiento y la expresión de sentimientos

extremos y apasionados. Destaca el gusto por temas históricos o épicos y temas
exóticos (Oriente). En Alemania, destaca el pintor Caspar David Friedrich, en cuyos
paisajes la figura humana se ve empequeñecida ante el poder y la belleza de la
naturaleza.

En cuanto arquitectura
romántica se caracteriza por el
eclecticismo (mezcla de estilos),
el gusto por lo medieval y
exótico.

Castillo Luis II de Baviera

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Realismo

Surge como reacción al romanticismo. Es

un estilo artístico burgués que pone el
foco en reflejar la realidad de forma
objetiva. Sus temáticas se centran en los
cambios económicos y sociales. Valoran la
capacidad de observación del artista y la
plasmación de la realidad tal como es. La
temática elegida es la propia época. Las
mejores muestras artística las tenemos en
pintura (Courbet, Millet y Daumier) y en
literatura (Balzac, Flaubert, Stendhal,
Galdós, Dickens, Tolstoi…)

El Angelus. Millet

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