TheRevolutions of 1830 were arevolutionary wave in Europe which took place in 1830. It included two "romantic nationalist"revolutions, theBelgian Revolution in theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands and theJuly Revolution inFrance along with rebellions inCongress Poland,Italian states,Portugal andSwitzerland. It was followed eighteen years later, by another and much stronger wave of revolutions known as theRevolutions of 1848.
Theromantic nationalist revolutions of 1830, both of which occurred inWestern Europe, led to the establishment of similarconstitutional monarchies, calledpopular monarchies.Louis-Philippe I became "King of the French" on 31 July 1830, andLeopold I became "King of the Belgians", on 21 July 1831.
In France, the July Revolution led to the overthrow of theBourbon King,Charles X, whose family had been reinstated after the fall of theFrench Empire ofNapoleon Bonaparte. In his place, Charles' cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans was crowned as the first "King of the French". It marked the shift from one constitutional monarchy, theBourbon Restoration, to another, theJuly Monarchy; the transition of power from the House of Bourbon to itscadet branch, theHouse of Orléans; and the substitution of the principle ofhereditary right forpopular sovereignty. Supporters of the Bourbons would be calledLegitimists, and supporters of Louis PhilippeOrléanists.
The French July Monarchy would last until therevolution of 1848.
The Belgian Revolution broke out on 25 August 1830. The short-term influence was the outbreak of the French July Revolution one month earlier: Belgium had been attached to theKingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, and a Belgian Patriot movement had emerged, campaigning for a written constitution that would limit the powers of the Dutch absolute monarchy and enshrine fundamental civil rights; the French July Revolution appeared to them to be an equivalent struggle to their own. Within this context, the staging of a nationalistic opera (La muette de Portici) inBrussels led to a minor insurrection among the capital'sbourgeoisie, who sang patriotic songs and captured some public buildings in the city. This early revolutionary group was swelled by a large number of urban workers. The following day, the revolutionaries began flying their own flag, clearly influenced by that of theBrabant Revolution of 1789.[1] To maintain order, several bourgeoismilitia groups were formed. The situation in Brussels led to widespread unrest across the country. KingWilliam I rejectedhis son's advice to negotiate with the rebels, forcing them towards a more radical, pro-independence stance, and sent a large military force to Brussels to suppress the insurrection.[1]
Between 23 and 28 September 1830, heavy fighting took place between Dutch forces and Brussels revolutionaries, who were reinforced by small contingents from across the country. The Dutch were eventually forced to retreat.[1] In the aftermath of the failed attack and concurrent mass desertions of Belgian soldiers from the Dutch army, the revolution spread around Belgium. Dutch garrisons were pushed out of the area, until onlyAntwerp andLuxembourg remained occupied.[1] TheProvisional Government of Belgium, led byCharles Rogier, was formed on 24 September and Belgian independence was officially proclaimed on 4 October while work began on creating a constitution. In December, international governments at theConference of London recognized the independence of Belgium and guaranteed itsneutrality.[1] The Dutch, however, only recognized Belgium's independence and the terms of the Conference in 1839. TheConstitution, finally adopted in 1831, protected individual freedoms and was considered as a template for future liberal constitutionalists around the world. It also created a popular monarchy ("King of the Belgians", rather than "King of Belgium") to ward off fears ofmob rule associated with republicanism in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789. The first King of the Belgians,Leopold I, was crowned in July 1831.
By 1830, revolutionary sentiment in favour of a unified Italy began to experience a resurgence, and a series of insurrections laid the groundwork for the creation of one nation along the Italian peninsula.
TheDuke of Modena,Francis IV, was an ambitious man, and he hoped to become king of Northern Italy by increasing his territory. In 1826, Francis made it clear that he would not act against those who subverted opposition toward the unification of Italy. Encouraged by the declaration, revolutionaries in the region began to organize.
The new French king Louis-Philippe had promised revolutionaries such asCiro Menotti that he would intervene if Austria tried to interfere in Italy with troops. Fearing he would lose his throne, Louis-Philippe did not, however, intervene in Menotti's planned uprising. The Duke of Modena abandoned hisCarbonari supporters, arrested Menotti and other conspirators in 1831, and once again conquered his duchy with help from the Austrian troops. Menotti was hanged, and the idea of a revolution centered in Modena faded.
