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Congress of Vienna Meets for the First Time
France was represented by Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, Russia by Alexander I, Prussia by Prince Karl von Hardenburg, and Britain by Viscount Castlereagh. The conference was dominated by Klemens von Metternich of Austria who was interested in preventing political and social change. He believed the Europe’s dynastic rulers were the only legitimate political authority. He favored treating France moderately. -
Louis XVIII of France Issues the Charter
Louis XVIII was a supporter absolutism by putting forth the Charter, a kind of constitution that pushed the idea about kings having the diving right to rule. He felt emboldened in doing this because of France's participation and agreement with the Congress of Vienna where all nations promised to quell any resurgence of the political liberalism that was the strongest legacy of the French Revolution. -
Holy Alliance Created
The idea to create this pact came from Tsar Alexander I who was influenced by mystical and romantic view of international politics. The monarchs of Prussia, Austria and Russia agreed to renounce war and to protect European Christians. Although this treaty arrangement was hollow, it did indicate the willingness of 3 autocracies to intervene in the affairs of other states. -
Quadruple Alliance Formed
Signed by Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia, it was intended to protect Europe against future French aggression and to preserve the balance of power in Europe. After France paid its war indemnity in 1818, it joined the pact, which then became known as the Quintuple Alliance. These 5 powers promised to meet periodically over the next 20 years to discuss common problems and ensure peace. -
Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, England
A crowd of people of 80,000 people gathered outside in Manchester, England in St. Peter’s Field to hear speeches for parliamentary reform and universal male suffrage. The cavalry was called, slaughtering 15 and injuring hundreds. It was called “Peterloo” as a reference to the Battle of Waterloo which finally defeated Napoleon. -
Spanish Rebel Against King Ferdinand VII
After the defeat of Napoleon, the Bourbon King of Spain was brought back. He wanted to replace the Constitution of 1812 (influenced by the French Revolution) and bring back the power of the monarchy, aristocracy and Church. The Spanish rebelled. They hated the French, but thanks to them, were exposed to French revolutionary ideas, and were thus angry. In April 1823, the French army invaded to restore the king. -
Greek War of Independence Begins
The Greeks had been under Ottoman rule since the 15th century. Their rebellion drew support from the British government, and sympathy for the Greeks was widespread in Europe. For Christians, this rebellion was part of an ongoing struggle between Christianity and Islam. From the secular point of view, the Greeks were fighting for liberty and struggling to preserve the ancient heritage of their land. -
Charles X Becomes King of France
Louis XVIII died, and the crown passed to his brother, the comte d'Artois, who assumed the throne as King Charles X, who was the younger brother of Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII. As king, Charles tried to restore the power of the monarchy and increase the authority of the church and aristocracy in France. His measures drew increasing opposition from French liberals. -
Decembrist Revolt in Russia
After the death of Tsar Alexander, a group of army officers known as the Decembrists led an uprising to push reform. Many were veterans of the Napoleonic wars. The Decembrists argued that not only were Russian peasants enslaved, but the nobles were “slaves to the tsar” They did not want to give support to Tsar Nicholas I, but wanted to bring his brother Constantine as the new ruler. -
European Powers Support Greek War of Independence
British, French and Russian troops sided against the Turks, who were forced to grant Greeks an independent state. A similar intervention in 1828 resulted in Serbian autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. With Russian aid, Serbia became a semi-independent Orthodox Christian principality under Ottoman rule. Both Greece and Serbia were small and fragile. -
King Charles X of France Issues July Ordinances
In the elections of 1830, the liberals had won a large majority in the Chamber of Deputies, France's legislature. King Charles, in opposition issued the July Ordinances. They called for strict censorship of the press, dissolved the newly elected Chamber of Deputies before it had met, set a date for new elections, and reduced the number of voters to 20,000 of the wealthiest Frenchmen. -
Charles X of France is Replaced with King Louis Philippe
