1848 - Year of the Revolutions in the Austrian Empire

By 1848, the Austrian Empire had become a very large empire which comprised of several ethnic groups, each having its own language. The three ethnic groups with the highest number of people were the Germans, Austrians; the Magyars and Slavs: and the Czechs who dominated Bohemia.

The Austrians had Chancellor Metternich who worked for several years to hold the Austrian Empire together. In this he had to struggle with several races that aspired for nationalism. Most of them wanted to gain independence. The first outbreak occurred in March 1848, in Hungary, where the people were inspired by Layos Kossuth who was instrumental in the creation of an independence movement.

Kossuth had been an editor of a newspaper through which he showed his extreme democratic view. Later he was imprisoned for this reason, but was released three years later in 1840. He delivered speeches which always attracted the crowds. His oratory skills were complimented with a deep voice and spoke with passion. He wanted to bring equality between Hungary and Austria within a Hapsburg Empire. His intelligence helped him to lead his followers wisely. He struck only when he knoew that it was the right time. The opportunity he was waiting for came on 3 March 1848, when he delivered a great speech which evoked enthusiasm.

As a result of this, the Emperor granted Hungary a constitution. On 15 March the Hungarians together with Kossuth led the Hungarian Diet at Budapest. It led to a series of sweeping reforms which became known as the March Law. These reforms included the abolititon of serdom, and while Hungary would still remain subject to the Hapsburg Empire, it was to be politically eqaul with Austria.

Events were developing rapidly because in Vienna a riot broke out on 13 March. The rioters wanted Metternich to resign and surged into the Diet to carry out their demands by force. Metternich recognized the signs and realized that he could not challenge the rioters. He fled Vienna under guise and travelled to England. The Metternich system collapsed soon after. The Emperor Ferdinand I saved himself by promising to grant Austria a constitution. There was huge dissatisfaction among the people because of its limited franchise, and as a result there was a revolutionary outbreak in May .

There were similar revolutions in Bohemia as well. On the same day as the March Laws were passed, the people in Prague (the capital of Bohemia), rose and forced the government to grant them concessions similar to those granted to the Hungarians. In March 1848 the Italians of Lombardy and Venetia also revolted against Austria.

While a Pan-Slav Congress in Hune of 1848 was being held in Prague there was fighting between the Czechs and Germans, so the Austrians took great advantage of this great disorder. General Windischgratz established control of Prague and its government, and abolished Bohemia’s new privileges. Hungary experienced the same thing. A number of Hungarian minorities, including the Croats demanded political rights from the Hungarian Government, but

these were refused. Due to this refusal, there was a rising of armed Croats, led by Jellachich. They were subsequently defeated and they had to retire.

Due to the dissatisfaction with the constitution, there was a rising in Vienna in October and this led Emperor Ferdinand I to confront his second fight. In Vienna there were rebels and the Hungarians helped them in their struggle, but unfortunately they were defeated. Thus the Hapsburgs recovered Vienna’s control and at the same time prepared for the Hungarians’ suppression.

Emperor Ferdinan I abdicated this throne in December 1848, infavour of his son Francis Joseph who was only eighteen at the time. He continued to reign until his death in 1916. Francis Joseph immediately cancelled the Hungarian Constitution and announced his Empire to be one and united Empire. The Magyars rose in revolt in January 1849. However Windischgratz stood up and seized control of Budapest and expelled the Magyars. The Austrians were cleared from Hungary and later set up with Kossuth as the President of a Hungarian Republic.

There was disruption in the Austrian Empire. But it was not only Austria that feared this revolutionary development, as Czar Nicholas I of Russia also feared the overflow of revolution into his own territories. Poland was a case in point, so the Russian Czar willingly accepted Francis Joseph’s call for support. Enormous numbers of Russian troops were marched into Hungary inaugust 1849, while an Austrian army entered Hungary from the west. The Magyars were devasted by this enormous force, and Kossuth together with other leaders were forced to escape to Turkey. There was a terrible suppression with soldiers and civilians alike being hanged. Hungary lost her Constitution.

The establishemnt of the Austrian Empire and its political part was carried out after 1848, for it had shown that it could survive the revolutionary storm. Many of the liberals were imprisoned, exiled or executed and the liberal constitution was abolished.

Charlene Montebello