Chapter 20 Nation-States and Empires in Europe: 1814-1914

Section 4 Constitutionalism in Western Europe

Early in the 1800s, European diplomats had tried to impose stability on a Europe disrupted by the Napoleonic Wars. But Europeans could not escape the political implications of the rapid social and economic changes sweeping through their countries. During the 1800s, the spread of the Industrial Revolution in much of Western Europe led to the growth of constitutional government as well as social reform. 

Revolution and Reform in France

The 19th century was a period of recovery and self-reinvention for France. After Napoleon's defeat, the French had to rebuild both their government and their society. Yet the people remained divided about the kind of social and political structures they wanted. The questions unleashed by the Revolution were still being worked out. In the decades following the collapse of Napoleon's empire, the French struggled between autocracy and reform as they variously tried a restoration of the old regime, constitutional monarchy, two republics and even a restoration of the empire on liberal constitutional lines.

The Restoration and the July Monarchy. Like his predecessor Louis XVIII, the Bourbon king Charles X, who assumed the throne in 1824, believed ardently in absolute monarchy. In an effort to restore many features of the Old Regime, Charles soon suspended freedom of speech and limited the franchise. The gains of the French Revolution, however, had become too entrenched among the French people for the king to turn back the clock. As liberals grew increasingly angry at the new restrictions, in 1830 revolution broke out in Paris. Charles was forced to abdicate. In his place, the French installed a more liberal king who was willing to abandon divine right monarchy and accept the strictures of constitutional government, Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orléans. According to one of his supporters: 

“The duke of Orléans is a prince devoted to the cause of the Revolution.…The duke of Orléans accepted the constitution as we have always wanted. It is from the French people that he will take his crown.”[71] 

The bourgeoisie firmly supported Louis Philippe, who called himself the ”Citizen King,” and his reign became known as the July Monarchy. Despite his initial popularity, however, the new king was unable to maintain the confidence of the people. As one shrewd observer, Alexis de Tocqueville, observed, the middle-class spirit of the government was “timid by temperament, moderate in all things except its love of ease and comfort, and, last but not least, mediocre.”[72] Opposition grew as Louis Philippe banned trade unions and failed to extend voting rights to more people. Meanwhile, ordinary people were feeling increasingly insecure and oppressed. Dismal harvests in 1845 and 1846 led to major food shortages, which in turn led to economic depression and widespread unemployment.[73] As insecurity levels rose, many people began to demand reforms. “I believe,” warned De Tocqueville, “we are at this moment sleeping on a volcano.”[74]

            The volcano erupted on an evening in February 1848. When a group of Parisians marched to the prime minister’s house to protest a ban on reform meetings, a line of soldiers blocked their way. Suddenly, a shot rang through the night air. Reacting, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing some 50 people. News of the shootings outraged the people of Paris, who set up barricades throughout the city. When the troops refused to protect him, Louis Philippe had no choice but to abdicate.

The rise of Napoleon III.  A new constitution created the Second French Republic with universal male suffrage. In a surprising move, voters elected Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of the emperor Napoleon, as president of the new republic. Louis Napoleon's platform was designed to attract the support of the middle classes. For example, he proposed major plans for the development of factories and railroads.[77] He also sought Catholic support by giving the church control over education.[76]  

            Despite this liberal beginning, however, politically Louis Napoleon soon became more conservative. The poet Victor Hugo described one fateful evening in 1851, when “Paris slumbered, like a sleeping eagle caught in a black snare.”[78] That night Louis Napoleon’s troops entered Paris and arrested members of the National Assembly who opposed him. He then called for a national vote to decide whether he should be given the power to rule for more than four years.[79] Voters overwhelmingly approved the measure. The next year he called for another vote, and the French people elected him Emperor Napoleon III.[80] (He called himself the third Napoleon because Napoleon I had had a son. Napoleon II had never reigned and died in 1832.)

