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UNIT 4. LIBERALISM AND NATIONALISM
The changes in the 18th century were crowned with the bourgeois revolutions in the 19th.
The bourgeois revolutions, where all the social classes took part, put and end to the
Ancien Régime, although the privileged classes that were favoured by the absolute
monarchy opposed those changes violently.
THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The enlightened ideas flourish in the 18th century, but halfway through that century they
had got limited success in changing any political system in Europe. The bourgeoisie
defending these ideals, needed to break the structure of the class society based on the
three estates (nobility, clergy and Third Estate), in order to gain political presence.
This happened for the very first time, not in Europe, but in the 13 British colonies of
northern America, from 1765 to 1783.
The American colonists of British origins enjoyed a reasonable self-government due to the
long distance from England. Besides, as new communities, there were no class privileges
and therefore a greater equality prevailed.
By 1760 over 2 million European colonists and 300,000 black slaves lived in the 13
colonies. In the southern ones the economy was based on agricultural plantations while in
the north the manufactures were more usual. In theory the colonists had the same rights
that their fellow citizens in Great Britain but they were not really taken into account in the
Parliament of London.
Since 1765, the taxes the British Parliament had passed throughout the years were
increasingly damaging the relations between the American colonists and the British
authorities.
Although the Brits moved backwards in many taxes, the one on the tea remained intact. In
1773, a group of colonists boarded the ships disguised as American Indians and
destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston harbour. This act of protest is known in
American history as the Boston Tea party.
The British reaction meant the closing of the Boston harbour and the passing of the
“Intolerable Acts” that suppressed the autonomy of the colonists and reinforced the
clampdown. Many colonists viewed the acts as an arbitrary violation of their rights, and in
1774 they organized the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest.
As tensions escalated, the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) broke out the
following year, eventually leading to the creation of an independent United States of
America.
When the British Crown tried to repress the situation she crashed with an army of colonists
led by George Washington. The Americans were not alone. Once the war broke out, they
received the support of France, Spain and The Netherlands, the old European enemies of
Great Britain.
On July 4, 1776, the delegates of the Second Continental Congress, announced in
Philadelphia that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, were no
longer a part of the British Empire, and therefore they solemnly proclaimed a Declaration
of Independence, based on the enlightened principles.
By 1783, the victory of the colonists in the battle of Yorktown meant the end of the war and
the British recognition of the independence of its former colonies, the United States of
America, in the Treaty of Paris (1783).
The delegates of the free new states accepted in 1787 a Federal Constitution that
respected the diversity of the States. They were considered autonomous for their internal
affairs and at the same time they shared some common institutions that ensured the
equality of all citizens before the law and the separation of powers:
• a representative Congress,
• a government led by a President
• and a Supreme Court of Justice.)
The Constitution also enclosed a declaration of rights that guaranteed the individual
liberties and the private property.
In 1789, General George Washington was elected the First President of the United States.
He was the most famous but not the only patriot involved in the independence of the
colonies. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John
Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton are known in American history as the
Founding Fathers.
The United States of America were born as the first State without aristocrats or monarchs
and as a country based on the popular sovereignty where everybody had the same rights
(though initially excluding the slaves, Indians and women). It was an ideal of progress for
the European liberals and for the rest of American colonies of that time. Nowadays the
system still maintains most parts of its original structure, for this reason the USA remains
the oldest stable democracy in the world.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Although the American Revolution was the first one, the real model of a bourgeois
revolution was born in France. It changed the social and political structures of the country
from 1789 and became an example to follow to many European and American countries
throughout the 19th century.
The French revolution broke the absolute schemes and meant the triumph of the national
sovereignty and the Constitution. The sovereignty lied with the people of France and a
superior Law, the Constitution, controlled the rights and duties of the citizens. It was the
Revolution that turned the Frenchmen from subjects of a king, into citizens of a nation.
The causes of the revolution
These are the most important structural and immediate causes of the French crisis of
1789.
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The Deficit crisis. The public expenditure meant by the wars of the 18th century,
mainly the Seven Years’ War against France, and the help to the American
colonists, in addition to the squandering of the Versailles Court made the State
spend more than it earned.
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The Tax Exemptions. The refusal of the privileged classes, clergy and aristocracy,
to pay their taxes increased the deficit and the unrest of the ordinary people.
