‘A’ LEVEL

European
History
Study Pack

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

PREFACE ........................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

SYLLABUS INTERPRETATION ........................................................................................ 14
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................... 16
GENERIC MARK BANDS FOR ESSAY QUESTIONS. ...................................................................... 17
GUIDE LINES ON ESSAY WRITING AT ‘A’ LEVEL ..................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................ 22

THE CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789 – 1799) ................................... 22

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 1

 (I) ABSOLUTISM OF THE MONARCHY ....................................................................................... 23
(II) CONFUSED ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ......................................................................... 24
THE FIRST ESTATE (THE CLERGY) ........................................................................................... 24
THE SECOND ESTATE (THE NOBILITY) ..................................................................................... 25
(B)THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS ............................................................................. 27
(C)THE INFLUENCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.............................................................. 28
(D)THE CHARACTER OF LOUIS XVI ........................................................................................ 28
(E)THE FINANCIAL CRISIS ....................................................................................................... 29
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 33

CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................ 34

THE COURSE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789 – 1799)................................... 34

A) THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (1789 – 1791) ......................................................................... 35
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (1789 – 91) ............................................ 38
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1791-THE CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY .......................................... 40
POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ................................................... 41
THE CAUSES OF THE 1792 WAR ............................................................................................... 42
RESULTS/EFFECTS OF THE WAR ............................................................................................... 43
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 45

CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................ 46

THE NATIONAL CONVENTION (1792 – 1795) ............................................................... 46

THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST COALITION .............................................................................. 47
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1793 ................................................................................................... 48
THE REIGN OF TERROR (1793 – 1794) .................................................................................... 48
THE RESULTS OF THE TERROR – POSITIVE RESULTS ................................................................. 51
CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL OF ROBESPIERRE ...................................................................... 51
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 52

CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................ 52

THE DIRECTORY: 1795 - 1799 ........................................................................................ 52

ENDING THE TERROR ....................................................................................................... 53
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE YEAR III, 1795................................................................. 53
THE LEGISLATURE............................................................................................................ 54
THE EXECUTIVE ................................................................................................................ 54
WEAKENESSES OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION ............................................................ 54
THE VENDEMIAIRE UPRISING ........................................................................................ 56
THE DIRECTORY ................................................................................................................ 56
THE BABEUF PLOT, 1797 .................................................................................................. 57

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 2

 THE COUP D’ETAT OF FRUCTIDOR 1797 (3- 4 SEPTEMBER 1797) ................................. 57
THE COUP D’ETAT. WHAT WAS ITS IMPORTANCE ................................................... 58
FINANCIAL REFORM UNDER THE DIRECTORY.......................................................... 59
REDUCING THE NATIONAL DEBT ................................................................................. 59
INCREASING REVENUE.................................................................................................... 59
THE DIRECTORY AND THE WAR.................................................................................... 60
1794 – 1799............................................................................................................................ 60
DEFEAT OF AUSTRIA ........................................................................................................ 60
CONSTITUTION OF YEAR VIII......................................................................................... 64
WHY DID THE DIRECTORY FAIL? .................................................................................. 64
DID THE DIRECTORY HAVE ANY ACHIEVEMENTS AT ALL? .................................. 65
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 66

CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................ 67

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN EUROPE: BRITAIN, FRANCE AND GERMANY

................................................................................................................................................... 67
WHAT COMMON FACTORS ACCOUNTED FOR THE EMERGENCE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
IN BRITAIN FRANCE AND GERMNAY? SOME COMMON RESULTS. ............................................ 68
HOUSING DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ................................................................... 74
ORGANISATION OF LABOUR.................................................................................................... 74
THE EMERGENCE OF SOCIALISM ............................................................................................. 75
IMPACT ON SOCIO- POLITICAL STATUS OF EUROPE ................................................................. 76
WHAT TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS WERE BROUGHT BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN EUROPE?
76
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 78

CHAPTER 6 ............................................................................................................................ 79

NAPOLEONIC FRANCE: 1799 – 1815 .............................................................................. 79

NAPOLEON’S DOMESTIC POLICY (1789 – 1815) ...................................................................... 80
LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY ...................................................................................................... 81
RESULTS OF FINANCIAL REFORM ............................................................................................ 82
FOURCROY’S EDUCATION ORDINANCE OF MAY 1802 ............................................................. 85
MOVES TOWARDS DICTATORSHIP ........................................................................................... 88
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 90

CHAPTER 7 ............................................................................................................................ 90

NAPOLEON’S FOREIGN POLICY (1800 – 1815) ............................................................ 90

THE COLLAPSE OF THE THIRD COALITION .............................................................................. 92
FRANCE AND RUSSIA .............................................................................................................. 93

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 3

 REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM ................................................... 98
THE CAUSES OF THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON I .................................................................... 99
SHORT-TERM CAUSES ........................................................................................................... 100
THE MOSCOW CAMPAIGN OF 1812 ....................................................................................... 100
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 101

CHAPTER 8 .......................................................................................................................... 102

THE PEACE SETTLEMENT (1814 – 1815) ..................................................................... 102

THE TREATY OF CHAMOUNT (MARCH 1814) ........................................................................ 103
ASSESSMENT OF THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA:- ...................................................................... 110
THE SECOND TREATY OF PARIS – NOVEMBER 1815 ............................................................. 111
(3) REWARDING THE ALLIES WHO HAD FOUGHT NAPOLEON/ PRINCIPE OF COMPENSATION .. 112
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 114

CHAPTER 9 .......................................................................................................................... 115

THE CONGRESS SYSTEM 1815 – 1827........................................................................... 115

WHY WAS THE CONGRESS SYSTEMS SET UP? ........................................................................ 116
(C)THE CONGRESS OF VERONA ............................................................................................. 120
THE BREAKDOWN OF THE CONGRESS SYSTEM ..................................................................... 122
STUDY GUIDES ..................................................................................................................... 123
THE CONGRESS SYSTEM: A FAILURE? .................................................................................. 124
ALTERNATIVES TO CONGRESS DIPLOMACY. ......................................................................... 126
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 127

CHAPTER 10 ........................................................................................................................ 128

THE RESTORED BOURBONS IN FRANCE:- ................................................................ 128

LOUIS XVIII AND CHARLES X; 1814-1830 ................................................................... 128
WHY WAS LOUIS XVIII SUCCESSFUL IN RETAINING HIMSELF IN POWER? ............................. 129
WHY WAS CHARLES X OVERTHROWN IN 1830? ...................................................... 132
ILLIBERAL LAWS PASSES AFTER 1825.................................................................................. 133
WHY DID THE POLITICAL SITUATION BECOME MORE RADICAL AFTER 1827? ........................ 134
WHY WAS CHARLES X OVERTHROWN? ............................................................................... 135
WAS THE OVERTHROW OF THE BOURBONS INEVITABLE IN 1830? ......................................... 137
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 138

CHAPTER 11 ........................................................................................................................ 139

LOUIS PHILIPPE’S REIGN (1830- 1848) ........................................................................ 139

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 4

 THE JULY MONARCHY .......................................................................................................... 140
THE EARLY PROBLEMS OF THE REGIME ............................................................................... 140
OCCUPATION OF ANCONA (1832 – 8) ................................................................................... 142
GROWING OPPOSITION ......................................................................................................... 143
THE DOWNFALL OF LOUIS PHILIPPE ...................................................................................... 144
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 145

CHAPTER 12 ........................................................................................................................ 146

THE METTERNICH SYSTEM .......................................................................................... 146

METTERNICH’S PRINCIPLES: ................................................................................................. 146
METTERNICH’S ACTIVITIES CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO STRANDS, NAMELY: ........................ 147
DEFENCE AGAINST LIBERALISM AND NATIONALISM ............................................................. 148
SUMMARY OF THE METTERNICH SYSTEM ............................................................................. 150
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 151

CHAPTER 13 ........................................................................................................................ 152

THE GREAT POWERS AND THE EASTERN QUESTION 1821- 1856 ...................... 152
WHY WAS THERE AN EASTERN QUESTION IN THE FIRST PLACE? ........................................... 153
WHAT INTERESTS DID THE GREAT POWERS HAVE IN TURKEY? ............................................ 153
THE GREEK REVOLT, 1821-1831 .......................................................................................... 155
CAUSES OF THE GREEK REVOLT ........................................................................................... 155
THE GREAT POWERS AND MEHEMET ALI, (1831-3) ............................................................. 156
THE TREATY OF UNKIAR, SKELESSI, (JULY 1833) ................................................................ 157
THE CRISIS OF 1839-41 ......................................................................................................... 158
BACKGROUND TO THE CRIMEAN WAR ................................................................................. 160
EVENTS LEADING TO THE OUTBREAK OF WAR. ..................................................................... 160
WHERE DID THE TSAR GO WRONG IN HIS DIPLOMACY IN 1853? ............................................ 161
WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTBREAK OF THE CRIMEAN WAR, 1854-1856? .............. 164
DIPLOMACY AND WAR, MARCH 1854 TO DECEMBER 1855 ................................... 166
THE TREATY OF PARIS, (1856) ............................................................................................. 167
THE EFFECT OF THE CRIMEAN WAR ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS .................................... 168
WAR, VICTORY, AND BETRAYAL ........................................................................................... 173
HOW DID CAVOUR REGAIN THE INITIATIVE” ? ...................................................................... 174
WHAT WAS THE NATIONAL SOCIETY? .................................................................................. 175
GARIBALDI’S “MARCH” OF THE THOUSAND ......................................................................... 176
HOW COULD GARIBALDI BE STOPPED? ................................................................................. 178
WAS ITALY UNITED OR THERE WAS PIEDMONTISATION?...................................................... 179
VENICE AND ROME ............................................................................................................... 181
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 182

CHAPTER 14 ........................................................................................................................ 183

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 5

NAPOLEON III AND THE SECOND EMPIRE (1848 – 1870) ....................................... 183
NAPOLEON III’S DOMESTIC POLICY ..................................................................................... 184
PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON .................................................................................................... 184
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC (1848-1851) ..................................................... 184
THE COUP D’ ETAT OF 2 DECEMBER 1851 ............................................................................ 185
THE SECOND EMPIRE (1852-1870) ....................................................................................... 185
THE PERIOD 1852 – 1859 PERSONAL DESPOTISM ................................................................. 186
NAPOLEON III’S FOREIGN POLICY: (1852-1870)......................................................... 188
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 194

CHAPTER 15 ........................................................................................................................ 195

ITALIAN UNIFICATION (1815 – 1870) ........................................................................... 195

THE FIRST PHASE (1815 – 1848) .......................................................................................... 196
ALTERNATIVES FOR ITALIAN UNIFICATION .......................................................................... 196
THE YOUNG ITALY MOVEMENT ........................................................................................... 197
CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE 1820 REVOLUTIONS .......................................................... 198
THE FIRST AUSTRO – PIEDMONTESE WAR (1848 – 49)......................................................... 199
REASONS FOR THE COLLAPSE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS .................................................... 199
THE FINAL PHASE OF UNIFICATION (1848 – 1870)................................................................ 200
CAVOUR AND THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY ............................................................................ 200
MEASURES TO ATTRACT NAPOLEON III’S SUPPORT .............................................................. 202
THE PLOMBIERES AGREEMENT – (JULY 1858)...................................................................... 202
THE AUSTRO - PIEDMONTESE WAR OF 1859 ........................................................................ 203
REASONS FOR NAPOLEON III’S PREMATURE’ WITHDRAWAL ................................................. 203
TERMS OF THE VILLAFRANCA AGREEMENT – (JULY 1859) ................................................... 203
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 205

CHAPTER 16 ........................................................................................................................ 206

GERMANY UNIFICATION (1815 – 1871) ....................................................................... 206

THE FIRST PHASE OF UNIFICATION (1815 – 1848) ................................................................ 207
A) THE VIENNA SETTLEMENT AND UNIFICATION ................................................................. 207
THE METTERNICH SYSTEM ................................................................................................... 208
POLITICAL EFFECTS OF THE ZOLLVEREIN .............................................................................. 208
THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS ...................................................................................................... 208
THE CAUSES OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS IN GERMANY......................................................... 208
THE LIBERAL MOVEMENT IN GERMANY HAD A DUAL ASPECT ............................................... 209
REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS...................................................... 210
STUDY GUIDES ..................................................................................................................... 211
BISMARCK AND THE FINAL UNIFICATION OF GERMNAY (1862 – 1871) ................................. 211
OTTO VON BISMARCK .......................................................................................................... 211
THE ACCESSION OF WILLIAM I TO THE THRONE ................................................................... 211
THE ARMY REFORMS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS ....................................................... 212

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 6

 THE APPOINTMENT OF BISMARCK AS PRIME MINISTER (1862) ............................................. 212
BISMARCK’S ADVANTAGES AS PRUSSIAN CHIEF MINISTER (1862) ...................................... 212
THE BASIS OF BISMARCKIAN FOREIGN POLICY: A MASTER PLANNER OR A SHREWD OPPORTUNIST
213
STUDY GUIDES ..................................................................................................................... 213
THE FOREIGN POLICY EVENTS ............................................................................................. 213
THE COMPLETION OF GERMAN UNITY.................................................................................. 217
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 217

CHAPTER 17 ........................................................................................................................ 219

RUSSIAN HISTORY: (1801 – 1914)................................................................................... 219

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 219
LIBERAL REFORMS ............................................................................................................... 220
ANALYSIS OF ALEXANDER I’S CAREER .................................................................... 220
NICHOLAS I’S REIGN: (1825-1855) ................................................................................. 221
(A)EDICT OF EMANCIPATION – (1861) .................................................................................. 222
RUSSIA IN 1855 WAS SO BACKWARD THAT CHANGE COULD NOT COME QUICKLY. ITS ECONOMIC
PROBLEMS IN PARTICULAR HAD NO IMMEDIATE REMEDY. ALEXANDER’S REFORMS LAID THE
BASIS FOR A TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY BUT ONLY THE BASIS AND THE PROVISION OF AN
EFFICIENT LOCAL ADMINISTRATION TO TACKLE SOCIAL PROBLEMS WOULD TAKE DECADES OF
DEVELOPMENT. ECONOMIC INNOVATION IN BACKWARD PEASANT AGRICULTURE WOULD
INEVITABLY MAKE SLOW PROGRESS. ABOVE ALL, NONE OF THE TSAR’S REFORMS DID ANYTHING
TO REDUCE HIS OWN AUTOCRATIC POWER OR THE VAST INFLUENCE OF THE REACTIONARY
ORTHODOX CHURCH. ........................................................................................................... 223
REPRESSIVE MEASURES: ...................................................................................................... 224
ALEXANDER III (1881 – 1894) ............................................................................................. 224
ALEXANDER III PASSED THE FOLLOWING REPRESSIVE MEASURES: ....................................... 224
NICHOLAS II (1894 – 1914) .................................................................................................. 225
THE BLOODY SUNDAY.......................................................................................................... 226
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY ........................................................................................... 226
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 227

CHAPTER 18 ........................................................................................................................ 228

BISMARCK’S DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES AFTER 1871 ....................... 228

BISMARCK’S DOMESTIC POLICY ........................................................................................... 229
BISMARCK AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ................................................................ 229
BISMARCK AND THE LIBERALS ............................................................................................. 230
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 243

CHAPTER 19 ........................................................................................................................ 244

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 7

THE CAUSES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. .............................................................. 244
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 244
THE RISE OF GERMANY ......................................................................................................... 245
THE BULGARIAN CRISIS AND THE BALKAN PROBLEM ......................................................... 246
IMPACT OF IMPERIALISM ....................................................................................................... 247
KAISER WILHELM, GERMANY WORLD POLICY AND GERMANY AIMS .................................. 247
THE DRIFT TOWARDS ALLIANCES. ....................................................................................... 249
BALKAN CRISIS ..................................................................................................................... 251
THE BALKAN CRISIS OF 1912-1914 ...................................................................................... 252
THE JULY CRISIS AND THE DECISIONS FOR WAR .................................................................. 253
IMPACT OF THE ASSASSINATION............................................................................................ 253
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 255

CHAPTER 20 ........................................................................................................................ 256

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ............................................. 256

THE WESTERN FRONT: WHY WAS THERE A STALEMATE ON THE WESTERN FRONT FOR MOST OF
THE FIRST WORLD WAR? ..................................................................................................... 256
IMPACT OF WAR ON CIVILIAN POPULATION IN GERMANY AND BRITAIN .............................. 257
WHY DID GERMANY LOSE THE WAR? ................................................................................... 259
2.THE SEARCH FOR ALLIES: US ENTRY INTO THE WAR ........................................................ 259
3.WAR AIMS ......................................................................................................................... 260
WHY WAS GERMANY DEFEATED? ......................................................................................... 261
KEY ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 261
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR? ................................................................... 262

CHAPTER 21 ........................................................................................................................ 264

THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE – (1919) ................................................................. 264

TREATY OF VERSAILLES (1919)............................................................................................ 267
(II) NON-TERRITORIAL TERMS ......................................................................................... 267
(III) WAR - GUILT AND REPARATIONS ............................................................................... 268
TERRITORIAL TERMS ............................................................................................................ 268
NON-TERRITORIAL TERMS ................................................................................................... 269
NON-TERRITORIAL TERMS ................................................................................................... 269
THE TREATY OF LAUSANNE (JULY 1923) ............................................................................. 270
THIS RESULTED IN A NEW TREATY – THE TREATY OF LAUSANNE .......................................... 270

CHAPTER 22 ........................................................................................................................ 276

THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC: - 1919 – 1933 ....................................................................... 276

THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE PHASES: ................................ 277

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 8

 THE POLITICAL PROBLEMS FACED BY THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC ............................................. 277
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS .......................................................................................................... 278
THE STRESSMANN PERIOD (1924 – 1929) ............................................................................. 279
THE COLLAPSE OF WEIMAR (1930 – 33)............................................................................... 280
XIII) HOW DID THE FIRST WORLD WAR WEAKEN THE GERMANY ECONOMY ........................ 281

CHAPTER 23 ........................................................................................................................ 284

THE FRENCH THIRD REPUBLIC .................................................................................. 284

REASONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC ......................................................... 284
THE CHURCH AND THE STATE .............................................................................................. 285
THE SURVIVAL OF THE REPUBLIC ......................................................................................... 286
DANGEROUS EPISODES ......................................................................................................... 286
THE BOULANGER AFFAIR ..................................................................................................... 286
THE PANAMA CANAL SCANDAL ........................................................................................... 286
THE DREYFUS CASE ............................................................................................................. 286
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE REPUBLIC........................................................................................ 287
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 288

CHAPTER 24 ........................................................................................................................ 289

EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM: 1870-19 ............................................................................. 289

THE SCRAMBLE FOR COLONIAL TERRITORIES ....................................................... 289
THE CAUSES OF THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA ....................................................................... 291
THE TIMING OF THE SCRAMBLE ............................................................................................ 292
THE IMPACT OF COLONIAL RIVALRIES:.................................................................................. 293
HOW WERE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MAJOR POWERS AFFECTED BY COLONIAL EXPANSION?293
BRITAIN’S RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND RUSSIA ............................................................... 293
B) GERMANY’S NEW POSITION ............................................................................................. 294
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 295

CHAPTER 25 ........................................................................................................................ 296

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS ............................................................................................ 296

THE ORIGINS OF THE LEAGUE ............................................................................................... 296
THE STRUCTURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS ..................................................................... 297
THE SECRETARIAT ................................................................................................................ 297
THE COUNCIL ....................................................................................................................... 297
THE ASSEMBLY .................................................................................................................... 297
THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION .................................................................... 297
THE PERMANENT COURT OF JUSTICE.................................................................................... 298
OTHER BODIES ..................................................................................................................... 298

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 9

 SUCCESSES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS ............................................................................. 298
A) AALAND ISLANDS ....................................................................................................... 298
(B)ALBANIA.......................................................................................................................... 298
C) UPPER SILESIA ................................................................................................................. 299
(E)GREECE AND BULGARIA .................................................................................................. 299
(G)LIBERIA ........................................................................................................................... 299
H) OTHER SUCCESSES ........................................................................................................... 300
GENERAL WEAKNESSES ........................................................................................................ 300
SOME OF THE WEAKNESSES ARE AS FOLLOWS: ...................................................................... 300
SPECIFIC FAILURES ............................................................................................................... 301
JAPANESE INVASION OF MANCHURIA ................................................................................... 302
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR ..................................................................................................... 302
THE ITALIAN INVASION OF ABYSSINIA ................................................................................. 302
AXIS REARMAMENT ............................................................................................................. 303
DEMISE AND LEGACY ........................................................................................................... 303
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 309

CHAPTER 26 ........................................................................................................................ 310

NAZI GERMANY (1933-1939) ........................................................................................... 310

FACTORS WHICH HELPED THE RISE OF HITLER AND THE NAZIS ............................................. 311
(I) UNPOPULARITY OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC ..................................................................... 311
(II)ECONOMIC INSTABILITY .................................................................................................. 311
(IV) THE FEAR OF COMMUNISM ............................................................................................ 311
(V) HITLER’S EXTRAORDINARY ABILITIES............................................................................. 311
CHARACTERISTICS / FEATURES OF NAZISM .......................................................................... 312
HITLER’S TAKEOVER OF POWER ............................................................................................ 312
THE NAZI’S ECONOMIC POLICY ............................................................................................ 315
PUBLIC WORKS .................................................................................................................... 315
THE SECOND FOUR-YEAR PLAN (1936-1939) ...................................................................... 315
SOCIAL POLICIES .................................................................................................................. 316
CHURCH AND STATE IN NAZI GERMANY .............................................................................. 316
THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH ................................................................................................. 316
THE CATHOLICS CHURCH ..................................................................................................... 317
ANTI-SEMITISM – (ANTI-JEWISH CAMPAIGN)....................................................................... 317
THE POPULARITY OF NAZI POLICIES ..................................................................................... 318
(I) MANY INTELLECTUALS .................................................................................................... 318
(II) INDUSTRIALISTS AND BUSINESSMEN ............................................................................... 318
(III) FARMERS ....................................................................................................................... 318
(V) THE ARMY (REICHSWEHR) ............................................................................................. 318
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 319

CHAPTER 27 ........................................................................................................................ 320

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 10

FASCIST ITALY (1919 – 1939) .......................................................................................... 320
POLITICAL PROBLEMS .......................................................................................................... 321
THE RISE OF BENITO MUSSOLINI .......................................................................................... 321
CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM ............................................................................................ 322
FASCIST TAKE OVER OF POWER ............................................................................................. 322
THE FASCIST MARCH ON ROME – OCTOBER 1922 ................................................................ 322
CONSOLIDATION OF FASCIST POWER – (1922 – 24) .............................................................. 322
MOVES TOWARDS DICTATORSHIP – 1924 ............................................................................. 323
THE FOLLOWING MEASURES CONFIRMED HIS DICTATORSHIP ................................................ 323
THE CORPORATE STATE ....................................................................................................... 324
SOCIAL POLICIES .................................................................................................................. 324
CHURCH - STATE RELATIONS: THE LUTHERAN TREATIES OF 1929 ....................................... 324
FASCIST FOREIGN POLICY: (1922 – 36) ................................................................................ 325
FOREIGN POLICY (1936 – 1943) ........................................................................................... 325
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 329

CHAPTER 28 ........................................................................................................................ 330

RUSSIA (1917 – 1953) .......................................................................................................... 330

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1917 .................................................................................... 330
THE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION ......................................................................................... 330
THE START OF THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION........................................................................ 331
THE RULE OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT ................................................................... 331
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT’S POLICY ......................................................................... 332
THE GROWTH OF BOLSHEVIK INFLUENCE ............................................................................. 333
THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION ................................................................................................. 333
CONSOLIDATION OF POWER.................................................................................................. 334
THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1918 – 1920) .............................................................................. 334
THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP) .................................................................................... 335
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS .......................................................................................... 345

CHAPTER 29 ........................................................................................................................ 346

THE CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR .......................................................... 346

THE COLLAPSE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS (1935- 1937) .................................................. 348
NEVILLE CHAMBERIAN, APPEASEMENT AND THE ROAD TO THE MUNICH CRISIS,
1937- 1938 ........................................................................................................................... 350
THE MUNICH CRISIS, (1938) ................................................................................................. 352
THE ROAD TO GLOBAL WAR, (1938-41) ................................................................................ 354
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 356

CHAPTER 30 ........................................................................................................................ 357

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 11

THE RECOVERY OF WESTERN EUROPE ................................................................... 357
FACTORS FAVOURING INTEGRATION ..................................................................................... 357
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE .......... 358
THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY (ECSC) ..................................................... 358
THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE COMMUNITY AND THE EUROPEAN POLITICAL COMMUNITY – (1950 –
54) 359
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 360

CHAPTER 31 ........................................................................................................................ 361

POST STALIN RUSSIA (1953 – 1964) ............................................................................... 361

THE LEADERSHIP STRUGGLE AFTER THE DEATH OF STALIN .................................................. 361
DE- STALINIZATION: THE ECONOMIC SECTOR...................................................................... 362
MALENKOV’S ECONOMIC POLICIES: -.................................................................................... 362
KHRUSHCHEV’S ECONOMIC POLICIES................................................................................... 362
DESTALINIZATION IN FOREIGN POLICY ................................................................................ 363
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 363

CHAPTER 32 ........................................................................................................................ 364

COLD WAR .......................................................................................................................... 364

THE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR.......................................................................................... 364
WHAT WAS THE COLD WAR? ............................................................................................... 364
WHY DID THE COLD WAR BEGIN? ........................................................................................ 365
ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION .............................................................................................. 366
THE US ATOMIC BOMB ........................................................................................................ 366
HOW CAN THE COLD WAR BE EXPLAINED?........................................................................... 367
EARLY STAGES OF THE COLD WAR ....................................................................................... 368
1946, A TURNING POINT? ...................................................................................................... 368
HOW IMPORTANT WERE THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE AND THE MARSHALL PLAN? .................... 368
CONTAINMENT AND THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE ...................................................................... 368
THE MARSHALL PLAN, 1947 ................................................................................................ 369
WHAT WERE THE MAIN POINTS OF TENSION IN EUROPE FROM 1947 TO 1949? .................... 370
TO WHAT EXTENT DID RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO CAMPS FLUCTUATE IN THE PERIOD 1949-
68/? 371
ATTEMPTS TO LIMIT COLD WAR POLARIZATION .................................................................. 372
THE COLD WAR OUTSIDE EUROPE ............................................................................. 373
WHY DID US INVOLVEMENT IN VIETMAN INCREASE AFTER 1964? ....................................... 373
JOHSON AND ESCALATION .................................................................................................... 373
WHY DID THE USA DECIDE TO WITHDRAW FROM VIETNAM? ............................................... 374
WHAT EFFECT DID THE VIETNAM WAR HAVE ON US FOREIGN POLICY AFTER 1975? ........... 375
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: (1962) ...................................................................................... 376
RESULTS OF THE CRISIS ........................................................................................................ 378
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 379

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 12

CHAPTER 33 ........................................................................................................................ 380

DECOLONISATION AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR ...................................... 380

CHANGES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL: SUPERPOWERS .................................................. 380
THE NATIONAL LEVEL: CHANGES WITHIN THE COLONIAL POWERS ..................................... 381
BRITISH POLICIES .................................................................................................................. 381
FRENCH POLICIES.................................................................................................................. 383
AFRICAN COLONIES: FRANCE ............................................................................................... 384
PORTUGAL AND BELGIUM .................................................................................................... 385
WHY DIFFERENT ATTITUDES? ............................................................................................... 386
THE LOCAL LEVEL: INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS GROW STRONGER...................................... 387
THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNATIONAL EVENTS ON DECOLONIZATION. ................................... 388
OAU- ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY .......................................................................... 389
EXAMINATION TYPE QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 390

5. LOOKING AT THE IMMEDIATE RESULT OF INDEPENDENCE, WAS

DECOLONIZATION A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR AFRICANS? ...................................... 390

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 13

SYLLABUS INTERPRETATION

INTRODUCTION

According to Cambridge International Examinations, the advanced level history syllabuses give
students not only the opportunity of studying aspects of the past, but also of developing an
understanding of the complexity of human societies. The study also helps students to acquire a
range of thinking skills which are helpful in daily life. It is therefore essential to study Advanced
Level History if one needs to have a thorough understanding of matters of a political, cultural,
social and economic nature, because they have their roots in the past, and cannot be explained
without reference to these roots.

PAPER COMBINATIONS FOR ‘A’ LEVEL HISTORY (9155)-ZIMSEC)

This European History syllabus is studied in conjunction with another different area to constitute
a complete subject at Advanced Level. For instance, European History can be studied together
with another separate Advanced Level History component such as Tropical African History
(9155/2) or Zimbabwean History (9155/3).

However, the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) allows paper combinations
to follow any pattern i.e. Tropical African History can be studied in conjunction with

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 14

Zimbabwean History and or Zimbabwean History can be studied in conjunction with European
History. No single component is therefore complete in itself.

The European History Paper is code-numbered 9155/01 in the Zimbabwe School Examinations
Council (ZIMSEC) examination. Technically speaking, it is not a compulsory paper although the
majority of candidates register for it. The other papers on offer are 9155/02 (World Affairs since
1960), 9155/03 (History of southern Africa 1854-1914), 9155/04 (Tropical Africa-1855-1914)
and 9155/05 (History of Zimbabwe). The European History Paper (9155/01) can be combined
with any of the papers stated above. Below are the Advanced level History paper combinations
offered by ZIMSEC.

OPTION PAPER COMBINATIONS

A 1 and 2
B 1 and 3
C 1 and 4
D 1 and 5
E 2 and 3
F 2 and 4
G 2 and 5

Option D has clearly become the most popular in schools as evidenced by the increased
candidature. Option C is now trailing in second position. The other options have registered a
very low candidature to date.

Cambridge International Examinations syllabi for European History and Tropical African
History and ZIMSEC are clearly the same and therefore the study packs formulated by Turn-up
College are highly relevant for both ZIMSEC and Cambridge International Examinations.

In fact, the Tropical African History syllabus offered by ZIMSEC and the History of Tropical
Africa offered by Cambridge are identical in content and objectives. The Turn-up study pack, for
such a paper (Tropical Africa) is therefore perfectly tailor-made to address the material needs at
Advanced Level for both ZIMSEC and Cambridge International Examinations.

The European History study pack is equally relevant for both ZIMSEC and Cambridge. The
difference comes in the styles of examinations employed by ZIMSEC and Cambridge. ZIMSEC
Advanced Level History requires them to choose four essays from at least two sections of the
syllabus materials prepared by candidate. Happily, all the sections are covered by this study
pack.

The topics covered by the Cambridge International Examinations include the French Revolution
and Napoleon Bonaparte’s Domestic policies, the Industrial Revolution in Britain, France and
Germnay; the 1848 Revolutions; the Italian and Germnay unifications up to 1870 and 1871
respectively, German Foreign Policy after 1871; New Imperialism (1870-1900), the Russian
Revolutions; 1905 and 1917 right through to the death of V.I. Lenin in 1924. Just like ZIMSEC,
Cambridge also studies totalitarianism between the wars in Germany, Italy and Russia. In all the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 15

cases, the rise of the dictators together with their ideologies is covered. All this material is
covered adequately by the study pack for European History.

Cambridge Examinations in European History are similar to ZIMSEC in that the candidates are
required to answer any three essay questions from the above outline syllabus content. In addition
to the three essays, Cambridge offers a compulsory source-based question on the causes of the
First World War (1870-1914). The four questions make up a complete 3-hour paper.

In preparation for the compulsory source-based question for Cambridge, candidates will have to
familiarize themselves with and examine the historical controversies on the origins of the First
World War. They will also need to develop skills of interpreting and evaluating source-based
materials.

Assessing scripts at Advanced Level.

Assessment Aims:
The aims of the syllabus are the same for all Advanced Level History syllabuses and they
describe the educational purposes of a course in Advanced Level History.

The aims are to:

1. Develop an interest in the past and an appreciation of human endeavour.

2. To acquire an understanding and a sound knowledge of selected periods or themes
3. To gain an awareness of historical concepts such as change and continuity, cause and
effect.
4. To appreciate the nature and diversity of historical sources and methods used by
historians.
5. To group a variety of approaches to aspects and periods of History and differing
interpretations of particular historical issues.
6. To think independently and make informed judgements on given issues and situations.
7. To cultivate empathy with people living in diverse places and at different historical time
frames.

Assessment objectives

1. To demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of issues and themes within a

historical period.
2. To distinguish and assess different approaches to interpretations of and opinions about
the past;
3. To express awareness of historical concepts such as change and continuity, cause and
effect in the past;
4. To present a clear, concise, logical and relevant argument.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 16

These objectives are tested in essay questions. However, it needs to be noted that at Advanced
Level, historiography is not necessarily an assessment objective. As in objective number 2,
students may have a thorough knowledge of the different schools of thought pertaining to a topic
such as the origins of the Cold War, where we have traditional, revisionist, post-revisionist
schools and thought. It is however not necessary to summarize the arguments raised by different
authors on a particular argument. Whilst that may earn credit for those who do it accurately and
relevantly, it does not in any way disadvantage the other candidate who simply raises pertinent
facts, analyses them and relates them to the question.

Generic mark bands for essay questions.

A generic mark band is a standard and agreed mark allocation procedure. These usually range
from mark band 21-25 marks where the strongest answers are placed, right down to band 7
where the weakest answers are also placed.

ZIMSEC adopted both the Cambridge International Examining standard and their generic mark
band in the marking and assessment of scripts for candidates at ‘A’ level. It is extremely vital to
highlight and explain in this chapter how marks are allocated to scripts, and what each respective
mark band stands for, so that candidates and teachers alike may know what to aim for, how
thoroughly they should prepare for the exams, and the possible outputs they should forecast.

Band I: 21-25 mark. The approach of the answer is consistently analytical and explanatory. (The
terms analysis and explanation’ will equally not be taken for granted. They are fully explained
elsewhere in this chapter.) The quality of the answer indicates that the student has addressed all
parts of the question. For example, How far…? The answer should discuss both the extent of
agreement and disagreement with the assertion. Relevant factual information is adequately given
and linked to the question. The quality of English expression also applies at this top band
because the argument must be structured coherently and accurately. Essays will be clearly
question-focused as opposed to topic focused. Hence students should be able to select what
material is relevant to the specific question set and leave out what might just apply to a broader
topic in general. A perfect answer is impossible to get but the best answers will achieve 25
marks.

Band 2: The requirements for this band are similar to the above band. However the marks are a
little lower (18-20) because whilst answers are analytical or explanatory in style, they tend to be
one sided. For example: How oppressive was the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in France (1800-
1815). In being one sided, an answer would clearly explain the oppressive policies and
legislation passed by Napoleon at the expense of his liberal and progressive policies.
Alternatively the answers may fail to appreciate that the same measures were populist and yet
serving oppressive tendencies. For example the well-known concordat and the organs article,
passed one year after the other, guaranteed freedom of worship in France as well as heal the bad
relations which existed between the church and the state. The hidden motive which the 21-25
answer will further discern is that these instruments were Napoleon’s long arm of gaining total
control of the activities of the church.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 17

Band 3:16-17marks Answers in this band will reflect a clear understanding of the question. The
approach will be in many ways heavily narrative and descriptive though fully relevant. Analysis
and explanation may be at the very end of the essays. Usually such answers manage to make or
pass a few analytical comments within the body of the essay but on the overall the style of
writing may be descriptive.

Most candidates do not realize that analysis and explanation with links to the question must be
consistently done in every paragraph for their answers to be placed in the top two bands. The 16-
17 band, may also have some parts of the answers which lack coherence.
Band 4:14-15 marks

These are usually heavily descriptive and narrative answers which make very little or no attempt
to analyse the arguments in the topic. Such marks are given because the descriptive material is
very full and relevant although it is not effectively explained and lined to the topic. There may be
some limited areas of irrelevance or vagueness but overall, the answer builds enough credit to
deserve 14-15 marks.

Band 5: 11-13. These are thin descriptions of the topic, if not question. They constitute a basic
pass (48-52%). There is no analysis and explanation and factual knowledge is not as full as the
above band. Frequent errors usually occur to answers in this band. These are borderline cases
usually determined by the amount of relevant description that they offer
Band 6:8-10 marks; Essays will lack focus on the demands of the question. There may be
relevant but inadequate descriptive material to merit any higher marks. The writing will show
vagueness and confusion about the implications of the question.

Band 7: 0-7 marks: Essays in this band will be irrelevant and shoddy description. Incomplete
answers are also places in this band, if they reveal gross weaknesses in their approach. Marks at
the bottom of this band (zero) are rarely given since even the weakest answers manage to raise
one or two relevant points.

Examiners will assess which marking band reflects the quality of the answer given by the
candidate.

The choice of mark within the band will depend on the quality of the analysis and the amount of
relevant supporting information given by the candidate. For example the essays in Bands 1-3 will
be clearly question- focused whereas answers in the lower bands will show a primary concern
with the general topic rather than the specific question set in the exam. It is important to note that
while question focused answers are likely to fetch the most marks, they still have to be
analytical, explanatory as well as accompanied by sufficient relevant, accurate factual material.

In summarizing generic mark bands we can use the following diagram to illustrate all the points
that have been mentioned above.

Balanced, Analytical
and Explanatory in
approach

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 18

Question- Relevant and
Focused adequate factual
Answer material is given

If the three pillars are all well represented in an essay, then it should be awarded marks in the
two top bands. But if the answer goes on to be balanced in its focus, then marks in the top band,
22-25 must be given.

Guide lines on Essay writing at ‘A’ Level

a) Introduction
The introduction should be short and to the point. Aim for a maximum length of about
ten sentences. Anything longer than this could possibly have taken too much of your
time. You want to cover the following three areas
i) Explain the question- this involves defining the key terms in the question and explaining
what you see the question as being about.
ii) State your argument: state your stand-point- whether you agree with the assertion and to
what extent. Do not say “I agree to a certain extent” This sounds vague and adds nothing
to your answer.
iii) Outline the themes you wish to consider and link them to the main argument.
An introduction is certainly vital because it shows the reader your line of argument.

AEB History Examiners Report A’ Level (1995 ), stated the following,” “The most effective
introductions outlined the historical content briefly and identified a line of argument.”

The above quote perfectly summarizes the essence of an introduction at A- Level. A good
introduction should whet the examiner’s appetite to learn more from your answer.

The Main body of the essay

Each paragraph should tackle a key point related to your core point. Rank your points in order of
worth, starting with the strongest point and ending with the less important. The first sentence
should clearly outline what point you are making in the paragraph. In the middle and at the end
of the paragraph link the point to the mainstream of the argument, assessing its relative
importance in the process.
 Do not be tempted to go into lengthy factual descriptions of the topic. This, as we have
seen, will be deemed descriptive in style, resulting in you only achieving a ceiling of 15
marks.
 Avoid repetition, it is a sign of desperation, not emphasis.
 Be sure you stick to analytical writing. Analytical writing makes judgements but uses the
facts in a supportive role.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 19

 Narrative writing on the other hand, relates the facts as a story and leaves the story hanging
requiring the reader to come to their own analytical conclusions about why and how events
came to happen. You want to aim for analytical rather than narrative writing. This will ensure
that you explicitly tackle the question at hand and, do not waste time reeling out paragraphs
of accurate, fascinating, but in reality worth very little. (14-15 mark band).

 Still in the body of your answer. You may insert quotations to give weight to your
arguments and to show evidence of your deeper appreciation for the topic. Quotations can
come from primary sources or from more modern historians. However do not quote just
for the sake of it. Many successful essays which earn marks in Band 1 (22-25) have no
quote at all. A poor quote is worse than no quote.
 Choose a quote from a historian because it says something that you can then go on to
discuss. Quotations should not be left on their own. Instead, explain the importance of the
content and how it links to the argument
 Quotations need not be long. Short phrases that express an idea or clever metaphors are
ideal for quoting.
 You can paraphrase a historian’s argument if you cannot remember it word for word.
 Never try to invent quotations.

The Conclusion
The conclusion rounds the essay off. Your core argument should be obvious by now, but use
the conclusion to state it very firmly and to relate it back to the essay title. Please note that:
 The conclusion should not introduce new concepts or arguments
 Avoid phrases such as “in summary.” Or “thus it can be seen,” they may sound vague
 Keep your conclusion short and to he point. Throughout the essay, examiners expect you
to be able to write grammatically correct English and the spelling to be accurate. Avoid
the following:
 Slang- this reveals carelessness and lack of respect for the examiner.
 Avoid misspelt proper names- particularly of key historical figures e.g Bismarck instead
of Bismarck
 Avoid the use of long sentences that ramble on and on without a break. These create
gloom and boredom in your answer.
 Always write in the third person, not in the first person.

Interpretation of key words frequently used by examiners

1. Why… Such questions require

Explain… the candidate to give reasons. The best answers for such questions often
rank the reasons in order of their importance.
The most important reasons are given down in the order.

2. Account for
Discuss the role of
Examine the role of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 20

They are somewhat related in the sense that you will need to offer the most valid explanation,
and go further to show why other reasons are less preferred. This latter part is often ignored by
even the strong Candidates. Focus on explaining why the factors chosen are important candidates
often get tempted just to write out a detailed factual account, but description no matter how
accurate and relevant, will not be enough to score the higher marks.
3. How far… and why…
There are three parts to this type of question: the extent for and against as well as the
reasons why… this is a very common ‘A’ level History question and as such must be
fully and thoroughly known.
4. Compare and contrast. This can be rephrased to- similarities and differences. Compare- is
a broader term than what meets the eye. This is because we never have identical
situations or personalities in history, we only have similar situations and events. Hence
compare… on its own means that a Candidate has to explain the differences even where
they do not seem to exist. Contrast on the other hand shows direct opposites in the given
situations.
5. Analysing: This implies that we give strength and weaknesses, positives and negatives.
As a rule, there is no part essay question which requires Candidates to offer only one side
of the answer.

Developing your argument

At A- Level, you are expected to create an argument to answer the given question directly. Start
by imagining that you have to answer it in one basic sentence.
- Next, consider the key points you need to make to support your argument.
- The other side of the debate- must never be left out of the arguments you could have
made. You need to look at the alternative responses, and proceed to show why you
consider them less important.
- Always remember the key words, e.g- “Most successful.” What criteria would you use to
judge the importance or degree of success?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 21

 CHAPTER 1
THE CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789 – 1799)
Chapter objectives

By the end of the chapter the student should be able to:

1. Show that the king’s incompetence in particular contributed to the worsening crisis of 1789.
2. Show how the extravagant life of the king and the queen at the palace worsened the financial
crisis.
3. Explain how the privileged status of the nobility contributed to the financial crisis in 1789.
4. Explain and link the harvest failures of 1788 to 1789 to the growing financial bankruptcy and
social disharmony in the country.
5. Explain how philosophers and intellectuals influenced the revolutionary situation in France.
6. Assess the relative importance of the various causes of the French revolution.
7. Examine how the ambitions of the Third Estate and the Nobility linked to the king’s growing
failure to implement moderate reforms in France.
8. Explain and assess the impact of the American War of Independence.
9. Explain how the glorious Revolution in Britain contributed to the coming of the revolution in
France in 1789.

Introduction
This is an important topic in both ZIMSEC and Cambridge syllabi. It is also a very popular topic
among both students and teachers. The French Revolution has wider consequences for both

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 22

France and Europe, and indeed, the world at large. Therefore there is need for thorough coverage
of the major issues in this topic. In this chapter, a focused discussion of the causes of the
revolution will be undertaken, while in the next chapter, the main focus will be the course of the
revolution. On the causes, students are expected not only to identify the causes, but to analyze
them by showing how each cause led to the French Revolution. A mere description of events
should be avoided. In this chapter, therefore, the causes will be identified, and then each will be
discussed in turn.

The following are the causes of the French Revolution:

a)The system of the Ancient Regime.

b)The influence of the Philosophers.
c)The influence of the American Revolution.
d)The Financial crisis.
e)The Character of Louis XVI.
f)Poor harvests of 1787 - 1789.

Study Guides

i) What were the long term causes of the French Revolution?

ii) Why did the French revolution occur?

(a)The system of the Ancient Regime:

The regime itself was one of the major causes of the French Revolution. It was characterized by
the absolutism of the monarchy, the confused nature of the Judiciary system, and the unfair
system of privileges.

(i) Absolutism of the monarchy

With the exception of England and the Netherlands, the rise of national state in most of the
European countries in the early modern Age went hand in hand with the consolidation of royal
absolutism. It was generally accepted that the king ruled not by permission of the people, but by
divine right, and all the power of government rested in the king himself. This development of
royal absolutism reached its zenith in the last half of the seventeenth century under Louis XIV.
Under Louis XIV’s successors, absolutism, however, degenerated internally into a form of
tyranny, and externally into weakness and loss of prestige. No effective leadership could be
exercised. The state machinery they had inherited called for competent monarchs, but the
successors were incompetent and failed to use the power enshrined in their office.

Although the king theoretically exercised absolute authority, in practice, he had to rely on
officials acting in his name. Even Louis XIV, the best example of an absolute king, could
therefore not supervise the whole of his state administration on his own. Under his slack
successor, Louis XV (1715-1774), the government of France was, in fact, in the hands of a royal
council, known as the conseil du roi. The central government had thirty intendants as provincial
agents. As local representatives of the king, their authority was practically absolute, particularly

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 23

in the provinces closest to Paris, which had no local representative assemblies. In the remote
provinces, local representative assemblies controlled by the nobility had a measure of authority.

The administration of government already displays the seeds of revolution, namely arbitrariness
and confusion. In arrogant fashion, the pleasure of the King or his privileged officials was the
decisive factor, rather than the spirit, or even the letter of the law. Government machinery was
so unwieldy and complicated that the confusion and delays were the order of the day.

(ii) Confused Administration of Justice

Administrative confusion in the Ancient regime was perhaps most noticeable in the
administration of justice. Royal, feudal, municipal and ecclesiastical courts dispensed justice
alongside each other. This confusion was exacerbated by the absence of a uniform code of law.
There were, in fact, on the eve of the revolution, more than 300 codes in force. Many justice
officials were extremely inept and corrupt. It is therefore, not surprising that administration of
justice was a confusing, expensive and time-consuming process. Moreover, it paralysed control
of the country’s administration and caused general embitterment amongst those who were
wronged.

The king had the right to withdraw any case from the customary courts and to have it heard by
the royal council. Louis XVI (1774 – 1793) had in fact, become law himself as evidenced by his
statement that “the thing is legal because I wish it to be so”. In other words, the king had
become the standard or yardstick for any legal issue in France. In addition he could, in terms of
a lettre de cachet (a warrant under the royal seal) have anyone locked up without giving reasons
and without a hearing or an opportunity for defence. The administration of justice, therefore,
showed a striking element of arbitrariness. This confusion later led to a revolution by those
adversely affected by it.

iii)The privilege system

The privilege system is best seen in the division of France into three estates, the first, second and
third estates. The third estate was the most exploited, whilst the first and second estates were the
most privileged. The three estates will be discussed below.

The first estate (the clergy)

Out of a total population of 23 000 000, there were probably no more than 130 000 priests,
monks and nuns. The clergy enjoyed tremendous privileges and their influence extended far
beyond what their small numbers would seem to indicate. The Roman Catholic Church, which
was the dominant religion in France, was responsible for the registration of births, deaths, and
marriages. It also controlled poverty relief and education. It was, in fact, a self government
institution, almost a state within a state, with its own representative officials, own courts of law
and an own representative assembly, which amongst other matters, determined the attitude of the
Church towards the Monarchy.

The king had the right to appoint bishops and archbishops. These high offices in the church were
consequently filled exclusively by the nobility, and ability or religions devotion hardly played a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 24

part. In reality members of the church were not a class, but could be distinguished as the higher
clergy – such as the bishops and abbots, and the lower clergy such as the priest and parish
priests. Those lower clergy were from the common people, amongst whom they worked. In
general their exemplary life contrasted sharply with that of their superiors. They were poorly
paid, and during the Revolution they were to make common cause with the third estate. In other
words, the first estate was divided between the higher and lower clergy.

The church was extremely wealthy. Its income was derived from its properties, numerous
donations and levies and the tithes which was levied on all harvest yields. The first estate was
exempted from paying taxes.

The second estate (the nobility)

The Nobility can be divided into two groups: the medieval nobility of the sword, and the new
nobility of the robe, which had obtained its titles by marriage or the purchase of administration
or judicial posts. As far as their financial status was concerned, the nobility ranged from the
greatest wealth at the royal court at Versailles – at most 4 000 in number, to the lowest poverty
on rural estates. Their rights and privileges included amongst other things, exemption from the
most burden-some direct taxation, the taille, preferential tariffs for other taxes, the right to be
tried by their own special courts, a monopoly of the highest offices in the administration of the
state, and offices in the church, military and diplomatic services, and the exclusive right to the
traditional sports of hunting and fishing.

The nobility was very ambitious. They were not satisfied with their privileged social and
financial position, and strove for further privileges for themselves. Politically, they wanted to
take over local government as well as participate in central government. Furthermore they
wanted to extend certain of their manorial rights and privileges, increase the non-taxability of
their properties and revive earlier privileges. The ambitions and position of the nobility and
clergy must be viewed against the background of a centuries – old power struggle between the
aristocracy that is clergy and the nobility, and the French monarchy. Since the Middle Ages, the
aristocracy had been a stumbling block in the extension of the monarchy’s powers. It was only
during the reign of Louis XVI that the aristocracy was subject to direct taxation. During Louis
XVI, the aristocracy had won back most of their earlier social privileges. During Louis XVI’s
reign, they prevented reform, and eventually led to revolution in 1789.

The third estate

This estate constituted the largest part of the population, about 97%.The third Estate can
basically be divided into three groups: The bourgeoisie or middle classes, the urban craftsman
and labourers, and the peasants. The bourgeoisie represented about 10% of the total population
of France or about half of the population in cities and towns. They owned about one – fifth of the
land in the country. The rise of the bourgeoisie must be ascribed to the rise and progress of
capitalism, trade and industry in Europe since the 14th century. By the 18th century, trade and
industry were playing an important part in the national economy, and it was the bourgeoisie
which kept the treasury going in times of crisis. This class included the wealthy new business
elite, and government officials, independent craftsmen, wealthy merchants, book sellers and
printers, and professionals such as scholars and lawyers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 25

The bourgeoisie strove for upward social nobility, and wanted the same privileges as the first two
estates. Even more, they wanted political power. The wealthy and educated bourgeoisie, which
was exempted from some of the heaviest taxes, was strongly opposed to the endeavors of the
monarchy and the nobility to thwart its opportunities for social development advancement. They
demanded that the social, legal and political privileges of the aristocracy be abolished. They
read the works of the philosophers and the economists, and prepared themselves for an onslaught
on a system of government which discriminated against them unfairly and which, in addition,
was wasteful and inefficient.

The craftsmen, retailers and urban labourers did not share in the wealth of the higher
bourgeoisie. Their existence in general was poverty – stricken. The urban labourer worked long
hours for low wages. When a crisis occurred, thousands were impoverished. Their daily struggle
consisted of warding off unemployment and hunger, and during the Revolution, they were to
play an active role in the popular insurrections. The peasants in France constituted the majority.
Possibly about 25 percent of them were tenant farmers, 50% were share – croppers, 20% were
landless agricultural labourers and only 5% were land owners.

The conditions under which France’s peasants lived were highly disadvantageous, but there is
little doubt that they were better off than similar classes in certain parts of Germany, Italy, Spain
Ireland and England. Yet dissatisfaction amongst them was growing, and would become an
important factor in the Revolution. Primitive agricultural methods, famines and epidemics were
partially responsible. However, there were two reasons in particular for their dissatisfaction.
There was heavy taxation, which was levied so unfairly and took most of their income, and
secondly, the oppressive and irritating obligations they had towards the landowners. This
entailed obligations such as unpaid labour (corvee), tolls, and the exclusive hunting and fishing
rights of the nobility. Finally, there were the banalities, that is, all grain had to be ground in the
manorial rule, all wine pressed in the manorial winepress, and all bread baked in the manorial
bakery at prices fixed by the Lord. The peasants paid a number of taxes both direct and indirect
taille. The peasants had a dual obligation i.e to the feudal lords and to the state.

The taille was the basic direct tax, and was the most oppressive. The capitation was a poll tax
imposed according to income. The vingtieme or “twentieth” was originally 5 per cent of income.
The corvee was a direct road tax in terms of which only the peasants had to provide labour and
transport. Indirect, taxes included import tax and the gabelle or salt tax. The collection of these
taxes was formed out, that is to say, they gave the right of tax collection to the highest bidder.
The resultant collection therefore brought about anomalies and an arbitrary distribution of tax.
All this imposed an unbearable burden on the peasants, leading to their willing participation in
the Revolution.

Study Guides
i) What was the nature of royal power in France?
ii) Why was the unfairness of the system of taxation an issue in France?
iii)Why was the First Estate unpopular?
iv) What were the benefits of belonging to the second estate?
v) Why did the Third Estate consider itself to be disadvantaged in France?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 26

vi) How could an individual enter the nobility?
vii) Explain, as fully as you can, why the Third Estate were unhappy with the following people:
a) King Louis XVI
b) Queen Marie Antoinette
c) The Nobility
d) The clergy
viii) Assess the role played by Louis XVI in bringing about the collapse of absolute monarchy in
France in the period up to 1789.
ix) Account for the increasing resentment of the power and privileges held by the First and
Second Estates in 1789.

(b)The influence of the Philosophers

One can hardly explain the origin and course of the French Revolution without tracing the part
played by the Enlightenment and the writings of the philosophers in it. These must be seen as
long term causes of the revolution. One of the most noticeable features of the Enlightenment
was its harsh criticism of all existing institutions and its subjection to “reason” a new kind of
intellectual, the philosophers. In many persuasive works, with heart-felt eloquence, the
philosophers condemned the abuses of the ancien regime. The social structure, the church and
the government in France, was exposed to continued and harsh criticism.

As the largest part of the French population was illiterate, the philosophers directed their
propagandistic writings at the developed bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie was receptive to the
political and fiscal reforms which the philosophers championed, and to their defence of free
enterprise. The philosophers desired a society where undeserved privilege would be abolished.
As the revolutionary leaders were from the bourgeoisie, the influence of the philosophers cannot
be underestimated. It was these bourgeoisie leaders, who in turn, relayed the contents of the
philosophers’ writings to their illiterate counterparts through rallies.

The most famous of these philosophers were Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. The
Encyclopedists also deserve mention. Obviously the philosophers did not share the same
opinions. The greatest exception was perhaps Jean Jacques Rousseau who exchanged rational
thinking for human emotions or intuition as a guide towards exploring the truth. Voltaire on the
one hand, was devoted to the concept of the sovereignty of the people, and on the other, a
champion of enlightened despotism through reason. However, the philosophers had one thing in
common, their criticism of the abuses of the ancien regime. The ideas spread by the philosophers
undoubtedly gave direction to the Revolution and exercised an important influence on it. When
their contemporary writings are analyzed, it is clear that a number of theses and principles were
accepted as frequently repeated in the speeches of the revolutionary leaders and in the
Declaration of the Rights of Man.

It is not true that, as is often believed, the philosophers in general strove for a political
revolution. Most of them, either pleaded for enlightened despotism, in which a strong central
ruler governed the people to their greatest benefit, or a constitutional monarchy in which the king

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 27

governed according to a constitution drawn up by representatives of the people. They did
demand that the monarchy should be “enlightened” and institute extensive reforms. These
included civic freedom, equality or the abolition of aristocratic privileges, equal taxation,
religious tolerance, a uniform and fair judicial system, and the abolition of state monopolies.

Most of the philosophers, with Voltaire in the background, sharply attacked Christianity, and in
particular, Roman Catholicism. In this manner, the philosophers succeeded in undermining and
destroying the bases of faith, religion and Christian morality. The result was frequently quite
different from what the philosophers had in mind, because through their attacks on authority and
tradition, the respect for absolute monarchy and the aristocracy was similarly undermined. Thus,
the way was prepared for the destruction of all traditional institutions in the course of the
Revolution. To what extent the philosophers were responsible for the Revolution remains an
open question. One can state with certainty, however that the defects and abuses of the ancient
regime, and not the philosophers were the chief cause of the radical change. As Ergang rightly
puts it, these defects and abuses were so clear that no philosopher was required to point them out.

(c)The influence of the American Revolution

The struggle for independence of the British colonies in America from their motherland, gripped
the imagination of the French public from the outset. The philosophers and their followers were
enthusiastic about the American Declaration of Independence, and in particular about its claim to
the “natural rights of man”. This mentality was not confined to the bourgeoisie. Members of the
French aristocracy, who were to become the leaders of the liberal elements during the first phase
of the French Revolution, served as officers in the American army. Possibly more important than
the relatively small officers’ corps, was the rest of the 1800 French veterans who assisted the
colonists. They returned to their fatherland as followers of liberty and avowed critics of the
existing government of France after they had seen how the common man in America was a free
tenant on his land and enjoyed his prosperity and freedom. Various historians contend, in fact,
that in those areas in France where there was a geographical concentration of those French
veterans from the American Revolution, the beginning of the French Revolution was more
radical than elsewhere. Whatever influence the American Revolution may have had on the
mentality of its French participants, the most important point is surely the fact that France’s
participation dramatically doubled the French Royal debt, which also contributed to the crisis of
1789.

(d)The character of Louis XVI

If France had ever had need of a great king, it was in 1774, on the death of Louis XV, who wore
the crown for sixty years in a profligate, irresponsible and extravagant manner. His successor,
Louis XVI was a man of moral behaviour (unlike his queen, Marie Antoinette), a man who took
his duties seriously and who was honest, benevolent and religious without being intolerant. He
really wanted to improve the lot of his subjects, and tempered the expenses of his court. But
these virtues were quite overshadowed by the inability of the king, as absolute monarch, to
govern a country as large as France, with its enormous social, economic and political problems,
problems which, moreover, threatened to come to a head simultaneously. His serious character
defects included, amongst others, a slowness of grasp, indecision and a lack of self confidence,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 28

and consequently an inability to pursue a determined course. He is described by some historians
as being weak-willed.

In his fervor to institute reforms, Louis appointed able ministers, such as Turgot, Necker and
Calonne. He had the ability to identify the right people for the right jobs. However, he failed to
support these men when pressure was brought to bear on him by his wife, Marie Antoinette and
the nobility. He was easily influenced by his wife, his family and the court circle which saw its
privileges threatened. He withdrew his support from his ministers at critical moments. Thus, he
only impressed the people more dearly with the need for reform and his inability to bring it
about. His queen, Marie Antoinette of Austria, was highly unpopular. She was the symbol of
the hated Austrian alliance which had, with the seven years war, cost France its colonial empire
in India and America.

Marie Antoinette did not understand the French and, possibly more important, she did not
understand the needs of the time, and therefore frequently exercised a wrong influence on her
husband. Louis’s closest kinsmen, his two brothers, the count of Province and the count of
Artois, and his nephew Philip, the later duke of Orleans who was also known as Philip Egalite,
were frivolous and irresponsible. Together with the queen, they frequently had a detrimental
effect on Louis’s decisions. The Revolution cannot simply be ascribed to the king and his court.
Yet the personalities of the royal pair can be discerned as one of the immediate causes of the
Revolution. A strong and able ruler, like Louis XIV could possibly have controlled the course of
events and channeled the forces of reforms correctly and safely.

Study Guide
i) What role did the enlightenment play in bringing about the Revolution?

(e)The financial crisis

The most important of the short-term causes of the French Revolution was the financial crisis.
By far the most important aspect of this was the huge deficit that the government was building
up.
On 20 August 1786 Colonne, the controller-General (the equivalent of finance Minister) told
Louis XVI that the government was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenue for 1786 would be 475
million Livres, while expenditure would be 587 million livres, making a deficit of 12 million -
almost a quarter of the total income.
A much more detailed and alarming picture of the situation is provided in the Treasury account
of 1788, which has been called the first and last budget of the monarchy. Total income for 1788
was 503 million livres whereas expenditure stood at 629 million livres. This produced a deficit
of 126 million livres, 20 percent of the total expenditure. There are two reasons why the
expenditure continued to rise above income.
1. War: Between 1740 and 1783, France was at war over Austrian succession (1740-1748);
then the seven years war (1756-63) and finally, the American War of independence,
(1778- 1783). The cost of helping the American colonists to defeat the British
government was approximately 1066 million livres. This was mainly achieved through,
Necker’s efforts in raising loans, rather than imposing any new taxes, while this did not

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 29

 directly lead to revolution. The lack of an elected parliament to guarantee loans, as in
Britain, did not give leaders confidence.
2. Tax: the crown was not receiving much of the money collected in taxes and until it
recovered control of its finances, no basic reforms could be carried out. This is because
taxes were collected by a chaotic and inefficient system known as tax farming. The
Farmers- General was a company that collected the indirect tax for the government. They
paid the state an agreed sum and kept for themselves anything collected above this figure.
The French government consequently never received enough money from taxes to cover
its expenditure, and so frequently had to borrow. Interest rate payments on the debt
became too large because of an increasingly large part of government expenditure in the
eighteenth century. Added to this, was the fact that corruption and wastage were vast
ways of draining away revenue.

The privileged classes, whose income from property had increased, were an untapped source of
revenue that the Crown urgently needed to access. There would, however, be powerful resistance
to any change in the taxation structure from those with vested interests in retaining the status
quo.

The failure of the attempted reform policies.

Why did the reform process fail and with what consequences?
Following Necker’s dismissed in 1781, his successor Joly de Fleury discovered the true nature of
France’s, finances. The treasury was 160 million livres short for 1781 and 295 million livres
short for 1782. To make good the shortfall, Fleury and his successor Colonne, undid much of
Necker’s work by resuming the practice of selling offices (many of which Necker had
abolished). They both also borrowed much more heavily than Necker.
In 1786, with loans drying up, Colonne was forced to attempt to reform the tax system
altogether. His plan consisted of an ambitious three part programme:
i) The introduction of a land tax, on all owned land. This would affect all landed proprietors
the church, noble and common alike. This was regardless of whether the lands were used
for luxury purposes or for crops. There were to be no exemptions. This was in light of the
fact that the current system of taxation which primarily targeted the Third Estate, could
not be increased any further. New sources of revenue had to be found in order to alleviate
the burden on the Third Estate as well as increase the amount of the revenue which was
collected. Such a reform was directly affecting the privileged position of the clergy and
the nobility and was therefore likely to hit a brick wall.
ii) The second part of the programme was aimed at stimulating the economy to ensure that
future tax revenues would increase. Colonne proposed abandoning controls on the grain
trade and abolishing internal customs barriers, which prevented the free movement of
grain from one part of France to another.
iii) The final part of the programme was to try to restore national confidence so that new
loans for the short term period could be raised. By doing this, Colonne hoped that the
parliaments would be less likely to oppose the registration of his measures.

The failure of the reform process.

The obvious body that was supposed to oppose the reforms, that was representative of the nation,
was the Estate- General. But this was rejected as being too unpredictable. Colonne and Lous

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 30

XVI, opted instead, for a handpicked Assembly of notables. It was anticipated that this would be
a pliant or soft body which would willingly agree to rubber stamp the reform package.
The 144 members of the Assembly of notables met in February 1787 at a time when the financial
woes of the nation were increasingly becoming apparent. It included leading members of the
parliament, princes, leading nobles and important bishops. On examining the proposals, it
became clear that they would not support Colonne and Louis XVI’s reform package. As
representatives of the privileged orders, they had the most to lose from them.
The notables were, however, not opposed to all the changes and they agreed that taxation should
be extended to all the classes. They claimed that the approval from the nation was needed for
Colonne’s reforms had urged the summoning of the Estates – General, which had last met in
1614. Realizing the strength of opposition to Colonne, Louis XVI dismissed him in April 1787.
This action directly worsened the economic and political situation in the country because the
avenue to raise the much needed revenue was now blocked. This was one clear example where
the King’s weakness worsened the crisis in France and helped crystallize the revolutionary
situation.

The Political Crisis, 1787-1788

Colonne was replaced by one of the Notables, Lomenie de Brienne. The Assembly of Notables
proved to be no more co-operative with Brienne than it had been with Colonne.
Brienne retained Colonnes land tax and introduced a number of new reforms following on from
Necker’s earlier plans. There was to be an end to corrupt financial officials; a new central
treasury established and laws codified in a printed form accessible to those who needed to
consult them. The education system was also reformed and religious toleration was introduced.
The army was made more efficient and less expensive to maintain.
When Brienne presented his reforms first to the parliament of Paris, they refused, arguing that
the Estates – General was the only one which represented the whole nation, and needed to be
consulted about the new taxes. Louis reaction was to exile parliament to Troyes on 15 August
1788.

Louis’ action was considered to be high handed and the result was an aristocratic revolt, usually
called the revolt of the nobility. It proved to be the most violent opposition the government had
yet faced. There were riots in some of the provincial capitals where the parliaments met, such as
in Rennes in Brittany and Grenoble. In all parts of the country, nobles in unauthorized
assemblies met to discuss action in support of parliament.

An assembly of the clergy also joined in on the side of the parliaments, breaking its long
tradition of loyalty to the crown. It condemned the reforms and approved the payment of an
amount which was less than a quarter of the size requested by the crown.

What was the significance of the revolt of the nobility?

Firstly it showed clearly that Louis XVI was a weak character who failed to exercise the absolute
power which had been bestowed upon him by divine right. He was therefore incapable of
implementing tough decisions which would both, address the financial and political crisis in the
country as well as save his own position.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 31

It also shows quite clearly that, by their negative attitude towards reform, the nobility were
equally responsible for the political crisis which gripped France in 1789. The crisis in France had
reached staggering proportions where the nobility were supposed to exercise magnanimity for
their own survival. This did not happen, and the nobility as a class headed towards political and
social extinction in the face of the French Revolution.

Due to the revolt of the nobility and the failure by the crown to secure more revenue which was
desperately needed, the French government went completely bankrupt at the beginning of
August 1788. On 16 August 1788, Brienne suspended all payments from the royal treasury,
which in effect confirmed that the Crown was broke.

In September 1788, Louis was forced to back down and allow the Paris parliament to return.
Following the resignation of Brienne, the king recalled Necker in the belief that he was the only
one who could restore the government’s credit and raise new loans. Necker abandoned his
predecessor’s reform plans and while indicating that he would try to raise new loans, he stated
that he would do nothing until the Estates- General had met. The crisis revealed the limitations of
royal power. Although Louis was in effect an absolute ruler, in reality he was unable to impose
his government’s reforms on the state. The forces of opposition detected clear signs of weakness
in the Crown. The failure to secure reform contributed to a paralysis of the government.

When viewed broadly, the economic crisis directly led to the outbreak of the revolution in
France. Bankruptcy compelled the king to agree to call for the Estate-General meetings, whose
outcome directly led to the collapse of the Crown. Bankruptcy worsened the harvest failures and
the food shortage, because the Crown could not raise money to feed its people. Hence the
polarization and land politicization (a process when people who were previously unconnected
with politics take, an active interest in political issues which affect the daily lives of the majority
of the third (Estate) began as a result of the economic crisis.

The above analysis is backed by J.H. Shennan whose research argues that the long term
problems and resentments were brought to a head by events immediately preceding 1789.
According to Shannon, the two most important areas in which deep- seated problems reached a
critical point in the 1770s and 1780s, were finance and government. Financial problems brought
about by the involvement in the American War of Independence were compounded by a series of
bad harvests which resulted in steep increases in the price of bread. Behind both of those factors,
lay the permanent problem posed by the conservative social and political order which prevented
the rich land of France developing as it should and the government constantly starved of income.
Hence both long- term and short-term causes contributed significantly to the outbreak of the
French Revolution. The revolution itself was a culminating point of a long period of social,
political and economic grievances in France. Whilst factors which became more clearly visible in
1789, such as financial problems and the kings weaknesses, are often cited as more important,
the root causes of the Revolution should never be underestimated.

Study Guides
i) How significant was the financial crisis in bringing about the collapse of the monarchy?
ii) Why did the reform process instituted by the King and financial advisors fail and with what
consequences?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 32

iii) How did the economic crisis contribute to the outbreak the Revolution?

(f)The poor harvests (1787 – 1789)

The general expansion of the French economy since the 1730s was interrupted by periodic
economic crisis which hit the unprivileged the hardest. In particular, it was the crop failures and
consequent crises of the years 1787 to 1789 which led to food shortages, corresponding sharp
rises in prices, a decrease in textile production, and widespread unemployment in cities. The
misery which resulted in the cities as well as in rural areas from these short-term economic crises
and crop failures created an explosive situation, which could be ignited by unpopular political
decisions. The rural-urban drift as a result of the crop failures created the so called Paris mob,
which was restless and ready to explode into action. The poor crops of 1788 not only caused
incessant rises in prices between 1788 and 1789, but also drastically reduced the purchasing
power of the people and hampered international trade. Unemployment was therefore rife at the
precise moment when the cost of living was rocketing. Lefebvre quite justifiably asks: “How
can anyone fail to suspect a connection between this ordeal and the furore of insurrection that
gripped the population at the time?”.

Study Guide

i) How did the harvest failures from 1787-1789, a natural occurrence, end up having political and
economic consequences?

Examination type questions

1) How valid is the view that the privileged position of the nobility was the central cause of the
French Revolution?
2) The claim that Louis XVI was the most responsible figure behind the outbreak of the French
Revolution is incorrect; it was instead his wife Marrie Antoinette.” How far do you agree with
this verdict?
3) How significant was the financial crisis in bringing about the collapse of the monarchy in
France?
4) “The peasantry contributed very little, if any, to the outbreak of the French revolution.” How
valid is this assertion?

Key references

1. Cobban. A- The social Interpretation of the French Revolution, 1964

2. Doyle W- Origins of the French Revolution, 1999.
3. Ford. F- Europe: 1780- 1830, 1898
4. Furret. F- Interpreting the French Revolution, 1981
5. Jones C: The Longman Companion to the French Revolution, 1990.
6. Lefebvre G- The French Revolution, 2001.
7. Lewis G- The French Revolution: Rethinking the Debate, 1993

8. Matthews A- Revolution and Reaction

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 33

 Europe 1789- 1849, 2001
9. Rees D- France in Revolutions, 2005. Duncan Townson
10. Shennan.H. France before the Revolution, 1983
11. Soboul A- The French Revolution 1789- 1799; 1989
12. Sutherland D.M.G- France 1789- 1815:
13. Thomson. D. Europe Since Napoleon
14. Revolution and Counter revolution, 1985

CHAPTER 2
THE COURSE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789 – 1799)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the transformation of the Estates-General into the National Assembly of the radical
phase of the French Revolution.
2. Explain the differences in the significance of voting by head count and voting by class.
3. Evaluate the August Decrees and the subsequent Declaration of Rights of Man and of the
Citizen.
4. Evaluate the significance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
5. Explain the origins of the civil constitution of the Clergy (1790).
6. Explain the collapse of the monarchy in France.
7. Relate the political reforms in Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as well as
the religious reforms in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy to the following episodes in France:
i) The emergence of “émigrés” in France .
ii) The development of counter-revolutionary activity outside France. The eventual outbreak of
counter-revolutionary war against the Monarchs of Europe.

The best way to study the course of the French Revolution is to consider each revolutionary
government as an entity. A wholesale coverage of the ten-year period, apart from confusing,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 34

might leave out some very important aspects of the period. Candidates are expected to undertake
an in-depth study of each revolutionary government, analyzing the achievements and indeed the
failures of each revolutionary government. The four revolutionary governments include the
National Assembly (1789 – 1791), the Legislative Assembly (1791 – 1792), the National
Convention (1792 – 1794) and finally the Directory (1795 – 1799).

a) The National Assembly (1789 – 1791)

Events leading to the formation of the National Assembly.

i) The May riots

The economic crisis caused by the poor harvests of 1788 – 1789 led to the May riots in the
provinces. Although there had been little bloodshed in the May riots of 1788, the situation in the
provinces had clearly got out of hand. The king sent troops under General De Vaux to bring
order to the provinces. General De Vaux found that public opinion was unanimous on two
demands:- the abolition of the Letres de catchet, and the calling of the Estate General to solve the
financial problems and other issues. Louis XVI gave way to pressure. He recalled the popular
Necker as controller – general of finance, and ruled that the Estates – General should meet at
Versailles in May 1789.

ii)The meeting of the Estates – General (Parliament) 5 May 1789

Two issues became central in this meeting of the Estates General, which had last met in 1614.
These were:- the preparation of the lists of grievances (cahiers) by the three estates for discussion
when the Estate General met, and the issue of voting procedure.

a) The Cahiers (List of grievances)

The cahiers were a good indication of the grievances and proposals of the various estates in
1789. On the one hand there was a surprising amount of unanimity between the three estates.
All were in favour of retaining a hereditary monarchy, disapproved of royal and ministerial
despotism, and desired a constitution which would guarantee the rights of the individual. This
would mean a constitutional monarchy, in which the king would act as an executive officer. The
cahiers requested that the constitution and new legislation be in the hands of the Estate –
General, which should meet periodically. On the other hand, the cahiers of the clergy and the
nobility showed that the privileged classes were only prepared to relinquish their tax privileges
under certain conditions, and that they had not yet agreed to accept social and political equality
with the third estate. The third estate, however insisted on equality. Although they all demanded
legal reform, it was the third estate which went the furthest: they wanted ready access to the
courts for everyone, simplification of court procedure, abolition of the sale of judicial posts,
appointment of judges for life, the replacement of fees by salaries and the abolition of manorial
courts. The third estate also demanded religious freedom, a decrease in the tithes, and even the
state control of the church. There were also large differences in approach to the agrarian system.
Where the nobility and church wanted to see all feudal privileges retained, the third estate
demanded the abolition of all these irritating measures. In summary, it can be said that the
Revolution was, above all, a struggle for equal rights.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 35

b)The issue of voting procedure

The parliament of Paris, at the registration of the edict summoning the Estates – General, had set
the condition that the assembly was to take place like the previous one in 1614, namely that the
estates were to deliberate separately and vote according to estate. This would ensure the
continued majority of the two privileged estates, rendering any drastic reforms impossible. In
this, the parliament failed to appreciate the social and economic development which the
bourgeoisie and even the masses had undergone in the previous 150 years. Thus the decision to
summon the Estates General precipitated heated discussion about the manner in which the three
estates should be represented. The higher clergy, and the majority of the nobility, maintaining
the social privileges of the ancien regime, welcomed the proposal that the representatives of the
different estates should meet and vote separately as in 1614. The bourgeoisie, also called the
“patriots” or “nationals” and led by people like Lafayette, Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Condocet, and
Abbe Sieyes, demanded double representation for the third estate. In other words, as many
representatives as the other two estates put together, joint sessions and voting by head instead of
by estate.

Altogether, 1201 members were elected to the Estates – General: 308 Clergy, 285 members of
the nobility and 621 of the third estate. These were the circumstances under which the final
opening of the Estates – General took place on 5 May 1789. Without any firm guidance from the
government, the assembly was immediately embroiled in the issue of procedure. Necker – after a
long speech, proposed that voting according to estate should provisionally be retained. The third
estate insisted on voting by head, jointly. This would be advantageous to them because their
members were more numerous than the other two estates put together. Voting by estate,
separately would advantage the first and second estates, who would always win by 2 votes to 1,
given the fact that the two estates always voted for the same thing against the third estate. The
nobility and the clergy, however, went away to meet on their own, and therefore enchanted a
policy of no compromise.

When all efforts to persuade the privileged estates to accept their point of view had failed, the
representatives of the third estate (i.e the bourgeoisie) decided to assume full powers. After some
parish priests had joined them, they decided on the 12th June, 1789, by 489 votes against 89 to
call themselves the National Assembly. This was the first time that the monarchy’s order had
been defied so directly. This event effectively signaled the beginning of the revolution in
France.

Study Guides
i)What concerns were reflected in the ‘cahiers’?
ii)How did Louis XVI react to the actions of the Estates- General?
iii)How did the demands of the Third Estate lead to the creation of a National Assembly?
iv)What impact did the economic crisis have on the population of Paris?
v) How important was the popular movement in the outbreak of the Revolution?

The Royal session and Tennis Court Oath

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 36

Disconcerted by the events, Louis XVI approved Necker’s proposal that a royal session be held
on the 23rd of June to reach a compromise. The assembly hall of the National Assembly had to
be spruced up for the occasion. With the characteristic lack of consideration shown on numerous
occasions to the third estate, no formal notice was given of the closing of the hall. When the
members of the National Assembly arrived on the 20th of June, they found the hall locked.
Their immediate fear was that Louis was planning to dissolve the National Assembly. Acting on
the proposal of Dr Guillotin, they adjourned to a nearby building which was used as a tennis
court, and there took a solemn oath never to dissolve until they had provided France with a
constitution. This was a show of solidarity on the part of the National Assembly.

Louis XVI – failed to appreciate that the situation in France was irreversible. His insistence on
voting separately, as estates is clear evidence of a man who did not want to part with tradition.
His failure to read the situation correctly was likely to prove fatal in the future. Events in France
were intensifying by the day and the situation had become uncontrollable.

The storming of the Bastille

The king’s dismissal of the popular Necker on the 11th of July 1789 was a grave mistake. The
news of his dismissal sparked riots in Paris. The police force was not equal to the task, and the
French National Guard fraternized with the people. The mob plundered shops, broke open jails,
and finally stormed the Bastille, a notorious prison, and a symbol of tyranny, on the 14th of July
and obtained arms. So far the Revolution had not been characterized by any bloodshed. It was
during the storming of the Bastille that the first blood flowed. News of the fall of the Bastille
intensified rioting in the rural areas.
The significance of the Storming of the Bastille

The news of the fall of the Bastille spread through France and intensified activity among the
peasantry. The event itself took place on 14 July 1789 and had far-reaching results and marked a
turning point in the course of the Revolution in France. It meant that real power had passed from
the king to the elected representatives of the people. Louis had to share his power with the new
National Assembly. He was no longer in a position to dictate to the assembly, because he could
not rely upon the army. As a matter of fact, Lafayette became the commander of the
predominantly bourgeois National Guard. Moreover, the Assembly, which had on 09 July 1789,
taken the name of the constituent assembly was prepared to draw up a constitution for France
and they felt, no longer, the threat of being dissolved by the king.

Important to note too was the fact that the storming of the Bastille led to the emigration of some
of the Nobles who were led by the King’s brother Comte d Artois. These numbered around 20
000 émigrés who fled abroad in two months. Their flight abroad was directly linked with counter
revolutionary activities which unfolded after 1790. It could thus be argued that the storming of
the Bastille marked the violent phase of the French Revolution and the economic, social and
political dispossession of the king and the nobility in France.

Study Guides
i) Why was the storming of the Bastille important?
ii) What was the significance of setting up of the Paris Commune?
iii) Why did events in Paris contribute to revolt in the countryside?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 37

iv) How far did the actions of the peasantry contribute to the collapse of the ‘ancient regime’?

The achievements of the National Assembly (1789 – 91)

Candidates are expected to identify and explain the achievements/successes and failures of each
revolutionary government in France. The various political forces at work during each
revolutionary government also need to be discussed. Some of the achievements included the
abolition of feudalism, the civil constitution of the Clergy, the constitution of 1791, the
declaration of the Rights of Man, just to mention a few.

i)The August 4 Session of 1789

In the dramatic session of the 4th of August, one member after another of the nobility and of the
higher clergy rose to voluntarily renounce his feudal rights. It was, quite obvious, a decisive
moment in the Revolution. Serfdom, tithes, the corvee, the exclusive hunting and fishing rights
were all abolished, with or without compensation.

-The principle of equal taxation was announced, the sale of judicial and municipal offices
prohibited and all citizens without discrimination had access to all offices.
-A number of members of the nobility and the court circle, who feared for their lives, went into
exile. They were the first of the émigrés, to be followed later by many more in the course of the
Revolution. They were to form an émigré army of 20 000 men across the Rhine with the aim of
restoring the king to his former powers.

i)The Declaration of the Rights of Man

On the 26th of August 1789, the foundation for a new government was laid by the approval of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man. The first clause begins with the words: “Men one born free
and remain free and equal in their rights.” In essence this summarized the achievements of the
revolution to date. The rest of the declaration is merely an extension of this statement. It laid
down fundamental principles such as social equality, sovereignty of the people, civic freedom,
sovereignty, freedom of the press, equality of taxation and the division of powers.

ii) Legal and administrative reforms

The royal courts, including the parliament were abolished. A new system of regional authority
began to take shape in an attempt to break down deep provincialism and to obtain uniformity;
the Assembly did away with the old provinces and divided the whole country into eighty – three
“departments” of more or less equal size. Each department was subdivided into districts and
cantons, which in turn included communes or municipalities. A new system of local
government was also introduced. Elected councils in the communes, districts and departments
replaced the intendants and provincial assemblies of the estates.

i) The civil constitution of the Clergy (24th August 1790)

The ecclesiastical measures of the National Assembly were indicative of the dismantling of
traditional authority which characterized the revolutionary period. The August decrees
abolished tithes payable to the church without compensation. To ward off bankruptcy, the
Assembly shortly afterwards seized church property and issued paper money (assignats) to
serve as security. The following measures were passed by the Civil Constitution: First the old
number of 135 bishops was decreased to 83 corresponding to the new departments. Second,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 38

priests and bishops would henceforth be elected, which meant that the non-Roman Catholics
and apostates would be able to vote. Third, the clergy became paid state officials; fourth: the
ties between the French bishops and the pope of before 1789 were broken by forbidding the
clergy (and the rest of the French people) to recognize the authority of the pope. Fifth, all
clergy had to take an oath of loyalty to the new constitution.

The new measures had far-reaching consequences. Not only was it rejected by the Pope Pius VI,
but more than half the clergy (most of the bishops and the majority of parish priests) refused to
take the oath. These were called the non-juring priests or refractory clergy. Those who took the
oath were known as the juring priests. No other measure did the cause of the revolution as much
harm as this. France was torn apart, and the counter-revolution gained popular support. Gershey
quite rightly says “The fires of religious fanaticism were lighted, as from each side came
increasing violence and persecution”.

The king’s reaction to revolutionary changes

The measures against the church roused the king to action. He had signed the Civic Constitution
of the Clergy with a heavy heart. The break with Rome was highly inconsistent with his
religious convictions. He began to think of placing the fate of the French monarchy in the
balance by leaving Paris, where he had been brought from Versailles, through the famous March
of the Women of 5 October 1789. From some city on the border, he would be able to appeal for
help from foreign rulers (absolute monarchs) to stem the revolutionary tide in France. Ignoring
the advice of Mirabeau, (who died in 1791) and once again listening to his wife, in June a
dramatic escape attempt to reach Metz near the eastern borders failed when the royal family was
recognized and arrested at Varennes.

Effects of the attempted escape

The flight of the royal family can be seen as a turning point in the revolution for the following
reasons:-
1. Firstly, it revealed Louis’s attitude towards the revolution. It was clear that he was an
unwilling collaborator in the matter of reforms.
2. It brought republicanism into full force:- in the National Assembly a number of republicans
demanded that the king be dethroned, but the majority was still in favour of monarchical
government.
3. European monarchies – Austria and Prussia in particular realized afresh that they would have
to show solidarity in opposing the new revolutionary order.

Study Guides
i) How important were the August decrees?
ii) What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen and why was it important?
iii) Why did the state take over the property of the church?
iv) What effect did the August Decrees and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen have on the power of the Monarchy?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 39

The constitution of 1791-The Constitutional Monarchy
The constitution of 1791 was approved by the assembly on 3 September 1791 and by Louis XVI,
eleven days later. In its terms, France became a constitutional monarchy. In other words, the
king was bound by a constitution which had been compiled by representatives of the people.

The terms of the constitution

An important principle was the separation of the Legislative, executive and judicial powers, as
advocated by Montesquieu. This differed totally from the position in the ancient regime, which
had united all three powers in the absolute monarchy.

Legislative power
Legislative power was in the hands of the legislative Assembly, which was to consist of 745
members. Only “active citizens” had the vote, that is to say, male landowners of 25 years and
older, whose annual taxes were equal to three days wages. More than 4 000 000 people qualified
for enfranchisement, and about 3 000 000 were excluded because they did not qualify since they
were “passive citizens”. The legislative Assembly would be elected for two years, and the king
could also not nominate a deputy as minister. The king’s participation in Legislation was limited
to the “suspensive veto”, in other words, he could only delay legislation but not prevent it. This
veto was not in force for fiscal and constitutional measures.

Executive powers
The king was the head of the executive authority, but his powers were strictly limited. The
reason was the fear that he might reinstate the ancient regime should he have sufficient powers.
Now he was unable to introduce legislation and could not conclude treaties or declare war
without the consent of the legislative Assembly. He had no judicial powers, and could not
appoint judges. He had no control over local authorities, and there were no longer agents in the
provinces like the intendants who represented the monarch’s authority.

Administration of justice (judicial Power)

Administration of justice was to be independent of both the executive and the legislative
authorities. The hodge – podge of royal, administrative, ecclesiastic, feudal and manorial courts
which bedeviled justice to such an extent, was abolished. Procedure was simplified and made
uniform for the whole country. Judicial officers who had previously bought their offices were
replaced by elected ones. Judges were elected for only six years and received relatively low
salaries, which made it difficult for them to ignore the pressures of public opinion.
Administration of justice would be free, and all citizens, irrespective of their religious or social
status would be equal before the law.

Weaknesses/flaws of the constitution of 1791

i) The lack of a strong executive authority was a grave defect. It was to become the most
important factor in the success of the Paris commune and the Jacobins in their abolition of the
monarchy and the institution of a Republic. In its fear of the king’s reaction from the right,
the National Assembly constitution ensured a new revolution of the Jacobins from the left.
ii) Local assemblies were given extensive powers, and central government exercised little control
over them. In other words, the decentralization of authority was overdone. This was one of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 40

 the most serious flaws in the constitution since it made it difficult to make peace and
implement authority.
iii)Lack of administrative experience: In a spirit of self-denial, the National Assembly
determined that not one of its members would be eligible for the legislative Assembly. The new
legislative assembly therefore displayed a lamentable lack of experience. It had no broad base of
political authority which the National Assembly had leaned on, since its members were elected
on a limited basis.
iv) The continued exclusion of members of the legislative authority from any ministerial office
meant that there was no minister of quality. The ministers were puppets.
v) The bourgeoisie character of the constitution: Seen as a whole, the chief defect of the
constitution was its bourgeoisie character. The property qualification left the wealthier classes as
the biggest beneficiaries at the expense of the masses who had fought so hard to end the ancient
regime.
Thus the National Assembly concluded its activities in September 1791 in great disfavour. The
people as a whole were not satisfied. The lowest classes were becoming mistrustful of the
attitude and policies of the bourgeoisie, and the radical Jacobins were determined to take the
revolution further. At the other side of the spectrum, the counterrevolutionaries, the clergy, the
nobility and the émigrés abroad, were waiting for their opportunity to restore the ancient regime
with the help of foreign rulers.

Political representation in the National Assembly

Political Parties in the modern sense were non-existent in the National Assembly, but the
deputies soon showed a tendency towards separating into groups. They sat in a semi-circle
around the chairman, and so the concept of “left”, “centre” and “right”, originated to indicate
political groupings. The advocates of the ancient regime took their places at the extreme right.
These were the court nobility, the nobility of the robe and the higher clergy. They had extensive
contacts with the counter-revolutionaries inside and outside France. In the centre to the right sat
those members of the nobility who sympathized with the reform movement, but who thought that
the Revolution had gone too far. They wanted a constitution modelled on that of England.

At the left centre, were such outspoken reformers such as Mirabeau, who desired reforms of the
absolute social order, but simultaneously wanted to retain strong royal authority. They called
themselves the ‘patriots’, and formed the majority in the National Assembly. Directly to their left
the outspoken revolutionaries took their places, those who wanted to construct a constitution on
democratic principles. At the far left wing there was a group of radicals, people such as
Robespiere, who strove for a total social and political revolution on the principles of Rousseau’s
theories.

Study Guides
i) Describe the stages by which the challenge to the power of the Monarchy increased in 1789.
ii) To what extent was the role of Louis XVI the main factor shaping the course of events
between 1789 and 1792?

b)The Legislative Assembly (1791 -1792)

This was the second revolutionary government. It was the first government elected under the
new constitution; its deputies were mainly men of little political or administrative experience.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 41

The major focus on this government was on the various groups which influenced the course of
events, the 1792 war, the abolition of the monarchy and the formation of the First French
Republic.

The composition of the Legislative Assembly

Of the 745 members of the new legislative assembly 264 were Feuillants, or rightists who were
in favour of a constitutional monarchy, although not necessarily of the existing constitution.
They had no strong leaders. The left wing in the Assembly consisted of only 136 members, the
Jacobins and the Girondins. The Girondins were from the department of Gironde. They were also
known as Brissotins, after their leader, Brissot. They wanted the constitution of the Revolution
and the deposition of the king. The large majority of members 345 sat in the centre, and had no
definite political convictions. Outside the Assembly were the radical Jacobins led by Robespierre

The threat of a counter-revolution

.Within a few weeks of the first session, the Assembly paid attention to the elements postering a
counter-revolution. These were the non-juring priests in La Vandee and the Bastille émigrés in
the Netherlands and the Rhine territories. As the legislative Assembly regarded them as the most
dangerous enemies of the constitution, two decrees were proclaimed in 1791, one ordering the
émigrés back to France by the 1st January 1792 or face the pain of death. The other was
depriving all priests who refused to take the oath of allegiance of their office and emoluments.
When the king vetoed both decrees, tension between the legislative and the executive almost
reached breaking point. Louis’s veto, in fact benefited the radicals, as the supporters of the
constitution suspected him of collusion with the enemies of the Revolution.