            Napoleon III instituted many important reforms. He built grand boulevards in Paris and modernized the city with parks and a new water system.[81] The emperor set up credit banks to help industry and agriculture, and he built a national railway network.[82] In addition, he reduced tariffs to encourage trade with European nations.[83] However, Napoleon III also limited the power of the legislative assembly, censored the press, and banned public meetings.[84] He fixed many elections so that most of the candidates directly supported his regime. As his half-brother remarked, “in voting for the friends of Louis Napoleon, one will have a second chance to vote for the prince himself.”[85] 

The Third Republic. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 brought down the strong emperor. During the war, Prussian artillery bombarded French troops under Napoleon III. The emperor surrendered and was captured. Vowing to fight on, the French legislature overthrew Napoleon and proclaimed the Third Republic.[86] The new republic immediately faced a crisis as the Prussians invaded France and began a siege of Paris.[87]  Food supplies became so scarce that cats, dogs, and even zoo animals were killed for their meat.  An American observer noted: 

“Small portions of elephant, yak, camel, reindeer, porcupine, etc. [sold] at an average rate of four dollars a pound.  The charming twin elephants, Castor and Pollux, who carried children round the Garden on their backs in 1867 to 1869...were shot through the head.  I [ate] a slice of Castor.  It was tolerably good only; did very well in time of siege.”[88] 

When the Prussians besieged Paris, the Assembly too decided to surrender.

            Only the Parisians refused to quit. Taking over the city, they proclaimed a revolutionary government called the Commune, and tried to continue the war. The revolt was bloodily suppressed by the French army, however, and after several days the Commune collapsed. In January 1871, Paris fell to the Prussians, and the war ended.[89] The defeat signaled the end of French dominance in Europe.[90]

            Despite its troubled beginning, the Third Republic made many important reforms. Trade unions became legal in 1884, and by 1900 the working day had been reduced to ten hours. In addition, a 1906 act required employers to give their workers one day off per week. 

The Dreyfus case.  However, many divisions split French society. In 1894, French society divided over the controversial Dreyfus case. Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, was accused and convicted of betraying military secrets to Germany. A staff colonel discovered that another man, a member of a minor European noble family, had actually committed the crime. Preferring to use Dreyfus as a scapegoat rather than admit their own error, army officers covered up the truth. Dreyfus was not cleared until 1906.[91]

            The Dreyfus case revived anti-Semitism in France. Many people assumed Dreyfus was guilty because he was Jewish. Conservatives used this as an excuse to attack Jews. Others blamed the Catholic church for framing Dreyfus. Popular support swung briefly to Dreyfus’s liberal supporters, and they pushed through legislation separating church and state in 1905. However, French society remained even more deeply divided than before.[92]

Reforms in Germany

Opposition to the Catholic Church reached its height in the German Empire in the 1870s. Conservative Chancellor Bismarck first attacked the church, then reconciled with it, in his quest for a powerful central government. 

Liberals and the constitution. Under the terms of the 1871 constitution, each of the 25 German states had its own ruler and could handle its own domestic matters. The federal government handled all common matters, such as national defense, foreign affairs, and commerce. The legislative branch consisted of the Bundesrat, or upper house, and the Reichstag, or lower house.

            Bismarck formed an alliance with the National Liberals, who had a majority in the Reichstag and shared his goal of centralization. To limit the power of the Catholic Church, which had opposed German unification, Bismarck and the National Liberals expelled the Jesuits in 1872.[93] In the ensuing anti-Catholic Kulturkampf (kool-toor-kahmpf), or “war of civilization,” Germany passed strict laws to control the Catholic clergy and church schools.

            The German Catholic Center party,[94] which had the support of many Protestant liberals,[95] opposed the Kulturkampf. After many Center politicians were elected to the Reichstag in 1877, Bismarck noticed the shift in the political winds and began to abandon the Kulturkampf . By 1887 all anti-Catholic legislation had been repealed, but not before influence of the Catholic Church had been permanently reduced.  

The economy and social welfare. By 1900, Germany had become one of the greatest industrial nations.[96] Germany had rich coal and iron deposits and a good transportation network, which allowed it to develop the most powerful iron and steel industry in Europe.[97] Bismarck’s reforms had aided industry. He made banking laws uniform throughout Germany and improved postal and telegraph services. In addition, the government’s high-tariff policy protected German industries from foreign competition.

