History

Evaluate the major events that took place in Europe between 1789 and 1835; their causes, course and effect.

The years between 1789 and 1835 marked a milestone in the history of the world. It witnessed Great Revolutions and world wars. These events were turning points in the history of human political, social and economic development. First came the French Revolution in 1789. It was followed by the rise of the Great Napoleon Bonaparte, the man who believed that, ‘impossible only existed in the dictionary of fools’. Napoleon brought a semblance of peace and order in Europe for some time. However, things changed and Europe found itself in the middle of revolutions again in 1830.

These revolutions were preceded by the entry of Prince Metternich of Austria. Metternich led other statesmen such as Alexander of Russia, Lord Castlebreagh of England, Talleyrand of France and the king of Prussia into coming up with a system of congresses between 1815-1825.

The congresses catapulted the Austrio-Hungarian Empire to prominence in European diplomacy. This was through the work of Prince Metternich; the Austrian chancellor. It marked the end of the Great Napoleon’s reign in France and by extension France’s domineering influence in Europe.

Join into groups of five each and visit the library to research from resources such as textbooks and the Internet for:

1. Information about conditions in Europe and France in particular before 1789.

2. Examine the roles played by women leaders (queens) in this period. Name at least three queens and state their contributions.

3. Asses the contribution of women in socio-political and development in our society

Conditions in Europe and France in particular, before 1789, were quite appalling. European society was divided down the middle in various ways. The rulers and a few in the upper class enjoyed plenty and led an opulent life. They cared little or not at all over the miserable conditions and hopelessness that characterized the middle and lower levels of the society.

The picture of Europe in most states, was identical. However, western European states were more advanced than their counterparts in Eastern Europe. In the latter, Russia and the Ottoman empires were the extremes. The two empires were backward than all the others.

This was the most important power in the north. By the 1780s, she had exhausted herself and had become satiated with conquests. Sweden had by this time, given up her continental ambitions. She only clung to Finland and some territory in Germany. The country had a strong monarchy. It had managed to control the parliament and nobility. Here, peasants were free and were not bound to the land on which they worked.

Swedish power had been humbled by Russia which although backward, enjoyed a military strength (due to her population) which was unmatched by many powers on the eve of the French Revolution. This was an asset at the time. The states of Europe faced one another as armed and distrustful rivals. They recognised no rule of conduct except their own advantage. All entered into transitory alliances on the prompings of fear or gain. In all situations, the powers ganged against and brought down the single power amongst them, whom they thought was the most powerful. So from the 16th Century, any state that seemed to exercise or claim supremacy in Europe, with time saw the others gang against it. This was the situation Spain, France and Great Britain fell into in the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries respectively. The end of the 18th Century had nothing of international action or aspiration thus to talk of for the European powers.

This was the second strongest power in the north. It had a large navy and controlled Norway. Like many European powers at the time, her monarchy was autocratic. Many of her peasants were serfs (were forced to stay on the land of the master). However peasants of Norway were not serfs. Like other Scandinavian states, Denmark and Norway supplied Europe with naval stores, fur, fish, grain and minerals. They exercised little influence beyond the Baltic region.

Russia controlled the East. It was a vast empire whose territories went beyond Europe. She had risen as one of the strongest empires in the continent. Through Tsar Peter the Great (1696-1725) she had expanded and even won an outlet to the Baltic sea and built a new capital, St. Petersburg, at the head of the Gulf of Finland. Peter had also for a time, carried Russia’s frontiers to the Black sea and even had offered to her the “civilizing agency of maritime intercourse”.

The Tsar had also encouraged aspects of the western culture in his empire, especially language and science among the aristocracy. Czarina Catherine (1762-1796) continued Tsar Peter the Great’s work. The Czarina was a German at birth. She expanded the empire and encouraged aspects of western civilization in her empire. Czarina Catherine was a product of “the Enlightenment” and this is what informed the reforms she tried to introduce to the Russian society. However, Russia still remained a complete autocracy.

                            

The Tsar enjoyed absolute power; the Nobles enjoyed privileges denied other groups while the peasants remained serfs as they had been in the previous centuries. In fact, Catherine the Great, extended Serfdom to many areas where it hadn’t existed. She gave the nobles large grants of crown lands and estates in newly acquired territories. Catherine, like her Predecessor, was equally an empire builder. She extended her empire southwards to the Black Sea and into the Crimea by silencing the remaining Tartar people and their supporters, the Ottoman Turks. Catherine further, by joint action with Prussia and Austria, took part of Poland. She took the lion’s share of the spoils.

It was a Muslim power, was in the south. She was Russia’s neighbor. The empire had reached the climax of its power in the 17th Century. She controlled many European communities in her vast empire. Most of these were the Christian groups in south east Europe such as the Serbs, Wallachians, Bulgars, Greeks and others. The Turks only occupied these lands and did not establish a firm rule over the communities. They only collected taxes or quelled resistance whenever it occurred. Apart from the European groups, the Ottoman rulers also controlled Asia Minor, the Levant and North Africa. People under Turkish rule were allowed independence except for tax payment. By the late 18th Century, the Turkish Empire was ripe for division. Russia and Austria’s appetite to get the spoils reigned supreme.

It was found to the south east of the Ottoman Empire under the rule of the House of Hapsburg whose capital was in Vienna, Austria. The kingdom brought together Hungary, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Galicia, Croatia and Belgium. All these territories were ruled by the head of the House of Hapsburg. The official by custom, was also elected the emperor of what was officially called “The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”.

This was a loose grouping of more than 300 states which in the 18th Century covered modern Germany and more areas. Although the emperor had a lot of stake in German inhabited territories, most of the territories in the empire were not German. It brought together many nationalities with diverse religions. Her reasons became known as the Austrian Empire in 1804 and as Austria-Hungary in 1867. Austria-Hungary was the main rival of France before 1789.

                                   

They fought many wars and experienced many realms towards one another.These many nationalities in the Austrian empire were products of inheritance, diplomatic marriages, conquest (war) and even by purchase. This presented a big challenge to governance. Centralization of power which was in vogue in Europe at the time was untenable here. Resistance after resistance was the norm in this large territory. If it was not religious, it was ethnic, where it was not ethnic it was over governance. The people could even not agree on a common language. Like in other parts of Europe, the Austria-Hungarian emperor was autocratic.

The outbreak of the French revolution coincided with the reign of Joseph II (1765-90). He was an “enlightened despot”. Joseph tried to introduce some reforms in his empire but finally had to withdraw most of the reforms. He is described to have died in 1790 “bitterly conscious of his failures”.An interesting empire was the so called the Holy Roman Empire of which the ruler of Austria as we have already noted, was traditionally elected head. It brought together all Germanic states.

The empire exercised very little authority. Power rested with the various German states of which the most outstanding was Prussia. Others were Bavaria, Saxony and Hanover. Prussia had a strong army and enjoyed a long military tradition. Through the efforts of Emperor Fredrick II The Great, an enlightened despot, the state grew at the expense of Austria and Poland. Even though Prussia lacked any geographical advantages, the state emerged as a powerful one, through force and diplomacy. Under Fredrick, Prussia prospered but unfortunately the monarch never carried or extended the benefits to the majority of the population.

Poland was another power in Europe. Unfortunately, she provided a record of political and military decline. So in the 18th Century, she provided a constitution that legalized anarchy. The country allowed any nobleman the power to veto in legislation. This was a social system that maintained the worst abuses of the feudal system in the middle ages. The system condemned its peasant population to the worst serfdom. There was great moral degradation. She had a weak army which made it vulnerable for prey by her neighbours. Both Austria, Russia and Prussia got territories from her. The country on the eve of the French Revolution was under King Stanislas Poniatowski.

No single authority ruled the whole of Italy. There were many kingdoms, duchies and Republics in the peninsula. By the late 18thCentury Naples and Sicily were the most important states. Others were Rome and Bologna–the states of the church. The two were noted mainly for poverty, backwardness and malaria. In the north of Italy was Piedmont, arising power among the Italian states. Piedmont’s territory also included Sardinia which gave its name- Kingdom of Sardinia – to the kingdom. It was ruled by the House of Savoy. There were many other states in the Italian Peninsula but as Metternich was later to remark, Italy was a geographical expression – there was no single state going by that name and bringing all the Italian territories under one ruler. Like in other European states, in these states, “Cities of great prosperity and artistic magnificence existed side by side with areas of appalling poverty”. It was thus a time bomb just like in the other areas.

                                              

Although her power had declined, Spain was still a vital power in Europe. She was under the Hapsburg Monarchs, the house which equally was in power in France. They had taken on Spain and ruled up to the 17th Century before the new Bourbon Kings had taken charge in the 18th Century. The country had vast lands in Central America from California and Texas downwards, most of South America with the exception of Brazil and several of the West Indian Islands, besides other outposts in the Philippines. The Spanish society, although united by religion and to some extent national unity had problems from sections of her population. The Catalonians, Aragonese and Basques were against the supremacy of Castile. Like other European states, part of her population lived in opulence while the majority were mired by abject poverty.

This was Spain’s neighbour. She had survived a period of Spanish annexation and regained her independence in 1640. Portugal was still a colonial empire, but like Spain, she had however lost some of her territories to the Dutch. Portugal despite being a colonial empire was one of the poorest and most backward states in Europe. In spite of her poverty, she spend colossal amounts of finance building churches. She was able to maintain her colonial possessions because of British naval assistance. Portugal forged an alliance with Great Britain based on commerce and politics. She mostly sold wine (at lower taxation) as she received woolen products from Britain.

To the north-east of France was the Netherlands. This territory had been sharply divided since the 17th Century. Some parts were under Austrian rule (these were following Catholicism), then there was the united provinces (Holland) which were independent (they practised Protestantism). Holland later were British allies. They were successful agriculturalists and business people. They managed to maintain a colonial empire due to their naval might. The Dutch engaged themselves in many colonial wars which weakened them drastically. She had also been rocked by internal strife over Holland’s attempts to dominate the other Dutch provinces.

It was a large country bringing together people from diverse nationalities. They all formed the Swiss Confederation. It had secured her independence from the Hapsburgs in the 15th Century.

Out of all the European powers, none led all the others in as many fields as Great Britain. Although France’s neighbor across the water, she gave the former more trouble than her land neighbours. Britain was extremely strong. She was united under one king and parliament. Her citizens were comparatively freer than in all the other European states. The country was governed through the rule of law, led in commerce and was a front runner in the industrial revolution. Britain thus enjoyed many advantages which lacked in the other powers.

France pursued a monarchical system of government. She was one of the dominant powers in Europe. She had enjoyed this status for long. This made her the envy of many powers. Her greatest rival was Great Britain. As a country, she found herself in great difficulties as shown below:

The age of reason had opened the people’s eyes. In France, where most of the philosophers were found, Enlightenment ideas made people to question the inequalities of the old regime which still operated on the basis of divine rights of kings. The biased treatment by the government of sections of the population did not go down well with the majority of the citizens. To them, the favoured position of the clergy and nobility went against reason. Therefore, there were calls for fair treatment of all classes throughout France.

There were increased wars among European countries to acquire colonies in different parts of Europe and the Americas. Weak European nations wanted to acquire colonies so as to conquer them hence increase their power and prestige. Interestingly, on the eve of the French Revolution, Europe was very varied. Western Europe was generally more advanced than Eastern Europe. In the north, Sweden was the most important power. It controlled Finland and some territories in Germany. Denmark in the North was equally powerful. It controlled Norway and had a large navy. In Eastern Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empires were the most backward. Russia nursed feelings of territorial expansion in the Baltic Sea and Asia. It had, prior to the revolution, allied with Prussia and Austria to divide Poland among themselves. This was done under a Russian ruler, who was a true product of the Enlightenment, Empress Catherine II, the Great. The Turkish (Ottoman) empire held power over the Christian people of south-east Europe (the Serbs, Wallachians, Bulgars, Greeks and others). It also controlled Asia Minor and North Africa. Russia wanted lands in this empire. In south east Europe, there was the kingdom of Hungary. It controlled modern-day republics of Czecholslavia (Moravia and Bohemia), Galicia (today part of Poland) Croatia and some territories in Northern Italy. It also controlled Belgium. All these territories were controlled by the head of the Hapsburg family in what was known as ‘The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation’. This was a loose grouping of more than 300 states covering modern Germany and some areas beyond. Most of these territories, although controlled by Germany, were not made up of Germans. Like Russia, it was ruled, by a ‘disciple of the Enlightenment’ known as Joseph II when the French Revolution occurred. Another powerful empire was Prussia. Like other empires, it had interests of colonial acquisition. It was interested in territories controlled by Austria and Poland. By the time of the French Revolution, Prussia had been under the rule of Fredrick II. He died just before the revolution. The powerful European powers even wanted territories in Italy, which at this time was still a combination of kingdoms. Spain was another great power. It had many colonies in the Newlands. Britain wanted these colonies, too. Spain thus formed an alliance with France to keep away British advances. It, however, fought with Britain from time to time. Portugal was another European power. It still had a large colonial empire although it had lost most of her colonies to the Dutch. Portugal formed an alliance with Britain to safeguard her territorial interests. Generally, the period towards the French Revolution came at a time when colonial wars among the European states were being experienced. It was characterised by war and rivalry.

