REVOLUTION OF 1830: CAUSES, CHARACTERISTICS, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2024

The Revolution of 1830 was the second of the revolutionary waves that took place during the first half of the 19th century. Together with those of 1820 and 1848, it is part of the so-called bourgeois revolutions of a liberal nature. Although each of them had its own peculiarities, they all coincide in their struggle against the return of absolutism.

After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, the victorious powers met at the Congress of Vienna to design a Europe in which the ideas of the Enlightenment and liberalism were not present. However, part of the population reacted by rising up against the governments that were formed.

Liberty Leading the People - Commemorates the French Revolution on July 28, 1830 - Source: Eugène Delacroix - This page from 1st-art-gallery.com

The Revolution of 1830 had its origin in France. There, the king tried to enact some laws to return to an absolutist system of government. The reaction of the streets ended up causing his resignation. In the weeks that followed, the uprisings spread across much of the continent.

In 1830, apart from the aforementioned struggle in favor of freedom and equality typical of liberalism at the time, another of the factors that moved the revolutionaries was a nationalism highly influenced by the ideas of romanticism.

Causes

Napoleon's defeat led to a period in which countries with absolutist monarchies tried to organize Europe according to their ideas. However, enlightened and liberal ideas had not disappeared from the continent.

The first revolutionary wave took place in 1820. That year there were uprisings in Spain, Naples, Greece and Portugal, all with the common characteristic of going against authoritarian monarchies.

The leaders of these revolutions came, for the most part, from the bourgeoisie. In addition, they were also promoted by various secret societies, such as that of the Carbonari.

The result of the revolutions of 1820 were the promulgation of constitutions that followed liberal ideas. However, the absolutist powers reacted and, through military force, managed to turn the situation around.

Only ten years later, in 1830, the second wave of bourgeois revolutions took place. On this occasion, in addition to liberal ideas, nationalist movements also gained great importance. Finally, the labor movement began to participate in the revolts.

Economic causes

It was not only ideology that caused the revolution of 1830. The economic problems that several European countries went through also had a lot to do with the outbreak of protests.

In 1825, a serious economic crisis began. It first affected England and then spread to the rest of the continent. Mercantile activities decreased, as occurred with production in industry.

In France, in addition, the workers called several strikes in protest against their working conditions and the hardship in which they lived.

Three years after its inception, Europe seemed to be overcoming difficulties. However, in 1928, the crisis worsened. On this occasion, in addition to industry, it also affected agriculture.

Poor harvests of various commodities led to higher prices and shortages in the markets. The popular classes saw their wages decreased and, consequently, sales decreased.

All of the above caused poverty to increase. The population began to demonstrate demanding that governments take measures to solve the problems.

Political factors

Despite the efforts of the Holy Alliance to maintain absolutist governments throughout Europe, Napoléon's defeat had not brought political stability to the continent.

The growing strength of the bourgeoisie had made it possible for them to confront the nobility in order to wrest part of their power. Ideologically, this bourgeoisie was based on liberalism, both economic and social.

Unlike what happened with absolutist systems, liberalism defended the importance of reason and science against religious dogmas. Furthermore, the Enlightenment established equality among human beings regardless of their social origin.

Absolutist reaction in France

Since the revolution of 1830 was born in France, it is important to know the specific causes that motivated the popular uprising in that country.

After the death in 1824 of King Louis XVIII, the country plunged into significant political instability. It was the conservatives who managed to seize power and the new king, Carlos X, promoted a series of measures that once again implemented some policies typical of absolutism.

Among the approved norms were the payment of indemnities to aristocrats fled from revolutionary France, censorship in the press and the increase of the privileges of the Church.

In 1830, elections were held in the country to elect representatives in the Lower House. The victors were the liberals from the moderate faction. The monarch did not accept the result and dissolved the Chamber. This decision, along with others that limited political rights, caused the outbreak of the revolution.

Nationalism

In some areas of Europe, in addition to ideological factors, one of the causes of the revolutions was the strengthening of nationalism. In some cases, as in Italy, these were movements that wanted to unify the country and end Austrian control over some of its territories.

In Poland, under Russian rule, the motivation of the revolutionaries was to expel the invaders. For its part, the main reason for the rebellion in Belgium was to achieve its independence.

characteristics

Given that the revolutions of 1830 spread across various areas of the continent, their characteristics contain common elements and other particular ones.

Protagonism of the bourgeoisie

The bourgeoisie was the protagonist of the three revolutionary waves that took place in the first half of the 19th century. The development of industry and the implantation of capitalism had made that social class gain economic power.

However, its economic importance was not commensurate with its political role, since, in the systems during the Restoration, only the nobility and the Church could exercise power.

This caused the bourgeoisie to opt for revolutionary methods. At first, he had no qualms about uniting with the most disadvantaged social sectors, but, over time, he began to fear organized workers who sought to improve their working and living conditions.

Discontent of the popular classes

The revolts of 1830, contrary to what happened in 1820, had the presence of the working classes. They suffered in a special way the consequences of the economic crisis, in addition to the fact that their working conditions were very difficult.

Nationalism and romanticism

The ideological bases of the revolutions of 1830 were liberalism, romanticism and nationalism.

The latter, which was related to romanticism, was largely adopted by the liberal bourgeoisie, it grew enormously after the defeat of Napoleon.

The absolutist powers, eager to maintain the status quo, tried to prevent its spread, but by 1830 it seemed clear that the feeling of political and cultural belonging to the different territories had spread throughout the continent. The main ideas are the preponderance of the Nation State and the right of self-determination.

