A revolution broke out in France in February 1848 against the misrule of Louis Philippe. The scope of that revolution did not remain confined to the boundaries of France only but the revolutionary tide soon swept to other countries, and the whole of Europe was engulfed by its waves.
The peoples of other European countries were greatly excited and they were prepared to sacrifice themselves in order to get their political rights and to uproot the autocracy of the existing rulers.
It is a fact that the revolutionaries achieved success in almost all the countries and the feelings of liberty, equality and fraternity seemed to be powerful.
The traditions, policies, institutions and the political ideas of the medieval age were replaced by the new revolutionary principles, institutions and traditions. But the success achieved by the revolutionaries could not be long-lived. With the exception of France, Holland, Switzerland and a few other countries, the revolutions were quelled by the reactionary powers, and the autocratic rulers established their rule once again over the continent.
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The factors contributing to the failure of the Revolution of 1848 in Europe were as follows:
The main cause of the failure of the Revolution of 1848 was the lack of the spirit of unity among the revolutionaries. They rose against their rulers who were autocrats and reactionaries.
The revolutionaries undoubtedly achieved their aim but this success could not continue for long. They failed to unite on the question of the future form of government in their respective states.
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Consequently, the reactionary powers took advantage of this weakness of the revolutionaries, and so the rebellions could easily be quashed by the rulers. For example, the republicans and the socialists of France unitedly took part in the revolutionary activities against Louis Philippe.
But after the proclamation of the Second Republic in France, these two parties could not remain united. The workers of these parties did not even know whether the basis of the revolution was social, political or economic. They could not decide whether they wanted change in the political system of the country or their aim was to bring about a social change also.
The republicans declared that they had achieved their goal with the downfall of Louis Philippe and the establishment of the democratic government in the country. While, on the other hand, the socialists wanted to bring about a thorough change in the social setup with the help of the republican form of government.
In this way, differences cropped up among the two. The republicans had cruelly put down the power of the socialists. As many as ten thousand workers and socialist leaders were killed in the conflict.
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The Bonapartists availed of this opportunity and Louis Napoleon, the President of the Second Republic and the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, easily killed the republican form of government and established his absolute monarchy known as the Second Empire.
In like manner, the patriots of other countries like Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Germany also failed due to the lack of unity among them. The revolutionaries of different states of Italy could not bring themselves to frame a universal policy regarding the future form of government.
Some patriots wanted to make Italy a republic under the leadership of Mazzini. The supporters of Pope wanted to forge a federation of various states, while the constitutionalists wanted to establish constitutional monarchy under the leadership of the king of Piedmont.
Owing to these differences, the revolutionary changes introduced in the countries of Europe, could not last long and the revolution collapsed in almost all the countries.
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Spirit of Cooperation among the Reactionary Rulers
The rulers of the different countries of Europe extended their fullest cooperation to one another in stemming the tide of revolution. All of them had decided to help one another. When the people of the Italian provinces rose in revolt against their rulers, Austria at once provided military help to those rulers.
Thus, the revolutionaries could easily be put down and autocracy could be re-established in northern Italy. When Austria requested Russia for military help for quelling the revolution of Hungary, Russia gladly acceded to the request and helped Austria.
Louis Napoleon dispatched his military to Rome in order to help Pope in destroying the Republic of Rome established by the revolutionaries under the leadership of Mazzini. Not only this, the French army remained stationed in Rome for a period of several years and thus, the autocratic rule of Pope could easily be re-established in Rome.
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The revolutions of the German states were suppressed by the united armies of Austria and Prussia. In this way, the spirit of active cooperation among the rulers of the different countries of Europe was instrumental in frustrating the revolutions.
Feeling of Mutual Distrust among Different Races
It was also an important reason for the failure of the Revolution of 1848 that the different races living in the different countries of Europe looked at one another with doubt, suspicion and jealousy. Most of these races lived in the Austrian Empire. They constituted different nationalities.
Therefore, these races could not fight unitedly against their autocratic rulers. When the Czech leaders of Bohemia revolted against Austria, the Germans living in that province strictly opposed the Czechs.
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Although the Czechs succeeded in establishing a liberal government in Bohemia, this government could not live long due to the opposition of the German race. The king of Austria took full advantage of the opportunity and instigated the Germans against the Czechs.
Not only this, Austria also put down the revolutionaries of the Czech race and re-established the autocracy over Bohemia. In like manner a powerful revolt erupted in Hungary against Austria. But the leaders of the Magyar race completely and deliberately ignored the interests of the Serbs, Rumanians and other races living in Hungary.
The result was that these minority races opposed the revolt of the Magyars. Thus, Austria could easily subdue the revolution of Hungary. In this way, the mutual feelings of jealousy and distrust of the different races contributed to the failure of the Revolution of 1848 in Europe.
Although the tide of the Revolution of 1848 of France soon reached the shores of other countries and their patriots greatly enthused over the success of the revolution, their excitement could not be guided along the right lines due to absence of able and talented leadership.
At that time the European countries did not boast of a universal leader of undisputed capability, who could organise and guide the movement along the right lines. Thus, owing to the lack of an able and undisputed leader, the movements could not be properly organised and planned; hence they were mercilessly put down by the autocratic powers.
The revolutionaries did not have a large well-trained and experienced army, while the armies of the rulers were always well organised and well disciplined. The army of the revolutionaries, in the absence of sufficient arms and able leadership, was defeated by the royal army.
The revolutionaries framed such constitution for the future form of government, in which they gave no right or power to the existing rulers. Consequently, the rulers turned into their enemies. The rulers had large army by which the fragmented strength of the revolutionaries could easily be controlled.
The revolutionaries had no experience of administration, therefore, the liberal and popular governments established by them could not run smoothly and they eventually failed.
Had there been any able, experienced and undisputed leader of the revolution, there would have been effected some permanent and important changes in the political system of the European countries.
Limited Scope of Revolution
David Thomson, an eminent historian, has remarked that the origin, birth and inspiration of the Revolution of 1848 were the gift of the urban areas. This revolution originated only in the cities of Europe. The common people living in the villages were quite indifferent and ignorant of the programme and main features of the revolution.
The people of rural areas had their faith in the old traditions, customs and political systems. They were not taught regarding their rights and the way to get them. Thus, the scope of the revolution of 1848 was limited to the urban areas only.
That is why, the revolutionaries failed to enlist the sympathy, support and cooperation of the common people of the rural areas. Although the revolutionary ideas were sufficiently propagated in the cities, the revolution failed there too due to the rising conflict between the labour class and the middle class. Both of them took part in the revolution.
Thus, it may be concluded that the disunity of the revolutionists, the spirit of cooperation among the rulers, mutual distrust between different races, indifferent leadership and the limited scope of the revolution were the main reasons for its failure.
Owing to these circumstances, the revolutions of almost all countries were mercilessly quashed by the autocratic rulers, and their absolute monarchy was re-established. That is why, it is said that “the year 1848 was the turning point at which the History itself failed to turn.”