The 1792 war

This was the war between France and the Allied powers of Austria and Prussia. This war was to
rage on for the next twenty years. Candidates are expected to determine why France went to war
with the Allied powers, and the effects of that war on France.

The causes of the 1792 war

1) The untenable position of the monarchy in France:

While the revolutionary changes in France rumbled on, international politics also took its course
by 1791, some European countries had became anxious about the events in France. France was
subtly threatening the monarchs of other powers by its abolition of feudalism and the institution
of a constitutional monarchy. The king, Louis XVI’s flight to the eastern border of France, his
suspension and subsequent imprisonment, gave rise to thoughts of information among the
threatened monarchs. This led to rapprochement between the absolute monarchs of Prussia and
Austria, who eventually fought France.

2) The role of Marie Antoinette:

Marie Antoinette was a sister to Leopold II of Austria. Antoinette appealed to her brother,
Leopold II to intervene in France and reinstate her husband. Therefore, Leopold II was under
pressure because of the safety of his sister, to intervene in France.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 42

3) The Declaration of Pillnitz on 27 August 1791

According to this declaration, done jointly by Austria and Prussia, the restoration of the
monarchy in France was a matter of common interest to all the monarchs of Europe. The
declaration of Pillnitz was a gesture rather than a serious threat, and the restoration of Louis XVI
to his throne, once he had approved the constitution in September 1791, provisionally ruled out
any reason for intervention. The language of Pillnitz was, however, provocative, and the émigrés
continued to foment war.

4) The warlike mood in France

In France, too, a strong mood of war was fast developing. As a result of the deteriorating
economic conditions, there was a spirit of restlessness in the country which could easily be
turned into a desire for war. The feuillants led by Lafayette were in favour of war because they
hoped that a short and glorious campaign would restore the prestige of the king in the eyes of the
people. The leftists were divided. The Girondins were in favour of war, not only because it
would win all classes for the revolution and bring their true attitude to light, but because their
large shipping and trade interest would benefit. The Jacobins were opposed to war because they
feared that a long exhaustive war would in case of defeat, destroy the fruits of the revolution.
Louis XVI himself was in favour of war as he expected France to be defeated and hence – the
restoration of the monarchy.

5) The accension of Francis I to the throne of Austria

In March 1792, Leopold II died. His successor, the youthful Francis I was rather inclined
towards a military adventure. In this policy, he was supported by the veteran imperial
chancellor,Von Kannitz. Francis rejected the demand of the French government that he revoke
his alliance with Prussia. This resulted in war.

Results/effects of the war

1) Heavy losses on the French side
The French army of only 130 000 men entered the war totally unprepared, and as a result
suffered heavy casualties. Discipline was extremely slack, military equipment was poor and the
economy was not prepared for war conditions. Many volunteres joined the French army for
patriotic reasons and without adequate military training.

2) Increasing insecurity of the royal family

Early military reverses immediately exerted an influence on the political state of France.
Suspicion of the Royal family and Marie Antoinette, in particular, rose to new heights. In Paris,
it was rumoured that an Austrian committee was working from the Tuileries. This endangered
the Royal family.

3) Increased Patriotism of the French people

Instead of discouraging the French, this actually did the opposite. The war led to more unity of
the French people in defence of the gains of the Revolution. It is important to note that the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 43

legislative Assembly was able, at a heavy cost in human lives, to defend the gains of the
revolution.

4) The Brunswick manifesto – 28 July 1792

The last event preceding the fall of the monarchy was the manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick,
commander in chief of the Austrio-Prussian forces. The manifesto declared that the allies were
calling on France to suppress anarchy and restore the king – Louis XVI to his rightful position of
authority, and that any members of the National Guard who resisted would be shot and their
homes demolished. The Manifesto also stated that if the Tuileries were to be stormed again or
the slightest harm befalls the royal family, revenge would be taken on Paris. It seemed to
confirm the suspicion that the émigrés and foreign rulers were secretly working hand in glove
with counter-revolutionary groups within France.

Effects of the manifesto

1) Increased violence, especially in the capital Paris –
This threatened the security of the Royal family who sought shelter in the legislative
Assembly.
2) The rise of the Revolutionary Commune in Paris –
The municipal administration of the city of Paris was taken over by the representatives of the
48 sections into which Paris had been divided in the middle of 1790. They called themselves
the Revolutionary Commune. The Sansculottes, that is action groups from the lowest classes
of the petit bourgeoisie such as craftsmen, shopkeepers and industrial workers, joined the
Revolutionary commune. Although a republic had not yet been officially proclaimed, (but
defacto), it already existed.
3) Loss of control by the legislative Assembly -
The legislative Assembly had lost control of the situation. Leadership now rested in the hands
of the Paris Revolutionary city council or Commune. It now controlled the police and the
National Guard. A provincial government was chosen in which Danton played the leading
role. The Council provisionally maintained the Legislative Assembly, but forced it to keep
the king suspended and confined until such time that the National Convention, elected on the
basis of universal suffrage, could draw up a new constitution.

The September massacres

These were caused by the rumours that Verdun was surrounded and that the enemy cavalry was
on its way to the capital. Panic seized the city, and new volunteers were hurriedly recruited.
Jails were stormed and the suspects were indiscriminately murdered on 2 September 1792.
Various provincial cities followed the example of Paris. In the course of four days some 1200
victims died. The September massacres had far-reaching results. The events strongly influenced
the election of delegates to the National Convention. Thus atmosphere of violence caused the
Monarchists and moderates to stay away from voting. In fact only 10% of the qualified voters
registered their votes. This ensured a thoroughly republican convention and the election of
extreme revolutionaries such as Marat, Danton and Robespierre. With one exception, all 24
members for Paris were Jacobins, while the Girondins found most of their support in the rural
areas.

Study Guides

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 44

i) To what extent was the Civil Constitution of the Clergy the defining moment of the Revolution
before 1793?
ii) Was the new system of taxation better than the old one?
iii) How did the Constitution of 1791 propose to limit the powers of the Crown?
iv) Why did the French Revolution become more radical up to 1792?
v) Explain why the King attempted to flee France on 21 June 1791.
vi) Was the flight to Varennes a turning point in the Revolution?
vii)Why were the events of the champs de Mars massacre important?
viii) What effect did the lack of trust between politicians and the King have on the legislative
Assembly?
xi) What impact did the Flight to Varennes have on the émigrés?

Examination type questions

1.Which event was more significant to the course of the French Revolution: the Declaration of
the Rights of Man or the civil constitution of the clergy?
2.How valid is the view that Louis XVI’s downfall was precipitated more by those who ought to
overthrow him than by his own mistakes?
3.Why was Louis XVI executed in January 1793?
4.Why did the radicals gradually gain more for their aims than the moderates by 1793?
5.Why did France go to war with other European states in 1792?
6.How valid is the claim that the Directory added nothing to the achievements of the French
Revolution?

Key References

1. Blanning T- The French Revolution: Class War or culture Clash? 1997.

2. Cowie L. W- The French Revolution 1987.
3. Doyle W– The Oxford History of the French Revolution, 1989.
4. Fisher H.A.L – A History of Europe, Vol 2. 1960.
5. Godechot Jacques – the storming of the Bastille July 14th; 1970.
6. Hardman John – The French Revolution Sourcebook, 1999.
7. Matthews Andrew - Revolution and Reaction, Europe 1789-1849.
8. Rayner E.G. - The French Revolution R.F Stapley 1789-99.
9. Rees Dylan and France in Revolution, 2005 Duncan Townson.
10. Rude George - The French Revolution, 1988.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 45

 CHAPTER 3
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION (1792 – 1795)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
i) Explain the origins of the counter- revolutionary war against France
ii) Explain the origins and assess the impact of terror in revolutionary France
iii) Explain the impact of the Declaration of Pillnitz and the Brunswick Manifesto
iv) Analyse the role played by the:
a) Revolutionary Tribunal
b) The committee of Public Safety
c) The Guillotine
d) The Law of suspects
e) Edict of Fraternity
v) Evaluate the role played by Maximilian Roberspierre, Danton, Guissot, Marat and other
extreme republicans.
vi) Explain the reasons which led to Louis XVI-s execution
vii) Analyse the impact of counter -revolutionary war on France

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 46

viii) Explain the impact of de-Christianization in France (Role played by Herbertists and the
supreme goddess of reason; the republic of virtue etc.)

The highlights of this period are the abolition of the monarchy, the execution of Louis XVI, the
intensification of the war with the formation of the First Coalition and the 1793 constitution.
Most of the period, however, is dominated by the Reign of Terror. This is an important part of
the syllabus and candidates are expected to undertake an in depth study of it.

The abolition of the monarchy and the execution of the king (Louis XVI)
The first action of the Convention was to abolish the monarchy on the 21st September 1792, and
to declare that the first year of the French Republic began on the 22nd September 1792. The
question was what to do with the king. The Girondins wanted to spare his life, but the Jacobins
demanded his death as a matter of political necessity and not so much as of justice. After a trial
of more than six weeks, Louis XVI was found guilty of high treason. With a majority of 70
votes, he was sent to the guillotine, where he died on the 21st January 1793. This was the first
victory for Jacobins, for the idea began to take root that the Girondins were no longer faithful to
the revolution since they had tried to protect the king.

The formation of the first coalition

Causes of its formation
i) The Edict of Fraternity – November – 1792:
After their success at Valmy on 20 September 1792, the French took the offensive along the
entire border from the Mediterranean to the Baltic. Nice and Savoy were occupied as well as
Speyer, Worms, Mainz and Frankfurt. The Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) were invaded and
the Austrian troops driven out. The French armies were welcomed everywhere as liberators by a
large part of the inhabitants. In the first flush of victory, the Convention decreed the Edict of
Fraternity in November 1792. By this Edict, the Convention declared that all nations who
wished to rebel against their rulers would be offered assistance. This was a challenge, indeed to
all the monarchs of Europe
.
ii) Declaration on the river Scheldt:
Shortly before the Edict of Fraternity, the Convention had declared that the river Scheldt was
open to the shipps of all nations. This was a challenge and a severe blow to the Dutch, who since
the peace of Westphalia in 1648, had held the sole navigation rights over the river as well as to
their British protectors. Savoy, Nice, Belgium and the Rhineland were incorporated into France.
France was really exporting the revolution to other nations.

iii) The execution of Louis XVI:

The execution of Louis XVI further brought matters to a head. This sent shock waves across
Europe, especially among the monarchs. They felt threatened by the events in France. They felt
the Revolutionary ideas had to be stopped before they affected their own people. In response to
the declaration of war on Britain and the Netherlands by France, the First Coalition was formed
on the 1st February 1793. It consisted of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Britain and the
Netherlands.

The supremacy of the Jacobins

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 47

The struggle between the Girondins and the Jacobins intensified daily. The resistance to attempt
to peg food prices further antagonized the starring mob of Paris. On the 2 nd of June 1793 the
National Guard, and the order of a new so-called Insurrectionary Commune, which had taken
over the authority in the meantime, forced the Convention to have a score of Girondin leaders
arrested. Some escaped, and the rest were put under guard in Paris. The Jacobins were now in
power.

The constitution of 1793

The first action of the Jacobins was an attempt to reconcile public opinion in the provinces by
drawing up a new constitution. A draft was ready within a few weeks, and on the 24 th of June,
the Convention approved the constitution of 1793. More than the constitutions of 1791 and 1795,
it embodied the idea of direct representation by the people.

Study Guides
i) Why did France go to war in April 1792?
ii) Why did King Louis XVI become increasingly isolated during 1792?
iii) How well prepared was France for the war in 1792?
iv) How did the feeders (miltant revolutionaries and republicans) and the Brunswick manifesto
lead to removal of the King?

Terms of the constitution

i)There would be no property qualification for voters or candidates
ii)Every male citizen of twenty-one years and older would have the vote to elect deputies to the
legislative Assembly.
iii) Executive Authority would be in the hands of a committee of 25 members chosen by the
legislative Assembly.
iv) A declaration of rights promised freedom of worship and of labour employment.

The constitution, however, was never implemented because of the situation within and outside
France. The security situation had deteriorated so much that normal government was suspended,
leading to the so-called Reign of Terror.

Study Guides
i) Describe the causes and results of the Vandee rebellion in 1793.
ii) Why did Louis XVI’s actions lead to demands for greater democracy in France?
iii) What did the trial and execution of Louis XVI reveal about divisions in the Convention?
iv) How serious was the military crisis in August- September 1792?

The Reign of Terror (1793 – 1794)

Candidates are expected to be able to define the Terror as well as explain its causes and results.
They are also expected to discuss how the Terror achieved its objectives, that is, the machinery
of the Terror.

What was the terror?

This was the period in the Revolution when the government of France as embodied in the
Convention, deliberately adopted a policy of terror in order to instill fear in the Republic in the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 48

hearts of the royalists, traitors, counter – revolutionaries and war profiteers. The Terror was an
emergency and temporary measure meant to run for one-year 1793 – 1794. Normal government
was suspended during the reign of Terror.

Causes of the terror

The Terror was caused by the deteriorating situation both internally and outside France.

a)The internal revolts

Revolts broke out in about sixty departments south and west of Paris, where royalists, non-juring
priests and Girondins made common cause to overthrow the Jacobins reign. Some of the
departments which were in revolt included La-Vendee, Lyons and Marseilles. The peasants,
especially in La Vendee had rebelled against the recruitment of troops.

In Paris and elsewhere, the price of bread, which had been stabilized the precious year, rose
shaply.Necessities such as soap, sugar, and coffee were unobtainable. There was an unparalleled
shortage of food and the assignats dropped only to about 30 percent of their normal value.

The external threat – The first coalition

With the formation of the First Coalition, matters took a serious turn almost immediately. The
defeat and treason of Dumouriez were followed by the loss of the Netherlands. Spanish troops
crossed the Pyrenees. The crisis was aggravated by the simultaneous invasion by Prussian and
Jordanian forces, while the British fleet began a blockade of French harbours.

Therefore, with these clear and dangerous threats to the Revolution, it was clear that drastic
measures only would save the Republic, hence the Reign of Terror.

The machinery of the terror

The Committee of Public safety
The threat to the Republic posed by foreign armies and internal revolts had an immediate effect
on internal politics. The Convention entrusted all executive authority to a secret committee of
nine members, known as the Committee of Public Safety. The most important member was
Danton. The Committee controlled the ministers as well as the various committees of the
Convention. By means of political commissioners, it kept a close watch on local governments in
the provinces and incited them to action. On the 10th of July 1793, the Committee of Public
safety- which was in charge of external security, assumed dictatorial powers.

The committee of General Security

This committee controlled the police, investigated the reports of secret informants and arrested
conspirators and suspect persons. In other words, it was in charge of the internal security during
the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror can be divided into the economic, religious and
political/military Terror. This is because the terror was to make itself felt in the economic,
religious and political spheres.

i)The economic terror

The purpose of the economic terror was really to organize the people with a view to supress the
state of war. In this manner, military supplies could be obtained at reasonable cost. The clashing

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 49

interests of the consumer and the producer could be coordinated. A central Food committee
contributed to the success of the policy. Bread was rationed, food and war supplies were
earmarked for the war effort at fixed prices. According to the law of the Maximum, the
Convention only could set the maximum prices of all basic commodities. Because some of the
farmers were no longer selling their grain to government because of low prices offered by the
latter, two drastic measures were introduced. These were food requisitioning – whereby the
government used force to get the grain from the farmers and making hoarding punishable by
death. Stringent financial measures were taken to ward off the financial crisis, e.g. a compulsory
levy of 1 000 000 Francs on the rich.

ii) The religious terror

In religious matters, the payment of salaries to priests was left in abeyance and the Christian
religion was viewed with suspicion and scorn. The Herbertists, a small group of fanatics under
Herbert and Fouche, who controlled the Paris Commune, wanted to take matters even further.
All churches in Paris were closed, and steps were taken to institute atheism, as the official
religion. Luther Cathedral or Notre Dame, an actress was crowned as the Goddess of Reason.
The provinces followed the example of Paris, and thousands of churches were closed, or
converted into “temples of reason”

The republican Calendar replaced the Christian – Gregorian one. The twelve months of the year
were re-named after seasons, and the names of saints in the calendar were replaced by names of
plants, trees and fruits. Every month was divided into three periods of ten days, so that the
Christian Sunday fell away. These measures, were, however, not as popular as anti-clericalists
had hoped. Robespierre, who personally held deistic convictions regarded the excesses of the
Herbertists as a blot on the name of the Republic, and feared that there would be serious
repercussions abroad. The Committee of Public safety also realized that the majority of the
French were still loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, there was the possibility that
the religious terror could become a source of social confusion and political disunity. With the
support of Danton, the Hebertists were consequently accused condemned by the Revolutionary
Tribunal, and sent to the guillotine.

The political terror

The political terrorism of the Reign of Terror was extensive. The “law of suspects” determined
that all suspects should be charged immediately. Suspects were described as all persons who
showed that they sympathized with “tyranny”. As a result, few royalists, Girondins or people
who were in the slightest, dissatisfied with the Revolution, escaped. In Paris, the Committee of
General Security had the task of arresting suspects, while in the provinces, vigilance committees
were responsible. It has been calculated that about 500 000 people were arrested. Between
January 1793 and June 1795, the Revolutionary Tribunal, a special court not bound by the
ordinary rules of court and legal procedures, sent about 2800 people among them Marie
Antoinette and the duke of Orleans, to the guillotine. Many others were the victims of a senseless
butchery, while their property was confiscated. The worst atrocities occurred in the provinces.

The military terror

On the recommendations of the Committee of Public Safety, the Convention proclaimed a
general mobilization for military service and labour. It was an important step in the direction of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 50

full-scale war. An army of 750 000 men was soon raised through conscription or levee en
masse. All men between the ages of 25 and 40 were drafted into the army. Tribute must go to
the efforts of the energetic Carnot. He transformed an ill-disciplined and ill-equipped French
army into an efficient army.

The results of the terror – positive results

While the above measures were frequently senseless and cruel, they had an important effect.
The Reign of Terror was viewed by normal and civilized citizens as an imperative in order to
overcome a national state of emergency. Not only treason, but even indifference or laxness
towards the Republic became dangerous. In addition, the greatest dangers, as well as the threats
from abroad, could be countered during October 1793 with a good measure of success. France
ended the year 1793 with excellent victories.

i) Firstly, the external enemy, which is the first coalition was repulsed across every border, and
the counter-revolutionary sprit was contained.
ii) The internal revolts in the departments like La Vendee were suppressed.
iii) Due to the economic terror, the value of the assignats remained fairly firm. In other words,
the economic scene improved drastically.

Negative results
i) The terror had resulted in the deaths of many innocent people through the Law of Suspects.
ii) The dechristianizing activities of the Hebertists had compromised the unity of the nation as
the Roman Catholic Church was the majority religion in France. Later Robespierre, who
believed in the binding force of religion, did not want to reintroduce Roman Catholicism. He
introduced a new deistic religion characterized by two things – the cult of the Supreme Being
and the immorality of the soul.
iii) Robespierre’s dictatorship:- Instead of ending the Terror after it had accomplished its
purpose, Robespierre intensified it. This intensification was totally unjustified as it was
prompted by personal selfish ambition. It resulted in the execution of Danton and fifteen of
his followers.
iv) The Thermidorian Convention (July 1794 – October 1795). In the month of Thermidor (July),
the Reign of Terror reached a turning point. The fear that Robespierre was heading for total
dictatorship had rapidly been growing. Robespierre became so obsessed with power that he
wanted through the law of Prairial (June) 1794, to silence all criticism. This alienated him from
most members of the Committee of Public safety. Consequently on the 27th of July (9 thermidor),
he was arrested. The following day, the 28th July 1794, he was guillotined with 21 of his
followers.

Consequences of the fall of Robespierre

i) The committees of Public Safety and that of Generals security lost their despotic powers
ii) The Revolutionary Tribunal was abolished.
iii) The Jacobins club was closed.
iv) The Convention retained its grip on the Revolution, and the remaining Girondins regained
access to the Convention.
v)The economic tyranny was relaxed and forced loans were abolished.
vi)A list of the laws against the non-juring priests and against the émigrés were revoked.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 51

vii)Religious freedom was reinstated.
viii) The bourgeoisie regained the political control which it had temporarily lost to the rash
efforts to establish a republican democracy. To forestall any further attempt to restore the
monarchy, the bourgeoisie in the Convention drew up the constitution of year III (1795).
Study Guides
i) What was the significance of the overthrow of the Girondins?
ii) How did Robespierre justify the terror?
iii) What was the impact of the Maximum Laws?
iv) How important a figure is Robespierre in the history of the French Revolution?
v) How successful was terror?
vi) Why was Robespierre overthrown and executed during the coup d’tat of Thermidor?
vii) To what extent did the executions -aulottes shape the course of the French Revolution?
viii) Assess why the government followed such extreme polices during the Terror?
ix) What measures were taken to end Terror?

Examination type questions

1. “Considering its results upon French society between 1793 and 1794, terror was an
unnecessary evil.” How far do you agree?
2. Analyse the causes and results of counter-revolutionary wars in France between 1792 and
1794.
3. To what extent did the Jacobins change the course of the French Revolution?
4. Why was the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte so ‘successful’ in France?

CHAPTER 4
THE DIRECTORY: 1795 - 1799
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the circumstances which led to creation of the Directory.
2. Describe and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution of Year 111 of
1795 which gave rise to the Directory.
3. Explain why the popular risings of Germinal and Prairal failed in 1795 in France.
4. Explain the reasons why the Directory was able to survive the many onslaughts it faced
between 1795 and 1799.
5. Explain why the Directory was eventually in the Coup de tat of Brumaire (Summer
1799).
6. Evaluate the achievements of the Directory.
7. Explain the Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power in France.

BACKGROUND

The immediate aftermaths of the fall of the Jacobins was that, the National Convention moved in
to restore order. The Jacobins themselves had arisen out of the National Convection as members

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 52

of the Montagnards. But they had extreme views and violent tactics to save the revolution.
These tactics included terror, dictatorship and the use of the law of the maximum. Although
Robespierre claimed to be working towards saving the revolution from internal and external
threats, it must be remembered that he had more important sinister motives such as setting up an
unparallel dictatorship in France.
It was therefore common understanding and expectation that the first task the National
Convention would do to ensure a lasting guarantee of the liberties of the 1789 revolution would
be to remove all the institutions and mechanisms of terror, and in their place, setting up a
democratic constitution. The constitution would ensure that no one individual is made too
powerful in France. Hence, the Directory were appointed as a guarantor against a possible return
of the Jacobian dictatorship in France.

ENDING THE TERROR

Between July 1794 and 31 May 1795 the convention set about dismantling the machinery of the
Terror in a number of ways.
 The Revolutional Tribunal was abolished, and France resorted to the civil judicial system.
 All political suspects who had been detained under the law of suspects were released
without charge.
 The law of Prairial, which authorised the Jacobins to carry out more wholesale
convictions and brought in the Great Terror, was repealed. The Jacobin club was also
closed down.
 Religious reforms were also carried out to end the de-Christianisation which had been
started by the Herbetists. In September 1794, the convention decided that it would no
longer pay clerical salaries. This, for the first time, brought about the separation of the
church and state. Moreover, on 21 February 1795 the government restored freedom of
worship for all religions, and thereby formally ending the persecution of religion waged
during the Terror by the de-Christianisation campaign. For the first time in a major
European country, the state was declaring itself to be entirely neutral in all matters of
religious faith.

The above changes meant that the political centralization which had been established by the
Committee of Public Safety was abandoned. Committees of the National Convention were set
up to take over most of the work of the Committee of General Security (CGS) and the
Committee of Public Safety (CPS). The latter was now confined to running the war and
diplomacy. In Paris, the commune was abolished. In local government, power passed again to
the moderates and property owners who had been in control before June 1793.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE YEAR III, 1795

The Thermidorians (those individuals and groups who had helped to overthrow Robespierre)
wanted a new constitution which would guarantee the main features of the Revolution of 1789.
This had ushered in the abolition of privileges, and freedom of the individual and the control of
local and national affairs by an elected assembly and elected officials. They also wanted to
ensure that a dictatorship, like that of the Committee of Public Safety7 (CPS) would be

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 53

impossible in the future and that there would be no return to monarchy or the popular
sovereignty on the sans-culotte model (a violent and anarchic manner).
The main features of the new constitution which brought in the Directory were therefore as
follows:
 All males over 21 years old who paid direct taxation were allowed to vote in the primary
assemblies to choose electors.
 Real power, however, was exercised by the electors who actually chose the deputies.
Electors themselves had to be people who paid taxes equivalent to 150 – 200 days labour.
This was such a high requirement that the number of electors had fallen from 50 000 in
1790 – 2 to 30 000 in 1795. Electors were, therefore, the very rich who had suffered
from the Revolution in 1793.
 In order to prevent a dictatorship arising, the Midorians rigidly separated the legislature
from the Executive.

THE LEGISLATURE
The legislature was divided into two chambers as follows:
1. The council of Five Hundred, all of whom had to be over the age of 30. This council
would initiate legislation and then would pass it on to a council of Ancients.
2. The Council of Ancients were (250 men of over 40), who would approve or object to
bills, but could not introduce or change them. There was no property qualification for the
constitution of other chambers. Elections were to be held every year, when a third of the
members retired.

THE EXECUTIVE
The executive was to be a Directory of five members, chosen by the Ancients from the list drawn
up by the five hundred. The five Directors would hold office for five years, though one, chosen
lot had to retire each year. Directors were not allowed to be members of either council, and their
powers were limited. They would not initiate or veto laws or declare war, and they had no
control over the treasury, yet they had considerable authority as they were in charge of
diplomacy, military affairs and law enforcement. Ministers who also could not sit in the councils
were appointed by, and were responsible to the directors. This was the same case with
government commissioners, as well as representatives on mission, and national agents who saw
to it that government policy was implemented in the provinces.

WEAKENESSES OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION

In spite of the checks and balances, a complex system which ensured that the power given to the
executive was balanced by the power granted to the legislature, the new constitution had many
weaknesses.
 The yearly elections promoted instability, as majorities in the councils could be quickly
overturned.
 There was no means of resolving conflicts between the Legislature and the Executive.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 54

  The councils could easily paralyse the Directory by refusing o pass laws that the
government required.
 The Directors could neither dissolve the councils nor veto laws passed by them.
 The legislature was not in a strong position either, if it clashed with the executive. It
would alter the composition of the Directory only by replacing the one director who
retired each year with its own candidate
 The new constitution enforced, quite rigidly, the separation of powers (the division of
Executive and Legislative powers in order that the government could not make laws
without the support of the legislature). Yet if a hostile majority dominated the
Legislature, then the constitution allowed it to paralyse the Directory. As the Directory
was unable to dissolve the legislature or even veto their laws, it came to rely on
unconstitutional methods such as cancelling election returns and calling in the army to
resolve any disputes. As will be noted, the army had their own vested interests and they
envied political power. This led to the overthrow of the Directory in 1799.

It is important to note that the convention, having drawn up the new constitution devised means
to cling on to power, a little longer, since they knew that they were unpopular as an elected
assembly/chamber. They also feared that an open election might produce a royalist majority.
Hence, in order to avoid this, it decreed that two thirds of the deputies to the new councils must
be chosen from among the existing deputies of the Convention. The new constitution of Year III
was agreed on, 22 August 1795. This was submitted to a plebiscite for approval. 1 057 390 were
in favour of the constitution, against 49 978 who opposed it. Four million voters did not vote
mainly because of apathy towards the whole system of elections in France. The Two – Thirds
Decree was accepted by only 205 000 to 108 000. As will be seen there was growing anxiety
and fission in many sections of French political life.

THE VERONA DECLARATION – Why did it fail to appeal to the French people?
As the discussions about the proposed constitution were nearing a close, the Royalists sought to
promote their cause. Constitution monarchists, wanting a return to a limited monarchy similar to
that in the 1791 Constitution, felt they were gaining public support as they appeared to offer a
prospect of stability. They had hoped to put Louis XVI’S son, - a prisoner in the Temple. (one of
the prisons in Paris), on the throne as LOUIS XVII’, but he died in June 1795.
From northern Italy, therefore, came the Conte De Province, Louis XVI’s brother who
immediately proclaimed himself as Louis XVIII, and on 24 June, issued the Verona Declaration.
The Declaration promised to reverse many of the liberal gains made during the French
Revolution. Louis promised to restore the ancient constitution of France completely, which
meant restoring the three orders and the parlements (3 classes, – first, second and third). He also
promised to restore ‘stolen properties” such as the lands taken from the nobility, émigrés and
clergy. This antagonised all those who had bought lands and all who had benefited from the
abolition of the tithe and siegneurial dues. Although not intended, the Verona Declaration turned
out to be a great boost to those who loved a republic. This is because the declaration turned out
to be a reactionary document which made even the task of restoring the monarchy very difficult
if not impossible.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 55

THE VENDEMIAIRE UPRISING
The Verona Declaration failed to attract mass support for the royalist cause. Although work on
the new constitution was proceeding well, of the new two-thirds law came as a shock to many
Parisians who had hoped that the convention would soon be replaced. It was the inability to deal
with food shortages and inflation that turned many ordinary people against the Convention, yet it
now appeared that many of its deputies would be returned to the new assembly. Hence, the
attack on the convention became synonymous with the attack on the new Directory.
The royalists, in particular, felt that the prospect of any restoration of the monarchy was unlikely,
given the known hostility of the Convention. Frustration and anger, therefore, spilled into
rebellion.
On 5 October 1795 (13 Vendemiaire) a large royalist crowd of 25 000 gathered to march on the
Convention and seize power. They greatly outnumbered the 7 500 government troops, but the
latter had cannons, under the command of General Banaparte, whereas the rebels did not. The
devastating artillery fire – Bonaparte’s famous “Whiff of grapeshot”, crushed the rebellion. As
over 300 were killed or wounded in the fighting, this was one of the bloodiest of the
revolutionary episodes. It also marked another war, the people of Paris would not again attempt,
to intimidate an elected assembly until 1830.
The divisions among the royalists and the unpopularity of the Verona Declaration, all made the
rising of Vendemiaire appear rather mysterious. It is usually presented as a royalist rising
brought about by the two-thirds Decree, which, it is said, prevented the royalists from obtaining a
majority in the elections to the Councils. Yet, the largest groups of the rebels were artisans and
apprentices: a third of those arrested were manual workers. The rising was not simply against
the two-thirds Decree, but had economic origins too. Many people, including rentiers - small
property owners, and government employed, had been badly hit by inflation. These people, who
were among the rebels, had supported the Thermidorians and defended the Convention in the
rising of Germinal and Prairial.
The repression that followed was light. Only two people were executed although steps were
taken to prevent further risings. The sectional assemblies were abolished and the National Guard
was put under the control of Napolean Banaparte, the new Army General. For the second time in
six months, the army had saved the Directory, which was still in its infancy and still dominated
by the unpopular former members of the Convention.

THE DIRECTORY
The new third of the members elected to the council for five hundred after Vendemaire, and the
dissolution of the Convention, was mainly a royalist, but they were, at least, unable to influence
the choice of directors. As the Verona Declaration had threatened to punish all the regicides
(those who killed the King), the Conventionnels (members of the convention between 1792 and
1795) were elected as Directors, (Carnot was the best known), all of whom were regicides, as
this would be a guarantee against a royalist restoration.
The directors wanted to provide a stable and liberal government which would maintain the gains
of the revolution. Yet the problems they faced were daunting. The war appeared to be endless,
and it had to be paid for. The treasury was empty, taxes were unpaid and the assignat had
dropped in value. Many Frenchman did not expect the Directory to last more than a few months.
The Directory did, however, survive and for longer than any of the other revolutionary regimes.
There were a number of factors that contributed to this:
 The Directory was committed to restoring the rule of law.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 56

  Many of their key opponents were discredited. Few wanted a return either to the Jacobin
Terror of Year II or to the absolute monarchy of the ancient regime.
 While many ordinary people were prepared to accept a constitutional monarchy with
limited powers, the royalists themselves were deeply divided between extremists who
supported the Verona Declaration and constitutional monarchists.
 Public apathy also helped the Directory to survive – after six years of revolution and
three years of war revolutionary enthusiasm had all, but disappeared.
 Significantly, the army supported the Directory as a royalist restoration would mean an
end to the war. Army officers did not wish to be deprived of any opportunity provided by
war, for promotion or plunder. It was the army above all, that enabled the Directory to
overcome all challenges to its authority, but this was a double-edged weapon. The army
which kept the Directory in power would be the most serious threat to its survival, if it
became dissatisfied.

THE BABEUF PLOT, 1797

The first real challenge to the Directory came from Gracchus Babeuf, a radical pamphleteer and
editor of Tribun Du Peuple. Babeuf disliked the constitution of the Year III because it gave
power to the wealthy. He believed that the aim of society should be “the common happiness”,
and that the revolution should secure the equal enjoyment of life’s blessings for all. He thought
that as ownership of private property produced inequalities the only way to establish real equality
was to establish the communal management of property and abolish private possession. These
ideas were a lot more radical than those put forward in the Year II and had led many historians to
regard Babeuf as the first communist, a forerunner of Karl Marx (1818 – 83).
From March 1796, Babeuf organised a plan to overthrow the Directory by means of a coup. He
saw what he called his “conspiracy of Equals” as a popular rising. Babeuf realised, however,
that this would not come about spontaneously, but must be prepared by a small group of
dedicated revolutionaries. Through propaganda and agitation they would persuade key
institutions like the army and police, who would provide the force to seize power. After seizing
power the revolutionary leaders would not hand it over to an elected assembly, but would
establish a dictatorship in order to make fundamental changes in the organisation of society.
Babeuf received no support from the sans-culottes and little from former Jacobins. He was
arrested in May 1796, after being betrayed to the authorities by a fellow conspirator, and was
executed the following year. Marxist historians such as Albert Soboul consider Babeuf’s
theories to be extremely influential. They argue that his ideas inspired not only nineteenth
century French revolutionaries, like Blanqui, but ultimately, Lenin and his followers who set up
the first communist state in the Soviet Union in 1917. Babeuf’s importance to the French
Revolution itself, however, was slight.

THE COUP D’ETAT OF FRUCTIDOR 1797 (3- 4 September 1797)

The elections of 1797 revealed a growing popular shift towards the monarchists. People were
tired of war abroad and religious conflicts at home, and found the idea of a constitutional
monarchy attractive, believing that it would offer peace and stability. Of the 216 ex-members of
the convention who sought re-election, only eleven were returned. Monarchists won 180 of the
260 seats being contested, bringing their numbers in the councils to 330. The wealthy, populous

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 57

northern departments returned the largest proportion of monarchists, which suggests that the
Directory had lost the support of the richer bourgeoisie.
The elections, in which, in some departments, were fewer than 10% of the electors who voted,
did not give the monarchists a majority in the Councils. However, they did mean that the
Directory no longer had majority support and could rely on only about a third of the deputies.
All the monarchists needed to do, it appeared, was to wait for the next elections, when more
Conventionnels would have to give up their seats and, if voting followed a similar pattern to the
elections of 1797, they would obtain a majority. Monarchists would then be in a position to
restore the monarchy legally. The opponents of the Directory wee also successful in elections to
the provincial administrations.

THE COUP D’ETAT. WHAT WAS ITS IMPORTANCE

The royalists showed their strength when the councils appointed three of their supporters to
important positions. One was elected President of the Five Hundred and another President of the
Ancients. Barthelemy, the new director was regarded as symphathetic to the monarchists, as was
Carnot, who was becoming steadily more conservative. Carnot was prepared to give up
conquered territory to make a lasting peace and so was disliked by the generals.
Of the remaining Directors, two were committed Republicans. They were determined to prevent
a restoration of the monarchy and sought help from the army. Bonaparte had already sent
General Augereau to Paris with some troops to support the republican Directors. On the nights
of 3 – 4 September 1797 (17 – 18 Fructidor) troops were ordered to seize all the strong points in
Paris and surround the Council chambers. They then arrested two Directors, Carnot and
Barthelemy, and 53 deputies.
Some of the remaining deputies who attended the councils clearly felt intimidated, and they
approved two decrees demanded by the remaining Directors. One decree cancelled the elections
in 49 Departments removing 177 deputies without providing for their replacement. Normandy
Brittany, the Paris area and the north now had no parliamentary representation at all. As second
decree provided for the deportation to the penal settlements in Guiana of Carnot (who had
escaped and fled abroad and was sentenced in absentia), Barthelemy, the 53 deputies arrested
and some leading royalists. The Directors also cancelled the local government elections and
made appointments themselves.
It was clear to all that the coup was the end of parliamentary government and of the constitution
of Year III. It was also clear that the executive had won an important victory over the
legislature. The revival of monarchism had thus been dealt a significant blow. It also meant that
the Directory could now govern without facing hostile councils.

TERROR
After Fructidor, the new Directory took action against émigrés and refractory priests. Émigrés
who had returned to France were given two weeks to leave, (otherwise they would be executed).
During the next few weeks many were hunted down and were sentenced to death. The Clergy
were now required to take an oath rejecting any support for the royalty. Those who refused
would be deported to Guiana. The 1400 non-juring priests were sentenced to deportation.
The terror that followed Fructidor was limited. It was carried out solely by the government and
the army in an attempt to destroy the royalist movement. In the short-term, it succeeded. But by
alienating Catholic opinion, it provided more opponents for the Directory

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 58

FINANCIAL REFORM UNDER THE DIRECTORY
Many of the financial problems of the Directory were the legacy of previous regimes, which had
printed more and more assisgnats in order to pay for the war. As by February 1796, these were
almost worthless, and the Directory issued a new paper currency known as mandats territoriaux.
They also soon lost value and by July were worth less than five percent of their nominal value.
In February 1797 they ceased to be legal tender.

The monetary crisis had been catastrophic for government officials, rentiers and workers, as they
saw rapid decline in their purchasing power. Metal coins now became the only legal currency
and these were in short supply. There were only one billion livres in circulation in 1797
compared with two and a half billion in 1789. Thus, resulted in deflation (a fall in prices as
demand for goods and services falls), as producers and retailers lowered prices to try to stimulate
demand among consumers who were reluctant to buy goods. The inflation of 1795 to 1997 had
made the Directory unpopular with the workers. Now it became unpopular with businessmen,
since lower prices meant lower profits.

REDUCING THE NATIONAL DEBT

From the coup of Fructidor to the spring of 1799 the Directory had little trouble with the purged
councils, and Dominique – Vincent Ramel, the Minister of Finance had an opportunity to
introduce some far-reaching reforms. This debt increased during the revolution and the war was
renounced by a one-off payment to debt holders. Their loans to the government were converted
into non-interest bearing bonds which could be used to buy national property.
This move was of immediate benefit to the government as it reduced the annual interest as it
reduced the annual interest on the national debt from 240 million francs (a quarter of
government expenditure)to 80 million. It was not of much use to the bondholders who were
denied income. Within a year the value of the bonds had fallen by 60 percent. Soon after that
they became worthless when the government refused to accept them for the purchase of biens
(nationalised property of the church as ordered by the decree of 2 November 1789). This was in
effect a practical declaration of state bankruptcy as two thirds of the national debt was liquidated
in this way. Although debt holders were unhappy with the measure, the bankruptcy of the two –
thirds (the government wrote off two – thirds of the debt it owed its creditors), as it was known,
helped to stabilize French finances for a time.

INCREASING REVENUE
In addition to cutting expenditure, Ramel wanted to increase revenue. He put in place a number
of policies to achieve this:
In 1798 four basic forms of direct taxation were established
 A tax on trading licences
 A land tax
 A tax on movable property
 A tax on doors and windows.

These measures were among the most lasting achievements of the Directory and survived until
1914.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 59

Ramel changed the method of collecting direct taxes. Whereas previously locally elected
authorities had been responsible for collection, central control was now introduced.
Commissioners appointed by the Directors were to assess and levy taxes.
As there was continued deficit during wartime, the government revived an unpopular practice of
the ancient regime, – indirect taxes. This proved to be very unpopular as it was raising the prices
of goods in the towns.
An increasingly lucrative source of income was plundered from those foreign states, especially
Italy and Germany, which had been occupied by French armies.
The impact of these policies was positive. Although very unpopular, the bankruptcy of the two-
thirds helped to stabilise French finances for a time, aided by the reduced military expenditure
when peace with Austria was made in October 1797. Hence, Ramel was able to balance the
budget. The government’s expenditure was equal to its income for the first time since the
Revolution began.

THE DIRECTORY AND THE WAR

1794 – 1799
The battle of Fleurus (in Belgium) in June 1794 was the first in a series of successes which
continued until all the members of the first coalition, except Britain, had been knocked out of the
war. In the summer of 1794, Belgium was occupied and in the following winter, the United
Provinces were invaded. The French conquered the Rhineland, and crossed into Spain. Russia
had intervened in Poland, which it was clear, would be partitioned again. Russia, therefore,
made peace with France so that she would be free to claim Polish territory for herself. This, in
reality, made very little difference, as Russia had played only a minimal part in the war against
France, since 1793.
At the treaty of Basle, on 6 April 1795, Russia promised to hand over its territory on the left
bank of the Rhine to France. In return, she would receive land on the right bank. This treaty
freed French troops to attack other enemies.
Meanwhile, the united provinces had become the Batavian Republic in January 1795. This was
after a revolt against William V who fled to England. Having lost Russian support the Dutch
made peace with France to whom they became allies. The French hoped that the powerful Dutch
navy would help to tip the naval balance against Great Britain, but this did not happen. Spain too
made peace in July 1795, giving up to France her part of the island of San Domingo. Of the
great powers, only Great Britain and Austria remained in the fight against France.

DEFEAT OF AUSTRIA
In 1796 the main French objective was to defeat Austria. Carnot, therefore, drew up the plan of
the campaign. Armies under Jourdan and Moreau would march across Bavaria to Vienna, whilst
the armies of the Alps and Italy would conquer Piedmont and Lombardy and then move across to
the Alps, to Vienna. The main attack was to come from Jourdan and Moreau, who were given
charge of 140 000 troops.
The main Italian campaign was spear-headed by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was given a small
force of 30 000 ill-disciplined troops. Napoleon, however, soon won the loyalty of his men by
promising them vast wealth after defeating Austria. Within a month of taking charge, Napoleon
had defeated the North Italian state of Piedmont and forced her to make peace. In the same
month of May, he defeated the Austrians at Lodi and entered Milan. Mantua was the key to the
passing over the Alps to Vienna, and Napoleon finally captured it in February 1797.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 60

WHAT IMPACT DID NAPOLEON MAKE ON THE WAR IN ITALY?
First, it is important to note that through the conquest of Mantua, the road to the eventual
conquest of Vienna itself was opened. Nevertheless, due to the fact that the Australian Arch
Duke Charles, had driven Moreau back to the Rhine. Napoleon had to sign an armistice with
Austria at Leoben in April 1796.
Secondly, Napoleon actually decided the terms at Leoben without consulting the Directory. He
was already confident enough to be making his own foreign policy. In so doing, he was ignoring
the specific instructions from the Directors. They had wanted to use Lombardy as a bargaining
counter when negotiating with Austria, to exchange for recognition of French control of the left
bank of the Rhine. Instead, Napoleon joined Lombardy to Modena and the Papal states to form
the Cisalpine Republic. Austria recognised Belgium, which the French had annexed in October
1795, as French territory.
As compensation for giving up Lombardy and Belgium, Napoleon gave Austria Venice and part
of the Venetian Republic, which provided access to the Adriatic Sea. The fate of the left bank of
the Rhine was unclear; it was to be decided by a congress of the Holy Roman Empire. The
Directory and the generals on the Rhine were furious, that they had no choice, but to accept what
Napoleon had done. As the royalists had won the elections in France, the Directory knew it
might need him. The peace of Campo Formio, on 18 October 1797, confirmed what had been
agreed at Leoben.

CREATING STATES. HOW WAS THE CREATION OF NEW STATES BENEFICIAL

TO THE DIRECTORY?
On the continent the prospects for a permanent peace receded. French foreign policy became
increasingly aggressive as the Directors sought to keep French conquests and even to extend
them. France re-organised a number of foreign territories, effectively re-drawing the map of
Europe in some areas. These new territories were, in effect, satellite republics under French
influence or control.
(a) The Helvetic Republic was set up in Switzerland in January 1798 with the help of Swiss
Patriots sympathetic to French ideals. This was important to France as it controlled the
main Alpine passing to Italy. Geneva was annexed to France.
(b) In Italy, three small republics were created, viz
(i) The Roman Republic, after the French invasion, and the flight of the Pope to
Tuscany (1798)
(ii) The Cisalpine Republic, based in Milan
(iii) The Ligurian Republic which replaces the Genoese (Genoa) Republic in June
1797.
(c) The Batavian Republic was established in the United Provinces in January 1795 after a
revolt supported by the French against William V, who fled to England.
(d) The French were busy re-drawing the map of Germany in negotiations with the Congress
of the Holy Roman Empire at Rastatt. In March 1898 the congress handed over the left
bank of the Rhine to France, and agreed that princes who had lost land there, should be
compensated by receiving church land elsewhere in Germany.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 61

 The spring of 1798 marked the high point of the Republic’s power. In western, central
and southern Europe, France had attained a degree of hegemony (domination)
unparalleled in modern European history. Yet from this position of great external
strength, the decline in the Directory’s fortunes was equally dramatic. Within 18 months
it would be overthrown.

THE SECOND COALITION

Following his success in Italy, Napoleon departed for Egypt in May 1798 with the aim of
attacking British interests. His fleet, however, was destroyed by Nelson at the Battle of
Aboukir Bay in August 1798.
The defeat was crucial. It encouraged other countries to once again take up arms against
the French. A second coalition was formed, and Russia which had not taken part in
previous fighting against France, declared war in December 1798. Tsar Paul was
incensed at the French seizure of Malta which he had declared himself protector in 1797.
France declared war on Austria in March 1799 on the grounds that Austria had allowed
Russian troops to move through her territory. Immediately war resumed. France
occupied the rest of Italy. Piedmont was annexed to France.
These early victories, though, were followed by a series of defeats. The French were
pushed back to the Rhine by the Austrians and the Russians advanced through northern
Italy. French forces withdrew from the rest of Italy, except Genoa, as the Russians
moved into Switzerland. It appeared that France would be invaded for the first time in six
years, but, as had happened before, France was saved by quarrels among the allies.
Austria, instead of supporting Russia in Switzerland, sent here best troops north to the
Rhine. This allowed the French to get on the offensive in Switzerland where the
Russians withdrew in the Autumn of 1799. The immediate danger to France was over.

HOW EFFECTIVE WERE THE MEASURES INTRODUCED IN 1799 TO DEAL WITH

THE WORSENING ECONOMIC AND MILITARY CRISIS?
By 1798 there were concerns about the size of the French army which was only 270 000
strong men. Desertion, low morale and a reluctance to join the military, were all taking
their toll. Jourdan’s law proposed that conscription be re-introduced for the first time
since 1793. The councils approved this in September 1798.
However, the law provoked widespread resistance. Much of Belgium, where
conscription was also introduced, revolted in November and it took two months to put
down the rising. The prospect of conscription was viewed with great reluctance among
large numbers of young men who went to great lengths to avoid military service. Of the
first draft of 230 000, only 74 000 men reached the armies.
The 1799 elections once again showed the unpopularity of the Directory. Only 66 out of
187 government candidates were elected. Among the rest there were about 50 Jacobins,
including some who had been purged during Floreal. They were still a minority, but
many moderate deputies were now prepared to follow their lead. The moderates had
become disillusioned with the government as news of military defeats reached Paris. The
military situation was regarded as so desperate that the councils were persuaded to pass
emergency laws that were proposed by Jacobins. Hence, in June 1799 Jourdan called for
a new levee en masse – all men between 20 and 25 were to be called up immediately.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 62

 THE CRISIS
With her armies being driven back into France, the Republic could no longer pay for the
war by seizing foreign assets. A forced loan measure compelling the wealthy to loan
money to the government was decreed. This was intended to raise 100 million francs, a
sum that meant that the wealthy might have to give up as much as three quarters of their
income.
The law of hostages (decreed that the relatives of any French citizens challenging the
authority of the Republic would be imprisoned at their own expense, and their property
seized to pay for any damages caused by anti government rebels) of July 12, was even
worse for the notables. Any areas resisting the new measures would be declared
“disturbed”. Local authorities would then arrest relatives of émigrés, nobles or rebels.
They would be imprisoned, fined, and their property confiscated to pay for the damage
caused by disturbances.
These measures appeared to be a return to the arbitrary arrests and harassment of the
Terror of the Year II. Yet by November, only 10 million livres of the 100 million livres
had been collected. Conscription was planned to raise 402 000 troops, but as in 1798,
there was widespread resistance and only 248 000 actually joined the army. Many
became brigands or royalist rebels to avoid being called up. In fact, the law of hostages
was hardly ever applied because of opposition from local officials.
In 1799 there was a virtual collapse of government administration in the provinces.
There were many reasons for this:
1. The Directory could not persuade local notables to accept office and had few troops
to enforce its decrees.
2. Local authorities were often taken over by royalists who refused to levy forced loans,
persecute non-juring priests or catch deserters.
3. The National Guard was not large enough to keep order in the absence of regular
troops and hence substantial areas of the countryside were not policed at all.
4. Government commissioners were killed as quickly as they were replaced.

The result of this administrative collapse was brigandage (outbreak of lawlessness and violence
by groups of bandits). By November 1799 there was civil war in Ardeche region in Southern
France.

THE COUP D’ETAT OF BRUMAIRE. WHAT WAS SIEYES HOPING TO ACHIEVE

BY A COUP?
It was in the wake of a worsening political and economic crisis that Abbe Sieyes who had
become a Director thought of a coup in order to strengthen the executive. But he knew that the
Five Hundred would not agree to this and that it could not be done constitutionally. Therefore he
saw the opportunity of a coup in which the support of the army would be really necessary.
Sieyes approached Bonaparte, the most successful of the republican generals to back him in the
coup. On his way to Paris from Egypt on 10 October, Napoleon was greeted enthusiastically by
the population as one who had brought peace in 1797. He had equally made up his mind to play
a leading role in French politics. He, therefore, agreed to join Sieyes’ coup only on condition
that a provisional government of three consuls, who would draft a new constitution, would be set
up.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 63

The decree to abolish the Directory was in fact approved by a small group of Councillors who
were sympathetic to the coup plotters. The directory was replaced with a provisional executive
committee of three members, Sieyes, Roger Ducos and Napoleon. The great beneficiary of
Brumaire was Napoleon, and his brother Lucien Bonaparte, President of the Council of Five
Hundred who had moved in to justify Napoleon’s role.

CONSTITUTION OF YEAR VIII

Napoleon issued a proclamation to the French Nation on 10 November 1799 to explain why he
had taken part in the coup. “On my return to Paris I found all authority in chaos and an
agreement only on the truth that the constitution was half destroyed and incapable of preserving
liberty. Men of every party came to see me, confided their plans, disclosed their secrets and
asked for my support. I refused to be a man of party (aligned to any party)”
Paris remained calm but this was a sign of apathy and reluctance to become involved in any
more protests, rather than of approval. When news of the coup spread to the provinces, there
was little rejoicing at the events. Such reaction was varied between surprise and mild opposition.
A poster that appeared in Paris expressed the disillusionment many felt towards the Directory:
“France wants something great and long – lasting. Instability has been her downfall. She has no
desire for a monarchy, wants a free and independent legislature and to enjoy the benefits from
ten years of sacrifices”
When Napoleon presented the new constitution of Year VIII to the French people on 15
December 1799, he said that it was “founded on the true principles of representative government,
on the sacred rights of property, equality and liberty. The citizens the revolution is established
on the principles which began it. It is finished”.
Many did not realise the significance of the coup d’etat of Brumaire. The republican phase of
the Revolution was drawing to a close, while another destined to culminate in the Napoleonic
Empire was beginning.

WHY DID THE DIRECTORY FAIL?

The Directors had wanted to produce a stable government which maintained the gains of the
Revolution of 1789 whilst at the same time avoiding the extremes of Jacobin dictatorship or
royalism. In the final analysis they were unsuccessful, and this was due to a combination of
factors.
1. The Directory failed to create a stable government partly because of the weaknesses of
the constitution of Year III. Its system of annual elections had no provision for settling
disputes between the Legislature and the Executive, or change the constitution in a
reasonable way.
2. In order to try and maintain a non-Jacobin/Royalist majority in the Councils, the
Directors interfered with election results. During the coups of Fructidor (1797) and
Floreal (1798) they purged the Councils. The effect of such action on the Constitution
was that the Directory together with the constitution, lost respect.
3. Increasing reliance on the army to settle political disputes terribly weakened and
eventually destroyed the Directory. This started with the Thermidorians during the
risings of Prairial and Vendemiaire and continued to the coup of Fructidor. This heavy
reliance on the army made military take-over a distinct possibility. Although a politician
planned the coup if Brumaire, and assumed that the army would merely occupy a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 64

 supportive role, its most important figure was General Napoleon Bonaparte who had no
intention of leaving the political stage.
4. Most of the people who would normally have supported the Directory – owners of biens,
the wealthy notables – were alienated by its policies, especially its forced loans. They
showed this by refusing to vote in the annual elections or take up posts in local
government. When the challenge to the Directory came, few were prepared to defend it.
5. Any enthusiasm for the war had long since gone and most people wanted peace. Yet war
had become a necessity for the Directory. They needed to secure money for the French
treasury, to produce the victories and the prestige that would enable the regime to survive
and to provide an opportunity to keep ambitious generals and unruly soldiers out of
France. As Napoleon observed: “to exist it (the Directory) needed a state of war as other
governments need a state of peace”. One of the reasons for Napoleon’s popularity was
that he had bought peace at Campo Formio in 1797.
6. The renewal of the war after 1797 also produced a flurry of Jacobin activity. The
Jacobins pressed for and secured a forced loan and the law of hostages. Whilst Jacobins
by the late 1790s were never more than an urban minority, the policies which they
advocated revived fears of a Terror like that of Year II. This helped to convince many
that the Directory could not and should not survive.

The above mentioned events discredited the Directory and produced politicians who were not
as attached to the Republic as the conventional had been. Only 12 percent of those elected to
the councils in 1799 had been members of the Convention and only 5 percent were regicides
(those who had executed for the first time that year. These deputies were prepared to accept
the view of Sieyes that the constitution should be changed and this, of course, meant getting
rid of the Directory, they were not only prepared to welcome the new regime, but took part
in running it. Of 498 important officials of the consulate, 77 percent had been deputies under
the Directory. These conservatives and moderates wanted stability and were prepared to
accept an authoritarian regime to get it. To some extent the regime collapsed because of the
contradictions within it. It claimed to favour democracy, yet used the military to suppress
opposition. It needed war for economic purposes and yet, the war made the Directory lose
considerable domestic support.

DID THE DIRECTORY HAVE ANY ACHIEVEMENTS AT ALL?

Despite the fact that the Directory was the longest lasting of the revolutionary regimes there
has been a tendency to discuss it as a period of little achievement. The trend in recent years
has been to consider the period in a more balanced and objective way.
Many of the achievements of the consulate in fact began under the Directory. The financial
reforms and reorganisation of the tax system started during the Directory immensely
contributed to economic recovery. These helped stimulate industrial and agricultural
expansion that would develop much more fully in the Napoleon era.

Moreover, changes in administration within the departments preceded the roles later taken by
prefects. Although its collapse was sudden, the Directory’s achievements should not be

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 65

 dismissed an insignificant. Reforms under the Directory were a significant basis upon which
future reforms were refined and perfected.

Study Guides
i) How far was France’s military success during the Directory the result of divisions amongst its
enemies?
ii) How did the Revolution affect the French nobility?
iii) How did the Revolutionary War change the map of Europe?
iv) What was the impact of War, economic crisis and religious division on the course of
Revolution?
v) What did the French Revolution achieve?

Examination type questions

1. How effective were the measures introduced by the Directory in 1799 to deal with the
worsening economic and military crisis?
2. Explain why Napoleon emerged as a major political and military figure during the period
1792- 1799.
3. How valid is the claim that the Directory was the most successful regime in France in the
period 1789 – 1799?
4. What can be learned from the Directory (1795 – 1799) about the achievements and problems
of the revolution in France?
5. Why was the Directory so easily overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799?
6 Which posed more dangerous threats to the survival of the Directory: the internal or external
enemies?
7 What did the Directory achieve in revolutionary France?
8 How valid is the view that without the support of the army the Directory would never have
survived the way it did in France?
9 How important was role of Napoleon in bringing about the overthrow of the Directory?
10 What significant differences were noticed between the France of 1793 and that of 1795?

Key References:
1. Aftalion F -:The French Revolution Economic Interpretation. 1990
2. Matthews A. -:Revolution and reaction:
3. Rees D. -:France in Revolution,
4. Reyner 1.E.G -: The French Revolution 1789-99, 1995.
Europe: 1789- 1849; 2001
5. Schania Simon -:A Chronicle of the French Revolution, 1889
6. Sole J -: Questions about the French Revolution.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 66

 CHAPTER 5
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN EUROPE:
Britain, France and Germany

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
By the end of this chapter students, should be able to do the following:
1. Define the term “Industrial Revolution”
2. Trace the origins of the industrial revolution, with particular focus on the three
syllabus case studies-Britain, France and Germany.
3. Illustrate the nature of changes which took place in Europe. What areas were
covered by the industrial revolution?
4. Explain the results of the Industrial Revolution- economic, political and social.
5. Give reasons why Britain had an earlier industrial take-off than France and
Germany.
6. Account for and illustrate the technological discoveries and improvements which
took place during the Industrial revolution.

Definition and General Introduction

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 67

According to The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, the industrial Revolution was the process of
change from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine
manufacture. A different historian viewed it as the period where major transformation of
European agricultural, technological and manufacturing and production capabilities had a
significant impact of the social, economic and political landscape of Europe. Both these
definitions highlight the fact that the industrial revolution was not an event, but a process which
occurred over a period of 100 years or more. It tended to be faster in Britain where, as we shall
see, conditions were more favourable, than in France. Germany was a later comer but she
quickly excelled past Britain.
More importantly, other historians tended to emphasize the onset of mass production which
characterised the industrial revolution. Such is the case with the Barron’s Banking Dictionary
which states that; the industrial revolution was a period marking the introduction of mass
production, improved transportation, technological progress and the industrial factory system.
Also similar to the above definition is the one from The Gale Encyclopedia of US History which
asserted that the industrial revolution was a drastic transformation both of the processes by which
American and European society produced goods for human consumption and the social attitudes
surrounding these processes.
The expression “industrial revolution” underlines the depth and speed of the changes observed,
and the fact that they seemed to derive from the introduction of machine based factory. Yes, in
Great Britain and France, the process was slower than in Germnay and the United States, but
there is no doubt that there was a leap in the quantities produced and that the process had
profound effects in the economic, political and social spheres. In all cases, population boomed
and demographics shifted. Because industrial resources like coal and iron were found in central
and Northern England, a shift in population from Southern England northward took place.
Northern cities like Manchester, grew tremendously. These changes in social and demographic
realities created vast pressure for political as well as social change in labour relations.
The division of labour, the rise of the working class movements and wider distribution of wealth
as well as increased international trade, all resulted from the industrial revolution.

What common factors accounted for the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in Britain
France and Germnay? Some common results.

1. The first major factor in this period of change was a remarkable growth in population in
1800 the population of Europe as a whole stood approximately at 188 million. By 1850 it
had reached 267 million. This sharp increase was reflected variously in different
countries, mostly marked in the British Isles and in Germany, more gradual in France,
which by 1850, had already been surpassed by Germany.

The immediate significance of this population growth was quite obvious. In Great Britain
and France, industrialization caused towns to grow out of small villages. During the first
half of the country (1800-1850) the populations of Paris and Lyons were doubled.
Toulouse and Marseilles’s population rose by 75%; and in the industrial regions of the
north-east a small town such as St. Etienne expanded from 16000 to 56 000 people. The
population of Berlin had doubled by 1850.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 68

 With the growth of populations, came the emergence of an urban proletariat class. Hence
population growth was essential in creating a pool of labourers who could be absorbed by
the rising factories.

2. The development of new relevant technology equally lay at the centre of a successful
industrial revolution in all Europe. It is important to note, however, that such research
and expertise was first nurtured in Great Britain and then it spread to other European
countries. For instance, by 1815 the new industrial processes affecting the production of
iron and textiles, the manufacturering of machinery and the application of steam power,
had given Great Britain an enormous lead over all other European countries. She
remained the workshop of the world. British engineers and workers played a considerable
part in this phase of the Industrial Revolution on the continent. Actually, British
technology was exported to France, Belgium and Germany.

Initially, the major economic difficulty for French industrial take off in 1815 was the loss
of the Belgian coalfields which, until she began to tap the fields of northern France after
1850, left her with only those of the upper Loire and the Valenciennes. This meant that
French coal output in 1815 was a little more than that of 1789 although by 1847 it had
been raised from 914, 400 to 5 235 448 tonnes.

English exports and capital provided the French with the technology to use coke in the
smelting of pig-iron especially after 1815. Moreover, the technology of cotton-spinning
mills, which had begun to appear during the Napoleonic period, grew throughout the first
part of the century until 1847 there were in Mulhouse in 1 150 000 spindles and another
550 000 in the cotton areas of Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and Armentieres. The power
looms developed much more quickly and by 1846 there were 10 000 in operation in
France. Other industries made less use of steam power but machinery was gradually
affecting many trades such as riveting, leather- cutting and nail making. Since chemical
science was advanced in France, Paris could boast of its gas burners for street
illumination by 1844. Of course it is important to note here that technological
advancement was much less in France than in Britain. Nontheless, it was pivotal to
industrial development in France.

Technology was equally vital in Germany’s industrialization. The Prussian government

set up an institute of trades in 1821 to encourage industrial enterprise. This, together with
the services of the British technicians helped to foster the development of machines in
factories. But in Berlin itself the lack of any coal nearby made progress slow, and in the
rest of the confederation insufficiency of capital and the confusion of frontiers (borders)
and local laws and customs duties hampered any speedy development. There was,
however not much attempt made to exploit the coalfields in the Ruhr and the Saar until
after 1815, partly due to lack of appropriate technology. Only after 1846 did coal output
reach 3251200 tonnes in Silesia and Prussia combined although large firms sprang up on
the Rhine, such as the Krupp at Essen, and Haniel Huyssen and Jacobi at Ruhrort.
German industrialization really took meaningful shape well after the 1850s.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 69

3. A sound network of communications and transport was a third characteristic of this
period of economic transformation in Europe. Even before the railway age, striking
improvements had been made in the use of roads, canals and rivers. In France the
restored Bourbons and Louis Philippe continued to develop an invaluable heritage of
good highways, as well as undertaking great programmes of canal building.
Similarly, the Prussian government benefited greatly from its acquisition of the
Rhineland roads although communications in the eastern provinces of Prussia remained
poor. River transport in Europe had always been problematic since waters were often
shallow or rocky or dangerously swift. In Germany, the local river tolls continued to be a
hindrance to trade until 1834. The invention of the steam-boat however, overcame some
of the physical difficulties, making it possible as early as the 1820s to run services on the
Rhine, the Weser and the Elbe.
It was of course, the railways that were to bring about real revolution in European
communications. Much of the initial impetus and knowledge came from Great Britain
where independent companies had been experimenting with various forms of steam
locomotion in the 1820s. The British government authorized individual companies by Act
of Parliament. As a result, in thirteen years, from about 1820, Lebeau and Charles Rogier
Company laid out a network of railways which connected Belgium with Holland,
Germany and France. Although they proved expensive- (an average of £16500) a mile-
but the indirect gain in terms of increased export of coal and pig ion made it an
investment of incalculable national profit.
In France, the approach to the whole question was far more cautions. Torn between
systems of state control and private enterprise the French Chamber spent most of the
1830s in discussions with private companies. In fact a few concessions to private
companies did result in the laying of 564 kilometres of track in this decade (1830s) but it
was not until 1842 that a compromise solution was reached whereby private companies
could build the railways according to a national pattern, on the understanding that they
would eventually become state property and that in the meantime the state would
supervise rates and safety precautions. Afterwards there followed a great boom in railway
building, attracting British capital through the banker Edward Blount. This brought to
France a whole army of British engineers and railway workers, and by 1848 over 1932
kilometres of trade had been laid in France. The impact was to stimulate a lot of
industrial growth through increased market links.

The enthusiasm for railway building was spreading fast in the 1840s. In Germany, the
southern and western states tended to rely upon governmental direction, while Prussia,
after at first hanging back, began to work in cooperation with private companies, and by
1848 the completion of 4 830 kilometres of track had brought Germany within reach of a
national network.

Economically, the railways allowed the easier movement of both raw materials and
finished goods. Branded goods could be sold anywhere in Europe giving rise to and
stimulating greater industrialization during the course of the nineteenth century.
Many new jobs were created by the railways directly-engine drivers: porters etc, and
indirectly- the building of the railways stimulated other industries such as iron processing
and engineering. This added to the wealth of the countries concerned.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 70

 Socially, the effects were just as great. Railways brought the “penny post” and helped the
spread of daily newspapers as opinion makers. Workers could now visit the seaside and
resort centres developed. They could also live in suburbs outside the cities. Revolutionary
ideas spread faster and made uprisings, such as those of 1848 more coordinated and often
spontaneous.
Police forces and soldiers could be moved quickly around the country to put down
disturbances such as the Chartist demonstrations in Britain.

4. The enormous demands made on capital to finance these developments in

industrialization helped to create a fourth characteristic of the economic revolution- the
enhanced position of banking on an international scale. The tendency in each country was
for the government to rely upon one bank as an agent for its won financial transactions
and as a means of controlling the fiscal economy of the country. This was the origin of
central banks in all the countries to regulate and standardize the currencies in Britain,
France and German. For instance, the uniform French franc system was introduced in
Belgium in 1832, and later in Switzerland. However, in Germany, a variety of local
currencies was still in circulation at the end of the 1830s.
The most striking feature of all was the growth of international financial operations. The
notes of the Bank of England enjoyed an unrivalled position in Europe after the
Napoleonic war and the immense amount of capital available in England. It is important
to note that due to her earlier industrialization, combined with a long experience in the
handling of credit, the development of cheques and the clearing-house system made
London the financial centre of the world.
Significantly, merchant bankers in the city, the great houses of Rothschild and Baring
Brothers, were the services to which governments and businessmen all over the continent,
as well as in North and South America increasingly turned for the floating of loans to
finance new industrial developments and the building of railways. The activities of these
London bankers spinned across the different countries in a delicate web of international
credit eventually making the economy of one country become largely involved in the
economies of other states. If there was a slump in one country, it needed to spread and
affect the economies of others. Such was the situation in 1833, late 1870s and even in the
1930s with the Great Depression.
It is interesting to note that international finance and increased financial dependence on
Britain consequently raised questions on new policies such as free trade or protective
customs duties. National commercial policies were directly influenced by the
strengthened position of the commercial and industrial classes after the revolutions of
1830 in France and Belgium, and the Reform Act of 1832 in Great Britain. National
policies came to be based on the assumption that in open competition, the British
industrialists had an overriding advantage over their counterparts on the continent. Free
Trade, as Bismarck once said, was the weapon of the strongest nation. Thus, whereas in
Great Britain the tendency was to continue to lower or to remove import duties, a policy
of protection for the new industries prevailed on the continent.
In this respect there was little difference between the policy of the Bourbons and that of
Louis Philippe’s government. In the years following the restoration, duty on imported
cotton and iron as well as on corn had constantly mounted. Louis Philippe, who would

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 71

 have liked to lower them succeeded to some extent at the beginning of his reign, but in
1841 he had to play to the interests in the Bourgeois chamber with an increased tariff. It
was in fact the resistance of French manufacturers, coupled with strong British objectives
that forced him to abandon the scheme for a customs union with Belgium.
In Germany the most significant change was the merging of the Prussian Zollverein with
the Unions of the centre and the south which took effect on 1 January 1834. This is
despite the fact that Oldenburg, Brunswick, Hanover and Hanse still remained out of it.
Nevertheless, the establishment of a general protective tariff for Germany industry, the
abolition of internal customs, greatly facilitating local trade. The beginnings of a uniform
currency and the rapid growth of a network of railways all marked Germany’s move
towards greater industrial expansion. Once the domestic market, which was the largest on
the continent, was fully exploited, Germany was assured of a rapid industrial revolution.
In terms of social impact, Britain and France were worse than Germany. The new
working class was left unprotected by any governmental action. In the industrial towns
France was beset with the same ills as in England-child labour, long hours, starvation,
wages and appalling living conditions in slums lacking all means of sanitation, where the
great cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1848 spread like a wildfire.
In England, the efforts of Lord Ashley and other humanitarian urgencies had succeeded
in restricting child labour in the mines and factories and in establishing a ten- and -a half
working day in certain forms of industry by 1850. Be that as it may, real conditions on
the ground were quite the opposite of what legislation provided. Many children were
forced to work in relatively bad conditions for much lower pay than the elders 10-20% of
an adult wage. Children as young as four, were employed. Beatings and long hours were
common with some child coal miners working from 4am until 5pm. Conditions were
dangerous, with some children killed when they dozed off and fell into the carts, while
others died from gas explosions. Many children developed lung cancer and died before
the age of 25. Workhouses would sell orphans and abandoned children as “pamper
apprentices,” working without wages for board and lodging. Those who ran away would
be whipped and returned to their masters.

Some children were employed as “Scavengers by cotton mills and would climb under
machinery to pick up cotton, working 14 hours a day, six days a week. Some lost their
hands or limbs, others were crushed under the machines and some were decapitated.
Young girls worked at match factories where phosphorous fumes would cause many to
develop phossy jaw. Children employed at glassworks were regularly burned and blinded
and those working at potteries were vulnerable to poisonous clay dust.

Reports were written detailing some of the abuses, particularly in the coal mines and
textile factories and these helped to popularize the children’s plight. The public outcry,
especially among the upper and middle classes helped stir change in the young workers’
welfare.

Politicians and the government tried to limit child labour by law, but factory owners
resisted; some felt that they were aiding the poor, giving their children money to buy food
to avoid starvation. Others simply welcomed the cheap labour. In 1833 and 1844, the first
general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts were passed in England. Children,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 72

 younger than nine, were not allowed to work. Children were not permitted to work at
night and the work day of the youth under the age of 19 years was limited to 12 hours.
Factory inspectors supervised the execution of the law, however, their scarcity made
enforcement difficult. About ten years’ later, the employment of children and women in
mining was forbidden. The positive thing is that these laws decreased the number of child
labourers.
It must be highlighted that the Factory Acts were not universal but rather, simply worked
in to Great Britain alone. This meant that child labour still continued elsewhere in Europe
even up to the 20th century.

Interestingly, however, in France a Factory Act of 1841 also restricted the use of child
labour in concerns employing more than twenty persons and in Prussia, after complaints
from the army that physical defects were having a serious effect on the intake of recruits.
Frederick William III, in 1839 forbade the employment of children under nine years of
age and decreed a ten-hour day for those under sixteen. These French and Prussian
measures, however, were largely undermined by the absence of an adequate system of
inspection. A decree or a law passed forbidding a practice, did not always signify
compliance by the industrialists.

Among the workers themselves there was little success in organisation. In France the
penal code forbade any association larger than twenty; striking and picketing were
criminal offences. Moreover, the workmen’s code instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte gave
the employer a controlling influence over his labour force. The harshness with which this
control was exercised varied, but an average of two hundred workmen a year were
sentenced to imprisonment between 1825 an 1847. In fact, two attempts to establish the
right of association- (in 1831 and in 1834) among the silk workers at Lyons frightened
the government of Louis Philippe into treating them as armed rebellions which was put
down by military force after bitter fighting.
Two fundamental weaknesses hampered the French proletariat in these years. First- there
were still too few of them. Workers numbered only one million by 1846 throughout
France.
Second, large forms of industrial enterprise had not yet developed on the continent. The
scene was one of tiny workshops. In 1848, for example, there were 64 000 private
factories in Paris- 50 per cent of them consisting of no more than the proprietor either on
his own or aided by line work man. In such circumstances, the organizations of workers
was difficult to achieve.

Luddites in Britain
The rapid industrialization of their English economy cost many craft workers their jobs.
The movement started firstly with Lace and hosiery workers near Nottingham and spread
to other areas of the textile industry owing to early industrialization. Many weavers also
found themselves suddenly unemployed since they could no longer compete with
machines which only required relatively limited and unskilled labour to produce more
cloth than a single weaver. Many such unemployed workers, weavers and others
therefore turned their animosity towards machine that had taken their jobs and began
destroying factories and machinery. These attackers became known as Luddittes,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 73

 supposedly followers of Ned Ludd, a folklore figure. The first attacks of the Luddite
movement took place in 1811. Luddites rapidly gained popularity and the British
government took drastic measures by using the army to protect industry. Those rioters
who were caught were tried and hanged or exiled or life imprisonment.

Unrest continued in other sectors as they industrialized. The agricultural labourers in the
1830s, for example, were equally affected. Threshing machines were a particular target,
and brick burning was a popular activity. However the riots led to the formation of trade
unions, and to greater pressure for reform.

Housing during the Industrial revolution

Living conditions during the Industrial revolution varied from the splendeour of the homes of the
owners to the squalor of the lives of the workers. Poor people lived in very small houses in
cramped streets. These homes would share toilet facilities, have open sewers and would be at
risky damp conditions. Disease was spread through a contaminated water supply.

Conditions did improve during the nineteenth century as public health acts were introduced
covering sewage, hygiene and making some boundaries upon the construction of homes.
However not everybody lived in homes like these. The Industrial Revolution created a larger
middle class of professionals such as lawyers and doctors. The conditions for the poor improved
over the course of the 19th century because of government and local plans which led to cities
becoming cleaner places. But life had not been easy for the poor before industrialization.
However as a result of the Industrial Revolution, huge numbers of the working class died due to
diseases spreading through the squalid living conditions. Chest diseases from the mines, cholera
from polluted water, and typhoid were also extremely common, as was smallpox. Accidents in
factories with child and female workers were regular. Strikes and riots by workers were also
relatively common. These conditions were common in Britain, France, and Germany and
wherever the industrial revolution made its mark.

Organisation of Labour
The industrial revolution concentrated labour into mills, factories and mines. This directly
facilitated the organisation of combinations or trade unions to help advance the interests of
working people. The power of a union could demand better terms by withdrawing all labour and
causing a consequent cessation of production. Employers had to decide between giving in to the
union demands at a cost to themselves or suffering the cost of the lost production. Skilled
workers were hard to replace, and these were the first groups to successfully advance their
conditions through this kind of bargaining.

The main method the unions used to effect change, was strike action. Many strikes were painful
events for both sides the unions and management. In England, The Combination Act forbade
workers to form any kind of trade union from 1799 until its repeal in 1824. Even after this,
unions were still severely restricted.

In 1832 the year the Reform Act, which extended the vote in England but did not grant universal
suffrage, six men from Tolpuddle in Dorset founded the Friendly Society of Agricultural
Labourers to protest against the gradual lowering of wages in the 1830s. They refused to work

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 74

for less than 10 shillings a week, although by this time wages had been reduced to seven shillings
a week and were further to be reduced to six shillings.

Working people also formed friendly societies and co-operative unions as mutual support groups
against times of economic hardship. Enlightened industrialists such as Robert Owen also
supported these organizations to improve the conditions of the working class.

Unions slowly overcame the legal restrictions on the right to strike. In 1842, a general strike
involving cotton workers and colliers was organised through the Chartist movement and it
stopped production across Britain.

Eventually, more effective political organisation for working people was achieved through the
trade unions who, after the extensions of the franchise in 1867 and 1885, began to support
socialist political parties that later merged to become the British Labour Party. Due to the fact
that more meaningful industrialization in Germany only occurred after 1850, changes to the rules
which governed the work place came way into the 19th century, mostly after 1871.

The emergence of Socialism

Socialism emerged as a critique of capitalism. Marxism began essentially as a reaction to the
industrial Revolution. According to Karl Marx, industrialization polarized society into
bourgeoisie (those who own the means of production; the factories and the land) and the
proletariat (the working class who actually performed the labour necessary to extract something
valuable from the means of production). He saw the process of industrialization as the logical
dialectical progression of feudal economic modes, necessary for the full development of
capitalism, which he saw as in itself a necessary step to the development of socialism and
eventually, communism.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels put together the Communist Manifesto which first appeared in
London in February 1848, the month of revolution in France. It had no immediate effect and was
little known about. However, two decades later, it had already had more than ten editions
printed.

Marx’s ideas were revolutionary in nature because they called for more than just a change in the
working conditions at the factories and mines, but for a total proletariat take-over. For instance,
they wrote.” The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains: they have a world to win.
Workers of all countries, unite.” He argued that the destined proletariat revolution will be a
world revolution, inevitably triumphant, inaugurating first a proletarian state (the dictatorship of
the proletariat) and eventually a truly classless society. Such a supra-national appeal was relevant
to any worker, whether in the USA, Britain, France or Germany. Marx and Engels argued that
the “Age of Revolutions” had reached its climax and that the proletariats needed to rise and take
over the means of production. They also wrote that; “what the bourgeoisie produces are its on
gravediggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.” They also argued
that democracy was a sham, for parliamentary government was only a mask for the class-rule of
the capitalists, and that the workers should have no national loyalties and none at all, with the
employers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 75

Such ideas certainly inspired revolutionary dissent during the last quarter of the 19th century and
20th century. It is important to note that such important modern thinking which came to reshape
the world, for better or for worse, had its fundamental roots in the industrial revolution.
Socialism certainly lay behind the uprisings of the 19th century: formed the Soviet Union, led to
the division of the world along east-west lines during the Cold War.

Impact on Socio- political status of Europe

The industrial revolution represented a shift in influence away from the traditional power holders
in England and conferring the new wealth and power upon the growing middle class of
enterprising traders, manufacturers and financiers. Just as the landowners were in general a
bulwark of conservatism, so the middle classes were one of the prime movers of change. The
“captains of industry,” the self- made mill owner of Lancashire, the energetic, thrifty and
hardworking manufacturers of northern England and France were, however still a minority in
1815. They were the new men, the first generation of a new class which would inevitably resent
the old aristocratic idleness and contempt for earned incomes. They were increasingly taking
their place alongside the older families of business and industry. The established financial groups
such as the Rothschild Baring’s Laffittes and Hope- assumed a new pre-eminence in a world
where capital and credit were in immense and profitable demand.

The new wealth demanded greater political representation and lower; the removal of petty
restrictions and out-of-date laws, social recognition for the men whose energies and enterprise
brought employment to millions. The result was a growing tide of liberal opinion hostile to the
existing order. It was the most potent force of change in mid- 19th century Europe. However, the
aristocratic landholders did not entirely lose out: they maintained some power and only
grudgingly gave it up.

The industrial revolution, as noted earlier on, also brought into existence a proletariat class which
ultimately attained sufficient strength to challenge the supremacy of the bourgeoisie. By
concentrating large numbers in the cities and by subjecting them to common abuses, the
industrial revolution infused wage earners with a degree of solidarity and embued them with
common aspirations.

What technical innovations were brought by the industrial Revolution in Europe?

The commencement of the Industrial Revolution is closely linked to a small number of
innovations and inventions made during the second half of the 18th century.

1. Textiles-Cotton Spinning using Richard Arkwright’s water frame, James Hargreaves’s

Spinning Jenny and Samuel Compton’s Spinning Mule. This worked as a combination of
the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame. This was officially lunched in 1769. After 1783
there were many cotton mills which were launched, thus making cotton spinning a lot
faster. Similar technology was subsequently applied to spinning worsted yarn for various
textiles and flax for linen.
2. Steam Power
The improved steam engine invented by James Watt and patented in 1775, was initially
mainly used for pumping out water from mines, but from the 1780s was applied to power

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 76

 machines. This enabled rapid development of efficient semi-automated factories on a
previously unimaginable scale in places where waterpower was not available.

3. Iron Making
In the iron industry, coke was finally applied to all stages of iron smelting, replacing
charcoal. This had been achieved much earlier for lead and copper as well as for
producing pig iron in a blast furnace, but the second stage in the production of bar iron
depended on the use of potting and stamping (for which a patent expired in 1786) or
puddling- patented by Henry Cort in 1783 and 1784.

These represent three leading sectors in which there were key renovations, which allowed
the economic take-off by which the Industrial Revolution is usually defined. This of
course is not to belittle many other inventions, particularly in the textile industry. Without
some earlier ones, such as the Spinning jenny and flying shuttle in the textile industry and
the smelting of pig iron with coke. These achievements might have been impossible.
Later inventions such as the power loom and Richard Trevithick’s high pressure steam
engine were also important in the growing industrialization of Britain. The application of
steam engines was also important in the growing industrialization of Britain. The
application of steam engines to cotton mills and iron works enabled steam engines to be
built in places that were most convenient because other resources were available, rather
than where there was water to power a watermill.

In the textile sector, such mills became the model for the organisation of human labour in
factories, epitomized by Cottonopolis, the name given to the vast collection of cotton
mills, factories and administration offices based in Manchester. The assembly line system
greatly improved efficiency, both in this and other industries. With a series of men
trained to a single task on a product then having it moved along to the next worker, the
number of finished goods also rose significantly. A fundamental change in the working
principles was brought about by James Watt. In close collaboration with Matthew
Boulton, he had succeeded by 1778 in perfecting his steam engine, which incorporated a
series of radical improvements, notably the closing off of the upper part of the cylinder
thereby making the low pressure steam drive the top of the piston instead of the
atmospheric use of a steam jacket and the celebrated separate steam condenser chamber.
All this meant that a more constant temperature could be maintained in the cylinder and
that engine efficiency no longer varied according to atmospheric conditions. These
improvements increased engine efficiency by a factor of about five, saving 75% on coal
costs.
But the atmospheric engine could not be easily adapted to drive a rotating wheel. Hence
Wasborough and Pickard did succeed in doing so towards 1780. However by 1783 the
more economical Watt steam egine had been fully developed into a double- acting
rotative type. This meant that it could be used to directly drive the rotary machinery of a
factory or mill. Both of Watts basic engine types were commercially very successful and
by 1800, the firm Boulton and Watt had constructed 496 engines, with 164 driving
reciprocating pumps, 24 serving blast furnaces and 308 powering mill machinery. Most
of the engines generated from 5 to 10 horse power (7,5kw).

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 77

 The development of machine tools such as the lathe, planning and shaping machines
powered by these engines, enabled all the metal parts of the engines to be easily and
accurately cut, in turn made it possible to build larger and more powerful engines.
Until about 1800, the most common pattern of steam engine was the beam engine, built
as an integral part of a stone or brick engine house, but soon various patterns of self-
contained potable engines, readily movable, but not on wheels, were developed, such as
the table engine.
Towards the turn of the 19th century, the Cornish engineer, Richard Trevithick and the
American, Oliver Evans began to construct higher pressure non-condensing steam
engines, exhausting against the atmosphere. This allowed an engine and boiler to be
combined into a single unit compact enough to be used on mobile road and rail
locomotives and steam boats.
The above improvements to the core of the driving force in industry, (the engine), were
very vital to the pace at which industrialization would grow and spread. Technological
inventions continued right into the 21st century and they covered diverse fields such as
chemicals, metallurgy, water engineering and of course engines.

Revision Questions

1. Why did the Industrial Revolution first start in England during the last quarter of
the 18th century.
2. Describe the major changes made possible by the industrial revolution.
3. Discuss the social impact of the Industrial Revolution.
4. Account for the rise of protectionist policies in Europe by the late 19th century.
Give examples where appropriate.
5. What were the driving forces behind the Industrial Revolution?
6. What were the social and economic results of the expansion of railways?
7 Was socialism such an important force before 1850?
8. Why did Germany’s industrialization eventually overtake that of Britain and
France?
9. In what ways did a growing population in Britain, France and Germany the main
ingredient for the success of the industrial revolution?
10. Why were the bourgeoisie such an important class during the industrial
revolution?

Examination type questions

1. What was the nature and scope of the changes in industrialization? [25]
2. Why did Britain undergo an Industrial Revolution earlier than France and
Germany? [25]
3. Why were improvements in communications, important to industrialization? You
should refer to the developments in at least two of Britain, France and Germany in
your answer. [25]
4. Explain the conditions that were necessary in the nineteenth century for the
development of an industrial economy. You should refer to developments in at
least two of the following countries, Britain, France and Germany. [25]

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 78

 5. Discuss the claim that the middle classes gained most from the Industrial
Revolution in Europe. [25]
6. How true is the claim that the most important political effect of industrialization
in the 19th century was to encourage the demand for democracy? Refer to
developments in at least two of Britain, France and Germany. [25]
7. Did the Industrial Revolution result in advantages or disadvantages for the
working classes in Europe? Refer to developments I at least two countries namely
Britain, France and Germany. [25]
8. What sort of differences would you identify between pre-industrial and industrial
society in the 19th century Europe. Refer to at least two of Britain, France and
Germany. [25]
9. Why did Europe industrialize during the 19th century? Refer to developments in at
least two countries in your answer. [25]
10. Assess the social and political effects of industrialization in the 19th century. Refer
to at least two of Britain, France and Germany. [25]

CHAPTER 6
NAPOLEONIC FRANCE: 1799 – 1815

Chapter Objectives:

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

(i)Explain the rise of Napoleon Bonarparte
a)His Italian campaign
b)His Egyptian campaign
c)His restoration of order in France through crushing the Vendemiarire Revolt.
d)His defence of the Revolution through defeating the invading Austrian forces.
e)Importantly of course, the coup d’etat that of Brumaire.
ii)Explain Napoleon’s rise to power as First Consul, Consul for life and eventually as Emperor.
iii)Explain the aims of and illustrate the structure of Local Government reforms
iv)Evaluate how far Napoleon Bonaparte was a dictator right from the start of his rule?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 79

v)Explain the features of a police state under Josef Fouche before 1810 and Savoy after 1810.
vi)Analyse the nature of Napoleonic reforms in specific detail
viii)Evaluate Napoleon’s reforms in light of the foregone Revolution.

This is one of the popular topics among many students, and one which is very straightforward.
The main focus here will be on Napoleon’s domestic and foreign policies. His rise to power was
discussed in the previous chapter under the Directory. In his domestic policies, candidates are
expected to analyze the various reforms which were introduced. In analyzing the reforms,
students need to determine Napoleon’s objectives in passing particular reforms. There is need to
also check whether the various reforms were influenced by ideas from previous governments or
they were totally a product of his own innovation or creativity. The relevance and usefulness of
the reforms on French society need to be ascertained by the student.

Napoleon’s domestic policy (1789 – 1815)

Apart from the constitution of year VIII (1799), Napoleon introduced a number of reforms.
These included economic reforms, the concordat, local government reforms, the code Napoleon,
education, legion of honour/career open to talent and public works. However, after 1807, some
repressive measures were introduced such as censorship of press and the employment of the
“letters de catchet”.

The constitution of year VIII (1799)

Napoleon was aware that the French, after 10 years of revolution and war, were more interested
in stability and security than in equality or even liberty. In his whole approach, he took account
of this, but he also identified himself with the will of the people as reflected in the cahiers of
1789. In those terms, they did not demand the abolition of the monarchy, but a more efficient
government, equal taxation, justice and the elimination of privilege. He was to curtail liberty in
France, but exert himself for greater equality before the law and for equal opportunities.

In February 1800, the people were asked, after a propaganda campaign of two months, to vote
for the constitution in a plebiscite, two months after it had been put in operation, and the
legislative bodies had already been appointed. Although 3 000 000 votes were for the
constitution, and only 1 500 against, 4 000 000 Frenchman did not vote at all. Nevertheless,
Napoleon took the result as a vote of confidence in himself.

Terms of the constitution

a) Executive power
Although it was republican in form, the constitution did not guarantee the sovereignty of the
people, but gave the executive authority and more powers. Normally, executive authority was
vested in the Consulate – the committee of three consuls, but the actual authority rested with
the first consul, Napoleon himself. Although he could consult the second and third consuls if
he pleased, his decision was final. With the exception of judges, who would be elected, the
first consul personally appointed and dismissed ministers and all other high government
ministers or officials, including military personnel. He also gained the right to conclude peace
and declare war, subject to ratification by legislative authority. The consuls were assisted by a
council of state and a senate.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 80

Council of State:-
It drafted and introduced laws and ordinances. The members were nominated by Napoleon, as
the first consul.

Senate
It consisted of 60 members (later 80). There were life members. These were nominated by the
first consul, but had no legislative powers. The senate’s task was to nominate the members of
the legislative authority, namely the Tribunate of 100 members, and the legislative body of 300
members, from a list of “notables”. These Notables were indeed elected by universal male
suffrage, and not only by “active citizens”, but the franchise was now actually more limited than
in the constitutions of 1791, 1793 and 1795. All the voters in a commune could elect one-tenth
of their number into a communal list. These elect could then again vote one-tenth of themselves
onto a departmental list, which in turn elected a tenth of their number to a national list. These
were the so-called notables of France from which the senate nominated members of the
Tribunate and legislative body. Out of something more than 6 000 000 enfranchised voters, there
were therefore only 6 000 on the national list.

