Chapter 23: The Rise of Europe

An Age of Revolution, Industry, and Empire

1750-1914

Part I: Revolution and Nation States

• Enlightenment and revolutionary ideas• The American Revolution• The French Revolution• The reign of Napoleon Bonaparte• New ideologies: conservatism, liberalism, and

radicalism• Nations and nationalism• The unification of Italy and Germany

Enlightenment and Revolutionary Ideas

• Before the Enlightenment, rulers:– Were autocrats– Claimed divine right– Were often closely linked to religious institutions

• Enlightenment philosophies (17th and 18th centuries) questioned the arbitrary rule of monarchs– Locke argued governments function is to protect

peoples rights and to remove divine agents from government

• Individual rights examined– Voltaire questioned religious intolerance and

government censorship

• Political and legal equality sought– Rousseau argues the aristocracy do not contribute

more to society and therefore shouldn’t have more rights

– Discussions about ending slavery and treating indigenous people as equals emerge

• Enlightenment ideas have a global impact– Increasing literacy rates and cheap books rapid

spread of ideas– Social reformers and revolutionaries demand

enlightened change on behalf of people

The American Revolution

• By 1760, American colonists chafe under British rule– Economic impact of Seven Years War increasing

taxes in colonies• Colonists argue they should govern their own

affairs– No taxation w/o representation (Locke) Boston Tea

Party 1773– 1774- Constitutional Convention formed to organize

resistance to British policies

• Declaration of Independence showcases Enlightenment ideas– Equality- Rousseau, Voltaire– Life, liberty, property- Locke– Government derives power from the consent of

the governed- Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu• 1787- Constitutional Convention creates

government based on Montesquieu’s three branch system and popular sovereignty

• Bill of Rights- first 10 amendments: protects peoples’ rights against government tyranny

The French Revolution

• French revolutionaries grow to hate “ancien regime” and want to replace with new social and political order based on Enlightenment thought

• Overspending, government debt, and poor weather all contribute to serious economic trouble

• Louis XVI calls the Estates General to fix the economic disaster

The Estates General

• Council made up of three estates that had the power to raise taxes

• Broken up into three groups based on social class called Estates

• The Estates General had not met in over 100 years since the reign of Louis XIV

1st Estate 2nd Estate 3rd Estate0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% Population% Land OwnedEach

Estate got one vote when the Estates General met

• The Third Estate demands reform to give the majority greater economic and political equality Creation of the National Assembly

• June 17, 1789- National Assembly writes The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

• June 20, 1789- Tennis Court Oath• July 14, 1789- Peasants storm the Bastille,

from the beginning this revolution is more violent and radical than the American

• 1789-1791 The Moderate Phase…• Main ideas: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”– Abolished serfdom and social rank– Created a constitutional monarchy– Made the Catholic Church subordinate to the

state, and all members of the clergy civil employees, confiscated Church lands

– Most people continue to live in poverty despite changes

• Rumors begin to fly…– The king is corresponding with nobles who fled

France– Austria and Prussia are planning an invasion to

restore Louis XVI to full power• creation of more radical government, the

National Convention– Begins policy of universal military conscription– Declares war on Austria and Prussia– Put members of nobility and aristocracy on trial

executions, even Louis XVI!

• 1793-1794 The Reign of Terror: radical terror controls France– Maximilien Robespierre and radical Jacobins gain

control of the National Convention– Use terror to try to establish a “republic of virtue” – Try to replace Christianity with a “Cult of Reason”

• Terror ends with Robespierre’s execution• New government, the Directory created =

horrible failure!

The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte

• During the revolution, Napoleon makes a name for himself as a successful general

• 1799- Napoleon joins the Directory• Overthrows the Directory after Austria,

Britain, and Russia form an alliance against France

• 1802- Imposes a constitution and names himself emperor

• Napoleon brought peace and prosperity to France– Made peace with the Catholic Church but insisted on

religious tolerance– Wrote the Civil Code (Code Napoleon)• Affirmed political and legal equality between all men• Established a merit-based society• Encouraged freedom of occupation• Protected private property

– But…• Kept women subservient to men• Did not create a representative government• Limited free speech and censored the press

• Napoleon uses his “Grand Army” to try to conquer Europe– Conquered Iberia, Italy, and the Netherlands– Forced Austria, Prussia, and Russia to ally with him

and accept a French hegemony– Finally defeated in 1812 and again in 1815 by a

joint British, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian confederation that forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile (two times!)

• Napoleon’s armies spread Enlightenment ideas and nationalism as they conquered and inspired revolutions around the Atlantic world

New Political Ideologies

• The American and French Revolutions help crystallize political ideologies

• Conservatism: See society as an organism that will change slowly over the course of many generations– English philosopher Edmund Burke

condemned radical revolutionary change and denounced the violence and chaos of the French Revolution

• Liberalism: Embraced and welcomed change as an agent of progress– Saw conservatism as a tool of the aristocracy to

maintain power– Wanted to manage change to bring about

Enlightenment freedom and equality– Favored representative monarchy, but feared full

democracy– Preferred to work within the political system to

achieve change peacefully over the use of violence

• Radicalism- The idea that rapid extreme change was needed to grant all people full rights– Favored full democracy– Favored full equality for all races and genders– Willing to use violence to make change happen

The Congress of Vienna

• Meeting of European leaders following Napoleon’s defeat

• Represents a conservative response to Napoleon and the French Revolution– Exiled Napoleon to St. Helena– Reestablished pre-revolution monarchies,

including France– Created a balance of power by weakening France

and strengthening its neighbors

Nations and Nationalism

• Revolutionary change emergence of modern nations

• What is a nation (nation-state?)• Nationalists argued that it is gov’ts job to

promote the interests of their group, sometimes using violence as needed

• Nationalist leaders often viewed outsiders and minorities with suspicion anti-Semitism

• Anti-Semitism Zionist movement: goal = create a homeland for the Jews in Palestine

Emergence of National Communities• Resistance to Napoleon’s growing empire helps

define new nations in Europe• Napoleon’s defeat conservative control over

European nations• Conservative control revolutions– 1820- Greeks successfully revolt against Ottoman rule

(also nationalism)– 1830 and 1848- Liberals in France, Austria and Prussia

revolt against conservative monarchies but do not succeed in making major changes

– Conservatives see that some compromise is necessary to prevent revolutions in the future

Italy Unifies

• 1859- Count Camillo di Cavour of Sardinia allies with France to drive out Austria and Prussia

• 1860- Giuseppe Garibaldi brings southern Italy into alliance with Sardinia

• 1870- King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes king of united Italy

• Italy does not gain control of “Italia Irridente” (Italy unredeemed) land in the north east remaining under Austrian control

Germany Unifies

• 1815- Congress of Vienna denies Prussia request to form a Germanic kingdom; Metternich fears upsetting the Balance of Power

• 1830- Liberals revolt against Prussian monarch Wilhelm I, but are stopped by conservative forces

• 1848- Liberal revolt and attempt to create a limited monarchy fail

• 1862- Wilhelm I of Prussia appoints anti-parliamentarian Otto von Bismarck Prime Minister to use “Blood and Iron” to unify the German people under Prussian rule

• 1864-1870- Bismarck provokes war and wins against Austria, France, Denmark increased territory and nationalism

• 1871- Wilhelm I crowns himself Kaiser of the second German reich