Chapter 21 Revolutions in Europe and Latin America By: Zarela Zachariah

1790 - 1848 With the Congress of Vienna, the great powers wanted to return to how things were before 1789, but that didn’t happen. In the early 1800’s, one uprising after another swept across Western Europe and Latin America. They were caused by the political ideas of the French Revolution, American Revolution and the economic problems of the Industrial Revolution.

Conservatives Conservatives included monarchs and their officials, noble landowners and church leaders. They supported the political and social order that has existed before the French Revolution and want to suppress revolutionary ideas. Conservatives believed that change must come slowly. They supported a social hierarchy, wanted to restore royal families to the thrones, and backed an established church. They believed that natural rights and constitutional government will only lead to problems like it had in France in 1789.

Liberals Liberals included the business owners, bankers, lawyers, politicians, writers, and others who helped to shape public opinion. Liberals were inspired by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. They wanted the government to be based on written constitutions and separation of powers. They defended the natural rights of individuals to liberty, equality, and property. Liberals wanted rulers to be elected by the people. They favored a republican form of government over a monarchy. They later supported the principle of universal manhood suffrage or giving all adult men the right to vote. Liberal supported the laissez-faire economics of Adam Smith and David Ricardo. They saw the free market as an opportunity for capitalist to succeed. They spoke out against divine right monarchy, old aristocracy, and established churches.

Nationalists For many centuries, European rulers had exchanged territories and people. As a result of that, many empires had people with different nationalities. Nationalists leaders tried to unite and win independence for each group. Nationalism gave people with a common heritage a sense of identity and the goal of creating their own homeland. It often bred intolerance, and led to persecution of other ethic or national groups.

Revolts Against the Old Order By the ideas of liberalism and nationalism, revolutionaries fought against the old order. Independence for Serbia From 1804 to 1813, a Serb leader, Karageorge led a guerrilla war against the Ottomans, but it was unsuccessful. In 1815, Milos Obrenovic led the Serbs to a successful rebellion. They were successful because they went to Russia for help. By 1830 with the help from Russia, they won self rule. Independence for Greece In 1821, the Greeks revolted against the Ottomans. They got help from Britain, France, and conservative Russia. By 1830, Greece was independent. The European powers pressured the Greeks to have a German king. It was a move to show that they don’t support revolution.

The French Revolution of 1830 The Congress of Vienna restored Louis XVIII to the French throne. He issued the Charter of French Liberties. It created a two house legislature and allowed limited freedom of the press, but the king had much of the power. His efforts satisfied few people. In 1824, Louis XVIII died and his brother Charles X inherited the throne. Being a strong believer in absolutism, he rejected the charter. In 1830 of July, he suspended the legislature, limited the right to vote, and restricted the press. This angered many liberals and radicals and they revolted. Frightened, Charles X abdicated and fled to England. Now, the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the French legislature, chose Louis Philippe. He was a cousin of Charles X and had supported the revolution of 1789 in his youth. He was called “citizen king” because he owned his throne to the people. Under him, the upper bourgeoisie prospered. He extended suffrage to only the wealthy citizens. His other policies favored the middle class at the expense of the workers.

The French Revolution of 1848 In the 1840’s, discontent grew and led to a recession. Many people lost their jobs. Poor harvest caused bread prices to rise and people started to revolt. In February 1848, when the government started to silence the critics and prevent public meeting, the people began to rebel. As this spread, Louis Philippe abdicated. This was the beginning of the Second Republic. Many differences divided the new government. By June, the upper and middle class interest had control of the government. They shut down the national workshops that provided jobs for the unemployed. Then the workers fought against the bourgeoisie until they were stopped by the government. This caused the bourgeoisie to fear and distrust the workers while the workers hated the bourgeoisie. By the end of 1848, the National Assembly created a constitution with a strong president and a one house legislature. All adult men can now vote. Louis Napoleon became the president through the election. In 1852, he called himself emperor, Nicholas III, thus ending the Second Republic. He wanted to set up the Second Empire. The people thought that he would restore France’s glory days.

The Spread of Revolution Both revolts in Paris in 1830 and 1848 inspired uprisings to break out in Europe. Most uprisings were stopped by military forces, but some rebels did win changes in the government. Belgium In 1815, the Congress of Vienna had united the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium) and the Kingdom of Holland under the Dutch king. The Belgians hated this. The Belgians were Catholic and their economy was based on manufacture. The Dutch were Protestant and based their economy on trade. The Paris uprising encouraged Charles X to led a revolt. The Dutch king looked to other European powers for help. Britain and France helped Belgium because they would benefit from the separation. Austria, Russia, and Prussia were busy with the revolts in their land. So in 1831, Belgium became a independent state with a liberal constitution. Poland The Congress of Vienna handed most of Poland to Russia. In 1830, nationalists led an uprising, but failed to gain widespread support. They were crushed by the Russian force and failed to win independence.

1848: Another Wave of Rebellion In the Austrian empire, a revolt broke out in Vienna by surprise. Metternich, who ruled Austria for more than 30 years, tried to stop the revolt, but failed. He then resigned and fled the country. Hungarian nationalist led by Louis Kossuth demanded an independent government, end to serfdom, and a written constitution to protect basic rights. The Czechs also made similar demands. The Austrian government agreed to them. Later with the help of Russia, they regain these places back. Nationalist in the Italian states wanted to be independent from the Austrian Hapsburgs. From Venice to Naples, the Italians set up independent republics. They even expelled the pope from Rome. Then the Austrian troops got rid of the new republics and the French restored the pope back in Rome. Throughout 1848, delegates from the German states met in the Frankfort Assembly to create a constitution for Germany as a whole. They offered the crown to Frederick William IV of Prussia, but he rejected it. By early 1849, the assembly dissolved due to the threats from the Prussian military.

