Liberal Revolutions: Background and What They Were

The r liberal evolutions They were a series of revolutionary movements that took place in the first half of the 19th century. They were produced in three different waves: in 1820, 1830 and 1848. Their main motive was to recover the ideals of the French Revolution.

Faced with the attempts of the old regime to return to the previous absolutist monarchy, the emergence of ideologies such as nationalism and liberalism sought to change the system for one that respected individual freedom, the values ​​of the Enlightenment and the establishment of borders not subject to the agreements between the royal houses.

In the economic sphere, its closest antecedent was the Industrial Revolution, which gave rise to the emergence of a bourgeois class with the possibility of studying and training, and which acquired economic power. In addition, it also led to the emergence of the workers' movement, with which their demands began to be heard.

Although it was a European phenomenon, its consequences soon reached other territories, especially America. Part of the independence movements drank of this liberal influence.

Background

Independence of the United States and French Revolution

Half a century before the liberal revolutions began, there were major political and social movements that are the clearest antecedents of what happened later.

In 1700, the ideas of the Enlightenment had become an important gap between the intellectuals and thinkers of the time. Its final purpose was to end the old regime, eliminating the structures of absolute monarchy.

The first great historical event related to these ideas was the War of Independence in the United States. Although the spark that caused it to explode were the taxes that the British Crown wanted them to pay, nationalist and liberal ideas played the most important role.

The Declaration of Independence (1776) and the elaborated Constitution (1787) are replete with liberal references, pointing out the idea of ​​freedom and equality among men. In the same way, its establishment as a Federal Republic is significant.

Soon after, the discontent and the bad situation in which the majority of the population lived in France provoked the French Revolution. The motto"Equality, freedom and fraternity", the struggle against nobles, religious and monarchy and the preponderance of reason, made this Revolution a historical turning point.

Napoleón, like heir of the Revolution, faced the absolutist countries during several years of war. Apart from the territorial confrontation, there was also a clear ideological conflict.

Industrial Revolution

Another revolution, in this case not political, also exerted a great influence on the changes that would follow. Thus, the Industrial Revolution - which began in England - produced a great transformation in society and in the economy.

In addition to the consolidation of capitalism and liberalism as an economic system, the important role that the bourgeoisie began to have was important at the political-social level. Together with this a workers' movement was organized with its own requests. Although both classes were opposed on many issues, they had in common to be against the absolutist states.

Cortes of Cádiz in Spain

Opposed to both the absolutism of Ferdinand VII and the imperialism of Napoleon, the Cortes of Cadiz drafted the Constitution of 1812. This was totally liberal, with much influence from the American and the French Revolution.

Vienna Congress

Against all these antecedents, the absolute monarchies tried to stop the liberalism. At the Congress of Vienna, between 1814 and 1815, they designed a European map based on the old structures.

Once Napoleon was defeated, the victors tried to return to their former privileges and erase the republican and liberal legacy. The result of the negotiations in Vienna was a redistribution of the territory based on the interests of the royal houses.

Liberalism and nationalism

The emergence of these two ideologies were fundamental for the nineteenth-century liberal revolutions. Both agreed to oppose the return to the absolutist systems sought by the Congress of Vienna. Thus, they demanded the appearance of liberal systems, in addition to the occupied or oppressed nations getting their rights.

Liberalism was an ideology based on the defense of individual liberties and the equality of human beings before the law. Because of this, they did not admit that the nobles and the king were above the Constitution or the other laws.

Nationalism based the idea of ​​nation on community and history, fighting against the borders that the royal houses had created over the centuries. For example, they emphasized the German and Italian unifications and supported that the peoples belonging to the Austrian Empire could become independent.

What were the liberal revolutions?

From the second decade of the nineteenth century, three different revolutionary waves took place, each affecting several countries. The first took place between 1820 and 1824, the second in 1830 and the last in the years 1847 and 1848.

Revolutions of 1820

This first wave of liberal revolutions was not led by the people; in fact it was military coups against the absolutist rulers. Many historians point out the importance of secret societies (such as carbonari) in these movements.

The beginning of this wave took place in Spain, when Colonel Rafael de Riego rose up against Ferdinand VII and forced him to swear to the Constitution of 1812. The result was the Liberal Triennium, which ended with the king's request for help from the powers allies, who sent the so-called One Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis to restore absolutism.

Other places where similar attempts were made were in Portugal and Naples. In the latter, the Carbonari got the King to accept a Constitution. The Austrians were in charge of ending this experience.

Also in Russia - with a rebellion by the army against the Czar in 1825 - and in Greece there were uprisings. While in the first one it failed, in the second it ended in a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire and with the recovery of its sovereignty.

Revolutions also took place in America during that decade. With different results, the criollos of Argentina (who triumphed) and those of Mexico (who failed) rose up against the Spanish Crown.

Following the impulse, in a few years Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia achieved independence.

Revolutions of 1830

The origin of the movements in 1830 was located in France. The economic crisis plus the opposition to the attempts of Carlos X to establish an absolutist monarchy, caused a widely supported revolution to break out. The monarch was forced to leave the throne and, in his place, Luis Felipe de Orleans implanted a constitutional monarchy.

Meanwhile in Belgium there was an independentist uprising against Holland, to which he belonged. With British support, they got sovereignty with a king who swore the Constitution.

Other places in which the revolutionaries achieved their goals were in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, countries that eliminated absolutism.

However, in Poland (which tried to become independent from Russia), in Italy (through the intervention of Austria) and in Germany (which did not achieve unity) the uprisings were not successful.

Revolutions of 1848

Those of 1848 were much more popular revolutions, with much more marked democratic purposes. In fact, universal suffrage was begun in the election system.

One of the novelties is the participation of the proletariat, which brought a social nature to the requests. It was a time when workers suffered miserable conditions, without any labor rights. The incipient labor movements began to mobilize.

As in the previous wave, it started in France. The work of Luis Felipe was answered by the petty bourgeoisie, the peasants and the workers.

The elections were governed by a census system in which only 200,000 people out of 35 million could vote. A great coalition of different sectors requested greater freedom to the king, but this refused.

To make matters worse, two years of bad harvests caused a great economic crisis. In February of 1848 a series of revolts forced to abdicate to Luis Felipe. After his government, the Second Republic began.

The unity among the revolutionaries did not last long and the power was occupied by Luis Napoleon Bonaparte, who again ended the freedoms achieved and declared the Second Empire.

In the rest of Europe the uprisings happened, with more or less success. Thus, in the Austrian Empire, despite initial advances, absolutism survived thanks to Russian aid. In Italy, only Piedmont achieved a liberal Constitution.

Finally, in Germany, the fear of the growing workers' movement made the bourgeoisie not continue with the reforms, despite the fact that 39 states were endowed with the Constitution.

References

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