Revolutions of 1848: Crash Course European History #26

In 1848, Europe experienced a wave of revolutions. Last week we covered some of the reform movements that presaged these uprisings. This week, we're learning about what the people wanted from the revolutions, who was involved, and how many of those goals were accomplished. We'll look at revolutions in the Austrian Empire, Hungary, Italy, the German States, and the region formerly known as Poland.

Sources:
-Johann Nepomuk Höfel (1788-1964)-'the first uncensored newspaper are sold in street of Vienna after the revolution of 1848'-watercolour Wien-Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien
-Hunt, Lynn et al. The Challenge of the West: Peoples and Cultures from 1320 to the Global Age. Lexington MA: D. C. Heath, 1995.
-Judson, Pieter M. The Habsburg Empire: A New History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016.
-Kent, Susan Kingsley. A New History of Britain: Four Nations and an Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
-Smith, Bonnie G. Changing Lives: Women in European History Since 1700. Lexington MA: D. C. Heath, 1989.
-Sperber, Jonathan. Revolutionary Europe, 1780-1850. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2017.

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[LewisFieldhouse]

I’ve been watching John for so long I can instantly tell when he has a cold. Get well soon, past John.

[Kimjongil-purk]

I'm amazed and a bit embarrassed that it is only today that I realized that John "Crash Course" Green and John "Fault in Our Stars" Green are the same person. At least now I know.

[silesiaball]

"Whan Paris sneezes, Europe catches cold." Klemens von Metternich

[chloegaribaldi]

Fun fact: at least in some parts of Italy, '48 still means "chaos", "a mess" (example: "ma che 48!", literally "what a 48!", that stands for "what a mess!")
Another fun fact:
I was taught that Verdi (the composer) was a symbol for Italian unification not only for his chorus about freedom in one of his masterpieces, but also because his surname is an acronym for "Vittorio Emanuele Re D'Italia" (Vittorio Emanuele King Of Italy). An interesting way to avoid censorship...

[Mattdewit]

In 1848 our king (the Netherlands) was so scared of the revolution spreading here he went from conservative to liberal. He gave all his power to the goverment en we got our constitution that same year.

[ranggafachrozi]

"Elsewhere in Europe" = Poland

[peterjerman]

I think, there's an important point John failed to discuss. The 1848 revolutions in Central Europe, especially in the Austrian Empire were filled with beginnings of nationalism. More importantly, the divide between the revolutionaries was much more ethnic than nationalist (except for the German speakers). German nationalism caused a reaction of Slavic and Hungarian nationalism, which is why Slavs refused to vote representatives for the Frankfurt parliament.

In the end, the fear of the supremacy of German or Hungarian nationalism caused the Revolution to "fail".
However, it is also important to note that 1848 brought large changes, as John has said, for the farmers, but also for all nations, as they got more political rights. Moreover, farmers weren't as uninterested as portrayed, they were more and more willing to participate in democracies, as they had achieved new rights, but now wanted to protect them from a backlash of the reactionaries.

Otherwise, great video John!

[tefoca]

The first edition was called "The manifesto of the communist party", to serve as a guideline for the previous league. Later on became the Communist manifesto, acknowledging Marx and Engels as the authors.
As pointed out by Marx, the manifesto didn't really impacted the revolutions of the 1840s, but was itself a fruit of its time.

[lindseyfrancesco]

1848 is a huge subject to tackle, and even though I think this video had its flaws I'm impressed at how well it summarized the overarching trends

[jacobgilbert]

John you explain 19th century European History so simple ; great job.

[srobsonscosta]

God, i want to know why didnt i meet this channel before. The sensation of watching it is so good that it makes learning about history something quite enjoyable.

[JohnVance]

One of the best Crash Course vids you’ve ever made, and trust me, I’ve seen them all. 😊

[aksiznarf]

You forgot Switzerland: In september 1848 it gave itself a new constitution and became the federal republic it is still today. That revolution was successfull.

[theartofmastery]

This channel is just awesome! Who is with me?😊

[Botruc]

1848 represents for the Swiss people the creation of the modern federal state that we know today as Switzerland (before it was just a loose federation of independant states). It was created after a brief civil war (the last war that happened on Swiss territory, if we do not count the few bombings of cities by the Allies during WW2) that pitted the mainly catholic, countryside, poor and uneducated cantons, that were fighting for the status quo, against the mainly protestant, liberal and rich cantons fighting for reform and democracy.

[ОлегКозлов-ют]

Tsar Nicholas I had even earned a nickname "policeman of the Europe" for his antirevolutionary efforts

[Mystikeb]

John has absolutely given up any notion of not being a goofy distractible host. And I love it.

[vigilantsycamore]

14:22 this part is heartbreaking
Especially because this happened in Poland too. Jewish Poles had been a part of our country for centuries by then, and Jewish people have arguably been allies better allies to us than the Catholic Church ever was. Even after the 18th Century, and the rising antisemitism in Poland at the time, Jewish people still helped us fight for our independence, from the Kościuszko uprising to World War I, while the Catholic Church took much longer to support Polish independence. Allowing antisemitism to take root in our country was nothing short of a betrayal.

[brendanobrien]

I love this moment in history. The rising conflict of individual, class, and national identity is about to go off.

[auo]

What an incredible time to talk about revolutions. You all know what I’m talking about