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The enlightened ideas spread by the bourgeoisie and the reformists sectors of
clergy and aristocracy reinforced the principles of liberty and equality.
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The influence of the English Parliamentarism and the American Independence.
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The bad harvests since 1787, shot up the raise of prices and speculation what led
the ordinary people to huger and unrest.
The tax reforms intended to solve the deficit crisis triggered the revolution when aristocrats
refused to pay their taxes and King Louis XVI was forced to call the Estates Generals in
May 1789.
Aristocracy and clergy wanted the ballots to be scrutinized by Estates what gave them
majority. In the other hand the Third Estate (bourgeoisie and ordinary people) wanted a
suffrage by individual for the same reason. While debating national sovereignty and
against the opposition of the privileged, the Third Estate left the Estates General and
constituted a National Assembly. They met at a tennis court and swore not to separate as
an assembly until France had a Constitution. Therefore, the calling of the Estates General
was the perfect opportunity for the bourgeoisie to change the tripartite representation to a
National Assembly.
The moderate stage and the constitutional monarchy (1789 – 1792)
The most important event in the first steps of revolution was the Storming of the Bastille.
This prison symbolized the worst absolute power of the Ancien Régime, so the people of
Paris stormed the fortress in 1789. After hours of combat the insurgents took the prison,
killing the governor and releasing the prisoners.
The revolts in Paris and other riots in the countryside forced Louis XVI to accept the
national assembly promoted by the bourgeoisie. The men elected as deputies by the
capital stripped the authorities of their office and set themselves up as a city council, “La
Commune”.
While the Constitution was drafted some measures were being introduced:
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The abolition of feudalism (1789)
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
The confiscation of properties of the Church and the suppression of hereditary titles
that dismantled the Absolute state (1790)
In 1791 a Constitution was proclaimed and France became a constitutional monarchy
where the power of the king was limited by a Parliament. Once the Constitution came into
force the National Assembly was named from then on Legislative Assembly. The moderate
bourgeoisie controlled the chamber thanks to a limited suffrage that only allowed the rich
to vote.
Soon, the revolution would have two enemies: the European absolutists, mostly in Austria,
and the Counterrevolutionaries inside France.
The radical stage: the National Convention and the reign of Terror (1792 – 1795)
The economic and political inequalities made the Revolution more radical. In 1792, a mob
stormed the Tuileries Palace, and a new assembly was established, the National
Convention. Later that year the monarchy was abolished because of the implications of
the king with the counterrevolution and The French First Republic was proclaimed. The
king was executed in the guillotine in 1793.
The Convention was initially controlled by the moderate republican Girondins, but the
defeats in the war against the European monarchies and the inner opposition gave power
to the Jacobins, much more radical and in favour of social reforms. The Jacobins were
supported in the streets by the sans-culottes.
The Jacobins imposed a dictatorial government, The Committee of Public Safety, led by
Robespierre, who undertook radical reforms and created a national army to save the
dangerous threats to the republic. Every opponent to the revolution was punished and
executed. Thousands of people died under the guillotine or otherwise after accusations of
counter-revolutionary activities. Many of them may have been summarily executed without
trial. This stage was called the Reign of Terror.
Nevertheless some other social measures were adopted in the Constitution of 1793, such
as universal male suffrage or a strict control of the prices.
The Directory (1795 – 1799)
In 1794 the French conservative bourgeoisie stimulated a new liberal republic as opposite
to absolutism as to the social democracy of the Jacobins.
The Thermidorian Reaction of 1794 led by the moderates, put and end to the excesses of
the Reign of Terror and sent Robespierre to the Guillotine. This coup d’État set a new
government called The Directory who drafted a new Constitution in 1795 and introduced
again the limited suffrage.
The victories in the war let the Directory consolidate the Republic. However, the threat of
the royalists persisted and the Radicals claimed on for more reforms. The Directory then
turned more and more to the Army to maintain the law and order. In the ranks of that Army,
a young officer were becoming important; his name, Napoleon Bonaparte.
THE NAPOLEONIC EMPIRE
The Consulate (1799 – 1804)
By 1799 with the support of moderate groups, Napoleon, a young and victorious general,
led the Coup d’État of 18 Brumaire which brought The Consulate.
