Age of Metternich
1815 Europe
Age of Metternich
 Dominated by “conservatism”
 Wanted Europe to forget about Napoleon, the French
Revolution, and the Enlightenment
 Wanted to achieve a “balance of power” in Europe
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Power between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia,
and France
 Wanted “legitimacy” to return rightful monarchs or
their heirs to their thrones
 Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolutions in
France spread conservative ideas throughout Europe
Liberalism
 Metternich wanted conservatism
 Liberalism was dominant among the
commoners who didn’t benefit from noble
privilege
 Liberalism was defined by freedoms –
freedom of speech, religion, and the press
 Liberalism stressed constitutional monarchies
 Liberalism stressed meritocracy – value in
what you achieve, not who you were born to
Utilitarianism
 The greatest good for the greatest number.
 Normally associated with liberalism – the greatest
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numbers were non-nobles
Jeremy Bentham – father of
Said government should only interfere in people’s
lives to bring order and harmony
John Stuart Mill said the role of the government is to
help people achieve happiness
Mill’s On Liberty and On the Subjection of Women
outlined utilitarianism and feminism
Nationalism
 Hotbeds were in Ottoman Empire and
Austrian Empire
 Leads to unification of Germany and Italy
 Glorified the past and culture of unified
groups
England in the Age of Metternich
 Rights of commoners actually is expanded
 1815 Parliament only elected by wealthy
 1820s – labor unions legalized
 Chartist Movement (People’s Charter) wanted
expanded voting rights
 1832 – Great Reform Bill – allowed 50%
more people to vote; redrew district
boundaries
 1846 – Repeal of the Corn Laws
More on England
 In 1866 – Whig party (liberal) Prime Minister
William Gladstone attempted to expand voter
registration.
 In 1867 – Tory Party (Conservative Party)
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. 2nd Reform
Bill = gives right to vote to workers.
Back to England
 At the turn of the century Great Britain’s laws laid
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down the foundation of the social welfare state (but
first programs started in Germany)
All citizens guaranteed a free public education -compulsory
Unions were legalized
Secret ballots (Australian)
Government workers insurance
Unemployment insurance
Old age pensions
End of child labor; safety regulations in factories
Review English Eras
 Magna Carta – King has to
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follow the law
War of the Roses – leads to
Parliament supported a new
king
Henry VIII – religious
upheaval – power of the
monarch
Elizabeth – relied upon
Parliament for support
James I – absolutist
Charles I – English Civil
War; Parliament overthrows
monarch
 Charles II returns – at the
request of Parliament
 Glorious Revolution –
Parliament invites William
and Mary to return
 Bill of Rights – habeas
corpus and freedom of
speech
 Prime Minister gains power
during the reign of Queen
Victoria
France in the Age of Metternich
 Louis XVIII was the king – granted a new
constitution
 Charles X was a reactionary and made
people mad
 1830 – July Revolution – Charles overthrown
 Louis Philippe chosen as king of “the French”
 Louis had problems with workers – constant
uprisings
Back to France
 Began the Revolutions of 1848
 July Revolution of 1830 was against Charles X
 Louis Phillip replaced Charles and gave a voice to
the “bourgeoisie” but no one represented the
proletariat (workers)
 February, 1848 Louis Phillip abdicates and a new
legislature is elected – dominated by conservatives –
riots break out between the government and the
workers
 Universal male suffrage approved and a constitution
that set up a one house legislature and had a strong
president.
Napoleon Again
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected president of
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the Second Republic (1st Republic was during the
French Revolution)
Goals: law and order; eradication of socialism and
radicalism; adherence to conservative groups:
Church, army, property owners and business.
1852 declares himself Emperor Napoleon III
Internal improvements – highways, canals, railroad
construction
Subsidized industry allowed organized unions
Everyone was doing well –
Liberal Empire – eased censorship and granted
amnesty to political prisioners
Mexican Empire
 Napoleon sets up an “Emperor of Mexico” – a
Hapsburg cousin who was to answer to
Napoleon – the Mexicans kill him and the
United States is outraged at the violation of
the Monroe Doctrine
Crimean War (1854-1856)
 French and English went to war to prevent
the Russians from establishing dominance
over Ottoman possessions
 Ended the peace set up after the Congress of
Vienna
Franco-Prussian War (1870)
 Was the last war of Prussian/German
unification
 Napoleon surrendered rather than let the
Prussian army invade Paris; Napoleon is
taken captive and France declares the Third
Republic
Third Republic
 Controlled by monarchists and the bourgeoisie
 Counter radical government was set up – Paris
Commune (where have we heard of this before?)
