The Counter Revolution of 1848

The Revolutions of 1848 have been described as the “greatest revolution of the century”1. From its mild beginnings in Palermo, Sicily in January 1848, it did not take long to spread across the rest of Europe (Britain and Russia were the only countries not to experience such revolutions). “In 1848 more states on the European continent were overcome by revolution than ever before and ever since”2. The Revolutions became more radical but after June 1848 these revolutionary events began to overlap with those of counterrevolutionary actions, thus enabling the old regimes to return to power. 1848 was described as “a sunny spring of the peoples abruptly interrupted by the winter of the princes”3.

The high costs of maintaining the army and navy exacerbated the situation, along with the lavish lifestyle of King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie-Antoinette. Louis appointed Charles de Calonne as comptroller-general to solve France’s financial crisis. Calonne knew that the only way to get France out of debt was to fairly distribute the tax burden among the three estates. Of course, this did sit well with the nobility and Calonne was dismissed after giving his presentation at the Assembly of Notables. In a desperate act, Louis called the Estates General. The Estates General was an ancient practice that had not been called since 1614. Events there would prove to be the beginning of the revolution proper. France suffered under years of inept and self-serving monarchs. Louis XVI was preceded by his grandfather, Louis XV. It was his loss of public opinion and war spending that put his grandson in such a precarious position in the years after his reign. The rule of Louis XVI would prove to be a doomed one. He was ousted after a comparatively short 17 years. The outdated political system gave way to a constitutional monarchy, and when that failed, the French Republic. This Republic however would not prove to last. Feudalism was the whole of existence for rural commoners in the time before the revolution. Farmers had no right to the land they worked and lived on. Serfs were beholden to their manor lord

The Revolutions of 1848 During the year of 1848, a revolutionary tide broke out in Europe.

Louis XIV turned France around from an unorganized feuding country to one of the most organized, powerful, innovative monarchies in Europe. In addition, he managed to advance civil equality among the people by turning all the people into his loyal subjects (Norton, p.175). How did he do all this? The armed forces that had formerly been a private enterprise who had been fighting against each other or had hired themselves out for payment, was taken over and consolidated into one entity fighting, by the king for the king. He made war an activity of the state which produced peace and order in France while strengthening the fighting power of France against other states (Norton, p.175). In addition, he put soldiers in uniform, taught them how to march in step and housed them in barracks which assisted them in becoming more susceptible to discipline and control (Norton, p.175). There was now a hierarchy in place and was able to get a greater degree of government control that put him on the top as the commander in chief of the army due to his power and the creation of the first large civilian administration (Norton, p.176). This was the first time that ministers of war consisted of civilians and this grew the armies power exponentially. Louis XIV also overhauled the grandeur of France when he took an old village Versailles and turned it into the palace of Versailles that became known as one of the most splendid marvels in Europe so much so, that it became the envy of lessor kings.

Europe underwent a wave of revolutions during the 19th century. This series of political upheavals was known as the Revolutions of 1848. The Revolutions of 1848 were a series of republican revolts against European monarchies. The revolutions began in Italy, in January 1848, and eventually spread to the rest of Europe. The Revolutions of 1848 were significant because they were the most widespread and violent political movements of Europe in the 19th century. Ultimately, the ideas of conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism impacted the Revolutions of 1848.

     One of the most important factors to consider during this time period is the reign of Louis XIV. His idea of the monarchy was one of the reasons why the French government had failed and created turmoil for the citizens of France. Louis XIV enjoyed the royal life very much and very fervently. He spent more of his reign enjoying himself and his life rather than ruling the country.

In 1848, a great land revolution called the Great Mahele came to Hawaii. Foreigners thought that if commoners owned their own land that the commoners would give up their lazy ways. Foreigners saw land division to bring tough works 151 years ago (Borreca). Foreigners wanted land to make sugar since they wanted to make money so, King Kamehameha III wanted to divide the land equally to everyone. The Mahele of 1848 was unjustified since Hawaiians had no money, children were eating raw food, and their land was sold to foreigners before they could even buy it.

The date is December 20, 1851. Recent commotion has caused the uprising for women’s rights. As most of you are aware, the rights of women are very limited in the colonies. The colonies think that that the ideal woman is submissive; her job is to be a meek, obedient, loving wife who is totally subservient to the men around her. However, I am in full support of the movement that things must change. Women are created by the same God that men were, thus there rights shall be the same. We are a new nation, the tyranny of King George shall no longer set the standards by how we run our economy. Broad social and economic changes including the opening of the market and a decline in birthrate have opened job positions for women to work. The first amendment

Louis XIV 's France was an absolute monarchy, meaning the king had the power, control, finances and the nation in his hands more then ever before. In the 17th century, France was the strongest and wealthiest nation in Europe, and the head of the state, the king, was the most influential person of the time. In the ideas of the scientific revolution and the soon-coming changes of the enlightenment the country was developing. For a few decades France was not involved in any major wars or battles and the peace helped the population grow fast.

The Revolution of 1848 affected much of Europe. Almost all of the countries in Europe with the exception of England and Russia were involved in

After being ruled by a prime minister for so long, France needed some changes. That is exactly what Louis the XIV would bring to France. In an age of separation, Louis wanted to start a unification process. He started this by giving himself sole power and also only having one religion for the country. The king is always the center of attention good or bad. Louis was prepared to take the good with the bad, and handled it well. He emphasized the king as the center of attention. While some see him as egotistical and greedy, Louis was one king who knew how to make improvements.

During the eighteenth century there was one central political cause for the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was a weak ruler who endured a lavish lifestyle. He disregarded the people’s needs, leaving much of the French population in discontent. Prior to the revolution the form of government was Absolute monarchy led by Louis XVI. The problem with absolute monarchy was that people were denied basic rights, and a say in government because the divine right theory was abused. The King ruled by the divine right of theory which

After the Revolution in France, the old absolutist monarchy was replaced by the Constitution of 1791, and King Louis XVI was forced to share power with an elected legislative body in the new constitutional monarchy. In a rather

Duke Louis-Philippe of Orleans took the throne with the indelible support of the French bourgeoisie. Because of this association, the new monarch established the order of several actions and absolute laws of nature, but was keen to preserve the exclusionary policy barrier of census vote. While not allowing the fulfillment of Republican demands, the new government played a significant role in putting an end to the restorative intentions of the Congress of Vienna. In 1830, with the coming to power of

This is a prime example of how the lack of a stable government had an immensely tragic effect on the people of the country. If the monarchy had tried to make some reform or if Louis XVI had more backbone to institute some tax reform to lessen the burden on the third