Chapter 20: From Restoration to Revolution, 1815-1848
Chapter Summary
The first half of the 19th century in Europe can be characterized by a number of themes: revolution, conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism. Each of these themes had its origin in the last quarter of the 18th century and the specific event which gave meaning to these themes was clearly the French Revolution. The Revolution had made itself felt across Europe for variety of reasons. Although the great wave of revolutionary ideas flooded the European consciousness with notions of fraternity, equality, and liberty, it was Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars which forced European monarchs to make important decisions about revolution and reform. Certainly, no European monarch would cast their support for the revolutionaries, but reform was clearly a different story. How would European governments deal with reform? How did the era of the dual revolution modify and transform European governments into European politics?
The Congress of Vienna, held at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, sought to block the reoccurrence of revolution. European monarchs could ill afford to become another France, especially in the changed economic circumstances of the early 19th century. The idea was to maintain a European "balance of power" that would hold France in check. Of course, the problems resolved at Vienna would emerge again at the end of the century when the combination of a unified Germany, European imperialist aspirations, a second industrial revolution and the "duties" of the great powers would lead to a new conflict, global in scope.
In terms of European culture, the movement known as Romanticism served as a corrective to Enlightenment over-reliance on human reason. The Romantics -- a mixed bag of poets, novelists, composers, artists, historians, and philosophers -- elevated the emotions, spontaneity, and creativity of the individual. Questions of sentiment and sensibility became the new focus and poetry seemed to be the most important form of discourse. As Percy Bysshe Shelley once remarked, "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." Whereas the 18th century saw human nature as static and in accordance with reason, the Romantics saw diversity and uniqueness.
The French Revolution not only created a conservative reaction, it also created liberalism as a new political creed. Conservatives were concerned to demonstrate that there was no such thing as natural rights, because they were unhistorical. The only rights were those granted by the state. Liberals, on the other hand, argued that man did indeed have natural rights and foremost among them was the natural right of personal liberty. In essence, one of the things the French Revolution gave to Europe was a new political vocabulary, and since all revolutions force people to make choices, one had to decide whether to be a liberal or a conservative. These were personal decisions with social ramifications.
Lastly, the first half of the 19th century is also the period in which the European middle and working classes perhaps found their voice in the political affairs of their nation. The middle classes were slowly brought into the orbit of "popular" government by issuing various programs for social, political and economic reform. But for the working classes, various efforts to democratize their social and economic aspirations led to outright failure and near retreat. Meanwhile, the power and authority of the European aristocracy waned in the face of new wealth created at the hands of the "captains of industry."
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