Study Guides
i) Why was Napoleon Bonaparte able to emerge victorious in the Italian and Egyptian
Campaigns?
ii) Why was Napoleon’s coup d’etat a success?
iii) What was the nature of Napoleon’s reforms in France under the Consulate?
iv) How did Napoleon make his position secure between 1799 and 1804?)
v) To what extent was Napoleon a dictator?
vi)What were the similarities and differences between the Napoleonic rule under the Consulate
and his rule under the Empire?
vii) Why did Napoleon introduce a police state? What were its characteristics?

Legislative Authority
a) The Tribunate
Had the authority to discuss legislation which had been introduced by the first consul or council
of state. However, it had no vote in the matter, and could not initiate legislation.

b) The legislative body

This body could vote on proposed legislation during its four-month sessions, but no debate was
allowed.

Therefore, the whole arrangement was a denial of popular government, although this was not
generally perceived at once. It was calculated to place the supreme authority in the hands of the
first consul; Napoleon who controlled all legislative authority since he nominated members of
council of state, which carried out all urgent legislation, and the Senate – which nominated
members of the Tribunate and legislative body. The separation of powers as embroiled in the
constitution of 1791 therefore continued only in theory. Although universal male suffrage had
been introduced, it was virtually meaningless as the members of the assemblies were nominated
and not elected. Subsequently, these legislative bodies were stripped of their already limited
power. The powers which had been exercised by the Committee of Public Safety during the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 81

Reign of Terror, were now concentrated in the hands of one man. This was more than Louis
XVI ever had in the ancient regime. According to Brewing, “Napoleon’s parliamentary
institutions were, from the beginning, little more than window dressing for what was-essentially
a dictatorship”. The Council of state was nothing other than a revival of the conseil du roix royal
council of the ancient regime.

His choice of subordinate consuls, Cambaceres and Lebrun, reveals Napoleon’s true attitude.
Lebrun was a royalist who had kept himself aloof during the Revolution, while Cambaceres had
been a member of the Convention, and now proved to be loyal to Napoleon. Napoleon
subsequently increased the number of ex-royalists in the government, thereby moving step by
step in the direction of a monarchy.

One should, however, guard against judging Napoleon according to modern views of democracy.
Justifiably, Thompson puts the cast that the French would not necessarily have condemned the
franchise issue the way a modern voting public would do. If the French nation had sacrificed its
political liberty with the constitution of 1799, at least it had gained an energetic and efficient
government in exchange. After 10 years of political unrest, France enjoyed a competent, honest
and energetic government. The financial, judicial, administrative and religious innovations which
would form the basis of France in the 19th century fell into the Napoleonic era.

a)Financial reform
Just like the Directory, the Consulate set out with an almost bare treasury. With his first law of 3
Brumaire (the 24th November 1799), Napoleon encountered the financial problems, which the
Directory had been unable to solve, or which it had created by means of centralization.

i) A Director of taxation was put in control in Paris to whom deputies in each department and
agents in each Arrondisement and Commune were answerable. In this manner the whole tax
machinery was put on a firm footing. This enabled the government to make a better estimate of
its revenue.
ii) Direct taxation was kept at a steady level, while indirect taxation was increased as the need
arose. As his power increased, Napoleon instituted more and more indirect taxes such as the tax
on alcohol in 1804, and on salt, two years later.
iii) Inflation was contained. The franc was the most stable currency in Europe, and this included
Britain in this period.
iv) In order to relieve the high interest rates on government loans and stabilize the currency,
Napoleon established the Bank of France in February 1800, in 1893, it gained the exclusive right
to issue bank notes in Paris. The Bank of France is still today the country’s central financial
institution, although it was nationalized in 1945.

Results of financial reform

i) The results of this reform were favourable. There was a noticeable improvement in public
finances. Regular tax collection and economizing on government expeditions even balanced the
budget for year X (1801 – 1802).
ii) French industries grew by 25 percent and various new industries – in metals, wheel, sugar-
refining, tobacco processing and cotton were established.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 82

iii) Unemployment was low or unheard-of, thanks to the industrial growth, larger European
markets, protective tariffs and military service.
iv) Trade was promoted by improving roads, canals, and harbours. The purchasing power of the
bourgeoisie, in particular, benefited from these measures.

b) Agricultural reform
Agriculture expanded. The growing population, a series of crop failures and military
requirements forced price increases, thereby increasing the purchasing power of the landowning
peasants. The general public was impressed with the payment of debts, which was, to them the
most important. Thus Napoleon bound all classes closer to him. He had become, indeed, the
“Bulwork of society”.

The financial reforms of the Consulate did not, however, bring about a large measure of financial
stability. Napoleon was unable to create full confidence in government policy as his measures
were arbitrarily taken, but not openly.

c) Administration
i) Central Administration
As far as central administration was concerned, Napoleon demanded regular ministerial reports
from his ten ministers. A department of internal affairs served as a central bureau to the various
ministries, and also transmitted Napoleon’s instructions to them, thus relegating ministers to the
status of ordinary clerks:- The overall effect of this was to decrease the authority of ministers.

ii) Local Government/Administration

Although the Revolution’s geographic division into departments was retained (there were now
98, later increased to 102), Napoleon reversed a characteristic principle of the Revolution by
returning to the centralization of the Bourbon monarchy. A law of the 17th of February 1800
replaced the local-self-government and elected officials of the years when they were also
responsible:- Prefects were in charge of departments, sub-prefects for the 400 arrondisements
(previously called districts) and mayors for the 40000 communes. The prefects were nothing
other than a revival of the intendants of the ancient regime. In central government, the chief aim
was to eliminate election by people. Thus Napoleon paved the way for his centralized
despotism. Centralization and the creation of the Bourbon monarchy, had been partially
destroyed by the Revolution but was being restored in 1800.

d) Judicial reform
Reforms of the judicial authority began in March 1800 when the election of judges was
ended. Napoleon now appointed them for life. A Chancellor and Council of state supervised
judicial authority.

e) The Civil Code (Code Napoleon)

This was undoubtedly Napoleon’s most important and lasting achievement. When Napoleon
came to power, there were 366 local codes in force, throughout the country containing Frakish,
Roman, Royal, provincial and feudal elements. In addition, the Revolution had radically changed
the system of ownership by the abolition of feudal privilege and sale of church properties. The
idea of creating order in the chaotic administration of justice did not originate with the first

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 83

consul. At the start of the Revolution, the National Assembly had passed a resolution to codify
the legal system, but nothing had come of it. Napoleon, with characteristic drive and single-
mindedness, completed the task.

The final draft, consisting of 2281 articles, was a compromise between the most important ideals
of the Revolution and the authoritarian views of Napoleon himself.

Terms of the civil code

a) It made provision for a uniform legal system for the whole country.
b) Freedom of the individual was guaranteed.
c) Equality before the law.
d) The right to private property was guaranteed.
e) Secularization of state.
f) Liberty of conscience was confirmed.
g) The abolition of all aspects of feudalism was confirmed.
h) Ratified the land settlement of the Revolution.

On the other hand, the code incorporated Napoleon’s authoritarian views by promoting the
interests of the state or a figure of authority at the cost of the individual.

The code and the family

The family was of great value to the state, as it was one of these units which disciplined the
behaviour of the individual. The following points should be noted about the family:-
a)In this spirit, the patriarchal authority of Roman law, which had been weakened by the
Revolution, was re-established. In other words, the father became dictatorial.
b) According to the Civil Code, a father could make his children serve up to six months in jail
purely on his own evidence.
c) The father also had total control of their property.
i) The father could administer his wife’s property, and as common ownership was law, he could
do with it as he pleased.
ii) To prevent families from becoming too powerful, the family was put under the guardianship
of the state.
iii) The code determined how property inheritances were to be arranged.
iv)Civil marriages, which meant that marriages would be registered by the state, were made
compulsory, even if the couple had been married in church.
v) Divorce by natural consent, for reasons of adultery, after a criminal offence or by reason of
insanity was allowed.
vi) Women were regarded as “less equal” than men and were discriminated against. For
example, should a woman detect her husband in adultery and kill him or his partner, she was
guilty of murder, but in a reverse situation, the man could not be charged.

Like all other legislation, this should be viewed in the spirit of the time. Although it was a return
to the social discipline of pre-revolutionary France, the French laws were only adopted in the
1960s to provide a reasonable measure of equality for women. The divorce law was only
changed in 1965.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 84

Employer and employee in the Code Napoleon
Freedom of work and equality before the law in fact exposed the wage earner to the risks of
completions. The code in reality rejected the Jacobin element of the individual’s right to
existence. As only the employer’s word was taken in wage disputes, the code even departed
from the principle of equality by discrimination against the wage – earner. In addition, the state
employed its police powers to enforce labour discipline. The Law of 22 Germinal of the Year XI
(12 April 1803), removed the ban on trade unions. On the 1st of December 1803, a decree
obliged workers to carry a labour pass issued by a local authority, without which they could not
be employed. The interests of the employer were carefully guarded, as even the organization of
strikes was forbidden. From the foregoing, it is clear that the code was bourgeoisie – oriented, as
it favoured the employer at the expense of the employee.

The civil code was followed by the code of Civil Procedure (1806), the Commercial Code
(1807), the Criminal Code (1808) and the Penal Code (1810). These codes were increasingly
reactionary and illustrated a growing extension of Napoleon’s powers. There was a return to the
laws of the ancient regime. Heavy penalties were imposed for political offences against persons
and property.

(f)Education reform
The principle of free elementary education for all children had already been embroiled in the
constitution of 1791 and had been established by the convention, but little progress in its
establishment was made in the course of the Revolution. The Napoleonic government was not
much more successful in extending the principle. Elementary education was left to the
municipalities, as in the days of the ancient regime. In more than one department, half of the
communes had no teachers, and there were no funds for teacher-training. In rural areas, illiteracy
persisted. It has been calculated that only one out of every eight children of school-going age
was accommodated in the existing primary schools in 1813. Like Voltaire before him, Napoleon
took the view that education for the poor was politically and socially “inconvenient”
(g)Secondary education
As far as secondary education was concerned, the state – supported central schools of the
Convention which were initially allowed to coexist with the prytanees, which were also
controlled by the central government. Secondary education flourished in the early years of the
consulate. The syllabuses included Classical grammar, Mathematics and French literature.
History and Philosophy were prohibited because they encouraged independent thinking and a
critical, questioning mind.

Fourcroy’s education ordinance of May 1802

According to this ordinance, the central schools and the prytanees, which promoted independent
thinking, were replaced by 45 lycees and 700 secondary schools; which were privately
administered, but government controlled. The lycees were nothing other than colleges of
patriotism for the training of future leaders.

The government prescribed the syllabuses, appointed teachers and enforced regulations by means
of inspectors. The schools were controlled by military discipline, and retired officers even
lectured on military matters. Of the 6400 bursaries available, 2400 were reserved for the sons of
officers and government officials, and the rest for the ablest scholars. Most of the poor were

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 85

therefore, excluded. Church schools were also permitted, but when they subsequently began to
compete with the lycees, Napoleon returned to total government control of education.

University education
In order to ensure control of education, Napoleon centralized control by establishing the Imperial
University in 1808. It was not a university in the usual sense of the word, but a kind of
government department, a corporation of all the education personnel in France, aimed at
promoting loyalty to the government. It drew up syllabi, determined the nature of examinations,
and controlled grading.

Education for girls

Napoleon paid little attention to education for girls. According to him, their mothers were their
best educators. Their role was at home, not in public life. He did, however, approve a finishing
school for girls, where they were given some education. Most of their time was to be devoted to
religious instruction, good manners, and practical subjects such as needlework.

(h)The Concordat (1801)

An early achievement was Napoleon’s religious settlement. Religious issues had seriously
divided France since the Civic Constitution of the Clergy had been promulgated in 1790. The
important causes of friction were:- the breach with Rome and the Pope, and tension between the
government and non-jurring priests who had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the
Revolutionary government. Napoleon had no strong religious convictions, but appreciated the
value of religion for the people. He was aware of the religious revival amongst the bourgeoisie,
and realized that the masses were basically still Roman Catholic. He calculated that support for
Roman Catholicism would therefore be useful in gaining the people’s obedience to law and
order. Following lengthy negotiations with the Pope Pius VII, the Concordat was signed in
1801. Although it was a compromise, the French government benefited most.

Terms of the agreement:-

1)All French Roman Catholics were granted religious freedom on condition that they obeyed
police regulations.
2) Roman Catholicism was recognized as the religion of the three consuls, of the Republic and of
the “large majority of the French citizens”. It was not recognized as the state religion as such a
measure would be a denial of a principle of the Revolution, namely liberty of conscience.
3) In return the Pope relinquished all claims to church property which had been declared forfeit.
All bishops had to resign, and new ones would henceforth be nominated by the first consul and
canonically installed by the Pope.
4) The state agreed, as with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, to pay the salaries of bishops,
and priests who, in turn had to take an oath of allegiance to the government.

The authority of the state over the church was thus unequivocally confirmed, and the connection
between the pope and the French bishops further weakened. It was a return to the Gallicanism of
the 17th century. Although ardent republicans were opposed to the compromise represented by
the concordat, and saw it as a retrogressive step, the largest part of the population welcomed
reunion with the Roman Catholic Church.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 86

(i) Public works
Napoleon employed architects, painters and sculptors to contribute to the illustriousness of his
regime and to depict him as a hero. Particularly in Paris, numerous striking and geometric
constructions were erected within a short time, amongst them, the Arc de Triomphe. New
bridges spanned the Seine, a number of streets were widened, and Paris sewerage and fresh-
water provisions were improved. Museums such as the Louvre were built and furnished.
Numerous art treasures from the conquered territories were bought to France. Artists such as
David and Goya enjoyed Napoleon’s patronage. A number of scientists came to the fore such as
Gaspard Monge, the father of descriptive geometry.

(ii) Career open to talent

As was the case with other measures, Napoleon’s social policy was thrust in two directions: On
one hand, he continued a principle of the Revolution by opening careers to talent, but on the
other hand, this led to the creation of a new social class, the “aristocracy of merit”. The idea of a
“career open to talent” was not at odds with revolutionary principles. The first article of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man stated that all people were from birth free citizens with equal
rights. Social distinction arose purely on the grounds of usefulness, meaning talent.

However, Napoleon’s group of notables selected in 1799, were considered “more equal” than the
rest of the population. It was from this group that Napoleon built his aristocracy of merit. He
held that the whole social hierarchy should be created with wealth and talent. Careers were
opened to talent, but such people should preferably be wealthy, Napoleon shared the suspicion of
the rich about the needy people with talent.

(k) The Legion of Honour (1802)

On the 19th May 1802, Napoleon founded the legion of honour. He had come to the conclusion
that mankind desired recognition, and consequently, he had already awarded swords of honour
for meritorious service during the Directory. When he became first consul, he began to plan an
organization which would reward merit in the civil and military spheres. The members of the
Legion of Honour, were to be chosen by a so-called Great Council. The fact that Napoleon was
its chairman agrees with his train of thought that the award of any honour or privilege should be
under his control. The Legion of honour, indeed consisted of a host of meritorious citizens who
made up part of Napoleon’s new aristocracy of merit. On the other hand, the principle of
equality was maintained, as anyone who had given exceptional service to the state or society
could be rewarded with membership. In defence of his scheme, he declared to the council of
state, “I do not believe that the French love liberty and equality. They have not been changed by
the years of revolution. They have only one feeling, and that is honour. We must nourish that
feeling”.

Study Guides
i) How far was Napoleon Bonaparte an enlightened despot.”?
ii) Describe the reforms introduced after 1810.
iii) Did Napoleon seek to create his own dynasty?
iv) How far were Napoleon’s reforms motivated by (a) a personal greed for power/
b) The need to protect and develop France?
vi) Did Napoleon’s reforms fulfill the revolutionary aims of liberty, fraternity and equality or he

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 87

undermined them?

Moves towards dictatorship

Censorship
Napoleon’s rule was also marked by drastic limitations on the freedom of expression and speech.
This was clearly a violation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Napoleon accused
“irresponsible intellectuals” of confusing the people. “Troublemakers”, such as Madame de
Stael, were banned from France. Napoleon advocated public harmony in political matters, but
achieved it at the cost of freedom of expression. In January 1800, Napoleon closed down sixty
of the seventy – three newspapers in Paris. By the end of the year only nine remained, and
ultimately, only four were permitted. Newspapers became little more than mouth pieces for the
government, carrying official news. It is customary to condemn the system of censorship under
Napoleon, but in reality censorship was nothing new and not stricter than elsewhere in Europe.

Enforcement of Censorship: The police force in order to enforce all the censorship regulations, a
large and efficient police force was required. The notorious Fouche who, during the Reign of
Terror had been relieved of his post because of excessive cruelty was appointed as its chief. In
1810 he was succeeded by the less subtle-savary. Fouche established an effective espionage
system to watch over the personal lives of thousands of individuals in all walks of society.
Denying the principles of the Revolution, the system of letter de catchet of the ancient regime
was once again openly employed; following the decree of 1810.

It is clear that Napoleon’s reign became increasingly despotic. Yet there were reasons why the
French did not oppose its laws. The National Assembly’s policy of decentralization during the
Revolution had exposed France to grave dangers in times of war. That he was able to satisfy his
personal desire for domination in this manner was only possible because he had won the French
to his cause by his victories on the battle front, because they enjoyed prosperity at home and
because he respected the social arrangements of the Revolution. The people were satisfied with
and proud of their leader, but they had not yet realized that he was abusing his power.

The Ministry of Police first under Joseph Fouche and after 1810, under Savary was most
important. ‘Police’ in this context refers to the idea of national security which numbered around
20000 men. The ministry’s main purpose was to keep a close watch on all forms of subversion.
It did this through the use of spies and informers. Fouche reported daily to Napoleon who also
had his own personal spies who acted as a check on Fouche’s reports. Department prefects also
had a responsibility to keep a watch on public opinion and similarly send the reports to
Napoleon. Those suspected of subversion could be tried before special courts, imprisoned or sent
to penal colonies or kept under house arrest. The Ministry of Police also had the responsibility
for censorship, prison surveillance and monitoring of food prices.

The effective police operation prevented opposition from becoming open and strict censorship
denied any critics and opponents any room for publicity. However, committed he was to
revolution principles like equality before the law and careers open to talents. Napoleon certainly
did not believe in a free press. From the start, he wished to control the flow and nature of
information reaching the public. In January 1800 the number of newspapers in Paris was reduced
from 73 to 13, and in 1810 reduced further to 4. The press bureau of the Ministry of Police kept

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 88

a close watch on all publications, and editors were forbidden from printing anything defamatory
about the regime. Increasingly they relied on official bulletins or articles written in the
government newspaper Le Moniteur. Not only were newspapers censored, but plays, books and
art as well.

The other side of censorship was propaganda. A deliberate attempt was made to ensure that the
right messages got full publicity in all the media. A kind of cult of the emperor was developed
and reinforced by the work of artists like David and Ingres. By making himself emperor, with
the endorsement of the Senate and Legislature and of the people in the plebiscite, Napoleon was
attempting to join the club of kings to find a dynasty bearing his name. The Napoleon court
began to resemble more and more that of an ‘ancien regime’ monarch. His brothers and sisters
were made princess of empire in 1804, a new title of grand dignatory was introduced and in 1808
an Imperial Nobility was instituted, with titles ranging from court to duke. As final confirmation
of this change from republican consulate to imperial dynasty, in 1810 Napoleon married Marie-
Louise, the daughter of the Austrian emperor. However, this was not quite a return to ‘ancien
regime’ forum. Title depended on wealth rather than on birth and could be given as a reward for
service. Napoleon created 3263 Nobles between 1808 and 1814; 60% of them were military men,
the rest were prefects, bishops, senators, and mayors and so on. A duke had to command an
income of at least 200 000 francs, a baron only 15000. According to historians like Jean Tulaid,
the increasing resemblance of the Napoleonic regime to an absolute monarchy aroused fears of a
return to feudalism and offended a deep attachment to revolutionary principles of equality, even
among the notables.

From Consulate to Empire

Between April and August 1802 a series of laws openly turned the consulate into a dictatorship.
The opportunity to do this was offered to Napoleon by the enthusiasm engendered by the
Concordat and the Peace of Amiens. He requested the senate to elevate him to consul for life.
When the senate, in a rare display of courage refused, the council of state proclaimed a
plebiscite. On the 2nd August 1802, the voters with a poll of 3 500 000 in favour and less than
9000 votes against, approved Napoleon’s consulship for life.

Napoleon’s consulship for life practically gave Napoleon the powers of an absolute monarchy.
All that remained was to formally institute an imperial crown. In 1804 Napoleon’s prestige stood
high as a result of his domestic and foreign successes. When a conspiracy to assassinate
Napoleon, hatched by a group of émigrés in London under the duke of Artois, with the Breton
leader, Cadoudal, and the royalist general, Pichegru, came to light, there was a strong reaction in
France. The different sections of French society who were benefiting from the consulate were
prepared to give Napoleon further powers. They were prepared to accept the declaration on the
18th May 1804, that Napoleon should become the “Emperor of the French” and that his office
should become hereditary. Only the heredity was tested in a plebiscite, of which the result, 3 500
000 for, and 2500 against, was once again an overwhelming confirmation of what was already a
fact.

Study Guides
i) Why were so many people exiled from France during the period 1804-1815?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 89

ii) What opposition did Napoleon face in France?
iii) Did Napoleon’s religious reforms make him more popular or autocratic?
iv) How far were “careers open to talent.”?
v) In what ways and for what reasons did Napoleon seek to look after the interests of the middle
classes in France?
vi) Explain the two ways by which Napoleon dealt with opposition.
vii) How far did Napoleon’s rule of France change after he became emperor in 1804?

Examination type questions

1.Why was Napoleon Bonaparte able to support the Directory and establish himself as First
Consul in France?
2.Why did Napoleon introduce popular reforms before 1804 and oppressive reforms thereafter?
3.Did Napoleon’s foreign adventures have any more aim than to increase his grip on France?
4. “In his domestic policies, Napoleon was cruel in order to be kind.” How far do you agree?

Key references
1. Barnett C - Bonaparte
2. Emsely C- Napoleon; Conquest, Reform and Reorganization, 2003
3. Jones P- The French Revolution 1787- 1804.
4. Matthews A - Revolution and Reaction Europe 1789- 1849. (2008)
5. Mclyn F - Napoleon (1997)
6. Lyons M - Napoleon Bonaparte and the legacy of the French Revolution,
1994.
7. Tulard J - Napoleon: Myth and Saviour, 1985

CHAPTER 7
NAPOLEON’S FOREIGN POLICY (1800 – 1815)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the chapter, students should be able to:
(i)Explain the aims of Napoleon’s foreign policy
(ii)Describe the Continental system
(iii)Describe the Third Coalition against France (Britain, Austria and Russia) as well as the
Treaty of Pressburg with Austria.
(iv)Examine the Confederation of the Rhine, and explain its wider significance to the Napoleonic
Empire.
(v)Explain why and with what results Napoleon lost in a war against Spain at Baylen, 1808.
(vii)Explain why Napoleon was successful in Europe up to 1807.
(viii)Analyse the reasons for Napoleon’s decline and defeat
(ix)Assess Napoleon’s achievements in foreign policy
(x)Estimate whether or not Napoleon’s downfall was inevitable.

Napoleon’s foreign policy can be divided into two segments. The period between 1800 and
1807, his campaigns were successful, and the period 1807 marked his downfall in 1813.
Candidates are expected to examine the reasons why he was successful in the first seven or so

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 90

years at his empire building and why he was ultimately a failure. Napoleon’s control methods in
foreign policy also needed to be explained and assessed. Some of the methods he used in foreign
policy included military conquests, military alliances, marriage alliances, the continental system
and the installation of members of the family on thrones.

The defeat of the second coalition

The major method Napoleon used was military conquest. With characteristic speed and self-
confidence, Napoleon crossed the Great St Bernard Pass in the Alps in May 1800, and invaded
Italy. On the 14th of June, he scattered the Austrians at Marengo. Five days later, a French force
under Field Marshal Moreau defeated the Austrians at Ulm. This was followed by another
victory at Hohenlinden on 2nd December 1800. To save Vienna, the Emperor Francis II was
forced to sign the peace of Luneville in February 1801 on Napoleon’s conditions. Basically, it
was a confirmation of the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797). The contents of the treaty
were : (1) The independence of the Batavian, Helvetian, Cisalphine and Ligurian Republics was
guaranteed.(2) Austria was compelled to recognize French annexation of the left bank of the
Rhine, but retained Venice. France had restored her lost prestige. In January 1802, the
Cisalphine Republic became the Italian Republic with Napoleon as president. It was clear that
Napoleon was no longer confining himself to the natural frontiers of France.

With the elimination of Austria, the Second Coalition collapsed. Napoleon’s conciliatory policy
towards Russia and the accession of a new Tsar, Alexander I offered Russia the opportunity of
withdrawing from the struggle. Once again, Britain was the only remaining member of the
coalition. Despite British successes at sea, such as the reconquest of Malta 1800, the driving of
the French army out of Egypt, and the occupation of the Dutch and Spanish colonies, the British
government desired peace. British merchants wanted to gain access to continental markets.
Napoleon himself wanted an honourable peace which would enable him to consolidate his
position in France and Europe.

The Peace of Amiens (March 1802)

The terms of the treaty

(1) Britain gave France or its allies (Spain and the Batavian Republic) back all territories which
it had conquered since the beginning of the war with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon.
2) France agreed to vacate the kingdom of Naples and the Papal States and return Egypt to
Turkey.
3) France was left in charge of the Batavian republic, Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine,
Switzerland, and the largest part of the Italian non-republics which had been established
under French authority was not recognized.

British merchants who had been looking forward to the restoration of trade with continental parts
were the greatest opponents of the treaty as it made no provision for this. Although the treaty
with the British lasted only just over a year, France enjoyed a breather from war on the continent
for almost five years (1800 – 1804).

Study Guides
i) Why did Napoleon engage Europe in various wars?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 91

ii) Why was Napoleon so successful in Europe up to 1807?
iii) What factors help explain Napoleon’s downfall?
iv) What can be said in favour of regarding 1810 as the high point of Napoleon’s power in
Europe
v) What can be said against it?
vi) Assess the effectiveness of the Milan and Berlin Decrees as strategies of winning the war
against Britain.
vii) How did Napoleon combine diplomacy and warfare to win “peace with holier” against the
Second coalition?

Resumption of war with Britain (May 1803)

The peace of Amiens (March 1802) could be little more than a truce, for its terms failed to
recognize the most important point. This was that British and French imperialism could not
coexist.
The resumption of the struggle between Britain and France in May 1803 must almost exclusively
be blamed on Napoleon. This is because of his violation of the terms of Luneville, e.g. by
absorbing Redmond into France. A second reason must be sought in Napoleon’s refusal to
accept Britain’s commercial and colonial dominance. As long as Britain dominated in these
areas, Napoleon could not exercise economic control of the continent. For the rest of his regime,
Napoleon aimed at the destruction of this mastery of the British. It can be seen as an important
reason for his fall.
Thirdly, the British were justly disconcerted at Napoleon’s renewed interest in the eastern end of
the Mediterranean. It seemed Egypt could easily be recognized by France because of its
weakened military position.

War began officially in May 1803 when a French army tried to invade Britain, which had as its
ruler, George III of Britain. However, by 1805, at the battle of Trafalgar, Britain reaffirmed her
dominance at sea by defeating the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar.

The formation of the Third Coalition (1805)

This coalition consisted of Russia, Britain and Austria. The idealistic but vacillating Tsar,
Alexander I of Russia took the lead in the creation of the Third Coalition against France.
Napoleon’s reorganization disconcerted not only Russia because of its trade with and influence
in the Balkans, but also the Austria Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Francis II. In Britain,
the beginning of William Pitt’s term of office in 1804 was decisive in the formation of the
coalition. In April 1805, the Anglo-Russian convention was signed in St Petersburg, and Austria
joined the coalition in August 1805. The weak link in the entire political and military framework
of the Third Coalition was the stubborn refusal of Frederick William III of Prussia to relinquish
his neutrality. He took this attitude because he hoped that Napoleon would give him Poland.
However, he was suspicious of Russia’s aims in Poland and also that Prussia was dissatisfied
with Britain’s treatment of neutral shipping.

The collapse of the Third Coalition

Napoleon did little to prevent the formation of the Third Coalition. Undoubtedly he regarded
himself as strong enough to act against the old governments of Europe and to finalize his
organizational plans for the territory. After he had failed to defeat the British at sea, resulting in

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 92

his own defeat by Nelson at Trafalgar on the 21st of October 1805, he inflicted a heavy defeat on
a combined Austria-Russian army at Austerlitz. At the end of the battle, the French had lost 9000
men out of an army of 73000 against 27000 Russians and Austrians in an army of 87000. It was
probably Napoleon’s most famous victory. The rest of the Russian and Austrian forces were
totally demoralized and the Third Coalition collapsed. Emperor Napoleon I had no choice but to
sue for peace.

The Peace of Pressburg:-

The peace was signed in December 1805. It was agreed that:-
i) Austria would leave Venetia, Istria and Dalmatia to the kingdom of Italy.
ii) Her Tyrolese and Sivabian possessions to the Duke of Bavaria and Wurttenberg in exchange
for Salzburg. By her recognition of Bavaria, Wurttenberg and Baden as independent kingdoms,
Austria lost her last foothold in Germany.

Enthronement of Napoleon’s brothers

In January 1806, soon after Pressburg, Napoleon declared Ferdinand of Naples deposed and
installed his own brother, Joseph as king of Naples. The occupation of the Papal States by French
troops brought the whole of Italy under the authority of Napoleon. In June 1806 he turned the
Batavian republic into the kingdom of Holland with his brother Louis as king in July 1806. The
Confederation of the Rhine was established under the protection of Napoleon. Sixteen West
German and South German Sovereigns somewhat reluctantly renounced the Holy Roman Empire
and entered the Confederation. They would leave foreign policy to Napoleon and support him
with troops.

The defeat of Prussia -October- 1806

Prussia was beginning to realize that her neutrality had allowed Napoleon a free hand in
Germany. Consequently, Frederick William III began to take a more provocative stance. His
suspicions were fed by Napoleon’s refusal to sanction a North German Confederation under
Prussian leadership. Furthermore, Frederick William learned that Napoleon had secretly offered
honor to the British in exchange for peace after Prussia had received honour in 1805. Napoleon
forced Prussia to suspend her trade with Britain. Totally overestimating his power, Frederick
William concluded an alliance with Russia in July 1806, mobilized in August, and without
waiting for his ally, marched on the Confederation of the Rhine. The aged duke of Brunswick
and Prince Hohenlohe, however, did not cooperate. Consequently on the 14th of October 1806,
the Prussians were crushed at Austerlitz. Two weeks later, Napoleon was in Berlin.

The Treaty of Tilsit (7 July 1807)

Without consulting his own ally, Tsar Alexander opened peace negotiations with Napoleon, and
Frederick William had to submit. Two treaties known as the Treaty of Tilsit were signed on 7
July 1807 – one between France and Prussia and another between France and Russia.

France and Russia

Terms with Prussia
(i) Prussia was forced to pay a large indemnity and to maintain a French army of occupation until
the indemnity had been paid.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 93

(ii) Prussia also lost all the territories she had gained in the three partitions of Poland in the
previous century. These territories were transformed into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and
placed under the rule of the king of Saxony.
(iii) Prussia territories west of the river Elbe were united to form the kingdom of West -Phalia,
with the youngest of Napoleon’s brother, Jerome, as king.
(iv) Danzig became a so-called free-city under the command of a French general.

Terms with Russia

Russia was much more leniently treated – because of the plans Napoleon had with Alexander.
Napoleon claimed virtually only the lonian islands, and relinquished part of Prussian Poland to
Russia.

Secret agreement between Russia and France

After signing the Treaty of Tilsit, Alexander also concluded a secret agreement for future action.
The open Treaty of Tilsit made provision for Napoleon to act as mediator between Russia and
Turkey in the war which had broken out in 1806. Secretly it was now agreed, that should
mediation fail, Napoleon would assist the Tsar in a war, and that the Turkish European
provinces, Moldavia and Wallachia would be given to Russia.The secret agreement also made
provision that the Tsar would act as mediator between Britain and France. However, this newly
found friendship evaporated within a few years.

The Third Coalition had collapsed, and Prussia had also been defeated. Only Britain remained.
Britain had been a problem to many French rulers for centuries, and had foiled their plans to
dominate Europe. Britain’s dominance of the seas and her entrenchment behind the English
Channel and the North Sea exacerbated the problem. The French defeat at Trafalgar in 1805 had
shortened the last hopes of a direct invasion. Some other means had therefore to be found for
bringing Britain to her knees.

Study Guides
i) How did the reforms of Gribeauval and Gribert change the French army?
ii) Was Napoleon a great General?
iii) Why was the ability to motivate men so important in generalship?
iv) How did the French Revolution change the nature of warfare in Europe?
v) In what ways did the relative weaknesses of Napoleon’s enemies a key factor in his military
victories?

WHY NAPOLEON WAS SUCCESSFUL IN EUROPE UP TO 1807

Napoleon’s phenomenal and rapid success has three broad elements:

 The nature of the French army
 Napoleon’s generalship
 The relative weakness of Napoleon’s enemies

The three factors are not mutually exclusive. The relative strength that France, and Napoleon
enjoyed is mirrored by the relative failings of their enemies. Napoleon’s generalship would not
have been so successful if the quality of his force had not been relatively high; and he would not

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 94

have had the freedom to act as he did if France had been unable to provide the resources
necessary or if he had not also been ruler of France.

I) The Nature of the French army

David Chandler, a prominent military historian and adviser of Napoleon, argues convincingly
that napoleon inherited an armed force that was already superior to that of his enemies. The
French army had undergone fundamental reform for two reasons. The humiliating defeats for
France in the War of Austrian Succession (1740- 48) and the seven years war (1756-63) had led
to technological, organisational and tactical developments that would improve its fighting
capacities. Then the French Revolution totally overturned the nature of the army and its officer
corps.

The key technological developments under the guiding hand of Gribeauval was the manufacture
of lighter, more maneuverable and standardized cannons. This facilitated the supply of
ammunitions and allowed the development of new artillery tactics under DuTeil. Indeed the use
of concentrated artillery firepower was to become a notable feature of Napoleonic Warfare
which made him more easily victorious over his enemies.

Perhaps even more important was the military potential the revolution released. As a result of the
pressures of foreign invasion and civil war in 1793, the revolutionary government in Paris
introduced the levee en masse. Effectively this organisation of the concept of universal
conscription was the earlier form of “total war.” From 1793 France was a nation in arms. It was
the duty of every citizen to contribute to the war effort. For young men, this meant service in the
armed forces. They served as citizen soldiers in defence of France and the revolutionary ideas of
liberty and equality. Universal conscription meant that France by the mid-1790s was
approaching a million men under arms. Losses could be replaced by further conscription.
Napoleon was to boast that he could afford to lose 30 000 men a month. Hence the abundance of
forces highly increased Napoleon’s chances of victory against his enemies.

Along with the increased size and motivation of French revolutionary armies came the fact that
the French were fighting for the survival of the Revolution. The French were also fighting to
overturn the European states system by wars of conquest and liberation. In the wake of victories,
states’s annexed frontiers were redrawn, new political and social systems imposed. This made
French armies to actively seek battle and were willing to bear heavy losses for the sake of what
victory would bring. French forces were therefore more motivated than any other forces in
Europe.

ii) Napoleon’s great generalship.

Napoleon was a man of many talents as a general and he also had immense personal magnetism.
He had a quality of natural authority and could charm almost anyone he met. He also had a keen
sense of what motivated the soldier. For instance, when taking command in Italy of a semi-
mutinous army in 1796, he promised to pay them in silver rather than the worthless paper
currency. The award of the Legion of Honour, other decorations and titles or swords for bravery
or outstanding service all helped. Overally, he created a sense of deep personal loyalty amongst
his men and helped replace the motivation provided by defence of the revolution with a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 95

motivation directed towards military glory impact on army morale that made the duke of
Wellington remark that Napoleon’s presence on the battlefield was worth 40 000 men.

Napoleon was also a great military strategist. His most popular strategy was the “bataillon carre”
a diamond formation of four divisions of the army, with each division numbering at least 15 000
men. The flexibility and speed of the system was brilliantly displayed in the rapid march from
the channel coast into Germany and down to the Danube in October 1805 Napoleon got news of
the Austrian concentrating at Ulm on 20 September. His advance was so rapid and the surprise
so complete that General Mack and the Austrians were surrounded and forced to surrender on 20
October. Part of the reason for the success of the “bataillon carre” or corps system was the
entailed planning and command exercised by Napoleon.

The Peninsular War 1809-14

The French failed in Spain for several reasons. These include:
1. Napoleon’s initial underestimation of the scale of resources needed to conquer Portugal
and Spain, coupled with his over estimation of the degree of French support in Spain.
2. The revival of Austrian opposition to France caused Napoleon to leave Spain before
Spanish resistance and Sir John More’s army had been decisively defeated.
3. The decision by Britain to maintain a small army in the peninsula under the able
command of Wellington, stiffened Spanish and Portuguese resistance and enabled battle
victories over the French.
4. Spanish control of the countryside required French troops to be diverted into maintenance
of strong garrisons and escort duties for ensuring supplies and communications. Whilst
French field armies could secure victories they failed to crush resistance.
5. Napoleon divided command of French forces in the peninsula. This meant that French
efforts were left in the hands of different commanders (Junot Soult, Massena, Marnot,
Joseph and others) whose mutual rivalries and jealousies diluted French efforts.
6. Napoleon had to divert veteran troops away from Spain at vital times to fight in central
Europe and Russia. Such actions no doubt weakened his armies in Spain and Russia,
especially after 1812.
The Peninsular war is important in explaining Napoleon’s eventual defeat for several reasons.
First the defeat of a small French army at Baylen was significant because it punctuated the image
of French invincibility. Secondly, Spanish resistance encouraged the Austrians to take up arms in
1809, causing Napoleon to leave Spain at a crucial moment. Thirdly, the Spanish and Portuguese
resistances provided the British with a continental theatre of operations against France. The
constant guerrilla attacks and lack of a decisive victory sapped French morale, required the
maintenance of a force of over 200 000 men in the peninsula which strained French resources
and increased the levels of conscription and taxation at home. This served to undermine French
support for Napoleon. The war cost France over 300 000 casualties and 3 billion francs. The
need to maintain forces in Spain meant that there were fewer for operations elsewhere and that in
1809 and 1812 Napoleon was fighting on two fronts. Taken together, these reasons help explain
Napoleon’s downfall. If the consequences of the Peninsular War were to be slow death, then the
Russian campaign hastened the final crisis.

The inevitability of Napoleon’s downfall

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 96

Some have argued that Napoleon’s eventual downfall was inevitable from the start. The qualities
that brought him success were those that guaranteed his eventual failure. His ambition, egoism,
sense of destiny and single-minded determination helped him to achieve remarkable feats both in
politics and on the field of battle. The flow was that he did not know when to stop. Securing
frontiers developed into conquering an empire which further developed into action to establish
some kind of universal monarchy in Europe, like his role models, Charlemagne and Alexander
the Great. His military success bred in him self-belief that led him to ignore advice or not to seek
it. The concentration of command in his hands left him with subordinates incapable of or unused
to successful independent command, as the Peninsular War demonstrated.

He lacked the quality of statesmanship that could have enabled him to make lasting peace
treaties. Having defeated his enemies in the field, he sought to defeat them again at the peace
table. His peace treaties were usually one-sided. The experience of Austria in this respect is quite
striking. Austria took up arms in 1798 after the humiliation of Campo Formio in 1797, only to be
humiliated once again at Luneville in 1801. It did the same in 1894, only to be crushed by the
terms of Presburg in 1805 and then again in 1809 at Schonbrunn. A final attempt in 1813 was to
give Austria its reward at Vienna in 1815. In this sense, it can be seen that there was no real
chance of lasting peace in Europe while Napoleon was on the throne. He had the opportunity to
make peace in 1798 on terms that would have left France substantially more powerful than it had
been in 1789, but was blind to such offer, partly because Napoleon believed that he could still
win, and partly also because he was only interested in the fate of France in so far as it served his
own end- of remaining in power.
Another sense in which the seeds of his downfall were there from the start, could be said to be
the constant opposition of Britain whose material resources enabled it to fight on and subsidize
allies until Napoleon was finally defeated.

The Continental System

This was Napoleon‘s strategy to isolate Britain economically. In other words, this was economic
warfare. The Berlin Decrees of November 1806 formally launched the continental system.
Britain was declared to be in a state of blockade and all states were forbidden to trade with the
country. British subjects on the continent were henceforth liable to arrest, and their property to
confiscation, as well as all goods belonging to Britain or which originated from her factories or
colonies. Likewise, any ship of whatever nationality which arrived directly from British ports or
colonies would be refused entry to continental ports.

British response to the Continental System

In January 1807, Britain reacted with an Order-In- Council. She forbade all neutral ship, on pain
of confiscation, to call at ports which were closed to British vessels. A further order-in-council of
November of 1807 determined that neutral ships should be permitted to call at continental ports
provided they had previously been to a British port to pay a tax on their Cargo and obtain a
licence from the British government.

The Milan Decree: December 1807

Napoleon reacted with his Milan Decree of December 1807 in which he threatened to confiscate
all neutral ships which complied with British instruments. The struggle between Britain and
France now developed into a commercial war between a sea power and a land power. Between

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 97

April 1810 and November 1812, Britain suffered heavily under the restriction of her continental
trade. Nevertheless Napoleon never achieved his main objective, which was to destroy British
trade. Had he succeeded in excluding British trade from the continent, British credit would have
collapsed. However there were a number of factors which doomed Napoleon’s efforts to failure
and contributed substantially to his fall.

Reasons for the failure of the Continental System

i) Firstly, British goods were never totally excluded from the continent. They managed to enter
Europe in various ways. The problem was that the European coastline from the eastern
Mediterranean to the furthest reaches of the battle was too long. Honest and competent customs
officials and military officers were not always available to apply the system affectively. As a
result, there was constant smuggling of British goods. Contraband came to mean big business in
Europe.
ii) The continental system developed the French economy at least as much as it did the British.
Although undertakings such as agriculture flourished, others experienced a serious recession.
Enterprises which depended on foreign trade collapsed completely. Instead of French trade
increasing at the expense of British goods, it declined sharply. The problem was that the British
blockade was succeeding. It led to the financial ruin for numerous French ship-owners and
merchants. In 1807, for example, Marseilles had 330 sea-going vessels, but four years later, there
were only nine.
iii) Thirdly, Napoleon himself undermined the continental system. By 1809, the system was
working so badly that Napoleon decided to issue licences for trading with the enemy. That
French businessmen were permitted to trade within a system which was directed against such
trade, was telling proof of the failure of the continental system. By 1813, it had been abandoned,
as Napoleon urgently needed the licence revenue for his war efforts.
iv) Napoleon lost the support of the bourgeoisie.This was the social group which had brought
him to power, and derived the greatest benefits from his government.They blamed the
continental system for the economic depression of 1810 – 1811. This class became indifferent to
the Napoleonic dynasty.
i) The other reason for the failure must be sought in the fact that neutral shipping suffered
greatly. If ships failed to obey British regulations, they were liable to seizure on the high seas by
British warships. If they complied, they were liable to seizure on arrival in European ports. This
led to much dissatisfaction and to various retaliatory measures by neutral countries. The USA, in
particular, was alienated from Napoleon for this reason.
ii) Because of her sea power, Britain found it easier to implement the Orders-In-Council than
Napoleon’s imperial decrees. Britain possessed more ship owners, sailors and merchants than
any other country. In addition, Britain became the undisputed leader in the industrial revolution
of the 18th century. Against the cheaper British goods and products of her quality and in larger
quantities, the decrees of the continental system were of no effect.
iii) Equally serious was the dissatisfaction amongst the nations controlled by France in regard to
her allies. This was particularly the case in the countries where there was less industrialization –
but a surplus of agricultural products, which had to be exposed such as those in eastern and
sought-eastern Europe. No imperial decree could suppress the demand for familiar and
inexpensive British or colonial goods, and there was increasing opposition to Napoleon’s
economic tyranny in Europe. On the 31st of December 1810, Tsar Alexander opened Russian
ports to neutral shipping, and by so doing sealed the fate of the continental system.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 98

The causes of the downfall of Napoleon I
There were both long term and short term causes of the downfall of Napoleon. The long-term
causes included the effects of the continental system, and British naval and financial power, the
size of the empire, which had became too large to be intact, the rise of nationalism, especially in
the Peninsular involving Spain and Portugal. The military reforms in Prussia also helped in the
defeat of Napoleon. The short term causes included the disastrous Moscow campaign and the
formation of the stronger Fourth coalition in 1813 comprising Russia, Austria, Prussia and
Britain.

The long term causes

i) The rise of Nationalism in the Iberian Peninsular – particularly in Spain:
In 1808, Napoleon installed his brother, Joseph as king of Spain, while Murat took the place of
Joseph in Naples. In the long run this step proved to be a fatal blunder. The proud Spanish
nation found it an intolerable insult to its honour. For the first time Europe experienced that a
nation could rise against a conqueror. A medieval but powerful kind of nationalism which
combined the crown and the church, developed in Spain. Juntas (people’s committees) were
formed everywhere, with a central Junta in Madrid to lead the rebellion against French
occupation. The aid of Britain was sought. Thus, a British force under Sir Arthur Wellesley
(known after 1809 as the duke of Wellington) was sent to help the rebels liberate the Peninsula.
The guerilla warfare and the mountainous nature of Spain and Portugal proved very difficult for
Napoleon to control rebellion against his system in Spain. The Spanish rebellion drained his
troops and resources. He later remarked that “the Spanish ulcer destroyed me”. Besides draining
him of troops and resources, the Spanish nationalism had an inspiring influence on other
European nations, particularly the Germans.

ii) The Empire had become too large to keep together. By 1809, Napoleon’s empire had reached
its zenith. Virtually the whole of the European continent lay at his feet. He was not only ruler of
France, but of an Empire which stretched from the North Sea (Holland) to the river Ebro in
northern Spain, and from the English Channel to the Bay of Naples. In Italy, he was also king of
Italy and patron of the Confederation of the Rhine which, by 1810, included all German states
except Prussia and Austria. His brothers, Joseph and Jerome were kings of Spain and Westphalia
respectively and his brother – in – law, Murat, king of Naples.

After divorcing Josephine, as she was unable to provide him with an heir, Napoleon married,
Marrie Louise, the daughter of Francis I of Austria, in March 1810. By so doing Napoleon
entered one of the oldest dynasties in Europe. However, in spite of its outward appearance of
strength, the Napoleonic Empire had inherent flows which appeared one after another. The
empire lacked firm national support and was kept together by military force. Continuous war
substantially thinned the ranks of the veterans of war. Napoleon was increasingly obliged to
make use of foreign troops and young inexperienced French conscripts. Thus with this vast
empire, and war-weary troops empire was bound to start crumbling.

The Continental System

The failure of the continental system had confirmed the naval and commercial supremacy of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 99

Britain. That Napoleon possessed remarkable qualities which set him far above many excellent
leaders down the centuries cannot be doubted. There was his magical charm, which could win
opponents within moments. Then he had the ability to understand the psychology of his soldiers
and to win their confidence. The duke of Wellington himself said that the moral effect of
Napoleon’s presence on his army was worth as much as 40 000 men. But then, it is true that
while certain personal qualities helped him achieve great heights, they were equally responsible
not only for the failure of the continental system but for his fall.

Prussia’s military reforms

The reforms of social and political life in Prussia went hand in hand with improvements in the
military system. The army was to be a national institution. All citizens had to undergo military
training and thereafter be enrolled in the national reserves and the Land Storm. To keep abreast
of times, improvements were also made to military training, uniforms and weapons.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the well-known military strategist Clausewitz, undertook the
military reforms which were complete by 1813, in time for the final onslaught against Napoleon
in the Battle of the Nations.

Study Guides
i) What factors limited the effectiveness of the Continental System?
ii) What were the causes and results of the Peninsular War?
iii) In what ways does the history of the Peninsular War support Napoleon’s view of it as the
“Spanish ulcer.”?

Short-term causes
The Moscow Campaign of 1812
Alexander I’s violation of the continental system was a challenge which could not be ignored.
The Tsar had to be humiliated. Napoleon, therefore resolved to reduce Russia to a state of
complete submission. Napoleon fully equipped his army well, and had made extensive logistical
preparations. It would be a brief campaign in June 1812. The Grand Army with a troop strength
of 611 000 men started the invasion of Russia. Russia employed the scorched earth policy, where
they destroyed all food supplies. Thousands of soldiers fell by the way-side due to heat
exhaustion and hunger. After the bloody battle of Borodino the road to Moscow lay open for the
Grand Army. However the shortage of food plus the winter led to a drop in morale among the
soldiers. Alexander rejected the offer of a truce. By mid-October 1812 Napoleon had no choice
but to begin the retreat with only 100 000 men left. Probably not more than 20 000 or 30 000
men out of an army of over 600 000 finally crossed the Niemen into France. The Moscow
campaign had been very costly to Napoleon’s plans and ambitions and hastened his downfall.

The formation of the fourth Coalition

This coalition was formed in February 1813, by Russia, Prussia, Austria and Britain. For the
first time in his career, Napoleon was confronted with the joint forces of four large powers.
Three large armies under Moreau and Bernadotte (previously Napoleon’s Marshal), Blucher and
Schwarzerberg, descended on Napoleon. Bernadotte and Moreau persuaded the allies to utilize
Napoleon’s proven tactics of dividing the enemy, and to fight the separate commanders, and not
Napoleon himself. In this they were successful. Ultimately the Allies cornered Napoleon at
Leipzig. They had 320 000 men, and Napoleon, half that number. In what the Germans later

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 100

called the “Battle of the Nations”. (16 - 19 October 1813), Napoleon suffered a crushing defeat.
Early in 1814, the allies with a force of 200 000 men, invaded France across the Rhine.
Napoleon was finally overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the allied troops. He could not
prevent Alexander I and Frederick William from entering Paris on 31 March 1814. It was not
until April 1814 - that Napoleon finally abdicated and was settled at the island of Elba.

Study Guides
i) Why did Napoleon invade Russia in 1812?
ii) In what ways did Napoleon’s defeat in Russia contribute to his eventual downfall?
iii) What factors contributed to the more effective allied military performance in 1813- 1814?
iv)What mistakes did Napoleon make which his enemies were able to capitalize on?
v) Why was Napoleon finally defeated at Waterloo?
vi) What impact did the French Revolution have on Europe to 1815 and even beyond?

Examination type questions

1.Why was Napoleon Bonaparte able to support the Directory and establish himself as First
Consul in France?
2.“The Continental System was the key reason behind the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire.”
How valid is this view?
3 By what means and with what success did Napoleon Bonaparte administer the conquered
territories?
4 Why was Napoleon Bonaparte able to wage such a lengthy war against the European
governments?

Key References
1.Barnett C -Bonaparte
2.Emsely C-Napoleon; Conquest, Reform and Reorganization, 2003
3. Jones P-The French Revolution 1787- 1804.
4. Lyons M-Napoleon Bonaparte and the legacy of the French Revolution, 1994.
5.Matthews A -Revolution and Reaction Europe 1789- 1849. (2008)
6. Mclyn F -Napoleon (1997)
7.Tulard J -Napoleon: Myth and Saviour, 1985

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 101

 CHAPTER 8
THE PEACE SETTLEMENT (1814 – 1815)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the topic, students should be able to:
(i)Describe the aims of the major Powers at the Congress of Vienna.
(ii)Locate the conflicting aims of the major powers.
(iii)Explain the terms of the Congress of Vienna.
(iv)Assess the impact of the Congress of Vienna on
a) the victorious powers
(b)The defeated powers.
(v)Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Treaty of Vienna
(vi)Assess how far the balance of power was achieved
(vii)Describe how effectively the threat of French resurgence was dealt with
(viii)Link the heavy- handed nature of the Treaty of Vienna to the eruption of revolts during the
1820s.
(ix)Pass a judgement on whether the Treaty was the best package possible in the circumstances
of the time.

This is a very important topic in the syllabus. It is also a very popular one among both students
and teachers. In fact there are syllabi which begin in 1815, with the peace – settlement. The

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 102

Peace Settlement consisted of a number of agreements signed after the defeat and abdication of
Napoleon I.These included the Treaty of Chamount (March 1814), Treaty of Fontainebleau
(April 1814), First Treaty of Paris (May 1814), Congress of Vienna (November, 1814-June
1815), and the 2nd Treaty of Paris (November 1815).

The Treaty of Chamount (March 1814)

According to this treaty, Austria, Great Britain, Prussia and Russia undertook to unite in a
quadruple alliance for twenty years. They also agreed to overthrow the Napoleonic dynasty. The
underlying objective was to create a balance of power in Europe, which was to prevent any
single state from ever again reaching such a dominant position as France had, under Napoleon.
The treaty of Chamount also paved the way for the later system of Congresses.

The Treaty of Fontainebleau (April 1814)

Paris was already in the hands of the allies when Napoleon formally abdicated in April 1814.
According to this treaty, Napoleon was obliged to relinquish all claims he and his family had to
the French throne. Napoleon, furthermore, undertook to settle on the island of Elba, where he
would enjoy full sovereignty. He and his family members would also receive pensions.

The first Treaty of Paris (May 1815)

This was a very lenient Treaty which did not aim at imposing revenge on France.
i) The treaty determined that the country’s borders were to revert to those of 1792.
ii) France was further exempted from the payment of war damages
iii) She was allowed to keep certain territorial gains along the Rhine
iv) France was permitted to keep her colonies and trading posts in India
v) She regained Guade-loupe and her fishing rights in Newfoundland waters.
vi) France undertook to vacate her military-bases in the East Indian territories. France was
therefore militarily weak in her colonies, although her trading wealth remained largely
untouched.
vii) Britain was allowed to keep Mauritius, Tobago and St Lucia.
viii) Article XXXII (32) stipulated that a Congress would be held in Vienna in September 1814
to order matters in Europe as a whole.

The Congress of Vienna (November 1814 – June 1815) The Vienna Settlement
Of all the treaties of the Peace Settlement, this was the most important. Most examination
questions have been set on the Congress of Vienna. Candidates are expected to study the aims of
the Congress and analyze its terms. Students are also supposed to familiarize themselves with the
terminology of the Vienna Settlement.

THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA 1814-1815

The Viennna settlement of 1815 was an attempt to redraw the map of Europe after years of
French control. The statesmen were aiming to prevent anyone dominating the continent in the
way that Napoleon had done. The aim was to create a treaty that would be satisfactory to the
majority of Europe and so secure a lasting peace. The settlement was also an attempt to control
the twin evils’ of nationalism and liberalism which were held to be responsible for the upheavals
for the previous two decades.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 103

The aims of the Peacemakers
1. Castlereagh of Britain, was devoted to the principles of the balance of power, which in
particular would mean resisting the territorial ambitions of Russia. France was the other
main threat to future peace, so containment of the France was also necessary. Peace
would benefit Britain commercially.
2. Metternich of Austria, wanted a balance of power as well as a strong central Europe
(under Austrian control) as a barrier to Russia.
3. Tsar Alexander 1, emperor of Russia, wanted to use the congress to pursue Russian
expansion into Poland. He was totally opposed to any measure that could be seen to be
promoting nationalism or liberalism.
4. Hardenberg of Prussia was weak after the Napoleonic war and was indebted to Russia for
liberating most of the Kingdom from the French. Accordingly, Hardenberg had to follow
the Russian line. Nevertheless, she remained cautious over Russian expansionist motives
in east and central Europe, mainly Poland and Saxony.
5. Talleyrand of France, aimed to convince the allies that France was no longer a threat to
European peace. He was also the chief exponent of the principle of legitimacy. His main
aim was to take advantage of the leniency exercised by the major powers to press for the
restoration and recognition of France as a major power.

Problems facing the Peacemakers

A major problem facing the peacemakers in 1814-15 was the chaos caused by 22 years of war
and the overthrow of regimes and frontiers. Europe was in a real sense, like “a world turned
upside done.” Since 1792 and, more specifically, since 1805, enormous changes had been made
to the map of Europe. In central Europe the frontiers of Austria Prussia and the smaller German
states had been drastically reshaped. Italy had also undergone numerous alterations. Some states
had been annexed to France, while others had been grouped and later regrouped into republics,
then kingdoms. This was the case of Italy. In Eastern Europe, Poland which had ceased to exist
in 1795 after its final partition between Russia, Austria and Prussia, had been partially
resurrected as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Rulers as well as peoples had been subjected to the
whims of Napoleon the conqueror. The Bourbons were deposed from Napoleon’s generals,
Marat and Bernadotte, became rulers respectively of Naples and Sweden. Consequently the
peacemakers were confronted with a lot of questions to be decided regarding state boundary and
rulers.
Probably the most important problem facing the peace makers was how to prevent France from
overrunning neighbouring states and disturbing the peace of Europe in future. Most of the states
bordering France in the 1790s had been too small and too weak to offer effective resistance to
French armies. However a solution to the problem was reached fairly easily, since the victorious
Great Powers were in complete agreement on the need to contain France, in contrast to the strong
disagreements that arose on other issues.
One such issue was the fate of German states, a contentious issue between Austria and Prussia
since 1813.It remained to be decided what sort of federal structure should replace Napoleonic
Confederation of the Rhine, which had itself taken the place of the Habsburg-dominated Holy
Roman Empire. However the most serious disagreement that arose at Vienna was over the future
of Poland. The Tsar proposed to create a large independent Poland, with himself as King, to
replace Napoleon’s Grand Duchy of Warsaw. This had been created out of territory acquired by

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 104

Prussians and Austrians in the 1790s. The plan was rejected by the other Great Powers on the
basis of the fact that there would be nothing like an independent Poland but simply a Russian
statellite. The Polish question therefore had serious implications for the European balance of
power. It also affected the balance of power in Germany, because Prussia was keen to acquire
Saxony (a German state) as compensation for the Polish territory she would forfeit.
The treatment of France became a problem only after the “hundred Days of Napoleon’s
attempted come back. In 1814, after Napoleon’s abdication, Castlereagh had persuaded the other
victors, without much difficult, to accept his case that leniency towards France was the best
guarantee for the survival of the Bourbon regime and by extension for stability in Europe. But
after Napoleon’s triumphant return to France in 1815and the flight of Louis XVIII to Brussels,
Castleragh’s assurances seemed somewhat hollow. Russia, and to a lesser extent Austria,
demanded a punitive peace while the Prussians and some of the German states clamoured for the
dismemberment of France.
Finally the pressure of public opinion might be deemed to have been a problem for the statesmen
at Vienna. Since 1795 French armies had spread an awareness of the ideas of liberty and equality
and after 1805, the concepts of the Napoleonic civil code. In addition the French occupation of
Europe, increasingly severe in its demand on the civilian population, had provoked some
stirrings of patriotic and nationalistic feeling. Such ideologies could not easily be accommodated
to the great power’s conception of the need for peace and order in Europe.
It must be noted that the peacemakers were not supermen but human beings living within the
same geo-political context. As such, historians and students alike should take cognizance of the
difficulties and problems under which they operated. The best they could achieve was perhaps, a
political compromise. Of course they should still be blameworthy where they exercised self-
interest and ignored obvious realities.

Aims and Principles

In recent years some historians have become dissatisfied with the traditional way of presenting
the aims and principles of the Vienna settlement. For example, it is commonly stated that the
Vienna settlement was based in the twin principles of “legitimacy” and the balance of power.” A
variant interpretation would be that the congress of Vienna intended to achieve “Restoration
founded on Legitimacy”
To this could be added the third principle “rewards for the victors’ with the “containment of
France.” Such assertions are not so much incorrect as misleading because they oversimplify a
complex situation. In the first place, it seems that the peacemakers only recognized the claims of
former rulers when it suited them, secondly, although all the great powers did attach importance
to the concept of the balance of power, they tended to interpret it to suit their own national
interests it therefore lacked a precise meaning.
A more valid point of view is that the congress of Vienna represented a series of compromises by
the Great Powers, whose views were vastly different. Important differences of opinion had
characterised most of the negotiations among the allies since 1813. Metternich for example, was
far from being convinced before 1814 that it made sense to destroy Napoleon’s power in
Western Europe if the result was to leave Russia dominating the continent. This explains why
Castlereagh had insisted on the need for a united front in both diplomacy and war in dealing with
Napoleon, which was eventually agreed on at the Treaty of Chaumont. (March 1814) what the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 105

Great Powers had in common was the desire for peace, security, and stability but they did not
necessarily agree on how to achieve such ends.

The Territorial settlement

In Western Europe, the key factor in territorial settlement was the “containment” of France
which necessitated the re-drawing of state boundaries. The solution adopted to deal with the
weakness of France’s immediate neigbhours was to create more powerful “buffer states” on her
borders. The areas most easily overrun by French armies since the 1790s had been the Austrian
Netherlands (Belgium), the Rhineland, and the coastal strip of north Italy. It was decided
therefore to join Belgium and Holland together under the Dutch king as the United Netherlands,
whose frontiers were to be reinforced by restoring the old “barrier fortresses.” In the Rhineland
Prussian territory was greatly extended and Bavaria and Baden were also strengthened. The
independence and neutrality of Switzerland, a route into central Europe for French armies, were
recognized by all the Great Powers, including France. To close the gap into north Italy, the
formerly independent republic of Genoa was incorporated into Piedmont, which was further
enlarged by the restoration of Nice and most of Savoy. With Prussian forces ready to be
deployed along the Rhine or to assist the King of Holland and Austrian armies in Lombardy, to
the east of Piedmont, France was surrounded by a defensive arrangement or “cordon sanitaire”
which would severely restrict her opportunities to expand in future.
It is important to note that the territorial settlement in Italy illustrates the limited vision of the
statesmen at Vienna in that, for the most part, they revive the pre-war system of separate
sovereign states and restored the old dynasties. A federal union taking account of regional
loyalties would have been an appropriate political structure for Italy, whose people hoped for
something better than the arbitrary, despotic regimes thrust on them in 1815. However, it has to
be recognized that the frequent boundary changes made by France between 1797 and 1811 were
really not meant to promote a measure of Italian unification, but French administrative
convenience. Accordingly, by 1811, some Italian states had been annexed outright to the French
Empire, while others had been formed into the Kingdom of Italy.
At first sight, the reconstitution of the Italian states gives the appearance of being based on four
“principles,” the containment of France, territorial compensation, the balance of power and
legitimacy. In fact, the Italian settlement was designed to serve Austrian interests. She secured
Lombardy and Venetia as compensation for the loss of the Austrian Netherlands. She also
acquired the Adriatic territories of the Venetian Republic including Dalmatia.
Austrian influence was further increased by the restoration of Habsburg rulers to the central
duchies of Parma, Moderna and Tuscany. The restoration of the old regime in Italy was
symbolized by the return to the Pope of the Papal States, guarded by Austrian troops. Ferdinand I
took over as the ruler of Naples and promised Austria not to grant his subjects a constitution.
The Vienna settlement created an Austrian paramouncy in Italy to the exclusion of French
influence. This was blatant Great Power politics which recognized Austria’s entitlement to
compensation and her supporting role to the “buffer” state of Piedmont on the French frontier.
Her Italian gains were supposed to strengthen her as a Great Power, vital to European stability,
and to act as a counterweight to the aggrandizement of Prussia in Germany. But it could be
argued that Austria was able to gain additional territorial influence because of her central role
among the Great Powers at the Vienna conference. Hence self-interest was hidden behind the
need to achieve a balance of power in the case of Italy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 106

The reshaping of Germany in 1814-15 provides another example of the limited vision and
practical realism of the peacemakers. On the one hand they accepted the logic of Napoleon’s
reduction in the number of states of the old Roman Empire from over 300 to only 39, but they
then could not see the need to allow the new German states a viable constitution.
The basic decision to set up a new German Confederation of 39 states made sense, but it
perpetuated the existence of too many weak, small states. At one extreme the Confederation
included the two German Great Powers, Austria and Prussia, while at the other extreme, were the
four free cities: Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen and Frankfurt. In the north, Hanover was elevated to
the status of a kingdom. In the south Bavaria gained valuable additions of territory, strengthening
the Rhine border in exchange for territory restored to Austria. The German Confederation also
included within its boundaries, two duchies of Holstein and Luxemburg, ruled by the king of
Denmark and Holland respectively. These were too weak to stand alone and they became a cause
for contention in the 1860s.
Having said this, it is clear to note that the opportunity to make Germany a more powerful force
in European affairs was not taken in 1815. German was as much a geographical expression as
Italy for the purpose of enabling Austrian domination. Any greater integration which would have
encouraged nationalism and even liberalism was strictly forbidden. Instead the Kingdom,
dukedoms and free cities enjoyed equal rights as independent sovereign states, sending non-
elected representatives to a Diet at Frankfurt under an Austrian president. The new Germany
largely reflected Metternich’s desire for a weak federation, dominated by Austria. Proposals
made by Stein and Hardenberg in 1813 for a single sovereign Germany state or for a north/south
division of influence between Prussia and Austria were strongly opposed by Metternich.
Although the restoration of Austria to her 1805 strength had been agreed without difficulty, the
reconstruction of Prussia was a lot more contentious. This was because Prussian claims were
linked to a much larger issue in Europe which brought the allies to the brink of war against each
other. The root of the problem was Tsar Alexander’s determination of a larger Polish state as a
Russian satellite and to compensate Prussia for the loss of her former Polish territory with the
whole of Saxony. This had been the essence of the Treaty of Kalisch (February 1813) by which
Prussia agreed to abandon its alliance with France and to side with Russia against Napoleon. It
was feared that if Prussia gained the whole of Saxony, she would become too strong in Western
Europe, thereby upsetting the balance of power. Austria and Britain, together with France,
bitterly opposed the idea. In the end, Prussia had contentment with receiving only two fifths of
Saxony (40% of its population and 60% of its land) and a larger area of polish territory,
including Posen and Thorn. Hence the Tsar’s ambitions of taking over the whole of Poland were
also thwarted

British gains were made overseas. She retained Tobago, St Lucia and Mauritius taken from
France as well as Ceylon and Cape Colony taken from Holland. She paid Holland financial
compensation. She also gained protection of the Ivorian Islands in the Adriatic Sea, formerly
belonging to the Venetian Republic. British territorial gains reflected her vast trading interests as
the mistress of the seas.
France got off lightly. The victorious allies were remarkably lenient towards the state that had
created such upheavals in Europe since 1792. This peace of reconciliation was another aspect of
containing’ France by re-integrating her into the European states system. In the First Treaty of
Paris (May 1814) she kept her 1792 frontiers, as well as the art treasury looted from all over
Europe by Napoleon. No indemnity or army of occupation was imposed. However, France was

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 107

required to give her assent to a series of changes which the allies envisaged making in Europe.
These related to Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in particular, as well as Britain’s
acquisition of various islands. But Britain actually returned far more overseas territories than she
kept.

Even after Napoleon’s ill-fated return from Elba, France was saved from the punitive peace
terms which Holland and some of the German states, especially Prussia, wished to impose on
her. By the second Treaty of Paris, November 1815, her frontiers were slightly reduced by fixing
them at their 1790 limits. She had also to pay an indemnity of 700 million francs, a substantial
amount, and return all stolen art treasures, as well as suffer an army of occupation for three to
five years. Napoleon himself was exiled to St Helena, a distant island in the south Atlantic. Even
so, these were not harsh terms for a nation which has seemingly welcomed Napoleon’s return
and had therefore to accept some measure of responsibility for disturbing the peace of Europe yet
again, before the peace settlement commenced in May 1814 was even completed.
Castlereagh, with some support from Metternich, demonstrated his statesmanship by his
insistence that European peace and stability would not be secure if France was resentful. Instead
of weakening France, the allies sought to strengthen the bonds uniting them against a repetition
of French aggression. This was one of the greatest achievements in 19th century diplomacy. This
actually ensured that no major wars broke out for a period of 40 years. As a safeguard the
statesmen added Article VI to the Quadruple Alliance which provided for periodic meetings of
the allies to consider measures to maintain the peace of Europe. It was this article which
provided and formed the basis for the Congress System.

How successful was the Congress of Vienna?

The Vienna Settlement attracted more criticisms than praises for much of the nineteenth century.
The fact that the period from 1815 to 1848 is often referred to as “The Age of Revolutions”
strongly suggests that the Vienna Settlement failed to achieve the aim of re-establishing order
within states. In the late 19th century it was commonly asserted that the “reactionaries” of 1815
had willfully ignored the twin forces of Liberalism and Nationalism. Furthermore it was asserted
that the principle of legitimacy was invoked to justify the return of discredited dynasties” in
Spain, Italy, and Germany, whose despotic, rule provoked revolutions in the following decades.
Hence 19th Century historians dismissed the Vienna settlement just as a triumph of reaction.”
The peace settlement has also been attacked for the exclusion of the smaller powers from
decision-making. By delegating themselves the right to decide the fate of smaller states, the
Vienna statesmen, it is said, put too high a premium on international stability at the expense of
the wishes and aspirations of peoples. Cavour, the Prime Minister of Piedmont in 1852
commented in 1846 that;

“Resting on no principle, neither that of legitimacy, nor of national interests, nor of popular will,
taking account neither of geographical conditions, nor of general interests, this august assembly,
acting only by right of the strongest, erected a political edifice (house) without any moral
foundation.”
Another area of criticism was the reluctance of the Vienna statesmen to allow constitutional
governments in smaller states. However, France enjoyed the benefits of the charter of 1814
which was “the most liberal form of government to be found in Europe at that time.”
Constitutions were also granted in some German states in accordance with the terms under which

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 108

the Confederation was established in 1815. Overally though, it has to be admitted that the
opportunity to make better governments in smaller states was missed.

On the other hand, it maybe argued that the peacemakers cannot be fairly criticised for their
neglect of liberalism in 1815. Certainly, some historians have argued that if nationalist feelings
had been allowed fuller expression after 1815, Europe could have been spared many of the wars
and upheavals which resulted from nationalist pressures later in the century. However, others
have suggested that the emergence of an aggressive, expansionist nationalist feeling later in the
19th century demonstrated the potentially disruptive force within nationalism which, if given free
reign after 1815 would have destroyed the peace settlement.
Another approach by modern historians has been to question the assumption of earlier
generations that support for liberalism and nationalism was wide spreading in early 19th century
Europe. The present historical consensus is that the liberal nationalism of the early nineteenth
century was largely a middle class affair. Among the masses the nationalistic feeling aroused
during the Napoleonic Wars was primarily a primitive anti-foreigner nationalism, expressing
resentment at French financial policies and occupation. The logical conclusion to be drawn from
this is that the statesmen of Vienna cannot be criticised for ignoring the national aspirations of
the masses, which scarcely existed in 1815.

The proposition that the smaller powers would have exercised a beneficial influence over the
outcome of the peace settlement, if allowed to participate, is somewhat faulty. Historically, there
is no evidence that smaller powers behave less selfishly than the Great Powers. What is certain is
that if Holland and some of the German states had dictated the terms of the second Treaty of
Paris, November 1815, France would have been dismembered.
More importantly, the Vienna settlement was not a dictated settlement like the diktat of
Versailles” which created a legacy of deeply felt resentment that undermined European stability
for two decades. On the contrary, the congress of Vienna actually attempted international co-
operation in the form of the Congress System, although this was not very successful. But what
was generally a success story was the concept of the balance of power. The Napoleonic
dictatorship and tyranny was never again duplicated in any form. Russian efforts to dominate
Eastern Europe were successfully thwarted. This totally differed from what eventually happened
in an even more modern century. After destroying the Nazi tyranny in Eastern Europe Stalinist
communist dictatorship simply took over.

The attempt to re-establish a balance of power has also been viewed with favour by modern
historians since it was one key factor which accounted for peace since none of the major powers
had any reason to feel aggrieved. This is because the Great Powers’ territorial claims had been
satisfied by the Treaty of Vienna. The Congress of Vienna produced stability because all the
major powers were, at least initially, willing to try to resolve problems that arose within the new
framework, rather than try to destroy it in order to achieve their individual ambitions. It must be
noted that the change in the attitude of Canning, who took over from Castlereagh did not
necessarily reflect the British position. Rather, it represented sharp differences in personalities
between the two statesmen. Hence it could be argued that on average the Great Powers had a
genuine desire to see, not only the survival of the Congress of Vienna, but the Congress System
as well.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 109

Assessment of the congress of Vienna:-
Criticism of the congress
The Congress of Vienna and Nationalism
i) The most common criticism usually leveled at the Congress of Vienna is that the dynamic
forces of Nationalism and liberation were underestimated, if not totally ignored. It should be
kept in mind that the Vienna statesmen were representatives of the old order. The new forces,
unleashed by the Napoleonic wars largely passed them by. It was their task to restore order in
Europe, and it was only natural that they should be guided by the stability of the old regime with
which they were familiar. In their struggle to create a balance of power, the diplomats paid little
attention to the interests of smaller states whose national aspirations they did not hesitate to
ignore. The cases of Italy and Poland are good examples. Only Piedmont and the Papal states
were not handed over to foreign rule. The rest of the Peninsular was put under foreign rule. This
was a clear frustration of nationalist sentiment, which Napoleon’s influence had stimulated.
Poland was liberated; but with the foreseable result that it fell under Russian influence. Here, in
effect, if not in intention, was the congress’s greatest frustration of nationality.
ii) Another criticism of the congress is that it was dominated by the four major powers - who
made all the major decisions affecting their countries. In other words, the fate of smaller nations
was determined by the big powers. However, it is not surprising that this was so since it was the
great powers who had fought hard to defeat Napoleon.

Justification of the Congress of Vienna: Its strengths

i) In defence of the Vienna statesmen, it can be argued that few people realized and understood
the real extent of the forces of nationalism and liberalism in 1815. A good example is the uniting
of Belgium with Holland. This was not really against nationalism because few Belgians, if any,
were then very concerned about it. It was the Dutch misgovernment of Belgium which caused
the national revolution of 1830.
ii) The reduction of the German states from over 300 to 39 was a step towards unification
compared with the Holy Roman Empire. However, there were no prospects of unification in
1815, whatever the Congress had done because German was still very divided.
iii) The period of peace which Europe enjoyed up to 1854, until the beginning of the Crimean
War, can be ascribed chiefly to the fact that the peace arrangements, unlike the later Treaty of
Versailles, did not bear in them the seeds of war. In other words, due to the terms of the
Congress of Vienna, Europe was able to enjoy forty years of general peace.

Some important terms associated with the Congress of Vienna

Questions have been asked on various aspects on the Vienna settlement, for instance, whether the
balance of power was the major concern of the great powers at the Congress. Candidates need to
define the balance of power, and also be able to illustrate it. Balance of power, was the desire,
especially by Castlereagh to ensure that no one power became too powerful as to dominate the
whole world. At the congress, the powers tried to ensure a balance of power in two ways:-
Through territorial adjustments discussed earlier, and the creation of buffer states around France.
For each of these two points, there is need for students to illustrate them using specific examples.

Was it a Reactionary or Conservative Settlement?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 110

This is a very common question associated with the Congress of Vienna. In answering such a
question, candidates need to define the terms reactionary and conservative, before identifying
those terms of the Congress of Vienna which illustrate them.

Reactionary:- Desiring to revert to an earlier state of affairs, to reverse current tendencies.

There are elements of reaction in the settlement as seen in the following terms.

i) Restoration of legitimate rulers to their thrones – that is the principle of legitimacy, discussed
earlier in the chapter.
ii)Reinstating the control of power in Europe to the traditional great powers.
ii) Settlement made no concessions to the new forces of liberalism and nationalism.
iii)Secret diplomacy and separate dealings amongst the great powers was a return to the
traditional diplomatic methods of the eighteenth century, e.g. the handling of the Polish – Saxon
issue.

Conservative: Desiring to preserve the existing state of affairs

The settlement was also conservative in the sense of keeping the peace which had at last been
established and many of the terms can be seen fairly in this light. Their distrust of the forces of
liberalism and nationalism also reflected conservative tendencies.

The Hundred days

Meanwhile, the disconcerting news reached the peacemakers that Napoleon had returned to
France. The four big powers immediately put their disputes about the territorial arrangements
aside, and once again combined their forces to check this new menace. However, Napoleon was
finally defeated at Waterloo on the 18th June 1815.

The Second Treaty of Paris – November 1815

With Napoleon finally out of the way, the victorious powers met in Paris again, amongst other
matters, to conclude a new peace treaty with France. In this second Treaty of Paris, the Allies
were less lenient with France.

The terms
i) The country’s borders were now narrowed to those of 1790.
ii) The art treasures which Napoleon had seized were to be returned.
iii) An indemnity of 700 000 000 Francs had to be paid and
iv) An army of occupation was stationed in France to enforce the payment of the reparations.

Representation at the Congress of Vienna

The formal opening of the Congress of Vienna took place on the 1st November 1814. It was a
glittering gathering accompanied by appropriate elegance and fanfare. It was a meeting of
royalty and diplomats who were aiming to negotiate the greatest possible advantages from the
envisaged reconstruction of Europe for their various countries. It was therefore invaluable that
there would be friction and clash of interest between the peacemakers from the outset.
Although all the European states, except Turkey, were present, the real decisions were made by a
committee of five, representing the major powers namely Austria, Britain, Russia and Prussia.
France gained access to the inner circle only as a result of the argument of her representative, the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 111

shrewd Talleyrand, that the major powers could not hold his country responsible for the actions
of Napoleon.

i) Austria was represented by Clemens Von Metternich. The Austrian Chancellor acted as
chairman, Chief planner and host of the Congress. He liked to see himself as the “coachman of
Europe”, who wanted to expunge all signs of the French Revolution by restoring the peace and
security of Europe under the domination of Austria.

ii) Russia
The Russian delegation was led by Tsar Alexander I. He was an enigmatic figure who
frequently vacillated between liberal and authoritarian convictions. Despite his sporadic liberal
views, he never lost sight of the interests of Russia.

iii) Britain
Lord Castlereagh, British’s secretary of Foreign Affairs, led the British delegation. His objective
was to restore the balance of power in Europe so that no single power would ever attain a
position which threatened the peace of Europe. As Britain had no territorial ambitions in
Europe, and concerned herself solely with protecting her trading interests, Castlereagh played a
decisive role in settling disputes between the continental statesmen.

iv) Prussia
Prussia was represented by her king, Frederick William III. He entrusted the actual negotiations
to his Prime Minister Hardenberg.

Study Guides
i) Describe the principles which guided the peacemakers in the Treaty of Versailles
ii) Why do you think the principles were not always applied?
iii) Explain the different motives of the Great Powers in the Treaty of Vienna.
iv) How far was the Congress of Vienna an example of Great Power politics at play?

The terms of the Vienna Settlement

The principal proposals of the Congress of Vienna can be grouped into three categories:-
a) Rewards to the Allies or Territorial Arrangements
b) Arrangements to guard against future French aggression
c) The restoration of legitimate rulers.

(3) Rewarding the allies who had fought Napoleon/ Principe of compensation
i) Austria
The countries which lost territories as a result of the arrangements were compensated elsewhere.
Thus Austria, in return for relinquishing the Austrian Netherlands to Holland obtained the
following territories:
i) Lombardy and Venetia in Italy
ii) Austria kept Galicia
iii) In addition, members of the Royal House of Hapsburg were appointed as ruler in the Italian
duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany.
iv) Genoa was incorporated with the kingdom of Piedmont restored.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 112

v) The Papal states were given back to the Pope.

ii) Britain
Britain obtained European Islands: Heligoland, Lonian Islands, Malta; West Indies
Islands such as St Lucia, Tobago (from France), Trinidad (from Spain), Cape of Good Hope,
Ceylon, and Guyana (South America), from the Dutch, Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and
the Seychelles from France.

The Polish – Saxon question

The Polish – Saxon issue was one of the most vexatious questions with which the Congress had
to contend. Russia and Prussia had already reached an agreement at Kalisch in 1813, regarding
their respective aims in Poland and Saxony. The broad outlines were that Prussia would claim
Saxony, while Russia would extend her authority to Poland. Great Britain and Austria, however,
soon opposed this arrangement. Castlereagh feared that Russian authority extended in Europe
would hamper the creation of a balance of power. Metternich was also not in favour of a
reinforcement of Russia and Prussia. Talleyrand fully exploited the dissension between the allies
to the advantage of France and ranged himself on the side of Britain and Austria. At the
beginning of 1815 the issue came to a head when Austria Britain and France concluded a
defensive pact aimed at opposing the demands of Prussia and Russia. At this point, war looked
very likely. A timeous compromise was reached, by allowing Russia to extend her authority
over a large part of Poland, which included Warsaw. Prussia watered down her initial demands
and accepted about half of Saxony.

Prussia
Prussia retained two-fifths of Saxony, Swedish Pomeramia and other North German lands.

Russia
Russia gained control of Finland and Poland.
Guiding principles at Vienna: Principle of containment.
1. Prevention of future French aggression
This was done by planting stronger states on France’s borders. This is sometimes described as
creating buffer states around France or creating an arch of containment around France. This was
achieved through the following:
a) Combining Belgium (Austria – Netherlands) with Holland
b) Prussia gained the Rhineland states
c) Austrian troops were stationed in Lombardy and Venetia.
d) The German confederation of 39 states was created from the previous over 300 states.
a) Piedmont obtained Genoa
2. The principle of legitimacy
This principle had to do with the restoration of legitimate rulers who had been forced from
their thrones by Napoleon’s conquests. This principle, however, was not always consistently
applied. Although it applied in the restoration of the Bourbons in France, it was disregarded
in states like Germany, the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium), Norway, Poland and Saxony.
Legitimate rulers were restored in the following areas:-

i) Bourbon kings were restored in Naples in the person of Ferdinand I.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 113

ii) Habsburg rulers were restored in the duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany.
iii) The Papal states were- re-established.
iv) Bourbons were restored in France, that is, by Louis XVIII and Charles X.
v) Bourbons were restored in Spain, that is, Ferdinand VII.

Other clauses
i) Norway was transferred from Denmark to Sweden.
ii) There was the international declaration against the slave trade.

Study Guides
i) Explain the territorial arrangements in the Treaty of Vienna
ii) How were Metternich’s interests different from those of Catlereagh at the Congress of
Vienna?
iii) In what ways did the Congress of Vienna reward the winners of the war against Napoleon?

Study Guides
i) What compromises were made by the peacemakers in the Congress of Vienna?
ii) Did the Congress of Vienna set the stage for lasting peace in Europe?
iii) Why was the Holy Alliance dismissed so strongly and so soon?
iv) What problems were faced by the peacemakers and how successfully were they addressed?

Examination type questions

1. How far did the issue of restoration dominate the minds of peacemakers at Vienna in 1814-
1815?
2. How far was the Congress of Vienna the best settlement that was possible?
3. How and with what success, did the Vienna settlement recognize the changes brought about
in Europe between 1789 and 1814?
4. How successful was the Congress of Vienna in its attempt to achieve a mixture of restoration
and innovation?

Key References

1.R. Albercht- Carrie- The Concept of Europe.

1815- 1914, 1968.
2.M:S Anderson-The Great Powers and the Near East, 1774-1923, 1970.
3.Hermolone Baines- Modern History: et-al A- level Study Guide; 2000
4.F.R. Bridge The Great Powers and the European States system: 1815-1914 , 1980.
5.A Matthews-Revolutions and Nationalities
Europe 1825- 1890, 2008.
6.A Sked-Europe’s Balance of Power, 1815-1848; 1980.
7.A. Sked-The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire, 1815- 1918, 1989.
8.D. Thomson-Europe since Napoleon
9.M. Walker-Metternich’s Europe,1968

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 114

 CHAPTER 9
THE CONGRESS SYSTEM 1815 – 1827
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
(i)Describe the aims of the Congress System.
(ii)Explain Metternich’s fears of liberalism and nationalism which were described as
“twin evils.”
(iii)Explain how the Quadruple Alliance (a) acted as the springboard of the Congress System.
(b)set the stage for a Concert of Europe after 1815.
(iv) Explain the areas of conflict in the Congress System.
(v)Explain the widening rift between Metternich and Castlereagh, and ultimately, Canning, who
was not prepared to co-operate?
(vi) assessing the effectiveness of the Congress System as a whole and explain whether it was
doomed from the start or not.
(vii)Explain why, given such major differences, the Congress System survived up to 1823.

THE CONGRESS SYTEMS: 1815-1823

Introduction

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 115

The four congresses held at Aix-la- Chapelle, Troppau, Laibach and Verona were an attempt to
prolong into the post-war period, the Great Powers’ alliance, which had maintained a sense of
common purpose in the final stages of the war against Napoleon. The Congress System was
therefore an attempt to give the idea of a concert of Europe, a practical expression. It is of
importance to note that the concert of Europe itself was more of an ideal, an attempt to
harmonize the conflicting ambitions of the Great powers in the interests of “Europe” as a whole.
As such, its effectiveness and of course, the effectiveness of the Congress System, depended on
the willingness of all the five Great Powers to show restraint in the pursuit of their individual
interests. Without this it would be almost impossible to reach a consensus on important issues.

Furthermore, although the phrase “congress system’ is a convenient term for describing these
meetings of the representatives of the five Great Powers, it can also be misleading. The historian
L.C, B Seaman has asserted that several congresses were held but there was nothing systematic
about them. This is because this series of meetings was arranged on an adhoc basis (as and when
necessary) and conducted without any rules of procedure. To add to the confusion, congresses
were not the only form of diplomatic gatherings that took place after 1815. Conferences of
ambassadors were also held, but these, generally, only considered one specific topic, whereas a
congress usually discussed a number of matters of common concern to the Great Powers.
It is important to note, however, that rivalry and suspicion between states was lessened by
informal understanding between some of the Great Powers. From 1815 to 1820, for example,
Austria and Britain worked closely together to contain France and to control Russia. When this
informal co-operation broke down over disagreements about the purpose of the Alliance, Austria
was able to enlist Russia’s support (in addition to Prussia’s) for a policy of resistance to
revolution in Europe.

Why was the Congress Systems set up?

According to Article VI of the Quadraple Alliance, the Great Powers pledged themselves to meet
in Congresses in order to achieve two main aims, and these were:
a) To consider and promote “common interests.” affecting them.
b) To “facilitate and secure the execution of the present Treaty,” hence, the Congresses were
intended to act as watchdogs of the main Vienna Congress (1815) itself.
It is quite clear that the initial instigating factor for the successive congresses was the common
fear of French resurgence, which as early as March, at the Treaty of Chamount, the Great Powers
agreed to “Concert together” for the: continuance of the Peace.” It should be noted too that once
the French threat disappeared, as France became part of the Quantiple Alliance (1818) , the fear
which commonly bound them also evaporated. Once this happened, more and more self-centred
pursuits divided the major Powers leading to the inevitable collapse of the congress system.
However, as subsequent analysis will show in this chapter, the congress system can also be
argued to have been doomed right from the beginning. The real congresses commenced in
November 1818, although the Quadruple Alliance of November 1815 had set up some kind of
framework for it.

The Congress
a) The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle:
September-November 1818

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 116

The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle was convened in September 1818 to consider matters relating
to France. It was attended by the rulers of Russia, Austria and Prussia, as well as the leading
ministers of the four Great Powers. It was agreed, without much difficulty to end the partial
military occupation of France by allied forces, which had been a source of bitterness and a cause
of instability in French politics since 1815.

However, the question of France’s new position in the Concert of Europe was more
controversial. The Tsar pressed the case for transforming the Quadruple Alliance into a five-
power alliance by the inclusion of France. Apparently this was a way of creating some
monarchial solidarity whereby the Bourbon monarchy in France would join Russia in containing
the forces of liberalism and nationalism in Europe. It is interesting to note that the Tsar, in
supporting a French integration in the Concert of Europe was in fact attempting to facilitate a
Franco- Russian alignment, directed against Britain and Austria. Castlereagh and Metternich
therefore opposed the Russian plan, offering a compromise solution instead. France would be
admitted to the Congress system, under Article VI of the Quadruple Alliance, but the allies
would also renew their commitments to each other against France, under the Treaty of Chaumont
of 1814 which had been primarily signed against Napoleon. The spirit of the Treaty of Chamount
had resulted from the experience of the successful co-operation in the Fourth Coalition against
France from 1813 to 1814.

The Congress of Aix-la- Chapelle was a successful demonstration of Anglo-Austrian co-

operation but French hopes of a closer union with Russia did not materialize. This was partially
as a result of Metternich’s skill, in private talks in sowing mutual mistrust between the two
powers (France and Russai). The main business of the Congress, to determine France’s
relationship with other powers, was concluded quite harmoniously. But on minor issues such as
the slave trade and the Spanish colonies, some bitter exchanges took place between Britain and
France.
Although the Congress was generally a success, it is important to point out that mutual mistrust
and a degree of bad blood existed between France and Russia on one hand, and Britain and
Austria on the other.

b) The Congress of Troppau, October-December 1820

In the interval between the ending of the first congress in 1818 and the summoning of the second
at Troppau in October 1820, Metternich’s warnings of the existence of a European revolutionary
conspiracy seemed well justified. This is because liberal unrest in Germany (which had been
suppressed) was followed in 1820 by the assassination of the Duc de Berry, the heir apparent to
the French throne, and by revolutions in Spain, Portugal and Napes.

