Misplaced Pages

#22977

72-638: Formed after the March Revolution of 1848 and in reaction to opposition to the Pillersdorf Constitution of 25 April 1848. The Diet consisted of 383 deputies from the German-speaking and Slavic crown lands of Habsburg Austria, that is, without representatives from the Kingdom of Hungary . It met for the first time on 22 July 1848 and was opened by Archduke Johann . On 22 October 1848, in the wake of

144-765: A Pan-Slavic congress in Prague between June 2 and June 12, 1848. It was primarily composed of Austroslavs who wanted greater freedom within the Empire, but their status as peasants and proletarians surrounded by a German middle class doomed their autonomy . They also disliked the prospect of annexation of Bohemia to a German Empire. Insurgents quickly lost in street fighting to King Ferdinand's troops led by General Radetzky , prompting several liberal government ministers to resign in protest. Ferdinand, now restored to power in Vienna , appointed conservatives in their places. These actions were

216-467: A Habsburg Emperor with central authority vested in him would have been an ideological proponent of and see himself as an extension of a Rousseauan "will of the people"? Is it even possible to understand one's subjects if they come from thirteen major ethnicities? Second, the Assembly had zero representatives from Hungary since the region was in revolt, thus all Hungarian issues were completely ignored. Third,

288-683: A Hungarian army. Jelačić then took military action against the Hungarian government without any official order. The national assembly of the Serbs in Austrian Empire was held between 1 and 3 May 1848 in Sremski Karlovci , during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous Habsburg crownland of Serbian Vojvodina . The war started, leading to clashes as such in Srbobran , where on July 14, 1848, the first siege of

360-589: A considerable blow to the revolutionaries, and by August most of northern Italy was under Radetzky's control. In Bohemia , the leaders of both the German and Czech nationalist movements were both constitutional monarchists, loyal to the Habsburg Emperor. Only a few days after the Emperor reconquered northern Italy, Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz took provocative measures in Prague to prompt street fighting . Once

432-547: A consultative role. Finally a formalized Reichsrat was created in 1867 and associated with the new constitution of Austria-Hungary on an institutional basis. Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas Revolutionaries [REDACTED]   Austrian Empire The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire were a set of revolutions that took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of

504-429: A culture that criticized Metternich's government from the city's coffeehouses , salons, and even stages, but prior to 1848 their demands had not even extended to constitutionalism or freedom of assembly , let alone republicanism . They had merely advocated relaxed censorship, freedom of religion , economic freedoms, and, above all, a more competent administration. They were opposed to outright popular sovereignty and

576-480: A decade of near absolutist rule, while Hungarians and Czechs wanted greater autonomy over their own affairs. In March 1860, Franz Josef asked the Imperial Parliament, or Reichsrat, to advise the emperor on matters of reform. The Reichsrat, composed almost entirely of conservative aristocrats, naturally recommended a reconstruction of the empire based on the principles of aristocratic federalism. Their report

648-504: A desire to be part of an Italian confederacy of states; but for the Venetian government this lasted only five days, after the 1848 armistice between Austria and Piedmont . A new Hungarian government in Pest announced its intentions to break away from the Empire and elect Ferdinand its King, and a Polish National Committee announced the same for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria . The victory of

720-682: A hopeless situation Görgey, signed a surrender at Világos (now Şiria, Romania ) to the Russians, who handed the army over to the Austrians. Slovak Uprising was an uprising of Slovaks against Magyar (i.e. ethnic Hungarian) domination in the Western parts of Upper Hungary (present-day Western Slovakia ), within the 1848/49 revolution in the Habsburg Monarchy. It lasted from September 1848 to November 1849. During this period Slovak patriots established

792-469: A nationalist Hungarian leader, Schwarzenberg faced uprisings by Hungarians. Playing on the long-standing Russian tradition of conservativism, he convinced Tsar Nicholas I to send Russian forces in. The Russian army quickly destroyed the rebellion, forcing the Hungarians back under Austrian control. In less than three years, Schwarzenberg had returned stability and control to Austria. However, Schwarzenberg had

SECTION 10

#1732848191023

864-663: A nationalist war on March 23 in the Austrian held northern Italian provinces that would consume the attention of the entire peninsula. The German nationalist movement faced the question of whether or not Austria should be included in the united German state, a quandary that divided the Frankfurt National Assembly . The liberal ministers in Vienna were willing to allow elections for the German National Assembly in some of

