The revolutions of 1848

The story

A Europe on the boil

In 1815 the Congress of Vienna had tried to bring Europe back to the order that existed before the revolution: kings and emperors returned to their thrones, and ideas of freedom and national independence were put down. But ideas cannot be wiped out. Over the following decades many people, above all young people, students, professionals and workers, dreamed of constitutions, freedom of the press, elections and a nation-state, for peoples who were divided, like the Italians and the Germans, or ruled by others, like the Poles, the Hungarians and the Czechs. Meanwhile the social question was growing: in factories and cities workers lived in terrible conditions, and in 1846–47 bad harvests and potato blight made hunger worse.

By January 1848 the mood was ready. Nobody knew where the spark would fly.

The Spring of Nations

The revolt began in Palermo on 12 January 1848, against the king of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II, and forced the king to grant a constitution. A few weeks later, on 22–24 February, a revolution broke out in Paris: King Louis Philippe abdicated and the Second Republic was proclaimed, with universal male suffrage. The news spread from capital to capital like wildfire. In March there were uprisings in Vienna, where the powerful minister Metternich fell and had to flee; in Berlin, where the King of Prussia granted reforms; in Budapest, where the Hungarians led by Lajos Kossuth demanded autonomy; in Prague and in other cities. It was called the “Spring of Nations”.

In that same month of February 1848, in London, two Germans, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, published a small book, the “Communist Manifesto”, which opened with the words “A spectre is haunting Europe”: it was about the struggle between workers and employers.

Italy in 1848

In Italy the uprisings were mixed up with the demand for independence from Austria, which ruled Lombardy and Veneto. On 4 March the King of Sardinia, Charles Albert, granted a constitution, the Albertine Statute, which would remain in force, with changes, until 1948. On 18 March, in Milan, a revolt broke out against the Austrian government: for five days, the “Five Days”, men, women and boys and girls of the people and of the middle class, with few weapons, barricades of furniture and stones, and roof tiles thrown from the rooftops, fought against the army of Marshal Radetzky, who in the end withdrew. In Venice the Republic of San Marco was proclaimed, led by Daniele Manin.

On 23 March Charles Albert declared war on Austria, and the First War of Independence began, with volunteers joining from all over Italy. But things changed: the Italians were divided, Pope Pius IX and the king of Naples withdrew their support, and the Austrian army reorganised. After the defeat at Custoza, in July 1848, and another defeat at Novara, in March 1849, Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.

In Rome, after the Pope fled, the Roman Republic was proclaimed in February 1849, led by the triumvirate of Giuseppe Mazzini, Carlo Armellini and Aurelio Saffi, with Giuseppe Garibaldi in charge of the military defence. It approved a modern constitution, which abolished the death penalty and guaranteed freedom of conscience. But French troops, sent by Louis Napoleon, besieged the city, and in July the Republic was defeated. A young poet of only 21, Goffredo Mameli, the author of the words of the anthem “Fratelli d'Italia”, was wounded in the defence and died of his wounds.

The end of the spring

In a few months the reaction regained control: in Vienna and Prague the army reconquered the cities; in Hungary the revolution was crushed in August 1849 with Russian help; in Frankfurt the parliament that wanted to unite Germany did not succeed. In France, in December 1848, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's nephew, was elected president, and in 1852 he proclaimed himself emperor with the name of Napoleon III.