France faced numerous problems by the time revolution took place. These problems can be traced back to the 17th and early 18th Centuries and some even much earlier. The ancient regime had a chaotic legal system. For example, in 1789, there still existed 360 different feudal codes of law in different parts of the country (there were numerous feudal courts in a town). The government tried to regulate affairs in over 40,000 townships but things were very slow as they were controlled from a central authority – Paris. Nearly all powers in national matters were in the hands of the king and his personal advisers. The kings were absolute monarchs. They cared less about the welfare of the people. The king’s word was law and the state was like his personal property. France was thus under an undemocratic and repressive regime that cared less about the welfare of the bulk of its population. People detested the government but they could do nothing about it. It was just a matter of time before they rose up in arms against the regime.

It is estimated that peasants at the time of the revolution were 23 million out of a population of 25 million. Most of the peasants were poor and heavily taxed. They were thus very discontented and depressed. Most of them lived in the rural areas. There were direct taxes on land and households (poll). These were collected by government officials. There were also a myriad of indirect taxes. The way these taxes were collected was ruthless and inhuman. Many peasants, unable to pay, were severely punished. Things were not different for the bourgeoisie.

Although they mainly lived in towns, they were equally weighed down by the heavy taxes. Besides having political grievances, the middle class had several economic grievances other than heavy taxation. The finances of the government during the reign of the King Louis XVI were deteriorating. This was of the cost of France’s support to Americans in their war of independence (1775–1783). There was extravagance and luxury of the court at Versailles which housed the royal family and bad financial management made the government expenditure to exceed its income.

To address the issue, the government resorted to domestic borrowing. It took loans from the nobility, the bourgeoisie and the church. The bourgeoisie were unsure whether they could get back their money because the government had been bankrupt long before 1789. The middle class was further angered by the government’s policy to exempt the nobility and the church from taxationIn the clergy class, the parish priest was just like the peasant.

He was poor and not entitled to those privileges enjoyed by the higher clergy such as bishops. In the army, the same fate befell the ordinary soldier. In a nutshell, before the outbreak of the revolution, the French society had serious economic problems which made the life of a majority of the population difficult. There was also a general economic decline from the 1770s. Later, in 1780 there were bad harvests which made food prices to rise.

Many social problems faced the French society before the revolution. Segregation in virtually all the fields – government, army and the church was the most annoying. There was also abject poverty among the peasant, priests, ordinary soldiers and some sections of the middle class. Life to these groups of people was very difficult yet the authorities did little to address their problems. Poverty brought great hunger, especially in the urban areas.

The division of people according to classes was another major social issue.Those who were not favoured felt unwanted. Many were therefore; ready to join opposition against the government whenever such an opportunity presented itself. In spite of these challenges, France, for more than a century, since the early days of Louis XIV, had remained the undisputed leader of European civilization. It gave Europe its ideas, fashions, language and even its codes of polite behaviour.

The country enjoyed stability of leadership unmatched by any European power; she had a line of kings which with its branches had continued for 800 years. The country possessed a wealth and a culture far beyond all the other European powers.

In groups of five:

1. Analyse the causes, course and consequences of the French Revolution and discuss how it increased democracy in the society.

2. Does the democracy that resulted from the French Revolution compare with the democracy in our country Rwanda? Discuss.

3. Do you think the French Revolution was necessary? Assess its contribution in the modern society.

This was one of the greatest revolution witnessed in the history of humanity. It had ramifications in virtually all sectors of life. Its causes were as varied as its consequences.Its aims were crystallized after it had brought change in the society.

This was brought out in the triple watchword of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”

The French revolution had both long and short-term causes. Its origins are said to have stretched back into the 17th and 18th Centuries. The outstanding causes were as follows.

1. The existing government: It had very poor practices. The government ran systems that were so chaotic in virtually all areas. It closed its doors to political reform, which was taking place in other parts of Europe, especially Britain. The king enjoyed absolute power and cared less about what took place among the population. Common citizens had no say or share in the government. The peasants were underprivileged while the educated were unhappy with their exclusion from official position at the head of the army, the navy and the diplomatic service.

2. The influence of the philosophers: The ideas of the philosophers of the Enlightenment period had great influence over the middle class and other people of the French society. Ideas of key outstanding personalities such as Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu and Rousseau had a strong impact on the people. According to the people, it was time such great ideas were put in practice. This was part of the causes of the French revolution.

3. Example of the American revolution: America provided a practical example of how a revolution could be organised and its benefits. The French rulers had supported the Americans against their masters, the British. She did this to revenge her loss of colonies in Canada and India to the British during the seven-year war (1756–1763). When Americans won, the French rulers were really happy about the victory. Little did they know that it could influence a revolution in France. French soldiers who participated in the war were influenced by oppressive democratic ideas. They reflected on why the Americans rose up in arms against the British.It dawned on them that the conditions back in France were worse and equally oppressive. Americans rose against heavy taxation, yet the French were also heavily taxed by the government.

4. Bankruptcy of the French government: The French government, as we have already observed, had been bankrupt for many years before the revolution. This was caused by the luxurious lifestyle of the kings and members of the royal family. Exemption of the nobility, higher clergy and the church from taxation led to loss of Canada and India to Britain. French involvement in the American War of Independence also contributed to its bankruptcy. All these forced the government to live on debts, which were a costly affair altogether. The bankrupt government could not provide essential services to its citizens. The bankruptcy made successive government ministers for finance to advise on taxing the exempted groups. This was first never supported by the king (due to opposition from the groups concerned) but the worsening economic conditions, made the king to accept the idea in May 1789. To enforce the recommendation, a meeting of the estates-general was to be summoned. It was this meeting that began a revolution. The third class had to be handled well for things to move according to plan. This meant removing some of the burden of taxation from their shoulders and putting it onto those of the first and second classes. This was not to be.

                                    

5. Character of King Louis XVI: Louis XVI was weak and indecisive. His personality contributed to the revolution. Louis was inconsistent in his actions. At every stage in the revolution he encouraged reform and then drew back. This was dangerous and things were made worse because he was influenced by his wife, Marie Antoinette.Being an Austrian, she was viewed with contempt because it was the French alliance with Austria which made France to fight in the seven-year war, which led to the loss of Canada and India. Marie had partly contributed to the people’s hatred of her. She was ignorant of the need for reform, and was unsympathetic to her people’s situation at the time. The queen is said to have misadvised the king into making unpopular decisions.

                                 

6. Inflation: There was high inflation which led to increase in the price of various goods.However, the rise in prices did not have a corresponding increase in salaries. The result was widespread poverty among the peasants.

7. Bad weather of 1788: Climate equally contributed to the revolution. There was bad weather in 1788 which ruined the harvest. This eventually raised the prices of maize, bread and other foodstuff, bringing about widespread starvation. There also followed a severe winter in early 1789, which besides the unbearable cold conditions, froze all rivers and ports in the country.

The result was even greater distress. Coupled with a treaty France had signed with Britain in 1786, which allowed cheap British manufactured goods into France in return for corresponding concessions on French wine, there was much suffering in the society. Unemployment increased and people moved to towns, hoping to get better conditions. These people brought into being the characteristic Paris mob of the revolution – idle, desperate, ready to cheer on the most extreme measures and destined to sway the fortunes of events on several vital occasions.

All these factors jointly contributed to the breakout of the revolution in 1780. The process began with the king’s, summoning of the Estates-General meeting on 5 May 1789.

The major developments of the French Revolution are discussed below.

This meeting which brought together representatives of all the three estates was called due to bankruptcy that faced the country. Bread riots were spreading in the country. Nobles, who were fearful of taxes, were denouncing royal tyranny. These conditions forced King Louis XVI to summon the Estates-General to meet in Versailles.

                                       

All the representatives of the Three Estates prepared their grievances in readiness for the meeting. Many grievances revolved around the deteriorating economic conditions facing the country and the need for reforms such as fair taxes, freedom of the press and regular meetings of the Estates-General. There were also local issues which were specific to trades such as shoe makers, peasants and servant girls among others. Generally, the grievances narrowed down to serious issues of class resentment. The Third Estate mainly targeted the First and Second estates. They listed the issue of abolition of all feudal rights and dues among their many grievances. The first point of disagreement among the delegates was on whether to meet jointly or separately in their respective classes. The meeting as individual estates would be against the favour of the Third Estate as the clergy and nobility would outnumber it. Meeting jointly was against the clergy and nobility as Louis XVI had allowed double representation for the Third Estate. Louis XVI ruled that until such time as the estate should propose agreed schemes for joint session, they would hold meetings separately.

This was not welcomed by the Third Estate. Led by Comte de Mirabeau (a rebellious noble who stood and was elected to represent the Third Estate), the Third Estate rejected the policy of separatism. Instead, it voted to call itself the ‘National Assembly’ and invited the other estates to join the body. Some of the parish priests had already crossed over to the Third Estate and now the majority of the clergy voted in favour of the Third Estates’ declaration. Two or three days later, the king ordered the hall where the National Assembly was meeting to be closed for alterations. The Third Estate took the worst possible misinterpretation of the King’s action. Immediately they moved to an adjacent tennis court and solemnly swore never to disperse until a constitution was firmly established. This already was an act of defiance to the monarchy. The Third Estate voted on 17 June 1789 and created the National Assembly. All this was the work of a clergy, Abbe Sieyes, who was sympathetic to the Third Estates’ cause. The vote was the first deliberate act of the revolution.

Upon moving to the Tennis Court after the meeting hall had been ordered closed by the king, the delegates of the Third Estate who were mostly lawyers, members of the middle class and writers took an oath. This is what came to be known as the Tennis Court Oath. In the oath, they swore ‘never to separate and meet whenever the circumstances might require until they had established a sound and just constitution’. Soon, they were joined by a majority of the clergy and some nobles and on 27 June 1789, the three Estates amalgamated officially through the king’s command.But the gathering of troops around Paris sent mixed signals.

141The people thought the king planned to dissolve the Assembly. Suspicion and rumour continued to poison the atmosphere. In the countryside, violent crimes took an upward trend. The government, gripped by fear, could not maintain law and order. As a measure of self-defence, the Parisian electors at the end of June set up a committee in the hotel known as the National Guard. The media was also ready with revolutionary pamphlets and journals while speakers with good oratory skills fired up the people with their oratory eloquence which was based on reform related issues.

On 1 July 1789, on the advice of the queen, the king fired his reform-minded minister, Necker, from his post of controller, in his court. This action angered the Paris people. The people sought weapons to defend themselves, against the army which was in the Paris suburbs. They raided gunsmith’s shops and surrounded the Hotel de Ville, making loud noises. In the hotel, the committee of electors found themselves in a state of uncertainty. They hastily voted for the creation of a citizen’s militia. It was also forced to hand its stock of weapons to the people.On 14 July 1789, the people moved to the great military hospital at Les Invalids, from where they seized 30,000 guns. From Les Invalids, they planned to move to the great fortress prison of Paris (the Bastille). The prison was known to have a huge stock of weapons.

About 800 people moved to the Bastille. Their intention was to seize the weapons which were stored in the prison so as to use them against the army. They also wanted to prevent the army from using the weapons against them. The mob was very unruly. This scared the prison commander who asked the guards to open fire on them. Finally, the furious mob stormed the prison, killed five guards and the institution’s commander and released a handful of the prisoners. They, however, found no weapons.This storming of Bastille became a symbol of the French Revolution.

Supporters of the revolution saw it as a step toward freedom. With the storming of Bastille, the rebels were now in full control of Paris. The committee at Hotel de Ville became a regular town government (commune). It was headed by a major Marquis de Lafayatte, who had learnt liberal ideas from the American Revolution, and had been elected vice-president of the National Assembly. He was now made the commander of the National Guard.

They now checked law and order in Paris. The king’s support for the changes so far was necessary. He had no alternative. Consequently, he reinstated Necker, withdrew his troops from the Paris suburbs and came to Paris, escorted by fifty members of the Assembly on 17 July 1789.He was forced to recognise the new municipal government of Paris and the National Guard. He was also forced to wear a tri-coloured cockade hat, the emblem of the revolution.

Other than Paris, rebellions also took place in other towns across France. Committees were assembled and self-governments along the Paris model instituted. Nobles, in the National Assembly, rose to propose the abolition of all feudal rights and dues. With time, all feudal privileges were abolished by the National Assembly on 4 August 1789. The peasants had won a major demand. This was an important goal of the Enlightenment; the equality of all citizens before the law.

On 27 August 1789, the National Assembly adopted a set of revolutionary ideas called ‘A’ declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen’. This document had various articles.

1. The first article declared that ‘men are born and remain free and equal in rights’.

2. The second article stated ‘the aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural rights of man’. These rights included liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

3. Other articles of the document touched on equal justice, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. As a whole, the document echoed the influence of American ideas and teachings of Rousseau on its drafters, who were the deputies to the National Assembly. It, however, excluded women from politics. A part from the rights of man and of the citizen, the National Assembly debated and passed other crucial motions. Most of these motions affected the government and society. They included:

• a limited monarchy

• division of the country into departments

• abolition of the provinces which had existed since the Middle Ages

• establishment of a state controlled-church (the church lost both its political independence and lands to the government).