936-575: A period of diplomatic isolation following the defeat of Russia , a key Austrian ally, in the Crimean War . The second war of Italian Independence had ended in 1859 with an Austrian defeat at the hands of Napoleon III , and Franz Josef was forced to cede Lombardy to the French. These losses worsened the already weak state of the Austrian economy and exposed the weaknesses of the empire's bureaucracy. Both liberals and conservatives were anxious for reform after

1008-583: A program of aristocratic federalism. This policy was a failure almost from the start, and Franz Joseph was forced to make further concessions in the February Patent of 1861. Even so, historians have argued that the October Diploma began the "constitutional" period of the empire. In 1860, Franz Josef and the Austrian Habsburg Empire were "threatened with a crisis of existence." 1856 had begun

1080-514: A stroke in 1852, and his successors failed to uphold the control Schwarzenberg had so successfully maintained. October Diploma The October Diploma was a constitution of the Austrian Empire adopted by Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph on 20 October 1860. The Diploma was written by the Minister of Interior, Agenor Gołuchowski . It attempted to increase the power of the conservative nobles by giving them more power over their own lands through

1152-518: A substantial number of the most powerful bureaucrats and, while they often opposed the emperor, they were supporters of a strong centralized state instead of a weak, federalized one. Through their influence, the emperor was pressured into appointing the liberal Anton von Schmerling as Secretary of State in December. Von Schmerling took to rewriting the October Diploma, and in February 1861, the emperor adopted

1224-502: A united federal Germany composed of only 'German' lands. This would have led to the relationship between Austria and Hungary (as a 'non-German' area) being reduced to a personal union under the Habsburgs, rather than a united state, an unacceptable arrangement for both the Habsburgs and Austro-German liberals in Austria. In the end, Friedrich Wilhelm refused to accept the constitution written by

1296-433: Is at the same time. The Austrian Constituent Assembly was divided into a Czech faction, a German faction, and a Polish faction, and within each faction was the political left-right spectrum. Outside the Assembly, petitions, newspapers, mass demonstrations, and political clubs put pressure on their new governments and often expressed violently many of the debates that were occurring within the assembly itself. The Czechs held

1368-553: The Diet (parliament) of Lower Austria at Niederösterreichisches Landeshaus (Estates House of Lower Austria) in March demanded the resignation of Prince Metternich , the conservative State Chancellor and Foreign Minister. With no forces rallying to Metternich's defense, nor word from Ferdinand I of Austria to the contrary, he resigned on 13 March. Metternich fled to London, and Ferdinand appointed new, nominally liberal, ministers. By November,

1440-509: The Habsburg lands, but it was undetermined which Habsburg territories would participate. Hungary and Galicia were clearly not German; German nationalists (who dominated the Bohemian Diet ) felt the old crown lands rightfully belonged to a united German state, despite the fact that the majority of the people of Bohemia and Moravia spoke Czech — a Slavic language . Czech nationalists viewed

1512-458: The October Crisis in Vienna, when insurgents attacked a garrison on its way to Hungary to support Croatian forces under Jelačić. After Vienna was recaptured by imperial forces, General Windischgrätz and 70,000 troops were sent to Hungary to crush the Hungarian revolution and as they advanced the Hungarian government evacuated Pest. However the Austrian army had to retreat after heavy defeats in

SECTION 20

#1732848191023

1584-687: The Slovak National Council as their political representation and military units known as the Slovak Volunteer Corps. The political, social and national requirements of the Slovak movement were declared in the document entitled "Demands of the Slovak Nation" from April 1848. The Serb Revolution of 1848 was an uprising of Serbs living in Délvidék against Magyar domination. The majority of

1656-701: The Vienna Uprising , it relocated to Kremsier and was finally dissolved on 7 March 1849. Its most important work was the abolition of the feudal system . The Kremsier Parliament had been elected in June , and convened in July in reaction to the Pillersdorf Constitution of 25 April 1848. The Kremsier Parliament formerly convened in Vienna but later resided in Kremsier, Moravia , to avoid martial law in Vienna following

1728-417: The universal franchise . More to the left was a radicalized, impoverished intelligentsia . Educational opportunities in 1840s Austria had far outstripped employment opportunities for the educated. The industrial revolution , which spread to Austria in the 1840s, has been cited as a key factor leading up to the 1848 revolution, and argued to be a far greater contributor than intellectual developments in