As the First Consul of the Republic, Bonaparte saved for him the prerogatives of a dictator
and left only consultative roles to the other two consuls as stated the Constitution of 1799
(called the Constitution of the year VIII). He concentrated more and more power until 1802
when he was ratified as Consul for life after a plebiscite and a new Constitution
The Empire (1804 – 1814 / 1815)
Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in 1804 at Notre Dame. The coronation procedure
had been agreed in advance with Pope Pius VII, so he crowned himself to avoid his
subjugation to the authority of the pontiff.
Although he governed as a dictator, Napoleon defended the basic principles of the
Revolution. He also consolidated a system that favoured the new dominant group, the
finance bourgeoisie and part of the Aristocracy while excluded both the radical republicans
and the Royalists.
Reforms
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Centralized administration of the departments
A higher education system
A tax code
And established the Banque de France (central bank)
He negotiated also the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, to reconcile the
mostly Catholic population to his regime.
The Napoleonic Code was the new civil code. The code forbade privileges based on birth,
allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified. It
also codified every aspect of civil life, marriages, trade, taxation...
Napoleon and his idea of Europe
His foreign policy, based on the territorial expansion of France all over Europe, was called
the Napoleonic System. He defeated his two greatest continental enemies, Prussia and
Austria, but he couldn’t beat Great Britain and Russia. He tried to force Britain to surrender
with the Continental System, a large-scale embargo against British trade that engaged all
the European ports from 1806.
In 1808 the French troops invaded Spain to make Portugal enforce the Continental
System. The territorial expansion reached its maximal extension in 1812 when Napoleon
occupied nearly the whole continental Europe and started the invasion of Russia.
A disastrous winter Russian campaign that decimated the Grande Armée and the defeats
in Spain were the beginning of the end. A European Coalition arranged by Britain, Russia,
Prussia and Austria defeated repeatedly the French and arrived in Paris in 1814 forcing
Napoleon to abdicate. Napoleon was sent into exile in the island of Elba, France went
back to the borders of 1789 and the Bourbons were restored in the throne.
Bonaparte would eventually escape from Elba and recover power for three months, The
Hundred Days of Napoleon, but he was finally defeated by Wellington in the Battle of
Waterloo. The British sent him again into exile but this time to the remote island of St
Helena in South Atlantic where he died in 1821.
The Napoleonic System had expanded the borders of France and had surrounded her of
States led by trustworthy persons, mostly of his family. However, the permanent state of
war had finally weakened France. The occupied nations had shown a feeling of rejection
to the invader despite the positive revolutionary principles that he imposed, such as the
abolition of feudalism.
THE RESTORATION AND THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
Nowadays the existence of international institutions of any kind such as the United Nations
or the European Union it’s quite common to us, but an international order like the current
one is something relatively recent. Until the 19th century the organized international
relations hardly existed.
The victorious powers over Napoleon understood the need of maintaining political
balances if they wanted to avoid the influence of the French Revolution. They went back to
the boundaries prior to the French Revolution and decided to recover the absolutism.
That’s why this historic period is known as the Restoration.
The Congress of Vienna: return to the Ancien Régime
Starting from 1814, an international summit was called in Vienna by the leaders of the
victorious powers to decide the future of France and Europe and erase the changes
introduced by the French occupation. The most important decisions were made by the four
main powers of that time: Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia.
The map of Europe
The great powers adjusted the European borders in accordance with their interests. This
would eventually affect the national aspirations of many countries. A reorganization that
would ensure the balance of power was the main concern.
• France went back to her boundaries of 1792 and remained surrounded by some
“Buffer States” that would prevent a new French advance eastwards:
o the Kingdom of the Netherlands strengthened by Belgium in the north
o the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in the south
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Russia expanded westward and kept Finland
Prussia annexed several territories
Austria expanded in the North of Italy
Great Britain consolidated her maritime preponderance with new colonies in Asia
and the Mediterranean
The Restoration of the monarchy
The other one objective was the restoration of the absolute power of the monarchies
erasing every trace of the French revolution. That meant the restoration of the legitimate
kings in the countries occupied by Napoleon as happened with the Bourbons in Spain,
Naples and France.