The Great Powers showed most concern at the Spanish and Neapolitan revolts. Although the
demand for a constitution in Portugal alarmed the conservative powers, they confined themselves
to making formal protests to the government at Lisbon. This was a recognition of the fact that
Portugal enjoyed British “protection” as shown by the presence of a naval squadron in the river
Tagus, which could dominate the capital of Lisbon.

Although revolts of the early 1820s in the smaller states followed a common pattern, there is
absolutely no evidence of a central committee in Paris directing these revolutionary outbreaks as

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 117

Metternich alleged. The revolts were caused by general discontent with arbitrary and
incompetent government. They were also caused by resentment at the restoration of clerical and
aristocratic privileges. The impetus to revolt came from within the ranks of the army. The revolts
either began with a mutiny or took the form of a military coup. Many army officers at this period
held liberal views and had grievances over being poorly and irregularly paid. Discontented army
officers found natural allies among the progressive urban middle class and some of the lesser
nobility. Links between them existed through membership of secret societies, as the Carbonari in
Naples.

1920 therefore presented itself as a year of revolutions, but it was the revolutions in Spain and
Naples which presented Metternich with a test of statesmanship. Such revolutionary activity, he
estimated, threatened to completely upset the old order in Europe and therefore needed to be
checked. It was clear that a consensus was impossible to achieve over Spain. The Tsar was
pressing for “authorized intervention.” The Alliance considered that, whilst events in Spain were
not so bad as to spread to other parts of Europe, those of Naples were certain to spread to other
parts of Italy. This would eventually destabilise the Austrian Empire itself. Castlereagh on the
other hand, insisted that the Quadruple Alliance had not been designed to suppress revolutions,
but that the November 1815 Alliance had been “made against France.” He therefore argued that
the situation in Spain did not justify intervention.

Castlereagh’s attitude prior to the Troppau Congress already revealed major irreparable cracks in
the Alliance. On the other hand, Metternich wanted to secure an outright condemnation of the
Neapolitan revolt by all the powers. He also insisted on securing the moral backing of the
Alliance for Austrian military intervention, partly because he probably feared that once her
forces were engaged in ‘Italy, Austria was made vulnerable to Russian pressure along her
northern borders. Consequently when the Tsar supported France’s demand for a congress on
Naples in August 1820, Metternich was faced with a possible Franco- Russian front. The French
wanted collective intervention, by the Allies in order to press the Neapolitans into adopting a
system of government modeled on the French charter of 1814. Once a success, the scheme would
make the French a patron of constitutional government in Italy. The French also aimed to
neutralize Austrian influence in Italian states. Hence, self interest lay at the centre of the failure
of the Congress system.

The Congress of Troppau itself eventually took place in September 1820 amid different aims
among the major powers. For instance, the Tsar had a double-minded approach to the revolts in
Italy and Spain. He wished to side with Austria as a way of destroying the Anglo-Austrian
entente which had existed since 1815. He also wished to support France in order to weaken
Austrian influence. At the conference itself, the Tsar brought two different proposals: one
proclaimed the right of the Alliance to intervene so as to put down revolts, while the second
proposed that the smaller states should be allowed to introduce reforms with the consent of the
Great Powers. Clearly, the first would drive a wedge between Britain and Austria while the
second would antagonize Metternich, but please France.

On the other hand, the French representatives at Troppau had been instructed by their
government to obtain Russia’s co-operation against Austria for the creation of a moderate
constitutional regime in Naples. This was, however, a very ambitious scheme, requiring

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 118

considerable diplomatic skill to outwit Metternich, and with no backing from Britain,
Castlereagh had made Britain’s position clear before the Congress met. This was completely at
variance with the French stance in that it opposed intervention by the Great Powers collectively,
while conceding Austria’s right to act under the terms of the Austro-Neapolitan Treaty of 1815,
in order to maintain her influence over Italy. Castlereagh’s argument about the situation in
Naples was sharply different from that of Austria: The revolution in Naples should be treated as
a special, rather than a general question, as an Italian question, rather than as a European, and
consequently, as in the sphere of Austria rather than of the Alliance.”

The fact that both Britain and France only sent observers to the Congress, who only attended the
formal sessions, made it easier for Metternich to hold private talks with the Tsar. Since
Metternich now gave priority to the battle against revolution, he was prepared to abandon his
former policy of cooperation with Britain for the sake of a closer relationship with Russia.
Alexander, for his part, was prepared to be persuaded that all Europe was threatened by
revolutionary conspiracies directed from Paris, and that he needed to abandon all his liberal
views and support Austria in a policy of suppressing revolution. Prussia too, having faced 1818
revolts in the German states was prepared to land her support behind Austria. This resulted in the
Troppau Protocol, signed by Austria, Prussia and Russia. It was however, protested by the
British and French representatives.

The Troppau Protocol proposed an uncompromising policy of intervention in the name of the
Alliance if revolutions occurred. It stated thus;
“States which have undergone a change of Government due to revolution, the result of which
threatens other states, cease to be members of the European Alliance and remain excluded from
it until their situation gives guarantees for legal order and stability. If, owing to such situations,
immediate danger threatens other states , the powers bind themselves, by peaceful means, or if
need be by arms, to bring back the guilty state into the bosom of the Great Alliance.”
While the Troppau Protocol established the principle of a united front of the three eastern powers
against the forces of revolution which lasted for nearby 30 years, it also clearly marked a
division of opinion within members of the Quantiple Alliance, with France and Britain on one
hand and Austria, Russia and Prussia on the other. This crack was never mended, but in fact got
worse and led to the collapse of the congress system altogether.

In a desperate bid to persuade the western powers to accept the Troppau protocol, it was agreed
not to publish its contents until after the Congress had resumed at Laibach in January 1821.

The main purpose of the Congress of Laibach was to attempt some sort of mediation by the
Great Powers between King Ferdinand of Naples and his subjects. However, at the Congress
very little mediation was achieved. The new regime of King Ferdinand had rejected France’s
advice to modify the constitution along the lines of the French charter of 1814.”. The Tsar’s
attitude towards the revolution had also hardened after the outbreak of a mutiny at St Petersburg
in December 1820. Consequently, the Congress gave Austria a mandate to intervene by force,
which resulted in the defeat of the Neapolitan army by Austrian troops in March 1821 and the
overthrow of the revolutionary regime.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 119

Moreover, the Austrians also suppressed the rising in Piedmont in March 1821 with the blessing
of the Conference. The Tsar even offered to put 100 000 of his troops at Austria’s disposal. With
an Austrian military presence established in Tuscany and the Papal states, the whole of Italy was
placed under Austrian military surveillance. In fact before the Laibach Conference broke up
news arrived of the outbreak in April 1821 of a revolt in Greece against the rule of the Sultan of
Turkey. This seemed to confirm Metternich’s view that revolution, inspired from France, was
rampant. Metternich once said to the Tsar that, “It is at Paris that the great furnace exists.”

It is important to note that the congress of Laibach was a complete triumph for Metternich.
France’s attempt to support the cause of liberalism and moderate revolution had been a failure.
On the other hand, Tsar Alexander had been persuaded to abandon the cause of liberalism and to
seek safety in the Troppau Protocol. Although the Tsar was later to become restless at the
outbreak of the revolution in Greece, it was agreed in May 1821 that the Sultan of Turkey should
be assured that the Great Powers would not give aid to the rebellious Greeks. Metternich’s policy
of opposing all revolutions had therefore succeeded. The only set-back was Britain’s open
condemnation of interference in the domestic affairs of other states in the name of the Alliance.
Despite the apparent decline of the Anglo-Austrian entente, which had operated effectively from
1815 to 1820 as a check on France and Russia, there was still some common ground between
Britain and Austria on some issues, especially in the near East (Russia and Greece).

(c)The congress of Verona

October-December, 1822
Between the ending of the Laibach Congress in May 1821 and the start of the Congress of
Verona in October 1822, the dominant issues in international affairs were the Greek revolt and
the continuing problem of Spain. Once the Tsar had returned to Russia in May 1821, Metternich
feared that he could not be relied upon to abstain indefinitely from intervening in the Greek
revolt.
Nevertheless, in July 1821, the Tsar was uncertain about the diplomatic path he would pursue.
He hinted that the time was ripe for an Alliance with France but by August he was expressing his
fears of a revolution by saying “if we reply to the Turks with war, the committee in Paris will
triumph and no government will be left on its feet.” By the summer of 1822, however, the Tsar
had resigned himself to awaiting the decision for the Foreign Minister’s conference, arranged for
September in Vienna as a preliminary before the full congress at Verona.

In the event, the Greek problem was not a very contentious issue at either meeting. Collective
diplomatic pressure on the Sultan applied by the Great Powers secured Russia’s satisfaction for
her grievances against the Turks, while Metternich once more succeeded in persuading the Tsar
that the Greek revolt was, a part of an internal revolutionary conspiracy.

The dominant issue at Verona turned out to be the Tsar’s insistence that the Troppau protocol
should be applied to Spain. Although his plan for intervention by an allied army was rejected at
Verona (by Austria, France and Britain), he remained adamant that the only aim of the Alliance
was “to combat Revolution.” Since he had agreed not to destroy the unity of the Alliance by
siding with the Greek insurgents, he demanded that the Alliance now prove its worth by
responding to the Spanish King’s appeals to the Great Powers to suppress the revolution.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 120

While the British were, as usual, opposed to any interference in the domestic affairs of another
state, the French were undecided about what to do. But they had at least resolved that if a French
army did enter Spain, it would not be as an agent of the Alliance but as a demonstration that
France could act independently. This divergence of view put Metternich in a quandary or
practical dilema). He did not want to give Russia an excuse for marching his troops across
Europe, but he feared that a French army might set up a constitutional monarchy in Spain, which
would set a precedent to the Italian states. This is because once a constitutional regime was
created in Spain it would inspire the revolutionaries in Italy to achieve the same. This would lead
to the expulsion of Austrian presence and interests in Italy.

Moreover, any intervention in the name of the Alliance would alienate Britain. Supporting
Metternich would keep Russia under check in the Near East, but Metternich’s solution to this
dilemma was to persuade France to join the other three powers in sending Protest Notes
simultaneously to Madrid. The notes would be phrased so threateningly that the Spanish
government would be obliged to react, possibly in such a way that would justify allied
intervention.

This scheme enabled Metternich to preserve an appearance of moral solidarity among the four
powers. It also went sufficiently well towards satisfying the Tsar’s demand for action against the
revolution in Spain to enable Metternich to persuade him to maintain a united front towards the
Greek revolt. Much to Metternich’s satisfaction, the Congress of Verona concluded with a
general condemnation of the Greek revolt as “a rash and criminal enterprise.”

It must be highlighted that by the time of the Congress of Verona, Castlereagh had committed
suicide and was succeeded by George Canning. Canning had a known hostility to the congresses
as well as armed intervention in other states. Hence, the death of Castlereagh marked a major
turning point in Congress Diplomacy. In fact Verona marked the completion of the breach
between Britain and her partners in the Quadraple Alliances.

Canning had less knowledge than Castlereagh with respect to European affairs. He was blunter,
less tactful, and felt more sympathies with liberal movements abroad. When on 30 October 1822)
Canning communicated to the Congress his firm refusal to intervene in Spain, it was received as
a bombshell by other Great Powers. It meant the end of the alliance so far as the western powers
were concerned.

“Things are getting back to a wholesome state again, every nation for itself and God for
us all”, said Canning.

Study Guides
i) Explain the provisions of the following congress:
a) Aix-la- Chapelle, 1818
b) Troppau, 1820
c) Laibach 1821
d)Verona 1823
ii) In what ways did the Quadruple Alliance transform the wartime allies into a concert of
Europe?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 121

The Breakdown of the Congress System
The Congress system broke down in 1823 under the weight of the discordance among the Great
Powers in their attitudes towards revolutions. In defiance of the policy agreed at Verona, France
intervened in Spain in 1823 to suppress the revolt, while in 1827, Russia, backed by Britain and
France, defined the spirit of the Troppau Protocol to assist the Greek revolt. Although it was
France and Russia who openly rejected Metternich’s tutelage, it was nevertheless Britain’s
attitude that was most responsible for the collapse of the Congress system. Castlereagh’s
personal commitment tended to conceal the growing restiveness of British public opinion over
involvement in continental affairs. Canning openly repudiated the whole concept of congress
diplomacy in 1823. Verona was therefore the last of the congresses.

Metternich’s satisfaction at having achieved a solution of the Spanish problem at the Congress of
Verona, was short-lived. With the appointment of Chateaubriand as the new Foreign Minister in
France in 1823, French policy became more decisive. “Our true policy”, he declared, “is the
Russian policy, by which we counterbalance two declared enemies, Austria and England.” Such
utterances went directly against the spirit of the Alliance.
France did not abide by the agreement to deliver a severe diplomatic Note to Madrid at the same
time with the three eastern powers: Austria, Russia and Prussia. Instead, a French army of 1000
000 men marched into Spain in April 1823 and restored the authority of the Spanish King,
Ferdinand VII. In the process, they also abolished the constitution which the revolutionaries had
set up.

The French invasion without the mandate from the Alliance, was an assertion of France’s right to
pursue an independent foreign policy. The French Prime Minister had made this clear to the
Duke of Wellington before the Congress of Verona that, “French policy in relation to Spain was
founded upon French interests and entirely unconnected to anything the congress might
determine.”

This unilateral military action, although approved by the Tsar, had not been sanctioned by the
Alliance. In fact, Metternich made a desperate attempt to persuade the other Great Powers to join
Austria in stopping French action, although to no avail. Canning, who took over the Foreign
Office after Castlereagh’s death in August 1822, disapproved of the French invasion of Spain,
but would not co-operate with Metternich to oppose it. He could at least take consolation from
the fact that France’s action had not been given a European mandate at Verona, thereby
demonstrating the disunity of the Alliance. The Congress system was clearly in ruins in the
spring of 1823 given the disarray among the Great Powers over such an important issue of Spain.

The divergence of views among the five Great Powers became even more explicit a few years
later, in the course of the Greek revolt. In 1827 Britain and France agreed to co-operate with
Russia in assisting a rebellion against a legitimate authority in defiance of Austrian and Prussian
insistence on the respect for the rights of the sultan of Turkey over the Greeks.

However the breakdown of he Congress system had been inevitable since 1820 because the
views of Britain and possibly, France, towards revolutions in minor states, were incompatible
with the attitudes of the three eastern powers-Prussia, Russia and Austria. The revolts of 1829
raised the fundamental question of the purpose of the Alliance of the Great Powers. Metternich

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 122

insisted on a general right of intervention by the Alliance as enshrined in the Troppau Protocol,
accepted by Russia and Prussia but rejected by both France and Britain. Its acceptance by the
Tsar marked the end of Russian liberalism and signified that Alexander had finally been
persuaded of the reality of Metternich’s mythical universal revolutionary conspiracy, based in
Paris.

Castlereagh who was prepared to concede Austria’s right to intervene in Naples, forcefully
repudiated Metternich’ interpretation of the purpose of the Alliance as providing a justification
for interference in the domestic affairs of other states, regardless of whether the security of the
Great Powers was at risk or not. Hence his refusal to associate Britain with the “the moral
responsibility of administering a general European policy.”

Castlereagh also complained to the French in September 1820 that the Tsar was trying to turn the
Alliance of the five Great Powers into a general government of Europe. This was despite the fact
that the terms of the Alliance had been fixed in 1815 and 1818. “To apply them to all
revolutionary events,” he said, “is to pervert the principle. It is the Holy Alliance as conceived by
the Tsar and which we cannot adopt.”

The attitude of the cabinet and public opinion in Britain also contributed to the breakdown of the
Congress system. During the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, Castlereagh was warned by the
Cabinet not to agree to any extension of Britain’s commitments to the Alliance whose purpose in
peacetime was not well understood by a nation which was often living in isolation. It was
therefore quite clear to Castlereagh by 1820, if not earlier, that British public opinion was
reluctant to accept the need for the continuance of Britain’s participation in continental affairs.
This was especially accomplished considering that no danger existed to the security of the Great
Powers.
In his state Paper of May 1820, Castlereagh explained his own misgivings about intervention by
the Alliance in the affairs of other states such as Spain “Having subdued the Conqueror… it
never was, however, intended as a union for the Government of the world, or for the
Superintendence of the Internal Affairs of other states.”

Castlereagh was also opposed to the attempt to endow the Alliance with some moral force.
Where he differed from Canning was that he still believed that the periodic meetings would still
help to maintain general peace in Europe. He based this on his experience of successful co-
operation from 1813 to 1815.

Canning on the other hand, lacked this experience of the value of personal contact and he also
disliked Metternich. He therefore regarded the split in the Alliance at Verona as a return to “a
wholesome state again” rejoicing that it was once more, a case of “Every nation for itself and
God for us all.” Such sentiments which were warmly approved by the British parliament, clearly
signified the end of Britain’s participation in the Congress system.

Study Guides

i) “The Congress System achieved nothing of lasting value.” How fair is this assessment of its
achievements?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 123

ii) “Both in intention and effect, the Congress System merely sustained the restored “ancient
regime” in Europe.” How far do you agree with this verdict?
iii) Was there a congress System?
iv) Put simply, in what ways was the congress system
a) A failure
b) A success
v) Did the self- interest of the Major Powers destroy the Congress System?
vi) Do you think that Canning destroyed the smooth- running of the Congress System?
vii) Discuss the opinion that “the congress system scarcely justifies the attention it has received
from historians.”
viii) Why did the 1820s experience so many revolts?

The Congress System: A Failure?

There is general agreement among historians that there was no real “system” to the series of
congresses held between 1818 and 1822. It is suggested that by itself the idea of periodic
meetings was an insufficient basis for a successful experiment in international co-operation.
Without permanent organization to collect material for preliminary consideration, to prepare an
agenda and to establish agreed rules of procedure at the meetings, the congresses were incapable
of operating in anything but an ad hoc, amateurish fashion. Metternich himself seems to have
realized this by 1823 when he commented to an advisor: “before talking about congresses it is
necessary to come to an accord on many matters and the way to do this is through simple
conferences.” The Congress system was perhaps too ambitious in attempting to secure the
agreement of all five Great Powers on the range of issues that came before them.

The Congress system has also been seen as a missed opportunity for making adjustments to the
Vienna settlement in the light of subsequent events. Once it became clear that there were popular
pressures for good government and or some recognition of national identity, the Congress
System, it has been suggested, provided a suitable forum for consideration of modifications to
the peace treaty.

Instead, the majority of the Great Powers were persuaded by Metternich to adopt an essentially
static concept of how to preserve peace and stability which sought to repress popular movements
rather than make concessions to liberal or nationalist aspirations. The three eastern powers in
particular seemed to be unable to differentiate between demands for constitutional reform and
the sort of militant Jacobinism that had caused much of the unrest in Europe in the 1790s. British
public opinion would not permit its government to support the sort of gross misgovernment that
characterized the rule of Ferdinand of Spain, but the continuance of the Congress system without
Britain, one of the two leading Great Powers, would have been nonsensical.

A fatal flaw in the Congress system was the failure to establish agreed principles on which the
Alliance of the Great Powers was supposed to operate. Consequently problems arose from the
existence of too many principles which were not readily compatible. Thus Article VI of the
treaty of November 1815 sought to establish the idea of periodic meetings to discuss matters of
common concern. The Tsar’s Holy Alliance attempted to give Castlereagh essentially a practical
scheme, a sort of moralistic nature which could not be fully justified.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 124

  While Metternich’s Troppau Protocol gave the Tsar’s wishes and sentiments a
justification for repression.

 Hence Castlereagh objected to what he regarded as a pervasion of the Principle of the

Alliance which was agreed on in 1815.

It is important to note that what appears to be the crux of the matter was the fact that what was
constituted in 1815 was an Alliance directed, in Britain’s view, against a possible revival of
French militarism, with an added proviso for future meetings. However, the Tsar had confused
the issue prior to the Treaty of November 1815 with his scheme of the Holy Alliance in
September. This may help to explain why the divergence of views which emerged in 1820
seemed to puzzle and annoy the leading participants in the congress system, since they believed
that its basic principles had been agreed upon in 1815.

The most obvious failure of the Congress System was its lack of flexibility. As a forum for co-
operation among the Great Powers, its inability to accommodate differing views of what
constituted a serious danger to the peace of Europe was fatal to its survival. The revolts in Spain,
Naples and Greece split the five-power Alliance in different ways- the three powers who tried to
resolve the Greek revolt being a quite different combination from the three who agreed to the
suppression of the Neapolitan revolt in the name of the Alliance. The Congress System could
therefore not operate effectively in such a situation.

Although the Congress system did not cope very well with some of the problems in international
affairs from 1815 to 1822, some useful lessons were learnt and some ground was achieved
during this period. The basis for a stable international order was created. France was re-
integrated into the diplomatic community only three years after the end of the war. That was
done without destroying the Quadruple Alliance as a standing precaution against a resurgence of
French aggression.

Co-operation between Austria and Britain from 1815 to 1820 helped to maintain stability in
Europe by keeping both France and Russia in check. When Anglo-Austrian co-operation broke
down in 1820. It was possible by then for Austria to look up to Russia for aid in defending the
conservative monarchial order on the continent. By this time as well, Russia was no longer
regarded as an expansionist power, but as being committed to the defiance of the status-quo
against the spread of liberal and revolutionary ideas. The protection she afforded to the two other
conservative powers, Austria and Prussia, therefore helped to consolidate the territorial system
created in 1815.

It is interesting to note that in recent years some historians have suggested that too much
prominence has been given to the working of the congress system in the study of international
affairs in the period 1815-1923. This has been done to the neglect of important underlying issues
in Great Power relations such as the Franco-Russian alignment. The congresses themselves
might be better regarded, perhaps, as the tip of the iceberg of the diplomatic activity of these
years, much of which was conducted beneath the level of ‘high-powered’ meetings attended by
the monarchs and foreign ministers of the Great Powers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 125

The years 1815 to 1823 represent a phase in Great Power relations when diplomatic gatherings to
discuss matters of common concern mainly took the form of congresses. The experience of this
experiment was the fact that it achieved some diplomatic co-operation from 1813 to 1818. The
idea was to continue with this experience even in peacetime.

As an experiment, the Congress system was not a forerunner of the League of Nations, although
there was an attempt by the Tsar to make it some kind of European Government. Its success
tended to depend more and more on personal relationships, careful preparation and agreement on
basic objectives. The Congress system seems to have possessed only one of those three attributes
and even that disappeared with Castlereagh’s death in 1822, followed by the death of Alexander
in 1825.

Study Guides
i) Was the Congress System doomed from the start?
ii) Was the Congress system a failure?
iii) Why did Britain initially agree to work together with the Western powers in 1815 but stood
alone in 1823?

Alternatives to Congress Diplomacy.

Between the breakdown of the Congress system in 1823 and the revolutions of 1830,
international relations were in a state of flux (continuous change). The Great Powers were clearly
at odds over the question of what should be done about revolutions.

After the Troppau Protocol had pronounced a blanket condemnation of all revolutions, co-
operation between Britain and other Powers was almost impossible on most issues. This was
because the Tory government in Britain was sympathetic to movements seeking constitution
change in a reasonably ordered fashion in the smaller states. Otherwise Britain did not
necessarily favour revolutionary upheavals.

Canning was happy to see the Congress System collapse, partly because he was more openly
liberal in sentiment than Castlereagh and partly because he preferred to defend British interests
by direct, face to face negotiations with individual statesmen. Although the limitations of this
approach were to become apparent with the Greek revolt, Canning’s use of direct negotiations
was very successful in protecting British interests in Portugal, her Brazilian colony and in the
Spanish colonies of Latin America.

The rebellion against Spanish rule in Latin America which began in 1820 had benefitted from
Spain’s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars and her preoccupation with the revolt in 1820
against the absolutist king Ferdinand. The French invasion of Spain in April 18123 to restore
royal authority, was seen as a threat to British interests in two ways. Firstly, French armies were
feared that they would possibly go on and invade Portugal in order to assist the unpopular
monarch in that country to come to power. Secondly, it was feared that France would assist
Ferdinand to reassert complete control over his rebellious colonies in the Americas. What

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 126

Canning achieved was in fact an understanding that French influence in Spain would be matched
by British influence in Portuguese affairs.

The merits of ‘Conference Diplomacy’ as it is sometimes called were evident in the later stages
of the Greek revolt. On a major issue such as the Eastern Question, the limitations of Canning’s
“everyone for herself” approach were severe. The Near East was an area where international
understanding was most needed since several of the powers had important interests to defend
there.

But in 1825, Count Nesselerode of Russia became impatient at the obstructive attitude of the
other powers towards Russian proposals for mediation in the Greek revolt and asserted in a
circular to Russian embassies abroad that “Russia will follow her own views exclusively and will
be governed by her own interests.”

The Nesselrode Circular of August 1825 was tantamount to a repudiation of the whole concept
of the concert of Europe and would also have led to war if acted upon. Fortunately by 1826
Canning recognized the need to co-operate with Russia, if only to forestall unilateral Russian
action against the Turks.

Examination type questions

1. “The Congress System would consider great common interests.” How far did the period
between 1815 and 1827 show that there were very few of these “great common interests”
among the major powers?
2. How far did the Vienna settlement lead to the suppression of nationalism between 1815
and 1830?
3. “The Congress system was doomed from the start.” Discuss this verdict
4. “Great power politics rather than principles governed the actions of the peacemakers at
Vienna.” How valid is this claim?
5. Why did the Congress System last no more than ten years?

Key References
1. R. Albercht- Carrie- The Concept of Europe.
1815- 1914, 1968.
2. M: S Anderson-The Great Powers and the Near East, 1774-1923, 1970.
3. Hermolone Baines-Modern History: et-al A- level Study Guide; 2000.
4. F.R. Bridge. The Great Powers and the European States system: 1815-1914, 1980.
5. A Matthews- Revolutions and Nationalities.
Europe 1825- 1890, 2008.
6. A Sked-Europe’s Balance of Power, 1815-1848; 1980.
7. A. Sked-The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire, 1815- 1918, 1989.
8. D. Thomson- Europe since Napoleon
9. M. Walker-Metternich’s Europe, 1968

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 127

 CHAPTER 10
THE RESTORED BOURBONS IN FRANCE:-

LOUIS XVIII AND CHARLES X; 1814-1830

Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to;
(i) Describe the provisions of the Charter of Liberties of 1814.
(ii) Explain the aims of Louis XVIII and Charles X.
(iii) Account for Louis XVIII’s success in retaining himself in power with reference to his
middle- of- road policy
iv) Compare and contrast the reigns of the two Kings.
v) Explain the impact of the measures taken by Charles to restore ultra-royalism in France
vi) Describe the characters of the Chief Ministers who served Louis XVIII and Charles X;
Richelieu, Duc de Decazes- who served under Louis XVIII and Comte de Villele- who
served both Louis XVIII and Charles X’s reigns (1821- 1827) and Polignac.
vii) Account for the 1830 revolution in France
viii) Explain the downfall of Charles X in 1830.
ix) Explain the main ideological backgrounds
(i) The Bonapartists.
(ii) The liberals and middle class
(iii) The ultra Royalists
x) Evaluate the successes of the reigns of Louis XVIII and that of Charles X.

Overview

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 128

Louis XVIII was 59 years when he came to the throne of France as King. He did not do so by
popular approval but he was restored by the force of arms of the Quadraple Alliance (Britain,
Prussia, Austria and Russia) following the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1814.
Although Louis XVIII initially raised skepticism by denying the revolutionary ideal of popular
sovereignty by restoring the white Bourbon flag in place of the Tricolour, he was soon to make
moves that assured the generality of the liberal population in France. Significantly, he granted to
his subjects a charter which seemed to declare that there was no return to the absolute rule
associated with the pre-revolutionary monarchy. Such was the basis of Louis XVIII’s success in
power. NB: The Charter of Liberties was given to France by the conservative powers after
realizing that the revolution could not be ignored.

Why was Louis XVIII successful in retaining himself in power?

The Charter was one of the most important instruments through which Louis XVIII established a
liberal basis for government. He made no attempt to restore the ancient regimes’ privileges and
feudalism.

The Charter provided for a bi-cameral chamber (two chambers), the Chamber of Peers which the
King nominated and the Chamber Deputies which was elected. Deputies had to be over 40 years
old and possess substantial property. The restricted franchise restricted the vote to around 100
000 of the wealthiest people in France (out of a population of 30 million) equality before the law,
no imprisonment without cause, careers open to talents, security for property (including the gains
the nation acquired during the revolution) i.e the lands formerly belonging to the church or
aristocrats, confiscated during the revolution and sold off, mainly to the bourgeoisie. Apparent
freedom of the press (subject to laws which must check the abuse of this liberty).

Religious toleration ensured continuity with the liberal principles established during the
revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Naturally, upholding such provisions of the Charter
ensured a relative degree of continuity with the revolutionary tradition established by the
Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen.

However, it is important to remember that Louis XVIII was a monarch, not an elected radical
leader, and as such he wanted to retain a sizeable degree of authority. For example, he appointed
ministers, initiated legislation, had the power of veto, could dissolve the chamber of deputies,
nominated the chamber of Peers and controlled all civil and military appointments.

Therefore the Charter can be seen as a compromise between the claims of the divine right by
monarchy to rule and the liberal ideal of limited constitutional government. Thus, it was a
promising foundation for the restored monarchy. However, there were difficulties right from the
start. The Charter was a royal rant, voluntarily given, and some feared it might be just as easily
and voluntarily withdrawn. The franchise, like the powers of parliament, was limited, this
excluded the general population from the vote. Certain aspects of the Charter’s provisions, such
as the relationship between ministers and parliament and the position on the freedom of the
press, were ambiguous and could easily become sources of friction. Ultimately, whether the
Charter could work or not, depended first on the King, and second on this chief Minister as well
as the conservative, liberal and radical elements within his cabinet. Louis XVIII was fully

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 129

conscious of his fact and he fought hard to maintain some sort of delicate political balance in
France. He implemented the Charter and barred the influence of Ultra-Royalists.

The attempted takeover by Napoleon after his escape from Elba was greeted by wild cheers of
approval from the French. This forced Louis XVIII to temporarily abdicate. When he eventually
came back it awkwardly seemed as if he had been imposed on the French by the allies. However,
many members of the middle and upper classes were willing to support the regime if it brought
peace and respected their gains from the revolution. Additionally, Louis could look for support
from those who had suffered most under the revolutionary and Napoleonic regimes: the Catholic
Church, the nobility and, to a large extent, the peasantry, who had borne the brunt of military
conscription and high taxation and had in the final years of Napoleon experienced inflation and
hunger again. Of course Louis XVIII was cautious not to fulfill the expectations of the Church
and nobility for fear of upsetting the liberal majority. The liberals had directly benefited from the
gains nationaux and would resist any reform meant to dispossess them of their land. Clearly such
a consciousness on the part of Louis XVIII was one major reason for his success as King of
France.
Nevertheless, Louis XVIII did not have a smooth-sailing reign. Many of the noble émigrés and
clergyman who returned from foreign exile wanted revenge on those who had caused their
misfortunes. Ironically, it was these ultra-royalists who posed the greatest initial threat to the
stability of the restoration. On Napoleon’s final defeat in the summer, ultra-royalist launched a,
“white Terror.”(White for the Bourbons) against the supporters of Napoleon, the Bonapartists.
This involved mass arrests, pillaging and massacring of prisoners by Catholic bands of peasants
and workers, often encouraged by local nobility. In Nimes, for example, Catholics were led by
the notorious brigand leader, Trestaillons (three pieces) who it was claimed cut his enemies into
three parts. The strengths of this royalist backlash was reflected in the elections for the chamber
of Deputies in August when a huge royalist majority was elected. In such circumstance Louis’
hopes of a policy of reconciliation seemed destined to fail.

The new Chamber of Deputies demanded a more “royalist” government and an official white
terror involving a purge of government administration. Louis was forced to dismiss the moderate
government of Talleyrand and Fouche. He was also forced to sake of or punish about a third of
the civil servants and to remove about 15000 army officers. Special courts punished about 6 000
people accused of sedition. Further problems for Louis were caused by economic disruption at
the end of the wars (1815) a flood of cheap British imports and harvest failures in 1816-17.

Louis XVIII managed to ride the storm. In September 1816 he felt strong enough to dissolve the
chamber and seek a more malleable body of new deputies. This resulted in a chamber dominated
by constitutional’ royalists. One of the new chamber’s first acts, as directed by the new
government headed by the Duc de Richelieu, was to amend the electoral law to make it harder
for ultras to be elected.

The trend towards a more moderate government was continued when Richelieu was replaced in
1818 by the Duc de Decazes, a moderate liberal whose acceptance was based on the charter. He
purged the administration of ultras and appointed a batch of liberal nobles to the chamber of
Peers. He also reorganized the army, introducing voluntary enlistment and promotion by merit,
as well as relaxing some restrictions on the press. In Decazes, it seemed, Louis had found a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 130

minister committed to making the Charter work. The appointment and ministry of Decazes
stabilized Louis’s government between 1818 and 1820. It also largely accounted for his success
in maintaining himself in power.

However, it is important to note that Decazes was opposed by both the ultras and by the liberals
or independents, on the left, who wished to further liberalize the regime by extending civil
liberties and the powers of the chamber of Deputies. By 1819 these two groups represented a
numerical majority in the chamber. Hence Decazes considered modifying the electoral laws once
again, this time to weaken the liberals. However, his plans to carefully seek a balancing act were
shattered by the assassination of the Duc de Berry, the son of the King’s brother and heir
(Comte de Artois). The murder by a Bonapartist opponent of the Bourbon restoration, killed the
second in line to the throne and destroyed the moderate policy Louis had attempted to pursue
since 1814.

The ultras demanded justice through the introduction of repressive measures. The reaction
against the liberals was reflected dramatically in the elections of 1820 in which they only
received 80 out of 450 seats. In light of these events, Louis XVIII had to appoint the ultra-
royalist leader, the Comte de Villele to head the government, a position he was to hold for six
years.

Louis, aged and sick increasingly left affairs in the hands of his chief minister. Nevertheless,
there was neither nor revolution in France like there was in 1830. Louis was known to be a level-
headed monarch and the ultra-royalists never took over.

Villele for his part was not just a mere fanatic but a capable statesman who aimed to restore royal
authority. One historian has argued that Villele aimed to “royalise the nation and nationalize the
crown.”Playing on middle-class fears of revolution and conspiracy, he was able to pass further
repressive legislation in 1822. Press censorship was imposed and detention without trial allowed.
Liberals, like Guizot were purged from universities. Schools were reassured to teach Catholicism
and obedience to royal authority and teachers came under the authority of bishops.
More importantly, Villele persuaded the chambers to amend the electoral law so that deputies
would be elected for a seven-year term. Other electoral changes tipped the electoral system in
favour of the ultra-royalists and in the 1824 elections, the liberals won only 19 seats out of 434.

In the wake of Villele’s ultra-royalist reforms why was there no revolution in 1824?
One way of answering this question is to realize that Villele himself had quite a successful
ministry overall. Between 1821 and 1824 he ushered in an era of economic stability and growing
economic prosperity. Moreover, France enjoyed major foreign policy success when French
troops intervened in Spain in 1823 to restore royal authority there. This was seen as a triumph
against the British, who had opposed intervention.

It could be argued that Louis XVIII left a France slowly recovering from the impact of 25 years
of revolution and war, a people slowly becoming reconciled to a restored monarchy which itself
was willing to accept some constitutional limitations and respect the rights gained by the people
after 1789. The prestige of the monarchy and of France had to some extent been restored also by
the removal of the allied army of occupation in 1818, by France’s reacceptance as a great power,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 131

symbolized its joining of the other Great Powers in a quintile alliance (1818); and by its
successful intervention in Spain. Moreover, moderate monarchists and moderate liberals were
willing to work on the basis of the 1814 Charter.

On the downside, however, the ultras still wanted a return to the pre-1789 situation of absolute
monarchy, Liberals wanted to move further towards a constitutional monarchy and Bonapartists
and republicans-who were few in number and the margins of political life wanted to overthrow
the regime altogether. However, political stability had been sustained because Louis XVIII had,
even when he was very sick in his last days, managed to maintain a delicate balance among these
sharp political divisions in France. If Louis had been succeeded by another monarch such as
himself, perhaps the Bourbon restoration would have survived. But Charles was of a different
perspective altogether.

Study Guides
i) How would the nature of the restoration affect French people’s attitudes to Louis XVIII?
ii) Describe the liberal charter of 1814 and its impact on Louis XVIII’s rule.
iii) What advantages and disadvantages did Louis XVIII have upon his restoration?
iv) Why was Louis XVIII successful during his reign?

WHY WAS CHARLES X OVERTHROWN IN 1830?

Summary of the Key factors:

-Compensation Law, 1825 allowed the émigrés who had lost properties during the revolutionary
period to be compensated. This also included members of the clergy.
-Sacrilege law (1826- revived ancient regime punishments of mutilation and death for profaning
(disregard or disrespect- in words or actions) religious objects and restricted freedom of speech
on religious matters)
-Continuing press censorship
-Charles’ refusal to select liberal ministers following their election victory in 1827 and his hostile
attitude to parliament.
-The appointment of the extreme ultra Polignac as chief minister in 1829. His proposed
ordinances of St.Cloud (also called four ordinances) would have effectively destroyed the
charters of 1814.
-Also adding to the government’s unpopularity was the severe economic depression France was
suffering in 1830. Rioting began in Paris 1830 and Charles, lacking loyal troops, was persuaded
to abdicate during the July Revolution.

Charles, Comte d’ Artois, brother to Louis XVIII, had a long history of counter-revolutionary
activity behind him. He had been the first member of the royal family to flee France after the
revolution, three days after the storming of the Bastille, and had consistently worked against the
revolution thereafter. His sympathies lay with the ancient regime, an absolute monarchy, the
Catholic Church and the aristocracy.

The fact that the ultras had won the 1824 election and an ultra chief Minister as well as an ultra
king spelt disaster for liberalism in France. Louis XVIII had sought to reconcile, in however

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 132

limited a fashion, the restoration with the revolution. Charles X, on the other hand, sided with the
ultra-royalists and clericals against the revolution. Right from the start, he indicated a desire to
return to the ancient regime. His coronation (May 1825) took place in the cathedral at Rheims
with all the pomp and ceremony appropriate to divine right monarchy. Charles was anointed with
the sacred oil of Clovis, believed to have been brought down from heaven by a dove in AD 496,
and proceeded after the ceremony to ‘touch’ a number of people suffering form scrofula (some
kind of disease similar to tuberculosis).He believed that the anointing had given him healing
powers.

Illiberal Laws Passes After 1825

1. Compensation law: 1825

Whilst there was no attempt to seize back hands lost by émigré nobles during the revolution
Charles X decided to pass a law in order to compensate them. In 1825 a grant of one billion
francs (the milliard) was to be raised by reducing the interest payments to holders of government
bonds. This may have been a cost-effective way of raising the money but it seriously affected the
bourgeoisie who had invested in such bonds. It also roused revolutionary sensitivity: loyal
Frenchmen were being asked to sacrifice income to pay those who had fought against France.
Hence, as early as 1825 Charles went on a collision course with the middle class and liberals in
order to appease the ultra-royalists.

2. The Sacrilege Law, 1825

This was an extraordinary law which made sacrilege a crime punishable by persecution or even
death. Sacrilege is behavior that shows great disrespect of holy institutions, practices or beliefs.
As a result of this law, nunneries were revived and in 1826 Jesuits were allowed back into
France. They were also allowed to teach in schools. A bishop was appointed minister for
education. Such measures created a storm of protest in the liberal press and in pamphlets. There
were anti-clerical popular songs and demonstrations and churches were attached. The apparent
growth of clerical influence was at odds with the secular, radical and tolerant principles of the
revolution. It also provoked rumours of a return to the payment of the tithe. The tithe was a form
of tax paid directly to the church.

In the face of protests and criticisms, the government also sought to restrict press freedom and
introduced legislation requiring all publications to be submitted for royal approval. When in
1827 this measure was resisted by the chamber of Peers (many of whom were liberal, having
been appointed before 1820), the government introduced the Measure by Royal Ordinance and
proceeded to create 76 new peers to counteract opponents. Such actions seemed to precede an
increase in royal power and a lack of respect for the Charter.

Worse still, in 1827 he then decided to disband the National Guard after Charles X had been
greeted with anti-clerical and anti-government slogans at a meeting in Paris. The National Guard
symbolized the revolutionary heritage of France. Its disbandment was interpreted as another sign
that the King had no intention of upholding the liberties laid down in the charter such measures
obviously created more problems for Charles X because people had not forgotten the liberties
which they had recognized through the Revolution and more recently, through the charter of
1814.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 133

Meanwhile the ultras replaced liberals and others in public employment. This gave further rise,
such that Jesuits controlled appointments and added further weight to the impression that Charles
X wished to revive the power of the nobility and clergy in France.

The cumulative effect of these measures and others led to the revival of opposition to the regime.
This came from a number of sources, and reflected a wide range of different opinions from
moderate constitutionalists to revolutionary republicans, all united in opposition to the regime.
The growth of opposition and the same criticisms from within ultra-royalist ranks gave the
government some concern and thus trying to bolster its authority before opposition grew any
further, Villele, the chief Minister (Prime Minister) called a general election in November 1827.
Press freedom was allowed during the election campaign but this opened a floodgate of criticism,
not just of the King and his ministers but of Charles X himself as well. Despite government
efforts, the election left Villele with only a minority in the Chamber of Deputies. The results
were welcomed with demonstrations in Paris and working class districts.

Why did the political situation become more radical after 1827?
Villele’s efforts to win support failed. He was replaced, by a more liberal former minister,
Martinac. As soon as Martinac came to power, he introduced concessions to liberal opinion by
relaxing press controls, restricting Catholic schools and expelling Jesuits. This encouraged
liberals to demand more concessions but at the same time actually angered Charles X and the
ultras. Hence, in August 1829, Charles X replaced Martinac with his friend and ally of the
royalists Prince de Polignac. He was an ancient regime aristocrat an émigré, anti-Napoleon
conspirator and a devout Catholic who was subject to visions form the Virgin Mary.! He had
little sympathy for the Charter. May be Agatha Ramm gives him a better description thus:
“He was a chauvinist which was bad; Ultra-royal which was worse; and an enemy of parliament;
which was fatal”

His appointment was obviously not a politically wise move. Polignac personified ultra-royalism
criticized by the liberals. His appointment of ministers confirmed the image of a deeply
reactionary regime. Polignac could not command a majority in the chamber of Deputies and
there seemed little hope of compromise. When in March 1830 the King’s speech criticized the
opposition’s blameworthy maneuvers,” the opposition responded with a condemnation of the
government. Charles reacted by dissolving parliament. From that stage, the hope of a
constitutional monarchy had been ruined.

The calling of fresh elections in June- July 1830 marked a worsening divide in the politics of the
country. The possibility of a revolution was well in sight. An attempt was made to rally France
behind the King and his government by a more aggressive foreign policy, the most tangible
evidence of which was an attack on Algiers in Morocco. Though victorious, it had little impact
on the electorate. Hence, the electoral campaign was fought in terms of a contest between the
revolution and the monarchy; between liberty and equality on one side and the church and the
King on the other. When the results came in, the government could only master 145 seats against
270 for the opposition. The king had lost.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 134

The issue was now clear to Charles, either he must, as urged by his advisers, abandon
parliamentary government or he must give in as his brother Louis XVII had done. If Charles X
took the latter route, he was warned, the road ended, as it had done for Louis XVI with his
execution. Charles X chose the former. Therefore on 26 July Polignac issued four ordinances
(royal decrees) which effectively meant the abandonment of the 1814 Charter. These Ordinances
of St Cloud (named after the palace where Charles was staying) declared the recent elections
void and the new Chamber of Deputes dissolved. The electorate void and the new Chamber of
deputes dissolved, the electorate was reduced to around 25000 by means of a stringent property
qualification, and imposed strict press censorship. Polignac and Charles (who went hunting)
naively assumed that there would be no major disturbance and made no effective provision to
ensure the success of their coup de tat of the system of government.

On 27 July things moved to a head. There were demonstrations but little violence in Paris. On 28
July workers and students there grabbed the initiative by seizing arms, building barricades and
attacking royal soldiers. They did so waving the Tricolor and shouting “Vive Emperuer!”- (Long
live the Emperor!) These events had no leadership from liberal politicians or journalists,
although some republican and Bonapartist leaders were involved.

Liberal leaders were busy drawing up protests and working out how to defy the ordinances; they
were onlookers to the violence in Paris rather than participants. On 29 July the Parisians attacked
the Tuileries and captured the Hotel de Ville, killing some soldiers and sustaining several
hundreds of casualties themselves. The Tricolor was raised. A revolution had taken place and the
reign of Charles came to an end. On 1 August, when it was clear there was no significant royalist
support, Charles X abdicated in favour of his grandson.

Why Was Charles X Overthrown?

1. The immediate cause of Charles X’s downfall was the issue of the Ordinances of St. Cloud
which provoked the violence of the “three glorious days.” Charles X and Polignac had attempted
a coup d’état without ensuring that there were sufficient loyal troops in Paris to contain
opposition. Many of the troops who were available were sympathetic to the revolutionaries and
the bulk of the army was in Algeria. It was the workers who mainly skilled craftsmen, who had
taken to the streets. Their complaints were as much economic as political.

2. A series of harvest failures from 1825 eventually pushed up bread prices by up to 66% by
1830. On the other hand, the economic slump and population growth combined to force down
wages and increase unemployment. Such natural circumstances caused frustrations which had
political ramifications. Paris became highly politicized in 1830 against Charles X’s unpopular
policies. Journalists, popular-song writers, pamphleteers, all liberal and anti-clerical in
sympathy found a ready audience amongst the artisans and craftsmen of Paris. Liberal
newspapers’ circulation was over three times that of royalist papers. Some workers of course
had vested interests in liberal issues like freedom of the press. Print workers were among the
first on the streets when the ordinances were declared. These developments showed that the
equation between reactionary polices and economic distress was convincingly drawn.

3. The workers’ bosses were also discordant with Charles X, and there is evidence that some
helped arm their employees. Owners of workshops and businesses were, like their workers,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 135

 victims of the economic depression that set in after 1826. They were further angered by the
disbanding of the National Guard in 1827 and a ban on Sunday trading. At the highest level,
businessmen and merchants were increasingly excluded from political influence as the top
positions in the state, both locally and at the centre, became increasingly dominated by the old
aristocracy. Certainly some historians see the swing to the liberals in 1827 as the result of a
loss of business confidence in the regime. The proposed restriction of the electorate in the
ordinances would have excluded them from the right to vote altogether. The same applied to
some extent to the professional middle classes, as promotion and prospects seemed to depend
less on talent than on birth and ultra sympathies. By 1830, 70% of prefects and 40 percent of
sub prefects were ultras. The democratic principles of 1789 were being ignored. This caused
serious bitterness among the middle classes and proved to Charles X that it was impossible to
restore the pre-revolutionary regime in 1830.

4. Charles X’s flagrant disregard of the 1814 charter which gave a fragile guarantee of the gains
of 1789 was totally unacceptable and largely caused revolution in 1830. Louis XVIII owed his
success to the fact that he, by and large, stood by the charter. However, when Charles X came to
power, he openly violated press freedom and the electoral law was arbitrarily changed. Liberals
feared a return to absolutism; hence a constitutional monarchy could only work if Charles X
went.

The feeling that Charles X was not committed to a constitutional regime was reinforced by his
religious moves. The King’s alliance with the Catholic Church and the insensitive policies that
resulted from that alliance alienated a largely anti-clerical sentiment in the rising unrest. The
Clergy were easy targets for popular violence, scandal, mongering and popular abuse in songs,
pamphlets and broadsheets.

All the above points suggest clearly that Charles X carried much of the responsibility for his own
downfall. He sided with the ultras and made no effort to make the constitutional system work. In
this sense he was divorced from the political realities of restoration in France. He said himself
that he had not changed since 1789. He believed he could just rule France and survive without
commanding a majority in parliament. He believed in France where the Catholic Church was
dominant and the ally of the Crown. But for many French people the church was the enemy of
liberalism and progress.

Certainly, Charles X’s narrowness of vision, lack of political acumen and intransigence, play a
central role in explaining the revolution of 1830. But, it is important to remember that there were
longer-term factors that made political stability in nineteenth-century France difficult to achieve.
One Legacy of the years of political, religious and social upheaval was that there were always
alternatives to the existing regime and that revolution or a coup d’état was a justifiable way of
changing it. On the political right there was the option of royalism (ultras), which supported the
restoration of absolute rule, the Catholic Church and aristocratic privilege. There was also
clericalism, whose aim was, more narrowly, the restoration of the power and prestige of the
Catholic Church. Clericals therefore tended to support royalists. Charles X inherited such a
tradition and his inflexibility caused revolution.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 136

In the centre were Orleanists who pressed the claims of the Duc d’ Orleans as a constitutional
monarch, willing to accept liberal principles, the Tricolor and an elected assembly. Liberals did
not necessarily line up with Orleanists principles but they felt that a truly constitutional
monarchy was the best solution for France. They felt that government should be left to ministers
who would be answerable to a parliament elected by men of property.

Bonapartism was another political grouping in France and it had its appeal among ex-army
officers, especially those purged during the restoration of the monarchy in France. These were a
minority in France and did not constitute such a threat to the monarchy in 1830. However, their
voice was added to the chorus of criticism in 1830.

Republicanism represented the most obvious and one of the strongest threats to the restored
monarchy. Republicans wanted an end to the restored monarchy and a democratic republic in its
place. Republicanism tended to be strongest amongst workers in towns, but aroused fears of mob
rule and attacks on property amongst the middle classes. It had prominent supporters like the
Marquees de Lafayette, who was to play a crucial role in securing Parisian consent to a
constitutional monarchy under the Duc d’ Orleans in the wake of the July Revolution.

Marxist historians have pointed to a class conflict as a cause of the revolution. In this analysis
Charles X’s ultra-royalism represented an attempt to return the landed aristocracy to power in
France. This was out of step with the interests of the bourgeoisie who sought political and social
power and a state responsive to the interests of capitalism. Both the aristocracy and the
bourgeoisie feared the lower orders peasants and urban workers, but the bourgeoisie were willing
to exploit unrest to achieve their own political ends. Hence the real causes of the downfall of
Charles X were more complex than what meets the eye. It can never be doubted that his own
weaknesses contributed the most to his own downfall.

Study Guides
i) How did government policy change after 1821?
ii) What were the main beliefs of the ultras?
iii) In what ways did the policies of Charles X’s government go against liberal and revolutionary
ideas?
iv) What mistakes did Charles X make between 1829 and 1830?
v) In what ways did Charles X alienate the middle classes in his reign?
vi) Having over- thrown Charles X, why did France emerge from the July Revolution with
another King?
vii) Why was Charles X over- thrown in 1830?

Was the overthrow of the Bourbons inevitable in 1830?

Some might argue that the difficulties facing the restored monarchy in 1815 were such that long-
term survival was unlikely unless, the monarchist were willing to embrace the idea of a
constitutional monarchy wholeheartedly. Even then, the likelihood of political stability was
remote because of the divided nature of French society, the mutually conflicting heritages which
were left by the revolutionary and Napoleonic eras and periodic economic crisises. After 1830,
Louis Philippe was unable to make constitutional monarchy work, resulting in another revolution
in 1848. On the other hand, Louis XVIII had survived and left France prosperous in 1824. This

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 137

would suggest the downfall of the Bourbons in 1830 had much to do with the character and
policies of Charles and the short-term economic crisis which hit France after 1826.

Study Guides
i) Did the choice of chief ministers by Louis XVIII and Charles X determine the success or
failure of their rule?
ii) Compare and contrast the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X.
iii) What part did economic problems of 1830 play in the downfall of Charles X?

Examination type questions

1.‘Louis XVIII resisted the Ultras, while Charles X embraced them’. Is this a satisfactory
explanation for the initial success but ultimate failure of the restored Bourbon monarchy?
2.How accurate is the view that the Bourbons who ruled France between 1815 and 1830 had
learned nothing and forgotten nothing.”?
3.“The Constitutional charter of 1814 was central to the survival or collapse of the restored
Bourbons in France.” How accurate is this view in light of the reigns of Louis XVIII and
Charles X between 1815 and 1830?
4. Why did Charles X fail to retain the throne beyond 1830?

Key References

1.J.P.T. Bury -France: 1814- 1940 (1969)

2.A Cobban -A history of France (1965)
3.John Lowe -The Concert of Europe International Relations 1814- 70 (1996)
4.K.Randell -France: Monarchy, Republic and empire, 1814- 1871, (1991).
5.D. Thompson-Europe Since Napoleon.
6.R. Tombs -France: 1814- 1914. (1996)

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 138

 CHAPTER 11
LOUIS PHILIPPE’S REIGN (1830- 1848)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the chapter students should be able to:
i)Explain the reasons for Louis Philippe’s early achievements.
ii)Describe Louis Phillippe’s reign up to 1840.
iii)Explain how Louis Phillippe’s government reacted to various demands between 1830- 1848.
iv)Explain in what ways the social and political divisions within France affected Louis Philippe’s
reign.
v)Describe the impact of Louis Phillippe’s cautious foreign policy upon the Bonapartists and
Liberals.
vi)Explain the policies of Louis Philippe in the 1840s.
vii)Describe Guizot’s foreign policy objectives.
viii)Account for Louis Phillippe’s growing isolation in France in the 1840s.
ix)Explain how the stock market corruption directly offended the middleclass in France.
x)Analyse the causes of Louis Phillippe’s downfall in 1848.

NB: Most examination questions on the period 1830 – 1848 relate to the weakness of the
Orleanist monarchy, as it is usually termed, in both domestic and foreign policy, leading on in
turn to why it came to an end in 1848. As with Charles X, some candidates assume that a list of
mistakes or weaknesses is an explanation of why there was a successful revolution in 1848.
Rather than make too many notes on Louis Philippe’s achievements and failures, a better focus
could well be to prepare, in note form, an explanation of events in France in 1848. This needs to
take account of the important economic and social changes that were taking place during his
reign. Candidates should be ready to pay attention to the growing industrialization, the emergent
urban proletariat, and the spread of the socialist ideas of Louis Blanc.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 139

The July Monarchy
The new dynasty was also known as the July Monarchy, the Bourgeoisie or Citizen’s monarchy
of the Orleanist monarchy, The new regime was based upon the following:-

a) The qualities of the ‘Citizen king’

Louis Philippe was the son of the Duke d’ Orleans, Philippe Egalite, who had flirted with the
Revolution. He had also served as an officer in the revolutionary army. Having known
poverty in exile, he was now a wealthy man, but deliberately cultivated a very humble
personality, symbolized by his top hat and umbrella.

b) The support of the landed bourgeoisie

A section of the royalists – the legitimist supporters of the Bourbons, largely withdrew from
politics. The new regime was backed by wealthy business and commercial interests, and
above all, the landed bourgeoisie.

c) The revised Charter of liberties

The Chamber of Deputies produced a Charter which extended liberty. The following are the
terms of the Charter.
i) The Chamber of Peers became an upper house of life members, mostly army officers and civil
servants.
ii) Extension of the franchise to an electorate of about 200 000.
iii) The abolition of censorship.
iv) Roman Catholicism was recognized as the religion of only ‘the majority of Frenchmen’. This
was a repeat of the Concordat of 1801.
v) The king lost the power to veto legislation absolutely. In addition, a system of elected
councils was introduced in 1831 for municipalities, with a very limited Franchise.

The Early Problems of the Regime

The July monarchy experienced serious problems from the start. Some of these problems are
stated below.
1. Division of the Supporters of the Regime
The regime did not have a single and reliable body of supporters: Throughout Louis
Philippe’s reign, there was a struggle between two groups, namely the Party of
Resistance and the Party of Movement.

i) The Party of Resistance: This party included Guizot and the Duke de Broglie. This party
saw the revolution as complete, and opposed further change.

ii) The Party of Movement

It included people like Lafayette and it saw the July Monarchy as just the start of further reforms.

Study Guides
i) How did the circumstances of Louis Phillipe’s accession create problems for him?
ii) What was the reaction of the major political groups to the liberal reforms of 1830?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 140

iii) What evidence is there in his handling of the workers to show that Louis Phillippe was truly a
“bourgeois monarch”?

2. Hostility of Political Opponents

At home, Louis Philippe faced opposition from the Republicans, Bonapartists, Legitimists,
Socialists and Liberals.

a) Liberals: These demanded a further extension of the franchise, and the introduction of
universal manhood suffrage.
b) Republicans: These were led by Thiers. They demanded a full-blown republic. In other
words, they wanted the abolition of a Monarchy in France.
c) Legitimists: These were the Ultra – Royalists who were opposed to Louis Philippe’s
bourgeoisie personality. They wanted him to behave like a true monarchy. This led to a series of
Ultra – royalist plots, e.g in 1832, a revolt took place in La Vendee in support of ‘Henry V’, the
grandson of Charles X.
d) The Bonapartists: This group wanted a revival of the glories of Napoleon I.In particular,
they were against Louis Philippe’s weak and unglorious foreign policy.

3. Social Unrest
Industrialization made the condition of industrial workers a political issue for the first
time. Social unrest was caused by the following:

i) The deterioration of living standards: By 1846, over a million workers were employed in
large-scale industry. There was rapid urbanization, e.g. Rouboix grew by 425 percent between
1831 to 1841. However this city was associated with very poor living conditions by 1840, nine in
ten of the men called up in the ten industrial departments were rejected as physically unfit.

ii) Irregular employment: General standards of living were probably rising but industrial
workers lived on the edge of a crisis which would be triggered by recession, price rises or
unemployment. Of course, the July Revolution did not produce higher wages and reduced hours.
In fact, people worked for long hours in return for low wages. Besides, unemployment increased
during 1830 to 1831. There were also a number of demonstrations including the one in Lyons in
November 1831 by Silk workers.

4. A policy of Resistance (1831 – 34)

Social reforms to win the workers’ support for the regime was out of the question in view of the
dependence on the Bourgeoisie and the socialist tone of the Lyons revolution. The period 1831 –
34 saw an increasing tendency of workers towards republicanism, and mounting disturbances.
Very much influenced by Thiers, the government of the day took very firm steps: some of which
are as follows:

i) Repression: Risings in eastern Paris and Lyons in April 1834 were crushed savagely and
republicans were driven underground.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 141

ii) Restriction of liberty: The right of association was restricted in April 1834, and the press
was brought under tighter control in September 1835.

5 Louis Philippe’s Foreign Policy

The July Revolution triggered off disturbances throughout Europe and nationalists and liberals
looked forward to a foreign policy supporting peoples struggling for freedom. Caution,
opposition, expense and the need to maintain relations with Frances’s only potential friend
(Britain) led Louis Philippe to be far more realistic. The result was that this policy was easily
seen as ‘peace at any price’, and the poet, Lamartine, reflected wide opinion when he described
France as ‘bored’.

a) Belgian Independence
A revolt in Belgium in 1830 developed into a move for separation from Holland with whom
there were all sorts of economic, religious and cultural differences. The absolutists’ proposals for
intervention to deal with this first rupture of the 1815 settlement were resisted by Britain and
France. The two organized an international conference to ratify the situation and forced the
Dutch to give way. They then arranged the general European guarantee of Belgian neutrality. In
fact, France was better off with this small friendly state on her frontier. However, Louis Philippe
was criticized for not accepting the invitation by the Belgian National Congress for his son the
Duc de Nemours to become king of the Belgians because he did not incorporate Belgium despite
support in both countries for this step.

Occupation of Ancona (1832 – 8)

Again France did not help the Italian rebels in 1830 to 1831, although when Austrian troops
entered the Papal States to crush a revolt, French troops were sent to occupy Ancona as a gesture
against Austrian interference rather than support for unification or revolution. This angered the
nationalists but gained Louis Philippe the support of the Catholics.

b) The Second Mehemet Ali Crisis (1839 – 41)

Anglo – French relations were seriously damaged over the Near Eastern crisis of 1839 – 41.
They supported Mehemet Ali as a sort of French protégé. In fact lord Palmerton, the British
Foreign secretary largely isolated and humiliated France over the issue. In the resultant war
fever, theirs fell from office, and for the rest of the regime, Guizot was the dominant political
figure. Many sections of society were not happy with their country playing second fiddle to
Britain, especially the Bonapartists, who became nostalgic for the Napoleon era.

a) The Spanish Marriages Question (1841 – 1846)

In the 1840s Anglo- French relations were largely restored. By 1846 Palmerston was back in
office and he and Guizot fell out over an agreement that the queen of Spain should marry and
produce an heir before the Infanta, the queen’s sister, could be allowed to marry a French prince.
In fact the Queen was married off to an important Spanish nobleman, and the Infanta to the Duc
de Montpensier, son of Louis Philippe. However as, much of a coup as this might have been, it
left France isolated. In Europe, France had no prestigious foreign policy successes to counteract
her internal problems.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 142

Growing Opposition
Over the period, industry and commerce actually developed, and agricultural production of new
crops increased. Between 1837 to 1848, 1287 miles of railway were built. However the
opposition mounted: This can be seen in the following:

a) Alternatives
i) Socialism: Louis Blanc, Blauqui and Charles Fourier all attacked the regime for its failure to
deal with the social questions and looked to republicanism to produce an answer.
ii) Bonapartism: The cult of Napoleon was formed by the return of his ashes to Les Invalides in
1840 attacking the regime’s policies. A whole range of new histories of the revolution and
Napoleonic period were produced. There was nostalgia for a glorious foreign policy.

The growth of Literacy:

A primary education law of 1833, and the development of a cheaper press extended the reading
public. In 1825 there were only 60 000 subscribers’ daily in Paris. By 1846 there were 180 000.
Another education act was passed in 1839.

b) The Economic Crisis (1846-7)

France shared in the general economic crisis of the period 1846-7. The situation was worsened
because of relative economic backwardness. France had 1287 miles of railways in 1848, while
Prussia had 2287 rules. She also experienced a serious financial crisis until 1848 arising from
over speculation in railway shares and a shortage of capital.

c) Social Crisis

The poor harvest of 1846 – 47 made a third of Paris workers destitute and starving. Apart from
this, Guizot was too corrupt, which made the whole regime become unpopular. Guizot bitterly
opposed universal suffrage. The franchise was restricted to 240 000 men and excluded the
majority of educated and professional people. Therefore the most critical issue was the
government’s refusal to extend the franchise.

Study Guides
i) In what ways can Louis Phillippe’s policies towards opposition be seen as a success? What
dangers were there in such policies?
ii) In what ways does Thiers’ foreign policy differ from that pursued earlier in the reign?
iii) Why was Louis Phillipe’s foreign policies dull?
iv) What evidence is there that Louis-Philippe and his government were out of touch with public
opinion?
v) How did Guizot’s foreign policy help to undermine support for Louis-Philippe?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 143

The downfall of Louis Philippe
Causes: – The down fall of Louis Philippe was caused by a combination of what he did, that is,
his unpopular policies, and all that he failed to do which he should have done.

(a)An inglorious Foreign Policy

Louis had an inactive foreign policy. The people resented France’s subservience to Britain, for
example in the Belgian and Mehemet Ali cases. The ingloriousness of Louis Philippe’s foreign
policy stood in shrill contrast to the glory of the Napoleonic era. This weak foreign policy helped
the spread of Bonapartism in France. The government tried to promote the revival of the
Napoleonic legend by completing the Arc de Triomphe, which Napoleon had been unable to do.
Streets and bridges were named after Napoleon’s battles and in 1840 his mortal remains were
brought from St Helena to Paris. The Tricolour and National Guard were also revived.

b)Restrictions on Political Participation

There was a narrow franchise. Only about 200 000 people had the vote in a population of over 32
million. As 92% of the voters were landed, so urban political participation was even lower. The
lesser bourgeoisie were also disenfranchised including, for instance, school teachers, who helped
to influence the youth against the regime.

c) Repression of Potential Opposition

This can be seen in the introduction of censorship. The banning of the Reform Banquet provided
the spark which led to the end of his policies but no more than that.

d) The Economic Crisis

There were economic difficulties. The deflationary crisis of 1845 to 1846 caused hardship for
both the bourgeoisie and the working class.

e) Social Problems: Effects of Industrialization

Industrialization, while a welcome development led to other problems. It led to difficulties for
the working class, especially a deterioration of working conditions. Workers were working long
hours for low wages. There was an absence of social legislation, except the 1841 labour law,
which proved ineffective because of problems of implementation.

f) Corruption
There was a narrow oligarchy in control of the regime. A number of public scandals alienated
public opinion. Under the extremely conservative Guizot, who succeeded Thiers as Prime
Minister, (in 1840), the corruption of the government began to attain large proportions. Guizot
was indifferent to the needs of the lower classes, and did not hesitate to manipulate elections by
means of bribery. The repeated appeals of the liberal opposition for parliamentary and electoral
reform fell on deaf ears.

g) The reform Banquets (1847 – 1848)

The immediate cause of the downfall of the Orleanist Monarchy was the role of the Press. The
Press had become so hostile that it incited the students and labourers to demand the dismissal of
the unpopular Guizot. The government’s attempt to use force to stop the reform banquets failed

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 144

as the National Guard sympathized with the insurrectionists, leading to the abdication of the king
on the 24th February 1848.

Study Guides
i) What were the key social and economic developments under Louis Philippe’s reign?
ii) Compare the reasons for the downfall of Louis-Philippe with those of Charles X. How similar
are they?
iii) Would you say that the economy of France was (a) totally transformed
(b) Changed to some degree or
(c) Experienced little real development in the period 1814-48? Justify your answer.
iv) Discuss the importance of any three main causes of the February Revolution 1848.
v) Compare and contrast the causes and results of the 1830 and the 1848 revolutions
vi) What problems did the growth of towns create and how did these affect Louis Philippe?
vii) Why did the 1848 revolutions cause the abdication of Louis Philippe and yet Metternich
survived?
viii) How did the harvest failures of 1847 worsen the social crisis for Louis Philippe?
ix) Despite the difficulties faced by the Orleanist Monarchy, Louis Philippe was to rule for
eighteen years. How is this to be explained?
x) Why did the July Monarchy Collapse?

Examination type questions

1. Why did the Louis Philippe‘s regime collapse in 1848?
2. How valid is the view that the reign of Louis Philippe was unpopular right from 1830
onwards.
3. Why was it that the revolution continued to be a factor in French history between 1815
and 1848?
4. Why did a revolution succeed in France but failed in Italy in 1848-49.
5. “France is bored.” Is this an adequate explanation why Louis Philippe was removed from
power in France?
6. Discuss the claim that Louis Philippe failed because he was more concerned with gaining
the approval of his fellow rulers than that of his own people

Key References

1. H. Baines et- al- Modern History: A- Level Study Guide (2007)

2. Timothy Baycroft- Nationalism in Europe: 1789- 1945.
3. Peter Browning- Revolutions and Nationalities: Europe 1825-1890. (2008)
4. J.H. Clapian - The Economic Development of France and Germany: 1815- 1914
5. E- Lipson - Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries.
6. G. Lowes - Revolution and Reaction in Modern France.
7. J. Lowe - The Concert of Europe: International Relations 1814-1870.
8. A Matthews - Revolution and Relation: Europe 1789- 1849. (2008)
9. H.L. Peacock -A History of Modern Europe 1789- 1981
10. Allan Todd - Revolutions; 1789- 1917.
11. D. Thompson - Europe since Napoleon
12. Woodward E.L.- French Revolutions, 1789-1871.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 145

 CHAPTER 12
THE METTERNICH SYSTEM
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter students should be able to:
(i)Describe the aims of Metternich’s policies
(ii)Explain how he implemented his policies- i.e. divide and rule; Carlsbud Decrees, secret Police
etc.
(iii)Identify and explain the methods used by Metternich to achieve his aims
(iv)Assess the effectiveness of the Metternich system,” both in Austria Hungry and in Europe
(v)What flaws were in Metternich’s system?
(vi)Explain why Metternich survived the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 respectively.
(vii)Account for the division of the various nationalities inside the Hapsburg monarchy and how
this contributed towards their failure to resist Metternich.

Metternich’s principles:
With the collapse of the Congress System, peace now depended on the efforts of individual
statesmen, either to maintain the status quo or to adjust it without war. The central position was
occupied by Metternich, who guided the policy of the Austrian empire from the Congress of
Vienna to the death of Francis I. Contemporaries were inclined to see the influence of Metternich
behind government policies everywhere in Europe and to refer, in consequence, to his “system”.
Metternich denied that he had a system and said that he only had principles.

The following were Metternich’s principles:

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 146

(i) That the only true form of government was a monarchy.
(ii) That a monarchical government should be absolute.
(iii) That the chief duty of the government was to preserve and protect social order which, like
the monarchy itself, was divinely ordained.
(iv) That in order to protect this social order, monarchs everywhere had to support one another
against threats to social and political stability.
In practice this meant that: -
(a) They must have nothing to do with the representative principle which by its very nature
presupposed popular sovereignty.
(b) They should uphold the European concert and the balance of power and
(c) They should exert authority through the co-ordinated use of strong armies and police forces,
which should also be employed to save neighbours and colleagues if necessary
(i) Those revolutions were usually stirred up by irresponsible persons either from a desire to
obtain property rightly possessed by others or from a desire to yield power which did not belong
to them. The ‘agitated classes’ were the upper middle class (bankers, capitalists, large scale
industrialists) and the lower middle class (lawyers, writers etc). These persons often professed to
speak for the public through journals and pamphlets. Hence the press ought to be censored, for
though public opinion was an extremely valuable guide, the government must be sure that this
was genuine. In particular, governments ought to silence propaganda concerning social equality
and nationality. The only justifiable form of equality was equality before the law and common
interests stronger than those created by the community of language and race were necessary to
form the basis of a state.

Metternich’s activities can be divided into two strands, namely:

(i) Direct intervention: In some areas, action was easier than others. Even in the Austrian Empire
he did not have a free hand. In Italy he could intimidate the independent states because of the
Austrian presence in Lombardy and Venetia. In Germany, he could act directly through the Diet
of the German Confederation.
(ii) Indirect intervention by employing the strength of other states acting under the authorization
of conference decisions: In any case, the empire was in financial difficulties. It had actually gone
bankrupt and between 1815 - 48 a third of its income was spent on paying interest on its debts.
Through the ‘Congress System’ Metternich could use less direct methods to safeguard Europe
and the Austrian Empire.

The Austrian Empire

From 1809 as Chancellor, Metternich was responsible for holding together the ramshackle
Austrian empire. However, his power was limited and he had several alternatives facing him.

(i) The quality of kingship: until 1835 Francis I insisted on playing a very active role in the
detailed management of affairs. A mediocre man of limited views, he expressed himself in
favour of a situation where every person watches his neighbour. The one does not understand the
other and one hates the other. In 1835, he was succeeded by the mentally defective Ferdinand I,
to whom he left the advice ‘Govern and change nothing’.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 147

(ii) Court - rivalries:In 1826 the Czech Court Kolowrat became minister of the Interior. He was
an enemy of Metternich’s from the start with the advantages of considerable financial ability and
a readiness to pretend to be liberal sympathizers. After 1835, the monarchy was ruled by a
council of state which Metternich could not always control.

(iii) Administrative weaknesses: For an absolute regime, it was remarkably inefficient. The
bureaucracy was complex and ever cumbersome. In addition, the Monarchy had serious financial
problems. Not surprisingly, Metternich once remarked, “I have sometimes held Europe in my
hands but never Austria.”

Study Guides
i) What were the political principles of Metternich?
ii) Describe the government of the Austrian Empire before 1848 and explain how grievances and
discontent arose.

Defence against liberalism and Nationalism

There were several alternative defences against liberalism and nationalism. Partly because of the
limits to power, and partly because he had no long- term constructive visions, he was once
described as ‘an empiricist who dealt only in palliatives’.

(i) Nationalism: – In the Austrian Empire, nationalism had scarcely awakened. Metternich,
although he knew he was playing with fire, was not afraid to patronize nationalism in its early
stages. He saw that national pride among the Czech, Romanians, and southern Slavs might serve
as a weapon against the nationalism he most feared, that of the Germans and Magyars.
Nationalism in the Austrian empire undoubtedly contained seeds of much evil. The Germans had
been able to claim, since the time of Joseph II, that their culture was superior to that of other
people. Other groups such as Croats, Hungarians, Magyars and Czechs, resented such
dominance. Francis I supported the Germans and was dependent on them.

Metternich’s methods

(i) Repression – Metternich was never reluctant to use force as in Italy or to employ swarms of
informers, secret policemen and censors.
(ii) Economic Amelioration – a radical approach would have been to try and win popular support
by means of economic improvement to buy off opposition. However, this approach was limited
because of the following reasons: -
(a) A fear by the conservatives that economic improvement would lead to greater independence
of outlook. Metternich believed that a rich and independent society would be difficult to govern.
(b) Restoration of old provincial diets: – This was encouraged by Metternich because he saw the
provinces as conservative.
(c) Cultural nationalism: – As a diversion, and to encourage nationalist divisions, Metternich
actually sponsored literary revivals and considered a reconstruction of the Empire on some sort
of linguistic basis.
(d) Divide and rule policy.

Italy

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 148

Metternich knew that if Austria was to maintain her hold over Lombardy and Venetia, she must
keep Italy divided. He proclaimed the task to be an easy one. He described Italy as nothing more
than a ‘geographical expression’, and the Italians as having no more than local loyalties.
Metternich’s aim was to make Austria, the leader of the Italian confederation, and some princes
of Italy supported Austrian policies, in the main, Metternich’s influence and the presence of
Austrian troops in Lombardy and Venetia was to prove a stumbling block in the unification of
Italy.

The German Confederation

The nationalist and liberal influence in the German confederation unsettled Metternich. To him,
all agitators were liberals and all liberals were nationalists. Perhaps he felt by presenting them in
this way he could most effectively use them to frighten the princes. After 1815, the rulers of
Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg, Saxe- Weimar and Hesse Darmsdart all granted constitutions to
their subjects. Metternich considered these constitutions as dangerous. He was also damned at
the freedom allowed at universities by princes such as the Duke of Saxe – Weimar, who wanted
university students to think of themselves as patrons of learning. Events in Germany played into
Metternich’s hands.

The Wartburg Festival – October 1817

On October 18, 1817 a large gathering of University students celebrated at Wartburg, the 300th
anniversary of the reformation. A bonefire was built and a few relics of French domination such
as, the corporal’s cane and some books hostile to German nationalism were burnt. This action
was exaggerated by Napoleon into a sign that desperate doings were imminent in Germany.

The Carlsbad Decrees

In the spring of 1819, a German student Karl Sand, assassinated a writer of reactionary
propaganda, called Kotzebue. Metternich would scarcely hide his joy. In August 1819, the
representatives of the 9 German states joined him in framing the Carlsbad decrees, which were
ratified later by the Federal Diet.

The following decrees were passed

(i) Strict censorship was prescribed for almost all publications.
(ii) Inspectors were allowed in universities.
(iii) Informers were introduced into lecture rooms and churches.

In the following year, (1820), Metternich persuaded the Diet to limit the number of subjects
which might be discussed in elected assemblies. He had become a species of moral power in
Germany. Metternich’s most strenuous efforts were directed towards enticing Prussia away from
reform. He worked steadily upon Frederich William III of Prussia, to dissolve him from granting
a constitution which he had been contemplating on granting since 1810. However, Metternich
failed to see that Prussia, under an authoritarian and military regime would one day become a
greater rival to Austria.

Study Guides
i) In what way was Kossuth’s Policy an advance upon Magyar nationalism?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 149

ii) What were the causes of conflict between the Croats and Slovenes on the one hand and
Hungary on the other?
iii)What were the reasons for the failure of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848- 1849?
iv) Discuss the reasons for the failure of the revolutions of 1848 in those parts of the Empire
other than Hungary?

Summary of the Metternich System

The political manifestations of the Metternich System were thus to be found in the following
events:
-Troppau Protocol of 1820.

The Carlsbad Decrees – 1819.

-The final Act of the Vienna Congress of 1820.

The Six Acts of 1832

-The Berlin and Muchegratz Agreements of 1833.
-The intervention in Naples in 1825.

Intervention in Spain 1820

-Intervention in the Papal States in 1830
-The annexation of Cracow in 1846
-The occupation of Ferara in 1847,
-The imprisonment of people like Kossuth and other opponents of the Austrian empire. In spite
of all this repression, the system, in the eyes of other historians failed. In the end, moderate
reformers were forced to become revolutionaries. In 1848, however, the inevitable happened, and
Metternich was overthrown by a revolution.

Study Guides
i)Why did Metternich survive the 1848 Revolutions?
ii)How did liberals differ from radicals?
iii)What were the weaknesses of liberal nationalist movements in Italy and Germany in the
period 1815- 40?
iv)What problems faced the Austrian emperor in ruling the empire?
v)In what specific ways did liberals and nationalists represent a threat to the stability of the
Austrian Empire?
vi)How effective was Metternich’s attempt to police public opinion in the Austrian empire?
vii)Did Metternich have a “system”? If so, what were its main features?
viii)What do you understand by the policy of “divide and rule”? Is such a policy a sign of
weakness or strength?
ix) Why did revolutions break out across central Europe in 1848?
x) Why did economic problems in Europe result in demands for political change?
xi)Why did the revolutions fail by the summer of 1849?
xii)Find evidence of how the following contributed to the failure of the revolutions in Germany:
(a)divisions amongst revolutionaries.
(b)the revival of royal power.
(c)the loyalty of the armies to their princes.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 150

xiii) How important was the loyalty of the armed forces in helping the Austrian emperor to
restore his authority?
xiv) In what ways did divisions amongst revolutionaries contribute to the failure of the Prague
revolution?
xv) How successful was Metternich in containing revolutionary forces in the period 1815-48?

Examination type questions

1.Why was the “Metternich system” able to contain the forces of liberalism and nationalism in
Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany?
2.How great a threat to the Habsburgs were the revolutions of 1848 in Austria -Hungary and
Germany?
3.Consider the argument that the rebels of 1848 in Austria and Germany had nothing in common
except their hatred of the Habsburgs.

Key references
1.M Broers -Europe after Napoleon: revolution reaction and romanticism:
1814-1848.
2.W. Carr -A History of Germany: 1815- 1990.
3.M. Fullbrook-German History Since 1800.
4.P. Jones -The 1848 revolutions.
5.C.A. McCartney-The Hapsburg Empire: 1790- 1918.
6.R. Price -The Revolutions of 1848.
7.H- Schulze -The course of German nationalism from Frederick the Great to
Bismarck, 1763- 1867.
8. A sked-The decline and fall of the Hapsburg Empire: 1815- 1918.
9. J. Sperber -The European revolutions of 1848- 51.
10.M. Tech, -The national question in R. Porter Europe in Historical context.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 151

 CHAPTER 13
THE GREAT POWERS AND THE EASTERN
QUESTION 1821- 1856
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
(i)define the main features of the Eastern Question between 1815- 1856.
(ii)identify the vested interests of the Major Powers, namely, Russia, Britain, Austria, Prussia
and France, in the Eastern Question.
(iii)explain how Russian interests clashed with Turkish and British interests in Eastern Europe.
(iv)explain the causes and results of the Greek Revolt of, 1821- 1831.
(v)illustrate the role played by Mehemet Ali in the Greek Revolt.
(vi)explain how the Treaty of Unkiar- Skelessi (July 1833) promoted Russian interests at the
expense of Turkey and Britain
(vii)describe the origins and results of the Straits Convention of 1841.
(viii)evaluate the causes of the Crimean War of 1853- 1856.
(x) discuss the results of the Crimean War
xi) judge how far the Crimean War managed to restrain Russian greed in Eastern Europe.
xii) illustrate the Treaty of Paris.

The Eastern Question, the problem of what to do about the decline and possible disintegration of
the Ottoman Empire, was a recurring issue in international affairs throughout the nineteenth
century. The decline of Turkey had major repercussions on Europe although the European
countries were affected differently. The fate of the Turkish Empire became a source of rivalry
and suspicion among the major European states because they were unable to agree on a solution
to the problem posed by Turkey’s decline. More importantly, the major Powers which got
involved in the Eastern Question had vested self-interest which they did not want to be tempered

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 152

with or compromised. Hence in the absence of any long-lasting agreement, the Eastern Question
took the form of a series of crises which culminated in the Crimean War of 1854-56.

Why was there an Eastern Question in the first place?

The Ottoman Empire was vast, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic in composition. Effective
government ultimately depended on energetic and resourceful direction from Constantinople (the
capital). But since the Empire’s central administrative and military capacity was in steady
decline, the Sultans at Constantinople were incapable of providing energetic and resourceful
leadership to the vast empire. Hence, many subject states began, (one by one), to declare their
independence from Turkey.

To westerners, the most obvious feature of Turkey’s decline was her military weakness. This had
been demonstrated by Russia’s victory over Turkey in the War of 1768-74. The weaknesses were
due to the fact that although military and naval modernization had been carried out under the
guidance and advice of European military experts, these had been sporadic and incomplete.
Hence, the survival of the Turkish Empire into the twentieth century depended less on her own
efforts than on the attitude of the European powers towards her.

Apart from Turkey’s own weakness, the very presence of jealousy and strong neighbours equally
made the Eastern Question more pronounced. In this vein, it is important to note that Russia lay
at the centre of Turkey’s problems due to her provision of military support to the various
nationalistic groups which sought to break away from Turkey, such as Greece.

What interests did the Great Powers have in Turkey?

RUSSIA
Of all the Great Powers, Russia was one most directly involved in the fate of the Ottoman
Empire. As a result of a series of successful wars against the Turks from 1768 to 1812, Russia
had pushed her boundaries southwards to reach the northern shores of the Black Sea. Further to
the east, she had also made gains in the northern Caucasus which, although causing less alarm to
the western powers, were an important aspect of Russia’s expansionist designs to the Ottoman
Empire. These military successes enabled Russia to gain territory as well as freedom of
navigation for Russian merchant shipping in the Black Sea which was then largely controlled by
Turkey.
Moreover, Russia through the Treaty of Kutchuk-Kainadji, obtained an ill-defined right of
protection over the Orthodox Church which 75 years later was to be greatly exaggerated by the
Russian government in the crisis of 1853. Russia used such limited religious rights to exercise
her political ambitions on Turkey. Furthermore, it became a maxim of Russian policy that
Constantinople and the Straits (a narrow waterway which linked the Black Sea and the Agean
Sea, which filtered into the Mediterranean Sea), must either remain in Turkish hands or, failure
of that, come under Russian control. This could obviously enable Russia to continue to dictate
the terms of trade in that vital area. If the straits were allowed to fall into the hands of another
power, Russia might suffer economic strangulation.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 153

The Austrian Empire was the only other Great Power whose territory boarded on Turkey in
Europe. Austria’s main pre-occupations lay in central and Western Europe, so she had no serious
designs on Turkish territory in this period. In general, however, the Austrians regarded the
Ottoman Empire as a buffer against further Russian expansion and therefore sought to preserve,
not weaken Turkey. In addition, Austria did not share Russia’s sympathy for Slav nationalism in
the Balkans, for fear that it might also affect her own Slav peoples.

BRITAIN
Although Britain had supported the Greek struggle for independence from Turkey, they later on
changed their minds and resorted to their traditional policy of supporting the territorial integrity
of Turkey. The key factor in the change of British policy wars, unquestionably, suspicion of
Russia’s aims, although these fears were sometimes exaggerated. Britain feared that if
Constantinople fell under Russia control, it would lead to a marked growth in Russian influence
over the eastern Mediterranean. Such an event would enable her to extend her influence
throughout the Near East and Middle East, including Egypt, thereby directly posing a threat to
British communication with India. The mere entry of Russia into the Mediterranean waters
meant that British trading posts which were in the area equally came under Russian threat.
Another factor which explains British concern for the stability and survival of the Ottoman
Empire was the steady growth of British trade and investments in Turkey after 1815. These faced
the risk of uncertainty if Turkey came increasingly under Russian threat.

FRANCE
France’s political and commercial links with Turkey went back over several centuries. The
system of “capitulations” by which Europeans enjoyed special privileges, including immunity
from Turkish law, had been developed for France’s benefit. The King of France had been
recognized as the protectors of the interests of the Catholic Church in the Sultan’s domains
Consequently, France enjoyed considerable diplomatic influence at Constantinople in this period.
Moreover, it was natural for France, with her major commercial port of Marseilles and naval
base at Toulon, to regard the Mediterranean as an area for extending French influence regardless
of the resultant rivalry with Britain.

PRUSSIA
Prussia had the least involvement and least interest in Turkish affairs. Even so, she could not
entirely dissociate herself from the Eastern Question. She was also linked by the “Holy
Alliance.” to both Austria and Russia, who were deeply involved in the Eastern Question?
Lacking the strength and self- confidence to act as a mediator between her two allies, Prussia
tended to follow Vienna’s lead.
Study Guides
i) In what ways did the decay of the Ottoman Empire affect international relations between 1821-
1856?
ii)To what extent was the peace of Europe threatened by the Eastern Question in the period 1821
to 1856?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 154

The Greek Revolt, 1821-1831
The Greek revolt was one of the most important events in the history of the disintegration of the
Turkish Empire. It stood out as an example of what determined nationalists could achieve in their
quest for independence from Turkey in future.

Causes of the Greek revolt

The real cause of the Greek discontent was derived from the fact that the Moslem Turks regarded
the Greeks as inferior and infidels and therefore attempted to absorb them into their own
civilization. Hence within the same empire two different civilizations, with contrasting aims
developed and co-existed. The Greeks began to emulate the glories of ancient Greece and used a
successful historical past to support the demand for the freedom of the modern Greeks from
Turkish rule.

The revival of national interest in the great history of ancient Greece led to other important
developments. In 1814 a secret society known as the Hetaria Philike or Association of Friends
was set up, with the purpose of spreading this interest in Greek culture and of arousing national
consciousness and preparing it for action against the Turks. The agents of the society became
increasingly active in every part of Greece and by 1821 it had over 20000 members.
The Revolt
The main areas of fighting were the Morea and the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea. Here the
agents of the Hetaria Philike had been extremely active and the revolt was more generally spread
over the population than in the case of an earlier attempt at Moldavia. The Greeks killed every
Moslem they could lay their hands on, and within six weeks there were scarcely any of the
Moslem population of 25 000 still alive. This led at once to equally horrifying reprisals by the
Turks, who murdered Greeks in Thessaly and Macedonia to the north and in the Aegean Islands.
The most horrible of these Aegean massacres was on the island of Chios, where the Turks killed
27 000 Greek men, women and children. The murder of the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox
Church at Constantinople shocked Europe and immediately led to the change of attitude among
the Great Powers. They could no longer stand aside and watch the atrocities taking place.

However, only by command of the sea could the Turks get sufficient forces into Morea to
suppress the revolt, but the Greeks, being a trading people, managed to defeat the Turks and keep
control of the Aegean Islands. To overcome this difficulty, the Sultan now called on his Egyptian
vassal, Mehemet Ali for aid. On being promised the control of Morea and the island of Crete for
his services, Mehemet Ali sent his son Ibrahim Pasha, with an army and fleet to the aid of the
Turks. Ibrahim captured Crete and successfully landed his forces in the Morea, where he began
to wipe out the Greek population. This Egyptian intervention of 1824-25 tipped the scales
against the Greeks, whose cause was also weakened by internal rivalries. Between 1825 and
1826 it was clear that unless the European powers intervened, the Greek revolt would be
suppressed.

The Great powers eventually intervened when Canning had changed his attitude towards the
revolt altogether in 1826. He decided that it was better to co-operate with Russia in order to
restrain her, than to persist in opposing her and risk unilateral Russian action. His decision was
also influenced by pressure from public opinion to stop the wholesale massacre of the Greeks by
the Egyptian forces and Russia agreed in the St Petersburg Protocol of April 1826, on setting up

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 155

an autonomous Greek state under Turkish suzerainty. A loosely-worded clause also permitted
intervention by either or both powers if it became necessary to use force to prevent the revolt
from being suppressed. The assumption behind this Anglo-Russian agreement, to which France
adhered in July 1827, was that the revolt could be brought to an end by the mediation of the three
powers at Constantinople. When the Sultan rejected their offer of mediation, the three powers
were left with no clearly agreed policy on what to do next. However, when the Turco-Egyptian
fleet attached the British fleet blockading Morea to prevent supplies reaching the Turco-Egyptian
forces by sea from Egypt, the British squadron fired back and promptly sank the Turco-Egyptian
fleet.