             However, as in other nations, industrialization had its critics. German socialists protested against the harsh factory conditions and called for state control of all industries. These critics united in 1875 to form the Social Democratic Party.[98] This alarmed Bismarck, who considered the socialists “an enemy army living in our midst.”[99] In the late 1870s, Bismarck blamed socialists for two assassination attempts made on the emperor. He also persuaded the liberal government to pass anti-socialist legislation that made the Social Democratic Party illegal, banned its meetings and publications, and exiled socialists from certain cities.[100]

            Despite Bismarck’s efforts, the socialists continued to gain ground. So, Bismarck next granted many socialist reforms, because he believed that people would have no reason to join the socialists if conditions improved. Beginning in 1883, Bismarck pushed through legislation that provided insurance for health, accident, old-age, and disability.[101]

            These pioneering reforms improved conditions for the middle and working classes. But by preventing revolution from below, they also preserved the conservative government, though not Bismarck’s position. When the chancellor resisted William II’s calls for more reforms, the new emperor dismissed Bismarck in 1890. William’s imperial ambitions soon overshadowed such domestic concerns.

Unrest in Southern Europe

In Spain and Portugal, aristocratic landowners, monarchs, and the church fought against liberalism and democracy. Political instability, violence, and minimal industrialization plagued these nations. In Italy, too, liberal politicians cared more about political infighting than on promoting industrialization and democracy. In all three Catholic countries, anti-clericalism was a rallying call for liberals and a red flag to conservatives.

Political chaos in Spain. Although the Spanish had adopted a liberal constitution in the Napoleonic era, Spain’s restored Bourbon monarch overturned it. Soon the country was engulfed in civil war between liberals and conservatives. After the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833, the Crown passed to his infant daughter Isabella. Ferdinand’s brother Carlos considered himself the rightful heir and rebelled. After seven long years, the liberal generals supporting Isabella drove Carlos from his stronghold in northern Spain.

            Isabella II became queen when she was 13, but the generals ran the government. To limit the power of the Catholic Church that had supported Carlos, the liberal generals pushed through anti-clerical laws abolishing religious orders and selling church-owned lands. They also promoted public education to combat the massive illiteracy in the country. However, the generals expended much of their energy and the treasury’s dollars putting down conservative uprisings. With government finances in shambles and the last of the liberal generals gone, Isabella was deposed in 1868.

            Isabella’s son, Alfonso XII, became king in 1875. “I shall neither cease to be a good Spaniard, nor…a good Catholic, nor…truly liberal,”[102] he quickly assured the divided country. The king made peace with the church and implemented a moderate constitution in 1876. However, military disaster struck Spain in 1898, when defeat in the Spanish American War led to the loss of its remaining major colonies.

            With their country’s imperial glory long since faded, Spaniards of all classes grew increasingly disillusioned with both liberal and conservative politics. Peasants in the Basque lands and in Catalonia launched guerrilla raids to win their independence. Workers became increasingly militant, and support for Marxism and anarchism grew. In the early years of the 20th century, a wave of assassinations and terrorism led to continued upheaval.

Civil war in Portugal. Spain’s Iberian neighbor, Portugal faced civil war off and on for more than 30 years. Portuguese nationalists resented the continued occupation of British troops, who had helped the Portuguese drive out the French. In the northern coastal city of Oporto, wealthy merchants and aristocrats took part in a coup to end British military rule in 1820. The rebels wrote a new constitution with an elected parliament, but the British remained an important influence in Portuguese politics.

            The political chaos was far from over. In the early 1830s, the monarchy was restored. Two princes—Pedro and Miguel—waged a civil war over control of the Crown. With British support and the aid of residents of Lisbon, liberal-leaning Pedro won the war in 1834. The fighting had been bitter, and liberals lashed out against the Catholic Church and the aristocracy for their support of Miguel. Pedro abolished the monasteries and sold their lands to liberal landowners. Public grammar schools and vocational schools were built to replace the church schools. However, the government’s attempt to privatize town lands touched off another rebellion in 1846.