The peasants did not support the changes in the Catholic Church. There was thus a wedge between them and the bourgeoisie. From this time on, the peasants often opposed further revolutionary changes. On his part, the king reluctantly approved the constitution and the declaration of the rights of man. He was, however, slow to accept the reforms. The people of Paris grew suspicious as more troops arrived; nobles continued to enjoy banquets as the poor people starved. Anger again led to action.

The King’s lukewarm acceptance of the reforms and the deteriorating economic conditions angered many people in Paris. Famine and unemployment reached record highs. The king made matters worse by calling a regiment to Versailles where they met with their counterparts, the Royal Bodyguard. The two regiments greeted each other with a banquet at which the tri-coloured hat was insulted. Extremists in the National Assembly and in the Paris commune were angered by this act and led the people into protest. The protest involved staging a march to Versailles to press the peoples’ grievances. They settled on the women to make the march. Women were chosen because the effect would be greater and their hunger cries shriller.

However, a number of men also joined the march. As they moved, thousands of citizens also joined the march. Among the marchers were members of the National Guard under Lafayette. The guards were to control the crowd from engaging in any ugly incidents. They were also to bring the king to Paris from Versailles.They reached Versailles and made audience with the king. The latter promised special food supplies for Paris, accepted the decrees (laws) which had been passed on August 4 and the declaration of the Rights of man and citizen.

When Lafayette appeared, the king due to harassment by the mob also agreed that the National Guard, instead of the Flanders regiment, should be entrusted with the defense of Versailles. But the mob had not finished with the king. When Lafayette was asleep, they stormed the palace and demanded that the king accompany them back to Paris. The king agreed to move to the royal palace of the Tuileries in Paris on 6 October 1789.

The king was now virtually a prisoner of the mob. The assembly also moved to Paris. Like the king, it also fell under the control of the mob. Its activities were public and even non-members addressed the deputies (assembly members).The assembly took a decisive step in the progress of the revolution. Desperate for revenue; it turned to the vast wealth of the church. All church estates were nationalised and put to auction to secure funds. Interest bearing bonds known as assignats were given to creditors of the government; bonds were to be a form of general currency. The assembly had thus gone for paper money. Like today, it is usually tempting for governments to print it, so was it for the French government during this time.

This resulted in inflation. The value of the paper money dropped so much that it was soon useless.Since the State had taken church property, it had to find a way to pay the clergy’s salaries. It passed the civil constitution of the clergy which undertook among other things, responsibility for paying the clergy who now became state officials; bishops and parish priests were appointed through a form of election. The pope, though still the head of the church had no power over the church in France.

Devout Catholics, including the king, were against the whole arrangement but could do nothing.The king gave in to the new scheme, but secretly resolved to stop the revolution through external assistance. He decided to flee to eastern France, where he would be well received by loyal French troops and get help from his brother-in-law, the Austrian Emperor, Leopold. He left at night, but was unfortunately caught at Varennes (a little town that is a few miles from the Austrian border).

Together with his wife and other members of the royal family, they were arrested and on Lafayette’s orders, were brought back to Paris. They were humiliated, insulted and even spat on by the people.In practice, the monarchy had died because of the incident. Extremists in the revolution advocated for the establishment of a Republic.

They greatly reduced the king’s powers and even came up with a new constitution which changed not only the working of the National Assembly, but also its membership. They even changed its name to Legislative Assembly. In the meantime, outside France, the changes were receiving mixed reactions.Supporters of the Enlightenment applauded them while the rulers were against them. The rulers termed it as the ‘French plague’.

The revolutionaries were condemned for their violence by even those who had supported the American Revolution such as Edmund Burke. In Prussia and Austria, the rulers issued the declaration of Pilnitz in which they threatened to come to the aid of the French king. Although intended by the rulers to be a bluff, it was taken seriously by the revolutionaries who now prepared for war. The Legislative Assembly, now under the control of members of a revolutionary political club, the Jacobins, declared war on Austria, then Prussia, Britain and other states in April 1792.

The leaders of the revolution were Georges Danton, a leader of the Paris commune who was fearless and devoted to the rights of the poor, and Jean Pau Marat, a thin, high strung man, who also hoped to win fame for his scientific research. Alongside others, they set the Paris mob on a new and more violent path. The National Convention (Legislative Assembly) met in Paris in September 1789 and immediately abolished the monarchy. Next, it declared France a republic in which every male adult citizen had the right to vote and hold office. Women, although having played a vital role in the revolution, were not allowed to vote. Louis XVI was no longer king.

Under the new republic, he was just a common citizen and a prisoner. The republics new motto was liberty, equality and fraternity. The king was tried for treason by the National Convention and found guilty. The radicals demanded that he be condemned to death. On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was beheaded. The new republic’s first challenge was handling the hostile armies of Austria and Prussia. Towards the end of 1792, more threats faced the republic.Britain, Spain and Portugal joined Austria and Prussia in forming an alliance known as the First Coalition. The Jacobin leaders took extreme steps to meet the new danger. They drafted into the army 300,000 men in February 1793.

Women also asked for the right to form regiments to defend the country. By 1794, the number of recruits had reached 800,000. Even though the government denied women permission to form regiments, many women fought alongside men during the revolution. Most armies in Europe at the time were made up of mercenaries, but the new French army was a people’s army made up of loyal patriots. It was under dedicated officers.They managed to register victory against their enemies.

They began with defeating the armies of the motherland and later invaded Italy. At home, they quelled the peasant revolts. They were also battling with counter revolutionaries at home. The leadership of the revolution was now under a shrewd lawyer and politician, Maximilien Robespierre. He took the leadership of the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre was selfless and dedicated to the revolution. He was a great disciple of Rousseau’s ideas, promoted religious tolerance and wanted to abolish slavery. He was popular with the working men and women called Sanculottes; they had a deep hatred for the old regime. He believed that France could achieve a republic of virtue only through the use of terror, which he defined as ‘prompt, severe, inflexible justice’.

Robespierre as we have already observed was honest in money matters. With others, he believed that terror was a virtue. He was responsible for what came to be known as the ‘Reign of Terror’. Under him, the revolution leaders unleashed terror on perceived enemies. Many people were beheaded as the Paris mob cheered. A majority of the victims were supporters of the ancient regime, counter-revolutionaries and enemies of the new leaders.

Away from Paris, representatives of the Committee of Public Safety (as the leadership of the revolution was known) in the provinces, killed many people. France had now been turned into a police state.There were divisions in the leadership of the revolution at this time. There was a section led by extremists in the Paris Commune under Hebert who wanted the revolution to assume a socialist dimension in the interests of the poor. They also sought to destroy Christian worship. There was the other side led by Robespierre. It was opposed to what the extremists in the Paris commune stood for.Robespierre and the convention thus went to great lengths to stop them.

They passed the ‘Law of the maximum’ which controlled the price of bread and other foodstuffs in order to check the growing inflation. Like he had done with others, Hebert and his key supporters were arrested and beheaded in March 1794. The Paris Commune was now made up of pro-Robespierre members. Divisions creeped into the committee of public safety. Robespierre disagreed with his other colleagues, Danton and Desmoulins. The latter wanted an end to the reign of terror. They argued that it had served its purpose. Robespierre could not listen to that.

He organised for their arrest blaming them for counter-revolution and had them beheaded. Robespierre established the worship of the Supreme Being (his own particular form of religion) and stepped up the reign of terror. He also created laws which denied suspects representation by lawyers (Law of 22 Prairial) on 10 June 1794. He left only one possible punishment, death on the reputation of a bad moral character. Many people were condemned to death through these laws, but his turn was approaching.

Those around him feared that Robespierre would equally sentence them over unconvincing reasons under the new law. They planned for his execution and beheaded him. This happened on 28 July 1794. The group (known as the Thermidorians) which took over ended the reign of terror. They destroyed the war dictatorship organisation which had made the war possible. The new group also weakened the powers of the Revolutionary Tribunal (committees of public safety and general security).

                                       

They also abolished the Paris commune, closed the Jacobin clubs and repealed the Law of 22 Prairial.The convention eventually voted another new constitution. In the new document, the electorate would be restricted to taxpayers (to prevent everybody from voting). It also split power between a two-housed assembly and a Directory of five men.

One of the leaders who had eliminated Robespierre, Barras, found his way to the Directory. Still there were pockets of uprisings in Paris. Most were done by royalists. Such uprisings occurred just before the new constitution could be implemented. The Directory ordered troops to suppress it. The troops were led by a Corsican named Napoleon Bonaparte. He saved the Directory and later assumed its leadership.

The French revolution had far- reaching consequences to the French society, Europe and to the rest of the world. Some of these included:

Many lives were lost in the confusion that characterized the revolution. At first it targeted the privileged sections of the society. Mobs killed those they felt had in one way or another been responsible for their suffering during the ancient regime. With time, the introduction of the guillotine, saw many perceived to be against the revolution being killed. The guillotine even consumed some of the revolutionaries as rivalry and suspicion hit their camp. Aside from France, counter revolutionaries in other parts of Europe joined the war. From 1792, Europe was thus enmeshed in war for a generation. Many lives were lost.

                                     

The reign of Louis XVI came to an abrupt end. This marked true end of the reign of the Bourbon family which had ruled France for over 800 years. The revolutionaries experimented with one form of governance after the other until the Great Napolem Bonarparte usurped the reigns of power thus establishing his rule.

Revolutionary ideas spread to other parts of Europe. Everywhere in Europe, people talked of and wanted equality, liberty and fraternity the three things that crystallized in the course of the revolution as its aims. Generally, there was a clamour for democratic ideals. The revolution heralded a period of political liberalism hitherto witnessed in European mainland.

The declaration of the Rights of man at the infancy stages of the revolution may be looked at as a way of promoting human rights. This is definitely a precursor to human rights as they exist today. As we have observed, the rights asserted the equality of human beings and right of people to rule. In an equal measure, it also brought out the fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech (expression) and choice individual ownership of property, religious rights to minorities e.t.c They also vouched for fair trial (justice) and acceptable taxation system. All these are issues that dominate the issue of human rights today. The same can be said on the rule of law. However, the society failed to address the issue of women rights as it gave men rights prominence.

From 1789 to the time Napoleon Bonarparte came to power on 9 November 1799, there was a state of disorder and discontent in France. There was lawlessness and anarchy in the rural and urban areas alike. Citizens were not subject to any known law as once the Ancient regime had been overthrown, there lacked a centralized system of power. The situation was aggravated by the poor financial situation the country found itself in.

There was a strong link between the church and state. As we have already observed,, the two institutions were marred with massive divisions within their ranks. Class system was a common feature in both. The French revolution led to a clear line between the two institutions. The church was now left handling spiritual matters as the state dealt with political, economic and other social issues. The church had its massive estates of land taken over by the government in 1796. Prior to this development, on July 1790, the civil constitution of the clergy which made all clergy servants of the state was promulgated. This development was to later lead to separation of the two institutions as the revolution came to an end. However the state had now reduced the power of the pope in the church in France. It now exerted a lot of power over the institution in France.

The French Revolution and the war the country waged against other powers, instilled in the French people a strong sense of nationalism. They developed a strong sense of identity. This was in sharp contrast to the pre-revolutionary years when people closely identified with their local authorities. The government partly contributed to this new development by rallying citizens to the defence of their country against its enemies. There was a strong sense of nationalism. People attended civic festivals which celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances, and songs on themes of the revolution and French identity became popular. A song “La Marseillaise” which urges the “children of the father land” to march against the “bloody barrier of tyranny” was so popular that it became the French national Anthem. Its second verse and chorus goes ...

In sum, the revolution encouraged the growth of nationalism in both liberal and authoritarian forms.

The revolutionaries pushed for social reforms and religious toleration. State schools were set up to replace religious ones. Systems were also put in place to help the poor, old soldiers and war widows. A major slave revolt in St. Dominique (Haiti) also made the government to abolish slavery in its Carribean Colonies. The first in Haiti and the second in France so that property could now be inherited among all immediate heirs equally and not only the oldest son as it used to be the tradition and practice.Attempts were also made to de-Christianize France. The government created a secular (non-religious calendar with 1793 as the first year of the new era of freedom) many religious festivals were also banned and in its place came secular celebrations. The social reforms introduced by the revolution outlived it.

A new grand classical style that echoed the grandeur of Ancient Rome emerged. Among its notable proponents was Louis David. This artist immortalized on canvas such stirring events as the Tennis Court Oath, and later, the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte. He contributed heavily to the way future generations understood the French Revolution.

In groups of five, use the Internet and relevant resources in the library to find out how the French revolution of 1879-1895 increased democracy in Europe and the contributions of the French revolution to the modern society, paying attention to Rwanda. Thereafter summarise your findings and discuss them in class.