The Holly Alliance and the policy of congresses
As a result of the Congress of Vienna some alliances were signed among the powers and
it was agreed that any conflict would be solved in an international congress. The most
important ones were the Quadruple Alliance (Austria, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain)
of 1815 and the Quintuple Alliance of 1818 including France.
The Holly Alliance was a coalition of Russia, Austria and Prussia. It was to instil the
Christian values of charity and peace in European political life, but in practice Metternich
made it a bastion against revolution. The monarchs of the three countries involved used
this to prevent revolutionary influence from entering these nations. The agreement meant
the right to a military intervention where the revolution threatened the principles of the
Restoration, Throne, Fatherland and Church.
The Holly alliance intervened in the revolutionary attempt in Spain in 1823, where the
liberals of Riego had forced Ferdinand VII to accept a Constitution. It was a French Army
called “The Hundred Thousand sons of St. Louis” the one that restored the absolute power
of the king.
THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS OF 1820, 1830 AND 1848
The French Revolution was the first attempt in Europe of the bourgeoisie to seize political
power. From then on the ideas of political and economic freedom opposed to the
oppression of the Ancien Régime are known as liberalism. Every liberal model claims the
freedom of the individual both politically and economically.
The liberal ideology
Our current society is based in the same liberal principles although the present liberties in
the western world have been largely improved regarding the 19th century political systems.
The first innovation of liberalism, as we’ve seen before, are the Constitutions establishing
the formal aspects of the State:
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Constitutional Monarchy or Republic
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Rights and duties of the citizens
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Kind of suffrage
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Composition and rules of the Parliament
If liberties and suffrage are limited then we talk about moderate or conservative liberalism.
When liberties and suffrage are widened it’s considered progressive or democratic
liberalism.
In the economic domain liberalism defends the right to the private property and to the free
economic initiative as natural rights. Therefore according to this theory, the State shouldn’t
intervene in the economy too much through excessive taxation or state monopolies.
The most important philosopher on economic liberalism is Adam Smith. His book "The
Wealth of Nations" is considered the first modern work of economics. Smith is widely cited
as the father of modern economics and he coined the concept of “invisible hand” and the
division and specialization of labour in order to increase productivity.
Step by step during the 19th century, liberalism prevailed with different paces in every
country and based on the discontent of peasants and workers. However, often the equality
and liberty defended by the bourgeoisie weren’t applied to popular classes.
The liberal revolutions in the 19th century
This is the process by which the bourgeoisie seized the political power. The new
prominent class finally put end to the “Ancien Régime” in spite of the attempts of the
Restoration to keep this system. The liberals promoted the new system through secret
societies, clubs, salons, and the mobilization of all the social classes.
There were three main revolutionary events in 1820, 1830 and 1848. By this last date the
Ancien Régime could be considered as ended in many European countries.
The revolutions of 1820
In 1820, liberal members of the army promoted the seizing of the restored power through
Coups d’État. They rebelled in Spain, Greece, Sardinia, Naples and Russia. The 1820
revolution succeed nearly nowhere:
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Greece got its independence from the Ottoman Empire
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in Spain the liberal Regime was quelled by the Holly Alliance in 1823
After the defeat of Napoleon by the traditional Monarchies, the liberals didn’t want to come
back to the Ancien Régime.
The revolutions of 1830
In 1830 insurrections ignited also with military coups or demonstrations of popular groups
unhappy with the economic situation. The bourgeoisie took advantage on the situation to
force a political change.
In France the revolution is also known as July Revolution or The Three Glorious Days of
1830. The absolute monarchy of Charles X was overthrown and replaced by the more
liberal king Louis Philippe of Orleans though with limited suffrage.
In Belgium, a nationalist revolution brought the independence from the Netherlands and
the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
Many other revolutions turn out to be failed just as those in Italy, Prussia, Switzerland and
Poland.
The revolutions of 1848: The Spring of Nations
The revolutions in 1848 had a deeper impact but its origins are again the same economic
crisis. The movements started once again in France where the liberal moderate monarchy
only satisfied the upper classes while the middle ones and the proletariat demanded more
radical measures: universal suffrage, popular sovereignty and social equality.
The French Second Republic (1848-1852) was proclaimed and universal male suffrage
restored. However, the President of the Republic Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of
the former emperor, took advantage of his power to bring the French Second Empire
(1852-1870) from 1852.