            Peasant women from northern Portugal led the revolt. The peasant women—many of whom had a husband or male relative who had emigrated to Brazil because of the lack of opportunities in the countryside—owned small plots of land and relied on town lands for grazing their farm animals, hunting game, foraging, and collecting fuel. To protect this necessary resource, the women burned the offices of the land commissioner and joined with the Catholic Church in supporting Miguel as king. The revolt brought down the government of the liberal general Costa Cabral.

            The second half of the 1800s brought more stability under a constitutional monarchy. Though the country remained overwhelmingly agricultural, industrialism increased, especially around Lisbon. New telegraph lines, roads, and railroads improved communications. Many peasants flocked to Lisbon to find jobs. The growth of Lisbon's working class led to demands to extend voting rights. In 1910, revolutionaries in Lisbon overthrew the king and proclaimed a republic with separation of church and state.[103] 

Italy After Unification

After their successful fight for unification, Italians witnessed many of the same political, social, and economic tensions as the Portuguese and Spanish. Anti-clericalism was especially strong in the 1870s because the papacy, which had opposed Italian unification, refused to recognize Italy. Liberal politicians passed laws to reduce the church’s control of education.

            Though liberal in orientation, Italian politicians refused to extend voting and civil rights. This especially angered the women who had fought in Garibaldi’s army and supported unification. The women’s rights leader Anna Mozzoni compared women’s contributions with their lack of political rights: 

“The revision of the Civil Code by the Italian Parliament has placed in my mind the following argument: woman, excluded by worn out customs from the councils of state, has always submitted to the law without participating in the making of it, has always contributed her resources and work to the public good always without any reward.”[104] 

Mozzoni organized Italy’s first women’s rights movement to expand women’s educational, professional, and political opportunities. However, change was slow in coming.

            Liberal politicians also ignored the plight of the peasantry. It was not until the early 1880s that politicians began to worry about the low literacy rate in the countryside and the increasing rate of emigration to the Americas. In 1880 the Italian politician Sidney Sonnino described the poor lot of peasants, who were “ill paid, ill housed, ill nourished, and crushed by excessive labor under the most unhealthy conditions.”[105] Many peasants, especially in Sicily, turned to socialist organizations for support. A wave of peasant revolts swept through Italy in 1893 and 1894 after high food prices and declining exports made conditions even worse.

            The cities also filled with unrest. In 1898 workers in Milan rioted to protest the high price of bread. An anarchist assassinated King Humbert in 1900 in retaliation for the violent suppression of the Milan riots. 

            Concerned about the unrest among peasants and workers, a coalition of liberals and socialists passed a series of reforms to prevent further disorder. They extended the vote to more males, passed factory laws, nationalized some industries, legalized trade unions, and helped set up agricultural cooperatives. However, a conservative reaction soon set in, with the new Nationalist party opposing such liberal reforms.

Industrialization in Western Europe

In stark contrast to the countries of southern Europe, the smaller nations of western Europe witnessed the triumph of liberalism and rapid industrialization. The countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland gradually made the transition from monarchy to democracy. Industrialization accompanied democratization in the Scandinavian countries as well. 

Transition to democracy. In the 1800s European diplomatic conferences shaped the political fortunes of the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1815 the diplomats at the Congress of Vienna united Catholic Belgium with the Protestant Netherlands under William I. The unified nation was meant to serve as a buffer against defeated France. However, in 1830 workers in Brussels, Belgium, revolted and touched off a national crisis. Forced to call parliament into session, William watched in horror as Belgians spoke out against Protestant rule and called for independence.