Discontent in Latin America Peninsulares, Spanish born, dominated Latin American political and social life. They hold top jobs in the government and the Church. Creoles are European descended Latin Americans who owned haciendas, ranches, and mines. The resented their second class status. Mestizos are people of Native American and European descend. Mulattoes are people of African and European descend. They are angry at being denied status, wealth and power. Each class feared and distrusted each other, but worked together against the Spanish. When they got independence, the creoles dominated the government. Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808, started the widespread rebellion on Latin America. Napoleon threw out the Spanish king and replaced him with his brother, Joseph. Leaders in Latin America saw Spain’s weakness and demanded for independence.

Haiti’s Struggle for Independence Haiti was France’s most valued possession. Many slaves were overworked and underfed in sugar plantations owned by the French planters. In the 1790’s revolutionaries debated to end slavery in the West Indies, but didn’t help to free the enslaved Haitians. So Haiti’s slaves revolt in 1791. They were led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, a self educated former slave. The struggle was long and complex. It took more lives than any other revolution in the Americas. By 1798, the rebels achieved their goal. Even though Haiti was still a French colony, Toussaint’s force controlled most of the island. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte came into power. In 1802, he sent an army to reconquer Haiti. Toussaint then told the Haitians to fight for full independence. They were aided by the yellow fever. In April 1802, the French agreed to a truce. After that, the French captures Toussaint and he later dies. In 1804, Haitians leaders declared independence. Napoleon’s army had left due to the yellow fever. For years, rival Haitians leaders fought for power. In 1820, Haiti became a republic.

Independence for Mexico and Central America In 1810, a Creole priest in Mexico, Father Miguel Hidalgo, called the Mexicans to fight for independence and liberty. Few creoles supported him. Later Hidalgo was captured and executed and his followers scattered. Father Jose Morelos, a Mestizo priest, called for social and political reforms. For 4 years, he led the rebels, but in 1815 he was captured and shot to death. In 1820 in Spain, liberals forced the king to issue a constitution. Agustin de Iturbide, a conservative Creole in Mexico, feared that the new Spanish government might impose liberal reforms on the colonies. Backed by the creoles, mestizos, and Native Americans, he overthrew the Spanish viceroy in 1821. Mexico was now independent. Iturbide took the title Emperor Agustin I, but liberal Mexicans threw the monarch and set up the Republic of Mexico. The lives of most people changed a little even after the revolution. In the early 1820, Spanish-ruled land in Central America declared independence. Iturbide tried to add them into his empire, but he was overthrown. The Central American leaders set up the United Provinces of Central America, however it was short lived. It was then separated into Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica. These new nations faced many social and economic problems.

Independence in South America The strongest challenge to Spanish rule by Native Americans was the revolt led by Tupac Amaru. Even though he was captured, the revolt did have some positive effects. The Spanish king eventually abolished the brutal system of forced Indian labor. In 1810, Simon Bolivar led an uprising that established a republic in Venezuela, but it was toppled by the conservative forces. In August 1819, he marched and took Bogoto, the capital of the viceroyalty of New Granada (present day Colombia). By 1821, he had finally freed Caracas, Venezuela. He was called “The Liberator.” San Martin, a Creole, help free Argentina from Spain in 1816. After that, he defeated the Spanish in Chile and went into Peru. In 1822, Bolivar’s forces won the final victories against Spain. Bolivar wanted to then united the lands into a single nation called Gran Colombia, which didn’t work out. When Napoleon’s armies conquered Portugal, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil. There the king introduced many reforms. When the king went back to Portugal, he left his son, Dom Pedro in charge. In 1822, he became the emperor of the independent Brazil. He accepted a constitution and an elected legislature. Brazil remained a monarchy until 1889, when social and political turmoil led it to become a republic.

Questions 1.) Which of these situations was the direct result of the other three? A. nations of Latin America won independence B. revolutions occurred in North America and France C. the Napoleonic wars weakened Spain’s power D. creoles and mestizos became discontented with Spanish rule 2.) During the early 1800’s, which was a major influence on the struggle for political independence in Latin America? A. poor conditions in urban centers in Latin America B. the American and French Revolutions C. the desire of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America to escape European control D. demands by Latin American workers to own their own factories 3.) One similarity in the leadership of Latin Americas of San Martin, and Toussaint l’Ouverture, was that each leader A. opposed United States intervention in Haiti B. led a struggle to gain freedom for the people of his nation C. opposed membership of his nation in the League of Nations D. established an absolute monarchy in his nation

Questions 4.) Which social class controlled most of the political, economic and social power in colonial Latin America? A. peninsulares B. mestizos C. creoles D. native people 5.) The French people voted for Louis Napoleon because they hoped he would A. restore Louis XVI to power B. adopt the ideas of the Protestant Reformation C. restore France to the glory days of Napoleon Bonaparte D. end British control of France

Answers 1.) A 2.) B 3.) B 4.) A 5.) C