Revolutions of 1848
HIS 4402
Many historians tend to link the main cause of the European Revolutions of 1848 to the surge of liberal and nationalistic ideologies that seemed to enlighten the newly developed middle and working classes of the European Industrial Revolution. However, many historians forget the pre-revolutionary economic crisis’s that began to build in Europe as early as 1830 that eventually caused Europe to erupt in 1848 . Although the rise of liberal and nationalistic ideals contributed to the European Revolutions of 1848, economic factors played a major role in reshaping Europe politically and economically.
The economic landscape of Europe prior to 1848 resembles a society that has shifted toward an industrial society yet still heavily influenced by price and harvest fluctuations in the agricultural sectors . The European industrial revolution had created a middle class of people made up of entrepreneurs, storekeepers, academic professionals, industry owners and managers as well as a new working class . This explains why a large majority of the revolutions in 1848 took place in European cities.
The middle class and the factory workers aligned themselves together to confront the disenfranchisement of their social classes and stand up against the conservative model of government that lacked the ability to confront the economic and social issues generated during the European Industrial Revolution. Although the middle class and working classes were able to unite to form an alliance to shift the political structures within their country, the middle class could not identify themselves with the workers and their goals in order to form a new government. On the other hand, the European countryside felt little effects from the revolutions. Most peasants that were fortunate enough to own land tended to lend their allegiance toward the conservative political influences of the old regime. Although elements of an economic...