THE CONSERVATIVE ORDER AND THE CHALLENGES OF REFORM

Chapter 21

What were the goals of nationalist movements in Europe? What led to the rise of

new political movements (Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism? How did these

ideas spread?

UNDERSTANDING NATIONALISM Nationalism is an easy concept…a state should

be comprised of a single group of people who united by a common language, common historical background, common customs who should experience the same common rights and freedoms

Nationalist ideas were a reaction to the inequalities inherent in conservative large empires, that only large states ruled by stable monarchies and familial dynasties should have absolute power of authority

Areas at the beginning of the 19th C where one could find Nationalist movements and ideas formulating: British Isles (Ireland), Hapsburg Austria (Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia), Prussia and Russia (Poland), the Spanish overseas colonies and the Ottoman Empire (Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria)

UNDERSTANDING LIBERALISM

To be liberal in the early 19th century meant that you desired complete access to suffrage and representation in government AND limited government interference in economic affairs (NOT the same today)

The doctrine of early 19th C liberals came from English Common Law and from the words written in the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen…liberals wanted a limited government (NOT the same today) that was less authoritarian and looked out for the individual rights of the people (only thing true about liberals today)

Liberalism was not necessarily akin to Nationalism…not all ethnic groups desired individual freedoms for other minor ethnic groups in Europe during this era (like Hungarian Magyars) while liberals in some areas did make ties with other ethnicities within their boundaries (Greece)

CONSERVATISM To be a Conservative in the 19th C was to support the

status quo, the monarchy and the aristocracy, who were trying so desperately after the French Revolution to save face

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Congress of Vienna (1815) which sought to restore monarchical order to Europe after the mess left by Napoleono The goal of conservatism was

simple…REACT to the revolutionary movements emerging in European states to prevent further radicalism and overthrow of their position in the status quo

o Conservatives made sure to be actively part of any “constitution” discussions in their states

CONSERVATISM – REACTIONS IN CERTAIN STATES In Hapsburg Austria, the Conservative voice was Prince

Klemens von Metternich, champion of the Vienna Congress movement…he recognized growing liberalism and nationalism as a threat to his family’s empire…to Metternich, the future was clear, PREVENT constitutional movements among the factions in the Hapsburg Empire

In Prussia, Frederick William III remained absolute, denying the creation of a national legislature in favor of a Council of State, comprised of Junkers

In other parts of Germany, the states that had been confederated and several student movements formed to demand greater popular sovereignty in what was once the Holy Roman Empire…these student movements were eventually suppressed by Metternich and the Carlsbad Decrees

In Britain, several different laws and acts were passed: Corn Laws – protectionist tariff on imported grain meant

to increase the value of domestic grain…would actually prove disastrous in the long run as food prices increased as well as poverty in Britain

The Six Acts – 1) forbade unauthorized public meetings 2) raised fines for libel 3) speeded up trials for political agitators 4) increased newspaper taxes 5) prohibited training of locally armed groups & 6) allowed open searches of homes in areas where political unrest occurred

THE BOURBON (BURP) RESTORATION All of Louis XVI children died during the

revolution…Louis’ brother Louis (XVIII) was crowned king of France and agreed to rule under a Constitutional Monarchy

The Charter was considered to be a mild accommodation between French liberals and conservatives…it created a bicameral legislature and recognized the rights enumerated by the Dec. of Rights of Man and Citizen…it promoted religious tolerance and property rights

Opposite this friendly cooperation was an ultra-royalist movement bent on revenge against revolutionaries and imperialists…the count of Artois led the White Terror…several ultra-royalists found themselves elected to the legislature

However, when the son of the count of Artois was assassinated in Feb. 1820, the ultra-royalists convinced Louis to be repressive…the press was censored, rights were suspended, schools and other institutions were put under the direct control of the church, and liberals found themselves driven out of politics

REVOLT, REBELLION, REVOLUTION In several locations, anti-conservative backlash coupled

with nationalist ambitions and anti-colonialism caused revolutions and rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s

The Bourbon Restoration had a direct impact on Spain and Italy…Ferdinand VII ruled as an absolute, denying the activities of legislative bodies…meanwhile, as rebellion broke out in Italy, Metternich of Austria who had ambitions of expansion south, sent troops to restore order (w/support from Prussia and Russia)

Greece sought independence from the Ottoman Empire, part of what became known as “the Eastern Question”, what to do about the declining Ottoman Empire?...several larger states (Austria and Russia) want to take the territory…others (France and England) wanted to prop up the Ottoman to prevent such imperial designs…Greece was not seen as a threat to any European nation in the region, and as such, as a Christian state, it was granted independence in 1830

The result of Greek independence was Serbian independence that same year…the difference here was that Serbia was coveted by Austria but seen by Russia as a Slavic brother

THE WARS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE Four sparks that cause REVOLUTION

1. The American Revolution – model for rebellion against the mother nation

2. The French Revolution – provided base ideology though the radical end was rejected by LA revolutionaries

3. Haitian Slave Revolt (and Independence movement) – led by Toussaint L’Overture in 1791, led to Haiti becoming only the second new world free country in 1804…became an example to avoid amongst elites in rest of Latin America

4. Turmoil in Spain and Portugal – the Napoleonic invasions of both countries disrupted political control over the colonies…Creoles declared loyalty to the crown yet managed to gain power of rule over the colonies

THE WARS OF LATIN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE Creoles (Spanish born in the Americas) began to

distrust Peninsulares (Spanish who came over/ruled from Spain)…Creoles had slowly gained numbers and power in Latin America, but were still second class citizens to the Spanish Peninsulares

