Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Discontent over economic issues and calls for political reform boiled over in a series of revolutions that swept across most of Europe in 1848. Though rooted in very different national contexts, the revolutions were a pan-European movement that effectively toppled the repressive political order laid down by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The failure of so many of the revolutionaries' immediate objectives, and the reassertion of dynastic authority, should not obscure the significance of these revolutions for European society. Ending the last remnants of feudalism across central Europe, the revolutions promoted nationalism, reinforced class divisions, and both inspired and frightened Europeans with the potential of mass politics. It is in this context that the Communist Manifesto can be read as a programmatic text and not an objective description of events. It is also in this context that nationalism emerged post-1848 as the single strongest and broadest ideological force for shaping the European future. Triggered by bad harvests and food shortages in 1845 and 1846, scattered riots broke out in many regions in 1846 and 1847. Aggravating existing tensions over customary land-use and other issues, the agricultural crisis was compounded by a financial slump and contracting international markets. In combination, these factors had an especially powerful effect on artisans and craft ... log in or subscribe to read full text