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The History of Hungarian Passive Resistance 1849-67. By Rory Kinane. Contents. Introduction Context Timeline Methods of Passive Resistance Ferenc Deak Historiography Conclusions. Introduction. Hungary between 1849-67 went through a period of passively resisting their Austrian rulers - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The History of Hungarian Passive
Resistance 1849-67By Rory Kinane
Contents1. Introduction2. Context3. Timeline4. Methods of Passive Resistance5. Ferenc Deak 6. Historiography 7. Conclusions
Introduction Hungary between 1849-67 went through a period of passively
resisting their Austrian rulers Passive resistance led and inspired (to a debatable degree) by
Ferenc Deak This is seen by many as the forerunner to much of what Gandhi
would later do in India Perhaps the first example of passive resistance and also it was
successful Richard B. Gregg - the first major populariser of nonviolence
describes Hungary as the earliest example Gene Sharp - in The Politics of Nonviolent Action talks of how
Ference Deak was well ahead of his time
Context Hungary is a large part of Austrian empire, Sugar describes it as practically
half of the empire
Revolutions of 1848 impact the Austrian empire and Hungary in particular
The events of 1848 meant Hungary gained a Constitution
Emperor Ferdinand seen as weak in allowing Hungarians to gain constitution and give other concessions
Forced to abdicate bye nephew and subsequent Emperor Francis Joseph
New Emperor quickly repeals constitution
Violence erupts
Attempts by Kossuth and others at declaring Independence
Austrian Oppression 1848 Notoriously brutal General Haynauwas
given a free hand by the regime In the city of Arad, thirteen Hungarian
military revolutionaries executed Lajos Batthyány - the first Hungarian
head of state executed Military courts sentenced some 500 to
death, executed 114, and jailed 1,763. Around 50,000 ex-infantrymen were shanghaied into special "retribution" units
A new gendarme force was formed and a pervasive network of informants created
Timeline 1849-671849-59 resistance is largely directionless Deak sets tone in 1850 by repeatedly refusing to join
in governing with the Austrians1859 Emperor visits and Hungarians refuse to
celebrate and burn down an arch the Emperor was meant to pass through
1859 Emperor attempts to appease Hungarians by asking for representatives to go to Reichstag – only 3 out of 6 go
Emperor again concedes to Hungarian demands and allows a Diet in 1861
Timeline – The 1861 Diet The actions of the Diet
re-establish County Councils and also attack Austrian control: -
New Diet soon closed at gunpoint by Austrian soldiers
Decrees of 1861 Sack all Austrian officials Ban all taxes that support
the Imperial Army Ban all future taxes
unless approved by Hungarian parliament
Send a critical letter to the Emperor
Timeline – 1861 Onwards passive resistance begins Boycott of Austrian goodsRefusal to pay taxesRefusal to co-operateRefusal to speak GermanRefusal to take part in Imperial Parliament Austria responds by billeting soldiers
Only increases polarisation and massively unpopular with soldiers
Timeline -1863Conciliation attempted but Deak refusesAustria and Prussia go to war with Denmark and
seize Schleswig and HolsteinBohemia also leaves Imperial parliamentTension begins to build between Austria and
Prussia over Danish spoilsBismarck, realises Austria is weak and Prussian
military advancements make war a good option
Timeline - 1865Emperor again offers Deak a settlement short of
constitutional revival, Deak refusesEmperor visits Hungary to gain/gauge supportAsks Palffy (Governor) to get Hungary covered in
Imperial flagsHungarians respond by covering Pesth in
Nationalist flags
Timeline – 1865 ContinuedEmperor realises support in Hungary is very weakSacks PalffyEmperor attempts to gain French support against
Prussia but Bismarck had already squared them in neutrality
Position of Austria increasingly weak Signs treaty of Lauenberg with Austria giving
them the rest of the Danish spoils for the very cheap price of £500,000
Timeline – 1865 Continued20th September Manifesto - Emperor dissolves Imperial
parliament and restores Hungarian and Bohemian parliaments
December – Emperor opens new Hungarian parliament wearing Hungarian dress, speaking Hungarian with motif of “1848!” behind him
Gives eloquent address but little consolationSpends time in Pesth giving dinner parties to every
Hungarian patriot he could find Tells people he is more of a Hungarian than an
Austrian
Timeline – 1865 ContinuedDiet respond by continuing to demand restoration
of 1848 Constitution for Hungarian co-operationSome back and forth with Emperor but ultimately
he leaves Pesth baffled and to no fanfareDiet begins to ignore Austria and act as 1848 laws
were in existenceAustria impotent to stop thisPrussia now allied to Italy and Austria facing
disaster
Timeline – 1866 Austro-Prussian War
Italy beaten, but Prussians devastate every Austrian army
Last ditch attempt by Emperor for Hungarian support
Even asks Deak if he restores Constitution would Hungary fight He says “No” – it was not a
matter to be bartered over Results of war: Austria looses
head of Germanic Confederation, some territory to Prussia, Italian provinces and has to pay a war debt
Timeline – 1866 ContinuedEmperor fires some old guard and turns to Baron
BeustDeak strains to prevent rebellion in Hungary Austrians fear Bismarck backed Hungarian
uprising and so Deak suddenly becomes a very attractive option
But Deak also sees if a violent insurrection destroyed the Austrian empire and left Hungary weak – Russia may well take over
Timeline – 1867 Continued 18th February 1867 Emperor
recognises Hungarian Constitution
Under the Ausgleich Hungary controls it’s army, taxes and borders
Austria-Hungary becomes new name
Hungary pays only 1/3 of Imperial expenditure but gets equal vote in how it is spent
Emperor Francis Joseph proclaimed King of Hungary to sincere fanfare
Methods of Passive Resistance
Patrick Murray argues the most important tactic employed was the “steadfast refusal of the Hungarians to send representatives to the Imperial parliament in Vienna, as a means of securing the re-establishment of a separate Hungarian parliament in Budapest.”