The incident at Navarino Bay in October 1827 had crucial consequence for the Greek Civil War.
Firstly, the Sultan declared a “holy war” against Russia, regarded as the instigator of the hostile
blockade. Secondly, the Turks became even more negative towards the efforts of the three
powers to meditate in the Greek conflict. Thirdly, the British government, embarrassed by
Admiral Codrington’s drastic action of sinking the Turco-Egyptian fleet at Navarino Bay,
became reluctant to approve any further measures against the Turks. Consequently, it was left to
France to send troops to evict the Egyptians from the Morea, while Russia provided funds and
supplies for the Greek forces.
As expected, Russia went on to defeat Turkey and gained considerable rights over the two Black
Sea Ports and got a recognition of their claims to Georgia and Armenia. Turkey’s defeat by
Russia severely weakened her ability to resist pressure to discuss the terms for a settlement of the
Greek revolt. The boarders for the new Kingdom of Greece were agreed and she became an
autonomous state under Prince Otto. It must be noted, however, that France and Britain insisted
on limiting the size of the new state for fear that it would become a Russian satelite. A solution
to the Greek revolt without a conflict among the Great Powers has been called “A major
achievement of the Concert of Europe.” However, it was not a triumph for the Congress system,
which had clearly failed to cope with the divergence of views among the Great Powers. In fact,
the British decision, followed by that of France, to try to work with Russia, rated than against
her, provided the element of flexibility needed for successful co-operation by the Great Powers.
In this sense “Conference Diplomacy,” securing as much consensus, was a necessary substitute
for the over-rigid Congress System which had become an impediment to the successful operation
of the Concert of Europe.

The Great Powers and Mehemet Ali, (1831-3)

On two occasions in the 1830s the survival of the Ottoman Empire seemed to be at risk. The
unusual feature of this period, surprisingly was that the threat to Turkey came not from Russia
but from the Sultan’s own vassal, Mehemet Ali, Paska of Egypt.

Mehemet Ali’s grievances stemmed from the Sultan’s failure to grant him Syria and Crete as
rewards for his aid against the Greeks. He was certainly determined to secure Syria which was
occupied by Egyptian forces between 1831-1832. By February 1833, these forces had advanced
to within 150 miles of Constantinople, prompting the Sultan to appeal to the European powers
for help.

Russia, surprisingly was the one most alarmed by Mehemet Ali’s aggressive moves. This is
because Russia feared that the collapse of Turkey would lead to territorial gains by her rivals,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 156

namely, Britain, France and Austria-Hungary. Furthermore, Russia also feared that a further
reduction of the sultan’s authority to Asia Minor might result in the emergence of a strong,
ethnically united Turkish state, which would be more capable of resisting Russia in that region.
This conservative approach remained the basis of Russian policy towards Turkey for the next 20
years. The current state of Turkey therefore safeguarded Russian interests intact.

It was therefore not in Russia’s interest in 1833 to see the Sultan’s rule overthrown and probably
replaced by a more vigorous regime under Mehemet Ali. Since Ali was regarded as a protégé of
France, his triumph would serve to increase French influence in the near and Middle East, at the
expense of Russia. Moreover, Ali was in rebellion against his legitimate suzerain, and Nicholas’
fear of revolution had recently been intensified by the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in
France.There were very sound reasons therefore why Russia, Turkey’s most dangerous adversary
for the previous 60 years should take the surprising step of offering the Sultan military assistance
for the defence of Constantinople. Consequently, in February 1833, a Russian squadron arrived
off the Bosphorous, followed some weeks later by several thousand Russian troops. Despite its
belated arrival, this show of force, combined with pressure from other powers, induced Mehemet
Ali to come to terms with the Sultan. By May 1833, he had secured recognition of his claim to
rule Syria, with the northern district of Adana for his son, Ibrahim, the very able commander of
his forces.

The Treaty of Unkiar, Skelessi, (July 1833)

The Tsar Nicholas gained important concessions from the Sultan of Turkey in return for Russian
help against Mehemet Ali. Russia and Turkey signed a defensive alliance pledging mutual
assistance whenever peace and security might be endangered. The Sultan agreed to close the
entrance to the Black Sea against the warships of all nations except Russia, whenever the
Russians made the demand. The Russians had made tremendous gains in this treaty because it
also implied that in future the Turks would turn to Russia first for support. This signified, as the
Russian foreign Minister claimed, that “our intervention in the affairs of Turkey has acquired a
basis of legality.”

The contents of the treaty were made secret, but Palmerston soon got to know about them. It
became, therefore, one of his most determined aims to get this treaty cancelled as soon as
possible, for he was resolved that Russia should never be able to control the straits. In fact,
Palmerston was extremely angry over the whole affair, for it was undoubtedly a great blow to
British policy which aimed consistently to keep the Russian fleet out of the Mediterranean.

Turkey argued that she was in the present predicament and dilemma mainly because her appeal
to the rest of the Great Powers had fallen on deaf ears and that it was only after her appeal had
not been responded to that she turned to the Russians. This was of course a dangerous course
which a Turkish minister justified on the grounds that “a drowning man will clutch at a serpent.”
British inaction during the crisis of 1831-3 was a product of two factors; Palmerstone’s appeal
for funds to send a force to support the Sultan was rejected by parliament and since he faced a
general election he did not want to attract further criticism from the opposition. Secondly, some
influential members of the Cabinet believed that the Ottoman Empire was beyond redemption
and should be left to its fate.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 157

On the other hand, France’s attitude to the problem was complicated by her desire to reserve
Mehemet Ali as an agent of French influence in the Mediterranean. Consequently, rather than
offer direct aid to Turkey, she preferred to work for a compromise settlement (between the
Sultan and Ali) that would avoid the need for military intervention by the powers.

Austria’s response to the crisis had been to propose concerted action by the Great Powers but this
did not materialize. Afterwards, her anxiety about the real aims of Russian policy was relieved
by her agreement with Russia at Munchengratz in September 1833 which restored the unity of
purpose of the Holy Alliance. Austria was assured of Russia’s desire to preserve the Ottoman
Empire and of her willingness to concert with Austria if its collapse seemed inevitable. Both
powers also agreed on the need to defend the Sultan against any future threat from Mehemet Ali.

The main effect of the crisis of 1831-3 on international relations was the deepening of British
and French mistrust of Russian policy in the Near East. In particular, the quite mistaken belief
that Russia had secured an exclusive right of passage for her warships through the Straits created
great alarm.

The Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi was generally regarded by other European states as almost
reducing Turkey to the status of a Russian protectorate “taking the place by sap rather than by
storm,” as Palmerston put it. Although this was an exaggerated view, Britain and France, unlike
Austria, had to wait until 1839 for positive proof that Russia wished to act in concert with the
other powers in the Eastern Question. In the next crisis, in 1839, Palmerston was determined to
undo the advantages which he believed Russia had derived from her aid to the Sultan in 1833.

The crisis of 1839-41

The renewal of the crisis in the Near East in 1839 arose from the Sultan’s desire to revenge
against Mehemet Ali. Confident of success following the reorganization of the Turkish army
since 1833, the Sultan ordered the invasion of Syria in May 1839. However, his forces were
routed by the Egyptians at the battle of Nezib in June, leaving Constantinople open to attack
especially after the sertion of the Turkish fleet to the Egyptian side and the sudden death of the
Sultan. Once again Turkey was saved by European intervention, but with some important
differences from the earlier crisis in 1833. The Great Powers seemed agreed on resolving the
crisis of 1839 by collective action as opposed to unilateral action by Russia. In 1840 however, a
serious confrontation developed between France and Britain, with the result that Britain
depended on Russia’s cooperation to resolve the dispute with Ali.

The initial response of the Great Powers to the Turkish defeat in 1839 was to assure the new
Sultan of their collective support. This was intended to defer him from making sweeping
concessions to Mehemet Ali. The united front of the Great Powers, which owed something to
Metternich’s initiative in summoning a conference at Vienna, broke down dramatically in the
spring of 1840. Thiers, the new French Prime Minister, openly sided with Ali, with the aim of
extracting generous concessions from the new Sultan as a way of resolving the crisis.

Although France was entitled to seek increase in her influence in the Levant (the eastern
Mediterranean) by pursuing a bold policy of her own, her action threatened to destroy the
European concert. It also carried the risk of humiliation for France if the other Great Powers

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 158

closed ranks against her. Moreover, Thiers’ policy provided the Tsar with the opportunity he had
been seeking since late 1839, to drive a wedge between the Liberal Alliance (Britain and France
as partners. One thing for certain was that as long as the Tsar co-operated with Britain and
differed with France, there could never be a danger of any war with his country from France or
Austria.

On the other hand Palmerston was worried by Thiers’ policy of supporting Mehemet Ali because
it was becoming a menace to British trading interest in the Eastern Mediterranean. He now called
for a conference of the Great Powers in London, deliberately omitting France. The Conference of
London signed by the representatives of Britain, Russia and Austria. By this Convention,
Mehemet Ali was offered the southern half of Syria; was requested to make peace with the
Sultan, and was given ten days in which to agree to the terms. When he refused, an allied fleet
was sent against Crete, which was recaptured while a powerful English fleet was dispatched by
Palerston to Alexandria and Acre was taken by the British troops. These demonstrations of naval
force, the movement of Russian troops against him and the dismissal of his ally, Thiers, by Louis
Philippe, completely isolated Mehemet Ali. By the second convention of London, this time
signed by France, he was forced to give up both Syria and Crete to the Sultan, but was confirmed
as the hereditary ruler of Egypt.

The Straits Convention; (1841)

Palmerston also succeeded at this time in ending the Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi by securing
another agreement known as the Straits Convention of 1841. The sultan, having been strongly
supported by Palmerston and having regained his lost territory from Mehemet Ali mainly,
through the initiative of Palmerston in calling the London Conferences, was under a strong
obligation to accept Palmerstone’s terms.

By the straits Convention, Turkey agreed to close the Bosphorous to the war ships of all nations
in times of peace, thus making it impossible for Russia to send her war ships into the
Mediterranean when she pleased. Altogether, the crisis of 1839-1841 turned out to be a great
triumph for Palmerstone. He had defeated Mehemet Ali, regained British influence with the
Sultan as against Russia, and had defeated the policy of Thiers. British foreign policy in relation
to the Eastern Question had never been more successful.

Study Guides

i) Explain the causes of the Greek Revolt.

ii) What “rights “did Russia claim to represent in the Ottoman Empire? How did she seek to
extend those “rights”?
iii) How is the success of the Greeks in their revolt against Turkey to be accounted for?
iv) How did the presence of Palmerston (i) Check Russian ambitions,
b) Check Mehemet Ali?
v)Was a balance of power achieved during this period of the Eastern Question (1821-1856)?
vi)Why was the Ottoman Empire of concern to the European powers in the period 1831 to 1856?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 159

Background to the Crimean War
The Crimean War was the next most important development of the Eastern Question. This war,
apparently one of the most useless and wasteful ever fought, arose partly from the ambitions of
Napoleon III, Emperor of France and partly from Russian policy towards Turkey and the fears of
that policy felt by the other Great Powers, especially Britain.
Russian policy after 1841 became outspoken in its opposition to the continued existence of the
Turkish Empire. Various statements made by the Czar seemed to indicate to the other powers
concerned that he was determined to break down Turkey once and for good. He referred to
Turkey as “the sick man of Europe” and further said that no amount of doctoring would do the
patient any good. On a visit to Britain in 1844, Tsar Nicholas I suggested that Britain and Russia
should settle the fate of Turkey between them (Britain to take Egypt and Crete), and Russia to
occupy Constantinople temporarily. The independence of Wallachia and Moldavia, of Bulgaria
and Serbia was to be guaranteed by the powers, while the immediate “protector” of these states
was to be Russia.

However, the British had two main reasons for opposing the Tsar’s suggestions.:
a) Russia would obviously become the most influential state in the Balkans and the Middle East
and, with the control of Constantinople, would be able to dominate the entrance to the Black Sea
and the Aegean Sea. In fact, Russian Warships would have completely free access to the
Mediterranean.

b) They considered Turkey to be stronger than what the Tsar suggested. There was a suspicion in
British circles that the Tsar was exaggerating the weakness of the Turkish Empire for his own
interests. For these reasons, the government of Lord Aberdeen remained unresponsive to the
Tsar’s proposals for partitioning the Turkish Empire made in 1853.

Events leading to the outbreak of War.

The crisis in the Near East began in 1850 with a seemingly absurd dispute over the rights of the
Catholic monks against the Greek (Orthodox) monks in the Holy Places i.e the guardianship in
Palestine of Holy Places sacred to all Christians. In the sixteenth century, the French had been
given the guardianship of the Church of Bethlehem and the Sacred Manger, but these duties had
become neglected in the eighteenth century and the Russian Greek Orthodox church took over
the guardianship. Napolem III, with an eye to the full support of the Catholic Church at home,
revived the French claims, and in 1853 the Sultan agreed to recognize the French monks as the
guardians of the Holy Places. Russia naturally protested against this agreement and sent an
ambassador to Constantinople, prince Menshikoff, an aggressive individual. He put forward the
demand that Russia should be recognized as the protector of the Orthodox Church/Christians in
the Turkish Empire. This demand, if accepted, would have enabled Russia to intervene in
Turkish affairs almost at will. What therefore came to be feared was Russian interventionist
policy which had always been known to be greedy and prone to violating the interest of the other
powers.

Facing Prince Menshikoff in Constantinople was the British Ambassador, Lord Stratford de
Redcliff, who was determined to frustrate the designs of Russia at all costs. He encouraged the
Sultan to stand firm against the Russian proposals, and in this he was supported by the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 160

government of Lord Aberdeen. At last, in July 1853 Russia replied by moving troops into the
provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia which acknowledge the Sultan’s suzerainty. By this time
the British and French fleets had anchored outside the Dardanelles, as a gesture of support for the
Turks. In an attempt to diffuse the crisis, Austria initiated a series of diplomatic moves to find a
formula acceptable to both the Tsar and the Sultan. The Turkish rejection of the most important
of these moves the Vienna Note in August 1853, was a crucial stage in the deepening crisis. In
October, Turkey declared war on Russia after the Tsar had rejected an ultimatum to evacuate the
occupied provinces. The sinking of a Turkish flotilla at Sinope in the Black Sea in November
1853 created a storm of protest in Britain and France, whose governments were subjected to
increasing pressure from public opinion (more especially in Britain) to stand firm against Russia.

This hardening of attitudes led to the failure in late 1853 of further diplomatic efforts to find the
elusive formula that would safeguard Turkey’s integrity while satisfying the Tsar’s honour. In
March 1854 therefore, Britain and France signed an alliance with Turkey and declared war on
Russia.
It must be remembered that Russia at that time was regarded in radical and liberal circles in the
West as the embordiment of reactionary oppression, and what could be healthier than a
resounding defeat for Tsar Nicholas? The cause of liberty in Europe would be served by keeping
the Russian despotism as far away from Europe as possible. This line of thought counted for
much more than considerations for the safety of the British overland route to India, which was
very little used at this time and in the words of a modern historian, only “catered for a few
travellers in a hurry.”
The motives of France, under Louis Napoleon, being President and subsequently (from
December 1852), Emperor of France, were twofold. He saw this question as a promising issue
for causing a rift between Catholic Austria and Orthodox Russia, and undermining the Holy
Alliance, creating opportunities for French diplomatic initiatives in Europe. A more immediate
consideration was to use the issue to secure the support of catholic opinion in France, heedless of
the warnings, from London that “the Holy Places Question, if roughly handled is one that may
bring on trouble and war.”
Turkey’s usefulness to Russia lay partly in her role as a “buffer”, guaranteeing the immunity of
Russia’s southern coastline from attack by the western maritime powers. This had been based on
the understanding that the Turks feared Russia more than any other Great Power. In 1852,
however, fear of France had induced the Sultan to give way to Louis Napoleon’s demands. The
fear was caused by a French threat to bombard Tripoli in North Africa, and the appearance of the
latest French warship, the 90 gun Charlemagne, at Constantinople. The Russian minister
calculated that the Russian fleet would outclass the combined French and Turkish fleets, and
acted accordingly. The Russian foreign Minister argued that if fear had induced the Sultan to
give way to France’s demands, then fear of Russia was the weapon that had to be applied at
Constantinople to avert Russia’s influence there. Hence the decision to dispatch a high-powered
mission of naval and military chiefs headed by Prince Menshikov/ Menshikoff.

Where did the Tsar go wrong in his diplomacy in 1853?

In his determination to put pressure on the Turks, the Tsar made two fatal errors of judgment:
a) Firstly, he believed that unrest in parts of the Ottoman Empire, especially a revolt in
Montenegro, a small Balkan state, was a sign of Turkey’s irreversible collapse.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 161

b) Secondly, he seriously misread the international situation. Not only did he believe that a
perfect community of interest existed between Russia and Austria in the Near East, but he also
believed he could count on British support, an attitude encouraged after the pacific and when,
hitherto, anti-Turkish Lord Aberdeen had become Prime Minister in December 1952. He thus
believed, erroneously, that Britain would never go to war with Russia. In fact in January 1853,
the Tsar initiated a series of conventions with Sir Hamilton Seymour, the British ambassador to
Russia. In these conversations, the Tsar is quoted at once saying “Now I wish to speak to you as
a friend and as a gentlemen if we manage to come to an understanding on this matter, England
and I, for the rest, it matters little to me; I am indifferent as to what others do or think….”

Therefore Russia could have acted irresponsibly under the false pretext that it had British support
on its side, and that Britain took to the view that the collapse of Turkey was imminent. However,
it was in fact those Russian views concerning the decline of Turkey which made the British
suspicious of Russian sinister motives. Such suspicions were increased by the Tsar’s plan to put
pressure on Turkey. In January 1853, Russian troops were concentrated on the borders of
Moldavia and Wallachia. In late February, Menshikov arrived in Constantinople with
instructions to break off diplomatic relations with the Sultan if Russia’s demands were not met.
These demands contained a detailed set of instructions prepared by the foreign ministry focused
on three issues. Firstly, the sultan was to rectify the concessions made to the Latin monks which
had damaged the Tsar’s prestige as protector of the Orthodox Church. This was resolved in late
April as a compromise and ceased to be contentious.

The second demand was for a formal published Convention or treaty, incorporating Russia’s
existing rights and privileges in the Ottoman Empire. But the crucial demand was that this
convention should recognize Russia’s right “to make representations on behalf of the Orthodox
Christians with the Ottoman Empire,” since Orthodox Christians amounted to about one third of
the Sultan’s subjects, such a right if granted, would reduce Turkey to the status of a Russian
protectorate. All historians agree that this was an unacceptable demand constituting a serious
threat to the independence of Turkey. Most contemporaries viewed it in a similar light, as giving
Russia undefined right of interference in the internal affairs of the Turkish Empire. Suspicion of
Russia’s intentions were thereby greatly increased.

In reality, contrary to the Tsar’s belief, Russia did not enjoy any such existing rights under the
treaties of Kutchuk-Kainardi (1774) and Adrianople (1829). The Russian foreign ministry had
got it wrong, confusing rights over a new church to be built in Constantinople in the 1770s with a
right to make representations on behalf of the inhabitants of the Danubean principalities, granted
in 1829. The situation was further complicated by the fact that under the so-called “millet”
system (a form of delegated authority), the Orthodox clergy exercised a political as well as
religious influence over the Balkan Christians. A right or a privilege granted to the Orthodox
Church and/or its clergy therefore had implications which went beyond the spiritual realm.
Consequently, a Russian claim to make representations on behalf of the Orthodox Church, clergy
or Christians was something of a political minefield. Once the suspicions of the Turkish and their
western sympathizers had been aroused by Menshikov’s demand for a formal treaty, it mattered
little that he was willing to scale down the substance of the demands to a modest level,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 162

 ultimately, to little more than a face-saving formula. Russia was henceforth regarded by the
Turks and others (including western media) as attempting to destroy the Turkish Empire.

Modern historians are not fully agreed in their interpretations of this complicated issue. Norman
Rich, in particular, argued that obsessive Russophobes, such as Stratford de Radcliffe and
Palmerstone deliberately misinterpreted the nature of Russia’s intentions with the aim of
provoking war. Most writers, however, take the view that the Russians were to blame for
creating an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust. This was not related to the precise nature of
the demands being made at a given moment from late February to May 1853, but owed much to
Menshkov’s deliberately overbearing manner intended to intimidate the Turkish from the outset.
When he insisted on the dismissal of the Turkish Foreign Minister, he attempted to dictate not to
negotiate with the Turkish government.

The decision of the Turks, no doubt influenced by hopes of Western support to reflect
Menshkov’s entry, and more demands of early May, infuriated the Tsar. Faced with the choice of
a humiliating climb-down or an increase in pressure on Turkey, he gave the order for Russian
troops to occupy the Danubean principalities in July 1853. By the summer of 1853, the battle
lines for the future conflict were being drawn. Turkish resistance to Russia’s demands drew the
Tsar into a sharper confrontation with Turkey, while Britain and France committed themselves
more deeply by moving fleets to Bsika Bay, just outside the Dardanelles. The use by three of the
European powers, of fleets and armies as diplomatic weapons, when none of them was seriously
intending war, increased the danger of a conflict. Since direct Russo-Turkish negotiations had
failed to solve the crisis, the best hope of a peaceful settlement lay with diplomatic intervention
by the other powers. The time had come for Austria to play the leading role in the search for a
formula that could satisfy the Tsar’s honour while safeguarding Turkey’s integrity.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WAR: DIAGRAM

Blunders,
TURKEY

Chance for revenge

misjudgements crate
RUSSIA

suspicion of aims

Responsibility
For
The
War

Indesicivenes Week government Public

s Opinion as of
Palmerstone and Stratford

FRANCE

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 163

 Initiates Crisis
In Near East

Who was responsible for the outbreak of the Crimean War, 1854-1856?
The question of responsibility for the outbreak of the Crimean War has traditionally been
answered by apportioning varying degrees of blame to all participants, within the overall content
of the war as an accident. This view remains tenable, providing it, is recognized that an alterative
interpretation now exists which stressed the active desire for war against Russia of some
individuals and groups in London and Constantinople. The net effect of this new approach is, of
course, to shift a substantial amount of blame usually placed on Russia, onto Britain.

Russia’s main responsibility lay in the series of miscalculations and errors of judgment which
resulted in a confrontation with Turkey from which it was difficult to extricate herself with
honour. Despite evidence to the contrary, the Tsar persisted in his belief that he could count on
both British and Austrian good will. His conviction that Turkey was in a state of imminent
collapse was also mere wishful thinking, leading to the assumption that the Turks could be
bullied into accepting Russia’s demands. In particular, the Menshikov mission has been called
“perhaps the most important step towards war by any of the states concerned.” Furthermore the
Tsar made no allowance for the powerful anti-Russian feeling which the Turkish government
was eventually unable to control. Generated by Menshikov’s behavior, it reached fever-pitch
after the Russian occupation of the Danubian principalities. This military action itself raised the
stakes in an already tense diplomatic crisis. Finally, it could be said that Nicholas’ exaggerated
sense of honour led him to reject several diplomatic attempts to resolves the crisis by
compromise in late 1853. The collective note of late November, early December 1853 (Vienna
Note) illustrates the efforts of the neutral powers such as Austria to find a formular for resuming
negotiations between Russia and Turkey.

There is general agreement among historians that the Tsar’s blunders were almost equaled by
those of the British government. The coalition government formed in December 1852 under the
Lord Aberden with Clarendon as Foreign Secretary is regarded as the weakest and most divided
of all British cabinets of the mid-nineteenth century. Because of the rifts between, on the one
hand, the pacific (and anti-Turkish) Aberdeen and Clarendon and, on the other, Russell and
Palmerton who pressed for a firm policy against Russia, the government frequently resorted to
half-measures. For example, the dispatch of the fleet to Besika Bay in June 1853 instead of to
Constantinople, tended to encourage the Turks more than it deterred the Russians.

Furthermore, this weak government came under increasing pressure from the press, which gave
full expression to the violent Russophobe that characterized public opinion after 1849, when Tsar
Nicholas was nicknamed the “gendarme of Europe.” (Meaning the police officer). Almost
irrespective of the issues involved, British public opinion regarded Russia as a powerful and
dangerous reactionary force whose supposed expansionist designs had to be resisted at all costs.
Hence, the popularity of Palmerstone whose antipathy to Russia at this time was well known.
The role of lord Stratford, ambassador at Constantinople, in encouraging Turkey to reject both
Meanshikov’s demands and the Vienna vote has long been controversial. Although seemingly

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 164

vindicated by a detailed study in the 1930s, he has been re-cast by Norman Rich, as noted earlier,
as one of the major villains of the situation.

France’s responsibility lay mainly in initiating the crisis in the Near East by raising the issue of
the Hoy places. Louis Napoleon has rightly been accused of playing to the tune of the domestic
situation at home. This was done despite the likely repercussions on Russo-Turkish relations, for
long, a sensitive and dangerous issue in international relations. On the other hand, Napoleon III
showed little desire to aggravate the crisis between 1853-54 and made several proposals
designed to facilitate an honourable retreat by the Tsar. French policy was not motivated by
hostility to Russia, but by Napoleon’s desire to create a liberal alliance with Britain. His ultimate
objective was to destroy the Holy Alliance, especially the close association of Austria and
Russia. This was in fact shattered by Austria’s ultimatum to Russia to evacuate the Danubian
principalities in June 1854.

The main criticism historians make of Austria’s role in the origins of the Crimean War is the
indecisiveness of Austrian policy between 1853 and 1854. For too long, she allowed the Tsar to
persist in his mistaken belief that “I can count on Vienna,” as Nicholas insisted in late June 1853.
In reality, the Russian occupation of the Danubian principalities was regarded as a serious threat
to Austrian interests, especially for her trade down the Danube River. Although Buol deserved
credit for his initiatives in seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis (such as the Vienna Note),
the fundamental aim of Austrian policy was to avoid taking sides, so as not to antagonize either
Russia or France. Had Austria come out openly against Russia at an earlier date, the Tsar might
have realized the need to tread more cautiously in his dealings with Turkey.

Although the Turks appeared at times to be the hopeless victims of French and Russian power
politics, they were by no means innocent of warlike intentions. The signs of western support in
the mounting crisis of 1853 presented them with a unique opportunity to retaliate for the
succession of defeats they had suffered at the hands of Russia since 1768, at roughly 20 year
intervals. In the Holy Places disputing deceitfulness of the Turkish ministers was quite
remarkable, secretly making concessions which nullified the privileges granted, only days
before, to the other side. Far from encouraging a compromise solution, the Turks turned the
dispute into an auction in which the rival bidders escalated their threats. The Sultan’s rejection of
the Vienna Note in its original form undoubtedly sabotaged the best hope of a peaceful solution
and made war more likely. Whether the amendments insisted upon by the Turks, and
subsequently rejected by the Tsar, were justified by legitimate concern for their integrity, or
whether they were intended to make war more likely, has re-emerged as a matter of dispute. The
difficulty is that the correct interpretation of a face-saving formulae is a rather elusive matter.

Even within the traditional view of the causes of the Crimean War, significant differences of
emphasis have been attached by historians to the roles of the leading states, especially Russia.
While some historians regard Russian policy as fundamentally defensive, others believe that the
Tsar’s constant talk of a partition of European Turkey indicates that he, if not his advisers, was
contemplating an expansionist policy to secure substantial advantages for Russia.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 165

DIPLOMACY AND WAR, MARCH 1854 TO DECEMBER 1855
Four of the Great Powers were in basic agreement on the need to defend the integrity of the
Ottoman Empire, but only two of them, that is Britain and France, (excluding Austria and
Prussia), had declared war on Russia. Prussia’s reluctance to get involved in war with Russia is
easy to understand since she had no direct interest in Near Eastern affairs at this time.

Furthermore, the Prussian King had no wish to antagonize the Tsar and in any case was
notoriously indecisive. Austria’s situation was rather different. Both her economic and military
security were threatened by the Russian occupation of the Danubian principalities. But, until the
signing of the Austro-Prussian alliance of 1854, Austria could not risk involvement in the east in
case Prussia seized the opportunity to weaken Austrian influence in the west, especially, in
Germany. The alliance of 1854 gave Austria the confidence to demand that Russia evacuate the
principalities. When the Russians withdrew in August 1854, the area was occupied by Austrian
troops for the duration of the war, but by agreement with Turkey and Russia.

Since Austria wished to avoid committing herself any further to the anti-Russian side, she took
the lead in promoting diplomatic moves to end the war. The “Four Points”, accepted by the
western powers in August 1854, remained the basis of peace proposals for the duration of the
conflict. The general objectives of the proposals was stated to be…” to seek means for
connecting the existence of the Ottoman Empire with the general balance of power in Europe”..
Two of the four points dealt with Russia’s claims to be the sole protector not only of the
Orthodox Christians but also of the inhabitants of Serbia and the Danubian principalities by
substituting collective guarantee of all the Great Powers. A third point dealt with free Navigation
of the mouth of the Danube River, an issue of particular concern to Austria. The fourth point
proposed a revision of the straits Convention of 1841, initially in the… “balance of power in
Europe.”… Such points therefore aimed to end Russia’s dominance in the Black Sea. This, of
course, put more restrictions on Russia’s overall influence on Turkish affairs.

However, the Tsar’s rejection of the Four Points was “ injurious to Russia’s interest and her
honour”… left Britain and France with two complementary courses of action:
(i) To exert pressure on Austria to side openly with them against Russia and
(ii) To force Russia to negotiate on the basis of the Four Points by inflicting military defeat on
her forces.

Both alternatives were pursued with varying degrees of success throughout the following year.
For example, military setbacks induced the Tsar to accept the Four Points in late November 1854
but by this time Britain had decided to insist on stiffer terms regarding the Black Sea.
Negotiations in the spring of 1855 broke down over this point, so that renewed peace talks had to
await further military victories. More rapid success seemed to reward allied efforts to include
Austria within the anti-Russian coalition.

In December 1854 Austria signed a Tripartite Alliance but then managed to delay an ultimatum
to Russia for a whole year.
The performance of the British army and, to a lesser extent, the much larger French forces in the
Crimean War left much to be desired. The heroic, but futile charge of the Light Brigade, sent to
capture the enermy guns, was the most dramatic example of inept military command. The allies

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 166

were fortunate in fact, that the Russians displayed even greater military incompetence, as well as
being hampered by extended overland supply lines stretching over several hundred miles. The
allied commanders had assumed that their main task was to prevent a Russian advance through
the Balkans. The Russian withdrawal, however, obliged the allies to direct their main attack on
the Crimea, a target favoured by some British leaders from the onset. The capture of the Crimean
port of Sebastopol, the base of the Black Sea fleet, would destroy Russian naval power in the
Black Sea thereby eliminating a major threat to Turkey’s security.

The failure of the Russian commanders to follow up their initial successes in September 1854
with a rapid assault on Sebastopol proved to be a costly error. After the Russians had failed to
dislodge the allied armies from the Crimea in the battles of Balaklava and Inkermam, military
deadlock ensued from November 1854 to the following June. The winter of 1854-55 brought
dreadful suffering to the allied troops, aggravated by medical and administrative incompetence
against which Florence Nightingale battled with great determination. Her success is shown by
the reduction in death from disease in the British army from 16000 in the first half of the war to
2000 in the remainder. In the autumn of 1855, the reinforced allied armies defeated the Russian
field army and at long last, achieving their initial objective with the capture of Sebastopol.

The fall of Sebastopol in September 1855 was a serious setback for Russia but by no means
amounting to a total defeat of Russia. The allies were faced with the prospect of yet another
campaign if they were determined to win a complete victory over Russia. By this time, Napoleon
III no longer felt attracted to the idea of extending the scope of the War with the aim of liberating
Poland and Finland, and effecting changes in Italy and along the Rhine. French public opinion
felt that the capture of Sebastopol satisfied French honour and wanted an end to the war, in tune
with Napoleon who wanted to restore Franco-Russian relations by a moderate peace.

In Britain, on the other hand, Palmerstone, who had replaced the incompetent Aberdeen as Prime
Minister in February 1855, was still in a fighting mood. Insisting on the need for what he called,
“along line of circumvallation to confine the future extension of Russia.”… he advocated
campaigns in the Baltic and the Caucasus. His standpoint, shared by Clarendon, is explicable on
the grounds that the military successes achieved by September 1855 scarcely justified the
sacrifices made by Britain or entitled her to insist on severe terms of peace. His aggressive
stance, although supported by British public opinion, struck no responsible chord in Europe,
allowing Buol to resume his diplomatic pressure on Russia to make peace. In December 1855
Austria issued an ultimatum, backed by Prussia, threatening Russia with war if she did not
negotiate on the basis of the Four Points. Acceptance of the ultimatum by the new Tsar,
Alexander II, in January, was followed by an armistice and the opening of a peace conference in
Paris in late February 1856, marking the end of the Crimean War.

The Treaty of Paris, (1856)

At the peace conference Napoleon III’s desire to restore good relations with Russia even at the
expense of his entente with Britain, was very evident. The British consequently found
themselves alone in pressing for severe terms with Russia. In fact, the British wanted the peace
conference to fail in order to justify extending the war against Russia, but the overwhelming
desire of the other states for peace ensured the defeat of the British strategy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 167

In general, the terms of the Peace of Paris were an elaboration of the Four Points proposed in
August 1854. Russia’s protectorship over the Danubian principalities and Serbia was replaced by
a collective European one, while the existing rights and privileges of the Balkan Christians were
guaranteed by a new reform edict issued by the Sultan. Turkey itself was admitted to the Concert
of Europe with a guarantee of her independence. An internal commission was set up to ensure
freedom of navigation along the Danube. A modest territorial damage also reduced Austrian
fears of Russian interference with her Danubian trade. Southern Bessarabia (ceded to Russia in
1812) was restored to Turkey and incorporated into Moldavia. This arrangement had important
commercial as well a strategic advantages for Austria, turning the Danube into a “German river”
Russia’s tactic of advertising trade through the port of Odessa by making the mouth of the
Danube impossible for large vessels was thereby frustrated. The administration of the two
Danubian principalities was to be reformed so as to create an independent national
administration under Turkish suzerainty, but the issue of uniting them favoured by Napoleon was
left unresolved.

The most severe aspect of the treaty was the section designed to ensure that the Black Sea was
neutralized. Russia was prohibited from maintaining warships or naval arsenals there, so that she
could no longer threaten a sudden attack on Costantinople. Although the same restriction was
applied to Turkey, the Russians regarded this limitation on their sovereignty as a grievous
humiliation to be reversed at the earliest favourable moment.

The Treaty of Paris was a major blow to Russian pride but it was, in general, a remarkably
lenient peace settlement. Certainly, in the view of the British government, it did not go anything
like far enough to lessen the possibility of future Russian expansion. A tripartite alliance signed
by Britain, France and Austria to ensure Russia’s adherence to the terms of the treaty, was only
effective as long as the three powers were willing to act in union, which was not long. Although
no major crisis arose over the Ottoman Empire during the next 20 years, no lasting solution to
the Eastern Question, especially in terms of Turkish maladministration, was provided by the
Treaty of Paris.

The Crimean War, (A.J.P. Taylor suggests), was fought against Russia, not for the sake of
Turkey. It served to check Russian expansionist ambitions for 20 years, but at a heavy cost in
terms of lives and resources. The main impact of the war was therefore on the relations between
the Great Powers and its damaging effect on the whole system of the concert of Europe. The five
major powers which had been in alliance for the past 40 years had now fought against each other
and broke that basis of common understanding which had been founded in 1815.

The effect of the Crimean war on international relations

The Crimean War was preceded by almost 40 years of peace, but was followed by 14 years of
intermittent warfare from 1856 to 1870. The objective of these wars was to accomplish what the
1848 revolutions had failed to achieve, i.e, the revision of the 1815 settlement to the advantage
of some states, rather than in the interests of Europe as a whole. Phrases such as “realpolitik”
were used to justify national expansionist aims. Two major territorial changes took place during
this period, firstly, the unification of Italy under Piedmontese domination. This process was
begun by the Franco- Piedmontese war against Austria in 1859. Secondly the creation of the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 168

German Empire under Prussia by means of three wars, one against Denmark in 1864, the other
against Austria in 1866, and the last against France in 1870-71.

The Great Powers acting in concert in the interest of “Europe”, a striking feature of international
relations in the period 1815-54 was not much in evidence from 1856 to 1870. Although several
congresses were proposed during these years, only two took place: the one on Schleswig-
Holstein’s dispute in 1864, which turned out to be a failure, and on Luxembourg, a face-saving
operation for Napoleon III in 1867. Historians are generally agreed that a major explanation for
this marked contrast in international affairs between the early and later nineteenth century is that
the Crimean War was an important watershed. One symbol of this change is that Austria was the
only Great Power in 1857 still committed to the defense of the status quo in Europe.

Many historians also emphasise the importance of Austria’s role in the Crimean War as a key
factor in the disintegration of the Holy Alliance. The ultimatum to Russia in June 1854 to
evacuate the Danubian Principalities combined with her second ultimatum in December 1855 to
make peace, has even been regarded as a turning point in European history, on the grounds that it
ended the friendship and co-operation of the two eastern conservative powers and began an era
of hostility that lasted until 1914.

A major consequence of the Treaty of Paris of 1856, was a change in the priorities of Russian
foreign policy in the sense that defence of the status quo in Europe was relegated to second place
after 1856. Thereafter, the prime aim of Russian diplomacy was to remove the humiliating
restrictions imposed on Russian naval power in the Black Sea. Russia was therefore a
“revisionist” force in international affairs, seeking ways to undo the 1856 settlement. She was
even prepared to approve changes in the 1815 settlement if her own interests were not directly
threatened. This was a far cry from the role of the “policeman of Europe,” attributed to Nicholas
in 1849.

Russian policy was also influenced, at least for several years after 1856, by animosity towards
Austria for her “betrayal” in joining the Crimean coalition” against her. Consequently, the Tsar
would not veto changes to the 1815 settlement which adversely affected Austria as a great
power. As A.J.P Taylor has observed, “Metternich’s system depended on Russia’s guarantee,
once that was withdrawn the system could be overthrown.” In the period 1856-70, Russia aligned
herself with France until 1863, and later with Prussia, both of whom were pursuing anti-Austrian
policies. Russian Ministers were also acutely conscious of the weakness of the Tsar regime in the
1860s. The shame of defeat led to pre-occupation with the need for modernization and reform in
Russia but these very reforms (especially the abolition of serfdom) had a destabilizing effect on
the country. Despite this, Russia continued to play a prominent role in European affairs after
1856, but she was untypically anxious to avoid confrontation or war with another Great Power.

France was regarded as the real victor of the war since she had played a larger and more glorious
military role than Britain. Napoleon III’s prestige was high making him the “Arbiter of Europe”
from 1857 to 1863, and enabling him to champion the cause of “nationality.” Unlike his uncle
Napoleon’s preferred method for restoring France’s greatness and creating a French hegemony in
Europe was diplomacy but not war. Napoleon was not out to destroy the concert of Europe but
his attempts to revise the 1815 settlement by conferences were opposed by the other Great

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 169

Powers suspicious of his aims. Although the Franco-Russian relations were quite cordial after
1856 (except during the Polish Revolt of 1863), France failed to secure a firm alliance with
Russia because their interests did not sufficiently coincide. The problem was that Russia
demanded France’s full support in the Near East while France was mainly preoccupied with the
prospects for expansion and with threats to her security in Western Europe. Such support for
Russia would have jeopardized Napoleon’s relations with Britain.

Although Britain was also a victor in the Crimean War, she had little reason to be proud of her
performance. It was felt that her sacrifices of men and money had achieved little. This led to
disenchantment with active involvement in European affairs which became quite a marked
feature of British opinion in the 1860s. This was a major change in attitude since Britain had
been a prominent member of the Concert of Europe before 1856. The Crimean War also ended
Anglo-Russian co-operation in international affairs, which had been a valuable source of strength
to the Concert since 1841.

For Austria, the Crimean War was a disaster. Not only did she alienate Britain and France by her
hesitant policy during the war but she also angered Russia by her “betrayal” in eventually joining
the “Crimean Coalition.” Austria was therefore in a very exposed and vulnerable position in
1857 as the only remaining active defender of the status quo and lacking the support of the Holy
Alliance. Her meeting of the three conservative monarchs was quite unrealistic- a feature of
Austrian diplomacy throughout this period.

Prussia emerged with little glory from the war and she suffered the humiliation of being
excluded from most of the sessions of the Congress of Paris. On the other hand, her possible role
during the war meant that, unlike Austria, she had avoided alienating Russia.

Cavour and the modernisation of Piedmont

Piedmont’s defeat at Novara was not a complete disaster. Its position as a buffer state between
France and Austria effectively guaranteed its territorial integrity and independence. France
would not have tolerated its dismemberment or conversion into an Austrian satellite. Piedmont
was allowed to keep its constitution. Radestky calculated that a moderate constitutional
government would be more stable and better to resist nationalistic and republican tendencies.

His decision was one which many in Austria would come to regret. Limited though the
constitution was, its survival meant that Piedmont was left as the only state in the peninsula with
a representative government, and was therefore, a pillar of hope for liberals throughout Italy.
Piedmont also became a refuge for thousands of political activists fleeing persecution by
repressive regimes elsewhere. Their presence in Piedmont helped to give political debate there a
truly national perspective. It was one of the Government of Piedmont’s greatest successes in the
1850s to consolidate and project this progressive image Cavour, Prime Minister between 1852
and 1861, masterminded this strategy, and more than any other individual, made unification
possible.

Cavour was determined to make Piedmont the dominant state in Italy. There were two distinct
stages to his plan: The modernization of Piedmont internally and a diplomatic and military
campaign to isolate and defeat Austria and so drive her out of the peninsula. Cavours’s

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 170

programme of modernization was designed to accelerate Piedmont’s political, social and
economic development. In particular, he was determined to consolidate parliamentary
government to tame the power and privileges of the Catholic Church and to create the conditions
for rapid economic growth, not least so, that Piedmont could afford an army and navy to match
its ambitions. Modernization would also help to convince liberals and nationalists within Italy,
and attract sympathies of the Italian cause abroad, that Piedmont was fit and proper to take the
leading role there. Cavour knew that an ally would be needed if the Austrians were to be
defeated. France was the only candidate for that role. So Napoleon III would need to be
convinced that Piedmont was a serious and responsible player in the game of Great Power
diplomacy. But Cavour’s objectives were realistic. Despite the myths of Risorgimento, it seems
unlikely that he was initially aiming at unification. Austrian ascendancy over the peninsula was
therefore replaced by Piedmont’s but Piedmont could dominate Italy without uniting it.

Cavour’s programme of internal modernization was controversial, but mostly successful.

1. Cavour’s record as a parliamentary democrat was by modern liberal/democratic standards, less

than perfect. He ensured the return of his own supporters through the distribution of bribes and
favours and manipulated the rules to deny opponents their seats. He would neutralize critics by
buying them off with government posts. While this could have put a stigma on Italian liberalism,
the monarchial side of Italian administration was no better because King Victor Emmanuel was
known for autocracy. Cavour actually managed to control the absolutist advisers around King
Victor Emmanuel in order to encourage the growth of Piedmontese liberalism. Piedmontese
liberalism went directly against Austrian conservatism as well.

2. Cavour attacked the Catholic Church as part of his liberal policies. Cavour was a free thinker
who had little respect for the Papacy and the privileges of the Church. He had supported the
Sicandi Laws of 1850 which abolished separate courts for the papacy. Liberals strongly believed
that all citizens should have equality before the law. The dissolution of monasteries around the
country provided money for the government and advertised everywhere that Piedmont had
dedicated herself to the cause of progress and was not afraid even to take on the might of the
Catholic Church.

3. Cavour’s economic policies aimed to develop Piedmont’s infrastructure and military capacity.
Cavour believed in free trade and state intervention. Customs duties were reduced in bilateral
deals with France with the Zolleverein and with Britain. Cavour was keen to engage Britain,
because this opened the richest market in the world to Italian foodstuffs. Such deepening
economic ties with France and Britain made these countries more sympathetic to his diplomatic
objectives, whilst at home, the increasing profitability of agriculture encouraged Piedmont’s
influential land-owning class to give Cavour their political support.

4. Overally, the volume of Piedmont’s imports and exports more than doubled over the course of
the 1850s, thus a triumph for free trade. But Cavour recognized the limits of non-intervention in
the absence of private capital, the state, through subsidies and guarantees became the patron of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 171

massive infrastructure on rural projects. Piedmont had only eight kilometers of railway back in
1849. By 1859 some 850 kilometers had been built (about half the total mileage in the
peninsula). All this had to be paid for and Cavour helped to negotiate large-scale foreign
investment, notably from France, and he also encouraged the founding of saving banks in
Piedmont. State revenue rose about two-fold between 1850 and 1859 but the public debt
increased. All of Cavour’s technical skill was needed in parliament to explain this alarming
deficit, the burden of which was eventually and painfully assumed by the Italian state as a whole.

5. Considerable sums had also been spent on the army and navy. In some respects, the military
reforms from these investments were disappointing. Piedmontese forces fell well short of the 100
000 strong army which Cavour was to promise Napoleon III, and they of course performed
poorly, had inadequate provisions and were incompetently led. However, the mere ability of
Cavour to come up with an Italian army of that size enabled some pathways in negations with
Napoleon III such military measures helped to persuade Napoleon III in 1858, and Bismarck in
1866, that Cavour and his successors were worth doing business with.

Cavour and the aggrandisement of Piedmont

Historical interpretations of the Risorgimento were for a long time influenced by the new Italian
states’ need for a national myth. This was particularly true of Cavour’s contribution to the
unification process. In reality, the heroes of the Risorgimento were not a happy bond of brothers
with the same objectives. Cavour hated and feared Mazzini. He was also deeply (and
unreasonably) suspicious of Garibaldi and his relationship with King Victor Emmanuel was
often stormy. Cavaour’s main aim was not the unification of Italy but the self-aggrandizement of
Piedmont.

Piedmont’s intervention on the side of Britain and France in the Crimean War used to be
presented as a diplomatic masterstroke by which Cavour won the gratitude of these two Great
Powers and thus paved the way for their support for Italian unification between 1858-1860.
However, the main reason why Cavour joined it was because, if he had not, Victor Emmanuel,
(who saw war as a means to add glory to his dynasty), would have sacked him. Cavour’s
diplomacy at the peace congress in Paris resulted in no real benefits for Piedmont. However,
Cavour did brilliantly exploit the rapture in Austro- Russian relations.

Cavour’s greatest objective was an alliance with the French. A bizarre incident brought Cavour
and Napoleon III together. On 14 January, Felice Orsini, a militant Italian nationalist, attempted
to assassinate Napoleon III. Orsini seems to have regarded the failure of the Emperor (a
Carbonari in his youth) to advance the cause of Italian nationalism as a betrayal. Eight by
standers were killed but the Emperor was unscathed. Before his execution, Orsini wrote to
Napoleon III, repenting of his crime and begging the French ruler to take up the claims of Italian
nationalism again. Extraordinarily, Napoleon III arranged for Cavour to have the letter
published. This turned Orsini into a national hero, but was also a sign that the Emperor was
preparing to move on the Italian question. How far Napoleon III was anxious to pre-empt future
assassination attempts or how far the incident had picked his Carbonari conscience, is impossible
to say. Four months later, the French Emperor and Cavour met at Plombieres to plan a war
against Austria.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 172

The meeting was kept a secret, even from the French and Italian cabinets. The agreement, in its
pursuit of self-aggrandizement, is a good example of Realpolitik following real or practical
politics to achieve short-form goals). Napoleon III and Cavour agreed to make war on Austria.
The main objective was the total expulsion of Austria from the peninsula and the annexation by
Piedmont of Lombardy and Venetia (provinces directly under Austria rule and Parma and
Moderna (effectively Austrian satellite states).

But the arrangements made at Plombieres for the rest of Italy remained unclear. The future of the
Papal states, for example was left ambiguous. Cavour expected to be allowed to take Romania,
with its important towns of Bologna and Ferrara, and perhaps most of the principalities of the
Marché too. But this was not made definite.

The benefits which France was to derive from its sponsorship of Piedmontese expansion were
also unclear. France would receive some territorial rewards. Savoy certainly; Nice probably. But
even thereafter, the plan got even more vague. The future of the Kingdom of the Two Siclies was
of interests to the Emperor. Cavour and Napoleon agreed that King Ferdinand might well lose his
throne, with Napoleon expressing the hope that the Kingdom be given to Lucien Maratha son of
one of Napoleon’s greatest generals who had been King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. Napoleon
III also wanted to gain prestige for the house of Bonaparte by marrying off his cousin, Prince
Napoleon to Victor Emmanuel’s 15 year old daughter, Clotilde who came from much an older
dynasty. Moreover Napoleon had the idea of appointing this cousin as King of central Italy, a
new state incorporating Tuscany and other papal states.

Therefore negotiations at Plombieres did not represent a victory for Italian nationalism. Italy was
not to be united but carved up in the interest of the French Emperor and the King of Piedmont.
Napoleon III expected that the new Kingdom of Upper Italy would be little more than a client
state of France. The confederation of Italy would be more completely under French control than
the peninsula ever had been under Austria. Of course Cavour was nobody’s dupe. As he pointed
out to Victor Emanuel, Piedmont’s annexation of Lombardy, Venetia, Parma and Moderna
would make the King sovereign over the richest and most powerful part of Italy. Hence
realpolitik had no room for sentiment, honour nor trust even amongst fellow conspirators like
Napoleon III. What could be achieved and gained for Piedmont was what mattered, no matter
what other nationalists felt or said.

War, victory, and betrayal

The terms of the Treaty of Plombieres were negotiated with great secrecy in January 1859 in
Turin. Napoleon insisted on the cession of both Savoy and Nice as the price of the alliance, a fact
which Cavour strongly denied to a secret parliamentary committee only a few days later. But
Britain and Russia put great pressure on France, Piedmont and Austria to settle their differences
at a congress. Napoleon III actually co-operated with the Great Powers’ suggestion. This would
have meant that very little or nothing would be gained by Piedmont over the negotiating table.
However, the Austrian Foreign Minister made a blunder which played into the hands of
Napoleon III and Cavour. He had supposed that Napoleon III’s co-operation with British and
Russian suggestion for a Congress meant that now Piedmont had been completely isolated.
Hence, Austria, unable to keep its army fully mobilized any longer, hoped to teach Turin a
lesson.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 173

Austria sent an ultimatum to Cavour, insisting on immediate disarmament. This bullying
aggression made the Piedmontese the injured party in the eyes of the other Great Powers, so
Napoleon III could renew his full support for them. The French-dominated army (France
supplied 200000 troops, Piedmont only 63 000) won two bloody victories at Magenta on 4 June
1859 and Solferino on 24 June of the same year.

Interestingly, in early July Napoleon shocked Cavour by signing a truce with Austria at
Villafranca. It is important to note that the peace terms were negotiated behind Cavour’s back
and Piedmont was given less than half of what it had wanted. It would gain Lombardy but not
Venetia, let alone Moderna. This represented, according to Cavour, the most disappointing
betrayal in the episode of Piedmontese expansion. As Napoleon III explained, “I will not have
Italian unity… France would not be pleased to see rise beside her a great nation that might
diminish her independence”

Napoleon III was of course more sensitive to the criticism he received at home from the
Catholics who were by far the biggest political entity in France, for his fighting against Austria, a
fellow Catholic state.

Cavour’s feeling betrayed by Napoleon, suggested to Victor Emmanuel that Piedmont should
fight alone since Austria had been weakened. However, Victor Emmanuel refused and this made
Cavour temporarily resign terming his King a “traitor.” The affair could have easily marked the
end of Cavour’s political career. This proved beyond any doubt that realpolitik was the only way
to go. Cavour had to stomach the meagre gains which were available and live with the reality of
an even now more complicated international situation. Instead of reducing foreign domination of
Italy, the reverse had happened. Now France had been added to the chess board! Savoy and Nice
had gone to her without completing the agreed plan for northern unification of Italy.
Nevertheless, French assistance moved Piedmontese goal of a northern unification somewhat
further and sparked the broad possibility among Italians of what could be achieved in the
medium to long term, i.e the eventual independence of Italy from foreign rule.

How did Cavour regain the initiative” ?

Cavour’s agents had been busy in the Papal States and Tuscany, advocating for union with
Piedmont. Well, during the spring of 1859, the pro-Austrian regimes of Tuscany, Parma and
Modena actually collapsed due to revolts in favour of Piedmontese annexation. Their rulers had
lost the will or capacity to resist or exercise authority, fearing that Austria was heading for defeat
altogether. They had in fact fled from Italy. Hence moderate representative assemblies promptly
constituted themselves and over August and September, they called for annexation by Piedmont.

Initially Napoleon III had tried to block this and the armistice of Villafranca called for the
restoration of these states’ former rulers. However, they could only have been restored by force
and the British Government made it plain that this would not be acceptable, while Napoleon III,
on reflection, tolerated the new developments. Meanwhile Cavour had risen to power (even
Victor Emmanuel could see that only this man was the match for the tasks ahead). Cavour
worked out a deal to appease Napoleon III: in return for Napoleon III’s approval of the
annexations, Piedmont would finally and officially cede Savouy and Nice to France. Hence in

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 174

March, carefully managed plebiscites gave the necessary popular approval for these plans. As
Cavour had promised in 1858, Piedmont now controlled north-central Italy and seemed set to
exercise a massive influence over the rest of the peninsula too.

How did Cavour manage this? The rulers of central Italy in the 1850s were both unrepresentative
and ineffective. They were over-reliant on Austrian troops for protection. Many of their citizens
were desperate for reform. Banditry and theft were rife in the countryside and many of the
citizens looked forward to the well-ordered administration of Turin with envy. Piedmont
therefore seemed to offer order and security.

It is important to note therefore that the crisis of 1859 turned out to be a golden opportunity for
Piedmont. The Franco-Piedmontese campaign against the Austrians clearly sounded the death
knell for the absolutist regimes of central Italy. But what would fill the resulting power vacuum?
If radicals and democrats attempted to take control, as had sometimes happened in 1848/49, it
was feared that social anarchy would follow. Instead, conservative-minded moderates moved in:
Baron Ricasoli in Tuscany, Farini in Moderna and Parma, and Cipriani in Romagna. These
looked up to Turin as a realistic source of authority after the collapse of Austrian power. Cavour
could do for them what he did to Piedmont: for he could make these regions liberal and orderly.

What was the National Society?

Officially formed in 1857, the National Society had taken the key role of persuading the
“notables” of the central Italian states of the merits of annexation by Piedmont, and of the
national ideal in general. Before 1857 nationalism was viewed negatively by moderates in Italy
because it had come to be associated with republicanism and revolution. To many in the North,
Mazzini was an assassin who damaged the cause of Italian freedom with his wild and dangerous
conspiracies. It was the goal of the National Society therefore to make nationalism respectable.

Many former collaborators with Mazzini were growing disillusioned with him anyway. In 1855
one of them, Daniel Manin, the hero of the Venation revolution of 1848, publicly broke away,.
rejecting Mazzini’s republicanism, he proclaimed.

… “Convinced that above all Italy must be made, that this is the first and most important
question we say to the Monarchy of Savoy (i.e. Piedmont) “Make Italy and we are with you- if
not, not”

The failure of 1848 confirmed the suggestion that the national cause could only succeed if it
could be harnessed to a state and an army, which meant harnessing it to Piedmont. Furthermore,
although Piedmont was a monarchy, Cavour worked hard to transform it into a progressive,
liberal state, a model of what Italy might become. According to Cavour, unity was a means to
efficient and responsible government, law and order and economic growth. In these respects
whether or not Cavour himself could be called a nationalist, he was clearly on the nationalists’
wavelength.

The National society’s, most effective work was done through education, not agitation. Hence, it
was a group of moderate nationalists who numbered only between four and eight thousand
members. They avoided disorder and public anarchy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 175

In their manifesto, issued in February 1858, a moderate style of nationalism was reflected thus:
…“Political unity alone can reconcile warriors’ interests and laws, can mobilize, credit and put
our collective energies into speeding up communications. Only thus will we find sufficient
capital for large-scale industry. Only thus will we create new markets, suppress internal obstacles
to the free flow of commerce and find the strength and regulation needed for traffic in distant
places.”

Cavour’s initial sponsorship of the Society had been conditional on its moderation and
respectability. Outside Italy as much as inside, it was essential to demonstrate that nationalism
had been copied from fanatics, insurgents and the mob from Mazzini. Cavour presented himself
as simultaneously the alternative to, and enemy of Mazzinianism.

Napoleon III respected Cavour’s stance and so did the British who cherished the cause of Italian
freedom at various levels. But practical factors also came into play. Britain was suspicious of
French ambitions in the peninsula, and supported an enlarged Piedmont in the expectation that it
was then less likely to become a French satellite. Accordingly, London made its objections to
any attempt to re-impose the old order on the central Italian states against the wishes of their
inhabitants.

It is important to remember the skills Cavour showed in his dealings with the British and French,
at times almost playing them off one against the other. He exploited British fears of French
expansion, he sensed in Napoleon III the sentimental pull of his Carboniari past which would
make him take oath to become a collaborator in the restoration of Austrian power. He was thus
the unofficial patron of the National Society. He believed that any progressive change must come
from above, not be grassroots-centred, as Mazzini believed.

Garibaldi’s “March” of the thousand

Garibaldi was not satisfied with just diplomatic policies and solution. He was outraged by the
loss of Savoy and Nice (his birthplace) to France. Since breaking with Mazzini in 1854,
Garibaldi had dedicated himself to the cause of Italy through service to King Victor Emmanuel.
He had been made a major general in the Sardinian army and in 1859 led his brigade of
volunteers with distinction in the Italian Alps. But Garibaldi’s unorthodox approach and
republican past meant that he was never trusted by the army high-command, and he had been
deeply frustrated by the last minute cancellation of a planned invasion of the papal states.

Having received information that Mazzinian conspirators had begun a successful rising in Sicily,
he gathered his legendary “Thousand” and set out sail on 6 May 1860 from the Genoese coast for
the south. Over the next six weeks, aided by the local peasantry and volunteer reinforcements
from Piedmont, he fought a brilliant guerilla Campaign across the island, capturing Palermo on
the way.

Although the Bourbon army in Sicily was over 20 times larger and much better armed than the
Red shirts, it was led by aged and incompetent commanders. Garibaldi’s recruits defeated their
opponents because of his extraordinary charisma and personal courage He was always in the
thick of action, whether, leading bayonet charges or defending barricades, yet he was seemingly

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 176

miraculously prescribed from injury. In Sicily he proved himself to be the greatest guerilla leader
of all time.

The “march of the Thousand” is a story against all odds. But although the patriotic fervour of the
original thousand cannot be doubted, the motivation of the thousands of Sicilians, mostly
peasants, who so drastically swelled Garibaldi’s ranks were hardly nationalistic.
Overwhelmingly illiterate, they understood very little about the concept of an Italian nation.”
Nineteenth-century Sicily was an ungovernable state with a reputation for violence. Given such
tensions, Garibaldi’s arrival was a signal for anarchy. Peasants flocked to him as their redeemer.
In return he promised land reform and the abolition of hated taxes.

Cavour’s and Garibaldi’s talents were contrasting but complementary Cavour established the
diplomatic preconditions for unification, and with the help of French armies, completed the first
stage. But Garibaldi was needed to raise the enthusiasm of the Italian people towards union with
Piedmont with his daring liberation of Naples and Sicily the south of Italy could be united with
the Piedmontese north.
In public, in order to appease Napoleon III, Cavour had to condemn Garibaldi’s expedition to
Sicily as rash and onerously subversive. He even had to pretend to hinder Garibaldi’s expedition
but privately he knew that Garibaldi had a decisive contribution to make to the making of Italy
and gave him secret assistance whenever possible. Therefore, the unification of Italy stands as a
joint achievement of two great men, secretly working together to free the peninsula from foreign
tyranny.
Dennis Mack Smith first pointed out, in the 1980s, that not all of the facts fit this version of the
story. Garibaldi, for one, disputed it. In a memoir first published in 1908, he asserted:
“Every possible obstacle was raised in our path (by Cavour) between the time we left Genoa and
the time we arrived in Naples. It is true that the government put no absolute veto in our way
hoping to be rid forever of trouble makers i.e. us. Nevertheless, they raised every kind of
obstacle. It was not allowed to take any of the 15000 muskets which belonged to our Million
Riffle Fund and were kept in storage at Milan. This one fact delayed by several days the sailing
of our expedition. La Farina (a colleague of Cavour’s’ then gave us 1000 bad firearms.”

Historian, Ridley, summed up Cavour’s views of Garibaldi and his expedition as follows:
“He would not support the revolution until he thought that it was likely to succeed. Thereafter he
supported it in order to control it and reap the rewards of the revolutionaries daring.”

Cavour actually tried without success to prevent Garibaldi from leaving Sicily. In mid August
1860 Garibaldi crossed the Straits of Messina and began to move north. On 6 September, Francis
II, the King of the Two Sicilies, young, inexperienced and weak-willed, withdrew to the
fortresses of Gata further inland, leaving Naples open to the Red Shirts. Garibaldi entered the
city the next day to a rapturous welcome, and went on to proclaim himself temporary ruler in the
name of Victor Emmanuel.

Cavour’s worst fears had come true. He feared the possibility that he could be removed from
office. Garibaldi actually demanded this in September 1860 and the fact that he was in secret
communication with Victor Emmanuel, has made historians wonder whether or not there was a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 177

high level of conspiracy against Cavour. There is no doubt that Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel
would have loved to see Cavour, the scheming, slippery and arrogant diplomat out of office.

Cavour’s fear was also political. Garibaldi might be loyal to Victor Emmanuel, and the fact that
Mazzini had slipped into Naples in mid-September might have meant that something sinister was
on the cards between those two radicals. They were lobbying hard for Garibaldi to demand a
national assembly out of which a democratic people’s Italy might be born. Cavour, a social
conservative, was appalled by such revolutionary ideas.

Cavour’s other fear concerning Garibaldi’s expedition was diplomatic and strategic. Garibaldi
had proved himself a guerrilla leader of genius, but his sense of Great Power realities was non
existent. Cavour feared that Garibaldi was determined to complete the task of unification at
whatever cost even through war with the Pope (and France) as well as Austria to win Venetia.
Such a course of action would be insane! Such a campaign would unite France and Austria,
Europe’s Catholic powers against Italy. This would reverse all that Piedmont had gained
hitherto.

How could Garibaldi be stopped?

The only solution Cavour could do was to place an army between Garibaldi and Rome, thereby
intercepting this revolutionary. Such a move would mean invasion of the Papal States by
Piedmontese troops. Napoleon III would have to be informed and it is believed that had such a
meeting materialized and French consent was obtained. Piedmontese troops thus, defeated the
Papal states excluding Rome, on 18 September at the Battle of Castelfidardo. Garibaldi
surrendered without a fight and submitted all his achievements to the “King of Italy.” The Red
Shirts who numbered 30 000 were immediately disbanded. Then there were plebiscites arranged
in Naples and Sicily to give popular approval for annexation with Piedmont. The result was
predictable almost 1 ¾ million said “yes” whilst 10 979 said no to annexation. However, before
Cavour’s unexpected death from malaria on 06 June 1861 the problem of the South had begun to
emerge. They did not fully appreciate the concept of Italy and most of them viewed King Victor
Emmanuel as a foreign King.

Evaluating Cavour
Was Cavour a nationalist? He has more claim than anyone even Garibaldi, to the title of the
architect of the Italian nation. But Cavour detested some aspects of nationalism, for instance, he
talked of Mazzini as an assassin who was “Italy’s greatest enemy” and promised to hunt him
down and have him gauged. He was disgusted by Mazzini’s populism into piety, self-
righteousness and republicanism. As historian Mack Smith puts it:
“Cavour feared revolution more than he loved Italy.”

He was not pre-occupied with any view of Italian unification. He was extraordinarily ignorant of
the south and had French as his first language, and Italian second. He borrowed freely from the
political and economic experiences of France and Britain. Some contemporary Italian
nationalists suspected that Cavour was ready to use Italian nationalism as an instrument of
Piedmontese self-aggrandizement.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 178

The Treaty of Plombieres revealed Cavour’s real priorities. The annexation of Lombardy and
Venetia was spelt out well enough but the future of the rest of the peninsula was left hazy. These
details were relatively unimportant to Cavour. He explained to king Victor Emmanuel that, “a
greater Piedmont would dominate “Italy” economically and morally”
Piedmont came so quickly to dominate ‘Italy” militarily and politically through a mixture of luck
and opportunities. Cavour himself preferred to leave Naples and Sicilly out of his plans and
efforts for , “a future generation to sort out.”
D’ Azeglio, ex-Prime Minister, declared that for the north to have annexed the south was as
attractive as “going to bed with someone with smallpox”

Why then did Cavour, in September undertake to invade the Papal States, thereby uniting the
north and the southern states of Italy? The essential answer is that Garibaldi forced him to. There
was no short or long-term plan in that. Historian Mack Smith says, “Cavour had no time for
plan.” He once said, “All plans, all projects are useless. Everything depends on an accident… on
seizing fortune by the hair.” Circumstances forced Cavour to be the great improviser. He was
also a liar who made people believe the exact opposite of what he said. But he was, after all, a
statesman in the age of Realpolitik. According to Mack Smith.

“No politician of the century, certainly not even Bismarck, made so much out of so little.”
Cavour had no vibrant economy to tap from; nor Von Roon and von Moltake, the military
geniuses who organized and led Prussia’s superb army. He had no Krupps, the industrial
magnate from the Rhuur, who equipped the Prussian army with its mighty cannons. Instead of
William I, who was upright, scrupulous and solid. Cavour had Victor Emmanuel who was
foolish, belligerent and perpetually conspiring to replace his Prime Minister with someone who
would suit his wild schemes. Indeed, for Cavour to have made Italy out of such limited human
and material resources was an achievement to be emulated.

Was Italy United or there was Piedmontisation?

Italian nationalists had long debated the ideal constitution for Italy. Many wanted a federal
structure with a high degree of regional autonomy, which would reflect the diversity of the
peninsula’s political traditions.

However, shortly before his death, Cavour had begun to impose a system of rigid legal and
political centralization on the new state. The laws of Piedmont were to be enforced upon Italy
because the constitution of Piedmont became the constitution of the rest of Italy without any
referendum or any form of consultation. The King of Piedmont became King Victor Emmanuel,
II of Italy without any debate or choice. Turin appointed all Italy’s prefects and mayors,
governors and senior civil servants to run the southern administration. The good reason was that
there was so much disorder and crime which needed to be stamped out in the south

Cavour, who at the time of his death was simultaneously Prime Minister, Foreign minister and
Finance minister, had wanted to concentrate as much of power in his hand as possible. Likewise
the provincial governments thought themselves to be imperial envoys with the task of “keeping
the natives down.” Northern Italians literally saw themselves as belonging to a different race
from the backward southerners. Africa, it was said, began at Rome. The system of weights and
measures was that used by Piedmont. It made the southerners functionally illiterate.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 179

Worse still, the franchise was decisively biased in favour of the north. The twin qualification of
literacy and tax payment of 300 lira per year left out most of the south from qualifying as voters.
They could, as agriculturist and plantation owners, afford to pay tax to the tune of or more than
300 lira but were illiterate. This cut them off from the decision-making procedures of their
country.

Indeed, to many in the south, the process of unification must indeed have seemed like imposition
of colonial rule. Few of the citizens of the new Italy were accorded any share of political power
as only an elite 2% could be eligible for elections.

Conscription was introduced throughout the peninsula as Italy’s leaders were determined to build
an army big enough to justify their claims that they were now a great power. This did not go
down well with those of the south who viewed the system as a new form of forced recruitment.
Piedmontese debt was re-distributed to the whole peninsula. This led to big rises in taxes which
severely affected the poor, mostly in the south. Perhaps the most insensitivity of all, Turin
extended its war against the wealth and privileges of the Catholic Church across the whole of
Italy. Bishops who objected were imprisoned, and over a thousand monasteries were dissolved.
This was a harsh measure and since the church still performed significant educational and
charitable roles, especially in the south, the negative impact of such measures were more heavily
felt there. Victor Emmanuel and his ministers were excommunicated. A damaging gap was
opened between the church and state, leaving generations of Italians struggling to reconcile their
conflicting duties to their faith and to their country.

Rebellions
These shocks and disappointments help to explain the serious challenges mounted against the
authority of the Italian state during the 1860s:
a) The Brigand’s War- Between 1861 and 1864, (the southern provinces) were in turmoil. Over
100 000 troops were needed to restore law and order, and in the course of their campaigns over
5000 “brigands” were killed, a higher number of casualties than the total Italian death toll for all
of Italy’s wars of independence between 1848 and 1870. The name “Brigands War” was
government’s propaganda. The “brigands” were unco-ordinated gangs made up of former
soldiers, impoverished farm labourers or young men on the run from the police or the recruiting
officers. It was indeed a war against the new state, its agents and its policies, as against poverty.
Marshal Law had to be introduced, and so were summary executions.

b) Sicily in Revolt:– A Sicilian revolt against the new state was mounted in Palermo in 1866.
Sicily found the rule from Piedmont more oppressive than the rule from Naples. Conscription
was particularly resented. Aristocrats, democrats and peasants all had their grievances and
Palermo was briefly occupied by the revolutionaries. The Italian navy had to shell the city into
submission.

c)“Rome or death”- Garibaldi’s revolt.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 180

Garibaldi was determined to make Rome Italy’s capital and Victor Emmanuel offered some
unofficial support now that Cavour was out of the picture. Garibaldi made two disastrous
attempts in the 1860s. In 1862 he was shot and wounded by the Italian army

The second attempt in 1867 resulted in Garibaldi’s 600 men being killed by the French troops
defending Rome with the king playing another “devious and unheroic role in another national
disaster” (Mack Smith).

Venice and Rome

The alliance of Victor Emmanuel’s government and Bismarck was a search for the acquisition of
Venetia. Italy would have to wage war against Austria in 1866, regardless of the outcome, in
order to obtain Venetia as compensation for their contribution. The transfer of Venetia was
actually made after Prussia’s victory over Austria at the Battle of Koningratz in 1866.

However, the Italian army had been defeated at Custozza in June and the navy humiliated at the
Battle of Lissa in July where 1000 Italians were killed. King Victor Emmanuel thus costed his
hope of cemmenting the fragile unity of his nation through military triumphs.

Rome, the final piece of the jigsaw, fell into place in September 1870. Napoleon III at war with
Prussia had to withdraw the French garrison which defended the Pope’s independence since
1849. The Italian army moved in, facing only token resistance from papal troops. Once again a
plebiscite gave popular approval to the annexation, and Rome became the capital of Italy. But
there had been no real fighting and there was no genuine enthusiasm for this final achievement of
the Risorgimento. The King decided against making a triumphal entry into the city, fearing a
lukewarm response from his new subjects.

All this, was far removed from the Mazzinian vision of unification according to which the people
of Italy should have risen as the one to overthrow their oppressors, Austrians, priests and King’s
alike. He said, of Italy in 1870: “The Italy that we witness today is a living lie.”

He believed in a universal franchise for all men above 21 years old, but only a tiny faction of the
population, mainly in the north, had the vote. He also believed in elected structures of
government, but to his dismay, all the important posts were filled by the men from Piedmont. He
believed in a fair and equitable distribution of wealth, but now whatever resources were available
were used to support and often enrich Piedmont. Mazzini never envisaged the capital city located
at any other place other than at Turin in Piedmont. But to his shock and frustration Rome was
only naturally recognized in 1870.

Mazzini did not believe in diplomacy but in popular mass uprisings. His goal right from the start
was for the unification of Italy. He cherished and taught about this dream and vision. That was
perhaps his greatest contribution to the case of Italy’s independence and unification. These were
of course achieved through Realpolitik methods of Cavour. Hence Mazzini was a prophet of
Italian unification, but his means of achieving his dream were a nightmare and a disaster. He was
angry and disappointed that unification was achieved and championed on Piedmonts terms.
According to him, there had not been unification but conquest, annexation and incorporation of
states to Piedmont.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 181

This could, of course, be a somewhat exaggerated view. The central and southern states were at
least consulated about their opinions on annexation to Piedmont through the popular plebiscites.
At least foreign rule, by 1870, had been removed from Italy and it did not always mean that
Piedmontese rule was synonymous with imperialism.

Study Guides
i) What does the Treaty of Unkiar- Skelessi reveal about Russian ambitions in Turkey?
ii) Account for the long-term and short-term causes of the Crimean war.
iii) What part did Austrian diplomacy play in the Crimean War?
iv) “The Eastern Question was Russian attempts to gain control over the Straits (entrance to the
Black Sea) and have a way into the Mediterranean.” Did the Crimean War manage to prevent
this?
v) Did the outcome of the Crimean War prove to be of any help to the Major Powers?
vi) How did the Crimean War alter the balance of power in Europe?
vii) In what ways was Austrian position is Europe sealed by the Crimean War?
viii) Describe the terms of the Treaty of Paris, 1856.
x) How and why did Germany and Italy become united after the Crimean war? Was there any
link between these episodes?

Examination type questions

1.Why was Turkey referred to as the “sick man of Europe.” between 1815 and 1856?
2.Explain the causes and analyze the results of the Crimean War, 1854-1856.
3.“The most important result of the Crimean War was that it shattered the concert of Europe.”
How far do you agree?
4.How valid is the view that the Crimean War was fought more against Russia than for Turkey?
5.Why did Russia support the partition of Turkey?
6.How far did Russian ambitions in the Turkish Empire clash with those of Britain and France
between 1821 and 1856?
7 ‘Trivial but far-reaching’. Discuss this verdict of the causes and results of the Crimean War.

Key references
1.M.S Anderson-Ascendency of Europe: 1815- 1914.
2.P. Browning-Revolutions and Nationalities, Europe 1825- 1890.
3.R Gildea-Barricades and borders, 1800- 1914.
4.E- Habsbawn-The Age of Revolution 1789- 1848.
5.H. Hearder- Europe in the nineteenth Century 1830- 80.
6.J. Lowe-The Concert of Europe: international Relations
1814- 70.
7.J. Levering- Years of Ambition:
European History 1815- 1914.
8.A. Matthews-Revolutions and Reaction: Europe 1789- 1849.
9.J.A.S Grenville-Europe re-shaped 1848- 1878.
10.R. Pearson -The Longman companion to European nationalisms: 1789- 1920.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 182

11.B. Weller -Themes in Modern European History 1830- 1890.

CHAPTER 14
NAPOLEON III AND THE SECOND EMPIRE (1848 – 1870)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the chapter, students should be able to:
(i)Give reasons why the second Empire replaced the July Monarchy.
(ii)Explain the similarities and differences between the Second Empire and the second Republic.
(iii)Explain how successfully Napoleon III dealt with political opposition during the 1850s and
1860s.
(iv)Explain the reasons for the coup d’etal of December 1851.
(v)Summarize (a) the weaknesses of the second Republic and (b) the strengths of Louis
Napoleon that led to the end of the second Republic.
(vi)Identify and explain the aims of Napoleon III’s foreign policy.
(vii)Explain what mistakes and blunders Napoleon III made in the 1960s.
(viii)Show why the Emperor grew increasingly isolated (i) At home
(ii) In Europe.
(ix)Explain the results of the Mexican adventure upon Napoleon’s policies in Europe.
(x)Explain the collapse of the Second Empire.

The major focus in this topic will be on Napoleon III’s domestic and foreign policies. Candidates
are expected to analyse the domestic reforms of Napoleon III and also assess his foreign policy.
This is a popular topic, and one which is also very straight forward. Candidates must note that he
was President of the Second Republic (1848 – 1851) and then Emperor of the Second Empire
(1851-1870).

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 183

Napoleon III’s Domestic Policy

Prince Louis Napoleon

Prince Louis Napoleon, nephew of the great emperor, was heir to the Napoleonic tradition. As an
exile under the law of 1816, which banned the house of Bonaparte from France, he had made
two unsuccessful attempts to seize power as pretender at Strasburg in 1836 and at Boulogue in
1840. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1840, he had escaped from the fortress of Ham and
taken refuge in England, where he remained until the outbreak of the 1848 revolution. He had
written two books which were important for his subsequent political career. These Napoleonic
ideas, he wrote were, not an idea of war, but a social, industrial, commercial idea – an idea of
humanity. The Extinction of Pauperism served to associate Bonapartism in the public mind with
the need for social reform.

The President of the Second Republic (1848-1851)

In 1848, Louis Napoleon could rely on the support of the Napoleonic legend, which had
established the emperor as the champion of progress and the defender of religion and society. His
campaign for the Presidency laid the basis for his subsequent power and was cleverly conceived.
He posed as a man above class or party who would put an end to revolutionary agitation,
maintain order, restore prosperity and revive French glory. He did not openly recommend a
restoration of the empire, but declared his approval of a republic based on universal suffrage. In
the majority of the departments, he received 80% of the votes. Various factors explain this:

a) The fame of his family name – his best asset was his family name which he exploited to the
utmost in trying to gain favour with the inexperienced electorate. To many, the name Napoleon
brought respect, fame and honour in France in the European context. In those days, a politically
inexperienced electorate was not allowed to vote for the person except for a specific policy.
b) The general desire for stability and order after the upheavals of 1848. Napoleon’s election was
brought about, by reaction against the social experiments of 1848.
c) The unpopularity of the republic.
d) The natural dislike of royalists and republications.
e) His well advertised interest in the ‘social question,’ the programme of radical social and
economic reforms espoused by the Parisian workers, evoked a profound fear of a reign of terror
amongst friends and members of the bourgeoisie.

Louis Napoleon was supported by different groups for different reasons:

i) The clergy supported Louis Napoleon hoping that he would further the interests of the Roman
Catholic Church.
ii) Soldiers put their faith in him, hoping that he would restore French military honour.
The support Louis Napoleon received from all classes in 1848 was universal.

Some of his Republican Policies

1. Napoleon’s immediate objective was to promote his personal standing with the various
classes.
- He began by restoring order with the support of the royalists and the conservative
majority in the legislative Assembly.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 184

2. A French military expedition was sent to Rome in 1849 to restore the authority of Pope Pius
IX in an attempt to gain the conservative Roman Catholics. The church regained its privileged
position in education as a result of Louis Napoleon’s legislation. The liberal bourgeoisie liked
his encouragement of industrial interests. Workers in the cities praised the president for his
effort to improve their pensions. The President enjoyed the whole – hearted support of the
Legislative Assembly in his efforts to suppress the Republican and Socialist parties.
 Control of the Press was strengthened.
 Republican and socialist clubs were shut down
 Revolts were nipped in the bud.
Napoleon ran the risk of losing the support of the liberal and radical elements through these
conservative measures.

Study Guides
i) Why did the Second Republic replace the July Monarchy?
ii) Identify three central causes of the French revolution of February 1848.
iii) Identify the main stages by which the July Monarchy became the second Republic.

The Coup d’ etat of 2 December 1851

On 2 December 1851, the anniversary of the coronation of Napoleon I and the battle of
Austerlitz, he took the law into his own hands. With a carefully planned Coup, he seized power,
changed the constitution and gave the Presidency overwhelming authority and a ten- year term of
office.
He presented himself as a people’s champion by re-introducing the universal suffrage which the
assembly had previously refused to restore. He had taken the solemn oath to uphold the republic.
Now he appealed to the solemn judgement of the only sovereign who would be recognized by
the people.
This was confirmed by a plebiscite in which 91% of those who voted expressed approval of his
actions. By an administrative order, special tribunals were instituted against opponents of the
new order. About 10 000 were transported to Algeria.

Napoleon’s political appeal, through the device of the plebiscite or referendum, was directed to
the people mainly the over -heads of the politicians. A country which had never really reconciled
itself to the second Republic welcomed the rule of a man whose name signified something to all
men and who promised the restoration of order, the return of national confidence and the
recovery of business.

The Second Empire (1852-1870)

The resurrection of the Empire was in the air from 1852. The senate, whose members were
appointed by Napoleon, suggested in November 1852 that the republic be elevated to imperial
status. The proposal was immediately put before the people in plebiscite. It was accepted by a
large majority. A year after his successful bloodless Coup de’tat, on the 2 December 1852 Louis
began his reign as Napoleon III, thereby restoring the hereditary imperial dynasty. Napoleon III
dominated the European scene during the eighteen years of his empire. In a famous speech made

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 185

at Bordeaux in 1852, he reassured the world that the empire would serve peace. Ironically, this
was the decisive event of his reign, leading to the downfall of the Empire.

Internal developments during the second empire are usually divided into three periods. The years
from 1852 – 1859 were an era of personal despotism. They were followed by a liberal era (1860
– 1869) and a parliamentary era (1869 – 1870). The last period was nothing more than a promise
of liberation since the empire collapsed before anything could be achieved.

The period 1852 – 1859 Personal Despotism

(a)The Constitution
The constitution was modelled on that of 1800.

The Provisions of the Constitution

(i)A bicameral legislature. There was: -
 A senate of 150 presidential nominees and the power to veto laws which violated the
constitution. However, as the life holders of office, they could be very independent.
 A Corps legislative of 260 members was the lower house and was elected by universal
suffrage. However, it could vote on the budget and propose laws only and not discuss
them. It did not choose its own president, and sat for only three months a year. Above all,
the imperial government could exercise very strong influence on the elections in favour
of the official candidates. Only 6 opposition candidates were returned in March 1852.
(ii)The Executive
The title of prince president for 10 years was only temporary. The title of Napoleon III adopted,
with the pretence that the son of Napoleon I (the Ducde Reichstadt) had reigned after his father’s
abdication Louis’s executive powers remained the same:
 He controlled the armed forces and foreign policy
 He initiated legislation
 Had the power to over ride the legislature with a plebiscite.
 He appointed all ministers and public officials.

a) Repressive controls and centralised administration

The system of the second empire relied on the powers of centralized administration. Under the
guidance of the Minister of the Interior, the Prefects in the Departments, exercised greater
powers than ever before, though many of them were inherited from the July monarchy.

In addition, there were some repressive measures such as the following: -

(i)The suppression of the political clubs and disbanding of the National Guard except in Paris.
(ii)Censorship: State censorship of the press throughout France was effectively established. By
the decree of 1852, newspaper directors were allowed three warnings before a newspaper could
be published in Paris or in the provinces without government authority.
(iii)-Control of Education: -Education became state controlled.
(iv)-Political clubs were suppressed.

Economic Developments

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 186

The Second Empire was a period of considerable financial, commercial and industrial
development. France experienced a period of exceptional prosperity. Trade and Commerce
revived, national wealth increased and the cost of living was reduced.

(a)Rising Productivity
Between 1852 and 1810, coal consumption trebled, as did the volume of foreign trade. The price
of steel was halved. This was aided by the following: -

(i)Improved Communication:
There was rapid development of land and sea transport associated with a boom in the
metallurgical and mining industries. In 1848 France had 1800 kilometers of railways. By 1871
she had 11 500 kilometers, as much as Britain or Germany. The telegraph system expanded from
13500 to 46 000 miles during the same period.

(iii)An Improved Credit System

A whole range of new finance houses investing in industry emerged in this period. Example are:
the Credit Mobilize, a joint stock investment bank established in 1852 by Napoleon, which
channeled capital into numerous enterprises particularly railways and mining. The credit Foncier
engaged in large investments in urban real estate. Due to these financial institutions foreign
investment rose six fold.
(iii)Free Trade:
Against considerable opposition, and using executive power Napoleon reduced duties in imports
in 1853, and after 1860, the Gobden - Chevalier commercial treaty with Britain was followed by
a whole series of treaties with most European countries.

Symbolic of the broadening industrial base of France, there was the great Paris Exhibition of
1867.
(b)Demographic Changes
(i) A falling rate of population growth: The growing wealth of the country was not affected by
the rate of population growth.

(ii)Urbanization
Though it did not promote anything like a revolution in agriculture, the period saw the steady,
relative decline of the rural population in favour of the towns. As the poorer peasantry and
labourers migrated from the countryside, the proportion of the population in the towns rose from
24 to 31 percent, the population of Lyous, Lille and Toulon doubled, while Roubaix trebled in
size.

(c)The Contribution of the government

Most of the above- mentioned development was on the basis of private capital rather than from a
Saint Simonian state leading economic growth, with public expenditure, although Napoleon III
was familiar with St Simon’s theories. As a result, capital was less readily available for the less
profitable building of roads and canals for port development and agriculture. However, there
were two particular contributions made by the state. These were:

(i) Compulsory elementary education (1863)

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 187

The curriculum of secondary schools was also widened and by 1866 there were 66 000
secondary school students.
(ii) The rebuilding of Paris
The prefect of Paris, Baron Haussmann, built 85 miles of boulevards and a range of great public
buildings. Over 4 000 houses were built. This was in accordance with St Simon’s theory and had
a great propaganda value. Napoleon himself played an active role in it. Disposed cynics claimed,
however, that the boulevards were merely a device to prevent the building of barricades.
To the great majority of Frenchmen, Napoleon appears to have offered what they wished for, i.e,
a guarantee of stability and order and a marked increase in prosperity. He was aware of the
political importance of punching for the welfare of the masses. He sought through public works,
another means to help the peasant and the urban worker. He was anxious to create conditions of
full employment.

Study Guides
i) What problems did Napoleon III face in governing France, and how far did he solve them?
ii)What were the main aims of Napoleon III’s foreign policy and how far did he achieve them?
iii)Trace the changing policies of Napoleon III towards opponents of the Second Empire.
iv) In what ways did the Crimean war help to strengthen the position of Napoleon III?
v) What were the causes of the Paris Commune?
vi)Why was it possible to establish a republican form of government in France before 1875?
vii) By what means and with what success did Louis Napoleon strengthen his position during the
years 1848- 1852?

NAPOLEON III’s FOREIGN POLICY: (1852-1870)

Principles of Napoleon III’s Foreign Policy
1. The French visualized themselves in the forefront of a mission to civilize and liberate the
oppressed peoples of Europe, especially those of Italy. Napoleon seemed to believe that a Europe
of peoples constituting their own nation states would be a Europe of freedom and harmony.
French diplomacy, or if necessary, French arms, could be employed to ease the continent’s
transition to this new era, whilst by-passing the bloodshed of the revolution and terror.

2. Territorial expansion to include areas in the Rhine and the Alps. Napoleon III repeatedly
made moves for territories along the sensitive areas but was disappointed in his bids for Belgium,
the Rhineland and Luxernbourg. However, he was partially successful over Italy since he
managed to acquire Savoy and Nice.

3. Together, territorial expansion and political liberty of nationalities would win “la glorie” for
the Emperor and his France, thereby satisfying an image of national greatness which Louis
Philippe had neglected.

4. Napoleon III was also convinced that the key to success was to break up the Holly Alliance
powers. Austria and Prussia were increasingly, rivals for influence in Germany, whilst Austria
and Russia made uneasy neighbours in the Balkans. Napoleon III exploited these tensions in
order to create a greater diplomatic image for France. However, the relationships between
Austria and Prussia transformed between 1848 and 1866 and, much to the Emperor’s

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 188

disappointment, Britain favoured isolationism as opposed to friendships and alignments with
Central Western European powers.

The Crimean War (1854-56)

The fact that the participation of three European powers in the Crimean War was exceptional,
does not mean that it was significant – although it would have significant results later. This is
because none of the three national interests were directly threatened. France started the crisis by
reasserting its right to look after the holy places in Jerusalem, which was then controlled by the
Islamic Ottoman Empire. The sultan of the Ottoman Empire’s agreement to this arrangement
upset Russia which also had a right to look after the holy places, not on behalf of Catholic
Christians as France would do, but on behalf of Orthodox Christians. There is no evidence that
the French people wanted war, but Napoleon III had to follow the lead of the more aggressive
British, whose anti-Russian fears were heightened by the sinking of the Turkish fleet at Sinope.
Once Sebastopol had been captured, Napoleon III was keen to make peace. The fact that the
peace treaty was held in Paris in France (1856) restored the host as the centre of European
cultural and political life, a success for which Napoleon III took the credit and enjoyed the glory.
French influence in the Near East had been defended as well.

The effects of the Crimean War were certainly greater than its causes. The war shattered the
longstanding partnership of Russia, Austria and Prussia that had maintained the 1815 settlement
for 40 years. Though their policies towards Russia during the war had differed, neither Austria
nor Prussia had given Russia any effective support. Prussian neutrality meant that Russia felt
more antagonism towards Austria, the countries which had sided with Britain and France. Russia
resented the 1856 settlement and wanted to change it. As a result she was not prepared to support
either Prussia or Austria in any attempt to uphold the existing state system. At about the same
time developments in Germany were putting the Austro-Prussian alliance under great strain. In
this sense, the Crimean War precipitated a diplomatic revolution in Europe. On the other hand,
France’s relations with Britain and, perhaps surprisingly, Russia, were cordial: the Russians were
grateful to Napoleon III because the latter had pursued the peace settlement in Paris much more
energetically than had the British delegation.

By 1856 the only power that was fully committed to upholding the settlement of 1815 and 1856
was Austria. Seeing an opportunity to alter the European status quo, Napoleon III now looked to
Italy. The way in which he became drawn into Italian affairs was most unusual. The Orsini
affair demonstrated just how unpredictable Napoleon could be.