Form groups of five to discuss the rise of Napoleon (I). Examine the factors for the rise, performance and downfall of Napoleon (I) in 1814. How did this influence modern French politics? Write a group essay and discuss your findings in class.

Napoleon Bonaparte La Marseillaise was born in 1769 on the Island of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea. The young Corsican, was to cast a long shadow over the history of the world. In only four years (1795 – 1799) he rose from obscurity to mastery of France. He had joined the military upon finishing studies in a military school outside Paris. The young soldier was only 16 years old when he became a lieutenant. When the revolution occured, he joined the army of the new government. Bonaparte was a military genius. He was later to use his skills to sweep aside any political opposition and perch himself at the pinnacle of the French leadership where he rose to become an emperor.

                               

There were various factors which lay behind Napoleons meteoric rise to power in France. Below are the main ones.

The French government that ruled in the period 1795-1799, just before the occurrence of the French Revolution was known as the Directory. It had many weaknesses that crippled it from creating stability. First, its leaders were rich speculators and war profiteers who rose to prominence during the first two stages of the revolution. The leaders were also torn between pleasing the radical and conservative divide in the French society. Things were made worse by their opulent lifestyles, which flew in the face of the more democratic legacies of the revolution. Lastly was that they fought against any moves to abolish private property and parliamentary style government. The Directory even went to the extreme by annulling election results where people had voted for monarchists in march 1797. The body was also accused of corruption. It only remained in power through the help of the army. Citizens had lost confidence in it.

Prices of wheat and other foodstuffs skyrocketed day in and day out. French citizens found themselves in severe economic conditions. The poor political climate made the situation worse. People yearned for a leader who could bring the situation to an end. Such a leader lacked from the group in the Directory. It was just an issue of when and not if he could come from outside. The leader came in Bonaparte.

                                       

Napoleon was a man of strong personality. He was the answer to the prayers of the Directory and many a French citizen alike. Being a strong and popular leader endeared him to his countrymen. He is quoted saying that “impossible only existed in the dictionary of fools”. This demonstrated his strong belief in his ability to accomplish a task he set to achieve. It was such a personality that most French people had yearned for. Bonaparte even got the support of Abbe Sieyes, the great supporter of the revolution. Sieyes had in endorsing him thus said “confidence from below, authority from above”.

Napoleon presented himself as the son of the revolution. he borrowed freely from many different regimes. This made Bonaparte to fashion himself as the heirs to Charlemagne (Roman Empire). Many Frenchmen were thus attracted by Bonaparte’s political tactics. These were clear at a very early period, e.g. in 1793, he wrote a letter to his brother in support of the Jacobins and republican rule but gave a veneer of his thought about the course of the revolution.

Closely related to Napoleon’s military genius was the support he got from the army. He commanded respect which made him to be overwhelmingly be supported by the officers under his command. Napoleon led from the front and mixed freely with the rank and file of the military.His calculating nature made him to strike at the Directory at the aporture time. He had realized that the Directory only survived from the support of the army. It was for this reason that on 9 November 1799, Napoleon ordered his troops to occupy one chamber of the national legislature and drive out its elected members. The second chamber, terrified by this development, decided to vote to end the Directory. After it had accomplished its intention, it decided to turn over power to three officials known as consuls. Bonaparte was one of the three. Soon he assumed dictatorial powers as the first consul of the French Republic.

Nationalism was boosted by the persistent attack from France’s neighbours. Austria, Russia Prussia and Britain each attacked France at one time or another during the revolution. These attacks made the French to look inwards. They saw themselves as being under attack from the neighbouring states hence needed a leader who could flex the country’s muscles in the enemy territory. Bonaparte was such a person, a general who led his troops to battle, one who had demonstrated his ability against the foreign powers.

The people, in a referendum held in 1800, showed overwhelming support for a strong leadership. This was clearly shown in the type of the constitution which they voted for. It was this constitution which made Napoleon the first consul, the stepping stone upon which he towered above the other two consuls. Towards his rise to the summit of power, he organized another referendum in 1802 which made him consul for life and in another two years, he decided to make himself emperor. The Coronation to emperorship was marked with an interesting scene. Dressed in a splendid robe of purple velvet, Bonaparte walked down the long aisle of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 2, 1804. He had invited the pope to grace the occasion. As the pope waited for the new emperor with a glittering crown, as thousands of people watched, the new emperor grabbed the crown from the plaintiff’s hand and placed it on his head. Napoleon did this to signify that his powers did not emanate from the pope but himself and the French people. It thus had secular origin. Such a daring move was unprecedented in the history of coronation of rulers.

The French society was largely Catholic. Napoleon realized that he could only succeed if he commanded the support of the pope. The church had been a great enemy of the revolution and thus had to be brought to support the revolution. To achieve this, Bonaparte made an agreement with the pope in 1801. The agreement recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people. In return, the pope agreed not to ask for the return of the church lands which had been seized by the state. The agreement brought the state and church into a friendly deal. This achievement also brought the beneficiaries of the church lands into supporting Bonaparte’s leadership. With the support of the church, Bonaparte’s path to greatness was assured.

Many factors conspired to bring Napoleon to power in France. Some of these were occasioned by Napoleon himself while others were a product of forces external to him. Anyhow, the factors all worked to make Napoleon attain power in the French republic. As a young man (he was only 30), he was expected to steer the French nation to greater heights. This was the great expectations the French people had on their new emperor. True to their expectations, he was to make France a great power in Europe.

As already hinted, Napoleon was up to the task he had been bestored with by his fellow country persons. He made great strides in both domestic and foreign fronts within almost the sixteen years he was at the helm of the French leadership.Some of his outstanding achievements and achieved as follows:

1. Military success: Leading the French army to military success against the foreign armies: He led the French army in battles against the foreign troops. He:

• drove British forces out of the French port of Toulon

• won several victories against Austrians• captured most of northern Italy

• forced the Hapsburg emperor to sue for peace.

• led an expedition to Egypt in 1798 in the hope of disrupting British trade with India

• led troops against feudal and peasant revolts on behalf of the revolutionaries.

2. Establishment of the Consulate in 1799: His military success encouraged him to assume political responsibilities in 1799. He overthrew the weak directory and set up a three-man governing board known as The Consul. This body was now to lead the revolution. Napoleon was its leader. He took up the title of First Consul. The Consulate drew a new constitution.In 1802, Napoleon made himself Consul for life. Two years later, he transformed himself to Emperor. He invited the pope to preside over his coronation ceremony. During the ceremony, he took over the crown from the pope’s hands and placed it on his head to signify that he owed the throne to no one but himself.

3. Effected economic reforms: Napoleon developed economic reforms to address the deteriorating economic conditions that faced France. He controlled prices, encouraged industrialisation, established the first bank of France in 1801 and built roads and canals to improve transportation. He even sold France’s vast Louisiana land territory across the Atlantic to the American government in 1803. This action doubled the size of the USA and ushered in an age of American expansion.

4. Strengthening of the central government: Under Napoleon, power was consolidated in an effort to strengthen the central government in which he was the supreme power. Through these measures, ‘order, security and efficiency’ replaced ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ as the slogan of the new regime.

5. Establishment of schools to train military officials: The revolution was characterised by ill-trained military personnel. This affected the operations of the army. Napoleon addressed the problem by setting up a system of public schools under strict government control. The military was trained in these schools. Members of the public also benefitted from good education.

6. Restoration of relations with the church: He backed off from some of the revolutions’ social reforms, especially those that pricked the church. He made peace with the Catholic Church in the Concordant of 1801. This law kept the church under state control but recognised religious freedom for Catholics. It was welcomed by Catholics but opposed by revolutionaries.Other religions were also recognised.

7. Appeasing all classes in the society: Napoleon took measures to appease all sections of the society. He encouraged Emigres to return so long as they took an oath of loyalty. Emigres were members of the nobility who had fled the country during the revolution. Peasant’s right to land ownership was also made. He also made jobs open to all talent. These people were the new nobility. He created them through the legion of honour which he founded in 1802.

8. Development of a new law code (the Napoleonic code): He wrote the French laws leading to the civil code of 1804. The code embodied Enlightenment principles such as the equality of all citizens before the law, religious toleration and advancement based on merit. It touched on rights and duties, marriage, divorce, parentage, inheritance and property, and a statement of the general legal principles concerning them. However, the code was weak in certain respects. For example, it did away with the gains women had made as citizens of the country. Male heads of household were given complete authority over their wives and children. Another weakness of the code was its valuing order and authority over individual rights. The code was adopted in other countries in Europe and South America.

9. Spread of the revolution to other parts of Europe: By 1810, his empire had expanded greatly in Europe. As the empire grew, it took the ideas of the revolution to the new territories. The areas he conquered included the Netherlands, Belgium and parts of Italy and Germany. All these became part of the grand French empire. He also abolished the Holy Roman Empire and created a 38-member confederation of the Rhine under French protection. It later led to the formation of Germany. Napoleon also cut Prussian territory by half. This turned part of old Poland into the grand Dutch of Warsaw.

10. Forceful diplomacy: Napoleon had another tactic. He used forceful diplomacy to install his relatives to power in various European countries. For example, after removing the Spanish king; he placed his own brother Joseph Bonaparte, on the throne.

He also forced alliances on European powers from Madrid to Moscow.At various times, the rulers of Austria, Prussia and Russia reluctantly signed treaties with Napoleon.

He came up with the Continental System which brought the whole of mainland Europe into an alliance headed by France. He tried to use the alliance to bring Britain to its knees but did not succeed. The French army spread the ideas of the revolution and helped to install code Napoleon in the areas.

11. Boosting the spirit of nationalism: The successes made by Napoleon enhanced the spirit of nationalism in France. Great victory parades filled the streets of Paris with cheering crowds. French citizens were proud of their king’s successes. They celebrated the glory and success of their country.

However, although his activities were supported by French citizens, he talked of building a family of kings. He had the ripple effect on other nationalities. He was also accused of nepotism. His activities sparked nationalist feeling across Europe. They resented the continental system and the French culture forced on them. There were revolts everywhere against French control. The army kept on fighting one rebellion after another until when the French force tried to invade Russia in 1812.

 

Many soldiers died in the Russian winter due to harsh climatic conditions, inadequate food and inadequate military supplies. This was the beginning of the downfall of Napoleon. In a new alliance, Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia came together against France. In 1813, they defeated Napoleon in the battle at Leipzig.

Napoleon’s decline begun from the continental system. He had managed to bring Europe under his control with the exception of Britain yes, but this feat was to be interestingly his Achilles’ heels. The economic weapon meant to punish Britain thus did not achieve its goal. It was to be the source of his decline.

                                                  

He thought of controlling the whole of Europe in order to bring Britain to her knees by preventing her exports into Europe. Britain made retaliatory measures through Orders in Council. From 1807, she blockaded any country which followed Napoleon’s orders. Such a country was prevented from receiving any ships. This made life unbearable thus irking citizens. The end result was Bonaparte’s unpopularity in such areas as commerce.

France could do little as she never had a navy which could measure to the British one. Portugal was the first country to revolt. Napoleon successfully utilized the services of the French forces on Spanish soil and went ahead to bully the Spanish monarch. The latter was forced to abdicate and in his place was put Napoleon’s brother. This angered the Spaniards.They went to great lengths to stop Napoleon’s brother from ruling them. Alongside the Portuguese, they now joined the British in fighting France.

Austria was later to also rebel. But other than Britain, the other powers, prior to 1810, were still forced by France to capitulate. Austria was even forced to supply the emperor with a new wife, the princess Maries Louise. Josephine, Napoleon’s first wife had failed to provide a heir and “was now conveniently divorced”. However all these, was just a calm before a storm.

Things were to take a completely different direction from 1810.Britain’s efforts at blockading exports to countries under French control were bearing fruits at alarming rates. Trade stagnated as most products became scarce or extremely expensive. Bonaparte was even at times forced to issue licences of large-scale importation of certain British goods into France, such as boots for his army.

The conscriptions and taxes placed on other countries worsened the situation. First to react was Russia.

In 1811, Russia rebelled. This action was to mark the beginning of the end of Napoleon’s rule. The Tsar was riled by four things. He was tired of doing without British goods, annoyed at annexation of a relative’s territory (Oldenburg) , slighted by Napoleon’s marriage to Marie Louise, an Austrian rather than a Russian princess, and dissatisfied at Napoleon’s failure to help him in his Eastern ambitions to expand.In addition, the issue of Napoleon’s enlargement of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which bordered her on the east equally disturbed Russia thus making it another issue of concern.

All these made Russia to break from the continental system. In response, Napoleon took what became known as the Moscow campaign from 1812. It was to prove most disastrous.Scared by an army of 610,000 men which was marshaled by Napoleon, Russians were forced to make tactical retreat. As they retreated, they employed the scorching earth policy thus starving the French force of food and other essentials.

The vast invading army could thus not be fed, many died due to starvation, while others disserted the army. On his part, Napoleon marched to Moscow. He had miscalculated that once overran, the whole of Russia would surrender. This did not happen and when the forces reached Moscow. Russians burnt the city. French forces found a city reduced to a shell.