The Bourbon Reforms heaped on the colonies before and after the Napoleonic period served to break the backs of the Creole elites who ended up sending a lot of their wealth and profits to the Spanish Bourbon crown rather than keeping it for themselves…when social unrests (slave and native revolts) threatened the established Peninsulares order, the crown sent troops to heap oppression

Creoles would form political juntas of like minded Enlightened landowners and trained military men who sought to liberate the colonies from all despotic Peninsulares control

SOUTH AMERICA – BOLIVAR AND SAN MARTIN In the viceroyalty of New Granada

(Colombia and Venezuela) rose the wealthy Creole officer Simon Bolivar, the George Washington of Latin America…he was trained in the military arts in Spain and used his skills to mobilize support for a movement…between 1817 & 1822, he won battle after battle in Venezuela with his llaneros, Colombia and Ecuador and united them as one nation, Gran Colombia…which fell apart in 1830

Jose San Martin was from Buenos Aries…also trained in the military arts in Spain, he led the portenos (merchant traders of BA) in a push for autonomy from Spanish trade restrictions…after freeing the Viceroyalty of La Plata (many parts of which split into different nations) he crossed the Andes and led independence movements against the Spanish in Chile and Peru (w/his buddy Bernard O’Higgins)

MEXICO, 1810-1821 Father Miguel Hidalgo, a mestizo priest,

knew the Creoles were plotting…he rallied ALL Mexicans with his speech, the El Grito De Delores on Sept. 16, 1810 (Mexican Independence Day)…he won support of the masses but lost the support of the Creoles, who naturally feared a rising by the peasantry…eventually he was captured and killed and his cause was taken up by a Father Jose Morelos, who also eventually was martyred

Rebellion festered in Mexico for a decade until 1820 when Creoles under the direction of Augustin de Iturbide raised his armies and took control of Mexico City

Iturbide was declared emperor, and the conservative Creoles set forth to establish a monarchy, which eventually fell apart by 1824

BRAZILIAN “INDEPENDENCE” Portugal was not going to let Brazil go

easily…Brazil was Portugal’s number #1 economic production center’

Same story as in Spanish LA…the elite want freedom but fear what the minorities and crown would do to them

In 1807, the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal forced the crown to move to Brazil where they established an empire…this helped raised Brazil to equal status with Portugal and gave the elite what they wanted, greater freedom for trade

King Joao (John) VI ruled in Brazil until 1820 when he returned to Portugal and took the crown with him…but he left his son Pedro to rule Brazil…Dom Pedro I rebelled against his father and declared Brazil a free empire in 1822…after a 3 year struggle, Brazil remained a monarchy, free from Portugal and the social structure remained status quo

RUSSIA AND THE DECEMBRIST REVOLT Napoleon tried his best to invade

Russia in 1812 but failed…this cause an instant backlash against the previous Westernization policies of Peter and Catherine

The Conservative nobles, with the support of Czar Alexander I, pulled back into isolation in order to strengthen the stranglehold over the serfs

In 1825, a group of western-liking army officers led the Decembrist Revolt to overthrow the new Czar, Nicholas I…it was repressed and as a result, Nicholas put a stranglehold on freedoms, limiting schools, the press, and creating a secret police (precursor to the KGB)

Thanks to this despotic repression (Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationalism), Russia avoided the spread of other revolutions that impacted Europe (1830, 1848, 1849)…Russia did, however, continue to pressure the Ottomans and other neighbors (Poland and Sweden) for territorial gains

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (AGAIN?!?) OF 1830 In 1824, the ultra-royalist Count of Artois,

Charles X, succeeded to the French throne with the goal of eliminating as much of the revolutionary fervor in France as possible in favor of, you guessed it, Absolutism

When national elections in 1830 resulted in a major victory for liberals in France, Charles issued the Four Ordinances to consolidated his power 1) Restricted freedom of the press 2) dissolved the elected body that was full of

liberals 3) limited trade rights to the wealthy 4) demanded new elections

Charles was met with instant rebellion in Paris that he could not repel…he abdicated in August 1830 in favor of the Duke of Orleans (Louis Philippe)

Louis Philippe cooperated with the liberal factions in government, HOWEVER, social conditions in France did not change…the working class and poor STILL festered at the bottom…another revolution would eventually come in 1848 from these classes (Les Miserables)

BELGIUM AND BRITAIN The “July Days” of 1830 started an independence movement in

Belgium…the Congress of Vienna had merged Belgium with the Kingdom of Holland in 1815, however, the nobility of Belgium never had any true allegiance to a state that had a different language, religion and economic tradition

Reacting to rebellions in Italy in 1830, Belgians rebelled against Dutch rule…William of Holland sent troops to quell the disorder only to be handed defeat…the Belgians wrote their own Constitution and chose a monarch (Leopold I) to lead as executive…Belgium’s right to exist was recognized by Britain

Britain was the only European state during this era that saw cooperation between conservatism and liberalism, mainly because of the economic prosperity of the state demanded it

The Emancipation Act of 1829 was the government’s attempt to quell the “Irish Question”…it allowed Irish Catholics to become members of Parliament…the only negative effect of this move was the end of Tory power in Parliament under hero the Duke of Wellington

The Whig’s came to power under Earl Grey (the tea guy) and launched sweeping domestic reform with the Great Reform Bill of 1832…it increased the number of enfranchised individuals in Britain (through gerrymandering), however, still holding to the “property holding to vote or participate” ideal