With rising prices, workers took the streets in Paris in the final days of July. They protested the cost of living, hoarding by grain merchants, tax collection, wage cuts. Charles X flees and his cousin Louis Philippe becomes the new king. The charter (constitution) that he brought with him lowered the age of voting from 30 to 25 and lowered the tax requirement. Voting was still based on strict property requirement, but number of voters increased from 90,000 to 170,000. -
Belgians Push for Independence From the Dutch
A wave of revolutions swept through Europe following the July Revolution in France. In one of them, Belgians won their independence from the Dutch. Belgians hated to be part of the Netherlands because they were mostly French speakers and were Catholic. King William of the Netherlands appealed to the powers to intervene, but the British and the French opposed getting involved. For the major powers, Belgian independence, like Greek independence, did not threaten to take territories from them. -
Polish Uprising Against Russian Rule
In response to the news of what was going in Paris, students in Warsaw rebelled against Russia domination. Polish aristocrats soon formed a provisional government. Despite having some victories in battle, the provisional government received no help from the British or the French and was ultimately defeated. Tsar Nicholas I abolished the Polish constitution that Alexander had granted and ordered the execution of thousands of Poles and the exile of others to Siberia -
Reform Bill of 1832 Passed in Britain
This law eliminated rotten boroughs and reallocated 143 parliamentary seats, mostly from the rural south, to the industrial north. The bill expanded the electorate, but only 1 in 6 men could vote. Landed aristocrats had their influence reduced. British liberals and the middle class joined in a junior partnership with the landed elite. -
Corn Laws Repealed in Britain
Corn (British term for grain) Laws protected British landowners and farmers from foreign competition by establishing tariffs for imports, thus keeping bread prices high. The middle class saw this as an unfair protection of the aristocracy and pushed for their repeal in the name of free trade. The Anti-Corn Law League met throughout northern England and lobbied Parliament to repeal them. -
Louis Philippe Abdicates the Throne
Louis had gathered around him members from the banking industry and industrial elite. Louis had become increasingly unpopular and his premier Francois Guizot was hated. Workers had planned a banquet to discuss political rights and Guizot passed a degree forbidding it. Parisian the banquet hall and street fighting broke out. Troops were called. Although some of the soldiers fired into the mob, others laid down their arms and joined the Parisians. Louis and Guizot flee. -
Cooperatives Established in Paris
As member of the Provisional Government, Louis Blanc persuaded his colleagues to guarantee the right to work, to create national workshops, and to establish the Luxembourg Commission to study and propose social experiments. But the national workshops became a makeshift relief program, a mockery of Blanc's ideas, and the government rejected his proposal for a ministry of labor. -
Second French Republic is Proclaimed
The Provisional Government was led by Alphonse de Lamartine The Revolution of 1848 was essentially local, chiefly confined to Paris, and although radical, socialist, and even anarchist voices made themselves heard, most of the people of France preferred to take a moderate, even conservative course. -
Chartist Rally in Britain
Reformers put together a People’s Charter that asked for universal male suffrage, secret ballot, end to property qualifications for voting, annual parliamentary elections, salaries for members of House of Commons, and equal electoral districts. A demonstration was planned in London with 25,000 workers to present the Charter with 6 million signatures to Parliament. Army units were sent out to disperse the crowds and only a small group presented the Charter. -
Protests Throughout the Austrian Empire Bring Down Metternich
In Vienna, German-speaking students, workers and middle class liberals agitated for constitutional reform and political participation. In Budapest, the Hungarians called for national autonomy. In Prague, the Czechs attempted self-rule. Metternich flees Austria. In Dec. 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I, who was associated with Metternich, abdicated in favor of his nephew, Franz Josef I. -
June Days Begin in Paris
Thousands of workers, who had lost their jobs as a result of the abolition of the national workshops formed by Louis Blanc, were joined by other workers and students in erecting barricades on the streets of Paris. The revolt was suppressed, and 1500 demonstrators were killed 12,000, were arrested many of whom were exiled to Algeria. -
Louis Napoleon is Elected President of the Second French Republic
Nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, won election by a large margin. He managed to appeal to everyone – workers, middle class, peasants and royalists – by making promises that he did not keep. In 1851, he seized absolute power.