Napoleon tried unsuccessfully to bring the Tsar into suing for an armistice. The French forces were eventually forced to retreat. Unfortunately, they were to take the route they had come from. Many dreaded the action. Only one soldier, the General (Emperor Napoleon) enjoyed. The weather had now conspired with Napoleon’s enemies. It completed the catastrophe. The Grand army was no more. A French General Mitchael Ney was sadly to conclude “General famine and General Winter, rather than Russian bullets, have conquered the Grand Army”, While a French army officer wrote to his wife “The army marches covered in great snowflakes it is a mob without purpose, famished, fevered”.

The Russian forces attacked, killing many soldiers as the weather also took a heavy toll on some. Napoleon realizing the impact of the campaign on his military decided to rush back to Paris to help rebuild his shattered army. He left command of the army to Ney. Only 20,000 men managed to reach France. Out of these number, less than 1,000 could be of military service. Napoleon had completely failed to achieve his mission in Russia.The result of Russian campaign was received well by the other powers. In 1813, Prussia and Austria formed a coalition with Britain and Russia against France.

The coalition was known as the Fourth coalition. Prussia had been strengthened by reforms undertaken by two of its leaders stein and Hardenberg. She felt strong and able to resist France. Unbeknown to Napoleon, all these powers had begun the war of liberation from 1813. Other countries such as Sweden, which under Bernadotte, had been loyal, declared that it was “not going to be one of the emperors customs officials.” It had thus refused to apply the continental system. The five powers managed to defeat the French forces at the battle of Leipzig in 1813.

                             

This battle is sometimes known as the Battle of the Nations. They managed to invade France. Spain and Portugal had now joined the five powers. France was under attack from the south and east. On March 31 Tsar Alexander of Russia and King Frederick William of Prussia, made their triumphant entry into Paris.Things clearly indicated the fall of France. Realizing this, the French Marshals compelled Napoleon first, to accept the terms of the allies and secondly to abdicate the throne. This was done through the treaty of fountainebleu of April 1814 which Napoleon is said to have ratified after attempting suicide. He gave up the throne but was allowed to retain the title of emperor, an income of about $ 200,000 and given Elba an Island in the Mediterranean as his Kingdom.

The terms of surrender were drawn up by Alexander I.France went back to the Bourbon monarchy. This was according to the wishes of the Allies. King Louis XVIII, the elder surviving brother of Louis XVI now took the throne (The young prince Louis XVII died in Prison). He signed what became known as the first peace of Paris in May 1814. This treaty stripped France of her great conquests, such as Belgium, Holland and the territories in Germany and Italy. France returned to her old boundaries of 1November 1792.

No indemnity was slapped on her nor an army of occupation imposed. She was even allowed to retain most of the great works of art Napoleon had pillaged from the European capitals.As a post-war settlement, France had to agree to the enlargement of Holland, formation of a new confederation of the German states, guarantee Switzerland’s independence and accept Austrian’s gains in Italy. She also had to accept a colonial settlement with British.

France had to recognize British retention of Malta Mountains and two of the French West Indian Islands. The Allies agreed that all other questions he referred to a great European congress to be held in Vienna. At this congress, the French would be allowed to attend but had to promise to accept all decisions about the redistribution of territory.

The Congress of Vienna was held from November 1814 to June 1815. The main powers were Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia. Other European powers, even France, attended. Dispute over the future of Poland and Saxony proved heated and thorny. They divided the main powers down the middle. Russia and Prussia were not in agreement with the other two powers. This made France to come back as an equally major player. She joined Britain and Austria against the Russian and Prussian demands. But sensing danger, the latter moderated their proposals thus bringing back the congress to agree.Napoleon learnt of the divisions and escaped from Elba in February 1815.

This happened when the congress was still in progress. Alarmed, the Allies swung into action instantly. Within about an hour, they had made their minds on the action to take against Napoleon. They declared him an outlaw and renewed hostilities against him. The smaller powers also joined them. In the mean time, Louis XVIII sent a force to capture Napoleon. But this never happened. Napoleon’s second defeat led to the second peace of Paris in November 1815.

France was punished this time around. It was made to revert to her 1790 boundaries (thus taking from her savoy which had been taken during the revolution’s early stages) Some frontier areas in the east also went. France was also asked to pay an indemnity, suffer an army of occupation and return some of the treasured works of art it had taken at the height of its power from the capitals of other Europeans states. To control her, the four Allied powers came together into an alliance – Quadruple Alliance.

Napoleon‘s military quarrelled among themselves e.g. in Spain, they refused to help each other’s armies, and in Russia, one even tried to murder another. Though talented and brave, their weaknesses made them vulnerable for defeat.

• Rise of liberation and patriotism in the lands which were under Napoleon’s control. For example, the King of Prussia raised national feelings in his people by using Napoleon’s own “ideological weapon” to arouse national spirit in his country, thus setting his people against Napoleon. Nationalism thus heavily played a role in Napoleon’s downfall.

• Napoleon’s excessive ambition and growing sense of self–importance made him to have increasing pride and self-confidence in himself. Napoleon wanted to remake Europe as a new Roman Empire.

• Lack of an adequate naval power which could rival the British navy. This made any chance of attacking Britain, her great rival, remote.

• Loopholes in the continental system favoured Britain at the expense of the territories under French control in Europe. Britain’s survival due to her sea power thus contributed heavily to the collapse of the French empire under Napoleon.

• Economic woes – France’s economy was experiencing a downturn due partly to the many wars she engaged in and loss of colonies in the Americas such as St. Domingue. This even had forced Napoleon to sell to the USA some French territories along the Mississippi.

Activity 8.5Work in groups of three. Using the Internet and textbooks;

1. Find out the terms, forms, reasons for the convention, achievements and failures of the congress system.

2. Summarise your points in a notebook.

3. Discuss them in a class presentatio

This was a period in Europe in which diplomacy was dominated or regulated by meetings (congresses) of the powers at the time. The period was also referred to as the ‘concert of Europe’. It saw the European powers come up with a genuine effort to produce a unified policy on issues that confronted them at the time. The congress system was conceived and popularized by the Quadruple and Quintupple Alliances which brought the main powers together.

The latter had been brought during the second treaty of Paris and it witnessed Russia, Britain, Austria and Prussia agreeing to meet in future congresses to discuss problems as occasion arose besides agreeing to ally if necessary in defence of the post war settlement. This saw the formation of the Alliance in 1815. It was the main alliance.

Others were the Quintuple and the Holy Alliances. The latter brought together the members to promise to rule according to Christian principles, acting as fathers to their people and as brothers to each other. It was opposed by other members –Britain and Austria through their leading diplomats Castlereagh and Melternich. It thus had little effect on European diplomacy at the time. The Quintuple alliance originated from the French entry to join the “Big” four powers at the congress of on an equal.

In sum, the congresses held were: Congress of AIX-Chapelle (1818), Congress of Troppau (1820), Congress of Laibach (1821), Verona (1822) and London (1827). All these congresses were convened to help settle an issue on European diplomacy.The congress called in November 1814 set the stage for the other congresses. In attendance and the most important personalities were Tsar Alexander for Russia, Prince Metternich for Austria, Lord Castlereagh for Britain. The King of Prussia Fredrick William III and Talleyrand for France.

Although smaller powers were also represented, the representatives of the Great powers made vital decisions. The king of Austria Francis I attended but was overshadowed by Metternich.

293Issues on the table for the congress were:

• How to insure against any further aggression from France.

• How to divide among the Great powers, certain disputed territories in a way acceptable to all.

• How to maintain the effective Alliance of the Four Great powers.It was in this background that the congress system was to evolve in Europe. From it thus, came the pursuance of defensive arrangements against France, the principle of legitimacy, the principle of balance of power in Europe and the almost complete ignoring of the principle of nationality. Nonetheless, Europe had begun a journey of the congresses. She hoped to take a common stand on important European matters.

The “concert of Europe” was held due to several reasons. The main ones included:

France preoccupied the minds of the conveners of the congress. This was right from the first congress held in Vienna in 1814 to most of the latter congresses. Kingdoms were formed as others were strengthened to help check France’s power e.g Belgium and Holland were united into the kingdom of the Netherlands to check France on the north-eastern frontier. Holland was the dominant side in the kingdom. It was hoped, it would check the revolutionary pro-French movement in Belgium. Another example was the restoration to power of the king of piedmont in northern Italy. Piedmont had the valuable part and formerly Free republic of Genoa. Prussia take over of the Rhine provinces was also informed by the need to check France’s aggression. A strong ring of states was thus created around France.

Another issue of concern to the Great powers was how to divide among themselves, in an acceptable way, the disputed territories. There were two main contentious territories Poland and Saxony. Russia, during the congress expressed her desire to get the whole of Poland. This was not acceptable to Prussia (which wanted to retain some polish territories or to be given the whole of the kingdom of Saxony as compensation for the loss of the polish territories to Russia).

The two states’ demand caused a major division among the Great powers. This enabled France, through Talleyrand to intervene. She was able to form an alliance with Britain and Austria to fight Prussia and Russia if they went to war. Talleyrand was thus able to bring France into the centre of European diplomacy by showing that any attempts at balancing power here, had to include France.

It was by learning the differences of the Great powers that Napoleon made his come back to France. Nonetheless, the powers soon saw the need of abandoning their differences and forging a common front against Napoleon. This was done successfully.After confronting Napoleon, the Polish and Saxony’s problems were settled peacefully. Most of the Grand Dutch of Warsaw, was given to Russia. Prussia benefitted by retaining Danzig and Posen (the areas had 2,000,000 polish inhabitants). She also got two-fifths of the kingdom of Saxony, western Pomerania (an important Baltic territory taken from Sweden) and a considerable territory along the Rhine valley.

Austria got Lombardy and Venetia in northern Italy (these were compensation for her loss of Netherlands and territory along the Adriantic coast). Sweden lost Finland to Russia but was given Norway which had belonged to Denmark but was now taken from it because of her continued alliance with Napoleon. Britain mainly benefitted in the colonial field. She took final possession of Cape Colony, Ceylon, some islands in the West Indies and got valuable naval bases of Heligoland in the North Sea, Malta in the Mediterranean and a protectorate over the Ionian Islands.

The latter gave her command of the entrance to the Adriatic Sea. Britain was now strongly placed as a major world power as she led in colonial acquisitions.Another quest at creating a balance of power in Europe was made through the formation of a German Confederation. This brought 39 German states together. Peacock thus observes over the principle of balance of power that was an old feature of European diplomacy thus:Thus, through the working of the principle of the Balance of Power, all the four Great powers emerged from the congress of Vienna stronger than before, without any one being able to exert complete dominance. This principle in a way was thought to help prevent an outbreak of war.

This was to be undertaken through the principle of legitimacy. The principle implied bringing back to power the monarchs who had been in power prior to 1789 in various states back to the throne. This principle saw the coming back of monarchs to lead territories in Europe. As a result, Ferdinand VII came back to Italy while Ferdinand I went to Naples.

Other rulers who got back their former thrones were the rulers of Parma, Modena and Tuscany – all who were related to the monarchy in Austria. It was also in pursuance of this principle, that Louis XVIII got back France. The principle was seen as a safeguard against the doctrines of the French Revolution. Monarchs were known to be unable to encourage the revolutionary movements in any guise, regardless of the wishes of their subjects.

The spirit of fraternity reigned behind the concert of Europe. Both the Quadruple Alliance and the Holy Alliance were intended to help preserve peace and create an atmosphere of brotherhood.

Partly, the congress system was meant to compensate the powers which did a lot to remove Napoleon from power. Prussia, Russia and Austria largely benefitted from this. Britain as we have seen also did through getting of new colonies. Sweden and other European states also got territories due to their contribution to the demise of Napoleonic rule. France, Denmark and Saxony on the other hand, were punished for the sins of Napoleonic rule.These were generally some of the reasons for the conventions held in Europe between 1814-1825. The systems, however, went upto 1830 when Europe was engrossed in a new wave of revolutions.

Different european powers held a series of conventions between 1814 and 1830. Mostly, the conventions were called to try and deal with issues which threatened European peace, in one way or the other. Some of these congresses were:

This congress was the pioneer of the congresses. It was called to make or approve detailed arrangements for sharing the spoils of victory and to create stability in Europe. It brought together seven allies and France. Decisions were however made by the Four Great powers whose delegates met regularly in Metternich’s house to discuss the range of congress business. The smaller powers were confined to more restricted matters and their own particular problems. France, through the efforts of her diplomat Talleyrand, was towards the end of the congress able to bring herself to the fold of the Great powers. She was later to become a fifth power. However, the coming back of Napoleon to France made the issue of punishing her to be undertaken. Nonetheless, she enjoyed her new status of being brought back to the ranks of the Great powers in 1818.

This congress was majorly called to deal with the issue of France. The four powers met and agreed to withdraw the army of occupation they had stationed in France. It was in this congress that a new alliance – the Quintuple Alliance – was formed. France now joined the other Four Great powers. She was consequently invited to cooperate in future congresses. The Great powers had managed to prevent France’s enmity from being long-lasting. They, however, took precautions. Secretly they renewed their Quadruple Alliance to operate against France if need be.

