Failure Of 1848 Revolutions

Question 1

How far was the intervention of foreign powers responsible for the failure of the 1848 revolutions?

Answer 1

How far was the intervention of foreign powers responsible for the failure of the 1848 revolutions?

Question 2

Intervention of foreign powers- Austria and France

Answer 2

Austria- short term theyre weakened by revolution, FIVE GLORIOUS DAYS (March 1848) in Milan initiated anti Austrian uprising, Radetsky withdraws Austria to the quadrilateral
HOWEVER- Charles Albert crushed by radetsky on July24th 1848 at custozza, and then again on March 23rd at Novara. AUSTRIA TOO DOMINANT, they’re able to retake Tuscany and return leaders to power eg Leopold

France- Louis napoleon wanted to gain catholic favour in Italy and therefore wanted power in Italy too. 20.000 troops sent to take down roman republic in 1849, fighting for 2 months again Garibaldi and his army, rule is restored and any revolutionaries were attacked

In short term, intervention of foreign powers wasn’t responsible because Austria struggle initially and France weren’t involved, but French took control of most important place in Italy eventually and Austria were able to re exert their dominance

Question 3

Pope/Papal allocution

Answer 3

• Despite new popes liberal reforms of Rome, releasing political prisoners and entering customs union with Tuscany, he publicly stated that he didn’t support the war in April 1848 and calls on foreign powers to restore popes powers and crush the radicals
• CA now lost support of the pope, a key figure and influencer in the Papal States, nationalists who wanted neo-guelphism have their hopes crushed, losing morale
• France send their troops in to Rome in may 1849, taking control by July

The Papal allocution was a significant turning point in the revolutions but it was before the roman republic was set up in Feb 1849, showing it didn’t undermine revolution even within the Papal States, without the foreign powers the pope may have been unable to retake Rome alone

Question 4

Lack of popular support/ failure of nationalism

Answer 4

• The aims of revolutionaries varied across the peninsula, with the five glorious days in Milan (March 1848) concerning tobacco prices that Austria had a monopoly over, whilst peasants in the south revolted over disease and famine, a cholera outbreak in Palermo being the spark.
• The Risorgimento was unable to captivate the ideas of the majority, as the people in the south were illiterate and politically apathetic whilst dealing with food shortages( poor European harvests) and living on subsidence farming.
• nationalists like Gioberti republican Mazzini didn’t even have the same aims, Gioberti believed in neo-guelphism, which was undermined by Papal allocution in April 1848

Altogether, there was no mass movement in Italy that could begin to threaten Metternich in the long term despite his resignation. The divided aims of Italians only helped Austria fulfil their policy of ‘divide and rule’ as they had done throughout their time occupying Eastern Italy

Question 5

Overall judgment

Answer 5

Both Papal allocution and failure of nationalism catalysed the failure of the revolution, however can not be considered directly responsible for their failure, because even if they hadn’t undermine the revolutions, Austria’s dominant army that defeated CA twice at Cuztozza in July 1848 and Novara in March 1849 was too organised and well equipped to be stopped by Italy in the long term, especially given their economical problems in the south and Papal States. It’s likely that the divided aims of revolutionaries set Italy up to fail from the outset, but Austrian and French involvement in the long term just determined when that would be the case