The Spring of Nations: The Revolutions of 1848 Quiz

Answer: The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

The island of Sicily had been incorparated into a union with Naples as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1815, following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. On the 12th of January, 1848 a revolution occurred in Sicily against rule from Naples, a revolution that would ignite liberal sentiments and revolutionary fervour across Europe. Sicily managed to maintain a sort of quasi-independence until the uprising was finally crushed.

Ironically, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies would last for only twelve more years before it was incorporated into the newly-founded kingdom of Italy.

Answer: France

Ironically, the French king, Louis-Philippe had come to the throne in the revolution of July 1830 which had overthrown the reactionary King Charles X. However, by 1848 Louis-Philippe he had become out of touch and unpopular; and after he was overthrown the Second Republic was established with Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte as president.

Answer: Metternich

Prince Klemens Metternich had been in charge of Austrian foreign affairs for almost 40 years (and Chancellor since 1822). He was widely seen as the power behind the throne. He was forced to step down in 1848 by the rebels in Vienna calling for his resignation. He fled Austria and although he returned three years later, he never again held high office.

Answer: Prussia

At the time Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria. The Poles in Prussia rose up demanding greater freedoms.

The revolt in Berlin in March 1848 is probably the better known of the 1848 revolutions in Prussia. The king, Frederick William IV, was forced to concede to demands for freedom of the press and promise elections. However, with the aid of the army and the aristocracy Frederick William was able to recapture Berlin and devise a new constitution but one that maintained his authority.

As a result of the revolutions in the German states, a National Assembly (also known as the Frankfurt Parliament) was convened in Frankfurt to discuss the issue of German Unification. However, with Austria's opposition and Frederick William's refusal to accept the German imperial crown and with most of the German revolutions crushed by 1849, most of the Assembly was disbanded and it would be more than twenty years before Germany would be united under Frederick William's brother, the Emperor William I. A small group continued in Stuttgart, but most of their leaders were charged with treason and fled to Switzerland.

Answer: Pius IX

Ironically, Pius IX was considered a liberal when he became pope in 1846. However, his establishment of a non-clerical government and the introduction of a constitution in 1848 were not enough for the revolutionaries within the Papal States. Pius fled Rome in the November of 1848 following the assassination of his prime minister.

In January of 1849 the Roman Republic was declared. The republlic was crushed, however, in the summer of that year and Pius restored. Ironically, this was only possible through the intervention of French troops sent by the new French President, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.

Answer: Hungarians

While the Czechs, Poles, Italians, Romanians, Croats, Serbs and Slovenes within the Austrian Empire all sought greater recognition and autonomy, it was the Hungarians under Kossuth who came closest to achieving independence. However, the refusal of the Hungarians to recognise the rights of other groupings within Hungary cost them valuable support and the drive for independence was defeated.

However, in 1867 the Dual Monarchy was proclaimed with the Austrian Emperor taking the additional title of king of Hungary. From then until the end of the First World War, Austria became known as Austria-Hungary or the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Answer: Russia

At the time, Russia and Austria were both deeply reactionary powers, and Russia was very happy to help with this.

Answer: Sweden

Such political violence was considered unusual in Sweden.

Answer: The Chartists

The Chartists campaigned for poltical reform in Britian, including such demands as universal sufferage and secret ballots. In 1848 they held a large rally in London. The Chartists claimed an attendance of 300,000 people, the police estimated it as nearer 15,000. Although the Chartists' demands were considered radical at the time, they were not a revolutionary organisation as such.

The Anti-Corn Law League had already successfully campaigned to have the unpopular Corn Laws repealled by 1848 while the ILP and the WSPU (better known as the Suffragettes) were not founded until much later.

Answer: Saxony

The Saxon king, Frederick Augustus II refused to support the unified German constitution supported by the liberals within his kingdom. When many of his own troops sided with the demonstrators demanding his acceptance and others fired at the demonstrators, causing chaos, Frederick Augustus was forced to temporarily flee Dresden and call in support from Prussia, whose troops helped crush the rebellion.

The end of the May Uprising marked the end of the revolutionary fever that had swept through Europe for the previous 16 months. Almost everywhere, the liberal and nationalists who had revolted were ultimately unsuccessful and the end result of the Year of Revolutions was, with the exception perhaps of France, a return to the status quo.