The Italian adventure

The disappointing results of the 1857 election for the Legislative Assembly and Orsini’s
assassination attempt of January 1858, both probably increased Napoleon III’s belief that he
needed to do something for he Italian people. The Orsini bomb outrage which left eight people
dead and 150 injured, dramatically reminded the Emperor that many old friends felt deeply
betrayed by his political conduct since 1848. Supporting the cause of Italian nationalism was
intended to gain the support of the workers as well as the liberals in France. Napoleon III
himself hoped to satisfy his earlier feelings of the support he once had for the Carbonari.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 189

 The Pact of Plombieres (1858) was designed to enlarge Piedmont through a joint French –
Piedmontese campaign against Austria. France was to receive Savoy and Nice for its military
role ceded from Piedmont. Culturally and geographically, the province was predominantly
French speaking and lay to the north of the Alps, thereby arguably falling within France’s
‘natural frontiers’. No such justification could be got for the annexation of Nice which had no
such ties as Savoy with France. The new ‘Kingdom of Northern Italy’ would be a sort of, a
French satellite. But Napoleon III did not want Italian unity. He explained: ‘unity would bring
danger to me and France itself because of the Roman question, and France would not see with
pleasure a great nation armed on her side which might diminish her preponderance’.

Plombieres began a series of lessons for Napoleon III. He had stuck to the deal with Cavour
without informing his ministries. When the details of the alliance emerged, there was widespread
dismay in France. Neither France’s businessmen nor the Emperor’s ministries had expected that
the war would be long drawn out and be such a huge expense. Although the victories of Magenta
and Solferimo had given the French and Piedmontese the upper hand, on 12 July 1859 Napoleon
III unilaterally negotiated an armistice with the Austrians. Cavour regarded this as shameless
betrayal. But Napoleon III recognized that the Austrian army was still far from being beaten,
that Cavour had ambitions to expand Piedmontese territory at the expense of the Pope, and that
Prussia was mobilizing its army on the Rhine, thereby constituting a possible threat to Paris. The
Piedmontese would have to make do with the secession of Lombardy from Austria. With the job
only half done, Napoleon III still proceeded to annex Savoy and Nice to France. The impacts of
Napoleon III’s actions were as follows:

The Central Duchies, Papal Romagna and Tuscany began to clamour for annexation by
Piedmont. This meant that Cavour consequently pushed the borders of Piedmont further south
than Napoleon III had desired and even annexed Papal territory in the process, much to the anger
of French Catholics.

The success of Garibaldi’s expedition to Sicily and Naples led to the total collapse of Bourbon
authority. This development was most unwelcome to Napoleon III. It represented a victory for
revolutionary nationalism, whereas the Emperor had always seen himself as the patron of
moderate, ‘responsible’ nationalism like Cavour. Worse, Garibaldi seemed determined to go on
from Naples to attack the Papal States and make Rome a capital for a united Italy. The French
troops in Rome, who had been the defenders of Papal independence since 1849, would come into
conflict with the forces of Italian nationalism. Such a collision would be a disaster for Napoleon
III. He had no alternative but to sanction Cavour’s extraordinary expedition southwards to
intercept Garibaldi’s army, even though this meant Cavour invading the Papal States. Hence
Piedmont annexed Sicily and Naples and all the Papal States except Rome itself. This was not the
outcome Napoleon III had planned for in April 1858. He had become an unwilling sponsor of
Italian unification. Many French Catholics were angered by the fate of the Papacy in 1860 and
deplored the Emperor’s betrayal of the Church. In fact, the whole style of Napoleon III’s
diplomacy, its secrecy, its wishful thinking, its cloudy objectives, its high risk factor – had startled
a larger portion of French political life.

Mexican Adventure 1861

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 190

In 1861, Napoleon III embarked on an extraordinary expedition to Mexico. What began as a joint
debt-collecting exercise with Britain and Spain (a new revolutionary Government in Mexico had
suspended all payments to foreign creditors) became a campaign of would-be imperial conquest.
Mexico promised to be a land of rich opportunity for French businessmen; French and Austrian
Catholics would warmly support a crusade against the Mexican Revolution, which was proving
to be anti-clerical in nature. He would win back Catholic support at home as well as level
relations with Austria following the Italian question. It would boost French greatness and
increase the Emperor’s own prestige. In reality however, 40 00 French troops were losing the
struggle against Mexican guerrillas. The issuing of the Monroe Doctrine forced Napoleon III to
withdraw from Mexico. The final humiliation came after the withdrawal of French forces, with
the capture and execution of Archduke Maximillian of Austria in May 1867. He had gone to
Mexico to rule a colony on Napoleon III’s behalf. The Mexican fiasco did immense damage to
the French Emperor’s reputation: It is the clearest example of his tendency to involve himself in
a half-heated manner, only to withdraw once he realizes the impracticability of the scheme.

Austria and Prussia

Increasing tensions between Austria and Prussia in 1865 seemed to offer Napoleon III every
opportunity of recovering the initiative. Whilst these two powers, competing together for the
mastery of ‘Germany’, squared up to each other, Napoleon III proceeded to auction his goodwill
to the higher bidder. As a consequence, of war the boundaries of central Europe were likely to
be extensively redrawn. France, Napoleon III calculated, would help to broker the peace at an
international conference, and the combatants, victor and vanquished alike, would be too
exhausted to object to whatever territorial ‘commission’ Napoleon III charged for his services.
But the outcome of the war caught diplomats by surprise. They had been certain of a long and
bloody campaign, and viewed Austria as the likely winner. Instead, the Prussian army trounced
the Austrian army at the Battle of Koniggratz in a war that lasted only seven weeks. Napoleon
III smarted with humiliation as all his demands for territorial compensation for his neutrality
failed to materialize. In fact, Bismarck immediately offered a lenient settlement to Austria, which
further isolated France in Central Europe.

What factors led to the collapse of the second empire in 1871?

1. The Duke of Gramont was appointed Foreign Minister in May 1870. He made several tactical
blunders, for example, if the Hohenzollern candidacy were not withdrawn, he proclaimed, ‘we
shall know how to do our duty without faltering or weakening’. This public threat of war
delighted the Bonapartist right, but it made the task of negotiating a way of the crisis more
difficult as well as stirring all the wrong passions in the French press and on the streets of Paris.
Another blunder was Gramont’s insistence to the French ambassador to Prussia, repeated over
12-13 July, that he secure from Wilhelm I an absolute guarantee that Prussia had no intention of
ever again renewing the Hohenzollern candidature. The Prussian King refused to give such
assurance because it constituted an insult to him. Right there, events took a dramatic turn as
Bismarck’s edited version of the exchange appeared in the ‘Ems Telegram’. The telegram led to
fury in the French Chamber and war was declared five days later.

2. Napoleon III also authorized Gramont’s reckless demand that Prussia back down, thereby
increasing the unthinking patriotic feeling of French public opinion. Worse still, illness and

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 191

premature old age were partially to blame, and so was poor judgment about a lack of readiness of
the French army.

3. Neither Emille Ollivier, nor Gramont nor Napoleon III seemed capable of recognizing where
France’s interests lay and they were not able to measure the consequences of their actions. As
Carr concludes in The Origins of the Wars of German Unification, ‘that three emotionally
unstable people should have been thrown together in positions of power at this crucial juncture
was a tragedy for France’.

The detailed Crimean war 1853-6

The Crimean War (1853-56) was by far the bloodiest eruption of the Eastern Question during the
whole of the 19th century. It was fought in and around the Black Sea, and pitted the Ottoman,
French and British forces against Russians: Total casualties amounted to nearly one million. Its
causes were somewhat trivial and the territorial adjustments made in the Congress of Paris which
brought the war to an end were equally small. But the diplomatic consequences of the war were
highly significant. Indeed, for Austria whose own forces had not been engaged in the war, but
had given much practical support to the anti-Russian cause, the consequences were disastrous.

The conflict originated from, and in some respects continued as a question of prestige. The
Ottomans controlled the Christian Holy Places in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, allowing Christian
pilgrims generous access. But the sites themselves were supervised by two separate orders of
monks, who were bitter rivals. One of the orders, (the ‘Latins’), owed their allegiance to the
Pope. The other, (the ‘Orthodox’), looked to the protection of the Tsar.

In 1852, Napoleon III, hoping to impress a domestic Catholic audience, adopted the Latin
monks’ cause and bullied the Sultan into restarting French precedence over their orthodox
enemies. Tsar Nicholas I felt this as a personal humiliation. He loathed Napoleon III as a
usurper, and decided to teach him and the Sultan a lesson. In February 1853, he dispatched
General Menshkov to Constantinople with instructions not merely to force the Sultan to reverse
all the concessions he had just made, but also claiming for Russia a sort of protectorate over all
of the Ottoman subjects. Menshkov made it clear that if these terms were not accepted, war
would follow. This was a disaster in every respect because:

-The British, for reasons of national self-interest, were determined to protect the integrity of the
Ottoman Empire and were appalled by Menshkov’s bullying, fearing that it was going to lead to
Turkey’s dismemberment (partition). The Tsar, in his discussions with the British ambassador in
early 1853 mistakenly believed that the break-up of Turkey / Ottoman Empire was inevitable and
that Russia, Austria and Britain would happily share in the spoils. Britain in effect opposed the
break-up of Turkey since this would expose British trading interests in the Mediterranean Sea
and region to Russia’s greed.
-The Tsar was equally mistaken in his reading of Austrian intensions. He had convinced himself
that Austria stood as an ally to Russia and that in the event of a war, Austria would stand with
Russia side-by-side against Britain and France. This was not to be because Austria in fact
regarded Russian expansionism in the Balkans with considerable alarm. She remained neutral
during the Crimean War.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 192

- Finally, the Tsar was absolutely certain that what Menshkov was demanding was that the most
important points had already been conceded by the Turks in previous treaties. The Turks,
however, rejected every one of these agreements with Russia in order to protect their
independence.

In short, Nicholas I, in his combination of bullying, self-righteousness, incomprehension and

sheer misjudgment, was the individual with most responsibility for the outbreak of the Crimean
War. A last-minute compromise, called the ‘Vienna note’ was negotiated between Austria,
Britain, France and Russia. But the Turks were not part of these talks and when they demanded
some modification of the terms, the Russians refused, and further went on to give their own
interpretation of the ‘Note’ in a way which offended Britain. Russia was changing the terms
negotiated in good faith and this made war inevitable.

The first clash saw the total Russian destruction of the Turkish fleet at Sinope in November
1853. It was reported in the British press as a massacre, thereby further inflaming public opinion.
However, some British politicians believed they were being dragged into the war by the ‘cunning
barbarians’ (Turks). Certainly the Sultan saw an alliance with Britain and France as Turkey’s
only chance of checking the Russians and recovering some of the losses the Ottoman Empire had
suffered at Russia’s hands. But others in Britain like Foreign Minister Palmerton and the British
ambassador in Constantinople believed that a war with Russia was necessary in order to check
her expansionism in the Near East.

The war, which came to focus on the siege of the Russian port of Sebastopol, dragged on for
over two years, both sides suffering terrible causalities and displaying incompetent leadership.
But the Anglo-French forces were better armed, and better supplied, and Russia became
increasingly diplomatically isolated. Piedmont, Australia, Prussia and Sweden all supported the
Anglo-French Ottoman alliance. The Italians actually supplied 13000 troops. The fall of
Sebastopol (September 1855) was the key to allied victory, but by the end, all the combatants
approached peace negotiations in Paris in a spirit of exhaustion.

Minor territorial adjustments apart, the main terms of the treaty were:
i) Russia abandoned any special claims to a protectorate over the principalities of Sultan’s
Christian subjects in general.
ii) The Black Sea was demilitarized (the removal of armed forces or military equipment from a
region). This clause was felt by Russia to be particular humiliation. The main objective of
Russian diplomacy, successfully completed in 1870, was to re-negotiate the Black Sea clauses.

Britain had gained much less from the war than Palmerston had hoped, and the poor performance
of its army encouraged a period of national self-criticism, and a spirit of isolationism. Napoleon
III was pleased with his prestige victory, and the diplomatic gain of friendship with Britain.
However, this friendship would prove to be transitory or temporary, and it remained unclear how
the French Emperor would advance his nationalist– oriented politics.

A big loser of the Crimean War was arguably Austria and not Russia. Austria had lost no troops
or territory but she had lost the Tsar’s friendship. Nicholas I, having counted on Austrian
support, came to regard neutrality in the Crimean War as ‘unbelievable and indescribable’

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 193

betrayal. Austro-Russian friendship which had been at the heart of the Italy Alliance now ceased
to exist. Vienna would look in vain to St Petersburg when it was confronted by French and
Piedmontese aggression in Germany. The Crimean War did not, of course, cause the Italian or
German unification but it helped to create the international power alignments that made the
unifications possible, and it inaugurated an era in international affairs where the only guiding
principle seemed to be ‘every man for himself’. The principle of the maintenance of the balance
of power which had existed since 1815 now lapsed away

Prosperity at home coincided with success abroad. The contribution of Napoleon III to the causes
of the Crimean War was very limited, and France entered it reluctantly, However the war and the
Treaty of Paris were seen as triumphs for the Emperor who could now enjoy a re-established
Anglo- French entente and international prestige. These were the ‘fortunate years’.

Before the Empire had been in existence for two years it was involved in a major war with
Russia. Napoleon’s involvement in the Crimean War resulted partly from his desire to rally
Catholic interests in the near East and also from his keenness for an alliance with England. He
was particularly anxious to avoid what he regarded as his uncle’s grave error of enmity with
Great Britain.

Study Guides
i) Why was France defeated by Prussia in the Franco- Prussian War (1870-71)?
ii) How did the socialists attempt to increase their influence?
iii) Why was the second French Republic so short-lived?
iv) Why was there relatively little opposition to Napoleon III’s rule in France during the first ten
years of the Empire?
v) Were Napoleon III’s policies a “fiasco” between 1866- 1870 in France?/
vi) Give an account of the foreign policy of Napoleon III’s foreign adventures and show how a)
it affected his popularity in France.
b)Affected his standing in Europe.
vi) How liberal was the rule of Napoleon III?

Examination type questions

1. How secure was Napoleon’s position following the creation of the liberal empire?
2. “The fate of the second Empire was sealed before the Franco-Prussian War.” Do you agree?
3. Why and with what consequences did Napoleon III liberalize the second Empire after 1870?
4. What by 1870, did Napoleon have as lasting achievements of his reign?

5. ‘It was the consequence of the Emperor’s restless policy that in 1870 France found herself
friendless in Europe’. Consider this comment with reference to the foreign policy of Napoleon
III.
6. Why did Napoleon (III) change his empire from a benevolent despotism to a constitutional
monarchy after 1860?
7. ‘He did his autocracy skillfully, under the cloak of popular policies’. Assess this view of
Napoleon III’s conduct of domestic affairs from 1848 to 1870.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 194

Key references
1. Browning P.- Revolution and Nationalities: Europe 1825- 1890.
2. Court W.H.B - Second Empire and Commune. France 1848- 71.
3. Gildea R.- France: 1870- 1914.
4. Mc Millan J. - Napoleon III.
5. Peacock H.L. -A History of Modern Europe 1789- 1981.
6. Pilbeam P - The Constitutional monarchy in France: 1815- 1848.
7. Price. R. -Documents of the French Revolution of 1848.
8. Price . R -Napoleon III and the second Empire
9.Randell K - France 1814- 70: Monarchy, Republic and Empire.
10 Tombs. R - France 1814- 1914.
11. Thomson D. -Europe since Napoleon

CHAPTER 15
ITALIAN UNIFICATION (1815 – 1870)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
(i) Give an account of the problems which prevented Italian unification between 1815 and
1848.
(ii) Account for the slow pace of unification in the 1820s and 1830s.
(iii) Discuss the roles of the following organizations before 1848:
(a) The Young Italian Movement
(b) The Carbonari
(iv) Define Risorgimento
(v) Give a thorough explanation of Giuseppe Mazzini’s aims and activities before 1849. Did
he succeed?
(vi) Explain the long-term and short-term causes of the 1848-49 Revolutions in Italy.
(vi) Discuss the lessons which were learnt from the failure of the 1848-49 revolutions in Italy.
(vii) Explain the efforts made by Cavour to modernize Piedmont.
(viii) Illustrate his aims and methods.
(ix) Locate Piedmont’s position within Italian affairs
(x) Describe and assess Napoleon III’s role in Italy from 1858-59 as well as in 1870.
(xi) Evaluate the role played by Cavour in uniting Italy
(xii) Compare and contrast the aims and methods of Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi.
(xiii) Describe and illustrate areas of Piedmontisation.
(XIV) Evaluate the outcome of Italian unity in 1870.
(xv) Assess the impact of foreign assistance to Italian unification.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 195

The process of Italian Unification can be divided into two periods for easy study. These are the
period 1815 – 48, known as the liberal period during which Italy endeavoured to free and unite
herself by her own actions, without foreign help, and the diplomatic period 1848 – 1870, when a
number of lessons were learnt from the failure of the liberal period, especially the need for
foreign aid. Questions may be asked on the two periods distinctly or combined.

The First Phase (1815 – 1848)

Metternich had referred to Italy after 1815 as nothing more than a ‘geographical expression, and
the Italians as having no more than local loyalties. In other words, Metternich was saying there
was no national identity and consciousness after 1815. At the outbreak of the French Revolution,
Italy was as it had been for more than a thousand years, a patchwork of small states jealous of, if
not actively hostile to one another. Ever since, the Roman Empire and the Peninsula, had never
been effectively united under one rule.

Napoleon I’s Contribution

It was left to Napoleon Bonaparte to level the barriers of local rivalries and bring to Italy at least
a good administration and approach to national unity. Moreover, he awakened in the minds of
Italian patriots the conviction that the salvation of Italy lay in national unity. Even at St Helena,
he still insisted that Italy was one nation. He believed that the unity of manners, language and
literature must at some future date reunite her people under a single government.

The Contribution of the Vienna Congress of 1815

The diplomatists who disposed of the fortunes of Europe at Vienna in 1815 made short the work
of Napoleonic Italy. Italy was divided into 9 states with governments that were reactionary and
despotic. Almost all the princes who ruled over Italian states were Austrian puppets. Austrian
dukes ruled in Tuscany and Modena, an Austrian archdukess in Parna, and Austrian Viceroys in
Lombardy and Venetia. The only states not dependent on Austria was the kingdom of Sardinia,
and Piedmont.

Alternatives for Italian Unification

Italy in the 1840s produced a more impressive array of nationalist writings than any other
country in Europe. Various views were put across as to what form a future united Italy would
take – was Italy to be a fully centralized and unified state or was it to be a federation? Was it to
be a monarchy or a republic? There were three main schools of thought which tried to answer
these questions.
i)The first school supported the view that a future Italy should be a confederation of states under
the Pope. Geoberts who wrote the works, ‘On the moral and civil primacy of the Italians’,
supported unity under papal leadership.
ii)The second school suggested a confederation of states under the leadership of the king of
Piedmont. In other words, a future Italian state would be a monarchy. This school of thought
was supported by Balbo who wrote, ‘On the Hopes of Italy’, to express his views.
iii)The third school suggested a single unified republic achieved through popular insurrection.
This democratic idea of unification was put forward by the most influential prophet of the
Risorgimento, Giuseppe Mazzini.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 196

Progress of the national movement until 1848

Guiseppe Mazzini (1805 – 1872)

He was the key figure during the first phase of Italian unification and a leading exponent of early
19th century nationalism. He is one of the three men to whom above all others, the attainment of
Italian unification was contributed. According to George Meredith, an English poet, these three
were Cavour, Mazzini and Garibaldi. Cavour provided the brain, which is diplomacy in the
unification process and Mazzini, the inspiration. He was a good organizer and Garibaldi
provided the fighting spirit and was a soldier. Mazzini was born in Genoa. He studied law as a
young man. He read widely the writings of democratic thinkers. His radical leanings soon
aroused the suspicion of authorities and in 1830 he was imprisoned. After his release, he was
banished from his country.

His ideas
In the bitterness of his heart, Mazzini decided that Italy would never prosper until her cause was
removed from the hands of ‘sects’. He held the following ideas: -

i) That the Carbonari and Federals demanded only partial liberties instead of total independence.
ii)They emphasized secrecy and therefore encouraged vagueness.
iii) They relied too much on aristocracies and governments.
iv) He believed that leaders and people must be educated towards a national effort.

The Young Italy Movement

In July 1831, Mazzini gathered 40 exiles in Marseilles, France, and formed the Young Italy
Movement.

Study Guides
i) What was the importance of the 1820 and 1830 revolution to the ultimate goal of uniting Italy?
ii) Who, in the period 1815- 1830, were against the unification of Italy?
iii) Explain the different forms of a united Italy that were proposed during the 1840s and how
their supporters thought that they would be achieved.

The Young Italy Movement:

a) Dedicated itself to the cause of the revolt throughout the peninsula.
b) The society abandoned secrecy except for the names of its members.
c) It also devoted a large part of its funds to propaganda. It was better organized. In many of the
society’s writings, Mazzini tried to inspire the people of Italy with his own fervent desire for
independence, unity and liberty. Mazzini believed that liberty could only be in a republic.
d) Mazzini believed that Italy had enough resources to achieve national unity on its own terms.
There was no need for foreign involvement.
e) He also believed that a nation had a moral purpose as well as a linguistic basis and a political
heritage. The nation, he believed, meant the totality of citizens speaking the same language
associated together with equal political and civil rights. The perfection of humanity became
Mazzini’s ultimate goal and he believed that it could be achieved by forming a brotherhood of
nations in Europe. He summoned the youth of every nation to help him. He founded in 1834

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 197

 another society called Young Europe. However, this was suppressed by the Swiss authorities in
1836. This caused Metternich to describe Mazzini as the most dangerous man in Europe.

1.The 1820 Revolts: The role of secret societies: - During the years after the Congress of
Vienna, the desire for some kind of unity grew stronger particularly in the south which was
very poor economically. This desire manifested itself in sporadic insurrections which were
promptly suppressed by Austrian soldiers. The largest of these secret societies was the
Carbonari (Charcoal Burners). It has been estimated that by the year 1820, the membership in
these secret societies numbered over 100 000, drawn from all social classes. Under the watch
words, “freedom and independence,’ the Carbonari were ceaselessly active in inciting
opposition and revolution against foreign rule. The 1820 revolutions in Naples and Piedmont
were inspired by the Carbonari. The success of these revolts was short – lived for the Austrian
armies were on guard to suppress them.

Study Guides

i) Explain Mazzini’s aims and methods during the 1830s and 1840s.
ii) What was Mazzini’s contribution to the Risorgimento?

Causes of the failure of the 1820 Revolutions

i)The power of Austria

After every such rising, the Austrian troops crushed all outward symptoms of opposition or
independence. However, the severity of these measures only gave sustenance to the spirit of
nationalism. Underground, the systematic preparations for the Risorgimento were going on.

ii) Lack of sound leadership

There was a lack of committed and experienced leaders to lead a national movement. Petty
squabbles and the local nature of the movement for unification led to the collapse of the
revolutions. The lesson was learnt that the ground had to be prepared thoroughly.

2) The 1830 Revolutions

These revolutions occurred in Parma, Modena and the Papal States. They were influenced by the
1830 revolutions in France, which had replaced Charles X with Louis Philippe. The revolutions
hoped for assistance from France, but Louis Philippe was unwilling to risk his newly won throne
in a war with Austria. Again, Metternich acted promptly and the revolutions were suppressed.

3) The 1848 Revolutions

These took place in a number of areas in Italy, namely the Papal States, Sicily, Naples and
Piedmont.

a) The Sicilian Revolt

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 198

A revolt in Palermo forced Ferdinand II to grant Sicily a constitution (1848), which gave it
virtual independence. Inevitably, the disease radiated to Naples, and he had to concede a
constitution for the whole kingdom.

b)The ‘Five Days’ of Milan

Events were accelerated by the news of revolutions in Paris and Vienna. Pius IX granted a
constitution to the Papal States on 15 March 1848. In Venice, a republic was proclaimed. It was
in Milan, however, where the greatest shock occurred. Tension had developed since the tobacco
riots of January (arising from a boycott by the citizens of the tobacco, a commodity which was a
government monopoly).

Although there were differences between the upper class constitutionalists, and the radical
republicans, they were united in support of a massive demonstration on 17 March 1848. With
only 100 000 men in the whole of Italy, a third of them Italians, the Austrian Marshal Radetsky
withdrew his forces from Milan to regroup. A liberal – radical provisional government was
established under Cattanco. By the end of March, all the cities of Lombardy, Venetia, and the
Duchies had driven out the Austrian troops.

The First Austro – Piedmontese War (1848 – 49)

Events in Milan found Charles Albert completely unprepared for war. However, he eventually
intervened mainly to prevent Lombardy from having a republican government. His troops
advanced so slowly that the Austrian troops were able to re-group in the Quadrilateral that is
Peschiera, Verona, Legnano and Mantua. Although the Piedmontese army had swelled to 100
000 against the Austrians’ 70 000, Charles Albert was no match for the 82 year old. The
Piedmont army was defeated at Custozza and finally at Novara, leading to the abdication of
Charles Albert. He was succeeded by Victor Emmanuel II.

Reasons for the collapse of the 1848 revolutions

i) Austrian military power: As in previous revolutions, this proved decisive. The Austrians
under the Leadership of Radetsky were irresistible. Charles Albert on the other hand had
certain weaknesseses, for instance, he disliked the support of men like Mazzini and Garibaldi.
He also had hesitated giving Austrians time to re-group.

ii)Disunity among Italian Revolutions:

The Republicans, led by Mazzini, had little in common with the monarchists who looked to
Charles Albert.

iii)The Pope’s defection discouraged and perplexed all those Italians who had pinned their faith
on him.

iv)The intervention of Louis Napoleon had led directly to the destruction of the Roman Republic.

v)Lack of sound leadership:

Apart form Mazzini and Charles Albert, the revolutions lacked committed and visionary leaders
who could lead the national cause.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 199

The Final Phase of unification (1848 – 1870)
Although the revolutionary movement of the period 1815 – 48 had not succeeded in achieving
their goal of unifying Italy, there were some gains in that important lessons were learnt by those
who later completed the process. Some of them are as follows: -

i)That the ground had to be prepared thoroughly first before any meaningful progress in
unification could be made. For instance, the different states of the Peninsula needed to be
educated first on the importance of unity and commitment to the national cause.

ii)The new king of Piedmont, Victor Emmanuel II, refused to withdraw the liberal constitution
his father had granted, and Italians saw in this state, hope for the future.

iii)The 1848 factors had shown the Italians who the real enemy of unification was, that is,
Austria.

iv)The Italians had also learnt that they could not possibly achieve unification, especially the
expulsion of Austria without foreign assistance. It was Count Camillo Cavour who saw this
more clearly than anyone else.

v)They also learnt that there was need to modernize Piedmont which had become the focal point
of the Italian nationalists.

Study Guides
i) Why did the Republicans fail to achieve unification by 1849?
ii) How important were divisions among the revolutionaries a reason for their defeat by 1849?
iii) What lessons were learnt from the failure of the 1849 Revolutions in Italy?

Cavour and the unification of Italy

Count Camillo di Cavour
He was a gentlemen farmer who did not enter political life until his late thirties. He shared all the
views which had been current among the progressive nobility of Lombardy in the 2 decades,
concerning the value of scientific knowledge, administrative efficiency and economic expansion.
Cavour acquired office at a time when a socio- economic revolution was underway.

Cavour and the modernization of Piedmont:

Cavour contributed to the process of change in Piedmont by introducing democratic reforms,
which led to the modernization of Piedmont. These reforms made Piedmont to become the focus
of Italian unification. Piedmont was modernized through the following measures:

i)The expansion of trade through free trade treaties and private financial institutions. He
negotiated commercial treaties with France, Britain and Austria. He was one of the few
continental liberals to believe in free trade principles.
ii) He improved the transport network through the development of a railway network.
iii)He increased the country’s productivity by encouraging French investors to invest in
Piedmontese industries and railways.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 200

iv) He introduced the Siccardi Laws in 1850. These abolished ecclesiastical jurisdiction, limited
the number of recognized holy days and prevented ecclesiastical personnel from obtaining
unlimited amounts of land in Italy.
v) He revolutionized the Piedmontese army by transforming it into a professional army.

Piedmont’s advantages over other Italian States:

Piedmont had the following advantages which made her play a leading role in Italian unification:
i)Piedmont was the only state free of Austrian control in 1815, and became a centre of liberal
aspirations.
ii)Piedmont had key figures who played key roles in the unification process. These were Charles
Albert, Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour. Charles Albert granted a constitution in 1848. They
tried to defeat Austrian influence in Northern Italy from which Piedmont gained prestige,
inspite of the defeats at Custozza and Novara. Victor Emmanuel II supported the Risorgimento
and maintained the constitution. Cavour modernized Piedmont and played an important part in
foreign policy.
iii) The state’s economic growth, including industry, was greater than that of the rest of Italy
and contrasted particularly with the backwardness of the south.
iv) Piedmont had a standing modern army which was to prove its worth in future wars
against Russia and Austria.

Cavour’s views on unification

When Cavour entered d’ Azeglio’s Ministry, there is no reason to suppose that he thought of
Italy outside Piedmont. He certainly did not reform the Piedmontese laws and revitalize her
economy with the deliberate aim of fitting her for the leadership of a nationalist movement. His
main and initial aim was to unite northern Italy under Piedmont. Cavour disliked nationalists, in
and out of Piedmont. This was because most of them were fusionists whose policy would
submerge Piedmont in Italy. The most notable of the fusionists were the democrats and
republicans like Mazzini. Fusionists wanted the unification of the whole of Italy on an equal
basis with the concerted efforts of all Italians. To Cavour, Mazzini was at one and the same time
an irresponsible agitator, whose arbotive schemes aroused the disapproval of foreign
governments, and a dangerous demagogue whose appeal to the illiterate masses could only lead
to dictatorship.

However, he later came to see that the nationalist movement could be used to the advantage of
Piedmont. His skill in adopting it was the measure of a genius. His policy was always that
annexation and never fusion. He believed that if unification was to be achieved, it had to be on
Piedmontese terms, and would be by annexing the rest of Italy to Piedmont, beginning in
northern Italy. Determined annexationism and uncompromising liberalism contributed to
Cavour’s success in uniting Italy only 12 years after others had failed.

Cavour’s Aims in Foreign Policy

i) Cavour desired to liberate his country from the Austrians, and then to unite the states under a
liberal monarchy.
ii) In his opinion the history of the last 40 years had shown that Italy could not liberate herself by
her own exertions. In other words, he saw that foreign aid was essential to drive the Austrians
from Italian soil.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 201

iii) Cavour was already thinking of a future war with Austria for the possession of northern Italy.
However, he regarded the support of Napoleon III as essential.

Measures to attract Napoleon III’s support

a)Participation in the Crimean War of 1854 – 6
The war ended before the small expeditionary force of 1500 Sardinians had been able to exert
itself beyond a minor engagement. Unwillingly, Cavour went, in 1856, to the Paris Peace
Congress hoping to win one of the duchies for his plans. The only achievement at Paris was a
short statement by Lord Clarendon that the present state of Italy was unsatisfactory. Cavour was
disappointed with this.

The Orsini Bomb – (January 1858)

In January 1858, an attempt on Napoleon’s life was made by an Italian patriot, Orsini. As French
support was essential, Cavour urgently prosecuted the revolutionary party. More than 100
suspected agitators were expelled. The Orsini bomb could have helped to draw Napoleon III’s
attention to the Italian cause.

The Napoleonic initiative

The initiative came from Napoleon III himself

Fortunately, Napoleon wanted the following:

i) Piedmont as an ally against Austria.
ii) To stop Austrian influence spreading in Italy.
iii) He also wanted to break up the humiliating settlement of 1815.
iv) He aimed at certain frontier rectifications and a marriage into the oldest dynasty in Europe.

The Plombieres Agreement – (July 1858)

Cavour travelled to Plombieres to meet Napoleon without informing his cabinet and without
knowing what sort of an offer he would receive.

Terms of the Agreement

i) They agreed that Piedmont should provoke Austria into war.
ii) Napoleon III would then offer assistance to the oppressed people of Lombardy and Venetia. If
freed, these would be annexed to Piedmont – that is, unification of Italy above the Apennines
(northern Italy).
iii) The Duchies and the legations (Papal States) might form an autonomous unit with the
prospect of becoming part of an Italian confederation under the presidency of a reforming
pope. Napoleon had no intention of facilitating the creation of a strong Italy on his south
eastern border.
iv) Savoy and Nice were to be given to France.
v) Southern Italy would conserve its unity and frontiers though the dynasty would be changed.
At this stage (1858), it seems clear that neither Cavour nor Napoleon III anticipated the
unification of the whole of Italy, nor even desired it.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 202

The Austro - Piedmontese War of 1859
Austria allowed herself to be provoked into a declaration of war by demanding that Piedmont
disarm. The conflict lasted from April to July 1859. Early in June, the French defeated the
Austrians at Magenta on the 4th of June and forced them out of Lombardy. Another victory was
recorded at Solferino on the 24th of June.

Immediate French withdrawal

Then in July 1859, as Mazzini had accurately foretold, Napoleon suddenly stopped short and
concluded an armistice at Villafranca which left Venetia and even the quadrilateral in Austria’s
possession.

Reasons for Napoleon III’s premature’ withdrawal

i) France had won her prestige and also feared that northern Germany might rally to
Austrian aid on the Rhine.
ii) Napoleon also did not want a strong Piedmont as a neighbour.
iii) Napoleon also discovered that Cavour, instead of working for a separate kingdom of
Central Italy as agreed at Plombieres, had secretly sent agents to prepare for the
annexation of the Duchies to Piedmont. Napoleon therefore felt justified in deserting his
ally. Cavour then resigned. He was already on bad terms with Victor Emmanuel II.
Rattazi took over with an interim ministry.

Terms of the Villafranca agreement – (July 1859)

This was between France and Austria.
i) Lombardy was to be ceded to Piedmont.
ii) Austria retained Venetia.
iii) All Italy was to be included in a new Confederation. This was to be under the hereditary
presidency of the Pope.
iv) The hereditary rulers of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were to be restored.

The Annexation of Central Italy

Cavour’s supporters and the nationalist group, the ‘National Society,’ worked very actively in
central Italy, campaigning for annexation to Piedmont. In January 1860, Cavour returned to
power and negotiated this annexation. Plebiscites were held and pronounced in favour of
annexation to Piedmont.

Piedmont in March 1860

By March 1860, the Kingdom of Sardinia covered more than a 1/3 of Italy and covered nearly
half the population. Cavour did not envisage any plans in the near future for his sacrifice of
Savoy and Nice had rendered his position as Prime Minister precarious. He hoped, after
consolidating his northern state, to enter the field of European diplomacy once more for the
acquisition of Venice, and possibly the Papal States.

Garibaldi and the unification of Italy: Up to this point the political initiative was in the hands of
Cavour. In the next phase of unification he found himself challenged by Mazzini and the
democratic programme of complete unification. Mazzini had formed the idea of an expedition to

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 203

the south which would work its way up to Rome and Venetia. Garibaldi, though he admired the
soldier – King Victor Emmanuel, still revered Mazzini as the prophet of the national movement.
He saw in Sicily a chance to prove that popular initiative was more effective than foreign aid.

Garibaldi and the ‘Thousand’

In April 1860, Garibaldi’s volunteer army of the ‘Thousand’ left Genoa for Sicily, conquering
first the Island, and then Naples. He appeared determined to March on Rome, where a French
garrison had been stationed since 1847. Both Cavour and Napoleon III were extremely opposed
to anything like a Mazzini republican government gaining control in Italy. Secondly, if Garibaldi
were allowed to march on to Rome this would certainly involve French intervention to protect
the Pope. Cavour was also aware of the problems, social and economic, that the annexation of
the southern states would bring to the government of a united Italy.

The British contribution: Although not directly involved in the process of Italian unification,
the British helped indirectly by allowing the ‘Thousand’ red shirts to pass through the Straits of
Messina. The British could easily have stopped them, but they let them sail through.

Cavour vs Garibaldi
Cavour had hitherto tried to avoid an open breach with Garibaldi, but he could prevaricate no
longer if he was to prevent Garibaldi from challenging the French troops guarding the Holy City
(Rome). In September 1860 Cavour forestalled Garibaldi by advancing along the Adriatic coast
and taking the rest of the Papal States, except the area immediately around Rome. Piedmontese
troops then linked up with Garibaldi, who surrendered his conquest to the Piedmontese king,
Victor Emmanuel II.

Plebiscites: - After the usual plebiscites, Sicily, Naples and the Papal States were annexed to
Piedmont. Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of the kingdom of Italy in March 1861.
Only Rome and Venetia were not part of the kingdom. This was another victory for the
annexationists.

The Completion of unification

Venetia and Rome were obtained through international complications. In both cases, Prussia
played a central role. Venetia was still in Austrian hands. This was won through an agreement
between Italy and Prussia. In view of an impending Austro – Prussian War of 1866, Bismarck
had promised Italy, Venetia, if she attacked Austria, when hostilities commenced. Italian forces
did attack Austria in 1866 and although defeated, Venetia was given to the Kingdom of Italy at
the end of the war.

Rome: -
Rome remained in the hands of the Pope until the French garrison was withdrawn in 1870. In
1870 there came another chance for Italy to benefit by international complications. The outbreak
of the Franco – Prussian War and disastrous French defeats which characterized the war,
necessitated the withdrawal of the French garrison from Rome. This then completed the
Unification of Italy.

Study Guides

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 204

i) How did Cavour’s programmes of modernization strengthen:
Cavour’s position in Piedmont, and
Piedmont’s position within Italy?
ii)What benefits did Cavour hope to derive from his deal with Napoleon III at Plombieres?
iii Why was the truce of Vilafranca such a setback for Cavour?
iv) Why were most of the states in the central regions of Italy anxious to be taken over by
Piedmont?
v) How did the Crimean War affect the political situation in Italy?
vi) Identify and explain the aims of Cavour in 1860.
vii) Summarize the main contributions of
Mazzini,
Garibaldi
and Cavour, to the unification of Italy. Who contributed the most to this goal?
viii) Why was Italy established as a unitary state rather than a federal state?
xix) Compare the process by which Italy gained Venice in 1866 with the process of gaining
Rome in 1870.
xi) Analyse Garibaldi’s aims and methods in his conquest of the South.
xii) Why was Cavour so suspicions of Garibaldi?
xiii) How accurate is it to describe Cavour as an Italian nationalist?
xiv) How united and how divided was Italy in 1871?
xv) Would it be fair to categorize 1861- 70 as a decade of disappointment for Italian nationalists?
Examination type questions
1. Was Italian unification primarily the results of foreign intervention?
2. “His only concern was the glory of his state.” Is this a fair assessment of Cavour?
3. “Mazzini’s contribution to the unification of Italy has often been overstated.” How far do
you agree/
4. Did the Italian state of 1870 represent a defeat of Mazzini aims and methods?
5. Compare and contrast the aims and methods used by Cavour and Bismarck to bring
unification to their countries.
6 In what ways did the failure of the Italian Revolutions of 1848 – 1849 affect the later
movement for Italian Unification?
7 Why did Piedmont become the main focus for Italian Unification?

Key references
1. Browning P.-Revolutions and nationalities: Europe 1825- 1890
2. Carr W -The Origins of the Wars of German unification
3. Carr W -A History of Germany, 1815- 1990
4. Groman M-The unification of Germany.
5. Levering J.- Years of Ambition: European History 1815- 1914.
6. Lodge C. -From Confederation to Empire
7. Peacock- H. L A History of Modern Europe: 1789- 1981.
8. Stiles A.-The Unification of Germany, 1815- 1870.
9. Thomson .D.- Europe since Napoleon.
10 Williamson .D. -The Formation of the First German Nation- state, 1800- 1871.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 205

 CHAPTER 16
GERMANY UNIFICATION (1815 – 1871)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Describe the causes and results of the 1848- 49 revolutions in Germany.
2. Give an account of the main activities of the liberals of 1848 in the Frankfurt Parliament.
3. Explain the impact of Austrian dominance in German political affairs during the period 1815-
1848.
4. Identify the different forms of unification which were debated during the period 1848-1860
5. Explain the failure of the liberals of 1848 to bring about German unification.
6. How was Bismarck’s methods different from those of the 1848 liberals?
7. Explain how the following historical episodes were achieved (a) Danish War, 1864 b) Austro-
Prussian War, 1866.
8. Explain the aims of Bismarck and how he hoped to achieve them.
9.Explain why Austria was so easily defeated.
10.Compare Bismarck’s use of warfare with his use of diplomacy.
11.Explain why Bismarck enjoyed uninterrupted success during the years 1862- 1871.
12.Explain why France was defeated in the Franco- Prussian War and the impact of that war.
13.Determine whether Bismarck’s aims and methods were consistent or not.
14.Judge how far Bismarck re-drew the map of Europe as a result of his successful campaigns
between 1864 and 1871.
15.Why Bismarck was more successful than the liberals of 1848 in achieving unification.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 206

This is a popular examination topic. Just like Italian Unification, the best way to study it is to
divide it into phases, the revolutionary phase from 1815 to 1848, and the diplomatic or
Bismarckian phase: 1848 – 1871. Questions will either focus on the two phases separately or
combine them in one question. It is therefore advisable that both phases be studied in detail for a
fuller and better understanding of the unification process.

The First Phase of Unification (1815 – 1848)

a) The Vienna Settlement and Unification

The problem of the form of German unification was raised by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
This had failed to satisfy the hopes of those who had wanted to see some form of German unity
emerge from the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars. The expectation of constitutional reforms in
the individual states had not been fulfilled to any great extent. The German Confederation as
established at Vienna was to prove an unsatisfactory and unworkable compromise.

Apart from reducing the German States into 39, the Vienna settlement also increased the
influence of Austria and Prussia. German unification in both phases was characterized by rivalry
between Prussia and Austria. Just like in Italian unification, Austria proved to be a stumbling
block to German Unification.

a)Austria: -
With its extensive Slav, Italian and Hungarian dependencies, Austria was primarily a
non- influence in German affairs in the Bund.

b)Prussia
On the other hand, Prussia, after the acquisition of the Rhineland in 1815, gradually consolidated
her position as a German power, particularly in the economic sphere.

The 1830 Revolutions

The French Revolution of 1830 gave a signal of a revival of liberalism throughout Germany. The
actual outbreaks of violence were few and their effects small. Revolts took place in Brunswick.
An unpopular duke was replaced by his brother, the elector of Hesse, hated for his arbitrary rule
and his extravagant mistress was forced to grant a constitution and in Saxony there were small
disturbances.

The Polish National Revolt

In 1831, the Polish Revolt broke out and was almost as important as the July Revolution in
arousing liberal enthusiasm in Germany. Polish representatives took part in the gatherings of
liberals at Hambach in May 1832. This gathering was a manifestation by Liberal intellectuals,
professors, students, lawyers, writers expressing the reviving movement in favour of
constitutional government and German unity.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 207

The Metternich System
Metternich and the Austrian government were already contemplating federal action against the
liberal revival and the Hambach demonstration was sufficient to overcome the hesitators of the
other states. Accordingly, in June 1830, the majority of the German governments accepted six
articles asserting monarchial principles that recalled the Carlsbad decrees of 1819. The
‘Metternich system’ seemed as firmly established as ever, inspite of the example of the July
Revolution in France. As the principles embodied in the six articles and similar measures were
put into practice, the liberals were everywhere being suppressed. Therefore, due to the
‘Metternich System’, and hence the influence of Austria, the 1830 Revolutions were a failure.

The Zollverein 1834

Even more important than the revived discussion of political problems, were the economic
developments inaugurated by the creation of the German customs Union (Zollverein) in 1834.
This economic union was under Prussian leadership. Most members of the confederation joined
it. The customs union had positive economic results. These were as follows:
i)Improved Trade
ii)Encouraged development of industry which. led to,
iii) The construction of the first sections of the German railway system. The first railway in
Germany from Nuremberg to Furth was opened in December 1835.
iv)The abolition of internal customs barriers between states

Political effects of the Zollverein

The improvement of communications and industrial development soon had a political effect.
Some of the political effects are as follows:-

a)It prepared Prussia for the future leadership of Germany. As will be seen later, during the
Bismarckian era, the various states which were part of the Zollverein, found it easier to choose
Prussia ahead of Austria as the leader of a new German Empire. Their membership of the
Zollverein made it desirable for them to continue under Prussian leadership.
b)It gave rise to a militant working class which was to be very active in the 1848 revolutions.
c)The formation of the liberal party with a liberal programme. The increase of the population and
its greater mobility contributed to the growth of new industrial areas, notably in the Ruhr and
Rhineland. These two areas in turn served as the basis of a new liberalism in Prussia. New
leaders from the mercantile world joined the intellectuals who had hitherto formed the liberal
party.
d)It also led to the participation of the middle class in government and administration, and the
weakening of the power of the Prussian nobility. These were to be the main points of the
liberal political programme. The ascension of Frederick William IV seemed to promise the
realization of some of the points of the liberal programme.

The 1848 Revolutions

The causes of the 1848 revolutions in Germany
The economic difficulties of the 1840s and the example of successful agitation abroad, combined
with the growing movement for national unity to produce a desire for change. This desire for
change was seen in the following areas:

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 208

i)In the industrial areas of Prussia and Savoy, employers and apprentices were anxious to be rid
the surviving medieval restrictions.
ii)The peasant proprietors of the south – west wanted the abolition of the remaining feudal
obligations.
iii)In the small states, the middle – class officials, lawyers and professors were demanding a
larger field for political activity in the shape of a more unified Germany.
iv)In Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick, there were demands for the most elementary constitutional
guarantees against a despot.
v)In Baden and Wurttemberg, there were demands far the extension of the franchise and above
all, German unity.
vi)Whatever the political and constitutional situation in the individual states, the 1848
Revolutions were also caused by the need for a sharing of political power by the numerically
small middle – class.

The French example: the role of the working class

It only needed the example of the French Revolution of 1848 to bring the revolution in Germany
into the open. The revolution began in March.
In Germany the working class movement had assumed many guises. Its first and most natural
expression lay in the formation of political clubs for working men in Berlin, Breslau and
Cologne. As the economic crisis developed, the fortunes of the working class also prospered.
Moreover, thanks to the new freedom of association, trade unions multiplied rapidly and the idea
of forming a central organization occurred to some of their members. This led to the formation of
the Central Committee of Working Men in Berlin. This organization appealed for the support of
all working class communities and it organized meetings.

Study Guides
i) Why did the liberals of 1848 fail to unify Germany?
ii) What problems prevented the German states from integrating into a united entity?
iii) What different forms of German unification were being considered in 1862?
iv) What was the significance of the Zollverein to German unification/

The liberal movement in Germany had a dual aspect

i)Firstly, on the one hand, there was in every state, a demand for democratic government, and
ii)On the other, there was a demand for unity among the German States. Liberal hopes had been
roused in Prussia in 1847 when the Prussian king Frederick William IV called a Parliament, of
representatives of the various Prussian territories. Riots in Berlin in March had forced the king
to make enough concessions to stem the revolt. A liberal government under Lodolf
Camphasen, one of the best known liberal leaders from the Rhineland, was formed.

Formation of the Frankfurt Parliament

The remarkable and initial success of the revolutionary movements in Prussia, Austria and
Hungary, and most of the smaller German states made possible a new phase in the effort to win
German unity through one central representative body.
A Vorparlament or provisional general assembly, met at Frankfurt at the end of March 1848.
This parliament consisted of 500 delegates drawn from the parliamentary assemblies of the
different German States.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 209

The weaknesses of the Frankfurt Parliament
Although the Frankfurt Parliament was a victory for the liberals and nationalists, it had serious
weaknesses which worked against German unification.
-By its nature, the Parliament represented particularism and achieved no results of any
importance save to arrange for the election of an all – German assembly. This new assembly was
elected so as to by pass the existing governments of the states and met at Frankfurt on the river
Main in the Rhineland in May 1848. This famous body, which set for a whole year, represented
the aspirations and feelings of all more nationally – minded Germans.
-It suffered the initial handcap of having no executive authority or executive organizer. It was the
voice of the embryonic German nation, echoed through its intellectual and professional classes.
-The newly found unity was peculiarly impotent. The Frankfurt Parliament was, in effect, as
much bound by particularism as the diet of the Old Confederation or even Vorparlament. The
delegates to the Frankfurt Assembly were politically like the reforming Whigs of England. They
were mostly university professors and businessmen, lawyers, judges, civil servants and the
clergy.

The Failure of the 1848 Revolutions

By the beginning of 1849, it was plain that the revolutions had no marked effect on the position
of the reigning dynasties of Austria and Prussia. On 2 December 1848, The Emperor Ferdinand
abdicated in favour of his 18 year – old nephew Francis Joseph. In Prussia too, the revolution
had failed at the end of 1848. The King had rapidly lost any sympathy he might have felt in
March with the moderate liberals. All the liberal concessions given earlier were annulled or
nullified. A new constitution under a new ministry headed by Count Brandernberg was
established with the restoration of the old restrictive franchise.

Reasons for the Failure of the 1848 Revolutions

i)The revolts were almost entirely middle- class hence were elitist.
ii)The rulers kept control of their administrations and armies, which they used to suppress the
revolts.
iii)Events at Frankfurt: -
a)The Frankfurt Parliament was divided.
b)The delegates lacked the support of the working class.
c)They commanded no military support and wasted time in endless debates while opportunities
slipped away.
d)Rivalry between Austria and Prussia made it impossible for the Frankfurt Parliament to make
progress.
e) The liberals were mere idealists who had no action to implement their programmes.

The outcome of the 1848 Revolutions

1.The brief existence of the Frankfurt Parliament strengthened the desire for national unity in
some form.
2.The failure of the Frankfurt Parliament showed the weakness of liberalism in Germany and it
became clear that nationalist developments might now occur without parallel advances
towards democracy.
3.The abolition of feudalism led to later economic growth.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 210

4.The spread of socialist ideas was to become a powerful force after 1871.

‘Grossdeutsh’ and ‘Kleindeutsch’

After the collapse of the 1848 – 9 revolutions, a thorny and complicated question arose, that is,
what form the new German state was to take. There were two possible forms: -

a)The scheme of uniting Germany under Prussian leadership and excluding Austria. This was the
‘little Germany’ or ‘Kleindeutsch’ scheme. According to this scheme, only Germans would be
included in the new German state. Schwarzenberg, the Austrian – Prime Minister’s aims, was
to secure Austria’s entry as a whole into the new German Confederation, paving the way for
the Austrian Emperor leading the unified state.
b)The other scheme proposed the inclusion of Austria within a united Germany. This was the
‘Greater Germany’ or ‘Grossdeutsch’ scheme. This scheme looked to Austria for leadership.
To incorporate Austria in a German national state was impossible, however, as long as the
Habsburgs insisted on retaining, as they did, their non-German territories and peoples.

Lessons learnt from the failure of the liberal period (1815 – 1848)
The national movement in Germany had failed but certain lessons had been learnt: these are as
follows:
i)In any future movement for German unification, Austria would have to be excluded. In other
words, of the two schemes discussed above, the Kleindeuseh seemed more desirable to most
Germans.
ii) Constitutional means had failed and therefore force would have to be used to overcome the
opposition of Austria. Bismarck was to fulfill this.
iii)Prussia had to build up the necessary force to carry out this task of uniting Germany.

Study Guides
i) To what extent did Napoleon Bonaparte help to pave the way for German unification?
ii) What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Frankfurt Parliament?

Bismarck and the final unification of Germnay (1862 – 1871)

Otto Von Bismarck

The determination of the Prussian monarchy to assert itself in Germany had a long history.
Bismarck, who played a unique role in the process of unification, saw himself as upholding this
tradition of strengthening Prussia and conserving its institutions. He had become involved in
politics as a representative of the Junkers (landed gentry), in Berlin in 1847 and was noted for his
extremely conservative views. He showed himself to be passionately opposed to German
liberalism and the Frankfurt parliament of 1848. In 1851, he was chosen to serve a Prussia’s
ambassador to the revived German diet. In 1857, he was sent as ambassador to St Petersburg. In
1862 he was transferred to Paris and then invited back to Berlin in September of that year to push
through the violently disputed army reforms in the face of liberal opposition.

The Accession of William I to the throne

Frederick William IV had long been overwrought by political pressures which he could not
control. He succumbed at last to nervous prostration and signed his royal power to his brother

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 211

William in 1858. In 1861, on the death of William IV, William took over the throne as William
1. William I was duller in intellect and tougher in temperament than his brother. His instincts
were those of a soldier.

The army reforms and the constitutional crisis

When he took over, he made two important and strategic appointments in the military sector.
Von Roon became minister of war, and Von Moltke was made chief of General staff. These two,
like Bismarck, were anti- liberal and anti Austrian. Their immediate programme was to
strengthen the Prussian army by increasing the numbers from 500 000 to 750 000. For this
purpose, they demanded from the Prussian Parliament, a considerable increase of taxation to
generate funds for that purpose. In addition, the Army Bill proposed to increase annual
recruitment by more than half, to raise the period of active service to three years, rather than two,
and to integrate the land, the semi civilian reserve force, with the regular army. The liberal
majority refused to accept the principle of military reform. They insisted that the two – year term
of service should be retained, and rejected the forcing of the militia out of the field army. This
precipitated a major constitutional crisis.

The appointment of Bismarck as Prime Minister (1862)

On the advice of Von Roon, William I, recalled Bismarck from Paris and appointed him Prime
Minister. Bismarck assumed ministerial power to resolve this conflict in the King’s favour. For
four years (1862 – 6) he conducted the government of Prussia without a constitutional sanctioned
budget.

Bismarck’s Advantages as Prussian Chief Minister (1862)

It is important to consider Bismarck’s contribution to unification of Germany in context:

i)Bismarck had important qualities which worked to the advantage of Prussia. He was an astute
diplomatist and strategist. This was to prove crucial in his foreign policy after 1862.
ii)The Zollverein had already made most of Germany an economic unit and the industrialization
of north Germany was already well under way by 1862. The starting point for this was laid in
the financial reforms of Moasen (1818). In order to unite the scattered provinces of Prussia, he
created a new tariff system which abolished all internal customs barriers and established free
trade throughout Prussia. This economic strength of Prussia was an advantage to Bismarck
when he took over as Chief Minister.
iii)The German population was increasing with greater rapidity.
iv) A good railway network had been constructed. This was to prove valuable in future wars. Not
only were Prussian railways specifically planned with a view to swift transit from one distant
frontier to another, but the General Staff operated a special department dedicated to the study
by rail. In both 1866 ad 1870 this swift concentration of troops was a vital factor. In 1866,
Prussia’s Fire Lines assembled her troops on the Bohemian frontier in 25 days, which had
been taken by the Austrians.
v)The rapid industrialization due to the availability of natural resources. These were
supplemented by the acquisition of the Rhineland in 1815. The Ruhr Valley was rich in coal
and iron ore: Rich Coal resources were also found in the Saar Valley, Upper Silesia and
Prussian Silesia. The Prussian State took a leading role in the development of heavy coal, iron
and steel industries.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 212

vi)An efficient and revolutionary army under able leadership in the persons of Von Roon and
Von Molke. These were military strategists. The army reforms had revolutionised the Prussian
army into a professional one, both in quality and quantity.
vii) Bismarck also had the unwavering support of William 1 who was also a military man.

The basis of Bismarckian Foreign Policy: A master planner or a shrewd opportunist

The British statesman Benjamin Disraeli recounted in later years conversation that he claimed to
have had with Bismarck in 1862. According to Disraeli , the then Prussian ambassador to Paris
laid down a clear programme. ‘As soon as the army shall have been brought into such a
condition as to inspire respect, I shall seize the first best pretext to declare war on Austria,
dissolve the German Diet and give, national unity to Germany under Prussian leadership.’
Recent historians’ reactions to this have either been to dismiss the conversation as an elaboration
by Disraeli or to minimize it as the barest outline of long – term aims by a man as yet unaware of
the complexities of politics at the highest level.

The subjection of Austria, at least in northern Germany and the destruction of the confederation,
probably represent Bismack’s ultimate hopes well enough. In power, however, he was to find
repeatedly, that a master plan was impossible, and that the only means of progress was the
piecemeal exploitation of external events. In the 1860s, he became the supreme realist and
pragmatist, learning to declare in later life that, ‘man cannot create the current of events. He can
only float with it and steer.’

Historians, like A.J.P. Taylor, have seen Bismarck, not as a master planner, but as a supreme
opportunist, and that Bismarck’s aims and efforts were focused on Prussian aggrandizement and
expansion north of the River Main. Like Cavour in Italian unification, he did not have immediate
plans with the southern German States. His Chief aim was to expel Austria from Northern
Germany and establish Prussian leadership there.

Study Guides
i) Why did Bismarck include Austria in the war against such a weak nation as Demark?
ii) What were the aims of Bismarck when he came to power and how did he hope to achieve
them?
iii) What were the main forces working for and against German unification in 1862?
iv) Why did Prussia Win the Seven Weeks War?
v) How did Bismarck consolidate his victory over Austria abroad and exploit it at home?
vii) What setbacks did Bismarck’s plans suffer in 1868- 1869?
vii) What advantages did Prussia enjoy in its campaign for unification/ Discuss the following
factors;
a)A strong economy with abundance resources.
b)Sound leadership.
c)Abundant military resources- personnel and equipment.
d)Weaker opposition.
e)Absence of a strong international monitoring system such as the concert of Europe.

The Foreign Policy Events

a)The Schleswig – Holstein question

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 213

As Prussian ambassador to the revived Germanic Diet at Frankfurt, Bismarck had first hand
experience of the Austro – German rivalry. The first step to Prussia’s renewed rise to power, as
he saw it, would be to make her master north of the river Main. The issue of the two duchies on
the borders of Germany and Denmark was an old one and had last come to a head in 1848. The
problem arose from a mixed population and from a confusion of dynastic and semi- feudal
claims. Schleswig to the north, was predominantly Danish, while Holstein had a substantial
German majority and was also a member of the German Confederation.

According to the London Protocol of 1852, the two duchies were to remain autonomous although
technically subject to the King of Denmark. The decision by the new king of Denmark, Christian
IX in 1863 to incorporate the duchies, precipitated a crisis. The German nationalists in Prussia
urged intervention to stop this breach of the London Protocol. It seems clear, that Bismarck
always had the ultimate annexation of the duchies in mind. It is no longer seriously maintained
that intervention in Denmark was a cynical trap to wave Austria into military commitment and to
buy the basis for future tensions. The Danish war itself was a one- sided affair, and was
concluded by the Treaty of Vienna in October 1864. According to this treaty, King Christian
renounced both Schleswig and Holstein. The newly acquired territories were placed under the
joint administration of Prussia and Austria.
The Convention of Gastein (August 1865)
The ten months of joint rule of the two duchies were marked by squabbles, accusations and
threats of war between Prussia and Austria. Than precipitate a war, Bismarck accepted the
conciliatory Convention of Gastein. This Convention formally divided the administration.
Prussia took responsibility for Scheleswig and Austria for Holstein.

The Austro – Prussian War (1866)

It has already been pointed out that it is no longer widely maintained that the Schleswig –
Holstein question was a trap deliberately laid by Bismarck to lure Austria into war. W.M. Simon
speaks for the majority of recent commentators in pointing out that in 1864 and early 1865, war
still posed too great a risk for Bismarck happily to contemplate it. However, the diplomatic scene
favoured Prussia in three main ways.

i)Russian relations with Austria had been cool since the neutrality of the Habsburgs in the
Crimean War, while Bismarck had moved quickly to offer Russian support at the time of the
Polish uprising in 1863.
ii)In October 1865, he had met Napoleon III at Biarritz and prepared the way for French
neutrality in the event of a struggle with Austria. By February 1866, Bismarck was declaring
that such a conflict had now become only a matter of time.
iii)In April 1866 a secret alliance was concluded between Prussia and Italy. Article 2 provided
that if Prussia plans for reforming the German Confederation failed and Prussia took up arms,
Italy would follow Prussia in declaring war on Austria. As a reward, Venetia would be ceded
to Italy.

The outbreak of the War

The war that began with the Prussian invasion of Holstein, in June 1866, was about the
administration of the duchies. Prussia accused the Austrian authorities of violating their neutral

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 214

agreements by sheltering refugees from the harsh Prussian rule in Schleswig. Clearly too, when
Austria referred this dispute to the Confederation, she was in breach of the Gastein Convention.
These were obviously convenient excuses. Prussia also went to war with Saxony, Hanover,
Bavana Wurttemberg, Baden, Hesse, Hesse – Cassel, Darnistadt and Nassani. In a very clear
sense, it was a war for the conquest at least of northern Germany.

Prussian victory at Sadowa and the Treaty of Prague

The seven Weeks War was arguably the central event in 19th century German history. The battle
of Sadowa finally resolved the long Austro – Prussian rivalry and assured the victory of the
Kleindeutschland’ solution. Prussia’s defeat of Austria, which was enshrined in the Treaty of
Prague (23rd August 1866), caused a greater disruption to the European State system and balance
of power than any other event since the defeat of Napoleon.

Terms of the Treaty Prague

Bismarck imposed a moderate peace. The Habsburgs were not required to sacrifice any territory.

i)Prussia annexed Hanover, Schleswig – Holstein, part of Hesse, Darmstadt and the City of
Frankfurt.
ii)The independence of the remaining North German States was lost except for a measure of
local autonomy in the North German Confederation.
iii)The creation of the North German Confederation to replace the old German Confederation.
The greatest reality of the North German Confederation envisaged by the Treaty of Prague
was that it rested upon a basis of military conquest by Prussia.

The Question of the Southern German States

It is probable that Bismarck had no clear plans for further action at the end of 1866. He was
exhausted by a year of crisis. “There is nothing more to do in our lifetime,” he had written to his
wife. Yet the problem of the southern German States remained. Their position was problematical
and paradoxical. Strong separatist forces survived south of the Main. Of the four states of the
south, only Baden, whose Grand Duke was the son- in- law of the King of Prussia, showed real
enthusiasm for union with the north. However, the most effective link between the new
confederation and the south, was therefore, the string of military treaties that Bismarck had
concluded with the southern German States in August 1866. This placed Prussia in the position
recently vacated by Austria as their protector. Already, by the end of 1866, war remained the
most likely cause of further German unification.

Bismarck and Napoleon III

Before the Treaty of Prague, the French Emperor had won the assurance that France would not
face a united Germany that included territories to the South of the River Main. Behind
Napoleon’s back, however, Bismarck concluded secret alliances with the southern German
States. In return, for Prussia not insisting on large indemnities from them, it was agreed that if
Prussia found herself in a war endangering her territory, the Southern States would place their
armies under the command of the King of Prussia.

There has been much historical debate over Bismarck’s precise intentions after 1867. Did he, for
example, see a war with France as necessary and inevitable? In fact, the North German

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 215

Confederation already included two- thirds of the whole of Germany. It was obvious from the
start that the remaining states, that is Bavaria, Wutterberg, Baden and Hesse, would find it
difficult to enjoy the ‘independent sovereign existence as laid down in the treaty of Prague. In
this period Bismarck proposed elections throughout all the German states for a gathering of a
‘Zollpalltament.,’ Customs parliament, with view to this extending its jurisdiction over non-
commercial questions. At the same time he refused to ‘compensate,’ Napoleon for French
neutrality during the Austro – Prussian War. He rejected the ‘hotel – keeper’s bill’, as he called
it. Among other things, he stirred up German national feeling against the idea of ceding
Luxemburg to France.

Germany and France – the Luxemburg Question

The key diplomatic questions raised by the events of 1866 were those concerning future German
relations with France. In his memoirs, which were published after his fall from office, Bismarck
professed to have believed that a conflict with France was an inevitable step along the path to
further national unity. In fact, his view at the time was certainly less than that. It was based upon
the assumption that Napoleon III could not simply accept the changes of 1866, but was uncertain
as to the shape or timing of the Emperor’s initiative. ‘Napoleon III’, he wrote at the time,’ has
recently lost more prestige than he can afford. To recover it, he will start a dispute with us on
some pretext or other. I do not believe he personally wishes war… but his insecurity will drive
him on.”

It does not seem possible any longer that Bismarck trapped or tricked the French Emperor over
the Luxemburg question. On the contrary, most recent commentators have agreed that he was
quite content to cede the territory and its fortifications to France as the price of placating her and
preserving the stability of his new North German creation. What he would not do was to commit
himself publicly to that policy at a time when he badly needed the support of the liberal
nationalists in the Reichstag. However, the king of Holland would not sell Luxemburg without
the specific agreement with Prussia. This ruled out the deal between Bismarck and Napoleon III.

Prussia effectively gained nothing from the international conference (May 1867) that agreed to
the neutralization of Luxemburg and the removal of the Prussian garrison. France was not
placated, and the strategic position of Germany was not strengthened. Increased unease in the
southern states at French ambitions was Bismarck’s only consolation. When E. Eyck wrote that
‘the Luxemburg affair was the turning point in Bismarck’s development from a Prussian to a
German statesman, he meant it not in the sense that he had undergone a conscious conversion,
but in the sense that he had, for the first time, lost the initiative. He had been carried along
further than he wished by a force that he had previously confidently exploited.

The Hohenzollern Candidature

The diplomatic crisis which led to the Franco – Prussian War originated in September 1868,
when a revolution in Spain drove the reigning Queen Isabella, out of the country. Then the
candidature was taken up by Prince Leopold Von Hohenzollern – Sigmaringen, a member of the
Catholic branch of the Prussian ruling house. Bismarck’s assertion that he had nothing to do with
the affair until the full crisis broke in 1870, had already sent a memorandum to William I arguing
the case for the candidature and he subsequently sent his agents to Spain.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 216

The French government argued that a German prince on the Spanish throne would mean the
‘encirclement” of France. The French played into Bismarck’s hands by demanding that King
William not simply repudiate the candidature, but also offers an assurance that he would not
authorize a renewal of it. Bismarck then got the chance to snatch, from the Spanish affair, greater
advantage than had ever seemed possible. By releasing to the press an edited version of the
telegram in which the King reported his conversation with the French ambassador at Bad Ems,
the so-called Ems Telegram, which gave the impression of a blunt exchange of diplomatic
insults, Bismarck once more took control of the nationalist forces that had served him so well in
the past.

William’s refusal to meet the second of the demands from the French, that of an assurance that
the candidature will not be renewed, left Napoleon and his ministers with only two ways out of
the situation which they had created – either to climb down or to fight. France decided on
declaring war on the 19th of July 1870. By the time of the declaration of war, Bismarck had
contrived to make it appear that all the blame for the war was French. This allowed him to bring
into force the military alliances between Prussia and the South German States. He presented it as
a patriotic war in defence of the Fatherland.

The Completion of German Unity

The Franco- Prussian War resulted in the defeat of France.
i) The French then lost Alsace, most of Lorraine and the fortresses of Strasbourg and Metz. This
became a cause of lasting grievance for France.
ii) France was also to pay an indemnity of five billion francs.
iii)A German army of occupation was to remain in northern France until it was paid.

With the proclamation of William I as German Emperor in January 1871, Germany emerged as
the dominant continental state, a role which France had enjoyed since the seventeenth century.
The Empire, which incorporated the southern States, was a federal rather than unitary state. Two
other incidental but significant results of the Franco – Prussian War were: -

i)That Russia stated, and the powers accepted that she would no longer be bound by the Black
Sea clauses of the Treaty of Paris (1856) and
ii)Following the withdrawal of the French garrison, Rome was incorporated as the capital of
Italy.

Study Guides
i) Who or what was responsible for the creation of the German Empire in 1871?
ii) How far was Bismarck responsible for the outbreak of the Franco- Prussian War?
iii) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the economic interpretation of German unification?
iv) Why did Prussia rather than Austria become the leader of unification?
v) Was German unified by “blood and iron.”?
vi)What aspects of the German Empire of 1871 represent unification and which aspects reflected
Prussian domination?

Examination type questions

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 217

1.How important was nationalism in German unification?
2.Did the German state of 1871 represent “Prussianisation” or unification?
3.How consistent were Bismarck’s aim and methods during the period 1862 and 1871?
4.Why was Bismarck more successful than the liberals in unifying Germany?
5.“The statesman knows his general direction but not his exact path.” Consider Bismarck’s
policies between 1862 and 1871 in the light of this judgement.
6.Why did Bismarck choose to unite Germany by using ‘Blood and iron’?
7.Identify and explain the factors which enabled Prussia to become the leading political and
economic power in Germany in the 1860?
8.How consistent were Bismarck’s aims and methods in the unification of Germany?
9.Compare and contrast the methods used by Bismarck and Cavour to deal with Austria’s
influence in their respective countries?

Key references

1. Browning P- Revolutions and nationalities: Europe 1825- 1890

2. Carr W. -A History of Germany, 1815- 1990
3 Carr W -The Origins of the Wars of German unification

4. Groman M -The unification of Germany.

5. Levering J. - Years of Ambition: European History 1815- 1914.
6. Lodge C. -From Confederation to Empire
7. Peacock. H. L -A History of Modern Europe: 1789- 1981.
8. Stiles A. -The Unification of Germany, 1815- 1870.
9. Thomson D - Europe since Napoleon.
10. Williamson D-The Formation of the First German Nation- state, 1800- 1871.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 218

 CHAPTER 17
RUSSIAN HISTORY: (1801 – 1914)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the chapter students should be able to:
1.Outline the aims of Alexander I’s policies and assess how far he was able to achieve them.
2.Highlight the problems which Nicholas I faced upon his accession to power in 1825.
3.Assess the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855).
4.Discuss whether Nicholas’ reign was characterized by incomplete reform
5.Show what opposition Nicholas I faced in Russia.
6.Identify the problems which Alexander II faced upon his enthronement in 1855
(i)The German War (1853- 1856)
(ii)Serfdom
(iii)Industrial backwardness
7.Analyse the aims and methods which Tsar Alexander put in place to end these problems in
Russia.
8.Explain the demise of Alexander II in a bomb attack.
9.Assess the achievements of Alexander II.
10.Describe the aims of Nicholas II.
11.Describe and explain the causes and outcomes of the 1905 Revolution.
12.Explain why Tsar Nicholas II survived the 1905 Revolution but not the 1917 Revolution.
13.Analyse the reforms introduced by Nicholas II between 1905 and 1914.

In 1800 Russia was an enormous multi-ethnic empire of incredible backwardness. In many ways
Russia had never left the Middle Ages. The bulk of the huge population were serfs, the property
of the Russian nobility and still using extraordinarily primitive methods to work the land.
Alexander I (1801-1825) ascended the throne in 1801. He was torn between ideas of liberalism
which he had acquired in his youth and the traditions of Russia autocracy. He liked the works of
Voltaire, Rousseau and other great thinkers of the eighteenth century period enlightenment and

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 219

he was sincerely anxious to apply this knowledge to the benefit of Russia. His liberal sentiments
lasted up to 1819 when he came strongly under the influence of Metternich. Besides this liberal
element in his character, there was also a deeply religious tendency which had been stimulated
by the teachings of a Christian mystic, Madame Krudener, who held religious sway for a time at
the Russian court.

Liberal Reforms
The appointment of the Permanent Council was one of the most significant reforms of the Tsar.
Its duty was to advise him on government business, policy and progressive reforms. The
council, also known as the special committee, was mainly represented by younger men who were
sympathetic towards Alexander I’s liberal ideas and wished to see important changes made in the
Russian government. Torture and censorship were abolished through the suppression of the
special political police which had been formed before Alexander I came to power. Many exiles
were recalled from Siberia and many political prisoners were released. Foreign – published
books which had been banned, were allowed to be imported. Three new universities were
established and a system of elementary schools was begun. Alexander also approved a law
enabling the great landowners to liberate their serfs, and about 50 000 out of nearly 50 million
were released from personal bondage to their lords during his reign. Of course this was
inadequate effort, but it was at least a recognition that the Tsar was aware of the servitude under
which millions of Russian peasants were subjected.

The idea of ‘reform from above’ progressively faced stiffer resistance from the gentry in Russia.
Alexander I himself turned reactionary, especially after 1815, following the fall of Napoleon.
Secret societies were forming, dissatisfied with Alexander’s failure to live up to his liberal
reputation. Rather than make any further concessions, Alexander banned studying abroad and
purged the Russia University system. He brought back strict censorship and suppressed secret
societies. On the other hand, the possibility of ‘reform from below’ was at this time remote
because the peasantry was ignorant, oppressed and apathetic.

ANALYSIS OF ALEXANDER I’s CAREER

Alexander’s occasional impulses have not convinced most historians. A typical judgment is that
of M Anderson: ‘from 1811-1812 onwards the real interests and needs of the empire-social
change, administrative reform and economic development, were consistently sacrificed to the
Tsar’s grandiose and often erratic idealism. By the time of Alexander’s death, the social and
economic gap between Russia and much of Western Europe, was wider than ever before’.
Similarly, from Jack Watson, ‘Alexander settled for stagnation. When he died, he left Russia
much less as he had found it, with a totter economy, a creaking administration, a feudal society
and a Church sunk in medieval ritual and superstition’. (J Watson, Success in European History
1815 – 1941, John Murray, 1981). Perhaps a more balanced view is that Alexander did not
suddenly change from being a liberal autocrat to a reactionary: both impulses were present
throughout his reign, each coming to the fore at different times. He wanted both change and
stability at the same time. Alexander’s enigmatic reputation was enhanced by rumours that he
had only faked his death in 1825.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 220

NICHOLAS I’s REIGN: (1825-1855)
Alexander I’s death in December 1825 created uncertainty mainly because he was childless, and
it could not be immediately established which of his two brothers would succeed him.
Alexander had secretly decreed that his younger brother Nicholas should succeed him after
persuading his elder brother Constantine to renounce his claim to the throne in a secret but
mutually favourable deal. Nicholas had to suppress the poorly organized revolts, collectively
known as the Decembrist Conspiracy. These comprised of two groups:
 The Northern Society, based in St Petersburg and included army officers who favoured
a constitutional monarchy under Constantine.
 The better organized Southern Society comprised radicals led by Colonel Paul Pestel.
They favoured a republic and an end to serfdom.
Pestel and four other Decembrist leaders were hanged and over 200 rebels exiled. The rebellion
had a marked effect on Nicholas I, who was left mistrustful of the aristocracy, many of whom he
tried to keep out of office. Its suppression helped to establish Russia’s reputation as a bulwark
against revolution, generally. However, it also led Nicholas I to consider the causes of
dissatisfaction, without convincing him that there was anything essentially wrong with the
system of autocracy.

Nicholas I was a religious man who took his duties seriously, although an army background had
not prepared him for the role of Tsar. He demanded unswerving obedience and this was
reinforced by the secret police. This had been disbanded by Alexander I but it had been
reinstated and was known as the Third Section from 1826. Under its leader Alexander Von
Beckendorff, it rooted out perceived threats to the autocracy. The army too, supported the efforts
of the secret police.

Various bodies were set up: the Second Section in 1826 to codify the laws, the Fourth Section in
1828 to monitor and control education and charitable organizations; the Fifth section in 1836 to
reorganize the administration of peasants. Punishment by the knout (whip) was abolished and the
auctioning of serfs was outlawed in 1841. State serfs were granted personal freedom in 1838.
These were individuals who were owned by the state as opposed to private individuals.
However, this did very little to change the situation in Russia. Peasant revolts were actually on
the increase during his reign although these were usually curbed by censorship and closely
watched by the Third Section. Nicholas set up various commissions to examine serfdom, but
nothing effective was done to address the problem because the great serf owners were fearful of
the economic and social consequences of fundamental change.

Despite its fearsome reputation, Nicholas’ regime failed to eradicate the bribery and corruption
endemic in Russia’s large bureaucracy. This bureaucracy expanded considerably during his
reign and earned the description of this period as ‘thirty years of black first’. The basis of the
aristocratic system remained intact. The national debt continued to rise, mostly as the result of
military expenditure. Nicholas continued to base his rule on three key principles:
-Orthodoxy: – meant emphasizing his divine right to rule, supported by a close alliance with the
Church.
-Autocracy:– meant the traditional Russian concept of the all powerful father figure who would
protect and isolate them from unsettling ideas.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 221

-Nationality: – meant the promotion of Russian culture, which increasingly came to mean
Russification of subject peoples i.e. forcing Russian culture and language on to subject peoples.

Study Guides
i)How did Alexander I attempt to maintain Russia as a great power during his reign?
ii)Describe Nicholas I’s domestic reforms in Russia. How effective were they?
iii) How true is the claim that Nicholas I intended to carry out no major reforms as a way of
preserving autocracy in Russia?

Russian History (1855-1914)

This section of Russian history involves three Tsars namely Alexander II (1855 – 1881),
Alexander III (1881 – 1844) and Nicholas II (1894 – 1917). In each of these, students are
expected to analyze both the domestic and foreign policies. This analysis should focus on
specific reforms which each of the Tsars introduced.

Alexander II (1855 – 1881)

Alexander took over power during the Crimean War and had to obtain peace and rebuild the
Russian forces. Students are expected to identify the problems that were facing Russia when
Alexander II took over.
Problems facing Russia when Alexander II took over
i) Military and administrative inefficiency:- revealed in Russia’s performance in the Crimean
War (1854 -58). There was need for an overhaul of the armed forces and administration.
ii) Economic Backwardness:- Russia’s problems related to the primitive agricultural system
characterized by low yields and the absence of innovation, and by Russia’s failure, by western
standards, to develop modern heavy industries, Alexander II, not a reformer by conviction, had
come to the conclusion that it was the institution of peasant serfdom which prevented changes in
agriculture and frustrated the labour mobility which could lead to industrial growth.

Alexander II’s Domestic Reforms

Alexander II’s reforming period is spread over 10 years, after which he reverted to repressive
policies on the same line as his father, Nicholas I. His reforms covered a wide range of issues,
such as economic, social, military and political reforms.

(a)Edict of Emancipation – (1861)

Alexander II’s greatest reform was the 1861 Edict of Emancipation which set free about 40
million serfs, who received a portion of the landlords’ estates in a move financed by the
government, but based on loans to be repaid by the new peasantry over 49 years. These were
called the redemption payments.

Assessment of the Emancipation Edict

Alexander II has earned himself the title of “Tsar Liberator” because of his Emancipation Edict.
However, whether or not he deserves that description has been a subject of scholarly debate. If
serfdom is looked at from a peasant’s point of view, then Alexander II’s reform did little to
resolve their problems, which were ones of survival. This is because of the following points: -

i) Domestic serfs received no land and were as dependant on the nobility for a living as ever.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 222

ii) The landed serfs received less land from emancipation than they had been in possession of
before. This was especially so in the fertile southern grain areas. Elsewhere, they received land
of a poorer quality than retained by the nobles.
iii) They found themselves saddled with high redemption payments and, with the land organized
by the mir (village community), were often prevented from leaving because of their unpaid debt.
The end of serfdom did not lead to any dramatic transformation of Russian agriculture. The free
land was supervised by the mir and village custom ensured that innovation was slow to occur.
The land remained organized on a strip system, often with periodic redistribution of holdings,
and was left fallow for one year in three. There was no great increase in output and no growth of
a prosperous peasantry on west European models. The obstacles put in the way of peasant
mobility by the mir meant that there was little increase in labour mobility. Although industry
continued to develop, there is no evidence that emancipation proved a great stimulus to
economic development.

(b)Local Government Reform (1864)

Emancipation of the serfs removed much of the power structure of rural Russia and in 1864 led
to the creation of district and provincial zemstva (locally elected assemblies) to provide a system
of local government through elected councils. They were not democratic bodies, and the Tsar’s
police remained responsible for law and order. However they also did meaningful work. For
example: -
i) They trebled the number of elementary schools from the 8 000 at the beginning of Alexander
II’s reign.
ii) They also contributed to the provision of hospitals, prisons poor relief and sanitation. The
Zemstva provided the first step towards the establishment of a modern administrative
framework.

(c)Legal Reform
The reform of the legal code introduced jury trials, less severe punishments and less bribery of
judges. It made the law less corrupt but it did little to protect the individual from the arbitrary
power of the state. The Tsars, had in any case never seen this as a problem which required
attention.

(d)Military Reforms
The military were quite a different matter and in the aftermath of the Crimean defeat, the war
Minister Milyutin, carried out extensive reorganization of the General Staff, of officer training
and recruiting. Most importantly, he applied the principle of conscription to all classes of society.
The army remained a major cost on the state as it was far too large and exerted too much
influence over policy. Despite the work of Milyutin, Russia’s defences continued to rely on
numbers rather than military efficiency. Its defeats at the hands of the Japanese in beween 1904-
1905 were as humiliating as those, half a century earlier.

Overall Assessment
Russia in 1855 was so backward that change could not come quickly. Its economic problems in
particular had no immediate remedy. Alexander’s reforms laid the basis for a transformation of
society but only the basis and the provision of an efficient local administration to tackle social
problems would take decades of development. Economic innovation in backward peasant

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 223

agriculture would inevitably make slow progress. Above all, none of the Tsar’s reforms did
anything to reduce his own autocratic power or the vast influence of the reactionary Orthodox
Church.

-Problems therefore had still to be tackled from the top because no independent reforming
initiatives could be tolerated. Once Alexander II lost the will to reform, then the problems were
allowed to stagnate again. The great reforms of the 1860s were never built upon because the
Tsars were more anxious as they retain autocracy than they were to modernize Russia.

Repressive Measures:
The Poles rebelled in 1863 and this provided the excuse for repression which was in full swing
within a year or so. The national aspirations of non- Russians become a particular target for
oppression. After an assassination on him in 1866, Alexander II’s grip on potential dissidents
tightened. Press censorship became more restrictive and juries were discarded in political trials.
The repression was however inefficient and opposition survived and grew, notably the Narodniks
and anarchist groups like the Nchilists. In 1881, the assassinations were at last successful. By
that date, Alexander II’s reputation as a reformer, the “Tsar Liberator”, had somewhat been
tarnished by his later repressive policies.

Alexander III (1881 – 1894)

It is very unlikely that a student will face a question on Alexander III alone but the continuation
and indeed increased rigour of repression did set the scene for the more important reign of
Nicholas II. Alexander III’s chief service to Russia was in 1892, when he appointed Sergei Witte
as Finance Minister and he, in the next reign did much to strengthen the economy. Alexander III
rejected all suggestions for political reform and the reign contained no worthwhile social reform.
Repression was its keynote and it is worth noting that the first Marxist group appeared in Russia
at this time.

A Period Reaction
Alexander III passed the following repressive measures:

i) The zemstvas came under attack. In 1889 their contact with the peasants and the Justices of the
Peace, were abolished and replaced by a Land Commandant who had to be a noble.
ii) The universities were brought under the control of inspectors once more in 1884
iii) Censorship was increased.
i) All other nationalities in the tsarist empire were subjected to Russification. The first
programme was in 1881.
ii) All political parties in opposition to the regime were banned.

The regime, especially the Ministry of the Interior, followed a very paternalist path in the
interests of preserving the traditional social hierarchy. This can be seen in the following
measures: -
i) No attempt was made to abolish communal tenure, in spite of arguments from the Ministry of
Finance, because Tolstoy at the ministry of the interior felt it was a major agent of social peace,
and thus loyalty to the regime among the peasants.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 224

ii) Education - similar arguments justified the refusal to institute a classless educational system.
In secondary education, the raising of fees to keep out lower class pupils in 1887, had the result
that there were fewer pupils at this level in 1895 than there had been in 1882. At the elementary
level, education was left to the Church. By 1900, only a quarter of the population was literate.

Study Guides

i) What problems did Alexander II face when he came to power in 1855?

ii) What did Alexander II aim to achieve by introducing the Emancipation Edict of 1861?
iii) Who benefitted and who lost in Alexander II’s reforms?
iv) In what ways did Alexander II’s reforms reinforce conservative rule?
v) Why was Alexander II assassinated?
vi) Evaluate the reforms of Tsar Alexander in Russia.
vii) Did Alexander II achieve anything at all during his reign in Russia?
viii) Why was Alexander II’s rule so repressive?

Nicholas II (1894 – 1914)

Nicholas was committed to his father’s policies of repressive preservation of the autocracy. The
early years of the reign saw the development of a number of opposition groups who played
significant parts in later events. The major opposition groups included the following: - the
Socialist Revolutionaries 1901, the western democratic style Cadets 1903, and the Marxist Social
Democrats 1903.

i) The Social Revolutionaries (1901) – they represented a new sort of populism. Their first
priority was the redistribution of land to the peasants.
ii) The Cadets (Liberals 1903)
Their main aim was to create a liberal democratic constitutional government, which could match
Russia’s newly emerging society.
i) The Social Democrats (1903)
They voiced the growing frustration of the new urban proletariat through the language of
Marxism. Therefore most sections of Russian society were in opposition to the state except the
noble dam bureaucrats, the state dependant industrialists and the Army.
The Russo – Japanese war (1904 – 05) – Russia’s defeat by Japan in the Russo – Japanese war
(1904 – 05) caused massive upheaval in Russia.

The 1905 Revolution

The elements in the 1905 Revolution
There were really four uprisings involved.

i) The rising of the national minorities against Russification, especially in Poland and the Baltic
provinces, coupled with demands for political and economic reforms.
ii) The seizure by the peasants of what they saw as their land, i.e nobles; church and state lands
due to the pressure of over – population.
iii) The rising of the urban proletariat – through illegal strikes and demonstrations against their
employers and the autocracy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 225

iv) A campaign by the Union of Liberation based on the French banquet campaign of 1848 to
force the regime to liberalize.

The Bloody Sunday

- On 9 January, workers demonstrating against conditions were fired on by troops outside the
Winter Palace. This incident became known as the ‘Bloody Sunday’. Bloody Sunday was a
tremendous blow to the Tsar’s prestige. This was followed by mass strikes in Moscow and St
Petersburg. There were also peasant uprisings and mutiny on the battleship Potemkin. In
October of 1905 – there was a general strike. The regime was now paralyzed. The first ever
workers’ soviet was set up in St Petersburg in October 1905.

The October Manifesto

The disorders of 1905 were so great that the Tsar issued the October Manifesto setting up a
national Duma on a liberal basis with a wide franchise and extensive powers in approving laws
and safeguarding the rule of law. This was based on the advice from Witte who became chief
Minister. It succeeded in dividing the Tsar’s opponents and the Cadet Party was prepared to
work within the new constitution. The workers’ Soviets, which were set up in cities, and the
peasant uprisings, could now be crushed by the armed forces, which on this occasion had
remained overwhelmingly loyal.

Economic and Social Policy

The two key figures responsible for economic and social policy were Sergei Witte (1892 – 1903)
and Stolypin (1906 – 1911). Witte was influential in economic policy, while Stolypin focused
mostly on agronomic reform. Their policies can be summarized in the following data on industry
and agriculture.

(a) Industry
A protective tariff was introduced in 1891, and behind it, industrial output doubled by 1900, and
continued to grow more slowly after 1900.
(i) Railway development in the 1890s proved a stimulus to the coal and iron industries.
(ii) 16 million tones of coal were mined in 1900 and 35 million by 1913.
(iii) Production of pig iron rose from 3 million tons in 1900 to over 4 million in 1913.
(iv) Most industry was around the great cities of European Russia.
(v) Oil production, in which Russia led the World in 1900, remained static between 1900 and
1913.
(vi) Gross output totals lagged far behind that of countries like Britain and the USA.
(vii) There were 30 000 kms of rail track in 1890 and 75 000 prior to outbreak of War 1 in 1914.

(b)Agriculture

(i) Progress in agriculture was disappointing both in terms of re-organization and output despite
Stolypins’s reforms.
(ii) Grain production fluctuated with changes in weather patterns.
(iii) Distribution was hampered by limited transport.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 226

(iv) There was a record harvest in 1913, with the growth of larger farms and some co-operative
production.
(v) Neither the policies of Witte and Stolypin were able to push the surplus rural population into
urban industry.

Study Guides
i) Did Nicholas II have any more objective than to continue with repressive rule?
ii) What was achieved by the 1905s Revolution?
iii) How did the reforms introduced between 1905 and 1914 help to consolidate Nicholas II’s
reign in Russia?
iv) How did the outbreak of World War I help to change the political situation in Russia?
v) Why did Nicholas II abdicate the throne in Russia?
vi) Why was Nicholas II the last Tsar in Russia?
vii) Why did Nicholas II survive the 1905 Revolution but was overthrown in 1917?

Examination type questions

1. Why and with what results did Tsar Alexander II introduce reforms in Russia in 1861?
2. How far was Tsar Alexander II the “Liberator” of Russia?
3. To what extent can the reign of Tsar Nicholas II be described as ‘repressive and
reactionary?
4. Critically examine the roles of Witte and Stolypin in the economic development of
Russia between 1881 and 1914.
Key references
1. Browning .P - Revolutions and Nationalities Europe 1825- 1890.
2. Lougely D.- The Longman companion to imperial Russia 1689-1917.
3. Morris- T.A European History: 1848- 1918.
4. Peacecock H.L -a History of Modern Europe: 1789- 1981
5. Saunders D -Russia in the age of reaction and Reform 1801- 1881.
6. Seton H -Watson- The Russian Empire: 1801- 1917
7. Sherman R- Nineteenth century Russia: Opposition to autocracy.
8. Thomson D - Europe since Napoleon
9. Westwood J -Endurance and Endeavour; Russian History 1812- 1992

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 227

 CHAPTER 18
BISMARCK’S DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN
POLICIES AFTER 1871
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter students should be able to:

DOMESTIC
1.Describe the problems faced by Bismarck at home in the following areas:
a)Kultarkumpf
b)Catholic Church
c)Catholic Centre Party
d)Constitution
e)Socialists
f)Social Democrats
2.Describe and explain how Bismarck dealt with any or all of the above groups.
3.Evaluate how successful Bismarck was in his domestic policies

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
1.Explain the aims of Bismarck’s foreign policy
2.Assess Bismarck’s involvement the Eastern Question in the following areas (a) The handling
of issues at the Berlin Congress
(b)The Dual Alliance
(c)The Triple Alliance
(d)The Mediterranean Agreements (1887)
(e)Reinsurance Treaty, 1887
(f)Dismissal by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

STUDY GUIDES- DOMESTIC POLICES

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 228

1.To what extent did the German Constitution provide for democratic or representative
government?
2.Why did Bismarck introduce the Kulturkumpf and how successful was it?
3.Why did Bismarck introduce protectionism and abandon the Liberals?
4.How do you account for the growth of socialism and how did Bismarck respond to it?
5.For what reasons did Bismarck oppose the Roman Catholic Church and the Social Democratic
Party? How far was he successful in his aims?
6.Describe the main points of the constitution of the German Empire of 1871.