It’s widely considered that the system of restoration was finally ended in 1848. Despite the
failure of most of the movements, the expansion of liberal ideas and governments all over
Europe was then unstoppable: Constitutions were approved in Switzerland and the
Kingdom of the two Sicilies; In the Austrian empire there were also liberal revolts in
Vienna and nationalist insurrections in Bohemia, Hungary and northern Italy.
NATIONALISM IN THE 19th CENTURY IN EUROPE
Nationalism is an important phenomenon whose echoes in the present could be traced
back to the 19th century. The defence of rights and liberties of the individual were extended
to peoples or nations. Some of them like Germany and Italy wanted to unite different
states, some others, like Polish, Serbs or Hungarians wanted so segregate from states or
empires where they were integrated. So throughout the 19th century two models of
nationalism consolidated:
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Segregative nationalism is that of the peoples aspiring to have a state by separating
from an Empire
Integrative nationalism. The one of that territories or peoples who want to create a
collective political entity, just like Italy or Germany
European nationalism became an important aspect of the recent history since the Imperial
expansion of Napoleon and his domination started an awakening in many places in
Europe. Nationalism and Liberalism associated in defence of liberties.
The most important ideologists of Nationalism are some Italian Liberals like Mazzini and
above all the German philosophers like Fichte and Herder. Herder coins the concept of
Volksgeist (in German, the people’s spirit) and gives a theoretical base to all the
vindications of the oppressed people in Europe.
In 1820, Greece gets its independence from the Turkish Domination. In 1830 it’s Belgium
that takes advantage of the liberal revolt to create its own State. Other peoples dominated
by the Russian, Austrian or Turkish Empires, failed in their attempts for independence.
However, the melting pot of nationalities and cultures (Polish, Hungarians, Rumanian,
Serbs, Bosnians, Slovenes...) that could be found in this empires caused the most serious
problems in the later European history.
THE ITALIAN UNIFICATION
In the first half of the 19th century, a movement known as “Il Risorgimento Italiano” raised
in what would be later Italy. In this process the country went through a gradual discovery
and vindication of its own national identity. This movement contributed to the formation of
the Italian State through secret societies (Carbonari, Adelfi, Federati, the Young Italy...)
and figures like Cavour, Prime Minister of the Piedmont, Mazzini the nationalist ideologist
or Garibaldi.
Until 1860 Italy was a made up of several little States, such as the Kingdom of PiedmontSardinia, in the North, which was the most powerful state and heart of the unification; the
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, a part of the Austrian Empire; the Papal States, ruled by
the Pope, in central Italy; or the Kingdom of the Two Siciles, ruled by the Bourbons
dynasty in the South.
The whole process of unification started from the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, a
constitutional monarchy under Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. With the support of France,
the Lombardy was gained to the Austrians in the battles of Magenta and Solferino but Nice
and Savoy had to be ceded to France in compensation. In 1860 Parma, Modena, Tuscany
and Emilia-Romagna (part of the Papal States) went Piadmontese too.
Later that year the Red Shirts of the “Expedition of the Thousand” led by Garibaldi
annexed Naples and Sicily. It was only left Venetia and Rome. Prussia was the new ally in
1866 to take Venice from the Austrians and in 1870 to take Rome from the French who
defended the interests of the Pope.
THE GERMAN UNIFICATION
The German Unification was finally attainted in 1870 after several attempts. The German
confederation created by the Congress of Vienna was integrated by 38 states, some of
them belonging simultaneously to the Austrian Empire.
The most industrialized and military powerful German State was Prussia and Its
Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck was the main figure of the unification. His aim was to make
Prussia a great European power leaning on the commercial expansionism of the
bourgeoisie. In 1833 he promoted the custom union (Zollverein) among the states of
Northern Germany.
The unification process had to be built by “blood and iron” (after a famous speech by
Bismark) through three successive wars.
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A war with Denmark for the border Schleswig- Holstein Duchies in 1864
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A war with Austria (Austro-Prussian War) to determine the leadership among the
German states in 1866
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A war with France (Franco-Prussian War) after years of tension that led to the
annexation of Alsace-Lorraine (Prussian victory in Sedan 1870) and the
proclamation of the German Empire in Versailles in 1871