This tactic does two things: - First it denies the Austrians legitimacy Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, unlike open
revolt or electing a National parliament, this tactic gives the Austrians nothing to aim a sword at
So it frustrates the Austrians as much as it undermines them
Methods of Passive Resistance
Refusal to pay Taxes, Griffith describes vividly how Hungarians refused to pay taxes, confiscate property of those that wouldn’t pay or but said property
This meant people had to be brought in to do all those tasks
The Austrians soon learned it cost more than was gained to collect taxes
Methods of Passive Resistance
Refusal of Hungarian leaders to participateBoycott of Austrian goodsNationalist SongsNationalist organisations
National Agricultural and Industrial councils direct economy
National Theatre attended as matter of patriotismHungarian spoken and taught in defiance of all
attempts at Germanification
Methods of Passive Resistance
Constant telling of every Austrian from taxmen, soldiers to the Emperor himself that their regime was illegalPsychological effect on the oppressors?
Playing the long game – Schmerling: “Austria can wait and win” – Deak: “She can’t wait half so long as we can.”
The Times warns : “Passive resistance can be so organised as to become more troubling than armed rebellion”
Ferenc Deak 1803-1876 “The Wise Man of the Nation”
Griffith calls him – not a “politician, but a statesman”
Walked the streets of Pesth playing with children, giving alms to beggars and conversing with all sorts of people
Refused position of Prime Minister and many other titles
Emperor offers gifts, money, favour, position and asks what Deak wants
Deak responds “Sire when I am dead you can say Ferenc Deak was an honest man.”
Retires to modest rural estate
Dies in 1876 and has a massively attended funeral – but personally requests a simple grave
Today a national hero and 200th anniversary of his birth recently celebrated
Historiography (1)Miller notes that it was not passive resistance alone,
but a combination of factors “It may be questioned whether the passive
resistance ... was responsible solely for Hungary's success, but it was doubtless a large factor.”
Csapody and Weber argue history is often constructed for fairly pragmatic reasons and Hungarian resistance triumph is an example of this. Serves as a National legend Has a “Great man” hero Serves histories looking to trace back Ghandi and
perhaps even attempts to steal his ideas to European parents (Euro-centrism?)
Historiography (2)Molnár looks at the passive resistance as a way of
life and not necessarily driven primarily by DeakGriffith’s work is primarily propaganda and
unashamedly idolises DeakPéter Dávidházi argues Deak was a brilliant
figure but not in charge. The movement was largely directionless and without vision. Furthermore the social environment largely produced the resistance movement, not individual actors.
Historiography (3)Kontler argues that the dimensions of passive
resistance have been greatly exaggerated by national legend, but still dominant political attitude in Hungary.
Uses Salman Rushdie to some up: "Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.”
Deak’s apparent uniting strength must balanced with the realisation people were unusually united by anti-Austrian and Nationalist sentiment
Griffith even admits this and Sugar also discusses it
ConclusionsGriffith’s work is a useful narrative but obviously
biased and in need of moderationMiller is correct – the campaign was part of a
larger picture that caused the successMolnar and Dávidházi also make a good point
that Deak was not in direct control of the movement
But he did lead by exampleKontler also rightly points out the obviously
dubious simplicities associated with this period
Conclusions - ContinuedHowever this was still an incredible movement
that showed passive resistance was possible and could achieve results
It arguably showed passive resistance could be superior to violence
Deak’s role is perhaps overstated, but should definitely not be understated. He was a truly great leader and is comparable to figures as revered as Gandhi.
Sharp was right, he was very ahead of his time