At the same time, other insurrections arose in thePapal Legations ofBologna,Ferrara,Ravenna,Forlì,Ancona andPerugia. These successful revolutions, which adopted thetricolore in place of the Papal flag, quickly spread to cover all the Papal Legations, and their newly installed local governments proclaimed the creation of a united Italian nation. The revolts in Modena and the Papal Legations inspired similar activity in theDuchy of Parma, where thetricolore flag was adopted. The Parmese duchessMarie Louise left the city during the political upheaval.[2]
The rebellious provinces planned to unite as theItalian United Provinces which promptedPope Gregory XVI to ask for Austrian and French help against the rebels. PrinceMetternich warned Louis-Philippe that Austria had no intention of letting Italian matters be, and that French intervention would not be tolerated. Louis-Philippe sent a naval expedition to occupy Ancona (until 1838) and arrested Italian patriots living in France.
In the spring of 1831, the Austrian army began its march across the Italian peninsula, slowly crushing resistance in each province that had revolted. This military action suppressed much of the fledgling revolutionary movement, and resulted in the arrest of many radical leaders.[citation needed]
Simultaneously inCongress Poland, the unsuccessfulNovember Uprising againstNicolas I of theRussia occurred. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 inWarsaw when the young Polish officers from the localArmy of Congress Poland's military academy revolted, led by lieutenantPiotr Wysocki. They were soon joined by large segments of Polish society, and the insurrection spread to the territories ofLithuania, westernBelarus, and the right-bank ofUkraine, all of which had been part of pre-partition Poland.
Despite some local successes, the uprising was eventually crushed by a numerically superiorImperial Russian Army underIvan Paskevich.[3][4][5] Tsar Nicholas I decreed that henceforth Poland was an integral part of Russia, with Warsaw little more than a military garrison, and itsuniversity was closed.[6]
The outbreak of the revolutions in Europe provided the opportunity for Brazilian liberals to expel EmperorPedro I from the country, where he had played an authoritarian role since thestruggle for independence. Given his commitment to Portuguese liberals, he took their side in thePortuguese Civil War.[citation needed]
In Switzerland, the rural population was poor and uneducated while politically and economically under the control of the nearby cities. During the French-controlledHelvetic Republic in 1798 the ideas of freedom and equality spread. The medieval idea of different laws for city citizens and countryside peasants was overthrown. However, in 1803 the Helvetic Republic collapsed and was replaced by theAct of Mediation which struck a compromise between theAncien Regime and a republic. In the following years, even the limited freedoms under the Act were undermined and followingNapoleon's defeat in 1813 the Act was overturned. In theRestoration, which started in 1814, the new constitution reduced the representation of rural areas in the cantonal councils.[7]
Following the FrenchJuly Revolution in 1830, a number of large assemblies were held calling for new cantonal constitutions. As each canton had its own constitution, the assemblies in each canton addressed different specifics, but they all had two main issues. First, they called for peacefully adjusting the constitutions by adjusting the way seats in locallegislatures and theTagsatzung were allocated. In particular they objected to what they saw as the over-representation of the cantonal capital in the government.[8] Secondly, they sought a way to amend the constitution. Very few cantons even had a way to amend or modify the constitutions, and none of them allowed citizens'initiatives to be added.
The first assembly was held nearWeinfelden inThurgau in October and November 1830, followed in November by meetings inWohlenschwil,Aargau thenSursee,Lucerne and finally theUstertag nearUster inZurich. In December there were three assemblies in theCanton of St. Gallen inWattwil,Altstätten andSt. Gallenkappel as well as inBalsthal inSolothurn. The final assembly was held inMünsingen inBern in January 1831.
The speeches and articles reporting on the assemblies were widely distributed and became very popular. The crowds were generally well behaved and orderly. For example, inWohlenschwil it was reported that they met "in unexpectedly quiet attitude with decency and perfect order".[8] Even inAargau andSt. Gallen, where the crowd marched through the streets ofAarau (known as theFreiämtersturm)[9] andSt. Gallen, the protest march was peaceful. Following the assemblies and marches, cantonal governments quickly gave in to the demands of the assemblies and amended their constitutions.