 1875 – Chamber of Deputies – set up – foundation of
French government until WWII when so many parties
kept leading to its downfall
 1894 – Dreyfus Affair embarrassed France; Dreyfus
was a Jewish military officer who was convicted of
espionage; Emile Zola was a writer who “broke” the
story that there was no evidence – anti-Semitism led
to arrest and conviction
Let’s Review Major French Eras
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War of the Three Henrys
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Starts off as moderate – wanted a
Constitutional monarchy
Becomes radical – Reign of Terror
Paris mainly radical
Wars with others
Napoleon
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Military hero
Spread enlightenment ideas across
Europe – not always enlightened
himself
Voting rights to men
Napoleon III
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Louis XVIII – constitution that benefited
bourgeois and nobles
Charles X – wanted to return to
absolute power – abdicates in face of
rebellion
Louis Phillip – citizen king; benefits
bourgeoisie but not workers
Workers rebel
Second Republic
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Revolution
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Radical ideas that change the world
Participate in American Revolution
Monarchy Part II
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Louis XIV – Sun King
Wars of Louis XIV
Bourbons expand into Spain
Great Debt
Enlightenment
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Religious toleration
Bourbons vs. Hapsburgs
Age of Absolutism
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Same as uncle – pretty enlightened,
but wants total power
Loses for military reasons (sound
familiar)
Third Republic
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Sets up a true democracy
Russia in the Age of Metternich
 Alexander I was the Tzar
 Younger people had been influenced by
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Enlightenment – students
Nicholas I became Tzar in 1825
Decembrist Revolt -- young army officers wanted a
constitutional monarchy
Many were executed
Nicholas became very reactionary and repressive
Created the Third Section – secret police
Nicholas put down revolts in Poland but aided
revolutionaries in Greece (why?)
Russia
 Alexander I extended the reforms of
Catherine the Great
 Freedom of Jews in empire
 When Napoleon invaded Alexander ordered
statewide censorship and required
membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
 Nicholas I takes over when Alexander dies –
Decembrist Revolt was led by military
soldiers. Created Third Section.
 Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality
Russia
 Alexander II began as a reformer and ended
as a reactionary.
 Emancipated the serfs in 1861, but required
them to pay for their freedom.
 Polish Revolt led to autocracy – killed by
militants called Narodniks who were
socialists. (1866)
 Industrialization had taken place under
Alexander and a Trans-Siberian Railroad was
important in Russia’s economic development.
German States
 The Holy Roman Empire was ended by Napoleon.
 Remember various princes controlled German states
and the Hapsburgs controlled Austria.
 The Congress of Vienna set up the Germanic
Confederation to deal with similar German state
problems.
 Burschenschafts were radical student organizations
who wanted a unified German state led by a
constitution. They organized national conventions.
 Carlsbad Decrees outlawed the Buschenschafts,
censored materials that advocated unification, and
set up secret police in universities (started by
Metternich).
Prussia
 Zollverein – was an economic union of
German states. Economic unity…
 Prussia (Frederick William IV) dealt quickly
with revolutionary activity by calling a
legislative assembly rather than the military
(why was this a good idea?).
 1850 Prussia set up a constitution that
established a House of Representatives
elected by universal male suffrage.
Frankfurt Assembly
 Met outside the “legal” authority of Prussia.
 Set up a plan for future union of Germany.
 Greater Germany wanted German and
Austrian unification.
 Lesser Germany wanted to exclude Austria.
 Offered the crown of “Germany” to Frederick
William IV – he declined.
 Advisor Bismarck said if someone gives you
something it can be taken away – take it
through “blood and iron.”
Austria
 Ethnic mix of Austria included Germans, Hungarians,
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Slavs, Czechs, Italians, Serbs, Croats, and others.
Led to Revolutions of 1848.
