!!!Revolution 1848
Revolution of 1848: From 1815 Austrian internal politics were
adversely affected by the rigid conservatism of Metternich
("System Metternich"), who defended monarchic Absolutism
and fought liberal and national tendencies with unyielding police
action and strict censorship. State finances had been weakened by the
Napoleonic Wars, the government, particularly under Ferdinand I,
whose decisions were taken for him by a generally divided "Secret
State Conference", was in a constant state of crisis. The largely
depoliticised middle class of the Biedermeier period had resigned
itself to the situation; the critical literature of the Vormaerz was
dominated by a feeling of resignation (F. Grillparzer, A. Gruen, E.
Bauernfeld, J. Nestroy, M. Hartmann, S. Brunner, S. Frankl). Although
Austria had hardly been affected by the French Revolution of July
1830, Metternich´s influence began to weaken after 1840.
\\
Life for the farmers, small craftsmen and the emerging group of
industrial workers was very difficult. Wages (for an average 14 hours
of work per day) were low, child labour was common. Mechanisation was
carried out fast but regardless of the existing structures, causing
mass unemployment and demonstrations by the hungry masses. Despite the
Vassal Patent of Joseph II (1781) the peasants were still
burdened with tithe and soccage; Galicia saw the first bloody
peasants´ revolt in 1846.
\\
Other parts of society had also become discontent with their
situation. The liberal middle class and the intelligentsia, mainly the
students, together with booksellers, printers and type-setters became
the real protagonists of the middle-class revolution. The nature of
their main demands was more political than social and they called for
an end to absolutism rather than for the abolition of the monarchy.
\\
Another important factor was the rise of nationalism. In the uprisings
of 1848 Italians and Hungarians went so far as to call for the
overthrow of the Habsburg dynasty and for the establishment of
independent national states; the Polish thought along similar lines.
\\
In view of the demands for a democratic constitution, Austria was
severely shaken by the French Revolution of February 1848. On January
1 and 2 the Italian provinces had experienced bloody riots
("cigar riots") and Austria declared a state of war in
Lombardy. On March 3 L. Kossuth, leader of the Hungarian opposition,
delivered his "Taufrede der oesterreichischen Revolution"
("Baptismal speech" of the Austrian Revolution) in the
Hungarian Imperial Diet in Bratislava, in which he demanded a modern
constitution for Hungary. On March 13 the March Revolution broke out
in Vienna, leading to the overthrow of Metternich. In Upper Austria,
Styria, Tirol and Moravia the Diets became very active; new municipal
regulations and the relief of service to the lords were their major
improvements; apart from that, the Revolution in the German-speaking
part of Austria concentrated on Vienna. Only Styria saw the rise of
radical circles, and in October Vienna received some support from
those groups.
\\
On March 17 and 18 revolts, supported by Sardinia, hit Venice and
Milan. J. W. Radetzky consequently left Milan. In Vienna the
state conference was replaced by a Temporary State Ministry under
F. A. Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky; the court authorities were replaced
by ministries. On April 25 the Pillersdorf Constitution was passed,
but was met with heavy criticism. On March 23 Hungary had received a
liberal ministry, on April 11 its own constitution. The demands of
Czech and aristocratic circles, based on a special "Bohemian
state legislation" were only partly fulfilled. On April 26 a
Polish uprising was suppressed in Krakow. After Radetzky´s
victory at Santa Lucia (May 6) in the Sardinian War, Austrian
sovereignty was restored in Italy. At the same time Slovaks, Romanians
and Serbs in the Banat revolted against the centralist tendencies of
the Hungarian government.
\\
The German-speaking middle class, afraid of losing its standing
because of the demands for freedom by the other nations, welcomed the
victories of the imperial army and turned to Germany for support, a
country which was also experiencing a revolution of the middle classes
( Frankfurter Nationalversammlung). German-speaking Austrians fought
in the revolution under pan-German slogans and black-red-gold flags,
the symbol not only of German unity, but also of freedom and progress.
\\
The next stage of the revolution was introduced on May 15 by new riots
in Vienna. In the Vienna Hofburg palace the national guard, students
and workers presented a "Sturmpetition" calling for the
withdrawal of the Imposed Constitution of April 25 and for the
assembly of a constituent Imperial Diet with deputies elected in
general, direct and free elections. After some street fighting, these
demands were met in the night of May 15. Emperor Ferdinand I and
the imperial family fled to Innsbruck on May 17. Student riots
resulted in the closure of the university on May 24 and led to renewed
barricade fighting on May 26 in Vienna, triggered by the planned
abolition of the Akademische Legion. The government had to allow the
formation of the legion and of a security committee consisting of
citizens, national guard members and students. After the retreat of
the army, the committee became one of the centres of power in Vienna
for a short time. The "workers´ committee", set up
under the student A. Willner, succeeded in pushing through their
demands for social improvement (10-hour working days, higher wages,
foundation of the "First Austrian Workers´
Association", etc.).