They confidently informed the leading French diplomat about this. The Great powers also repeated their determination to uphold their close union and to maintain peace by enforcing respect for treaties.The congress was the most important meeting under the terms of the Quadruple Alliance. It was attended by Francis I (Austria), Fredrick William III (Prussia), Castlereagh (Britain) and Richelieu who represented France. Metternich also attended.The congress was on the negative side, rocked by divisions and mistrust among the European powers.

Austria was wary of Russian expansions and thus wanted Russia to keep within the system of Quadruple Alliance and not be allowed to persue own policies. Britain rejected proposals made by Prussia for the stationing of a permanent army in Belgium to nip revolutions in Europe. Another division came based on how to deal with the slave trade. Britain’s proposal for the formation of a naval fleet with a right to check vessels for slaves was rejected on the grounds that it would interfere with the commerce of other states. The powers opposed the creation of the fleet because it would give the British navy, an advantage over the others.

This congress was held in October, 1820 in Silesia, Austria. It was called to tackle the issue of democratic revolutions in Spain, Naples, Piedmont and Portugal. Each of these areas saw the people demand the restoration of the 1812 constitution. The people were rising against despotism. Even in Germany, anti-Metternich and Princes demonstrations by students occurred. Political assassinations also occurred e.g. in 1891 Kotzebue, a journalist and dramatist and a spy to Alexander I was assassinated. Further afield, Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the new world also rebelled from the shackles of colonialism and set up independent governments.

In Polish-controlled Russia, nationalist sentiments were equally on the rise. Alexander I with these pressures was convinced to abandon his flirtations with liberal principles.It was against this background that the congress was called. In attendance were Prussia, Russia and Austria with full powers to act. Britain and France sent observers. Meternich was against the revolutions and suggested that the allies only accept revolutions from above–this was that only changes brought or approved by monarchs or an upper class would suffice. To him, any revolution by the people should be crushed. He hoped to create a counter-revolutionary police system for the whole of Europe so as to nip in the bud any revolution. Metternich had already established such a force in Germany and the Austrian empire. Alexander I, having “smelled the Coffee” of the wave of revolutions, now changed, supported the idea at once.

It was however opposed by Britain and France. Britain, through Castlereagh was not ready to be involved in internal problems of other powers, especially where her interests were not violated. She also detested European powers crossing the Atlantic to quell revolutions in the New World as it had been proposed by Alexander I on the Portuguese and Spanish colonies.

Britain wanted to forge trade links with new independent states. Castlereagh also feared the backlash such a move would cause in the British parliament. In the back of his mind, he also felt that the people of Spain and Naples had genuine grievances. On the issue of Naples, she did not oppose Austria’s intervention but made it clear that she could not be involved. Austria could do it alone. France on the other hand, was more liberal than many continental European powers. This made her to be slightly sympathetic to the liberal cause. A protocol – the Troppau Protocol was thus signed on October, 1820, by Russia, Prussia and Austria.

The three powers had thus hit the last nail on the coffin of revolutions. France supported the protocol with some reservations. Castlereagh indicated his opposition to the whole scheme and clearly made her stand known. Britain would never support it. Although Britain did not break away from the Quintuple Alliance, what was clear, was that cracks had already started in it. It was just a matter of time before it ended.In spite of lack of British support, the powers went ahead with their schemes. The congress continued at Laibach in 1821.

It had two direct results–Austrian intervention in Naples and Piedmont to restore the monarchies, and the beginning of cracks on meeting was on European Congress system. As the trouble broke in Greece. This presented a big dilemma to Alexander. The Greek issue and that of Spanish colonies were to be tackled in the next congress.

Before the congress was held, Britain got a new chief diplomat, Canning. He replaced Castlereagh who had taken his life due to a mental challenge that he had suffered. The new British foreign secretary was not a supporter of the congress system. He was for its dissolution by all means and held more liberal views like his predecesso, Canning. On the Greek issue, Russia had strong feelings in support of the nationalist revolt. Metternich was against the rebellion. He saw it in a similar light to the earlier problems in Naples and Spain. To him, Sultan Mahmud of Turkey’s empire had to be protected like any other, as failure to do that would endanger the cause of monarchy. Before Castlereagh’s death, he had met with Metternich in Hanover towards the end of 1821, settled their differences and agreed to summon one more congress. Which they hoped to keep off Russia from lending support to the Greeks.

Before the congress was held, events in Spain took a worse turn. This made the congress to be occupied with Spain’s issue than Greece. France wanted to invade Spain and sought the support of the Alliance. Canning rejected any idea of invading Spain. The news was relayed by the British representative at the talks, Wellington, on 30 October 1822. Undeterred, France eventually invaded Spain on her own in April 1823 and restored King Ferdinand back to the throne. She also abolished the Spanish constitution. All these took a year to be accomplished.

France secured the support of Russia, Prussia and Austria. The restored Spanish Monarch proved so ruthless that he, embarrassed France and the other powers which had supported it.Once restored to power, the Spanish monarch nursed the feelings of recapturing the South American colonies which had declared their independence. Britain had traded freely with the territories in the New World during the Napoleonic days. Now in power, the Spanish monarch could not guarantee this favour to her if Spain took back the territories. Britain flatly rejected any attempts at recapturing the colonies. Through Canning, Britain warned Polignac, the French ambassador in London that she would fight France if she attempted to intervene in America.

The warning to the Alliance also came from The USA. She had already recognized the independent territories in the American hemisphere- Brazil, Columbia, Chile, and Mexico. The USA was wary of Russia interests in the sphere. She was also buoyed by the crack in the Quintuple Alliance. Consequently, in 1823 President Monroe, in a message to congress, warned Europe that America was not open to further European colonization and that any attempt at such would be regarded “as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to the United States”. Canning readily supported the USA. He welcomed what came to be known as the “Monroe Doctrine”.

Britain even went ahead to recognize three of the same four Latin American republics earlier on officially recognized by the USA. These were Brazil, Mexico and Columbia- all former Spanish colonies. Caning even went ahead to make treaties with them. She was now free to trade with them as before. With the might of the USA and Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia and France developed cold feet towards invasion of the former colonies.

This brought defeat to the principle of interference. The Quintuple Alliance had been defeated thus portending negatively to the survival of the Alliance system. Canning’s policy of “every nation for itself and God for us all” ran counter to the philosophy of the monarchial powers which were for restoration or maintenance of the status quo as agreed during the congress of Vienna. Britain now clearly supported the idea of nationality and the independence of small nations. This ran counter to the feelings of the Great powers.

Events in Greece, which was part of the Sultan of Turkey’s empire were to bring the end of the congress system. Greeks revolted in 1821 forcing the Sultan to seek for help from his powerful Vassal, Mehmet Ali of Egypt in 1824. Ali sent his son Ibrahim Pasha to help crush the Greek revolt. He exercised his assignment with gusto and brutality of unprecedented levels. Russia could not wait and see the Greeks being killed and brutalized by the Muslims.

She had to come to the aid of fellow Orthodox Christians. A new development – the death of Alexander I and his being succeeded by his brother Nicholas I in 1825 portended well for the Greek cause. He resolved to provide assistance to the Greeks at all costs and by extension help accelerate the dissolution of the Turkish empire to achieve his country’s selfish interests. Canning knew this and readily supported Russia.

Britain feared that Russia would go it alone. She thus wanted to equally benefit from the peace settlement which would follow. Britain supported Russia’s invasion in Greece so as to act as its check mate. The Greek problem was to be solved in the treaty of London. It could not be dealt with during the congress of Verona – due to the urgency of the Spanish issue.

This treaty brought together Russia, Britain, France, Austria and Prussia. Deliberations were held on the Greek issue but unfortunately the Great powers did not reach a consensus. In the treaty signed in London, Britain, France and Russia agreed to secure independence in all but name for Greece. This was to the chagrin of Prussia and Austria. They protested bitterly. The two powers were against the provisions of the treaty of London for two reasons:

i) They never wanted the Balkans to be divided and

ii) Their distaste for rebellion in Europe was still high

Undeterred, Britain, France and Russia went ahead and intervened in Greece. Their fleets destroyed the Turkish and Egyptian navy almost accidentally at Navarino Bay in Greece. This was not what they had agreed on in the treaty. They had agreed that Greece be granted self-government under Turkish overlordship. The powers had also agreed to enforce a truce while details of the new arrangement were being settled.It was the latter provision which saw a fleet of the three powers under Admiral Codrington dispatched to cut off supplies to Ibrahim from Egypt.

This was necessitated by the Sultan’s refusal to obey the terms of the London treaty. He was buoyed in the action by the lack of a common position by the Great powers. Codrington’s instructions were to enforce an armistice, preferably through peaceful means. Things however, took a different turn when as the fleet was staging a demonstration, some Turkish and Egyptian fleets refused to clear the way. The two sides exchanged fire which eventually led to a general battle. The event was regretted by the new British Prime Minister Wellington who had replaced Canning in 1828. The latter had died soon after the treaty of London. Greece won the war due to support she got from the three European powers.

By the beginning of 1828, a provisional Greek government under Count Capodistrias, a Greek who had been one of Tsar Alexander’s leading ministers took charge. But it was not until after the Russo-Turkish war between 1828-29 and the subsequent treaty of Adrianople of 1829, that Greece became completely an independent kingdom in 1832.On the congress system, events on Greece clearly demonstrated its demise. Canning had thus single-handedly brought the first experiment at international cooperation to its knees. He is quoted saying after the congress of Verona thus “Things are getting back to a wholesome state again. Every nation for itself, and God for us all”.

Many historians are thus agreed that the dung hit the fan on the congress system with the Greek Revolt in 1821 and the Spanish colonies issue. The latter saw Tsar Alexander’s of Russia call for a congress declined by Britain in 1824 and the other Great powers breaking from the congress in May 1825 on very bad terms and without any agreement. While on the former, attempts by the restored Spanish monarch’s to call a conference in 30 January, 1824, saw Canning flatly declining to send an English representative. This greatly surprised the other European powers. Britain was later to decline to attend another congress called by Russia as we have already observed.

Having survived for fifteen years, the congress had a mixed bag. It had successes and failures in equal measure. Some of its achievements were:

• Bringing peace in Europe during the period it was in existence. No major European power fought with each other nor any major internal conflict was witnessed in any major power for a period of fourty years.

• Defeat of the Great Napoleon and restoration of monarchy in France. They also reached an agreement on how to treat Napoleon on St. Helena.

• Creation of stability in most European states at the time.

• Promotion of a modicum of international cooperation among the Great powers for fourty years. It was thus a first experiment at international organization.

• Granting of independence to Spanish and Portuguese’ colonies in the New World.

• Conclusion of an agreement among the Great powers on the protection of Jews in Europe.

• Reaching an agreement on Swedish debts to Denmark. This was done on the guidance of the system.

• A settlement was reached on the old matter of the British claim to a channel salute.

• Encouraging the idea of nationality and the independence of small states, especially those of European communities under Turkish rule like Greece.

• Entrenchment of use of agreement to settle international affairs in European diplomacy. This was to lead to many important and fruitful conferences during the 19th Century. The congress system thus heralded a period of mutual confidence among the European leaders. This was aptly seen in the idea of personal conference the rulers pursued.

The congress system, like all other attempts at international cooperation met with several failures. Some of these included:

Big differences in opinion among the key personalities rose from time to time during the congresses. Although these involved different issues, they were all the same, dangerous to the collectivity that is a boon to international diplomacy. From time to time, Castlereagh and later Canning found themselves at opposing sides with representatives of the other European powers especially Tsar Alexander and later Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Metternich and the King of Prussia.The European powers thus disagreed on how to approach various issues that kept on cropping up that needed their united attention. Things were made worse by the personality differences of the key personalities in the congress system e.g. ,Canning harboured liberal sympathies yet all the others were despots who wanted the status quo maintained by all means.

Nationalistic feelings as shown during the French Revolution and Napoleonic period, were high in Europe. This meant that for stability to be maintained, countries hit by this “bug” had to be allowed to chart their course. This was, however, not in the mind of the Great powers with the exception of Britain. They thought they could suppress the nationalistic feelings and maintain the status quo. This was an uphill task. They were proved wrong. Nationalism, which got the support of Liberal Britain, coupled with the other powers vested interests, contributed in breaking up of the congress system. The congress system would have been in a better place if it gave credence to nationalism and liberalism.

Russia, France, Prussia, Austria and Britain at one time or another either individually or collectively dominated the congress system. This completely ignored the smaller powers. Consequently, they felt left out and did not actively play their role in the affairs of the congress system.

Although the Great powers displayed unity, there were deep seated suspicions among them. All the other three powers were wary of Russian intentions in the Balkans while at the initial stages of the congress system, the other powers were pre-occupied with the issue of containing France. The whole issue of the Spanish colonies was also partly driven by suspicion between Britain on the one hand and Spain and her allies on the other.