            The European powers stepped in once again. Meeting in London, diplomats from the major powers agreed that Belgium should be independent and neutral in foreign affairs. The new Belgian constitution was a triumph of liberal ideals, with freedoms of the press, education, and religion. With independence came vibrant industrialization. The iron and coal industries expanded rapidly, and a grand program of railway building linked Belgium’s cities to the trade centers of Europe. Unions rapidly developed, and in 1893, their members helped win voting rights for all males over 25.[106]

            The Netherlands, on the other hand, remained largely agricultural and trade-oriented. Democracy developed more slowly, with Catholic politicians opposing many liberal reforms. The constitution of 1849 set up a parliament and state control of education, but it limited suffrage and allowed the king many powers.[107] 

Switzerland. Switzerland, the most democratic nation in Europe, for the most part escaped the political chaos afflicting its neighbors in the 1800s. One Swiss nationalist writer explained that “in our common nationality we feel protected against the confusion which surrounds us on all sides.”[108] Even before the liberal revolutions that swept Europe in 1848, the Swiss cantons, or states, had already secured liberal reforms by peaceful means.

            By 1847 the cantons had united in a federal republic. A short war in that year defeated the Catholic cantons that resisted liberalism and federal union. The Swiss approved a constitution much like that of the United States, with a two-house legislature. To protect its neutral position, the Swiss government set up a military draft to make all male citizens help protect the nation. Switzerland’s political stability encouraged industrialization, which took off after 1870. The nation also attracted political refugees from all countries and international organizations such as the Red Cross. 

Change in Scandinavia. As elsewhere, the development of liberalism and democracy in the Scandinavian countries depended largely on the rate of industrial growth. In the early 1800s agricultural Denmark developed very few factories. Without pressure from workers or middle-class groups, the Danish king firmly opposed liberal reforms. It was not until the end of the century that liberalism and socialism slowly took root, and the country took its first steps towards a liberal constitution.

            To the north of Denmark, Sweden and Norway had been forcibly united as a result of the Congress of Vienna. Sweden’s aristocratic government ruled over a still feudal and agricultural kingdom. In contrast, Norway already had a parliament and a vibrant industrial sector.

            After decades of opposition between the two regions, Norway declared its independence in 1905. It became a constitutional monarchy with extensive voting rights. Norwegian women were granted full political rights in 1913.[109] In the early 1900s, Sweden itself introduced universal male suffrage and later extended the vote to women.

Section 4 Review

IDENTIFY and explain the significance of the following:

Alfred Dreyfus

cantons

Commune

Isabella II

July Monarchy

Kulturkampf

Napoleon III

Second French Republic

Third Republic 

1.      MAIN IDEA  Why did liberal reforms succeed in France and Germany?

2.      MAIN IDEA  How did political unrest limit economic development in southern Europe?

3.      GEOGRAPHY  What geographic conditions favored industrialization in Germany?

4.      WRITING TO PERSUADE  Imagine that you are a business person in one of the Scandinavian countries. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining why industrialization will be good for the country.

5.      HYPOTHESIZING  Why do you think there was so many conflicts between liberals and the Catholic church in southern Europe?

Chapter Review

REVIEWING TERMS

From the following list, choose the term that correctly matches the definition:

Concert of Europe

Kulturkampf

pogroms

Realpolitik

Young Turks

Zollverein

1. A German customs union which eliminated tariffs between the German states and encouraged German business people to support unification.            

2. Politics based on practical matters and not on ideals or ethics. 

3. A group of intellectual nationalists in the Ottoman Empire who wanted further changes beyond the Tanzimat reforms.

4. The “war of civilization” designed by Bismarck to limit the power of the Catholic church. 

5. The system of diplomatic cooperation designed to maintain peace among European nations.

REVIEWING CHRONOLOGY

List the following events in their correct chronological order: 

1. Louis Philippe begins the July Monarchy. 

2. Napoleon III becomes president of the Second French Republic. 

3. The Bourbon king Charles X is restored to the French throne. 

4. The Dreyfus Affair divided French society. 

5. The Paris Commune takes over the city during the Franco-Prussian War.

UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN IDEA  

1. What did the Congress of Vienna try to achieve? 

2. How did Prussia achieve German unification? 

3. How did the czars try to reform Russia? 

4. Why were France and Germany successful in implementing liberal reforms? 

5. What effect did political instability had on the economic development of southern Europe? 

THINKING CRITICALLY  

1. Assessing Consequences  What role did Napoleon’s conquests in Europe have on German unification? 

2. Comparing  How did industrialization affect the political development in northern Europe and in southern Europe?

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