1800-701: The 19th century. The industrial revolution had hurt small businesses and brought poor working conditions, which made ordinary citizens - namely the middle and lower classes - more receptive to revolutionary thought. In 1845, potato blight arrived in Belgium from North America, thus starting the Hungry Forties . As the disease quickly spread throughout Europe, the major calorie source for the poorer population failed and food prices soared. In 1846 there had been an uprising of Polish nobility in Austrian Galicia , which

1872-498: The Assembly decided to move to Kremsier to write the new constitution. The overarching theme of the Assembly's deliberations was the vast array of conflicting nationalities living under the Habsburg monarchy . In the first week of March 1849, the Kremsier Constitution was completed. It featured many liberal and progressive reforms including forming a constitutional monarchy, creating a parliament that would share power with

1944-703: The Assembly failed to take into account the larger picture, meaning there was no acknowledgement of the Frankfurt Parliament 's attempts to create a unified Germany (including the German states within Austria) and there was no realization that the Prime Minister, Schwarzenberg, was drawn to the Frankfurt Parliament. Following the dissolution of the Assembly, Schwarzenberg had his own constitution drawn up. The new constitution saved only one significant piece of

2016-509: The Assembly. Schwarzenberg dissolved the Hungarian Parliament in 1849, imposing his own constitution that conceded nothing to the liberal movement. Appointing Alexander Bach head of internal affairs, he oversaw the creation of the Bach system, which rooted out political dissent and contained liberals within Austria and quickly returned the status quo. After the deportation of Lajos Kossuth ,

2088-436: The Austrian Empire saw several short-lived liberal governments under five successive minister-presidents of Austria : Count Kolowrat (17 March–4 April), Count Ficquelmont (4 April–3 May), Baron Pillersdorf (3 May–8 July), Baron Doblhoff-Dier (8 July–18 July) and Baron Wessenberg (19 July–20 November). The established order collapsed rapidly because of the weakness of the Austrian armies. Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky

2160-520: The Austrian Empire. Lombardy-Venetia was quickly brought back under Austrian rule in the mainland, even because popular support for the revolution vanished: revolutionary ideals were often limited to part of middle and upper classes, which failed both to gain "hearts and minds" of lower classes and to convince the population about Italian nationalism . Most part of lower classes indeed were quite indifferent, and actually most part of Lombard and Venetian troops remained loyal. The only widespread support to

2232-553: The Emperor and the Reichsrat . In a concession to the liberals, the membership of the Reichsrat was increased by over a hundred new members. However, the Diploma called for the Reichsrat to meet very infrequently, and its jurisdiction covered only part of the empire. The provincial diets were packed with the landed aristocracy , thus giving them more direct power over their own lands. Hungary

Imperial Diet (Austria) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-468: The Emperor was equipped with an advisory council of his choosing. 4) German was the official language of the Empire for politics, education, and administration and the Empire was united under one crown, one constitution, and one parliament. As one can see, the progressive movement of the Kremsier Parliament created a devastating backlash against the growing national identities of the Empire. The Empire

2376-510: The Emperor, abolishing the privileged status and all titles of the Catholic Church within the Empire, deriving the Emperor's power from the people rather than the "Grace of God", and finally, making all languages and nationalities equal in the eyes of the Monarchy. The Kremsier Constitution was short-lived, however, with Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg dissolving the Assembly and nullifying

2448-470: The Hungarian government ministers attempted to gain Habsburg support against Jelačić by offering to send troops to northern Italy. Additionally, they attempted to come to terms with Jelačić himself, but he insisted on the recentralization of Habsburg authority as a pre-condition to any talks. By the end of August, the imperial government in Vienna officially ordered the Hungarian government in Pest to end plans for

2520-606: The Hungarian nobility. These demands were not easy for the imperial court to accept, however, its weak position provided little choice. One of the first tasks of the Diet was abolishing serfdom, which was announced on March 18, 1848. The Hungarian government set limits on the political activity of both the Croatian and Romanian national movements. Croats and Romanians had their own desires for self-rule and saw no benefit in replacing one central government for another. Armed clashes between

2592-529: The Hungarians and the Croats , Romanians , Serbs , along one border and Slovaks on the other ensued. In some cases, this was a continuation and an escalation of previous tensions, such as the 1845 July victims in Croatia. The Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Slavonia severed relations with the new Hungarian government in Pest and devoted itself to the imperial cause. Conservative Josip Jelačić , who