The European powers had a genuine interest to produce a uniform policy but this was hampered by their diverse interests. Each power put her individual interest above that of the organization. This was to prove fatal to the congress system. Britain, for example, pursued its policy of isolation, she never wanted to be entangled in issues of continental Europe yet whenever her interests were threatened, she rushed to protect them. Russia greatly wanted to expand in the Balkans, something which was loathed by all the other Great Powers. Prussia also viewed Austria as a competitor in Germanic leadership. Each power thus had an individual interest she wanted to safeguard at the expense of the continental cause for unity.

Unlike the League of Nations and even the United Nations later, the congress system failed to capture the sympathy of European public opinion. This was occasioned by its inability to represent the interests of the small powers in Europe and its pursuance, through its architects like Metternich and Tsar Alexander, of a despotic mission. The league’s constant urging intervention to quell popular revolts did not endear it to the masses.

All these factors conspired to bring to an end the congress system. Britain, through its leaders – Castlereagh and later Canning, greatly contributed to the end of the system. Nonetheless, Britain was for liberalism while the other powers still pursued a tyrannical path. The two systems could not in any way pursue a common objective.

In groups of five, debate about the rise and fall of the Austrian eEmpire as well as Peter Metternich.Relate your findings with the reasons for the downfall of the Rwandan kingdom. Note down your findings and discuss them in class.

Austria was a Germanic state under the Habsburt dynasty from 1687 when Emperor Leopold I managed to rout Turkey thus bringing Hungary to her fold. This saw the creation of the Austria-Hungary, a mighty empire in Europe. For many years, Austria acted as the defender of Germany against the French, and on the east the defender of Europe against the Turks. The Habsburg rulers made the empire to be a centre of Europe in many areas. They were devoted to music and attracted many musicians to Vienna, encouraged all the decorative arts and architecture thus making the city be a centre of a rich culture, blending East and West. The city was renowned for its music and light hearted charm.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was under the Habsburg rulers. The French Revolution and Napoleonic years found the empire under Francis I (1792-1835). Metternich replaced Johann Von Stadion in 1809 as the empire’s minister of foreign affairs, in 1809. The leadership of the duo was to witness the growing power of the empire in European diplomacy. This was the time that the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to be one of the Great powers in Europe. Although at first napoleon’s ally, Francis I was to later switch camp and join the other European powers to occasion Napoleon’s downfall in 1814. The monarch was to play host to the sovereigns of Europe in the congress of Vienna between September 1814 to June 1815. Under the presidency of Metternich, the congress as we have already observed, accomplished a great deal. This was to propel the country and Metternich, to prominence in Europe. Emperor Francis I was succeeded by Ferdinand I (1835-1848).

The Austrian Empire as recognised by the treaty of Vienna in 1815 included: Austrian proper (made mainly of Germanic population), Bohemia and Moravia (inhabited chiefly by Czechs, Slovaks, and Germans), Hungary (mainly Magyar, with many minorities, notably Serb and Croat), Galicia (mostly Ruthenians and poles, acquired during the partitions of Poland), Transylvania (Romans of Latin origin), Illyria and Dalmatia (Serbs and Croats), and Lombardy and Venetia (Italians).

Although the name of the empire was Austro-Hungarian, the latter people (Magyars) were not privileged. Austria dominated the political life of the empire.

This empire was led autocratically by the king and prince Metternich. It was characterized with inefficiency and poor economic base. The king on matters internal, ruled single handedly. On the other hand, Metternich had a wide berth on foreign affairs. Aside from autocracy and poor economic base, the empire was based on the class system. Within the nobility itself, there were divisions. The upper nobility enjoyed privileges than the lesser nobility. This was a source of friction between the two groups. The middle class and the serfs equally disliked the discriminations which characterized the political life of the kingdom. Things for the middle class (Bourgeosie) was made worse by the inefficiency in economic and financial matters which kept the industry and trade of the empire backwards that of other European states. As if these poor situations were not enough, the empire slapped strict censorship to keep the people from liberal ideas. It also exercised strict religious intolerance. Catholicism was favoured. Yet other denominations such as the Greek Orthodoxy were pursued by sections in the empire e.g., by the Croats.

The Austrian Empire rose in Europe due to several factors. The main ones were:

Austria played a vital role in the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. This was to propel her as one of the major powers in European diplomacy. She used the opportunity to exert a great influence over the affairs in post Napoleonic period in Europe.

Metternich’s appointment as the foreign minister of the Austrian empire largely contributed to the rise of the empire. He held this position for more than a generation. In this time, he made several vital decisions e.g. he was the one who in 1809, successfully maneuvered Austria away from her temporary alliance with Napoleon and brought her in with the allies. It was also his skill in 1814 which inspired the manifesto of the Allies, Invading France, to the effect that their quarrel was with Napoleon, not the French people. Metternich was ashrewd and very measured individual. It was this that was to make Napoleon to later remark of him thus “I know Metternich, only he could have thought of that!” Napoleon observed this due to the Allies ability to paint the war between France and them, as an issue again Napoleon and not the French people. Metternich’s ability to accomplish tasks was not in doubt. This is clearly demonstrated in how his spirit was so active in the congress of Vienna and its aftermath. His diplomacy greatly led to what was known as the Final Act or summary of the arrangements. This Final Act of 121 articles, took twenty-six secretaries all day to write out a single copy/ we should not forget that it was also Metternich and Castlereagh who inspired the congress movement – the movement to establish the concert of Europe.

The concert of Europe too greatly contributed to the rise of the Austrian Empire. It made her take a major seat in European diplomacy. The congress also legitimized dictatorship seen in its lending support to monarchism and the subjugation of the smaller nationalities. These two, were the pillars upon which the empire survived on.

Austria was ruled by the royal house of the Habsburg from the 15th Century. This made her a dynastic state which extended, through marriage, hegemony to Spain, the Netherland and Italy. The Habsburgs became a pivotal power in European affairs for long. Francis I, like other rulers of Austria earlier, put in place measures that were instrumental in maintaining stability and expanding the empire. This was clearly noticeable during the concert of Europe. In the congress, Austria for example in the Vienna congress, regained many of its old territories, including Salzburg and most of Galicia. The rulers made Austria a centre of music thus making many great musicians from Europe to round it with spleandour and magnificence. Architecture and all the decorative arts flourished under the Habsburgs. The rulers used both force, and diplomacy to extend the empire e.g., in the treaty of Karlowitz (1699) she acquired all of Hungary except the Banat of Temesvar.

Most of the empire was located in central Europe. This made it to have an advantage over other European states. For many years this made her be the defender of Germany against the French in the west. On the other hand, looking east, it was the defender of Europe against the Turks. Eventually Austria, drove back the Turks from east Central Europe. This expansion added many other ethnicities such as the Slavic groups, Italians and to her large Germanic population Magyars.The central position and the leadership lending support to the arts, made Vienna, the empire’s capital, to become the centre of a rich culture, blending East and West. The city was renowned for its music and light-hearted charm.

Upto 1870, Austria was the dominant defender of German interests. She enjoyed for long the support of other states in the German confederation. Prussia was the only Germanic state which rivalred her in the position. But even her, whenever Austria was in conflict with non-Germanic powers, she came to her assistance e.g. in 1683, when a Turkish force which was supporting Hungarians, threatened to take Vienna, Austria got the support of the Germans and polish armies thus defeating the Turks.These factors were to lead to the rise of the Austrian empire upto the 19thCentury when it began to decline. On its part, as Austria was declining, Prussia was gaining hegemony over the rest of Germany. Other factors equally conspired against the empire.

Several factors were responsible for the fall of the Austrian empire in the 19thCentury. The main ones included:

The Austrian empire as we have already observed, was made up of different nationalities. The rulers did not entertain any nationalistic feelings rising in the subjugated groups. But as we saw with the Napoleonic wars, nationalistic feelings could not be hidden under the carpet for long.From the 1820s, various groups began to agitate for independence. The Germans also were now for unity. They saw this in Prussian leadership. The high tide of nationalism among the Germans, Italians, Magyars and the Slavish groups were to majorly contribute to the fall of the empire. Apart from the empire having thirteen nationalities, it was also being pulled down by many religions that were held by its citizens. Liberal ideas also reigned supreme among the Austrian’s themselves and the nationalities under their control.

The society was divided into three classes. Those classes which felt unrepresented were always yearning for the day they would also enjoy the privilege, witnessed in the nobility. The latter was equally divided between the upper and lesser nobility.There were thus divisions among the population. This weakened the empire. It made liberalism to rise while at the same time, the Austrians could not forge the course of the empire in unity. This was partly the reason which made Hungary, the junior partner in the empire to want to cede. She managed to achieve this through the leadership of Louis Kossuth who led the Hungarian Liberalism. Kossuth represented not only Magyar nationalism, but was also the voice of the downtrodden in the Magyar community, especially the middle class and peasants.

Attempts by the Austrian empire to restrict the spread of liberalism in the citizenry did not succeed. University students and professors managed to get liberal literature and ideas from other states in Europe. This made them found liberal movements in their campuses. When they heard of the news of revolutionary tide in other European countries, especially in 1848, they equally organized themselves and rebelled against autocracy.

Later, the students were joined by workers who were under socialist influence. They demonstrated in the suburbs against their employers. The violence and anarchy that rocked Vienna made the emperor and his family alongside his principal political supporters to leave Vienna for Innsbruck in May 1848. Later events were to take a negative turn for the monarchy.

The rise of Prussia as the protector of Germanic interests was partly to lead to the decline of the Austrian Empire. Prussia, in the 18th Century gained hegemony over the rest of Germany. She was thus a threat to Austria which equally had a substantial Germanic population. Later (1866) she was to defeat Austria and majorly contribute to her decline. Prussia after the Austro-Prussian war (known also as the Seven Weeks’ War) took the Germanic territories and also gave Italy the Italian territories that had formed the Austrian empire.

After the death of Francis I the throne was taken over by his son Ferdinand I (1835-1848). The new monarch was weak and indecisive. Besides, he was an epileptic with an impaired mind. This made it necessary for the key political figures to try cushion the limitations of the monarch. Consequently, a state conference was established. It brought together Arch-duke Louis, Prince Metternich, and Count Kolowrat to manage the affairs of government. Unfortunately, personality differences could not allow the trio to be effective. Metternich and Kolowrat did not see eye to eye. They were great rivals, and partly out of fear of each other, made no effective decisions at the hour of need, most of the time, the king, ignored Metternich’s advice while Metternich on his part, was embroiled in personality wars with Kolowrat.

Under Ferdinand thus, Austria fared poorly. The church became powerful and controlled the curriculum in schools. The schools were to be turned into institutions, producing God-fearing, obedient subjects. The Monarch also legalized bodies which had been banned e.g., the Jesuits was allowed back to operate in 1824 yet they had been banned in 1783.

Emperor Ferdinand was forced to abdicate on 2 December 1848, he was succeeded by his nephew Francis Joseph, then a youth of 18 years. Joseph ruled Austria from 1848-1916. Metternich, the bad boy of autocracy and monarchy, had been forced to resign on 13 March 1848. He fled to England. The empire started to decline slowly.

Unlike other empires, the Austrian one was less endowed with a good economic base. It constantly experienced financial problems. Her involvement in numerous wars and suppression of internal revolts further complicated the situation. These proved to be a serious drain on her economy e.g., the war with Italy in 1859 which she lost, did not only see her being routed but also forced her to release Lombardy. It also forced her to acquiesce in the unification of Italy. Although she retained Venetia, she was no longer the dominant power in the Peninsula. The defeat equally exposed her to chronic financial troubles forcing her to chronic financial troubles forcing her to even succumb to demands for constitutional reforms. Later, the unification of Germany in 1870 was further to bring her more financial and political troubles. Infact even when Napoleon as an envoy to France negotiated for the lifting of the 1,500,000 soldiers limit that France had placed on the Austrian army the empire couldn’t because of finance.

Back to the 1840s period, Italians were proving to be a thorn in the flesh of the Austrian empire in March 1848, they drove Austrians from Venice and Milan. The empire appeared now to be a sharp decline. Some of the nationalities in the empire such as the Czechs were rebelling in Prague, the capital of Bohemia. The Magyars of Hungary equally pressurized to obtain their independence while the Germans, were eager to join their brethren in forming a United Germanic state under Prussia. All these forces were to lead to the fall of the empire

Prince Klemens Wenzel Von Metternich was born on 15 May 1773. His father, Franz Georg Karl Graf Von Metternich-Winneburg was a diplomat. The parents were keen on their son’s education. His mother was called Countess Beatrix Kagenegg. They took him to some of the best learning institutions. Upon finishing his elementary education, he joined the universities of Strasbourg and Mainz for his higher education.

After higher education, he took a keen interest in politics. He was to play an active role during the coronation of Francis II in 1792 and that of his predecessor, Leopold II, in 1790. These brought him to political limelight. He went for a brief trip to England and when he returned, he was named the Austrian Ambassador to the Netherlands. Later he was to serve in the same position in the kingdom of Saxony, Prussia and France.

Metternich was a family man. His first wife was Eleonore Von Kaunitz (1792), Antoinette Leykam (1827) and later countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris (1831). However, although Metternich married each of these women after the death of the one before them, he was not a strict family man. He had numerous affairs with other women. Metternich was also a diplomat. He served in various positions as Foreign minister (1809) and Chancellor (1821 until his fall in 1848).

