The causes of the Revolutions of 1848-49

History · AS: Liberalism and nationalism in Germany, 1815-1871. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

After 1815 Germany was a loose Confederation of 39 states under Austrian leadership. Metternich, the Austrian minister, used it to keep rulers in power and to crush liberal and nationalist ideas through censorship and police control.

These ideas survived. Liberals, mostly from the educated middle class, wanted constitutions, parliaments and a free press. Nationalists wanted a united Germany. The Zollverein, a customs union led by Prussia and without Austria, showed the benefits of unity and raised Prussia's standing.

In the 1840s bad harvests, the potato blight, high food prices and unemployment among craftsmen created widespread hardship. When revolution broke out in Paris in February 1848, political and economic discontent joined together across the German states.

Rules to remember

German Confederation (1815): 39 states, with a Diet at Frankfurt chaired by Austria. It was a union of rulers, not of the people.
Carlsbad Decrees (1819): censorship of the press, control of universities, ban on student societies (Burschenschaften).
Hambach Festival (1832): a large liberal and nationalist gathering, followed by the Six Articles, which tightened repression.
Zollverein (1834): customs union led by Prussia; removed internal tariffs; Austria stayed outside.
Rhine crisis (1840): a French threat to the Rhine produced a wave of popular German national feeling.
Silesian weavers' revolt (1844): a protest against falling pay and poverty. 1847: Frederick William IV called the United Diet because he needed money.
February 1848: the fall of Louis Philippe in Paris sparked risings in the German states.

Common mistake

The Zollverein was an economic union, not a political one, and Austria was not a member. Do not describe it as a German government or as led by Austria.

Worked example

Why did the Zollverein weaken Austria's position in Germany even though it was only about trade?

Member states traded freely with each other and grew richer under Prussian leadership.
Austria kept high tariffs to protect its own industries and stayed outside.
The smaller states became tied to Prussia economically and began to look to Berlin, not Vienna, for leadership.

Answer: It gave Prussia economic leadership of Germany and left Austria isolated, which prepared the ground for a Germany without Austria.

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