Bismarck’s contribution to German history before and after 1871 is an important part of the ‘A’
level syllabus. Almost every examination on European history will have a question on Bismarck.
In this chapter, the main focus will be on his post-1871 contribution to German history, and
indeed to European history in general. The Bismarckian era spans from 1871 to 1890. After
1890, German affairs fell into different hands.The post-1890 foreign policies will also be
examined, with Kaiser William II as the main force behind them. Candidates will be expected to
be able to compare and contrast German foreign policy before and after 1890.

Bismarck’s domestic Policy

The major issues to discuss here are Bismarck’s relations with the liberals, the Roman Catholic
Church and the Socialists.

Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church

Bismarck’s struggle against the Catholic Church is popularly known as the Kulturkampf. The
church, under Pope Pius IX, had turned its face implacably against progress, liberation and
modern culture. The syllabus Errorum had included liberty of conscience, secular education,
civil marriage and divorce, principles regarded as essential and fundamental for modern society
by modern and progressive and liberal-minded people such as the National Liberals. In 8170
Pius went further and at a great ecumenical council (“Vatican I) he, his successors and
predecessors, were proclaimed “infallible”. Bismarck was not especially deviant, but his
Lutheran convictions were sufficiently sensitive to be disturbed by Papal infallibility. He also
had some grounds for believing that it might represent the beginnings of an attempt by the
Roman Church to reverse the political verdicts of 1866 and 1870, when the powers with which it
was associated were defeated.
But when all is said and done, the main reason for Bismarck’s hostility to the Catholic Church
was an idea that loyalty to it strengthened separatist tendencies within the empire. About a third
of the population of the Reich looked to the Pope and Rome rather than to the emperor and
Berlin. Therefore, anything that might weaken the influence of Catholicism should be attempted.
At the same time, the Kulturkampf was a response to the demands of foreign policy. An attack
on the Roman Catholic Church would please the Tsar of Russia, an Orthodox Christian ruler at
loggerheads with his own Catholic Polish subjects. Less important, though worthwhile, it would
please the nationalist government of newly united Italy, which was on bad terms with the Pope.
The Kulturkampf was characterised by the following measures:

(i) The closure of the separate department of the Prussian government which dealt with Catholic
affairs.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 229

(ii) The imprisonment of an ecclesiastic whose sermons and utterances endangered the public
peace, therefore were critical of government policy.
(iii) The following year, (1872), saw the expulsion of the Jesuits and other orders from Germany.
(iv) In 1875, a civil ceremony, the minimum requirement for legal recognition of a marriage was
insisted upon throughout the empire.

These measures spread the struggle from Prussia to the rest of Germany and aroused great
bitterness, but the situation was especially bad in Prussia where the enactment of the May Laws
of 1873, 1874 and 1875 had transformed the struggle from a bid to gain control of Catholic
Schools to an assault upon the independence of the church itself. The Prussian May Laws, in
summary, passed the following measures:

(a) Spread prologues enjoyed by the Catholic Church were revoked by the Prussian constitution.
(b) All ecclesiastics in Germany had to be German citizens
(c) All theology students had to take a Germany university course.
(d) Candidates for the ministry could not be ordained without having demonstrated that they
were loyal citizens.
(e) Seminaries were subjected to inspection.
(f) State approval was required for all church appointments.
(g) The enforcement of church discipline was confined to German church authorities, and a royal
court was established in Berlin to hear ecclesiastical cases.

The May Laws were the manifest work of Adalbert Falk, the Prussian minister of education and
a prominent liberal. Though he enjoyed Bismarck’s full support, the Kulturkampf resulted in a
defeat for the chancellor, who was to learn that not necessarily the blood of the martyrs but
merely the acute discomfort of the believers could be said of the Church. The Kulturkampf
actually led to an increase in the number of seats won by the Catholic Centre Party from 58 to 90
in the 1874 election. By 1878, when the party won 2 more seats, Bismarck realized that the
Kulturkampf was futile. Thus, on the whole, although the Kulturkampf resulted in a compromise,
in essence, it was a defeat for Bismarck.

Bismarck and the Liberals

The liberals were his allies in 1871 because they supported the creation of a unified empire.
However, he moved away from them in 1879 when he favoured protectionism and the Junker
agricultural interests. In fact, in the late 1870s, economic considerations were making the
alliance between Bismarck and the liberals obsolete if not embarrassing. It had become clear that
the free –trade policy of the liberals would have to be abandoned. Ultimately, Bismarck, basing
his conclusions on his own experiences rather than on economic theory, became convinced that it
would be better for Germany, if industry, agriculture and labour were protected against foreign
competition. But there was another reason, the most compelling of all, that protection meant
custom duties which would be paid direct to the government, and so make Bismarck financially
independent of the Reichstag, National pride was also at stake. Most European states were
pursuing protective policies, and so Germany could not be an exception. The result was a distinct
shift in the source of Bismarck’s support, away from the National Liberals, who favoured free
trade, towards the conservatives. Bismarck showed some inconsistency in his dealings with the
liberals.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 230

Bismarck’s struggle against socialism
The late 1870s, apart from witnessing Bismarck’s conversion to protectionism, also saw the
growing menace of socialism. Bismarck was alarmed at the growth of socialism. Bismarck
believed, mistakenly, but firmly, that the Social Democratic Party was genuinely Marxist and, as
such, a serious threat to the existing order. Therefore, it was to be destroyed and the Exception
Law, first passed in 1878 and renewed annually until 1890, made the party and its newspapers
illegal, just as well as all other organizations and publications of a socialistic or communistic
nature. The social Democratic Party, however, held regular meetings abroad, its membership
increased steadily and its newspapers and pamphlets were smuggled into the country. In 1890, it
became apparent that support for it had trebled. In short, Bismarck’s anti – socialist measures
had much the same effect as his anti – Catholic ones. They stimulated rather than weakened it.
What may have initially seemed more effective were his attempts to discount socialism by
providing all that it ostensibly demanded, and more, except of course any real share of power.
Again, as in the Kulturkampf, Bismarck’s social legislation was to some extent motivated by
genuine humanitarian concern. By 1889, the workers were secure in their enjoyment of
compulsory sick insurance, compulsory accident insurance, and compulsory old – age and
invalid insurance. Thus, in his struggle against the socialists, Bismarck’s efforts effectively
ended in failure because they failed to stop the growth of the movement. Therefore, students
should be ready to assess Bismarck’s efforts in dealing with the three groups discussed above.

Study Guides
i) To what extent did the Germany constitution provide for democratic or representative
government?
ii) Why did Bismarck introduce the Kulturkumpf and how successful was it?
iii) Why did Bismarck introduce protectionism and abandon the Liberals?
iv) How do you account for the growth of socialism and how did Bismarck respond to it?
v) For what reasons did Bismarck oppose the Roman Catholic Church and the Social Democratic
Party? How far was he successful in his aims?
vi) Describe the main points of the constitution of the Germany Empire of 1871?

BISMACK’S FOREIGN POLICY: (1871-1890)

What were Bismarck’s aims in foreign policy?
Germany’s triumph over France in 1871, following her earlier victory over Denmark and
Australia, made her the strongest military power on the continent. It also upseted the existing
balance of power in Europe. As a result of this, there was considerable fear and suspicion that the
new German Empire might continue to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. However, Bismarck
had achieved his aim of a Prussian- dominated German state; his main objective now was the
security of the German Empire. The best guarantee of this was to ensure that Europe remained at
peace.
The two possible threats to peace were a French war of revenge and an Austro –Russian conflict
arising in the Balkans. France, without allies, did not pose a serious danger: Bismarck was
confident that the German army could defeat her again, if necessary. But it was Germany’s
position in Europe, sandwiched between an aggrieved France in the west, and an expansionist
Russia in the east, which made her peculiarly vulnerable to a war on two fronts. The possibility

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 231

of an alliance between France and either Russia or Australia-Hungary constituted a real threat to
Germany’s security.
Bismarck’s solution to such a two-folded problem was to try to isolate France and to reduce
friction between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkans, where their interests were often
at conflict. In practice, this meant that he encouraged the other Great Powers (France excluded)
to feel dependent on Germany’s goodwill and sought to neutralize their differences that way.
Bismarck’s diplomacy was therefore a delicate balancing act: he wished to keep rivalries
simmering, but to prevent them boiling over. In this way, Europe would remain dependent on
Bismarck for peaceful solutions.
Bismarck’s solution to such a two-folded problem was to try to isolate France and to reduce
friction between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balleans, where their interests were often
at conflict. In practice, this meant that he encouraged the other Great Powers (France excluded)
to feel dependent on Germany’s goodwill and sought to neutralize their differences that way.

In 1871, Bismarck’s immediate concern was to reassure the leaders of Europe that he was now
genuinely a man of peace. This was made through diplomatic contacts between the German
Kaiser, the Habsburg Emperor and the Tsar of Russia in the summer of 1871. The outcome of
these monarchial gatherings was the Three Emperors League (Dreikaiserbund) of October 1873,
initially an Austro-Russian treaty to which the Kaiser later gave his blessing. Although this
Agreement was not of Bismarck’s making, it suited his purposes well enough. Although the
content of the Dreikaiserbund was somewhat vague, it expressed the desire of the three Emperors
to stand together in the interests of monarchial solidarity against the threats of republicanism and
socialism. They also wished to reduce the risks of war arising from Austro-Russian differences.
Hence the promise to consult together so that these divergences could not take precedence over
considerations of a higher order.” that is, peace and stability.

The Near East Crisis: (1875-1878) Why did events in the Balkans lead to a Crisis between
the Great Powers?
The Eastern Crisis began in 1875 with a rising against Turkish misgovernment in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The long standing hatred of Christian peasants towards the oppressive rule of
Muslim landowners was heightened by grievances over taxation and labour services. In 1876, the
revolt spread to Bulgaria, then still part of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia and Montenegro
supported the rebellion against Turkish authority.
This reopening of the Eastern Question presented Bismarck with a major test of his
statesmanship. Determined to avoid taking sides between his Dreikaiserbund partners, he had
somehow to convince both Vienna and St Petersburg (Russia) of Germany’s goodwill. If he
failed, either Austria-Hungary or Russia might seek support from France. There was no simple
solution to the problem of conflicting Austro-Russian interests in the Balkans. From Austria
point of view, the main danger lay in Russian encouragement of Slav nationalism. This was not
only a threat to the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, in whose survival Austria-Hungary had a
vested interest, but it also threatened the stability of the multinational Hapsburg Empire. In the
case of Russia, the temptation to “fish in the troubled waters,” in the hope of further weakening
Turkey was hard to resist. In addition, Russia, as the leader of the Orthodox Church, was under
moral obligation to aid the Christian Slavs if their Muslim Turkish rulers treated them too
oppressively. Hence, Germany had good reasons to be anxious at this crisis in Austro-Russian
relations.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 232

Bismarck’s options were limited. He himself was prepared to consider the partition of the
Ottoman Empire, but that was an option neither Austria- Hungary nor Russia was willing to
accept. If he threw his weight behind Australia, Russia might then be driven into the arms of
France. On the other hand, if he supported Russia, this might well boost Slav nationalism and
lead to the breakup of the Austria-Hangarian Empire. Hence he at first adopted a ‘low profile’
approach, encouraging the Austrians and Russians to find an agreed solution.
At this stage both Austria and Russia were sticking to the spirit of the Dreikaiserbund.
Admittedly each side sought to extract some advantage for themselves from the situation, but
neither wanted to accelerate the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Garchakov the ageing and
conservative Russian foreign minister recognized that Turkey’s fate concerned all the Great
powers and favoured caution. Andrassy, the Austrian foreign minister, aware that German
military support was unlikely in the event of a clash with Russia, attempted to collaborate with
the Russians. Their willingness to search for a peaceful solution to the crisis was therefore a
great relief to Bismarck. The German Chancellor also encouraged Britain to play an active role
in opposing Russia. “England should entirely take the lead in the Eastern question”, as Bismarck
suggested, so as to reduce tension between his partners in the Dreikaiserbund. It was a role which
Britain was willing to fill due to her suspicion that Russia would interfere with British trading
posts in the Mediterranean and Constantinople. However, no quick solution was found.

In 1876, a new and more dangerous stage in the crisis was reached. The “Bulgarian Atrocities”
worsened the Eastern Question. The Turks allegedly massacred over 10 000 Bulgarians Public
opinion was stirred in Britain and also in Russia. In Britain the Liberals campaigned against
Turkey and temporarily warned the relations between Britain and Russia. In Russia, on the other
hand, the sufferings of the Balkan Christians enflamed Pan-Slavist feelings to such an extent that
the Russian government came under pressure to intervene. By 1877, the situation had grown
worse: the Serbs and Montenegros were facing defeat and Bulgars were subjected to force
reprisals by the Turks. Hence in April 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey and by January 1878
Russia had undoubtedly won the war. They proceeded to impose a severe treaty on the Turks in
the Treaty of San Stephano in March 1878. European Turkey was to be reduced to small
unconnected territories by the creation of a Greater Bulgaria, under Russian occupation for two
years, while Russian herself made some useful territorial gains.

These terms confirmed the worst fears of Andrassy, Austria’s foreign minister. The Russians
have played us false,” he complained. The attitude of Germany and Britain was crucial in
persuading the Russians to revise the peace treaty. Bismarck now offered to resolve the dispute
as an “honest broker”, meaning that he would not take sides in the dispute. The British troops on
the other hand, were summoned from India and the fleet was dispatched to Turkish waters, ready
to sail into the Black Sea. Faced with Austro-British hostility and the threat of war, Russia
agreed to a revision of the Treaty of San Stephano at an international conference to be held in
Berlin in the summer of 1878.

THE BERLIN CONGRESS, 1878

What was achieved by the Berlin Congress (1878?)

a)The Terms of the Settlement

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 233

 Before the Congress met, a lot of preparatory work had already been done. The Russians
agreed to the reduction of Greater Bulgaria in return for the gains elsewhere. The Sultan
promised to introduce reforms within the Ottoman Empire and to cede Cyprus to Britain in
exchange for a guarantee of his dominions in Turkey. Britain also agreed to back Austrian
Hungary’s claim to occupy Bosnia. Despite these preliminary accords, the Congress of the
Great Powers which met in Berlin in June-July 1878 was not all plain sailing.

The most problematic issue was the division of Greater Bulgaria. The Russian attempt to resist
its partition, despite their earlier agreement, clashed with Britain’s determination to limit the size
of a Russian-dominated state. The Russian delegates only gave way when Disraeli threatened to
pull out of the settlement. As a result, Greater Bulgaria was divided into three parts: the northern
part: Bulgaria was granted complete independence but under Russian supervision. To the south a
province named Eastern Rumelia: to emphasize its separate existence was to have a form of self-
government under Turkish control. The third part, called Macedonia, was returned to Turkish
rule.
A number of other issues were decided in favour of the interests of the Great Powers. Russia
recovered Bessarabia, which she had lost to Rumania in 1856 after the Crimean War. She also
acquired Batum, a valuable port on the eastern edge of the Black Sea from Turkey. The Turks
objected strongly to the loss of Bosnia to the Austrians and were reluctant to cede Cyprus to
Britain, but their protests were ignored. Russian objections were also ignored when Britain
claimed the right (with the Sultan’s assent), to send warships into the Black Sea whenever she
judged it necessary. France, who had played a minor role during the crisis, made no territorial
gains in 1878, but was encouraged to seek compensation in Tunisia- still under the limited
control of the Sultan of Turkey.
The Congress of Berlin re-asserted the idea that the fate of Turkey was a matter of concern to all
the Great Powers and could not be decided unilaterally, as Russia had attempted to do in the
Treaty of San Stephano, now described by one Russian diplomat as “the greatest act of stupidity
that we could have committed.”

b)The significance of the settlement

Most historians regard the Treaty of Berlin as only a temporary and limited solution of the
Eastern question. On the positive side, it can be said to have checked Russian domination of the
Balkans, and that it was without a war amongst the Great Powers. The Sultan was also obliged to
treat his Christian subjects more gently-for a time at least. This apart, it is hard to understand
what the Congress really settled. The separation of Eastern Rumelia from Bulgaria was reversed
within a decade, causing another crisis among the powers between 1885 and 1888; and
Macedonia, restored to Turkish rule, became a source of constant unrest in later decades.
Austrian rule in Bosnia had to be enforced by military action since it was bitterly resented by
both the Turks and the Serbs. The outright annexation of the province in 1908 also caused a
major crisis. The Sultan evaded implementing serious reforms in Asia Minor, which became the
scene of new massacres in the 1890s.
Some historians suggest that the Great Powers’ neglect of the ambitions and claims of the
smaller Balkan states were a major weakness of the Treaty of Berlin. Although Serbia, Rumania
and Montenegro became fully independent states, their territorial gains were quite small. They
continued to cause tension in the region. In short, the great weakness of the Berlin settlement was
that it shelved, rather than solved, most of the problems that it dealt with.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 234

Bismarck was not to blame for this. In the course of the crisis, he had advocated partition of the
Ottoman Empire as the best solution. He favoured an east-west division of the Balkans between
Russia and Austria-Hungary. In addition, Britain was to take Egypt, while France would have
Tunisia. When much of this scheme failed, his main concern then was to ensure that Britain, not
Austria Hungary, took the lead in opposing Russia. The British certainly had the sea power
which was great enough to restrain Russian aggression and expansionist motives.

The Congress of Berlin was certainly a sign of Germany’s new power and influence in Europe.
Bismarck’s prestige as a statesman was also at its height. The power most pleased with the
Treaty of Berlin was undoubtedly Britain. Important British interests in the Mediterranean,
especially her naval influence, had been safeguarded and she had acquired Cyprus as a base to
enable her to resist Russian expansion in Asia Minor. She had even obtained the right to send
warships into the Black Sea whenever she judged it necessary. The Russian influence and threat
on Constantinople had been checked by Britain’s preservation of a good deal of Ottoman power,
In addition, British co-operation with Austria- Hungary had produced useful results, so that the
unity of the Dreikaiserbund had been broken. It was this last point which caused Bismarck most
concern.

THE MAKING OF THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM (1879-1884)

Why did Bismarck set up an Alliance System?

In What ways did it increase German Security?

1878 marked a turning point in Bismarck’s foreign policy. Faced with Russia’s hostility and
fearing the creation of an anti-German coalition, he changed his approach. From now on, he
tended to seize the initiative and attempt to influence the events in order to ensure Germany’s
security. This led to the creation of the Bismarchkian alliance system.

Bismarck’s anxieties for Germany’s security were much increased by the Congress of Berlin.
The Tsar regarded the Congress as “a European coalition against Russia under the leadership of
prince Bismarck.” Austria- Hungary was co-operating closely with Britain to enforce the terms
of the treaty on the Turks and the Russians. This left Germany rather on her own and exposed to
the full blast of Russian hostility.

a) The dual alliance, (1879)

In 1878-79, it seemed to Bismarck, that Germany was presented with a stark choice of either to
accept the continuing hostility of Russia or form an alliance with her. He was unwilling to
choose the latter, since that would alienate Austria- Hungary. The desire for good relations with
Russia, he insisted, “could not extend so far that German policy is permanently subordinated to
Russian policy and that we sacrifice our relationship with Austria for Russia’s sake.” Hence he
put out feelers for an alliance with Austria- Hungary, which was later signed on 7 October 1879.

Terms
-Should one power be attacked by Russia, the other would come to its rescue with the whole war
strength and military force

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 235

-If one of the two Empires were attacked by a third power, the other would adopt a neutral but
friendly attitude.
-The Treaty, in the first instance, would last for five years but could be renewed.
-It was secret, but in the event of Russian threats, its key contents would be leaked to the Tsar to
deter him from taking any further action.
-This treaty has often been called a landmark because it was not concluded as a prelude to some
specific action; and because it lasted long and its terms remained secret. It bred suspicion among
the Great Powers and they soon negotiated similar treaties of their own. Eventually Europe was
divided into leagues and counter-leagues.
-Some historians, however, saw the alliance as re-establishing close relations between Vienna
and Berlin as a logical completion of the German-Austria relationship which began in the 1860s.
This was certainly Bismarck’s thinking, but he had also come to the conclusion that it was in
Germany’s interests to see Austria survive as a Great Power to balance Russia. The Dual
Alliance gave Germany considerable influence over Austrian foreign policy, which would enable
Bismarck in a crisis, to moderate it so that it did not provoke an unnecessary war with Russia.
B) The alliance of the three emperors, (1881)
The Russians viewed with suspicion the growing co-operation between Austria. Germany and
Britain. Their obvious move was to negotiate an alliance with France, but France could provide
Russia with little effective help in the Balkans. Influential officials in St Petersburg, such as
Saburov and Giers, consequently advised the Tsar urgently to improve Russo-German relations.
In the Autumn of 1879, Saburov was sent to Berlin to discuss a possible agreement. Bismarck
was ready to consider some sort of revival of the Three Emperors League which would open the
way up to better relations between Russia and Germany and continue to keep France isolated.
Once Disraeli had been defeated in a general election of April 1880, British foreign policy
became less aggressive and the prospect of a joint Anglo-Austrian action against Russia became
less likely. The Austrians therefore came round to Bismarck’s proposal for an agreement with
Russia and the Three Emperors Alliance was signed on 18 June 1881. Its main terms were:
-Austria and Germany agreed that the Straits should be closed to the worships of all antions. This
stopped the threat of Britain sending its navy into the Black Sea and greatly strengthened
Russian’s position.
-Austria agreed to the eventual reunification of Bulgaria, while Russia agreed that at some time
in the future, Austria would be able to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina.
-If a member of the Alliance found itself at war with a fourth power, unless it were Turkey, the
other two powers would remain neutral.
-There were to be no further territorial changes in the European possessions of the Turkish
Empire without the consent of the three Empires.
-The Treaty was, in the first instance, to last three years.
-Although the Treaty provided no long-term solution to Austro-Russian rivalry in the Balkans, it
did at least temporarily reduce the friction between Austria and Russia.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 236

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE, 1882

Despite the Three Emperors Alliance, Russian foreign policy particularly towards Germany
remained unpredictable. The new Tsar, Alexander III received conflicting advice. The Russian
Pan-Slav leaders were beginning to make contacts with the French. In fact, a leading Pan-Slav
general in Paris in early 1882, was campaigning for a Franco-Russian alliance. This new trend
alarmed Bismarck. Consequently, when Italy, angered by the French occupation of Tunisia,
which it regarded as its sphere of influence, proposed in 1882, an alliance with Austria, Bismarck
immediately suggested extending it into the Triple Alliance, and agreed to the following terms:
-Both Austria and Germany were now committed to support Italy in the unlikely chance of an
attack from France.
-Italy, in turn, would help Austria and Germany only if they were attacked by two other powers,
(France and Russia)
-The real gain for Germany from the agreement was that Austria was now freed from the threat
of an Italian attack should war break out with Russia. Austria’s position was further strengthened
by an alliance with Serbia in June 1882 and with Romania in 1883, which Germany joined and
tuned into a defensive alliance against Russia.

-Furthermore, by both countries refusing demands from German farmers for further rises in
tariffs which would damage Russian trade and by encouraging German banks to finance Russian
loans, he also successfully managed to strengthen the hand of co-operation between Berlin and
St. Petersburg.

-As a result of this, Bismarck was able to renew the Three Emperors Treaty. The years 1882 to
1887 therefore marked the zenith of the Bismarck system, when Bismarck could feel confident
that Germany’s position in Europe was quite secure. This allowed him to indulge in the luxury of
colonial ventures in which he could even seek French co-operation against Britain in Africa.

The Bismarckian System Under Pressure: (1885- 1890)

a) Renewed Bulgarian Problems

In 1885 a revolt broke out in eastern Rumelia, in favour of union with Bulgaria. This demand
contravened the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which, at Britain’s insistence, had deliberately divided
the two provinces. Britain, assuming that Russia would dominate Bulgaria, had wished the
Bulgarian state to be as small as possible. However, the Bulgarians had shown open resentment
to the Russians who intended to treat them as a satellite state. As a result, the Bulgarians expelled
all Russian officials. The Prince of Bulgaria accepted the demands of the movement for unity
and this naturally angered the Tsar even further.

At a meeting of the representatives of the Great Powers, the Russians condemned the revolt as a
violation of the Treaty of Berlin. Germany and Austria-Hungary supported their member of the
Three Emperors’ alliance. But the British now viewed it differently. An enlarged and
independent Bulgaria would better check Russian influence in the Balkans. France and Italy

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 237

backed this proposal. The Tsar, however, forced the Prince of Bulgaria to abdicate when it
seemed possible that Russian forces would invade Austria- Hungary warned Russians against
any further interference in Bulgaria even though Germany would not support her.

Bismarck made clear his refusal to take sides in this dispute in a statement to the Reichstag in
early 1887: “It is a matter of complete indifference for Germany who rules in Bulgaria and what
becomes of her.” This statement of neutrality did not satisfy the Tsar, however, refused to renew
the Dreikaiserbund which now ended.

-Bismarck feared that unless, he made a positive gesture towards Russia, the Tsar might yield to
Pan-slavic pressure for an alliance with France. He therefore decided to take a bold step by
proposing a Russo- German alliance.

b) The reinsurance treaty, 18 June 1887

By the terms of this treaty, Germany recognized Russia’s right to an increased influence in
Bulgaria. She also agreed to Russian control of the straits if her security required it. If either
power was at war, the other would remain neutral-unless France or Austria-Hungary was the
object of attack. This provision was extremely important. The Russians had demanded a free
hand to attack Austria-Hungary, but Bismarck refused to give it to them. In return, Germany
forfeited the free hand to attack France which she had enjoyed under the 1881 alliance.

Bismarck paid such a price for the Russian friendship that he was prepared to contravene in
spirit, if not the letter, of the Austro-German dual Alliance of 1879. That Alliance, after all, was
directed specifically, against Russia.

-Furthermore, he let it be known, unofficially, that he had “absolutely nothing against Russia
going as far as Constantinople and taking the Dardanelles.” This was a dangerous game! Russia
would clash with Austria-Hungary and Britain.
Bismarck’s fears for Germany’s security had grown considerably in late 1886 and early 1887.
Russia and Austria Hungary appeared to be on the brink of War over the Balleans. In addition,
there was a spirit of revenge “revanchist” emerging again in France, associated with the popular
and politically ambitious General Boulanger. To add to Bismarck’s difficulties, the Italians were
demanding greater recognition for their interests in the Mediterranean as the price of renewing
the Triple alliance, due to expire in May 1887.

This problem was settled relatively easily. Germany and Austria-Hungary promised support for
Italian interests in North Africa and the Balkans.
-When, in addition, the British government made a loose agreement with Italy and Austria-
Hungary to defend the existing state of affairs in the Mediterranean, a solution to the main
problem facing Bismarck began to emerge. This was mainly because the Reinsurance Treaty had
failed to calm the tension in the Balkans. The importance of the Treaty was that, it had managed
to prevent the possibility of war over Bulgaria. It was an exercise in crisis management.
c) The Mediterranean Agreements, (1887)

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 238

Bismarck realized that he had to persuade Britain to play a more important role in European
affairs. Certainly, if Britain would do more to resist Russia in the Near East, this would have
beneficial effects. Russia might well be restrained from adopting too aggressive a stance over
Bulgaria and furthermore, Austria-Hungary might find in London, the sympathetic response to
her desire for support which would calm her fears. Bismarck therefore exerted all in his influence
to encourage Britain to conclude a formal agreement with Italy and Austria- Hungary to defend
the status-quo in both the Mediterranean and the Near East.

The Second Mediterranean Agreement, signed in December 1887, was not a formal alliance, but
it signaled Britain’s willingness to check Russia in Bulgaria and at the Straits. If necessary,
Austrian troops and British warships, with Italian backing, would be deployed. This combination
deterred the Russians from resorting to force. As an inducement for the Russians to sign the
Reinsurance Treaty, Bismarck had promised them that they would control the Dardanelles. But
such a prospect had been completely put off by the Mediterranean Agreements.

d)Russo-German relations
Despite the Reinsurance Treaty, Russo-German relations never regained their former cordiality.
Bismarck was partly to blame for this.

At the end of 1887, Russia was denied access to the Berlin money market for loans to finance her
industrialization. As a result, Russia tuned to Paris for loans, foreshadowing the alliance between
the two countries which took place in 1894, after the fall of Bismarck.

Even before Bismarck fell from office in 1890, some were questioning the wisdom of his foreign
policy, especially his wish to try and please both Austria- Hungary and Russia over the Balleaus
when the two had sharply conflicting aims.

The anti-Russian sentiments shared by the Kaiser Wilhelm II and many influential Germans did
not help build, let alone, maintain good relations between the two countries. Both agricultural
and industrial groups regarded Russia’s economic modernization as a threat to their interests. In
military circles, there was a serious talk about the need for a preventive war against Russia
before she became too powerful. The Kaiser accepted the advice given by his officials not to
renew the Reinsurance Treaty. In fact disagreements between him and Bismarck over the
Russian Alliance was one of the issues which led to Bismarck’s resignation in 1890.

Study Guides
i) Why did events in the Balkans lead to a crisis between the Great Powers?
ii) What was achieved by the Berlin Treaty of 1878?
iii) Describe Bismarck’s policy towards Russia in these years (1870- 1890) and explain the
difficulties that arose.
iv) Describe Bismarck’s foreign policy aims in this period.
v) Explain the circumstances that led to the formation of the alliances with which Bismarck was
directly concerned.
vi) How do you account for Bismarck’s success in keeping Russia and France apart during this
period?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 239

BISMARCK’S FOREIGN POLICY, (1871)-1890: SUCCESS OR FAILURE
-How far did Bismarck achieve his aims in foreign policy?
-Were Bismarck’s policies meant to bring lasting solutions and advantages to Europe or not?
-Bismarck’s aims were quite clear and he made decisions from the limited options available to
him.
Bismarck wished to prevent war and under his leadership Germany enjoyed security and Europe
was at peace for 20 years. During this period (1871)-(1890), Germany became the strongest
industrial power in Europe.

He prevented an anti-German coalition especially by keeping France isolated and he helped

prevent Austria and Russia from coming to blows in the Balkans. His alliance system had to be
constantly repaired, but it was still standing in 1890, when Bismarck fell from power.

However, other historians would beg to differ. Bismarck was a cause of friction, encouraging
mutual suspicion between rivals, e.g. France and Britain in Africa, Austria- Hungary and Russia
in the Balkans.

His alliance system, by its secret diplomacy, bred suspicion and insecurity. Furthermore, his
system was breaking down as France and Russia moved closer together by the late 1880s. In
some ways, therefore, the First World War was his legacy.

Some historians believe that Bismarck chose the wrong option in 1881. With the three Emperors’
Alliance he bought two potential enemies (Austria and Russia) into an alignment that was
unnatural and was doomed to failure, because the causes of antagonism between them still
existed. What was the point in trying to square the circle?

He feared that further strengthening of the Austro-German alliance by seeking British support
against Russia would drive Russia into an alliance with France. But was the force of
“revenchism.” In France Pan-Slavism, as well as in Russia, was really as great as Bismarck
feared?
Admittedly, France and Russia formed an alliance in the 1890s and fought as allies in 1914 but
we should not imagine that their solidarity was inevitable. His most influential critics insisted
that the Reinsurance Treaty due to expire in 1890, was both contradictory and dangerous. Hence,
Bismarck’s policies left Europe divided and the two hostile camps found very little common
ground between each other. Of course, much owed to the blunderings of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Study Guides
1. “His concern was the security of the German Empire; his achievement was the domination of
Europe.” Discuss this view of Bismarck’s foreign policy.
2. Was Bismarck’s foreign policy of 1871-90 a success?
3. How far did the Congress of Berlin in 1878 fully address the problems of the Eastern
Question?
4. Why did the eastern Question threaten European peace during the twenty years after
1875?
5. How successful was Bismarck’s policy towards France between 1871 and 1890?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 240

Kaiser William II – His Ambition
Bismarck was a skilful diplomat. For twenty years he made Germany the centre of the diplomatic
stage. France was kept isolated, but Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain were on friendly terms with
Germany. Bismarck’s alliances were non- aggressive and kept Europe at peace. Yet after 1890,
Bismarck fell from power and the new Kaiser took matters into his own hands. Kaiser William II
was ambitious, rash and aggressive in nature. Rejecting the idea that Germany was a “satiated
State”, he wanted to make Germany, not a European power but a World power. He advocated the
drive eastwards into the Balkans and Middle East, colonial expansion and naval expansion. He
was also influenced by Pan - German feelings to support Austria’s expansionist policy in the
Balkans. To pursue his ambitions, he often adopted blackmailing, threats and other unpopular
methods. From 1890 to 1907, he succeeded in alienating Britain, France and Russia, and thus
helped to create a rival bloc of anti- German alliances.

Dual Alliance of France and Russia of 1893

Russo – German Friendship ended
When William II came to hold absolute power in Germany, he thought that sooner or later,
Germany would clash with Russia, so he allowed the Reinsurance Treaty to lapse. He stressed
Germany’s political and military ties with Austria instead. Such a policy, together with the
growing Pan – German Commission, aroused strong Russian suspicion. Russia naturally turned
to the side of France, which was the irreconcilable enemy of Germany.

Although, at first there seemed little possibility for Tsarist Russia to ally with Republican France,
two factors made such an alliance possible: -
(i)Firstly, both felt it necessary to form a military pact to offset the military threat of Germany
(ii)Secondly, France had floated several huge loans to help Russia to industrialize.

The terms of the Dual Alliance between Russia and France: -

These were as follows: -
(i)If France was attacked by Germany, or Germany and her ally (Italy), Russia would aid France;
in return, if Russia was attacked by Germany or Germany and her ally (Austria), France
would aid Russia.
(ii)If one or more members of the Triple Alliance mobilized, they would mobilize to help one
another automatically and
(iii)This agreement would continue as long as the Triple Alliance was in force.

End of British Isolation

After the formation of the Franco – Russian Alliance, Britain found herself diplomatically
isolated. Throughout the nineteenth century, she had followed a policy of “splendid isolation”
therefore to avoid involvement in European affairs. But by the late 19th century, she felt that this
policy was no longer practical – for she could no longer command respect in world politics.

British – German Alliance failed:

Britain at first sought to make some sort of alliance with Germany but she failed because:
(i)Germany wanted Britain to join the Triple Alliance, but Britain refused for fear that it would
involve her in European conflicts of no direct concern to Britain.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 241

(ii)Germany’s naval – expansion after 1898 threatened Britain’s naval supremacy.
(iii)Germany’s colonial interests clashed with those in China and the Balkans.

Germany wanted to divide China into spheres of influence but Britain wanted to keep an open
door for trade for all nations in every part of China. In the Balkans, Germany wanted to bring
Turkey under the economic and political control of Germany. But Britain tried to maintain the
integrity of the Turkish Empire for fear that if Germany controlled Turkey, she would threaten
the British naval and economic interests in the Mediterranean.

The Anglo – Japanese Alliance (1902)

Consequently, Britain concluded an alliance with Japan in 1902. The Alliance was important in
European diplomatic relations in two ways.
(i)Britain had abandoned her policy of isolation and
(ii)Since Britain could make use of Japan to check Russian aggression in the Far East, her fear of
Russian colonial expansion lessened and this helped to pave the way for their future co-
operation.

The Entente Cordiale (1904)

After concluding the Anglo – Japanese Alliance, Britain was still looking for a European ally.
She naturally turned to France, the irreconcilable enemy of Germany. France also wanted Britain
as her ally. France did not want to support Russia in a war in the Far east because it would mean
a war with both Britain and Japan. The alliance with Britain must absolve France from
supporting Russia. In Africa, France wanted to settle many of her colonial disputes with Britain
peacefully, and gain the help of the latter in acquiring Morocco. There were many, conflicts
between Britain and France in North Africa. In 1898, the conflict at Fashoda in North Africa
nearly brought them into war. But France realized that her greatest foe was Germany. Thus she
wanted to settle her conflicts with Britain and concentrate her efforts against Germany.

Edward VII favoured French co-operation

The last obstacle to the formation of the British – French Entente was removed in 1901. In that
year Queen Victoria died and was succeeded by her son Edwards VII. Kaiser William II was
Victoria’s grandson, his mother having been the Queen’s daughter. Thus Queen Victoria
favoured or preferred an alliance with Germany to that with France. Edward VII did not share
the same sentiments with his mother towards Germany. He preferred the French to the Germans,
hence the Entente Cordiale.

Terms of the Entente

Britain reached a series of agreements with France in 1904. These agreements solved their old
colonial disputes in Spain, West Africa and the fishing rights in New Foundland, as well as in
Madagascar. The following were the terms:

(i)France recognized Egypt and the Sudan as British spheres of influence.

(ii)Britain recognized Morocco as a French sphere of influence.
(iii)In addition, both would support each other if their respective spheres of influence were
challenged by a third power.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 242

The Anglo – Russian Entente – (1907)
France had a military alliance with Russia and a friendly agreement with Britain. It now became
her concern to draw her two partners together. She finally succeeded in inducing Britain to settle
her disputes with Russia in 1907.

Britain and Russia had been long -time rivals in colonial and trade questions in the Middle and
Far-East.
But several factors made their alliance possible:
(i)Firstly - both felt greatly threatened by Germany. The rapid build up of the Germany navy
challenged Britain’s position as the greatest naval power in the world. The construction of the
Berlin – Baghdad railway meant an extension of German influence into the Balkans - an area
which Russia considered as her sphere of influence.
(ii)Secondly-both Russia and Britain resented the aggressive nature of William II’s diplomacy.
(iii)Thirdly, Britain considered that now Germany was a more dangerous rival than Russia to her
commercial interests in the Balkans.
(iv)Fourthly, the growth of the Balkan states greatly reduced the Russian threat in the Balkans.
This lessened the British fear of Russia.
(v)Fifthly, in the Far East, Britain did not worry about Russian ambition any more as Russia was
defeated by Japan in 1905.

Terms of the Entente

In 1907 Britain and Russia agreed to settle their colonial disputes in the following manner:

(i)Persia was divided into three parts – the north was kept by Russia as her sphere of influence,
the South was kept by Britain, and the central part was to remain under Persian control as a
buffer zone.
(ii)Russia renounced her interests in Afghanistan. Russia and Britain were to enjoy equal trading
rights in the country. Britain gained control of the foreign policy of Afghanistan. This
agreement safeguarded the security of India.
(iii)Both Russia and Britain recognized China’s sovereignty over Tibet. They treated Tibet as a
neutral state between themselves.

This alliance gave birth to the Triple Entente of Russia, France and Britain in 1907, as a rival to
the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy.

Study Guides
i) How far did the alliance system increase German security during this period?
ii) What were Bismarck’s motives in acquiring colonies?
iii) How assured was peace between the Great Powers in this period?
iv) What conclusions can be made about Bismarck’s foreign policy?
v) How successful did Bismarck isolate France in this period?
vi) Was Bismarck’s foreign policy a success?

Examination type questions

1. How valid is the view that from 1871 onwards, Bismarck’s polices at home were a total
failure?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 243

2. Assess Bismarck’s leadership of Prussia and Germany between 1862 and 1890.
3. How far were Bismarck’s problems in Germany, of his own making?
4. The signing of the Dual Alliance represented a diplomatic defeat from which Bismarck’s
foreign policy never recovered”. Do you agree?
5. How justified is the view that, after 1890, William II pursued a different foreign policy
from that followed by Bismarck between 1871and 1890?
6. “Bismarck’s foreign policies between 1871 and 1890 left Europe in a dangerous and
divided state” How far do you agree?

Key References
1. Baines- H.Modern History: A- Level Study Guide
2. Browning - P. Revolutions Nationalities Europe 1825-1890.
3. Levering J.-Years of Ambition: European History 1815-1914.
4. Lowe J.-Rivalry and Accord: International Relations 1870- 1914.
5. McDonough F.-The Origins of the First and
7. Morris- TA. European History: 1848- 1945.
8 Peacock -H.L. History of Modern Europe 1789- 1981
CHAPTER 19
The Causes of the First World War.
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
Give an account of the long-term causes of the First World War:
a) Analyse Bismarck’s network of secret alliances which eventually divided Europe.
b) Explain the role played by Imperialism of Europe in either Africa or Asia.
c) Explain the role played by the rise of Kaiser Wilhelm II with his aggressive policy of
“Weltpolitik.”
d) Trace the path of Anglo-German rivalry before 1900; and Franco- German rivalry before
1900.
2. Explain the short-term or immediate causes of the First World War.
a) The Moroccan crisis, 1905
b) The Anglo- Russian Entente and its consequences
c) The Bosnian crisis of 1908
d) Examine the naval rivalry and the Agidar crisis, 1908- 1911.
e) Explain the impact of the naval Race, how this worsened tension in Europe?
f) Describe the Agidar Crisis, 1911
3. Discuss the immediate results of the July crisis; the assassination of the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand by a Serb national.

Overview
The First World War broke out as a result of both short-term, medium term and long-term
causes. For much of the nineteenth century the major European powers maintained a balance of
power. However, between 1871 and 1914, a number of factors served to undermine international
peace and stability.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 244

First, European powers saw international relations as a battle for survival and as a source of
status, and engaged in a fresh outburst of imperialism in Africa and Asia.

Second, the rise of German in central Europe aroused fear and encouraged the growth of
alliances. Third, the expansion of national groups demanding self-determination threatened old
empires, such as Turkey.

The final ingredient which brought war was ethe fatal decisions of the political leaders during the
July crisis of 1914 in the Balkans. The First World War was really the culmination of a long-
drawn out crisis within the European system.

The rise of Germany

The rise of Germany was a key factor which produced tensions among the major European
powers. The victory of Prussia over France in 1871 concluded the unification of Germany and
created a new power in Europe. As German unification came about, through a combination of
crafty diplomacy, industrial strength and military mighty, thus produced fear and anxiety in
Europe. This is because Europe as a whole would be seriously affected by how Germany, as the
most powerful military and economic power in a reshaped Europe, would behave.

The following factors served to create fear and anxiety among other European powers: The
Germany population soared from 49 to 66 million between 1890 and 1914 alone. The economy
grew faster than that of any country in Europe. In 1914, Germany’s steel output was higher than
that of Britain, France and Russia combined. Coal production had risen second position to that of
Britain. Hence, Germany’s industrial strength was used to increase its military strength. The
Germany army, organized on the basis of conscription, was tactically sophisticated, highly
trained and well equipped. Germany naval expansion ensured that Germany’s fleet rose from
being the sixth largest to the second largest in the World. There can be no doubt that such a
powerful national status would require a sound and contentious political leader. Sadly, of course,
from 1890 to 1914, this was not the case! Kaiser Wilhelm II was an unpredictable and aggressive
character!

The foreign policy of the new Germany, dominated by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of
Germany from 1871 to 1890, was designed to reassure the delicate European balance of power.
This ingenious style of diplomacy secured a dominant position for Germany in European affairs
through the formation of a delicate system of treaties and alliances, which often contained secret
clauses. In 1872 the League of the Three Emperors (or Dreikaiserbund) consisting of Germany,
Russia and Austria-Hungary, was formed. This was followed by the Dual Alliance of 1879
between Germany and Austria- Hungary, and it promised mutual assistance in the event of war
with Russia. Bismarck believed that the agreement would help restrain the aims of Austria-
Hungary in the Balkans, but it had the opposite effect and encouraged Austria-Hungary to take a
bolder stand against Balkan nationalism. The diplomatic position of Germany was further
strengthened in Bismarck’s time by the formation of a military alliance with Italy in 1882, called
the Triple Alliance (of Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy).

It is now apparent that Bismarck was never firmly committed to his Triple Alliance partners. In
1887, for example, he signed the secret Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, without the knowledge

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 245

of Austria-Hungary or Italy which pledged Russian neutrality in the event of a Germany attack
the on France, Germany neutrality in the event of a Russian attack on Austria-Hungary (a strange
clause, given the terms of the Dual Alliance), and a promise that Germany would support
Russian’s interests in the Balkans.

This diplomatic double-dealing was designed to give Germany maximum flexibility and a
number of diplomatic options in the event of any international crisis, but it raised suspicious in
Austria- Hungary, Russia and Italy. But it seems that Bismarck’s duplicity was designed to
ensure a peaceful outcome to any future international problems.

The Bulgarian Crisis and The Balkan Problem

Bismarck’s desire to be the public ally of Austria-Hungary and the secret ally of Russia failed to
materialize during the course of the Bulgarian Crisis of the late nineteenth century. Bulgaria, a
group of small, semi-independent states, was one of the most explosive and poorly governed
parts of the Ottoman Empire. The key cause of instability was the existence of a wide range of
nationalist groups agitating for religious tolerance and self-government. In 1976, a full scale
Bulgarian rebellion was under way, with the various nationalist groups receiving support from
Serbia, Montenegro and Russia. The crisis eventually escalated into a full-scale war between
Russia and Turkey from 1877 to 1878 over the future of Bulgaria, culminating in defeat for the
Ottoman Empire, which was forced to sign the Treaty of San Stefano (1876). It has been noted
elsewhere in the study pack, that the Treaty of San Stefano was unsatisfactory to the great
powers and had to be replaced by the Congress of Berlin.

Nevertheless, the Bulgarian crises revealed the complexity of the Balkan problem, which
revolved around the nationalist demands for self-determination, the gradual decline of the
Ottoman rule and the designs of Russia and Austria-Hungary. It showed how easily problems in
the Balkans could create a delicate international situation due to the many vested interests of the
major powers. More importantly, the crisis revealed that in any Hapsburg-Tsarist dispute
Germany was not prepared to see Russia profit. The significance of the Bulgarian Crisis was
threefold: it put an end to the League of the Three Emperors. It severely weakened Germany’s
role as a so-called “honest broker” in the Balkans; and it killed the Re-Insurance Treaty which
the Russians saw as a worthless and unscrupulous agreement that was not renewed.

Thus, even the shrewd diplomacy of Bismarck, founded on the rock of the Balkans, the attempt
to balance the irreconcilable differences between Russia and Austria-Hungary was really an
exercise in crisis management rather than a real solution to the conflict between the two powers
in the region. Even so, Bismarck’s fall from power in 1890, is still viewed as a key turning point
on the road to war. After all, the German leaders who followed Bismarck favoured confrontation
rather than reconciliation. Obviously, Bismarck’s cautious policy was successful in the short-
term, but there is no guarantee that he would have continued to adopt such a conciliatory line had
he remained in office. He was already coming under increasing pressure to adopt a popular
aggressive and expansionist foreign policy before his abrupt dismissal by the young Kaiser
Wilhelm II. Paradoxically, the fact that Bismarck’s alliance diplomacy had placed Germany in
such a strong diplomatic position actually encouraged other, less shrewd Germany figures in the
aristocracy, army and navy to push for a bolder and more expansionist foreign policy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 246

Impact of imperialism
It was not only the swift rise of Germany which created a climate of tension in European affairs.
The sudden and unexpected upsurge of imperialism from 1880 to 1914 in Africa and Asia,
equally increased tensions among European nations. Britain, France, Leopold II of the Belgians,
Germany and Italy all became entangled in a rapid partition of Africa which resulted in 90% of
all African territory being brought under European rule.

The major European powers saw this “New Imperialism” as a battle for wealth, power, growth
and survival. Lord Salisbury the British prime minister said that the world was being divided into
“living and dying” powers. To remain a great power, or to become one, seemed to require the
possession of all empire.

The most unfortunate consequences of the “new imperialism” were the creation of an
atmosphere of heightened patriotism known as jingoism, the glorification of the armed force, and
the denial of national self-determination to small powers. Major European powers became
obsessed with gaining further territory and showing no sign of weakness. The principle of the
large powers grabbing territory from the smaller powers, was a key aspect of the “new
imperialism that caused tension. It is probably correct to suggest that the First World War was
not directly caused by “new imperialism,” but that its influence on future events was extremely
significant. The craving (desire) of the great powers to expand at the expense of the weaker
states, and the hunger of the weaker states, especially in eastern Europe, for self-determination,
created an atmosphere in which antagonism became the order of the day. Britain had fears of
imperial decline.

German ambitions for an empire; and Austro-Hungarian anxiety regarding the loss of its power
were all linked to the survival of the fittest mood which the imperialist age had profoundly
influenced. The imperialist idea of struggle and rivalry emphasized the need for new policies and
dynamic solutions to problems in international relations .It is important to note that while some
misgivings created between France and Britain over Egypt and Fashoda, for example, were
eventually smoothed out, other areas in which Germany aroused suspicion among Britain and
France, say over the Anglo- Boer War and the First Moroccan Crisis, were never resolved right
up to the outbreak of the First World War.

Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany World Policy and Germany Aims

How much influence did Wilhelm II actually exert on the conduct of German foreign policy
between 1888 and 1914? Was the catastrophe of 1914-18 really the Kaiser’s War? In 1897, the
Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that Germany would adopt a “world policy” (Weltpolitik). The
logic behind Weltpolitik seemed reasonable enough; the Kaiser claimed that German Industrial
expansion was so dependent on imports of raw materials from overseas, that a vast colonial
empire was required, with a large navy to support it. Thus Weltpolitik was committed to a large
programme of naval expansion and heavy involvement in colonial affairs. However, this abrupt
change in German policy, from the prudence of Bismarck to the controversial style of Kaiser
Wilhelm, marks a crucial turning point in Germany’s foreign policy in the years which led to
war. The reasons why Kaiser opted for Weltpolitik have been subject to enormous debate. The

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 247

timing of the policy is usually put down to the appointment by the Kaiser of von Bulow as
chancellor, and Adral von Turpitz as naval minister, who both favoured an expansionist foreign
policy with three key aims.

1.To build a German navy which would match the best in the world. It was hoped that a strong
German navy would encourage Britain to opt for neutrality in any future European war. This
was a fatal error in German planning. Aggressive policies would obviously attract an
aggressive response from the British.
2.To make Germnay a major imperial power. This implied territorial expansion overseas.
3.To use foreign policy issues to increase support for authoritarian rule. This would weaken the
appeal of socialism and democracy.

The real problem was that the Kaiser, the chancellor and leading foreign military and naval
advisers, appeared to pursue perhaps one, but never all of these aims at any one time. The result
was a lack of co-ordination in foreign policy, and a great deal of confusion over whether
Weltpolitik was a genuine attempt to find Germnay “a place in the sun,” or whether it was
merely a useful political tactic to weaken the domestic appeal of social democracy at home.

The language used by German leaders in pursuit of Weltpolitik often daring and confrontational.
This directly raised hostility and suspicion from other European powers. The German press,
heavily influenced by the Kaiser’s press office, whipped up jingoism and fermented antagonism
against other nations. Nationalist pressure groups, including the Navy League, the Colonial
Society and the Pan-German League, supported Weltpolitik. German history books colourfully
described the greatness of German past. The Kaiser often saw Weltpolitik as a means of warding
off the rise of socialism in Germany by diverting attention towards external issues. Admiral son
Tirpitz, the prime mover in building the German navy, was fully aware that a naval race could
act as a ralling point for Germany public opinion in support of the existing authoritarian
government. The success or failure of Weltpolitik became a central issue in Germany domestic
politics.

The policy created a great deal of tension, accomplished very little, and some international
relations. In the view of Bethanan Hollweg the Germany chancellor who replaced von Bilow,
Weltpolitik had “challenged everybody, got in everybody’s way but actually weakened nobody.”
The Kaiser never contemplated the conflict that a bold, expansionist Germany foreign policy
would be provoked abroad. The major world powers had no intention of smoothing the path for
Germany to become a dominant world power and Germnay met hostility in every direction.

The British engaged in a naval race and maintained supremacy. The USA thwarted Germany
ambitions in Venezuela and the Philippines, The British and French obstructed Germany
ambitions in Morocco and the British and the French denied Germany capital to build the Berlin-
Baghdad Railway. All the major European powers ganged up together to ensure that Germany
made no significant economic gains in China in 1900. The only territorial gain the Germans
made in its search for Weltpolitik were small gains in the Congo, a 99-year lease on Kigo-chow
in China, two small Samoan islands, some small Pacific islands and a fleet of costly
dreandnaught battleships which were not used in battle during the First World War, except at the
Battle of Jutland. Weltpolitik is a classic example of ambition outweighing common sense. The

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 248

German government wasted a great deal of effort in pursuing a policy which was both costly and
led other European powers to regard Germany as a real danger to European peace.

The Drift Towards Alliances.

The most unfortunate consequence of Weltpolitik was the impact which it had on European
diplomatic alignments. In 1871, there was no system of fixed military alliances among the major
European powers. The creation of peace time alliances began with Bismarck’s Dual Alliance
(1879) and Triple Alliance (1882). Both agreements were seen as defensive and produced no
rival set of alliances. Yet German support for Austria-Hungary during the Bulgaria Crisis led to
much friendlier Franco-Russian relations which eventually resulted in the formation of a firm
military alliance in 1894. Under the terms of the Franco-Russian Alliance, each power pledged
military support in the event of war against any member of the Triple Alliance. This created a
second alliance grouping in Europe, with the clear aim of checking Germany ambitions. As a
direct result of this agreement, the French investment poured into Russia to support the
development of its industry and economy, and close diplomatic and military links grew.

These alliances also encouraged the development of detailed military plans. The Germany army
had to plan for a war on two fronts. In 1905, for example, General von Schlieffen developed a
detailed war plan that involved a quick and decisive attack on France followed by an all-out
assault on Russia. The Russian army chiefs also made detailed war plans for an all-out assault on
Austria-Hungary, once the Schlieffen plan had leaked to them. The French military chiefs
equally planned a lightning offensive against Germany on the latter’s western front. Thus the
idea of fighting a future war within a coalition was becoming firmly planted in Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Italy as well as in France and Russia.

The only major European power outside these alliance groups was Britain which remained in
“splendid isolation which gradually appeared unsafe. However, the hectic imperial rivalry of the
late nineteenth century had extended British military and naval resources to breaking point. The
emergence of Germany as a major colonial and naval rivarly caused deep concern. Russia was
also a menace to British India. The growth of Japan in the Far East, and the continuing Anglo-
French rivalry in Africa and Indo-china, further fuelled the idea that Britain’s military resources
were becoming seriously overstretched. Many prominent British statesmen started to call for an
end to Britain’s diplomatic isolation. In 1898 negotiations were started, intended to build an
Anglo-German “understanding” but animosity between Britain and Germany intensified during
the era of Weltpolitik, largely over naval rivalry, and the idea was dropped.

The Anglo-Japanese Treaty (1902) marked the fast move by Britain to move out of isolation. The
fact was designed to ease Britain’s worry over trade in the region and ease fears over the Russian
threat to India. However, the treaty encouraged Japan to go to war with Russia between 1904 and
1905 where Japan got an unexpected victory.

A more significant agreement was the Entente-Cordiale, signed in 1904 between Britain and
France. This cleared up Anglo-French colonial differences in Africa and Asia: the French agreed
to British primacy in Egypt in return for a “free hand” in Morocco. The Anglo-French Entente
was thus a colonial agreement.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 249

The Kaiser viewed the Anglo French Cordiale differently. He mistakenly thought it was a
military alliance, and this greatly worried him since he feared diplomatic encirclement. He
therefore wanted to test the closeness of the agreement. In January 1905, a French diplomatic
mission arrived in Fez, the Moroccan capital, to seek special privileges for French traders in that
country. In 1905, in a tense and provocative move, Kaiser Wilhelm steamed into the Moroccan
port of Tangier aboard a Germany naval vessel; requested special treatment for Germany traders
as well, and offered Germany support to maintain Moroccan independence. In May 1905, Lord
Landsdonne, the British foreign secretary, sent a message to the French government which gave
some vague hope that the Entente might, under certain circumstances, be converted into a
military alliance. Declassee, the French foreign minister, interpreted this as an offer by Britain to
enter into an Anglo-French alliance which it clearly was not. The Kaiser insisted that the French
government should dismiss Declasses for seeking to sour Franco-Germany relations. In response,
the French government, unprepared to face Germany in war, and with no promise of British
support, sacked Delcasse and agreed to settle Franco-Germany differences over Morocco in an
international conference. This decisive show of strength by the Kaiser had seemingly shown that
the Entente Cordiale was little more than a worthless piece of papers.

The Algeciras Conference duly took place between January and April 1906. However Sir
Edward Grey, the new Liberal foreign secretary, expressed private concern over the high-handed
behavior of the Kaiser during the Delcasse affair and offered enthusiastic British support for
French claims in Morocco. The Russian government under pressure from France, offered similar
encouragement. As a result, the French gained a significant diplomatic victory over Germany at
Algeciras. Morocco’s independence was confirmed but France and Spain gained authority over
the police and France was given control over the Moroccan central bank. All that the Kaiser’s
bullying had achieved was to heighten fears in France, Britain and Russia about German imperial
ambitions. This simply encouraged the development of closer Franco- Russian relations and set
British foreign policy in a clear, anti-Germany direction. In the wake of the crisis, Grey ordered
Anglo-French military conversations and sought to improve Anglo-Russian relations. In 1907,
Britain signed the Anglo- Russian convention which settled Anglo- Russian imperial differences
over Afghanistan, Tibet and Persia (modern-day Iran).The German government saw the
agreement as a bitter blow which cemented its growing diplomatic encirclement. The term Triple
Entente-of France, Britain and Russia started to be used to describe the new diplomatic
friendship between these three major European powers.

The Anglo-Germany naval race which reached its most excitable stage between 1908 and 1910
added to international tension. The Germany desire for a navy on a world scale met a British
desire to maintain its naval supremacy. The speed at which the new state-of the- art dreadnaught-
class battleships could be built in Britain and Germany produced panic and antagonism. The
Anglo-Germany naval race soured British attitudes towards Germany more than any other factor.
Sir Edward Grey claimed that it was the major reason why Britain went to war in 1914. From
1907 to 1914 British naval expenditure increased from £31, 5 to £50 million per annum in order
to meet the Germany challenge and to maintain supremacy. Robert Cecil, a conservative
Member of Parliament claimed that as the Germans wanted a large fleet and the British were
determined to maintain supremacy, there was “no hope of finding common ground.” The Anglo-

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 250

Germany naval race led the British government to become even more disturbed and frightened
about the direction of German policy.

Study Guides
i) Why did Bismarck construct an alliance system? In what ways did it increase insecurity
between the nations?
ii) How assured was peace between the Great Powers in the period 1870 to 1890?
iii) What conclusions can we reach about Bismarck’s foreign policy? Did it create mutual
suspicion? Hostility? Generate tension? Divide Europe into two camps? Illustrate these and
other suggestions.
iv) Why were relations between France and Germany never repaired after 1871?
v) What were the key events in the partition of Africa and how did these arouse Great Power
hostilities.
vi) How far were relations between the major Powers affected by colonial expansion?
vii) What motives lay behind the German intervention in Morocco in 1905?
viii) What were the results of the 1906 Algeciras conference?
ix) How able was German diplomacy during the 1905-06 Moroccan crisis?
x) Why were relations between Germany and Britain satisfactory in 1890 but unsatisfactory in
1911?
xi) What was meant by Weltpolitik? What motives lay behind it and why did it alienate Britain?
xii) How close did the Great Powers get to war between 1908- 1911?
xiii) Describe the importance of the Arms Race

Balkan crisis
The 1908 -09 Bosnian crisis served to stir up Russian fears about German aims in the Balkans. In
October 1908, Austria-Hungary suddenly annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina as a result of its fear of
the spread of the “young Turks” a reforming movement active in the Ottoman Europe. The Tsar
expressed outrage at the annexation, but the Kaiser said that if Russia went to war over the issue,
Germany would stand by Austria-Hungary in “shining” armour.” Such diplomatic bullying made
the Russian government all the same more resolved to increase its defense expenditure, draw
closer to its allies and not back down in the Balkans again.

In 1911, a second major crisis over Morocco brought Europe to the very edge of war. In May
1911, the French government sent troops to put down a revolt in Fez. In July, a Germany
gunboat arrived in the Moroccan part of Agadir in a provocative move designed to gain colonial
concessions from France. Sir Edward Grey offered the French government full support
throughout the crisis. In October 1911, the Germany government decided to seek a negotiated
settlement of the crisis, and received territory in Congo in return for recognizing French control
in Morocco. The Agadir crisis brought a danger of war, and drew Britain and France closer
together in the face of the Germany threat-Weltpolitik here was revealed to be a dangerous and
provocative policy. After Agadir, the British made a firm commitment to send a British
Expeditiary (BEF) Force of 150, 000 troops to France in the event of war and signed naval
agreements with both France and Russia.

During these years, the military and diplomatic balance of power was turning sharply against
Germany, which had only one firm ally, Austria-Hungary, and one neutral ally, Italy. The

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 251

military situation was even more dismal: in 1912, the Germany army numbered 761 000 and the
Austro- Hungarian army was 450 000 strong. Against this, stood the Russian army of 1,3
million, the French army of 600 000 and the British Expeditionary Force of 150 000. The naval
situation was even more worrying. A great deal of Germany money had been used to build the
Dreadnaughts, but the British had maintained a clear naval supremacy and, with the support of
Russia and France, could clearly mount an effective blockade against Germany. In these gloomy
circumstances, the Germany press talked of Germany being “encircled by a hostile coalition of
envious powers,” while leading military figures urged a preventive war to break Germany free
from diplomatic isolation. The whole trend of European diplomacy was leading in the direction
of two power blocs which were likely, sooner or later, to go to war with one another. In 1912,
German military leaders, once so proud and confident, now grew increasingly pessimistic about
how sharply the balance of power was moving against them.

The Balkan crisis of 1912-1914

From 1912 to 1914 the major focus of European attention switched to the Balkans. This was an
area where ethnic and nationalistic tensions caused great power rivalry. The most immediate
problem was the growth of nationalist groups determined to break free from Ottoman rule.
Russia and Austria-Hungary remained deeply interested in the Balkans Romania, Greece and
Montenegro were independent, though the Turks still had influence over Macedonia and
Albania.

The strongest Balkan state was Serbia which had spearheaded the formation of the Balkan
League in 1912, which consisted of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro. The chief aim of
this Pan-Slavic coalition was to force the Turks out of the Balkans. The weakness of the Turks
was already evident given the success that the Italian army had enjoyed in Lybia in 1911. In
October 1912, the Balkan League seized this opportunity and declared war on Turkey in what
became known as the First Balkan War.

Surprisingly, the major European powers kept out of the fighting but took a sharp interest in the
negotiations for a peace settlement. At the Treaty of London, in 1913, chaired by Sir Edward
Grey, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece were given nearly all the European territory of the Ottoman
Empire, except Albania. This enraged Serbia as this was its key territorial objective, because it
would give Serbia on Adriatic part, which for a land-locked country, was seen as vital for its
future economic development. The Greek government also felt cheated as Greece did not gain a
larger share of territory in Macedonia and Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government also thought that
Bulgaria had gained very little. The volatile Balkan coalition soon collapsed.

A second Balkan War broke out in June 1913, when Bulgaria attacked Serbia. This prompted
Greece, Romania and Turkey all to declare war on Bulgaria. In less than a month, Bulgaria had
been defeated. The Treaty of Bucharest (1913) forced the Bulgarians to give Serbia large gains in
Macedonia, but under Austrian and German pressure. The Serbs were once again denied an
Adriatic port. This worsened Serbian hatred of Austria-Hungary.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 252

The Treaty of Constantinople (1913) allowed Turkey to gain Adrianople and other territory lost
to Bulgaria during the First Balkan War. Balkan wars ruined the dream of a Pan-slav coalition;
they ended with the Ottoman Empire having been virtually driven out of its European territory.
Equally, Bulgaria was isolated and severely weakened and the power of Greece and Serbia had
greatly increased. The outcome of the Balkan wars was a big-blow to the strategic position of
Austria-Hungary. Serbia still posed a threat to Austria- Hungary. Austria-Hungary now
depended on Germany for it survival as a major power in the Balkans.

The July Crisis and the Decisions for War

In the summer of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Hapsburg throne
visited Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia. This was the centre of Serb and Bosnian nationalist groups
and therefore dangerous for a member of the Austrian royal family to visit. He was assassinated
together with his wife on 28 June 1914, around 11:30am. The assassinator was Gavrillo Principle
a teenage rebel whose cause was the young Bosnia, a nationalist group which aimed to drive out
the Hapsburgs out of Bosnia.

Impact of the assassination

The news of the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand produced fury in Austria. The Austrian
government immediately decided to pin the blame for the assassination on the Serbian
government, even though they had no proof of this. Count von Berchtold, the Austrian foreign
minister advised Franz Joseph to use the assassination as a pretext to “settle accounts” with
Serbia.

On 4 July 1914, Franz Josef sent a letter to Kaiser Wilhelm II asking for German support to
“eliminate Serbia as a power factor in the Balkans.” The Kaiser consulted with Betman Hollweg,
the German Chancellor to decide the German position. They agreed that Austria should be given
a free hand-known as the “blank cheque” to start war with Serbia. Of course, they hoped that a
war between Austria- Hungry and Serbia would remain localized, but both knew that the crisis
might bring in Russian intervention, and a European War. The German government was
prepared to risk this, in order to secure a victory for Austria-Hungary over Serbia. The Kaiser
advised the Austrian government that it must “judge what is to be done to clear up her relations
with Serbia, but whatever Austria’s decision, she should count with certainty upon it, that
Germany would stand behind her.” The German reply was exactly what the Austrian government
had wanted. It was decided to issue an ultimatum to the Serbian government framed in a manner
that would be likely to provoke Serbia.

The Russian and French governments from 20 July to 23 July 1914 met to discuss their positions
in view of the escalating crisis. Poincare, the French President, gave his full support to Russia in
resisting any attempt by Austria-Hungary to threaten the independence of Serbia. This is viewed
as a second blank cheque, which encouraged the Russian government to risk a war with
Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the French government advised the Russian
government to do nothing, during the July crisis, that would be likely to provoke Germany.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 253

Equally, the Russian government sought a negotiated settlement to the crisis. The Tsar begged
the Kaiser to restrain Austria Hungary, without success, throughout the crisis.

The French decision to support Russia was designed to deter Austria- Hungary, but the German
decision to support Austria- Hungary aimed to provoke it. This is the fundamental difference
between the two so-called “blank cheques” issued during the July crisis.

The crisis escalated on 23 July 1914, when the Austrian government finally delivered the
ultimatum to Serbia. The ultimatum claimed that Serbia was involved in the assassination of the
Archiduke, and made ten demands designed to put down the terrorist activities of Serb
nationalists, including joint Hapsburg-Serb action to suppress all movements opposed to the dual
monarchy in Serbia. It was assumed by most European governments that Serbia would reject the
ultimatum. The Russian government advised Serbia to take a conciliatory and co-operative line.
The Serbian government followed this advice and agreed to most of Austria’s demands, but
insisted that any investigation of the problem should adhere to international law. However, the
Austro- Hungarian government claimed that it would only accept immediate Serbian acceptance
of the original ultimatum.
Sir Edward Grey proposed a conference in London to work out a peaceful settlement, but this
was rejected by Austria- Hungary and Germany. The Tsar told the Serbian government that he
wanted a peaceful solution, but would not remain “indifferent to the fate of Serbia.” It seemed
that the German government wanted the conflict to remain localised but made no effort to put
pressure upon Austria to accept a negotiated settlement.

The first declaration of war in the crisis came on 28 July 1914 when Austria- Hungary declared
war on Serbia. However, the hope of both Germany and Austria- Hungary that the war would
remain localized proved illusory. The Russian government made it very clear that Russia would
go to war to save Serbia unless Austria- Hungary withdrew its troops from Serbian territory. The
Austro- Hungarian government refused. On 29 July 1914, the Russian government announced
that it had no alternative but to make plans for the mobilization of its troops, though it still
wished for a negotiated settlement.

The German government informed the Tsar that Russian mobilization would lead to German
mobilization. Bethman Hollweg made a last-minute plea for British neutrality in the event of
war. As usual, the British would “wait on the events” The main contribution of the British
government to the July crisis was to make a number of proposals to Serbia, Austria- Hungary,
Germany and Russia to settle the matter by negotiations, which were rejected by the German and
Austro-Hungarian governments.

On 30 July 1914, Tsar announced that Russian mobilization would take place the next day. The
Germany time table for war now swung into rapid action. Von Moltke, the German military chief
of staff, told the Kaiser that German military planning was based on swift action: the Schlieffen
Plan involved a speedy attack on France, via Belgium, followed by a move eastwards to face
Russia. The urgency Germany felt to implement the Schlieffen Plan now dominated events.

In the final analysis, the German government cannot be accused of cold bloodedly planning a
European War. What they can be accused of was that they did not make enough serious effort to

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 254

persuade Austria- Hungary to withdraw its ultimatum or seek a negotiated settlement. The last
minute pleas by the Kaiser for the Austro-Hungary army to accept negotiations once they had
occupied Belgrade, was fairly half-hearted. Equally, the passionate German desire to implement
the Schlieffen Plan required an escalation of the crisis from a Balkan dispute into a European
War.

On 31 July 1914 the German government sent the Russian government an ultimatum which said
that unless Russia ceased all military preparations, Germany would declare war on her. In
response, the Russian government claimed that its mobilization plans inferred no aggressive
action, and continued to express a desire for a peaceful settlement. Even so, on 1 August 1914,
Germany declared war on Russia. On 2 August 1914, the German government sent an ultimatum
to the Belgian government asking for permission to allow the German army safe passage for its
inevitable attack on France. It was over the issue of Belgian neutrality, to which Britain was
committed, that the British government decided to act. Sir Edward Grey informed the German
government that any breach of that neutrality would result in a British declaration of war.

On 3 August 1914, Germany declared war on France even though the French had no major
interests in the Balkans. France became the victim of what seemed to be unprovoked aggression.
The Italian government, which had been ignored by Germany and Austria- Hungary during the
crisis, decided to remain neutral. On 4 August, the British government finally declared war on
Germany over the issue of neutrality. Even so, Sir Edward Grey had long realized that Britain
could not afford to stand aside and see France crushed by Germany. The War, which was
initially thought to be brief, lasted for four savage and bloody years.

Study Guides
i) Why did the First World War not take place in 1912?
ii) Should any one national be seen as responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?
iii) How far were German policies responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914?
iv) Why did the Sarajevo murder lead to the outbreak of war?
v) How and why had Europe become armed by 1914?
vii)Explain the fact that in 1914 the international alliances which had previously served the cause
of peace, now helped to produce war.
viii) How far were Russian relations in the Balkans the main cause of the First World War?

Examination type questions

1.“The causes of the First World War lay in the Balkans.” To what extent is this view accurate?
2.“Germany had a clear programme of territorial expansion before 1914 which made war
inevitable.” How far can this view account for why war broke out in August 1914?
3.“The arms race was mainly responsible for the outbreak of the First World War.” How
accurate is this view?
4.How accurate is the view that imperialism was the root cause of the First World War?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 255

 CHAPTER 20
THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES

Overview
Most generals expected the First World War to last only a matter of weeks. Yet this bloody
conflict lasted four and a half years and claimed over 8, 5 million lives 22 million wounded and
disabled. Over 4 million women lost their husbands in the conflict.

The First World War began in July 1914 in a mood of popular excitement with old-fashioned
cavalry charges, more suited to nineteenth century warfare. It ended in November 1918 with
modern weapons such as tanks, aircraft and heavy artillery weapons. The two rival power
groupings at the beginning of the war were the Triple Entente (France, Britain and Russia) and
the Central Powers (Germany and Austria- Hungary).

The Western Front: Why was there a stalemate on the Western Front for Most of The First
World War?

The German army expected to win the war by launching a devastating attack on France, followed
by an equally decisive attack on Russia in Eastern Europe. This was the Schlieffen Plan and it
nearly came off. The French army, supported by the British Expeditionary Force, (BEF) were
initially surprised by the strength of the Germany assault which moved through Belgium and
advanced on to French territory. The Germany assault on France was halted by the BEF at Mons
in August 1914, and even more decisively by the French army at the Battle of the Marne in
September 1914. This was when the Germany army was forced to retreat to the River Aisne.

It is often assumed that the Germany army was technically and tactfully superior, but made a
mistake by choosing to fight a defensive war on the western front after making initial territorial
gains. The German High Command was certainly better trained in the art of war than any of their
opponents, but they rejected the use of lorries for transport and made much greater use of horses.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 256

In 1914 the German commander, General Alexander von Kluck, used 84 000 horses. Indeed, the
food needs of the horses greatly increased the supply problems of the German army.

By the end of September 1914, the Schlieffen Plan had failed. Germany now faced war on two
fronts, in the Western and Eastern Europe. Soldiers on both sides on the western front set about
digging a line trenches, separated by barbed wire, “no man’s land,” which ultimately stretched
from the Swiss border to the English Channel. The German army built an almost impregnable
triple line of trenches. They had a much better communication system between the High
Command and the soldier in the trenches than the British and the French. The Germans also
developed better steel helmets, flame throwers and hand grenades. In addition, the Germans
made better use of barbed wire. All these technical advantages of the German army helped to
explain the very high level of casualties among the French and the British armies which
attempted to mount offensives against the German positions during the war. The massed trenches
on both sides ensured there was a stalemate, with very little mobility on the western front in the
first three years of the war.

The Germany army remained on the defensive during most of 1915. It was in1916 that the First
World War started to become very bloody in character, with both sides attempting to make bold,
and often futile attempts to break the deadlock, most notably at the battle of Verdn which lasted
for most of that year. The death toll at the Battle of Verdun, on both sides, reached a staggering
700 000. At the Battle of Sommes the British lost 60 000 on the first day and by the end, Britain
had lost 418 000 troops (i.e. from July to November 1916). German deaths numbered 45 0000 at
Somms and the French – 194000. The Battles of Verdun and the Somms were the two most
bloodiest battles on the western front during the First World War. A close third was the Third
Battle of Upres in 1917.

In all these deadly battles, mass infantry attacks were beaten back by the use of heavy artillery
with little territorial gains on either side. The defending armies were able to take advantage of
important technical developments in fire power provided by the large artillery gun, the magazine
rifles and the machine gun, which became the most potent weapons on the battleground, and
rendered the cavalry charge, which had dominated many in the 19th century, virtually useless.

The generals on both sides were blamed by contemporary soldiers and subsequent historians for
the heartless lack of concern for human life on the Western front, which contributed to the high
death toll. It was said of the leading British general (Douglas Haig) that he killed more English
soldiers than the German army. These are some of the key reasons for the deadlock on the
Western Front.

It is worth noting that the generals faced an exceptionally difficult task of turning largely
untrained soldiers into an efficient modern army in a short time. They were also under immense
pressure from their governments to gain decisive victory and win the war.

Impact of War on Civilian Population in Germany and Britain

The very high death toll in the war strained the human and economic resources of all the major
powers. The events on the battlefield were directly felt by families on the “home front.” As the
war dragged on a very high premium was placed on economic and organizational abilities of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 257

each national government involved in the conflict. The arms expenditure of the rival powers rose
from 4 percent of National income in 1914 to a staggering 25percent by the end of 1916. A great
many factories in Britain, France and Russia were turned over completely to munitions
production. To pay for the war, Britain and France raised taxes as well as borrowed from the
USA. The Germany government pushed up its national debt to quite staggering proportions in
the hope that victory in war would enable to pay it off. However, the greatest economic strain
was felt by those countries which lacked modern industry, most notably Russia, Austria-Hungary
and Italy. The modern industrial economies of Europe, (Germany, Britain and France), rose to
the challenge of war much better than the old pre-industrial societies.

Germany
The German government created a system in which leading army figures and top industrialist
cooperated in running the wartime economy. State corporations were set up to organize the
provision of vital commodities and raw materials necessary to supply the needs of the armed
forces. In October 1916, the Hindenburg programme intensified state and army control of the
German economy. Machinery was transferred from industries dependent on the domestic market
to munitions factories. Many companies which did not contribute to the war effort were forced
by the state to close. The effect of this ruthless organization of industry by the German state was
to create industrial monopoly of companies and cartels which controlled the provision of raw
materials, and it led to shortages and deprivation for ordinary citizens on the home front.

The needs of the German armed forces came ahead of those of the civilian population. The
German army high command was able to place pressure on the Kaiser to limit the powers of
parliament and to sanction a national service law to allow the unrestrained conscription of
citizens to aid the war effort in military or industrial service. Indeed, Germany during the war
was running an army-big-business dictatorship which put all its effort into achieving the goal of
victory in the war and suspended all the Constitutional liberties enjoyed by the citizens in
peacetime. Walter Rathernau, a leading German industrialist, called the organization of the
Germany war effort “state socialism,” implying that every individual was equally serving the
needs and aims of the state. This idea was something which was later adopted more fully during
the era of the Third Reich.

Britain
The British government moved more slowly towards greater state control of the war effort.
Indeed one of the most popular slogans used by the Liberal government in 1914 was “Business
as Usual.” It was only in 1916 for example, that conscription was introduced in Britain whereas
most other countries had conscription schemes in place before 1914. The idea of forcing
someone to serve in the army went against the Liberal ideal of free will. Hence, the British army
was based on voluntary principle, whereby a recruit chose to join. After the appointment of
David Lloyd George as prime minister, in December 1916, however, the labour force and
economy were more organized and state interference in the economy became normal.

Women began to take over work previously done by men in war industries such as munitions,
engineering and transport. The employment of women in Britain increased from 3,5 million to 5

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 258

million from 1914 to 1918. The war effort had given women the opportunity to show they could
complete in what had previously been described as a “man’s world.” As a result, the status of
women was greatly enhanced during the war. In 1918, women were granted the vote in British
national election for the first time.

The cooperation of trade unions with the government facilitated the introduction of longer
working hours, which speeded up production in industry. This helped to increase the status of
trade unions in the years which followed the war and aided the growth of support for the Labour
Party. The British government also increased its control over the presentation of the war in the
press by appointing a minster of propaganda. To pay for the War, indirect taxes were greatly
increased in Britain on goods.

Why did Germany lose the war?

1. Attempts to Break the Deadlock

The Allies used a naval blockade in an attempt to starve the Central powers of vital supplies of
food and raw materials. The torpedo and the mine were used extensively in naval battles. The
guns on British battleships were 15 inches wide and could be used with devastating effect against
enemy vessels.

The Newly acquired torpedo destroyer for Naval combat, was a great advantage to Britain. These
technical advancements helped the British to enjoy control of the seas and put into effect the
naval blockade. However, the blockade worked very slowly.

The Germans responded with a naval blockade of Russia, (helped by Turkey), and engaged in
unrestricted submarine warfare directed against the trade of Britain, France and Italy, which
meant that Germany could attack vessels even of non-combatant powers such as the USA as they
entered the war zone. However, unrestricted submarine attacks subsequently proved
counterproductive because countries such as the USA got inflamed by such attacks.

The most significant naval battle of the war was the Battle of Jutland, (1916). The Germans sank
14 ships whereas the British sank II ships. Its significance was that it convinced the Germans that
their navy had to avoid further naval battles. After Jutland, the German navy returned to port,
leaving the British with control of the seas, at least on the surface of the water.

New weapons were also tried out with the aim of achieving a breakthrough on the western front,
including poison gas, airships, tanks and aircraft. The British were the first to introduce tanks and
they gradually became more efficient weapons towards the end of the war. Lorries were also
used. There were 1000 Lorries in 1914 but the number had shot up to 60 000 by 1918.
Aeroplanes were also used although later models tended to be more reliable and could travel
faster. Their bombing potential could therefore be exploited.

2.The Search for Allies: Us entry into the War

The entry of the USA into the First World War on the side of the Allies, in April 1917 certainly
weakened Germany and signaled her defeat. She entered the war on the side of the Allies mainly
because Germany refused to end unrestricted submarine attacks against US shipping.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 259

The USA brought its massive economic muscle to financially exhausted Allies. She also brought
fresh soldiers, who though they may not have made an immediate impact in 1917, later
contributed to the wearing down of Germany on the western front. For example, the USA sent 2
million troops to fight Germany in 1918. Such numbers, equipped with more modern weapons
no doubt brought German defeat sooner than later.

3.War Aims
The entry of the USA was also important in another respect: it helped the Allies to know what
they were fighting for. Woodrow Wilson, the US president gave fresh impetus to the Allied
cause and therefore made the defeat of Germany more imminent by claiming that the Allies were
fighting for:

1.The upholding of democratic principles

2.The defense of the right of small nations to govern themselves (self-determination).

On 8 January 1918, Wilson laid down his 14 points in a major speech. This was the clearest
statement of Allied War aims in which Wilson claimed that the points would constitute the future
“new world order.”

The 14 points contrasted sharply with Germany’s own war aims, the “September Programme.”
which had been drawn up by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg: They stood
and follow:
1.To weaken France to such an extent as to make its revival as a great power “impossible for all
time.”
2.To break Russian dominance in Eastern Europe by bringing all non-Russian areas under
German domination.
3.To achieve German economic dominance in Europe through the creation of a vast common
market.
4.To establish a large Central- Africa German empire.

4.The Eastern Front

The war on the eastern front was more mobile than the war on the west of Europe. It was
believed that the vast human resources of Russia dubbed the “Russian steamroller.” would
enable the Russians to bleed the German army to death on the eastern front provided they
received adequate supplies of food and military equipment. But the Russian generals had fewer
troops available than those of Germany and Austria- Hungary at the start of the war.

In September 1914, the Russian army was twice defeated by the Germany army, at the Battles of
Taunneberg and the Maurian Lakes. In these early exchanges in battle, the Russian army won a
great number of battles against a weaker Austro- Hungarian army in Serbia which gained a very
important victory at Galician in September 1914, when over 100 000 Austria prisoners were
taken. The weakness of Austria- Hungary proved to be a liability to Germany on the eastern front
as Germany had to bail them out of sticky situations.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 260

Although Russia suffered further defeats at the hands of Germany in the eastern front, a statemet
also developed for the remainder of 1916. In July 1917, a major Russian offensive failed to
achieve a breakthrough. Mutiny now spread throughout the ranks of the Russian army. In
October 1917, when the Bolshevik Party seized power, the new government led by Lenin opened
peace negotiations with the central powers at Brest-Litovsk. The terms imposed on Russia
ensured that Russia conceded 33% of its territory, 64 percent of its pig iron production, 40
percent of coal output and 24 percent of steel-making capacity.

The eastern front had registered real military progress for Germany but it served to spread her
forces and systematically weakened her as she fought the war on two fronts.

5.The Defeat of Germany on the Western Front

At home, food was scarce in Germany, strikes common at many factories and the revolutionary
Social Democratic Party (SDP) agitated for the end of the war. In July 1917 many deputies in the
Reichstag called for a negotiated peace to end the crisis at home as well. Bethmann Hollweg
became the scapegoat for all the unrest and was forced to resign. In January 1918, a wave of
strikes broke out in Berlin’ and demonstrators demanded an end to the bitter conflict on the
western front.

The German army, ignoring the growing opposition to the war went ahead with plans for its
largest offensive of the war. In March 1918, Germany launched a final make-or-break offensive
on the western front (the Ludendorff offensive) This final gamble by the Germans to win the war
before their supplies ran out came very close to success. They broke through the River Somms,
and were less than 40 miles from Paris by the end of May 1918. At the end of July 1918,
however, the German attack was finally halted by the Allies. In August the Allies under the
overall command of Marshall Foch, the French commander began what proved to be the most
decissive counter- attack of the entire war on the western front. This dare-devil assault finally
pushed a large hole through the German defences, sending the German army into retreat. In
September 1918, the Austro-Hungarian government appealed for peace, followed by the
Bulgarians.

The leading German generals Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg now realized the war
was lost. They advised leading figures in the Reichstag to form a democratic government in
order to negotiate peace terms before the Allies occupied German territory. This decision, taken
by the leaders of the German army was designed to shift the blame for defeat onto the shoulders
of the democratic politicians and away from the Kaiser and the army-the real architects of
Germany’s defeat. It helped to feed a powerful myth that the German army was not defeated in
battle but “stabbed in the back” by socialists and democrats at home. The Kaiser abdicated and
fled into exile to Holland. A new German democratic government was formed. This was soon
followed by an armistice at 5am on 11 November 1918. The First World War ended.

Why was Germany defeated?

Key Analysis

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 261

The German army came very close to winning the First World War but in the end was defeated
by a more powerful combination of allies.

1.The failure of the Schlieffen Plan ensured the Germans had to fight a protracted war on two
fronts, which sapped Germany’s economic and military resources.

2.At sea, the Allied blockade proved crucial because Germany started to suffer serious shortages
of food and raw materials, especially during 1918.

3.The entry of the USA into the war which was actually caused by German policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare brought a very powerful ally to the side of Britain and France, at a time
when Allies were really under pressure. This ensured that in the long term, Germany could not
hope to win. The German army also suffered from having very weak allies, which it constantly
had to help out of trouble. This overstretched Germany’s military and economic resources.
4.In the final Analysis, the Allies economic and military strength proved stronger than that of
Germany over the course of a lengthy conflict. In this respect the decision of the British
government to go to war in 1914 was a decisive factor which tipped the scales against
Germany. The British deployed 7 million troops into the battle on the western front. This
enabled the French to hold out against the Germany army on land, something they had not
achieved in the Franco-Prussians War (1870-71) and failed to achieve in 1940. Of course
British and French losses were enormous but the Germans lost many of their best troops as the
conflict developed. Hence, gradually, the superior military strength of Germany was worn
down. By 1918, the entry of the Americans, which added a further 2 million troops and even
more economic muscle for the Allies, ensured that the balance of forces standing against
Germany was much too strong for one single nation, supported only by weak military allies, to
resist.

What were the consequences of the war?

1. The First World War had major consequences. During the war, four major monarchial empires
the Hohenzollern- in Germany: the Romanov,-in Russia; the Habsburg,- Austria- Hungary, the
Ottoman in Turkey, were all destroyed.
2. The loss to human life was huge Over, 8,5 million were killed in combat whilst 22 million
were wounded. Most of the casualties were young, able-bodied men dubbed the “lost
generation.” There were great many widows and orphans after the war.
3. The economic consequences of the war were also far- reaching. The world economy suffered a
slump after the war which damaged world currencies, trade and employment patterns. The
switching of production to war materials led to unemployment after the war and increased in
the price of consumer goods.

Another major economic consequence was a vast increase in the debts of most nations. Most of
these debts were owed to the USA. As a result, the war severely weakened the economic
dominance of Europe and saw the growth of the economic power of the USA.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 262

4. There was great increase of state power in most European countries. The Russian Revolution
of 1917 began the trend towards totalitarian governments which became a feature of the
interwar period.
5. The war led to demands by small nations to govern themselves. Hence at the end of the war, a
whole lot of small, though weak, countries were set up as independent states.
6. The states of women also changed during the war. Many had been employed in munitions
factories and in transport and clerical work during the War. Therefore many women
demanded greater equality in the inter-war period. This increased status enabled women to get
the vote, especially in Britain.
7. The war increased the status and power of organized labour. There was a growth of trade
union representation after the war, virtually in all countries.

Examination type questions

1.Compare the importance of at least three factors which affected the lives of the civilian
population during the First World War.
2.Identify and explain any two means used to try to break the deadlock on the western front from
1914 to 1918.
3.“The American entry into the War was the most important reason why Germany was
defeated.” How far do you agree?
4.“Weak allies accelerated the German defeat in the First World War.” How valid is this claim?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 263

 CHAPTER 21
THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE – (1919)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter students should be able to:
1.Describe the aims of the Big Three in the Treaty of Versailles.
2.Explain what problems the big three faced in trying to come up with a “just” peace.
3.Describe the territorial and non-territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
4.Discuss the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles on .
a)Germany.
b)France.
c)Public opinion.
5.Describe the impact of the peace treaties on Germany’s Allies such as Austria. Hungry and
Turkey (1919-1923).
6.Assess the impact of the peace treaties between 1919- 1923 on Europe in the 1920s and 1930s.
7.Evaluate how far the Treaty of Versailles applied the concept of self- determination- unfairly?

The Paris Peace conference came in the wake of the First World War. The First World War had
lasted for four years and three months. It began on 28 July when Austria declared war on Serbia
and Germany on Russia and France and the war ended on November 11, 1918. It involved sixty
sovereign states and overthrew four Empires (Germany Empire, Austrian Empire, Turkish
Empire and Russian Empire) combatant lives (another 30 million were wounded) and cost about
£ 35 000 million.