2664-591: The Kremsier Constitution: vernaculars were permissible at the local levels for all non-political discussion. Besides this stripped version of an article in the Kremsier Constitution, four major points were drawn up in the new constitution: 1) the Emperor was given absolute authority in dealing with the military and foreign policy. 2) Parliament would meet once a year but the Emperor had the power to dismiss them and veto all legislation Parliament passed. 3)

2736-462: The Piedmontese return to war. Renewed military conflicts cost the Empire the little that remained of its finances. Another challenge to Habsburg authority came from Germany and the question of either "big Germany" (united Germany led by Austria) or "little Germany" (united Germany led by Prussia). The Frankfurt National Assembly proposed a constitution with Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia as monarch of

2808-544: The Serbs there sided with the Austrians. However, there were also some exceptions, e.g. General János Damjanich of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army . Revolutionary movements of 1849 faced an additional challenge: to work together to defeat a common enemy. Previously, national identity allowed Habsburg forces to conquer revolutionary governments by playing them off one another. New democratic initiatives in Italy in

2880-566: The Spring Campaign of the Hungarian Army from March to May 1849. Instead of pursuing the Austrian army, the Hungarians stopped to retake the Fort of Buda and prepared defenses. In June 1849 Russian and Austrian troops entered Hungary heavily outnumbering the Hungarian army. Kossuth abdicated on August 11, 1849, in favour of Artúr Görgey , who he thought was the only general who was capable of saving

2952-703: The Vienna Uprising. Following the popular trend in Europe during the Revolutions of 1848 , in October 1848 workers rioted in Vienna for a constitutional monarchy and blockaded the troop transports headed for Hungary. The workers hoped that siding with the Hungarian rebellion would bring military strength to the Viennese workers revolt. However, the revolt was violently crushed by General Windisch-Grätz . With Vienna under martial law,

Imperial Diet (Austria) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-458: The already conservative Austrian Empire moved further away from ideas of the Age of Enlightenment , restricted freedom of the press, limited many university activities, and banned fraternities. Conflicts between debtors and creditors in agricultural production as well as over land use rights in parts of Hungary led to conflicts that occasionally erupted into violence. Conflict over organized religion

3096-413: The arrival of Hungarian troops as the only force able to stand up against the court and ministry. The radicals took control of the city for only a short period of time. Windisch-Grätz led soldiers from Prussia to quickly defeat the insurgents. Windisch-Grätz restored imperial authority to the city. The reconquering of Vienna was seen as a defeat over German nationalism. At this point, Ferdinand I named

3168-688: The barricades went up, he led Habsburg troops to crush the insurgents. After having taken back the city, he imposed martial law, ordered the Prague National Committee dissolved, and sent delegates to the "Pan-Slavic" Congress home. These events were applauded by German nationalists, who failed to understand that the Habsburg military would crush their own national movement as well. Attention then turned to Hungary. War in Hungary again threatened imperial rule and prompted Emperor Ferdinand and his court to once more flee Vienna. Viennese radicals welcomed

3240-524: The constitution within days of completing the document (sometime between 4 March 1849 and 6 March 1849 depending on source used). Edward Crankshaw raises three major critiques of the Kremsier Assembly in his book, The Fall of the House of Habsburg . First, the constitution claimed that all political power was derived from the people yet it called for a central authority. Could anyone have honestly thought

3312-459: The empire nearly bankrupt and in continual need of soldiers. Draft commissions led to brawls between soldiers and civilians. All of this further agitated the peasantry, who resented their remaining feudal obligations. Despite lack of freedom of the press and association, there was a flourishing liberal German culture among students and those educated in German universities. They published pamphlets and newspapers discussing education and language;

3384-443: The final break between Vienna and Pest occurred when Field Marshal Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg was given control of all armies in Hungary (including Jelačić's). In response to Lamberg being attacked on arrival in Hungary a few days later, the imperial court ordered the Hungarian parliament and government dissolved. Jelačić was appointed to take Lamberg's place. War between Austria and Hungary had officially begun. The war led to

3456-636: The language as far more significant, calling for a boycott of the Frankfurt Parliament elections in Bohemia, Moravia, and neighboring Austrian Silesia (also partly Czech-speaking). Tensions in Prague between German and Czech nationalists grew quickly between April and May. After the abolition of serfdom on April 17, Supreme Ruthenian Council was established in Galicia to promote the unification of ethnic Ukrainian lands of Eastern Galicia, Transcarpathia and Bukovina in one province. Ukrainian language department