Metternich was a conservative who was keen on maintaining the balance of power in Europe. He was for monarchy but was wary of Russian expansion in central Europe. He disliked liberalism at home and abroad. He worked tirelessly to prevent the outbreak of the Austrian empire. The prince ruthlessly crushed nationalist revolts in the empire. At home, he had a strong network of spies and executed strict censorship.

There were several factors which he led to Metternich’s rise to power. Some of the main ones included:

Metternich was friendly and calculating. He made very many friends in Austria and outside the empire. His diplomatic skills greatly contributed to this. For example, Upon assuming office, he used his diplomatic skills to negotiate for a defense with France that included the marriage of Napoleon to the Austrian archduchess Marie Louise. But when the tide was against Napoleon, he quickly allied with the forces against the French ruler and joined the war of the sixth coalition which brought the latter to his knees.The prince was also very courageous. This was evident he had openly argued with the great Napoleon at the latter’s 39th birthday celebrations in August 1808 over the increasingly obvious preparations for war on both sides. Napoleon was to later deny him attendance at the congress of Erfurt.

The fall of the Great Napoleon catapulted Metternich to political limelight. He became a key statesman in the congress of Vienna. Metternich overshadowed his emperor and literally led Austria in the negotiations. He managed to win for his empire a lot of concessions.His dislike for liberalism endeared him to the monarchs of Europe at the time. Most of the rulers were against any repeat of what had happened in France from 1789-1815. They got in Metternich, an individual who could go out of his way to prevent any liberalism in his country and beyond.,

Metternich’s closeness to Emperor Francis I, was another factor which made him to rise to prominence. The emperor trusted his diplomatic and political abilities hence left him most of the time to lead the empires’ diplomatic onslaught. This made Metternich to develop a good relationship not only with the European rulers, but also the key diplomats. He was respected in his diplomatic interactions and easily won the other powers to the side of Austria.

When Austria lost to France in 1809 led to the resignation of Stadion, the foreign minister. The emperor quickly replaced Stadion with Metternich. As a foreign minister, Metternich had an advantage over his rivals.

Metternich considered any social equality and political liberty would be a destruction of the privileges of his own class. He adopted political repression against the spread of revolutionary ideas. He passed the Carlsbad Decrees in 1819 after the killing of a reactionary journalist Kotzebue and the the Six Articles in 1832 after the outbreak of the 1830 Revolution.

These were applied in germany and Austria. After all, there was no freedom of press, speech and association. Universities were strictly supervised and above all, Austria became a police state.Although Metternich tried hard to stop the spread of revolutionary ideas in Europe, the outbreak of revolutions could not be prevented. He applied the method armed intervention, which was declared in the Troppau Protocol in the Congress of Troppau, 1820, in the suppression of any revolution happening in Europe. Based on this policy, Metternich crushed revolutionary movements in Naples and Piedmont in the 1820s and managed to put down revolts in the Three Duchies and Papal States in 1830. He also gave support to other powers in suppressing revolutions. For instance, in the Congress of Verona, 1822, he gave support to France in suppressing the Spanish revolt.

However, 1848 was the year to demonstrate the force of nationalism and liberalism and Metternich fell from power that year.Even though Metternich’s policy of stamping out revolutionary ideas could not end in the complete disappearance of revolutions in Europe, at least, the growth of revolutionary ideas had been checked. In addition to this, his urging for the holding of international congresses also helped to ensure general European peace.

After the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon, Metternich decided that the restored monarch must cooperate. He constituted some mercenaries to take action in that. So he supported the device of periodic congresses, at which the governments of the major powers could agree to a settlement of all disputes that might endanger the peace of Europe. The contention of Metternich was that internal and international affairs were inseparable. In giving the European Alliance its anti-revolutionary, anti-liberal character, Metternich had a very clear sense of serving first of all the interests of Austria, the power most vulnerable to popular attack. So, Metternich was very eager to serve as the host in the Congress of Troppau, 1820 and the Congress of Laibach, 1821 after the Congress of Vienna,1814-15. In fact, the holding of congresses facilitated her implementation of the policy of armed intervention.

To maintain the supremacy of the Austrian Empire and to ensure the European peace, Metternich helped in preventing the upheaval of France. In the Vienna Settlement, barrier states were erected around France so that all states on French frontiers would be strong enough to hold up any recurrence of French aggression long enough for the powers to mobilise their forces. In the 1830s, the danger of France appeared again during the Mehemet Ali Crises. France promised help to Mehemet Ali in order to extend French trade in the Near East. In 1839, a conference was called in London at which Austria together with Britain, Russia and Prussia decided to limit the power of Mehemet. Therefore, the cooperation of the European powers and their threats made France withdraw its support to Mehemet and her aggression in the Near East was checked.

To check Russian ambition in Europe was another means used by Metternich to maintain the supremacy of the Austrian Empire. In the Congress of Vienna, Russia was prevented from acquiring the whole of Poland. In the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1818, Metternich opposed to the Russian proposal of sending a collective expedition to crush revolts in the Spanish colonies in South America. This would bring the danger of Russian troops across the European colonies. Metternich was also not determined to see Russia dominating in the Balkans because Russia had greatly expanded her influence there during the Greek War of Independence and the Mehemet Ali Crises. Therefore, Metternich intervened with other powers in checking the Russian expansion into the Balkans. In the Straits Convention of 1841, the powers agreed that the Dardanelles was to be closed to the ships of all the nations including Russia during wartime. Therefore, it destroyed the Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi of 1833 which gave exclusive right for Russia to use the Dardanelles during war time; and the Russian expansion into the Balkans was thus checked.

Being the President of the German Confederation, Austria, under the leadership of Metternich, imposed firmer grip over the German confederation after 1815 as it was the head of the German Confederation. Metternich secured the presidency of the German Confederation for Austria in 1815. This position was of decisive importance for the president decided upon the business to be discussed and the procedure to be adopted. Leadership of Austria was gradually challenged by Prussia in the German Confederation. Metternich was still competent in maintaining the supremacy of Austria in the German Confederation before his resignation in 1848.

Work in groups of four. Using the Internet, History textbooks and other historical materials;

1. Find out the causes and consequences of 1830 European Revolutions.

2. Outline the achievemnt of the revolutions.

3. Write down your findings and present them in a class discussion

The 1830 European revolutions began in France. The French city at the time was riddled with divisions brought by liberalism vs conservatism. Upon being restoted to power, Louis XVII had introduced several reforms in issuing a new constitution, the charter of French liberties. But upon his death, his younger brother Charles X who took over power, rejected the idea of the charter. He suspended the legislature, limited the right to vote and restricted the press. The people responded swiftly by erecting barricades across the narrow streets of Paris. As they did this, they attacked the soldiers and within a few days, they took control of the town. The revolutionary tricolor flew from the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral. All these, frightened the king to abdicate and flee to England. Once more, revolutionaries had overthrown a monarchy. Radicals among them wanted to set up a republic while moderate liberals were for a constitutional monarchy. The latter carried the day. Deputies of the lower House of the French legislature, chose Louis Philippe, a cousin to Charles X, as the new king. Philippe was a supporter of the revolutionary cause. The French called him “The Citizen King” because he owed his position to the people.

Events in France ignited revolutions in other parts of Europe. A notable one was in Belgium. She broke out on 25th August 1830 after the performance of a nationalistic opera. The Belgians resented their union with the Dutch which had been brought by the Vienna congress.

Belgians dominated by the latter hence they nursed feelings of independence. So when they had of the successful revolution in France; they also took to the streets. It began with students and workers putting barricades in Brussels, the Belgian capital. The Dutch king sought help from fellow monarchs in other countries. Unfortunately, France and Britain supported the Belgians and asked the Dutch king to grant them independence. This was achieved on 4 October, 1831, when Belgium became an independent state with a liberal constitution. A government was formed under Charles Rogier. In December 1831, at the conference of London, the international community recognised the independence of Belgium and guaranteed its neutrality. The Dutch, however, only accepted the terms of the conference in 18 39.

Nationalism also saw revolutions occur in Poland in the 1830s. they staged an uprising in 1830. They were against being under Russia, Prussia and Austria. The poles wanted their independence in as a single nation and not what the congress of Vienna settlement. So come 1830, Polish students, army officers, and landowners rose in revolt. Unfortunately, they failed to get a lot of support. They were brutally crushed by Russian forces thus forcing survivors to flee to western Europe and the USA. In these countries, although their attempts at getting their independence had crumbled, they kept alive the dream of freedom.

Switzerland was another country which was also rocked by the revolution. Peasants demanded more political say in governance. They thus wanted amendments to be made in the constitution and more representation in the local legislatures (Canons). The peasants held assemblies in various cantons to push for their in peaceful means. They held peaceful protests which eventually forced the Cantonal governments to give in. As a result, the constitutions of the assemblies were amended to expand political space for the peasants and others who had been left out.

The revolution was also felt in Italy. All along Italians had yearned for a united state. They saw this coming in the 1830s revolution. The Duke of Modena, Francis I, was driven by ambition to provide explicit verbal support to anti-Italian revolutionaries in different parts of Europe. The revolutionaries, however, got the support from the new French king Louis Philippe. This revolutionary fervouer saw rebellions in Modena, Bologna, Forli, Ravenna, Imola, Ferrara, Pesaro and Urbino. In all these areas, the revolution was successful.

The revolutionaries replaced the Papal flag with the tricolor one except in Modena where it failed courtesy of assistance from Austria. The revolution was also successful in the Dutchy of Pama. All these Italiane Unite (United Italian provinces). They tactly got support from France under Loius Philippe. Unfortunately, Pope Gregory XVI sought for Austrian help against the revolutions. Cowed, the French monarch could not come to their assistance.Philippe was told by Austrian, that, it would not accept the successful revolutions in the Italian states and that French intervention would not be tolerated. France could now not provide the much-needed military assistance to the revolutionaries. She even did the unexpected, she arrested Italian revolutionaries residing in her soil. The Austrian army thus managed to crush revolutions in the Italian states in 1831. Many radicals were consequently arrested as the popes authority in the Papal states was restored.

The 1830s revolutions were also felt in Portugal and Brazil. In the latter, the revolutionaries managed to overthrow Emperor Pedro I from power in their country. Germanic states also experienced a wave of the revolution. However, they failed in the states under the German Confederation.

                                   

In sum, the 1830s revolution presented a mixed bag. Some were successful while in other areas, the forces of conservatism, still strong as earlier, led to their collapse. Nonetheless the currents of nationalism and liberalism had only been forced underground. They were still strong. This was to be confirmed by the events of 1848 which saw Europe engulfed once more, in a serious wave of revolutions.

This unit studies the major European events that occurred between 1789 and 1835. The first major European event in the period 1789 – 1835 was the French Revolution which happened in 1789.

The French Revolution was the greatest revolution that has ever been experienced in the history of humanity. Increased unemployment caused people move to towns such as Paris with the hope of getting jobs and better living conditions. Due to idleness and desperation, these people supported the French Revolution movement and caused chaos.As a result of the French Revolution, many people especially those who were marching on the streets, lost their lives.The French Revolution and the war the country waged against other powers instilled a strong sense of nationalism in the French people.

They developed a strong sense of identity with their country.Napoleon Bonaparte’s military genius enabled him to lead the French army to military success against the foreign armies.The French Revolution of 1830 sparked subsequent revolutions in other European countries such as in Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Italy and Switzerland.

The Congress System/ the Concert of Europe was a period in which the European powers come up with an effort to produce a unified policy on issues that confronted them at the time. It brought the main European powers together.The main achievement of the Congress System was bringing peace in Europe. There were no major conflicts between the European powers for a period of forty years.

At the end of this unit, a learner is able to evaluate and make judgements on the major events that took place in Europe and France in particular between 1879 and 1835, their causes, course and effects.

1. (a) What do you understand by ‘Enlightenment Period’?

    (b) Describe the events that took place during this period in Europe.

2. (a) List at least ten causes of the French Revolution

    (b) Describe the course of the French Revolution.

3. Discuss the factors that contributed to the march of women in Versailles.

4. Discuss at least ten consequences of the French Revolution.

5. (a) Who is Napoleon (I) Bonaparte?

    (b) What factors led to the rise of Napoleon (I) Bonaparte in Italy ?

    (c) Explain what led to the downfall of Napoleon (I) Bonaparte.

6. (a) Describe the Congress System of 1814-1825.

    (b) Discuss the form of the Congress System.

    (c) Which factors led to the failure of the Congress System?

7. (a) Evaluate the factors that contributed to the rise of the Austrian Empire.

    (b) What roles did Emperor Francis (I) play in the rise and growth of the Austrian Empire?

    (c) Explain the factors that contributed to the downfall of the Austrian Empire.

8. (a) Describe the reign of Peter Metternich in the Austrian government from 1809.

    (b) How did the Congress System in Europe contribute to the rise of the Austrian Empire?

9. Describe the causes and consequences of the 1830 European Revolution.