Revolutions in Europe

As it happened in 1789 and as it would happen again in 1848, the revolution of 1830 began in France. In a short time, it spread to other European countries, such as Poland, Italy or Germany.

France

Known as the July Revolution or The Three Glorious, the revolts in France took place during three consecutive days in July 1830. The main reason was the decisions taken by Charles X, who sought to implement various authoritarian measures.

The results of the votes for the Lower House held in July 1830 gave the victory to the moderate liberals. The monarch then decided to close the Chamber and passed some ordinances that decreed the end of freedom of the press, reduced the number of deputies and limited the right to vote.

The reaction of the Parisians was to demonstrate in the street. The newspapers of the time published articles fomenting the protests and the National Guard took a stand with the revolutionaries. The three days of riots included some moments of great violence, especially against the Church.

The Liberals accepted La Fayette's proposal to name Louis Philippe I king and Charles X had to go into exile.

The system established by the new monarch was a liberal monarchy, with a Constitution according to those ideas. In it appeared the recognition that the power of the king came from the people and not from God, the expansion of the right to vote and the freedoms of worship and press.

Belgium

The Congress of Vienna had created a state called the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Flanders, the United Provinces or the Kingdom of Holland, Luxembourg and other smaller territories were gathered here. He had placed the Dutch in front.

Very soon, tensions began to appear between the inhabitants of Flanders, who are Catholic and French-speaking, and the Dutch, who are mostly Protestant and Dutch-speaking. Nationalist sentiment did not take long to appear.

After the June 1830 revolution in France, the inhabitants of Brussels started their own protests. Despite the army's attempt to destroy them, the revolutionaries achieved their objective and, on December 20, Belgium (the name given to the new state) was recognized as an independent country.

This new nation was constituted as a liberal parliamentary monarchy. Its first monarch was of German origin.

Poland

In the design of Europe adopted at the Congress of Vienna, Poland was divided between Prussia, Austria and, above all, Russia. Only Krakow was left as an independent state.

It must be taken into account that the Russian tsar, Alexander I, was the promoter of the formation of the Holy Alliance. His religious dogmatism caused his own allies to consider him a fanatic.

In the area of ​​Poland that the Russians controlled, two opposition movements appeared. The first, the White Party, only wanted the territory to expand its autonomy. The second, the Red Party, was a firm supporter of total independence.

Believing that they would have help from France, the Poles rose up in 1830 to expel the Russians. These, who did not expect the revolt, decided to retreat. However, the expected French support never came and the Russian troops harshly repressed the revolutionaries.

Italy

Although it was not without liberal demands, the revolution in Italy had a markedly nationalist component. The Carbonari, a secret society, was the driving force behind the riots.

The main targets were the papal territories and the Austrian power that controlled the north of the Italian peninsula.

At first, the rebels succeeded in expelling the pro-Austrian authorities from Modena and Parma. However, Austria sent troops and easily defeated the revolutionaries. Likewise, they sent help to the Pope to prevent the Papal States from falling.

Germany

As with Italy, Germany was also in the process of ending its unification. At that time, it had already created a large single market that encompassed the territories of the former Holy Roman Empire.

In 1830 there were some uprisings carried out, above all, by students. Most of the demands were nationalistic in nature. The armies of Prussia and Austria acted together and put an end to the protests before they escalated.

Consequences

The consequences of the 1830 revolution depended a lot on where it occurred. At that time, the absolutist powers had an agreement to suppress any liberal revolt using force if necessary.

It was about the Holy Alliance that, although it could not control all the revolutionary uprisings, it did manage to do so in Italy or Germany, for example.

Alliance between the bourgeoisie and the workers

In Paris, the revolution was led by several different social sectors, from the bourgeoisie to the workers, passing through the students or the national guard.

This alliance against absolutism was maintained for a few years, until the next revolutionary wave of 1848. In this way, the workers and the bourgeoisie joined forces to try to implement the principles of liberalism.

However, after 1848, fear of the labor movement broke that unity of action and caused what Marx called class struggle to appear.

Division of Europe into two parts

The different results of the revolutions that occurred in 1830 meant that Europe was divided between those countries in which the liberals had achieved their objectives and those that were still ruled by absolutism.

Throughout the western part of the continent, the revolution of that year marked the end of absolutism. From that moment on, it was the upper bourgeoisie that began to hold power.

Regarding the system of government, the constitutional monarchies were imposed in Belgium and France, in addition to remaining in England. These systems granted greater political and social rights, in addition to promoting economic liberalism.

Rise of romanticism

Despite the defeats in Germany and Italy, Romantic nationalism emerged stronger from the revolutions of 1830. In a few decades, the two countries would unify.

Revolutions of 1848

The liberal reforms that some countries adopted in 1830 were not enough for much of the population. For its part, in the places where the revolution had been defeated, the desire for change did not disappear.

Europe experienced a new wave of revolutions again in 1848, starting again in Paris. As in 1830, rebellions soon spread across the continent.

References

1. About History. Revolutions of 1830. Obtained from sobrehistoria.com
2. Wikillerato. The Liberal Revolutions of 1820, 1830 and 1848. Retrieved from wikillerato.org
3. Muñoz Fernández, Víctor. Causes of the Revolutions of 1830. Retrieved from redhistoria.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Revolutions of 1830. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. Schmidt-Funke. Julian A. The Revolution of 1830 as a European Media Event. Obtained from ieg-ego.eu
6. Swift, Dean. Revolutions of 1830. Retrieved from general-history.com
7. Gale, Thomas. Revolutions Of 1830. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com