3528-470: The leader of the lower gentry in the Diet. In 1848, news of the outbreak of revolution in Paris arrived as a new national cabinet took power under Kossuth, and the Diet approved a sweeping reform package, referred to as the " April laws " (also "March laws"), that changed almost every aspect of Hungary's economic, social, and political life: (The April laws based on the 12 points: In April 1848, Hungary became

3600-453: The most bitter. Despite this, the Hungarian government hired a new commander and attempted to unite with Romanian democrat Avram Iancu , who was known as Crăişorul Munţilor ("The Prince of the Mountains"). However, division and mistrust were too severe. Three days after the start of hostilities in Italy, Charles Albert of Sardinia abdicated the throne of Piedmont-Savoy, essentially ending

3672-599: The nation. However, in May 1849, Czar Nicholas I pledged to redouble his efforts against the Hungarian Government. He and Emperor Franz Joseph started to regather and rearm an army to be commanded by Anton Vogl, the Austrian lieutenant-field-marshal. The Czar was also preparing to send 30,000 Russian soldiers back over the Eastern Carpathian Mountains from Poland. On August 13, after several bitter defeats in

SECTION 50

#1732848191023

3744-464: The need for basic liberal reforms was assumed. These middle class liberals largely understood and accepted that forced labor is not efficient, and that the Empire should adopt a wage labor system. The question was how to institute such reforms. Notable liberal clubs of the time in Vienna included the Legal-Political Reading Club (established 1842) and Concordia Society (1840). They, like the Lower Austrian Manufacturers' Association (1840) were part of

3816-408: The noble Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg head of government. Schwarzenberg, a consummate statesman, persuaded the feeble-minded Ferdinand to abdicate the throne to his 18-year-old nephew, Franz Joseph . Parliamentarians continued to debate, but had no authority on state policy. Both the Czech and Italian revolutions were defeated by the Habsburgs. Prague was the first victory of counter-revolution in

3888-413: The ones who supported the broadest franchise, lost under the system they advocated because they were not the locally influential and affluent men. The mixed results led to confrontations similar to the "June Days" uprising in Paris. Additionally, these constituent assemblies were charged with the impossible task of managing both the needs of the people of the state and determining what that state physically

3960-605: The party of movement was looked at as an opportunity for lower classes to renew old conflicts with greater anger and energy. Several tax boycotts and attempted murders of tax collectors occurred in Vienna . Assaults against soldiers were common, including against Radetzky's troops retreating from Milan . The archbishop of Vienna was forced to flee, and in Graz, the convent of the Jesuits was destroyed. The demands of nationalism and its contradictions became apparent as new national governments began declaring power and unity. Charles Albert of Sardinia , King of Piedmont-Savoy, initiated

4032-414: The revolution was in the cities of Milan and Venice , with the Republic of San Marco lasting under siege until 28th of August, 1849 . The Hungarian Diet was reconvened in 1825 to handle financial needs. A liberal party emerged in the Diet. The party focused on providing for the peasantry in mostly symbolic ways because of their inability to understand the needs of the laborers. Lajos Kossuth emerged as

4104-431: The revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Empire, ruled from Vienna , included ethnic Germans , Hungarians , Poles , Bohemians ( Czechs ), Ruthenians ( Ukrainians ), Slovenes , Slovaks , Romanians , Croats , Italians , and Serbs ; all of whom attempted in the course of the revolution to either achieve autonomy , independence , or even hegemony over other nationalities. The nationalist picture

4176-418: The spring of 1848 led to a renewed conflict with Austrian forces in the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia. At the very first anniversary of the first barricades in Vienna, German and Czech democrats in Bohemia agreed to put mutual hostilities aside and work together on revolutionary planning. Hungarians faced the greatest challenge of overcoming the divisions of the previous year, as the fighting there had been

4248-409: The third country of Continental Europe (after France , in 1791, and Belgium , in 1831) to enact a law implementing democratic parliamentary elections. The new suffrage law (Act V of 1848) transformed the old feudal parliament ( Estates General ) into a democratic representative parliament. This law offered the widest right to vote in Europe at the time. The April laws utterly erased all privileges of

4320-444: The town by Hungarian forces began under Baron Fülöp Berchtold. The army was forced to retreat due to a strong Serbian defense. With war raging on three fronts (against Romanians and Serbs in Banat and Bačka, and Romanians in Transylvania ), Hungarian radicals in Pest saw this as an opportunity. Parliament made concessions to the radicals in September rather than let the events erupt into violent confrontations. Shortly thereafter,