Louis Kossuth – Hungarian nationalist aroused
separatist sentiments.
Rioting in Vienna led to Metternich having to flee
Austria.
Prague Conference was called by the Czechs (like
the Frankfurt Conference) wanted Austroslavism
where the slavs would had some autonomy from the
Austrians (but remain in the empire).
Those who tried to rebel were suppressed by the
Hapsburgs.
Franz Joseph (1848-1916)
 Very conservative
 Suppressed all opposition
 Saw the Revolutions of 1848 collapse
because of ethnic conflicts – not a bad thing
for him!
Liberalism Redefined
 Liberalism started as laissez-faire economics,
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freedom of speech, press, and religion
Beginning of 20th century – expanded suffrage and
improve living conditions for all citizens
Unions were legalized
Government education for all
End of child labor
Pensions for the elderly
Medical insurance for all
Universal suffrage achieved
German Unification
 The Zollverein set up
the foundations of a
unified economic state.
Political unification
wasn’t far off.
 Prussian Hohenzollerns
looked to be the leading
contenders for created
a German empire.
 Austrian Hapsburgs
were not so sure.
German States
Bismarck’s Realpolitik
 Otto von Bismarck was a Junker (landowning
noble) who was willing to battle Parliament
 Collected taxes without the approval of
Parliament, enlarged the army, and killed
democracy in Prussia.
 Unified Germany through war and power:
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Danish-Prussian War – all-German war
against Denmark over Denmark’s desire for
Schleswig – Denmark defeated by Germans,
included Austria
Austro-Prussian War (7 Weeks War)
of 1866
 Prussia was superior in arms, training, and
leadership
 Austria chose not to interfere with Bismarck’s
plans anymore
North German Confederation
 1867 the North German Confederation was
established to replace the German
Confederation
 21 States united under Prussia
 2 House Legislature – Reichstag (lower
house) and Bundesrat (upper house)
Franco-Prussian War
 Technically a disagreement over the Spanish throne
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– series of diplomatic correspondents between
Prussia and France
EMS Dispatch was reworded to sound like Napoleon
III was insulted William I
Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in July of 1870.
In four months, the Prussian army had defeated the
French and taken Napoleon prisoner.
France lost Alsace-Lorraine.
Baden, Bavaria, Hesse, and Wurttemberg – joined
the Confederation and King William became the
Keiser of all the Germans (except Austria)
Bismarck as Chancellor
 Kulturkampf (cultural
conflicts) repressed
Catholics and socialists
in the German states.
 To counter appeal of
the socialists, Bismarck
sponsored some
“reforms” of his own –
the first in Europe:
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Workman’s
Compensation
Old-age pensions
Medical assistance
Unification of Italy
 Italy had unified somewhat since the Italian City-States of the
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15th and 16th centuries.
Kingdom of Naples (Two Sicilies) was made up of Sicily and
the southern part of Italy.
The Papal States included Rome and the middle of Italy.
Lombardy-Venetia was the northern part of Italy and was
ruled by Austria (Tuscany, Lucca, Modena, and Parma).
Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont-Sardinia) included the
northwestern provinces of Nice, Savoy, and Piedmont.
Italy
Sardinia
 Was ruled by a constitutional
monarchy led by Victor
Emmanuel II.
 Camillo di Cavour became
prime minister during the
Revolutions of 1848.
 Rejected the idea of a “family”
destined to be united by divine
intervention (idea of Mazzini)
and decided that Italy had to be
united by force.
 Cavour reformed Sardinia by
weakening the power of the
papacy, investing in public
works (railroads and harbors),
abolishing internal tariffs
(another economic unification),
encouraging industry,
emancipating the peasants tied
to land, and highlighting
“constitutional” powers.
Unification
 Cavour got Napoleon III to
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support a Sardinia war against
Austria. France would get
Nice and Savoy in exchange.
1859 Austria declared war on
Sardinia and the French
fought for Cavour. (Napoleon
left early to deal with Prussia).
Garibaldi took over the military
forces and his Red Shirts.
March, 1861 the Kingdom of
Italy was proclaimed with
Victor Emmanuel II as the
ruler.
1870 the Papal states
(excluding Vatican) were
incorporated into the Kingdom
of Italy.