\\
The situation in Prague also became more and more precarious: on the
one hand, conservative bureaucrats tried to exploit the upheavals in
Vienna to strengthen the position of Bohemia within the monarchy. On
the other hand, Czech and German-speaking revolutionaries took to the
weapons in the Prague "Pfingstaufstand" (Whitsun revolt);
their revolt was bloodily suppressed by the army under A.
Windisch-Graetz. In retrospect this action can be regarded as the
beginning of a new upsurge of the restorative forces in Austria.
\\
On June 26, Archduke Johann came to Vienna as the representative of
the emperor but could not accomplish his mission because of his
appointment to the position of "Reichsverweser"
("temporary regent") to Frankfurt. On July 8 he put the
formation of a largely democratically-minded ministry into the hands
of A. Doblhoff-Dier and opened the constituent assembly of the
Imperial Diet on July 23. On July 26, within the Imperial Diet, H.
Kudlich called for the relief of the peasants from their feudal
burdens, which had in fact already been promised. It was granted on
September 7 and sanctioned by the emperor. This important social
improvement caused the peasants, who had been only marginally involved
in the revolution, to profess their loyalty to the crown. Austria also
regained its sovereignty in Italy when Radetzky defeated the Sardinian
troops at Custozza (July 25) and recovered Lombardy. On August 12 the
imperial court returned to Vienna.
\\
From August 21 to August 24 Vienna was once again hit by a revolt
because the wages for female and young navvies had been lowered. The
city guard managed to restore public peace without military
intervention, but 22 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.
After this revolt (known s the "Praterschlacht"), the
security committee dissolved itself. Other industrial centres were
also hit by workers´ riots. Even in Hungary, agricultural
workers took to the streets. At the same time the Imperial Diet
continued its debate on the framing of a constitution, but it departed
more and more from the monarchic principle, which was slowly regaining
ground. The precarious situation in Hungary also affected Austria and
led to new fights in Vienna on October 6. The revolution culminated in
the Oktoberrevolution in Vienna. It was, however, put down. The
revolutionary impetus had been quelled, even though constitutional
demands which had resulted from the revolution continued to persist
for some time. The Imperial Diet convened in Kremsier, where debates
on the elaboration of a constitution continued in winter 1848/49 and
were almost concluded ( Kremsier, Reichstag of). On March 7, 1849 the
Imperial Diet was dissolved. Emperor Franz Joseph I, who had
acceded to the throne after his uncle Ferdinand I´s
abdication on December 2, imposed a new, centralist constitution,
based on the monarchic principle. The dissolution of the Imperial Diet
did not give rise to any major revolutionary actions. Only Prague saw
some unrest in May 1849, however, this did not spread and was quickly
put down. The revolution in Austria finally ended with the
capitulation in Hungary and Venice in August and September 1849.
\\
The revolution was characterised by the lack of a programmatic concept
and the absence of systematic leadership and of personalities who were
capable of defending the rights and freedoms which had been achieved.
All these factors finally caused the revolution to fail. Furthermore,
the liberal circles in the middle class and the peasants soon
dissociated themselves from the revolutionary mass in Vienna. The
revolution did, however, pave the way for a change in the
constitution, and after a period of Neo-absolutism the Habsburg
monarchy was given a new constitution in the 1860s. The most important
immediate result of the revolution was the emancipation of the
Peasants, followed by the creation of a homogeneous society of
citizens, including all parts of the population. It also led to the
abolition of feudal structures, combined with the modernisation of
administration in the municipalities, district authorities and a
national court system.
!Literature
A. Novotny, 1848, 1948; R. Kissling, Die Revolution 1848
im Kaisertum Oesterreich, 1948; M. T. Wanderer,
Revolutionsstuerme Achtundvierzig, 1948; W. Pollak, 1848 - Revolution
auf halbem Weg, 1974; W. Haeusler, Von der Massenarmut zur
Arbeiterbewegung, 1979; P. Urbanitsch, 1848/49: Ende und Anfang, in:
H. Kudlich und die Bauernbefreiung in Niederoesterreich, 1983.
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