4392-413: The upcoming negotiations. He demanded that a constitution be written within a week and settled the general principles of the document during a train stop en route to the conference. Historian A.J.P. Taylor called the Diploma a victory for the Old Conservative nobility. The Habsburg government was reorganized on a federal basis, and the provincial diets were given the power to cooperatively pass laws with

SECTION 60

#1732848191023

4464-418: The weaknesses of the current administration. Prussia and the German Confederation began to sense a weakness in the monarchy that could be exploited, while Hungarians were furious with the few reforms they had been given. Additionally, the Tsar disapproved of granting a Federal Constitution to Galicia . In the end, it was the German liberals who were eventually able to effect change. These liberals made up

4536-404: Was appointed the new ban of Croatia-Slavonia in March by the imperial court, was removed from his position by the constitutional monarchist Hungarian government. He refused to give up his authority in the name of the monarch. Thus, there were two governments in Hungary issuing contradictory orders in the name of Ferdinand von Habsburg. Aware that they were on the path to civil war in mid-1848,

4608-402: Was further complicated by the simultaneous events in the German states , which moved toward greater German national unity. Besides these nationalists , liberal , and even socialist currents resisted the Empire's longstanding conservatism . The events of 1848 were the product of mounting social and political tensions after the Congress of Vienna of 1815. During the "pre-March" period,

4680-429: Was given special status in the Reichsrat through a provision that called for non-Hungarian delegates to meet separately from the whole body to discuss non-Hungarian matters. This, however, fell far short of the Hungarian leaders' desire for greater autonomy and recognition. Almost immediately after the Diploma was passed, it became clear that it would not last long. The empire's finances continued to fail, further showing

4752-424: Was ignored by Franz Josef, but by the end of the year, he would adopt the principles of aristocratic federalism in his own document. It was the realities of foreign policy that led the emperor to adopt the conservatives’ ideas. He hoped to establish a Holy Alliance with Czar Alexander II of Russia and King William I of Prussia and believed that a strongly conservative domestic policy would be an advantage in

4824-450: Was made to elect a general representative body for the people, mainly from Prime Minister Anton von Schmerling . This, too, failed due to opposition from the Hungarian and Italian, and subsequently, Czech lands of the empire. A rump parliament did serve in a temporary wooden building in the Schmerling Theater in Vienna. This Parliament was named the Reichsrat ("Imperial Council"), because Emperor Francis Joseph I wanted it to serve in only

4896-434: Was now tightly controlled in a neo-absolutist regime with a hostile attitude towards nationalist tendencies. The concept of a Reichstag as representative body of the Austrian people turned up again in the October Diploma of 1860, but this would have required ratification by the various state legislatures of the Austrian Empire, which was not forthcoming. After the adoption of the February Patent in 1861, another attempt

4968-461: Was only countered when peasants, in turn, rose up against the nobles. The economic crisis of 1845–47 was marked by recession and food shortages throughout the continent. At the end of February 1848, demonstrations broke out in Paris . Louis Philippe of France abdicated the throne, prompting similar revolts throughout the continent. After news broke of the February victories in Paris, uprisings occurred throughout Europe, including in Vienna , where

5040-725: Was opened in Lviv University , and the first Ukrainian newspaper Zoria Halytska started publishing in Lviv on May 15, 1848. On July 1, serfdom was also abolished in Bukovina. By early summer, conservative regimes had been overthrown, new freedoms (including freedom of the press and freedom of association) had been introduced, and multiple nationalist claims had been exerted. New parliaments quickly held elections with broad franchise to create constituent assemblies, which would write new constitutions. The elections that were held produced unexpected results. The new voters, naïve and confused by their new political power, typically elected conservative or moderately liberal representatives. The radicals,

5112-455: Was pervasive in pre-1848 Europe. Tension came both from within Catholicism and between members of different confessions. These conflicts were often mixed with conflict with the state. Important for the revolutionaries were state conflicts including the armed forces and collection of taxes. As 1848 approached, the revolutions the Empire crushed to maintain longstanding conservative minister Klemens Wenzel von Metternich 's Concert of Europe left

5184-655: Was unable to keep his soldiers fighting Venetian and Milanese insurgents in Lombardy-Venetia , and instead had to order the remaining troops to evacuate. Social and political conflict as well as inter and intra confessional hostility momentarily subsided as much of the continent rejoiced in the liberal victories. Mass political organizations and public participation in government became widespread. However, liberal ministers were unable to establish central authority. Provisional governments in Venice and Milan quickly expressed

#22977