Although representatives of thirty two states attended the Peace Conference at Paris in January
1919 to write the peace treaties, three men stood out above others. These were Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States of America, Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, and Lloyd
George, Prime Minister of Britain. These came to be known as the Big Three, for they eventually
made all the decisions of the Conference.

These three leaders seem to have had conflicting objectives at the Paris Peace Conference in
France.
Woodrow Wilson
He was an idealist, a theorist and pacifist. As a pacifist, (the horrors of the American Civil War
had made him a pacifist, he hoping that there would be no war for, mankind. As a theorist (he

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 264

was an ex-professor of history and political economy), he liked to apply his academic theory and
knowledge to solve the problem of war. As an idealist (he was a man of good intentions), he was
able to produce his blue print for peace in the future in his 14 points in January 1918.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

1. The first main theme of Wilson’s fourteen points was the granting of national independence to
all the oppressed peoples. In practice this involved the following points.

Impartial adjustments of colonial claims: the settlement of colonial problems with reference to
the interests of colonial peoples (point 5).
a)- Germany’s surrender of her past conquests:
i) Evacuation by Germans of all Russian territory (point 6)
ii) Evacuation by the Germans of all Belgian territory (point 7)
iii) Evacuation by the Germans of Alsace – Lorraine (French territores) (point 8)

(c)-The dissolution of the Austro- Hungarian Empire and Turkish Empire, and the granting of
independence to all the oppressed nationalities.
i) The Italian frontier to extend west ward to recover some land from Austria Hungary (Point 9)
ii) Autonomous development for the people of Austria – Hungary (Point 10)
iii) Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro to be independent (Point 11)
iv) The peoples under Turkish rule to be autonomous (Point 12)
v) There was to be an independent Poland (Point 13)

In short, Wilson hoped to remove all of the fundamental causes of World War One, namely the
attempt of the big powers to rule alien races.

2.The second main theme was that there should be: -

Open Diplomacy – according to point one, all diplomacy and negotiation between states was to
be carried out openly.
Open Sea – according to Point 2, there was to be absolute freedom of navigation of the seas, both
in peace and war, except in territorial waters).
Open Trade – according to Point 3, trade conditions for nations should be fair and equal and
there should not be any tariff barriers between them.
Disarmament – according to Point 4, armaments were to be reduced to the lowest point
consistent with domestic safety only. In other words, Wilson wanted to remove 3 root causes of
World War I, namely the alliance system, arms race and economic rivalry.

3.The third theme was that an international association of nations should be established (Point
14). This association would not only guarantee the independence of all nations, but would also
do its very best to further their prosperity by promoting international co-operation in economic
and social spheres. In other words, Wilson wanted to replace national rivalries by international
co-operation.

To sum up, Wilson’s ideals of a peaceful World consisted of a removal of all the basic causes of
the First World War (namely race, secret diplomacy, economic rivalry and the struggle of the
oppressed nationalities to get independence, i.e.nationalism) and the formation of an

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 265

international organization to promote the political, economic and social progress of the whole
world – the future League of Nations.

Clemenceau
Clemenceau, the French Premier, was a man of completely different character and aim from
Wilson. He was known as the ‘Tiger’. He was no idealist and pacifist. He did not pay any high
regard to the wishes of the oppressed nationalists to gain independence. His basic aims at the
Peace Conference were to give France, first of all her two lost valuable provinces, Alsace and
Lorraine. Secondly, he wanted security against any possible German aggression in the future. To
realize his second aim, he wanted to weaken Germany permanently by confiscating all her
colonies and her past conquests, by depriving her of armed forces, by exacting heavy reparations
from her and by creating a buffer as a policy of ‘realism’. French hatred of Germany was
excusable. France had been defeated in 1871 and nearly defeated in the First World War. As
France was next to Germany, she always feared another German aggression.

Lloyd George
Lloyd George the British P.M. stood midway between these two extreme personalities. He was
being pressured by the anti-German opinion in Great Britain that Germany must pay for the war
and “Hang the Kaiser.” In the meantime, he also understood that if excessively heavy reparations
and exceedingly harsh political terms were imposed on Germany, Germany might think of a war
of revenge in the future. Moreover, a poor impoverished Germany would also render herself to
be a poor customer of British goods. A settlement with moderate terms on Germany suited
Britain’s long-term interests. As a result, this tactful politician tried his best to smooth over the
differences between the extreme viewpoints of Wilson and Clemenceau.
The outcome of the efforts of Lloyd George was that the Versailles settlement, taken as a whole,
appeared to be a compromise between Wilson’s pacifist ideals and Clemenceau’s revengeful
attitude.

Study Guides
i) What were the aims of the Big Three in the Treaty of Versailles and how far were these
achieved.
ii) What problems did the peacemakers face when they were framing a peace, treaty which
would address the demands of public opinion?
iii) What were France’s main aims once Germany had been defeated?
iv) Why did most Germans see the treaty of Versailles as a dictat?
v) What strengths did the Germans still enjoy after their defeat and even after the Treaty of
Versailles?

The Peace Treaties

The peace treaties below must be studied in greater detail:
i)Treaty of Versailles with Germany – June 1919
ii) Treaty of St German with Austria – September 1919
iii) Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria – November 1919
iv) Treaty of Trianon with Hungary – June 1920
v) Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne with Turkey – August 1920 and July 1923 respectively.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 266

Treaty of Versailles (1919)
The treaty reflected chiefly on two basic ideas such as the punishment of the defeated, and the
maintenance of the principle of self- determination. These two basic ideas were also reflected in
the other treaties.

(i) Territorial Terms

Germany was to lose all her past conquests. These were to be returned to their own national units
-In the South West, Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France.
-The Saar, the coal – producing area of the Germany was to be under the League of Nations for
15 years. After this period, there would be a plebiscite in the Saar to decide its future.
-In the meantime, France was to operate its coalmines so as to compensate for the damage done
to the French mines during the war.
-In the West – European and Malmedy (after a plebiscite) were given to Belgium.
-In the north, north Schleswig (after plebiscite), was returned to Denmark.
-In the east, Poland was recreated as a state.

Poland in view of the communist threat to the north, was to be strengthened by (i) the cession of
a large part of East Prussia (ii) the cession of Posen, so that she might have access to the sea (in
Posen, there was a strip of territory running from River Vistula to the sea. This was termed the
Polish Corridor) (iii) to safe guard the Polish control of the corridor, Danzig was made a free
international city under the League even though the port was predominantly German in
population. (iv) The acquisition of two fifths of Upper Silesia even though Germans out-
numbered the Poles by about 5 to 3 in the area.

Memel was given first to the League of Nations, which ultimately passed the place/ area to
Lithuania.

-Germany lost all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Most of them, were transferred to the
League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, South
Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan to rule them as mandates.

-Germany’s territorial losses were severe. About 13% of her land and 7 million of her former
population had to be given up. However, she was forbidden to enter into any union with Austria.

(ii) Non-Territorial Terms

Disarmament: Military Terms

-Germany was almost totally disarmed. She was allowed an army of 100 000 men to be recruited
by voluntary enlistment.
-She was allowed only six small battle ships of less than 10000 tones.
-The general staff had to be disbanded
-All munitions, tanks and heavy guns had to be surrendered and destroyed.
-Importation of munitions was prohibited and their manufacture restricted.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 267

-The army was limited to 16 500 men, six battle ships, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers and
twelve torpedo boats. All other ships were to be surrendered to the allies.
-Germany was not allowed to have any U- boats.
-Naval defences and fortifications were to be demolished.
-Germany was not allowed to have an air – force and all existing aeroplanes and zeppelins were
to be destroyed or surrendered.
-The Rhineland was to be occupied for 15 years by the Allied forces during which it would
remain permanently demilitarized.

(iii) War - Guilt and Reparations

According to Article 231 of the Treaty, Germany and her allies had to accept responsibility for
causing all the losses and damages to which the Allied powers had been subjected as a
consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies. In
other words, the whole blame for provoking the First World War was put on Germany. This is
historically incorrect and so constituted a great hurt to the German national pride.

This ‘war- guilt clause’ provided the Allied justification for war trials and reparations. At
Leipzig, 12 Germans were tried, and 6 were convicted of war crimes. The Kaiser was not tried
because the Dutch government refused to hand him over to the Allied powers. In 1921 the
Reparation Commission decided that Germany had to pay £6,600 million in reparations. This
figure was considered too large, for the reparations covered not only direct loss and damage as a
result of the war, but also indirect loss and damage as a result of the war and war expenditure
such as allowances paid to families of soldiers, cost of maintaining Allied occupation in the
Rhine and the war loans of the Belgian government. Part of the reparations was to be paid in
annual installments, part in ships, coal and other kind of goods.

Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war- guilt clause and the accompanying
clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. The German resentment
of the treaty helped the rise of Hitler in the 1930s. Hence, historians have blamed the harsh
treatment of Germany at the Versailles Treaty for causing the Second World War.

The Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)

Like the Versailles settlement with Germany, Austria was punished for provoking World War I
and much of her territory was given to the newly created states which were formed as a result of
the dissolution of the Austro- Hungarian Empire at the end of the war.

Territorial Terms
-Trieste, Tyrol (part of it) and Istria were given to Italy
-Bohemia including the Sudetenland, Moravia and part of Silesia were given to Czechoslovakia
-Slovania was given to Rumania
-Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia – were given to Yugoslavia
-Galicia – given to Poland
-In most of the cases, the subject peoples of the Hapsburg Empire were now returned to the land
of the same nationality. The principle of self - determination was asserted once- more.
The principle of some punishment was at the same time meted out to Austria. Firstly, in the vast
territories lost by the Austrians, there lived millions of Austrian Germans. There were 3 million

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 268

Germans in the Sudetenland and 250 000 in Tyrol. Secondly, the much-reduced Austria was
forbidden to unite with Germany. This was a severe blow to the survival of Austria because
Austrian goods had always depended upon the Germany market.
-Austria’s population was diminished from about 28 million to less than 8 million.

Non-Territorial Terms
Disarmament / Military Terms
-The Austrian army was not to exceed 30 000 men.
-The manufacture of munitions was limited to what could be produced by a single factory.
-The Austrian army was to be broken up.
-Austria was ordered to surrender her merchant fleet and vast quantities of livestock to the Allies.
-She was forced to accept responsibility for the loss and damage inflicted on Allied property.
Reparations
-A Reparations Committee had to establish Austria’s debt.

The Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919)

This was signed with Bulgaria
Territorial Terms
-Bulgaria lost Western Macedonia to Yugoslavia
-Western Thrace, was ceded to Greece, thus Bulgaria lost her outlet to the Aegean
(Mediterranean) sea
-Romania was to retain part of Dobruja. Bulgaria actually received a slight extension of territory
west of Adrianople to include people of Bulgar origin in her state.

Non-Territorial Terms
Disarmament
-The Bulgarian army was restricted to 20 000 regulars.
-In addition, only 10 000 policemen and 3000 frontier quarrels were to be retained in the state.
-There were similar naval clauses affecting the Bulgarian navy as had been applied to Austria
and Germany.
-Bulgaria was not required to forfeit her merchant navy.

Reparations
An amount of £90 million was fixed as Bulgaria’s reparations debt.

The Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)

The Treaty with Hungary – confirmed the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy and the existence of
an independent Hungary.

Territorial Terms
-Croatia, Slavonia, the Voivodina, and the Banat were ceded to Yugoslavia.
-Slovakia and Ruthania were coded to Czechoslovakia
-Romania got the rest of the Banat, Transylvania and part of Western Hungary.
-Another part of Western Hungary (to become known as the Burgenland) was given to the -
Austrian Republic as it was inhabited mostly by German – speaking people. These territorial
adjustments, however, also resulted in more than 3 000 000 Magyars being assigned to other

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 269

states. Altogether, Hungary lost the staggering number of more than 11 million people to other
states.
-The Hungarian armed forces were restricted to 35 000 men.
-It was states that Hungary was liable to pay reparations but no amount of money was specified.

The Treaty of Sevres (August 1920)

The Treaty of Sevres met with immediate failure because the Big Three had almost completely
discarded the principle of nationalism in making the treaty. They partitioned Turkey as a Colony.
Besides granting independence to Saudi Arabia and Armenia, the victors almost divided up
Turkey among themselves as spoils. Syria and Lebanon were mandated to France, while
Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq were mandated to Britain. Rhodes and the Dodelanese were
given to Italy. Eastern Thrace, Adrianople and Smyrna were obtained by Greece.
-Even the straits of Dardanelles and Bosphorous were put under international control.
-All that remained of the former Ottoman Empire consisted of the city of Constantinople and the
northern end central parts of Asia Minor.
-Imbros and Tenedos were to be ceded to Greece.
-An Allied commission was to control Turkey’s finances which would be unequal to the task of
paying reparations.
-The Turkish army was cut down to 50 000 men
-Aircraft and most warships had to be surrendered.

The Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923)

-Soon after the Sultan had signed the treaty, a nationalist leader Mustapha Kemal, immediately
led a nationalist movement to overthrow the Sultan government. In November 1922, the Sultan’s
government was deposed. Kemal demanded a new treaty. He also began a war to reconquer the
land occupied by the powers. The powers were tired of war, and only Greece was intent on
holding her territorial acquisitions. Greece fought with the Turks but after a short while – she
was defeated.

This resulted in a new treaty – the treaty of Lausanne

-The treaty was signed on July 24 1923
-Unlike all the above mentioned treaties, it was decided not by the “Big Three”, Russia, Italy,
Greece, Rumania, Yugoslavia and most important of all, Turkey also participated in the drafting
of the treaties.
-By the new treaty, Turkey recovered purely Turkish territories (i.e- eastern Thrace). She gave
up her claims to non- Turkish territories. They became mandates according to the treaty of
Sevres. Turkey retained Constantinople, Adrianople and land lying between them.
-The treaty of Lausanne turned out to be the most successful treaty because it was the only
negotiated Peace Treaty
-Turkey was treated as a nation but not as a defeated enemy.

Study Guides
i) What were the main military restrictions placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles?
ii) What were the main territorial changes imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles?
iii) Why was the War guilt clause so significant?
iv) How unjustified were German protests about the Treaty of Versailles?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 270

v) Describe the following treaties
a)The Treaty of Trianon (1919)
b)The St. German (1920)
c)Neuiley (1919)
d)Sevier (1923)
vi) How did they affect the countries for which they were concerned?

Assessment of the Peace Settlement

The settlement a as whole, and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in particular, remain a
controversial issue. The critics of the settlement have, on one hand, maintained that the treaties
were too harsh, that it was, in-fact, a Carthaginian peace (that is, the terms were excessively
severe on the defeated contestants). On the other hand, it has been claimed that the settlement
was not severe enough. In the case of the Versailles Treaty criticism is as follows:

(i) The peace settlement was made by the Big Three and the defeated states were never allowed
to discuss the terms.
(ii)The punishment on Germany was somewhat excessive, since a democratic government had
come to power.
(iii) There was the existence of many national minorities in the new states of Europe, about 17
millions.
(iv) The victorious powers did not disarm, even though the defeated powers had been disarmed
to the lowest level.
(v) There were many cases where the Big Three abandoned the principle of nationality when
they were making the territorial settlement, for example, Italy obtained South Tyrol which
contained 250 000 Austrian Germans, and Rumania obtained Transylvania, where more than half
of the population were Hungarians. Thus the defeated powers were suspicious of the intentions
of the victorious powers and had deep resentment against the Versailles Treaty.
(vi) Perhaps, the main shortcoming of the Treaty of Versailles was that it was too much of a
compromise, as one historian has put it, “between thoroughly opposed positions, too soft to
restrain Germany and yet too severe to be acceptable to most Germans”, Marks, continues to say
that the treaty of Versailles was “the awkward accommodation of Wilstonian idealism and
French cynicism” that proved to be unworkable.

The Treaty of Versailles

It had been generally assumed among German public opinion that the Treaty of Versailles would
result in a fair peace. This is because President Wilson’s 14 points were assumed to lay the basis
of the terms (this, of course, was never the intention).

However, it soon became clear that the treaty would not be open for discussion with Germany’s
representatives. When the drafting of the terms was presented in May 1919, there was national
shock and outrage in Germany. In desperation, the first Weimar government led by Sheidemann
resigned. The allies were not prepared to negotiate, which obliged an embittered Reichstag to
finally accept the Treaty of Versailles by 237 votes to 138 in June. This was because Germany
simply did not have the capacity to resist.
The Treaty of Versailles was a compromise, but only in the sense that it was a compromise
between the Allied powers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 271

The ‘Diktat’

1. The Treaty was considered to be very different from President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Most
obviously many Germans found it impossible to understand how and why the guiding principle
of self- determination was not applied in a number of cases. They viewed the following areas
as much for Germany,’ but placed under foreign rule; Austria, Danzig, Posen, West Prussia,
Memel, Upper Silesia, Sudetenland the Saar. Similarly, the loss of German colonies was not in
line with the fifth of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which had called for “an impartial adjustment
of all colonial claims. Instead, they were passed on to the care of the Allies as mandates.

2. Germany found it impossible to accept the War Guilt clause (Article 231), which was the
Allies justification for demanding the payment of reparations. Most Germans argued that
Germany could not be held solely responsible for the outbreak of the war. They were
convinced that the war of 1914 had been fought for defensive reasons because their country
had been threatened by “encirclement” from the allies in 1914.

3. Germany considered the Allied demands for extensive reparations as totally unreasonable.
Worryingly, the actual size of the reparations payment was not stated in the Treaty of
Versailles. It was left to be decided later. From a German point of view, this amounted to their
being forced to sign a ‘blank cheque.”

4. The imposition of the disarmament clauses was seen as grossly unfair as Britain and France
remained highly armed and made no future commitments to disarm. It seemed as if Germany
had been unilaterally disarmed (the disbarment of one party). Wilson pushed for universal
disarmament after the war, but France and Britain were more suspicious. As a result only
Germany had to disarm, whereas Wilson had spoken in favour of universal disarmament,
disarmament worsened German insecurity, internal disorder and increased unemployment.

5. Germany’s treatment by the Allies was viewed as undignified and unworthy of a great power.
For example Germany was excluded from The League of Nations, but as part of the treaty, was
forced to accept the rules of its covenant. This simply hardened the views of those Germans
who saw the League as a tool of the Allies rather than as a genuine international organization.

Altogether, the treaty was seen as a Diktat. The allies maintained a military blockade on
Germany until the Treaty was signed. This had significant human consequences such as
increasing food shortages. Furthermore, the Allies threatened to take further military action if
Germany did not co-operate.

VERSAILLES: A MORE BALANCED VIEW

In the years 1919-1945, most Germans regarded the Treaty of Versailles as a diktat. Britain, too,
developed a growing sympathy for Germany’s position. However, this was not the case in
France, where the Treaty was generally condemned as being too lenient. It was only after the
Second World War that a more balanced view of the Treaty of Versailles emerged in Europe. As
a result, recent historians have tended to look upon the peacemakers of 1919 in more sympathetic
light, earlier German criticisms of the Treaty are no longer as readily accepted as they once were.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 272

Of course the Paris peace conference statement were motivated by their own national self-
interest and the representatives of France and Britain were keen to achieve these at the expense
of Germany. However, it is now recognized that it was the situation created by the war and not
just the anti-German feeling. The aims of the various powers differed and achieving agreement
was made more difficult by the complicated circumstances of the time. It should be remembered
that the Paris Peace Settlement was not solely concerned with Germany, so Austria-Hungary,
Bulgaria and Turkey were forced to sign separate treaties. In addition, numerous other problems
had to be dealt with. For example, Britain had national interests to look after in the Middle East
as a result of the collapse of the Turkish Empire.
At the same time the allies were concerned by the threat of Soviet Russia and were motivated by
a common desire to contain the Bolshevik menace.
In the end, the Treaty of Versailles was a compromise. It was not based on Wilson’s Fourteen
Points as most Germans thought it would be, but equally it was not nearly so severe as certain
sections of the Allied opinions had demanded. It should therefore be noted that:
-Clemenceau, the French representative was forced to give way over most of his country’s more
extreme demands, such as the creation of an independent Rhineland and the annexation of the
Saar.
-The application of self-determination was not as unfair as many Germans believed e.g
-Alsace- Lorraine would have voted to return to France anyway, as it had been French before
1871
-Plebiscites were held in Schleswig, Silesia and parts of Prussia to decide their future.
-Danzig’s status under the League was the result of Woodrow Wilson’s promise to provide
‘Poland with access to the sea.”
-The eastern frontier provinces of Posen and West Prussia were rather more mixed in ethnic
make-up than German was prepared to admit (in these provinces Germans predominated in
towns, whereas the Poles did so in the countryside, which made it very difficult to draw a clear
boundary line.)
-Austria and Sudetenland had never been part of Germany before 1918, anyway.
-Germany was not physically occupied during the war and as a result, the real damage was
suffered on foreign soil e.g. France and Belgium.
-In comparison, the Treaty of Versailles appeared relatively moderate to the severity of the terms
imposed by the Germans on the Russians at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, which annexed
large areas of Poland and the Baltic states.

The significance of the treaty of Versailles

The historical significance of the Treaty of Versailles goes well beyond the debate over its
fairness. It raises the important issue of its impact upon the Weimar Republic and whether it
acted as a serious handicap to the establishment of long-term political stability in Germany.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 273

The economic consequences of reparations were undoubtedly a genuine concern. The English
economic Keynes feared, in 1919, that the reparations would fundamentally weaken the
economy of Germany with consequences for the whole of Europe. However, Germany’s
economic potential was still considerable.

-It had potentially by far the strongest economy in Europe and still had extensive industry and
commercial resources.
-The Weimar Republic’s economic problems cannot be blamed on the burden of reparations
alone. It should be noted that by 1932 Germany had received more in loans under the Dawes
Plan than it paid in reparations.
-It is not really possible to maintain that the Treaty had weakened Germany politically. In some
respects, Germany in 1919 was in a stronger position than in 1914. The great empires of Russia,
Australia Hungary and Turkey had gone, creating a power vacuum in central and Eastern Europe
that could not be filled at least in the short-term by a weak and isolated Soviet Russia or by any
other state. In such a situation cautious diplomacy might have led to the establishment of German
power and influence at the heart of Europe.
-However, on another level the Treaty might be considered more to blame because, in the minds
of many Germans, it was regarded as the real cause of the country’s problems and they really
believed that it was totally unfair. In the war German public opinion had been strongly shaped by
nationalist propaganda and then deeply shocked by the defeat. Both the Armistice and Versailles
were closely linked to the “stab in the back” myth that the German Army had not really lost the
First World War in 1918. It may have been a myth, but it was a very powerful one.
-As a result, although the war had been pursued by Imperial Germany, it was the new democracy
of Weimar that was forced to take the responsibility and the blame for the First World War.
Therefore, Weimar democracy was deeply weakened by Versailles, which fuelled the
propaganda of the Republic’s opponents over the years.

Study Guides

i) Did the Treaty of Versailles lay the seeds of the Second World War?
ii) What difficulties arose over the question of Reparations in the years 1919- 1925? Was this a
genuine problem?
iii) Did the Treaty of Versailles overlook the concept of self- determination on Germany?
iv) How significant was the clamour of public opinion in 1919?

Examination type questions

1.Did the Treaty of Versailles (1919) have any more aim than to reward the victors and punish
the aggressors?
2.Was the Treaty of Versailles dominated by the spirit of revenge?
3.“The Peace treaties signed between 1919 and 1923 were neither just nor wise.” How justified
is this assertion?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 274

 4.How valid is the view that the eventual settlement of Versailles was a comprise between the
British and French views?
5.“The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were actually reasonable.” How far do you agree
6.Did the Treaty of Versailles fundamentally weaken the Weimar Republic?
7.To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles motivated by anti -German feeling?

Key References

1. E.H. Carr- International Relations between the Wars.

2. G. Layton -The Third Reich, 1933- 45.
3. G. Layton-Weimar and the Rise Nazi Germany. 1918- 1933.
4. H. Nicholson- Peacemaking. 1919.
5. H.L. Peacock-A History of Europe: 1789- 1981.
6. D. Thomson -Europe since Napoleon.
7. A. Todd- Democracies and Dictatorships:
Europe and the World 1919-1989.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 275

 CHAPTER 22
THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC: - 1919 – 1933
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the historical links of the Republic to the Versailles Treaty.
2. Explain the provisions of the Weimar Constitution.
3. Explain why the Empire (second reich) was succeeded by a democratic government.
4. Describe the problems faced by the Republic:
(a)Political problems e.g. Uprisings such as the Spartacist Revolt, Kapp Putsch, Munich Beer
hall Putsch.
(b)Economic problems- e.g. the inflation and then hyperinflation and near economic collapse of
1923.
(c)Coming of the Great Depression.
5. Evaluate how far the Republic managed to deal with all the above problems
6. Assess the career of Gustav Stressmann, his aims methods, successes and failures.
7. Analyse the performance of the Republic in foreign relations, (1923- 1929).
8. Assess the impact of the Great Depression and the collapse of democracy as extremists such as
Hitler came to power.

Study Guides
1. What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany from 1919 to 1923?
2. What kind of government did the Spartacist wish to establish in Germany?
3. Did the Treaty of Versailles fundamentally weaken the Weimar Republic?
4. Describe the main features of the Weimar Constitution.
5. In what ways was the Weimar Constitution?
a) A source of strength or weakness of the Weimar Republic?
6. How serious was the opposition of the extreme left to the Weimar Republic? (Those who
favoured communist-oriented regime)
7. What did the extreme right stand for? (Anti-Marxism; authoritarian Kaiser style of
government).
8. What prompted the Kapp Putsch and why did it fail?
9. How significant was the Kapp Putcsch?
10. What was the greatest threat to Weimar democracy?
11. How significant was the Munich Beer hall Putsch?
12. Which was the greater threat to the Weimar Republic in the years 1919- 1923- the extreme
left or the extreme right?
13. How did the First World War weaken the German economy?
14. Why did Germany suffer hyper- inflation?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 276

15. How did hyperinflation benefit some Germans and yet totally ruin the others?
16. Was the hyper- inflation of 1923 a disaster for Germany.
17. What methods were used by Stressemann to get the country out of the crisis of 1923 and how
effective did they prove to be?
18. Explain why the Weimar Republic was economically stronger than it had been in 1919.
19. “The political instability of the Weimar Republic in the years 1919 to 1923 was the result of
its economic difficulties.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
20. Why was 1923 a year of Crisis?
21. What were the strengths of the German economy?
22. What were the weaknesses of the German economy after 1923?
23. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Daules Plan?
24. Did Stresemann restore pride and prosperity to Germany?
25. Were the years 1924-1929 deceptively stable?
26. Describe the impact of the Great Depression of 1929 on the Weimar Republic.

Weimar Germany was the name given to the period of German history from 1919 until 1933. It
got its name from the fact that the constitution for the post – war republic was drawn up at the
town of Weimar in South- eastern Germany. The town was chosen for the constituent assembly
because it was peaceful and acceptable to the Allied peacemakers in Paris. The hope was that the
allies would create more leniently a new peaceful German Republic rather than the militaristic
empire that had led Germany into war.

The History of the Republic can be divided into three phases:

(i) The years of Turmoil (1919 – 1923)
(ii) The Stressman Era (1924 – 1929).
(ii) The Collapse of the Weimar Republic (1930 – 1933)

The Years of Turmoil (1919 – 1923)

The Weimar Republic was formed when Kaiser William II abdicated and went into exile in
Holland; it had become clear that the Germans and their allies were losing the war. A republic
was proclaimed, with the socialist leader Frederich Ebert as Chancellor (President). The first act
of the new government was to sign the armistice with the Allies. Many, including Adolf Hitler,
saw this as an act of treason and the men who agreed to surrender became known as the
“November Criminals”.

From the onset, the Republic faced a host of problems, in the social, economic and political
spheres.

The political Problems faced by the Weimar Republic

(i) General unrest in the country after the First World War.
(ii) Accused of signing the Versailles Treaty, hence the name “November Criminals”. Thus – the
Republic was unpopular from the start.
(iii) Attempted coups and assassination attempts of the leaders.
(iv) The Weimar constitution caused problems for the Republic. It was too democratic,
especially on the issue of proportional representation. This meant that any party which won seats
had to be represented in the Reichstag. This led to political instability, as there were many small

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 277

parties, some of them undemocratic. As there were too many political parties, there were many
coalition governments. During the fourteen years of the Weimar Republic, there were twenty
separate coalitions. The longest government lasted only two years. The political chaos caused
many to lose faith in the new democratic system.

Some of the provisions of the constitution were open to abuse. For example, the president,
elected for 7 years had too much power, which he could abuse. He could appoint and dismiss
the Chancellor or Head of government. He also had the power to dissolve the Reichstag
(Parliament). This again could be abused. He also had emergency powers which enabled him to
dispute with the Reichstag altogether, which again could be abused by a power - hungry
President.

(v) The Stigma of the Versailles Treaty

The Weimar Republic was unfortunate to have ruled when it did. The Republic was forced to
sign the Versailles Treaty, the so-called Diktat. By signing this dictated peace, they incurred the
wrath of the majority of Germans who considered it as ‘a stab in the back’. They believed that
the Republican leaders should not have signed it. The Republic therefore was accused of
betraying the Germans, hence the term “November Criminals.”

(vi)The Republic had no positive friends but too many enemies.

In its early years the Republic did not have a standing army to rely on. They relied on the
neutrality of the imperial army also relied on volunteer forces of ex- soldiers or the Freikorps. In
other words, the Republic had no firm control of the country. It was assaulted by a series of
attempted coups e.g the Spartacist coup (1919); the Kapp Putsch (1920) and Hitler’s abortive
revolution in Munich (November 1923). There were assassinations of the leadership, for example
Matthias Erzberger was assassinated in 1921 for negotiating the peace with the Allied powers.
Walter Rathenau, the Minister of Construction was assassinated in 1922.

(vii) There was a lack of firm leadership

The republic never really won the confidence of the Germans. In other words, it was never fully
in control of the state. The leadership lacked the required experience to lead the country. The
president, Von Hindenburg, for instance, was a military man who did not have the art of
governance. This weakened the Republic from the onset.

Economic Problems
(i) Hyper inflation: Germany suffered from extreme inflation, which reached its peak in 1923.
This was caused partly by the financial woes of all Germany, governments since 1914. The
War had been financed through borrowing. The mark had declined by November 1919 to half
its value. After the war, there was a general loss of confidence in the Germany mark. The
other cause of inflation was the magnitude of the financial and economic burdens imposed
upon Germany in the years following the armistice, for example, reparations payment. In
1921, inflation rose from 60 to the American dollar, to 310. By April 1923 inflation had risen
to 24 000 marks to one American dollar. By December it had risen to 4,200 000 000 000.

(ii) The French occupation of the Ruhr

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 278

Seventy thousand French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in 1923 to enforce the payment
of reparations. The economic effects of the occupation were catastrophic. The loss of production
in the Ruhr caused a fall in production elsewhere. Some of the effects were as follows:
(a) Unemployment, which rose from 2% to 23%
(b) Rise in prices became uncontrollable as tax revenues collapsed.
(c) Bankruptcy, caused by enormous expense of the war.
(a) Hyper inflation – the government financed its activities by the printing of more money. Many
people were affected by this hyperinflation. For the borrowers, debts were wiped out. To civil
servants and professionals who relied on wages, their salaries could not purchase much. It also
caused financial ruin for the middle class who had invested their capital in business.

The Stressmann period (1924 – 1929)

These were years of stability and prosperity. Germany’s economy began to recover – thanks to
the policies of Gustav Stressmann (Chancellor up to 1923) and Foreign secretary up to 1929 –
when he died) Stressmann’s achievements were as follows:

(i) He successfully negotiated the Dawes plan and Young plans which adjusted Germany’s
reparations payments to her advantage. Total reparations were reduced from £6,600 million to
£2000 million. This envisaged German economic recovery. This recovery was financed by short-
term loans borrowed from abroad practically from the USA.
(ii) Stressmann introduced, with the assistance of the new Minister of Finance, Haus Luther, a
new mark known as the Rentenmark in November 1923. This was replaced by the Reichsmark in
1 924.
(ii) Financial stability accompanied political stability. Hindenburg became President in 1925,
replacing Ebert who had died in 1925. This stability blunted Nationalist Opposition.
(iii) Unemployment was reduced marginally, from 2 000 000 in 1925, to 1,500 000 in 1927 and
further reduced to 900 000 in 1929.
(iv) Stressmann understood foreign policy as the key to the preservation of stability. Stressmann
was objective, patient and conciliatory. His achievements in Foreign Policy are as follows: -
(a) He signed the Locarno treaties in 1925.
(b) Germany entered the League of Nations in 1927.
(c)France was forced to evacuate the demilitarized Rhineland. Liberal historians portrayed him
as a ‘good European’ eager to put co-operation in place of confrontation. Stressmann was
probably the Republic’s most accomplished statesman.

-Stressman’s primary aim was to rid Germany of foreign restraints and to regain for her full
sovereignty and freedom of political action.
-In 1926 the British withdrew from Cologne, the first major reduction of occupying forces.
-In 1927 there was the withdrawal of the Inter- Allied Control Commission, the major
‘watchdog’ of the Versailles treaty.
-Before the fall of the republic, the evacuation of foreign troops had been completed (August
1929).

It is hardly surprising that when he died of a stroke in October 1929 at the age of 51,
Stressmann’s reputation stood very high. He had become a focus for hopes of European peace.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 279

Hitler is reported to have remarked that in Stressmann’s position he could not have achieved
more.

The Collapse of Weimar (1930 – 33)

Two important events plunged Germany back to political instability and economic problems,
which led to the collapse of the Republic. These were:

(i) The death of Stressmann in October 1929 from a stroke

(ii) The Wall – Street Crash, signaled the onset of the Great Depression.

Effects of the Great Depression

(i) The depression led to the recalling of those short – term loans on which Weimar’s brief period
of relative prosperity had been based. These had been mainly from the USA, which was also
hard – hit by the Depression.
(ii) Closure of banks, factories and firms. By 1931, a number of Austrian and German banks
went out of business.
(iii) Industrial production fell quickly, and by 1932, it was 40% of the 1929 level.
(iv) There was a drastic reduction of German exports because of reduced markets.
(v) Unemployment rose from 1, 6 million in October 1929 to 6.12 million in February 1932 and
33% of the total workforce were now unemployed. By 1932, roughly one worker in three was
registered as unemployed, with rates even higher in industrial areas of Germany.
(vi) Stressmann was succeeded by Heinrich Burning who followed a policy of economic
austerity where government spending was cut in order to keep inflation under control and to keep
German exports competitive. He passed the following measures: -
(a) He reduced social services.
(b) He also reduced unemployment benefits, salaries and pensions for government officials.
(c)He increased taxes.
(d) He also stopped reparations payment.

(iii) Criticisms of government: -

The criticisms came from almost all groups in society especially the industrialists and working
class who demanded more decisive action by government. While it was sound economic thinking
at the time, it only worsened the situation. The banking collapse in 1931 made matters even
worse. Burning was so unpopular that when he traveled by train he had to keep the blinds down
because when people caught sight of him, they threw stones. He was nicknamed the “hunger
chancellor.”

Study Guides
i) What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany from 1919 to 1923?
ii) What kind of government did the Spartacist wish to establish in Germany?
ii) Did the Treaty of Versailles fundamentally weaken the Weimar Republic?
iv) Describe the main features of the Weimar Constitution?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 280

v) In what ways was the Weimar Constitution a source of strength or weakness of the Weimar
Republic?
vi) How serious was the opposition of the extreme left to the Weimar Republic? (Those who
favoured communist-oriented regime)
vii). What did the extreme right stand for? (Anti-Marxism; authoritarian Kaiser style of
government.
viii). What prompted the Kapp Putsch and why did it fail?
ix. How significant was the Kapp Putcsh?
x). what was the greatest threat to Weimar democracy?
xi). How significant was the Munich Beer hall Putcsh?
xii) Which was the greater threat to the Weimar Republic in the years 1919-1923: the extreme
left or the extreme right?

xiii) How did the First World War weaken the Germany economy

The end of Parliamentary Democracy

Given the unpopularity of Bruning’s policies, he found it difficult to get a majority in the
Reichstag. He relied on Article 48 and the emergency powers of the president to get laws passed.
By 1932, parliament was being largely ignored.

Some of the advisors of the President included

General Kurt Von Schleicher wanted to include the Nazis in government which Bruning
opposed. Hindenburg lost confidence in Bruning and they quarreled about land reform. Bruning
was finally replaced as chancellor by the equally unpopular Von Papen. His cabinet of barons
had absolutely no support and this was shown in the election of July 1932.

-The result of this election was a disaster for democracy in Weimar Germany. The Nazis
received 37% of the vote and 230 seats while their communist enemies got 89 seats.
-The election of 1932, November, saw a decline in Nazi support, but they still remained the
largest party in the Reichstag. Von Papen was replaced by Von Schleicher as Chancellor. Von
Papen immediately began to plot against Von Schleicher, and met Hitler. They agreed that Hitler
would become the Chancellor of a government made up mainly of Von Papen’s supporters.
Hindenburg, who disliked Hitler, was persuaded to appoint him Chancellor on the 30th January
1933. Thus the Weimar Republic was dead.

The Weimar Republic: (1918- 1934)

Why did the Weimar Republic survive the problems it faced during the 1920?
Although Stressmann’s resolute action might help to explain why the years of crisis came to an
end, on its own it does not help us to understand why the Weimar Republic was able to come
through. The republic’s survival in 1923 was in marked contrast to its collapse 10 years later
when challenged by the Nazis. Why, then did the Republic not collapse during the crisis- ridden
months before Stressmann’s emergence on the political scene? This is a difficult question to
answer though the following factors provide clues:
-Popular anger was directed more towards the French and the Allies than the Weimar Republic
itself.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 281

-Despite the effects of inflation, workers did not suffer to the same extent as they did during the
mass unemployment of the 1930s.
-Similarly employers tended to show less hostility to the Republic in its early years than they did
in the early 1930s at the start of the depression.
-Some businessmen did very well out of the inflation, which made them tolerant of the Republic.
-With such attitudes as above, the hostility to the Republic could not reach unbearable limits as it
did 10 years later.
-The extreme right, too, was not strong enough (Nazis etc). It was divided and had no clear
plans. The failure of the Kapp Putsch served as a warning of the dangers of taking hasty action
and was possibly the reason why the army made no move in 1923 during the Munich Beerhall
Putsch.
-The extreme left (Marxist etc Communists and Socialists) e.t.c, for example, e.g Rossa
Luxembourg etc had not recovered from its divisions and suppression in the years 1918-1921
Being isolated and weakened, it did not enjoy enough support to overthrow the Republic.
-The mutual hatred of the different groups within the Republic enabled it to survive e.g. The
separatist uprising was crushed by the Free Korps not because they supported the regime but
because they hated communism and communist alike.
-The Kapp Putsch failed because the pro-socialist workers want on a general strike and that
paralyzed even the transport network, which forced Wolfgang Kapp to flee and the Free Korps to
get stranded and eventually to disband. Such an outcome during both 1919 and 1920, left the
Republic unscathed and living on.
Overview: (1924- 1929)
The years 1924-9 marked the high point of the Weimar Republic. By comparison with the
periods before and after, these years do appear stable. The real increase in prosperity experienced
by many, and the cultural revival of the period, gave support to the view that these years were
indeed the “golden years.”
However, historians have generally tended to question this stability because it was in fact limited
in scope. This is the reason why the historian Peukert describes these years as a “deceptive
stability.”

An unstable economy
Germany’s economic recovery was built on unstable foundations that created a false idea of
prosperity. Problems persisted in the economy and they were temporarily hidden only by an
increasing reliance on credit from abroad. In this way, Germany’s economy became tied up with
powerful external forces over which it had no control. Hindsight now allows historians to see
that in the late 1920s, any disruption to the world’s trade or finance markets was bound to have a
particularly damaging effect on the uncertain German economy.

A divided society
German society was still divided in deep class differences as well as by regional and religious
differences that prevented the development of national agreement and harmony

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 282

The war and the years of crisis that followed had left bitterness, fear and resentment between
employers and their workers. Following the introduction of the state scheme for settling disputes
in 1924, its procedure was used as a matter of course, whereas the intention had been that it
would be the exception, not the rule. As a result, there was arbitration in some 76 000 industrial
disputes between 1924 and 1932.
In 1928, workers were locked out from their place of work in the Ruhr iron works when the
employers refused to accept the arbitration award. It was the most serious industrial
confrontation of the Weimar period. A compromise solution was achieved, but it showed the
extent of the bitterness of industrial relations even before the start of the world depression.

Political division
Tension was also evident in the political sphere where the parliamentary system had failed to
build on the changes of 1918. The original ideals of the Constitution had not been developed and
there was little sign that the system had produced a stable and mature system. In particular, the
main democratic parties had still not recognized the necessity of working together in a spirit of
compromise. It was not so much the weaknesses of the Constitution, but the failure to establish a
shared political outlook that led to its instability. Weimar’s condition suggested that the
fundamental problems inherited from the war and the years of crisis had not yet been resolved.
They persisted so that when the crisis set in during 1929-30 the Weimar Republic did not prove
strong enough to withstand the storm.

Study Guides
i) Why did Germnay suffer hyper-inflation?
ii) How did hyperinflation benefit some Germans and yet totally ruin the others?
iii) Was the hyper-inflation of 1923 a disaster for Germany?
iv) What methods were used by Stressmann to get the country out of the crisis of 1923 and how
effective did they prove to be?
v) Explain why the Weimar Republic was economically stronger than it had been in 1919.
vi) “The political instability of the Weimar Republic in the years 1919 to 1923 was the result of
its economic difficulties.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
vii) Why was 1923 a year of crisis?
viii) What were the strengths of the German economy?
ix) What were the weaknesses of the German economy after 1923?
x) What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Daules Plan?
xi) Did Stresemann restore pride and prosperity to Germany?
xii) Were the years 1924- 1929 deceptively stable?
xiii) Describe the impact of the Great Depression of 1929 on the Weimar Republic.

Examination type questions

i) How far were the problems encountered by the Weimar Republic of its own making?
ii) How valid is the view that the Weimar Republic survived the crises of the 1920s because of
the mutual hatred among its opponents?
iii) Why did Hitler fail to take over power before 1930, but managed to do so after 1933?
iv) Assess the impact of the Great Depression upon the social and political life in Germany.
v) Why, by 1934, did the Weimar Republic fail to survive?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 283

vi) Why did the Weimar Republic face so many problems between 1918 and 1923?

Chapter References

1.Baines-.H Modern History: A-level Study Guide.

2. Layton- G Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany 1918-33
3. Moris- TA European History: 1848-1945.
4. Thomson D-Europe since Napoleon
5. Todd A- Democracies and Dictatorships- Europe and the World: 1919-1939.

CHAPTER 23
THE FRENCH THIRD REPUBLIC
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
(i)Explain the reasons why France transformed from being an Empire to a Republic
(ii)Explain the defeat of the Republic by Prussia
(iii)Examine the divisions which existed during the early years (1870-1875) of the Republic.
(iv)Explain how and why the Republic survived the crises which it faced, i.e. The Paris
Commune (1871) threats from the radical right and left; strikes between 1906 1911,
-The Boulanger affair (1885-1887)

-The Dreyfus case (1894-1899)

(v)Describe and explain the careers of Adolphe Thiers and Leon Gambetta and Jules Ferry.
(vi)Assess the extent to which France had recovered by 1900, from the defeat of 1870.

Establishment of the Third Republic

The armistice was concluded when the German authorities, which had preceded the commune-
episode, allowed elections for a new assembly at which the only issue had been that of peace or
continuation of war. The Assembly met at Bordeaux and had no choice but to accept the terms.
Peace was signed at Frankfurt. Not the least of these achievements was helpful in his dealings
with the victorious Bismarck and later in raising the money required to pay off the indemnity to
Germany, which had to be done before the occupation army could be withdrawn.

Reasons for the establishment of the Republic

(i)The discrediting of the monarchy
It is important to understand why, despite a monarchist majority, a republic was eventually
established. The Paris Commune had been a warning of the divisions. A monarchical restoration
would cause unity within the nation. This was, perhaps, more important than divisions within the
monarchist camp, in preventing its occurrence.

(ii)Thiers’ change of position

This was, in principle, in favour of a constitutional monarchy, but came to the conclusion that its
imposition would create unacceptable tension within French society. This weakened the
monarchists and enhanced the drift towards republicanism.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 284

(iii)The divisions within the monarchist camp
The arguments within the monarchist camp over the flag to be adopted are to be seen as a symbol
of more significant disagreements as to what type of monarchy was to be restored. The Bourbon
claimant Henri Conte de Chambored insisted that the old Bourbon flag must replace the
republican tricolor one. This discredited the monarchist alternative.

(iv)The rise of Bonapartism

The Prince Imperial, Napoleon III’s son and the last Bonapartist contender was a more attractive
figure, and despite the Empire’s defeat of 1870, a Bonapartist group began to emerge. The chief
result of this was however, to encourage the supporters of a monarchy to move towards a
republican solution for fear of something worse.

The Republican Constitution of 1875

(i) The President was to be elected by the two Chambers of Assembly – Chamber of Deputies
and the Senate.
(ii) Universal manhood suffrage elected Deputies for three years.
(iii) Senators elected for nine years mainly by delegates of the towns (at first there were life
Senators but in 1884 these were abolished).
(iv) Prefects appointed by the state were key administrative figures in the provinces.

MacMahon – was President from 1873 – 1879

Jules Ferry – President from 1879 – 1885

Study Guides
i) Why did the Second Empire end?
ii) Explain the role in the French Third Republic of
iii) The National Assembly
iv) The Senate
v) Compare the main features of the Third Republic’s system of government as had been set up
to 1875, with those of the Second Empire.
vi) Why was the Bourbon attitude to the flag of France important in the failure of monarchism?
vii) What were the causes of the Paris Commune?

The Church and the State

The Catholic Church in France was, in this period, politically to the right and its position and
privileges, particularly in the field of education were the subject of sharp political controversy.
The commune had passed anti – Catholic edicts, and at its end, had killed, amongst other
hostages, the Archbishop of Paris. The Church had supported the monarchy and up to 1914, was
hostile to the Republic. In the 1880s and 1890s in France, a series of left wing governments
removed church privileges and control of education, health and charitable work. In the early
twentieth century, many religious orders were banned until in 1905, the Catholic Church cost its
official status, the remaining monasteries were dissolved and the state became entirely secular,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 285

ending the Church’s influence in French politics. All of this is central to the political life of the
Republic for the threat to its existence was more than a matter of some colourful escapades by
romantic but hopeless pretenders. The real threat from the Right lay in the disaffection of such a
large section of the nation from the Republic, relations between state and church were at the
center of this.

The Survival of the Republic

In this section the student is expected to explain the survival of the Republic amidst threats and
dangerous episodes. The enemies of the Republic included the Germans, monarchists and the
Right in general. These threatened the Republic in the early years. At least the death in 1879 of
the Prince Imperial, leaving the Bonapartist supporters without an acceptable candidate removed
one threat. There was a growth of socialism during the Third Republic, and towards 1914, more
strikes and industrial violence. The threat from the left was of a different order to that from the
Right. The socialists wished to change the policies of Republican governments and even the
character, of the Republic, but they were not a threat to its enhanced existence in the same way
as its enemies from the Right.

Dangerous Episodes
There were a series of dangers to the Republic’s existence arising from the Boulanger Affair, of
the late 1880s, the Panama scandal at the end of that decade and the Dreyfus case at the end of
the century. The dangers to the state were different in form and gravity. Candidates should be
able to comment on how serious a threat each of the dangers posed to the Republic’s existence.
Students should explain why, despite these dangers, the Republic survived.

The Boulanger Affair

General Boulanger was an ex- minister of war who used the loss of Alscace – Lorraine to whip –
up right wing nationalist support including ex- monarchists and Bonapartists. He kept standing in
and winning elections, there were many demonstrations in his support. In 1889, he thought of a
coup detat, but panicked and fled the country when the government moved to arrest him. He
committed suicide in 1891 and despite the strength of the right – wing opponents of the
Republic, he at least lacked the nerve to be a real threat to its existence.

The Panama Canal Scandal

In 1888 the government gave official backing to the Panama Canal Company for whom de
lesseps was constructing the canal. Many thousands of French investors lost their money when
the company went bankrupt. Jewish financiers and corrupt politicians were held responsible. No
real corruption was established by a commission of inquiry but it aroused great cynicism about
these in political life and seemed to many to typify the grobby intrigues of public life under the
Republic. The socialists benefited but the Jews suffered because of it.

The Dreyfus Case

This had anti- Jewish overtones, for Dreyfus was one of the few Jewish army officers. He was in
1894 convicted for selling army secrets to the Germans and was given life imprisonment on
Devil’s Island. A long fight to prove his innocence followed, led by the eminent novelist Emile
Zola. A second trial in 1899 found Dreyfus guilty once more but found factors in his favour and
he was grudgingly given a pardon. In 1906 the Chamber of Deputies set aside his conviction and

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 286

restored his army rank. In general those to the Right in French life, including the army authorities
were against Dreyfus and those on the left fought to clear him. The bitterness with which the
issue was accompanied on both sides revealed the deep tensions in French society at that time.

A weakness in discussing the three episodes described above is to fall into the trap of describing
what happened, rather than meeting the evaluation requested by any question posed at this level.
It is, for example, quite possible to argue that the Dreyfus case helped the Republic by rallying
its friends and, ultimately, discrediting its enemies. More serious still is the tendency of some
students to assume that the survival of the Republic in these years revolves entirely around these
well- known crises and to forget all the underlying factors, social, political and economic, which
are equally relevant to any assessment of both the gravity of the threats to the Third Republic and
to its survival, not just to 1914, but through to the defeat in war in 1940.

Achievements of the Republic

Often the history of the Third French Republic is offered simply as one of crises survived.
Students should also be ready to offer a more positive evaluation of the achievements of these
years such as the following: -

The Constitution of 1875

This constitution gradually became more democratic.
This can be seen in the following:

i) The Assembly moved from Versailles to Paris

ii) The life senators were abolished
iii) Freedom of the Press was guaranteed
iv) Trade unions were made legal

Much of this took place in the 1880s

(b)International Relations
The German indemnity was quickly paid off and during the rest of the period France moved,
albeit slowly, out of diplomatic isolation into alliance with Russia and entente with Britain. This
constituted a solid achievement ensuring that France would not again have to fight against
Germany alone.

(c)Colonial Policy
Colonial policy was a source of political divisions at home and caused friction with other
European powers. France expanded and acquired the following areas: -

i) Tunisia was acquired in 1881

ii) Madagascar and the French Congo were occupied.
iii) French lands in Indochina were extended. By 1914 France’s overseas empire was outdone
only by that of Britain. More important was the fact that, after the difficult crises at Fashoda in
1898, colonial rivalry between France and Britain ceased to be a source of tension and division
and the way became open for the Entente Cordiale of 1904.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 287

(d)The Economy
The economy, hampered by the loss of Alsace – Lorraine made unspectacular progress,
especially contrasted with that of Germany, with a particular concern being caused by the virtual
end of any expansion of the population, which rose from 37 million in 1871 to only 39 million in
1911 (the comparable figures for Germany were 41 and 65 million). There was growth in
agriculture, industry and trade. Coal production trebled, steel production doubled and the railway
network expanded from 20 to 50 thousand kilometers. The strong rural base of the economy and
of society encouraged a much-needed social stability and this continued to be so despite the flow
of emigrants from rural areas to urban centers. After 1900, in particular, there was a trickle of
social reform in the areas of public health, trade unions, working conditions and insurance
schemes.

Cultural Growth
The growth of Paris led to great cultural flowering in the arts and literature and any student
hoping to find a suitable question on cultural history is most likely to find it, if asked on this
period, in a French setting.

Study Guides
i) Describe the policy of Jules Ferry.
ii) Describe the emergence and collapse of the movement led by General Boulanger.
iii) What were the effects on French politics of the Panama Scandal and the Dreyfus crisis?
iv) Outline and explain the role played by the following factors in the survival of the French
Third Republic:
a)Resolute leadership in taking action and passing legislation
b) Moderate political views of the majority of the people.
c)Success in foreign and colonial affairs.
d)Successful social and economic policy
e)Combination of good fortune as well as to the skill of republican politicians.
v) How far had France recovered in 1900 from the defeat she had suffered in 1870?

Examination type questions

1.How do you account for the survival of the French Third Republic in the period 1870-1914?
2.How successfully did the governments of the Third Republic deal with internal opposition?
3.How far had France recovered in 1900 from the defeat of 1870?
4.Why was the impression that the Third French Republic was fragile and rather misleading?
5.Assess the policies of the different leaders of the Third French Republic.
6‘Despite political instability, the French Third Republic scored some notable achievements both
domestically and internationally.’ Discuss this statement.

Key references
1. Baines H -Modern World
2. Browning P - Revolutions and Nationalities, Europe-1825-1890.
3. Morris T.A -European History: 1848- 1945

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 288

 CHAPTER 24
EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM: 1870-19
THE SCRAMBLE FOR COLONIAL TERRITORIES
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Explain the various causes of the scramble for Africa.
2.Assess the relative importance of the causes of the scramble.
3.Describe the role played by the following factors in the urge for colonies:
a)European industrialization
b)The change in the balance of power in Europe
c)The need for markets
4)Explain the growth and the impact of public opinion in Britain, Germany, France in the urge
for colonies.
5)Examine the scramble for Africa and the Far East.
6)Describe the coming and impact of the Berlin West Africa Conference (1884-85).
7)Explain the flashpoints of the scramble for Africa: Egypt, 1882, The Congo, 1879-1884; the
Niger, 1886, Fashoda, 1898. Explain how such flashpoints hastened the pace of the partition of
the continent.

Imperialism is the control or influence of one power over another. However the expansion in the
last two decades of the nineteenth century is usually regarded as “new” in that the European
powers, instead of controlling territories in Africa and Asia indirectly through trade, began to
take over direct responsibility for their administration and defence
Initially, historians such as J.A.Hobson, HN. Brailsford and V.I. Lenin were convinced that “new
imperialism” was caused by economic factors which can be divided into two main groups:
a) The existence of much surplus capital in the European states that businessmen and investors
wanted to invest in new profitable enterprises in the colonies (J.A. Hobson’s theory).
b) Economic competition between the industrialized states of the world for markets and raw
materials, which they thought they could find in the colonies (V.I. Lenin’s argument).
Right up to the 1950s these arguments were accepted as orthodoxy or standard, but closer
analysis has shown a lot of inconsistencies in some of the economic arguments:
For example, Germany and Italy, two countries with great colonial ambitions, actually suffered
from a shortage of capital and needed it at home.
Similarly, detailed research on colonial companies such as the British South Africa Company has
shown that in reality they were not very profitable and often paid no dividends. It can also be

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 289

argued that the new colonies, particularly in tropical Africa, could hardly provide large markets
for European manufacturers.

In view of these observations, it is not surprising that come historians have argued that the New
Imperialism was triggered by political rather than economic causes. Robinson and Gallagher, for
instance, argued that it was Britain’s occupation of Egypt which was carried out to safeguard the
Suez Canal as the route to India that set off a chain reaction that led to the partition of Africa.
Similarly, AJP Taylor interpreted Bismark’s colonial policy as a means to strengthen the short
lived Franco-German Entente. Remember that the traditional political explanation is still forceful
and valid; the creation of Germany by 1871 which resulted in the ousting of France and the shift
in the balance of power in favour of Germany all led to the humiliation and loss of prestige on
the part of France. Such prestige could only be recovered by taking up colonies either in Asia or
Africa.

Another theorist whose ideas now seem inadequate is the Russian Communist leader Lenin.
Writing in 1916-17, he linked imperialism with “monopoly capitalism.” Once capitalism has
matured, the banks controlled both manufacturing industry and governments; and, in their
endless search for higher profits, the financiers directed governments to partition Africa to secure
valuable raw materials. Yet his views about the nature of capitalism seem inappropriate. Even in
France and Britain, monopolies were not nearly as powerful as Lenin insisted and in industrially
backward states like Russia and Italy, governments were far less influenced by financiers. More
importantly, Lenin’s interpretation is logically flawed. He clearly dates the emergence of
“Monopoly finance capital” at about 1900. Since he suggests that this was the motive force
behind imperialism, it cannot logically be used to explain colonial acquisitions made before that
date; as most of them were.

Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to completely discard the economic considerations.

Increasingly as more and more powers introduced tariffs, the possession of a large colonial
empire was seen as the only way to guarantee access to the vital raw materials need by the
modern economies. Businessmen in Marseilles Liverpool and Hamburg were constantly pushing
their governments into annexing areas where they had important trading interests.

Public opinion
There was also often an exaggerated and wildly inaccurate belief in the potential wealth of new
colonies. In the early twentieth century for instance, German public opinion believed that
Morocco was greatly wealthy and bitterly resented the growth of French influence there.
Increasingly, in the last two decades of the nineteenth century European governments backed by
public opinion began to believe that their states could remain great nations only if they had
colonial empires which would provide trade, raw materials and opportunities for settlement.
Thus a French political economist, Paul Lerroy- Beduliau, stressed that it was “a matter of life
and death.” For France to become a “great African power or in a century or two she will be no
more than a secondary European power and will count for about as much in the world as Greece
or Romania.” By 1900 imperialism had, in Norman Rich’s words, developed into a “mass cult”
colonies became symbols of national greatness and prestige, desired by nationalists of every
economic and social class. The imperial idea, like nationalism itself, had been stirred into flames

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 290

by visionaries, theorists, and prophets; it was subsequently nourished by the systematic
propaganda of interest groups, patriotic and colonial societies and the nationalist press.”

In the 1890s public opinion in Britain and elsewhere became an added force behind imperial
expansion. “Jingoism,” an assertive form of nationalism, was encouraged, if not promoted by the
popular press. For example, the Daily Mail capitalized on the depth and volume of public interest
in imperial possessions,” of its one million readers.

In France, where public opinion had been largely apathetic to imperialism, before the 1890s,
nationalism allegedly made many Frenchmen imperialists. Colonial societies and commercial
pressure groups naturally took advantage of this mood to push governments into yet more
colonial acquisitions.

Great power status, previously measured in terms of population, military capacity and industrial
strength, now came to include overseas possessions. Caprivi, Bismarck’s successor, said many
Germans believed that “once we came into possession of colonies, then purchased an atlas and
coloured the continent of Africa blue, we would become a great people.” Hence, the acquisition
of Tunisia by France in 1880-81 was hailed as a sign that “France is recovering her position as a
great power.”

Study Guides
i) Why did the Great Powers compete with each other in China? Why was there no partition?
ii) Which colonial societies were formed in Britain, France and Germany and how did they spur
their governments into the Scramble for Africa?

The Causes of the Scramble for Africa

Why did the partition of Africa Occur?

The partition of Africa can be explained, in part, by some of the motives ascribed to imperialism
in general. Nevertheless, some historians have searched for a more specific explanation of it. The
classic explanation is that offered by Robinson and Gallagher. They argued that British policy in
Africa was essentially a defensive reaction to a series of local events and crises. The main
consideration of the British government in these crises was the security of the route to India.
Their interpretation that in southern Africa the Cape was crucial to imperial interests has been
generally accepted.
On the other hand, their view that Egypt acted as a catalyst to the partition of tropical Africa has
been heavily criticized. Their notion of a “chain reaction,” in which French resentment at the
British occupation of Egypt in 1882 activated a latent rivalry in West Africa, is not sound
enough. French expansion from Senegal, which began in 1879, clearly pre-dated the crisis over
Egypt.

The Congo
The view that it was rival claims to the Congo that sparked off the partition is more convincing.
Firstly, the interests of at least four European states were involved, not just two as in the case of
Egypt.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 291

Secondly, Bismarck’s role in provoking the scramble is given due prominence in this
interpretation since Germany played an active part in the Congo dispute. Thirdly, the creation of
a Franco-Germans front against Britain’s attempt to exclude them from the Congo introduced
Great Power diplomacy into the situation in Africa. An additional link between the Congo
dispute and the partition of Africa is the Berlin Conference of 1884 – 1885. At this conference,
ground rules for partition were laid down as well as a settlement of the Congo issue itself. Taken
together these four factors indicate that rival claims to the Congo played a more important part in
initiating the Scramble than the Anglo French dispute over Egypt.

The Timing of the Scramble

The timing of the scramble certainly requires a thorough explanation.

A key factor in the 1880s was the decline of British “paramountancy” in Africa. Until the 1870s,
Britain had succeeded in maintaining an informal influence over most of Africa south of the
Sahara. In the 1880s this was challenged. Military defeats in Asia and Africa, concluding with a
decline in relative naval power, were interpreted as signs of British weakness. Bismarck
concluded that there would not be much resistance to join Franco-German pressure. British
paramountacy collapsed like a house of cards when she agreed to an international conference.
But its collapse left a void. In this unstable situation, Africa was up for grabs’ Protectorates were
being proclaimed over African territory and some mechanism was needed to rival claims. The
solution was the Berlin Conference. This marked the formal beginning of the partition of Africa.
The Scramble for Africa cannot be explained satisfactorily without some reference to changes
taking place in Africa. Imperialism in general is no longer viewed exclusively in terms of
economic or political pressures emanating from Europe. The traditional Euro-centric approach is
being modified by increasing recognition of the importance of changes at the periphery i.e. in
Africa. Imperialism therefore was increasingly seen as, in part, a response to a series of local
crises and changing situations within Africa itself.

The case of Egypt has already been exhausted in Southern Africa a succession in of crises
seemed to put at risk strategic interests at the Cape. Most of those crises at the Cape emanated
from expansionist drives of Europeans. In West Africa, problems arose when stable relationships
were upset by changes in the nature, or profitability of existing patterns of trade. This was the
case with Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Itsekiriland and Pepple of Bonny.
Two general conclusions may be drawn: Firstly, although economic imperialism is of relevance
to European activity in Africa, it may be necessary to regard it as a separate factor from the
European diplomacy of the scramble.
Secondly, the partition stemmed from an interaction between Europeans and Africans. It is not
just a question of the impact of Europe on Africa.

Study Guides
i) Why did the scramble become so intense during the last quarter of the nineteenth century?
ii) Were economic factors more important than political factors in the scramble for colonies?
iii) Which event was more important in the scramble for colonies in Africa: British occupation of
Egypt or Leopold’s activities on the Congo basin?
iv) What factors motivated the upsurge of imperial activity?
v) Why did the partition of Africa occur?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 292

vi) How were relations between the major powers affected by colonial expansion?
vii) What are the main economic theories that have been put forward to explain the scramble for
Africa? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
viii) Why was the late nineteenth century an “age of imperialism.”?

The impact of colonial rivalries:

How were relations between the major powers affected by colonial expansion?

Britain’s relations with France and Russia

During most of these years Britain’s imperial rivalries with France and Russia were the key
factor in international relations. Anglo-French relations underwent a dramatic change as a result
of colonial rivalry. From 1870 until 1884 Britain and France had no major quarrels and usually
co-operated in international affairs. The next two decades however were marked by continuous
friction, especially in Africa bringing the two powers to the verge of war.

Rivalry in West Africa certainly damaged Anglo- French relations. The economic interests of
Britain and France there seemed too small to justify war but prestige was the crux of the matter.
Both sides engaged in rather reckless ‘brinkmanship,’ raising the spectra of war on the Niger
until the agreement of 1898. By this date the crisis had shifted to the Nile.

Britain’s refusal to revive the Anglo-French partnership (Dual control) after her military
intervention in Egypt in 1882 was a severe blow to French pride. French self-esteem would only
be satisfied by a British withdrawal from Egypt. Britain, however, was resolved to stay. One
reason for this was that Britain regarded signs of Franco-Russian co-operation in the
Mediterranean in the 1890s as a serious threat to her strategic interests. France attempted to exert
pressure through the Fashoda expeditions yet in 1898, Britain would have gone to war with
France rather than give way.

The Fashoda crisis (1898) ended in a drama. Good Anglo-French relations had to be based on
France’s acceptance of Britain’s position in Egypt. The important lesson which the French
colonialists drew from Fashoda was that France should barter Egypt in exchange for French
predominance in Morocco. They would also give up disputed fishery rights in New Foundland
for minor boundary changes in West Africa. Contrary to expectations, however, tensions in
Africa and Asia prepared the way for better relations between France and Britain.

The same process was visible in Anglo-Russian relations. Hostility between Britain and Russia
in regions bordering India in the 1870s and 1880s continued to cause Britain alarm. Now the era
of imperial rivalry transferred the focus of the conflict to the Far East (China). The Franco-
Russian Alliance of 1894 was more obviously anti-British in its operation than anti-German. Yet
by 1907 Britain and Russia had concluded an Entente. Kaiser Wilhelm II’s is bullying tactics
were mostly responsible for the Entente between Britain France and Russia.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 293

b) Germany’s New Position
The effect of colonial rivalries on Germany’s relations with other powers was rather ambiguous.
Germany seemed to use Africa partly as a means to an end; that is, the furtherance of her
diplomatic interests in Europe.

In Africa Bismarck found opportunities to conciliate France and distract her from the grievance
of Alsace-Lorraine, hence, his encouragement of France to take Tunisia in 1881. The thwarting
of Italian ambitions there assured Franco-Italian hostility for a decade and induced Italy to join
the Alliance.

Africa was also fertile ground for Franco-German cooperation against Britain. The British
resented his making difficulties over Egypt as a sort of blackmail to secure concessions for
Germany elsewhere.

In the case of the Congo, Bismarck persuaded France to join Germany in 1884 and in opposing
Britain’s rather dubious treaty with Portugal to exclude French and German interests. However,
Germany was not in this period regarded as an undesirable colonial neighbour. The partitions of
East Africa in 1886 and 1890 were negotiated in a fairly cordial spirit.

When Bismarck was German Chancellor, colonial conflicts were kept within certain limits. After
1890, however, German overseas policy became much less predictable and restrained, and this
ultimately had a damaging effect on Anglo- German relations. German support for the Boers
through a congratulatory telegraph sent to Paul Kruger for defeating the British in the Anglo-
Boer War (1896) was a source of serious tension.

The most serious case in Africa was the clumsy attempt by Germany to provoke a crisis directed
against French imperialism in Morocco in 1905 and in 1911. This had the effect of strengthening
rather than weakening, Britain’s ententes with France and Russia. Indeed by 1914 the Anglo-
French colonial understanding had become almost an alliance.
c)Other results of imperialism are that far from the economic benefits which were envisaged, the
outcome proved to be quite expensive. Indeed the colonial governments often spent more time
suppressing civil wars like the Shona.- Ndebele rising (1896-97), Maji-Maji Rising, 1905 etc.
In West Africa, the British West Africa Frontier Force was set up to put down revolts as well
as maintain law and order. The same scenario was obtained under French West Africa where
force resistance to forced labour, colonial taxation and discrimination was encountered.
Adu Boahen (Topics on West African History) even reports that the British realized only 2% of
the markets which they had hoped to find in abundance. It is not, however, accurate to say, that
colonialisation was unprofitable. In some areas, for example, the Congo, Leopold reaped
enormous profits from the sale of wild rubber.

Study Guides
i) How accurate is the view that “the flag followed the trade” in the scramble for Africa?
ii) Explain and illustrate the growing interest of European powers in Africa in the late nineteenth
century
iii) What non-economic theories have been advanced to account for the scramble for Africa?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 294

iv) What were the key events in the partition of the continent? To what extent were Great Power
rivalries involved?

Examination type questions

1.How valid is the view that economic reasons were the “tap root of the scramble for Africa.”?
2.“British intervention in Egypt in 1882 was the most important influence in the acceleration of
the scramble for Africa” How far do you agree with this claim?
3.“The Berlin West African Conference was important mainly for the driving force it gave to the
European occupation of Africa.” How valid is this judgment?
4.‘Economic reasons far outweighed political reasons in the scramble for Africa or the far
East.”How far do you agree with this judgment?
5.Explain the failure of Africans in either West Africa or East Africa to prevent the conquest and
annexation of their territory in this period.
6.What conditions in either a) Africa or the Far East made it attractive as an area for European
imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
7.“Imperialism offered remedies for important problems”. What were these problems and how
effectively were the remedies for European states?

Key references

1. Ajayi J.F. and

M. Crowder History of Africa V01.2
2. Lenin U.I.- Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism
3. Levering: B.Years of Ambition: European History 1815-1914.
4. Lowe J. and R. Pearce:- Rivalry and Accord:
International Relations. 1870-1914.
5. McDonough F. :-Conflict, Communism and Fascism: Europe 1890-1945
6. McDonough: F. The Origins of the First and Second World Wars
7. Robinson and Gallagher.- Africa and the Victorians
8 Tidy :- .M A History of Tropical Africa Vols I and Vol II

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 295

 CHAPTER 25
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Describe the aims of the League of Nations when it was formed in 1920.
2. Explain the League’s structural weaknesses
3. Explain the success of the League in the 1920s.
4. Evaluate the impact of the Great Depression upon the activities of the League.
5. Describe and illustrate the successes and failures of the League in the 1930s.
6. Evaluate the factors which led to the collapse of the League.

The origins of the League

The concept of a peaceful community of nations had previously been described in Immanuel
Kant’s – “Perpetual Peace – A Philosophical Sketch (1795)” The idea of the actual League of
Nations appears to have originated with British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, and it was
enthusiastically adopted by the Democratic US President Woodrow Wilson and his advisor,
Colonel Edward al. House as a means of avoiding blood-shed like that of World War 1. The
creation of the League was a center-piece of Wilson’s fourteen points of peace, especially the
final point. “A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the
purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great
and small states alike. The Paris Peace Conference accepted the purpose to create the League of
Nations on January 25, 1919. The covenant of the League of Nations was drafted by a special
Commission, and the league was established by Part 1 of the Treaty of Versailles, which was
signed on June 28, 1919. The league held its first meeting in London, on 10 January 1920.

The Aims
-To promote international co-operation
-To maintain peace and security in the world
-To reduce national armaments to the lowest level consistent with domestic needs.
-To prevent secret diplomacy
-To promote the health of mankind.
-To supervise the administration of mandated territories

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 296

-To assist needy territories economically
-To control drug trafficking

The structure of the League of Nations

The league had three principal organs: a Secretariat, a Council and an Assembly, and many
Agencies and Commissions. Authorization for any action required both a unanimous vote by the
Council and a majority vote in the Assembly.

The Secretariat
The staff of the League’s Secretariat was responsible for preparing the agenda for the council
and assembly and publishing reports of the meetings and other routine matters, effectively acting
as the civil service for the league. The Secretariat was headed by the Secretary General and was
based in Geneva. In other words, the secretariat was in charge of recording the minutes of league
meetings and was in charge of all clerical work, including correspondence involving the league.
The secretary general wrote annual reports on the work of the league over the life of the league,
from 1920- 46, the three Secretaries General were: -

i) Sir James Drummond (UK) – 1920 – 1933)

ii) Joseph Avenol (France) (1933 – 1940)
iii) Sean Lester (Ireland) 1940 – 1946

The Council
The League Council had the authority to deal with any matter affecting world peace. The council
began with four members – who were permanent (Britain) France, Italy and Japan). The United
States was meant to be the fifth permanent member but the US senate refused to ratify the Treaty
of Versailles. So the fifth permanent seat was taken by China. There were four non- permanent
members, and the first ones were – Belgium, Brazil, Greece and Spain. The composition and
number of the members of the council changed subsequently, with the number of non-
permanent members increasing to six on September 22, 1922 and to nine on September 8, 1926,
taking the council total to 14 members. With the departure of Germany and Japan from the
league, their places were taken by new non- permanent members.

The council met on average five times a year, and in extra-ordinary sessions when required. In
total, 107 public sessions were withheld between 1920 and 1939. Decisions were taken by a
unanimous vote.

The Assembly
The first meeting of the Assembly was in 1920. Each member was represented and had one vote
in the League Assembly. Individual member states did not always have representatives in
Geneva. The Assembly held its sessions once a year in September. Decisions were taken by a
majority vote.

The International Labour Organization

Each member nation sent 2 government ministers, one employer and one worker. They discussed
working conditions and got countries to make improvements. This body was led by Albert
Thomas. It successfully convinced several countries to adopt an eight – hour working day and 48

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 297

hour working week. It also worked to end child labour, increase the rights of women in the
workplace, and to make ship owners liable for accidents involving seamen.

The Permanent Court of Justice

Fifteen judges met at the Hague in the Netherlands. They settled international disputes for
example over frontiers.

Other Bodies
The league had several other agencies and commissions created to deal with pressing
international problems. These were as follows:

-Disarmament Commission
-Health Organisation
-Mandates Commission
-Permanent Opinion Board
-Commission for Refugees
-Slavery Commission

While the league itself is generally branded a failure, several of its agencies and commissions
had successes within their respective mandates.

Study Guides
i) How far did the structural weaknesses of the League threaten its existence in the 1920s and
1930s?
ii) Was fear of the outbreak of another war the sole reason for international co-operation during
the 1920s?

Successes of the League of Nations

The League is generally considered to have failed in its mission to achieve disarmament, prevent
war, settle disputes through diplomacy, and improve global welfare. However it achieved
significant success in a number of areas.

a) Aaland Islands
Aaland is a collection of around 65000 Islands mid- way between Sweden and Finland. The
Islands were exclusively Swedish speaking, but Finland had suzerainty in the early 1900s.
During the period 1917 onwards, most residents wished the island to become part of Sweden;
Finland, however, did not wish to cede the islands.

The Swedish government raised the issue with the League in 1921. After close consideration, the
League determined that the islands should remain a part of Finland, but be governed
autonomously, averting a potential war between the two countries.

(b)Albania
The border between Albania and Yugoslavia remained in dispute after the Paris Peace
conference in 1919. Yugoslavia forces occupied some Albanian territory. After clashes with
Albanian tribes-men, the Yugoslavia forces invaded further. The League sent a commission of

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 298

representatives from various powers to the region. The commission decided in favour of Albania
and the Yugoslavia forces withdrew in 1921, albeit under protest. War was again prevented.

c) Upper Silesia
The Treaty of Versailles had ordered a plebiscite in Upper Silesia to determine whether the
territory should be part of Germany or Poland. In the background, strong- arm tactics and
discrimination against Poles led to nothing and eventually to the first two Silesian Uprisings
(1919 and 1920). In the plebiscite, roughly 96% (around 500 000) of the votes were cast for
joining Germany, and this result led to the Third Silesian Uprising in 1921. The League was
asked to settle the matter. In 1922, a six- week investigation found that the land should be split;
the decision was accepted by both countries and by the majority of Upper Silesians.
(d)Memel
The port city of Memel and the surrounding area was placed under League control at the end of
World War 1 and was governed by a French general for three years. However, the population
was mostly Lithuanian, and the Lithuanian government placed a claim on the territory, with
Lithuanian forces invading in 1923. The League chose to cede the land around Memel to
Lithuania, but declared that the port should remain an international zone. Lithuania agreed.
While the decision could be seen as a failure, (in that the League reacted passively to the use of
force), the settlement of the issue without significant bloodshed was a point in the League’s
favour.

(e)Greece and Bulgaria

After an incident between sentries on the border between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925, Greek
forces invaded their neighbour. Bulgaria ordered its troops to provide only token resistance,
trusting the League to settle the dispute. The League did indeed condemn the Greek invasion and
called for both Greek withdrawal and compensation to Bulgaria. The Greeks complained about
the disparity between their treatment and that of Italy – in the Corfu incident.

(f) Saar
Saar was a province formed from parts of Prussia and the Rhenish Palatinate – that was
established and placed under League control after the Treaty of Versailles. A plebiscite was to be
held after 15 years of League rule, to determine whether the region should belong to Germany or
to France 90,3% of votes cast were in favour of becoming part of Germany in that 1935
referendum and it became part of Germany again.

(g)Liberia
Following rumours of forced labour in the independent African country of Liberia, the League
launched an investigation into the matter, particularly the alleged use of forced labour on the
massive Firestone rubber plantation in that country. In 1930, a report by the League implicated
many government officials in the selling of contract labour, leading to the resignation of
President Charles DB. King, his vice President and numerous other officials. The League
followed with a threat to establish a trusteeship over Liberia unless reforms were carried out.
This became the central focus of President Edwin Barclay.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 299

h) Other Successes
The League also worked to combat the international trade in opium and sexual slavery and
helped to alleviate the plight of refugees, particularly in Turkey in the period up to 1926. One of
its innovations in this area was US 1922 introduction of the Nausen Passport, an internationally
recognized identity card for stateless refugees. Many of the League’s successes were
accomplished by its various Agencies and Commissions. In other words, the League was more
successful in its humanitarian work than in its peace – keeping role.

General weaknesses
The candidates need to note that there is a difference between the weaknesses and failures.
Weaknesses, in this case have to do with the inherent flaws found in the organization of the
League of Nations. The failures are those specific case studies where the League failed to
maintain peace or prevent aggression by one nation on another.

Some of the weaknesses are as follows:

1) Lack of a standing league army

The league, like the modern United Nations, lacked an armed force of its own and depended on
the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, which they were very reluctant to do. Economic
sanctions, which were the most severe measure the League could implement short of military
action, were difficult to enforce and had no great impact on the target country, because they
could simply trade with those outside the League.

Britain and France, were reluctant to use sanctions and even more reluctant to resort to military
action on behalf of the League. So soon after World War 1 the governments of the two countries
were pacifist. Ultimately Britain and France both abandoned the concept of collective security in
favour of appeasement in face of growing German militarism under Adolf Hitler.

2) Problem of membership or representation

Representation at the League was often a problem. Though it was intended to encompass all
nations, many never joined or, their time as part of the League was short. One key weakness of
the League was that the USA never joined, which took away most of the League’s potential
power. Even though, US President Woodrow Wilson had been a driving force behind the
League’s formation, the US senate voted against joining it. The US was the strongest economic
power at that- time.

3)Withdrawal of some powers

The League was further weakened when some of the main powers left in the 1930s. Japan began
as a permanent member of the council, but withdrew in 1933 after the League objected to its
invasion of Manchuria. Italy also began as a permanent member but withdrew in 1937. Germany
joined in 1926 and withdrew in 1933. Thus the League membership was never stable.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 300

4)The League’s requirements for a unanimous vote on all council decisions made the League
ineffective in implementing decisions. It was practically impossible for all members of the
council to always agree on an issue.

5)National self – interest of its members

Another important weakness of the league was that it tried to represent all nations, but most
members protected their own interests and were not committed to the League or its goals. The
reluctance of all League members to use the option of military action showed this to the full.

6)The disagreements between Britain and France on the role of the league.
The league was dominated by Britain and France, which disagreed significantly over the role that
it should play. Britain regarded the League as a harmless talking – shop, but did not want to give
it real authority or power. France, on the other hand, wanted the League to enforce the terms of
the peace treaties. This difference in attitude between the two Powers most involved in the
League’s work inevitably weakened it.

Specific failures
The general weaknesses of the League are illustrated by its specific failures.

(a)Vilna
This area was claimed by both Lithuania and Poland. It was included in the new state of
Lithuania set up at the end of the war, but it had a majority Polish population. In 1920, during the
Prussia – Polish war, Vilna was occupied by Polish forces which later refused to leave. This war
was a clear case of one League member (Poland) showing aggression against another
(Lithuania), but the League was very reluctant to become involved. Taking action against Poland
would have required armed forces, but League members were not willing to supply them. In
addition, Britain and France saw Poland as a strong barrier against Germany and Communist.
Russia did not wish to upset it. The League tried to negotiate a deal, but in 1923 it confirmed
Poland’s occupation of Vilna but sporadic fighting between the two sides continued until 1927.
Thus the League failed to take decisive action, although it had asked Poland to withdraw.

Ruhr
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay reparations. They could pay in money or in
goods at a set value. However, in 1922 Germany was not able to make its payment. The next
year, France and Belgium chose to act upon this, and invaded the industrial heartland of
Germany, the Ruhr, despite this being in direct contravention of the League’s rules. With France
being a major League member and Britain hesitant to oppose its close ally, nothing was done by
the League. This set a significant precedent – the League rarely acted against major powers, and
occasionally broke its own rules.

Corfu
One major boundary settlement that remained to be made after World War 1 was that between
Greece and Albania. The Conference of Ambassadors, a defective body, of the League was
asked to settle the issue. The Council appointed Italian general Erica Fellini to oversee this.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 301

While examining the Greek side of the border, Fellini and his staff were murdered. Italian leader
Benito Mussolini was incensed and demanded that the Greeks pay reparations and executed the
murderers. The Greeks, however, did not actually know who the murderers were. On 31 August
1923, Italian forces occupied the island of Corfu, a part of Greece, with 15 people being killed.
In response the League condemned Mussolini’s invasion, but also recommended that Greece pay
compensation, to be held by the League until Fellin’s murderers were found. Mussolini,
however, managed to make the league change its decision. Greece was now forced to apologize
and compensation was to be paid directly and immediately to Italy. Mussolini was able to leave
Corfu in triumph. By giving in to pressure from a large country, the League again set a
dangerous and damaging, precedent. It showed that the League was helpless and useless where a
major power was involved, strengthening the argument that it only succeeded where smaller
nations were involved. This was one of the League’s major failures.

Japanese invasion of Manchuria

The Manchurian invasion was one of the League’s major setbacks and acted as the catalogue for
Japan’s withdrawal from the Organization. In this incident the Japanese held control of the South
Monchuria railway in the Chinese region of Manchuria. They claimed that Chinese soldiers had
sabotaged the railway, which was a major trade route between the two countries, on September
8, 1931. In fact, it is thought that the sabotage had been done by officers of the Japanese
Kwantung army without the knowledge of the government in Japan in order to catalyze a full
invasion of Manchuria. In retaliation, the Japanese army, acting against the civilian court’s
orders, occupied the entire region of Manchurian. In 1932, Japanese air and sea forces
bombarded the Chinese city of Shanghai and the war of January 28 broke out. The Chinese
government asked the League of Nations for help. The Lytton report of the League declared
Japan to be in the wrong and demanded Manchurian to be returned to the Chinese. Japan then
withdrew from the League in 1933, after the majority in the Assembly, except Japan, condemned
the Japanese action. According to the League Covenant, the League should have now placed
economic sanctions against Japan or gathered an army together and declared war against it.
However, neither of these two options was done. This was another case where the inherent
weaknesses of the League, discussed earlier, rendered it useless, where major members were
involved.

The Spanish Civil War

On 17 July 1936, armed conflict broke out between Spanish Republicans (the left - wing
government of Spain) and the Nationalists (the right - wing rebels - including most men) officers
of the Spanish army). Alvarede Vayo, the Spanish minister of foreign affairs appealed to the
League in September 1936 for arms to defend its territorial integrity and political independence.
However, the League could not itself intervene in the Spanish Civil War nor prevent Foreign
intervention in the conflict. Hitler and Mussolini continued to aid General Franco’s Nationalist
insurrectionists. The Soviet Union aided the Spanish Loyalists. The League did try to ban the
intervention of foreign national volunteers – but on the whole, no concrete action was taken by
the League. It watched helplessly as the civil war raged on.

The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 302

In October 1935, 40 000 Italian troops invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The modern Italian army
easily defeated the poorly armed Abyssinians and captured Addis Ababa in May 1936, forcing
the Emperor Haile Selassie to flee.

The League of Nations condemned Italy’s aggression and imposed economic sanctions in
November 1935, but the sanctions were largely ineffective. As Stanley Baldwin, the British
Prime Minister later observed, this was ultimately because no-one had the military forces on
hand to withstand an Italian attack. On 9 October 1935, the USA (a non – League member)
refused to co-operate with any League action. It had embargoed exports of arms and war material
to either combatant. The league sanctions were lifted on 4 July 1936, but by that point they were
a dead letter in any event.

As was the case with Manchuria, the vigor of the major powers in responding to the crisis in
Abyssinia was hampered by their perception that the fate of this poor and far- off country,
inhabited by non- Europeans, was not an important issue to them. Thus the League again failed
in its responsibility of protecting the smaller states against aggression.

Axis Rearmament
The League was powerless and mostly silent in the face of major events leading to World War II,
such as Hitler’s remilitarization of the Rhineland, occupation of the Sudetenland and seizure of
Austria. As with Japan, both Germany in 1933, using the failure of the World Disarmament
Conference to agree to the arms deal between France and Germany as a pretext – and Italy in
1937 simply withdrew from the League rather than submit to its judgement. The League
commissioner in Danzing was unable to deal with German claims on the city, a significant
contributing factor in the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The final significant act of the
League was to expel the Soviet Union in December 1939 after it invaded Finland.

Demise and Legacy

With the onset of World War II, it was clear that the League had failed in its purpose – to avoid
any future World War. During the War, neither the League’s Assembly nor council was able or
willing to meet, and its secretariat in Geneva was reduced to skeleton staff, with many offices
moving to North America.

The League of Nations: (1920-1939)

How successful was the League in the years 1929- 1932?

The impact of the Depression on international diplomacy as well as the League’s own structural
weakness hampered the international peace- keeping body from being a great success. Its main
success in this period, (1929- 1932) was not in Europe but in Latin America where, in 1932, it
was able to prevent a border dispute between Colombia and Peru from erupting into war. On the
whole, however, the years 1929-1932 were years of failure.

The Manchurian Crisis, 1931-32

Technically, Manchuria was part of China but because of the political situation in China where
civil war had broken out between the Guomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, there was

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 303

little stability there. This armed Japanese trade and economic interests in Manchuria, which had
allowed the Japanese to have a small military force to protect their interests. By 1927, Japan was
in control of most of Manchuria’s mines, factories and parts. She thus sent a large army into
Southern Manchuria to protect her interests.

On 18 September 1931, officers of the Japanese army in Manchuria staged the Mukaden
(Shenyang) Incident in order to justify sending a Japanese army of occupation. The Japanese
officers claimed that the Chinese soldiers had tried to blow up the Japanese owned South
Manchurian railway near the two of Mukaden or Shenyang, when it was they who had set up the
incident.

Eventually in February 1932, Manchuria was renamed Manchukuo. Both China and Japan were
League members and the Japanese invasion was clearly in breach of the League’s collective
security system. The invasion of Manchuria also violated the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922
in which Japan had promised not to attack China. The Chinese ruler, Jiang Jieski quickly
appealed to the League’s Council to stop this Japanese invasion.

The League set up the Lytton Commission in 1932 to investigate and collect the facts. This
committee did not submit its report until October 1932- by which time Japanese invasion was
well entrenched in Manchuria.

The report was weak in that it did not even recommend Sanctions-military or economic
sanctions. It simply criticized both Japan and China, but the League admitted that Japanese
claims were valid but they should not have used force and should therefore withdraw from
Manchuria.

As a result, Japan, in 1933 left the League. This clearly showed how ineffective the collective
security was.

Reasons for Failure

a)The timing of the Manchurian crisis was a disaster for the League because it coincided with the
peak of the Great Depression, (1931-1932). At this time, European countries and the USA
were concerned with their own recovery from the effects of the depression and not any other
remote problem. Apart from that, the USA and the Soviet Union were not members of the
League. President Hoover’s USA had significant trade with Japan and was therefore reluctant
to get involved in the conflict between China and Japan. The USA also refused to consider the
idea of sanctions. As a result, especially given the widespread impact of the Depression, most
League members feared that any trade ban imposed on Japan would result in them losing that
trade to the USA.

b) As regards the important members, there were clear divisions among them. Neither Italy nor
Germany really objected to the Japanese invasion. In fact, Mussolini was so encouraged by
the lack of effective League action that in 1932, he began detailed planning about the conquest
of Abyssinia Germany, despite significant investments in China, was waiting to see what the
League would do in response to Japan’s use of force.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 304

c)Britain and France remained divided while Britain did not want to risk a naval conflict as,
under the Washington naval Treaty Japan had naval superiority in the Fast East and military
advisers informed the British government that such a conflict might be lost, endangering her
colonies such as India, Singapore and Hong Kong. Britain also had important trade links with
Japan so that, despite concern over Japan’s long term plans, its immediate fear was of losing
that trade to the USA.

France on the other hand had its own colonies in Indochina where, in 1931, Ho chi Minhu began
an armied communist nationalist insurrection for independence. She therefore disapproved of
Japan’s actions but was not prepared to take any action since her main concern was a possible
threat from Germany. In 1930, they had begun building fortifications known as the Mainot
Linealong their north-eastern border with Germany. Although France publicly condemned the
Japanese aggression, it sent a secret note to Japan stating that it sympathized with the difficulties
Japan was in. hence the League failed to address that crisis in Manchuria.

The World Disarmament Conference

This conference, organized by the League was an attempt to agree limits on army, naval and
airforce weapon. It was attended by 61 member nations and 5 non-members, including both the
USA and the USSR. France against unsuccessfully attempted to introduce the idea that the
League should have its an army. A British proposal to limit offensive weapon such as tanks,
bulbs, submarines and chemical weapons obtained a 41-vote majority, but both Germany and the
USSR refused to ban such weapon.

More immediately importance was the fact that Germany insisted that either all nations should
disarm to the German level set by the Treaty of Versailles or Germany should be allowed to
rearm to the level of other major powers. This denied, German delegates walked out of the
conference and said they would not return until they had been granted “equality of treatment.”
Such action signaled great problems for the League in future. It led to the unrestrained
rearmament of Germany in total breach of the Versailles Treaty.

How effective was the league in the years 1933- 1937?

Hitler
Undoubtedly the rise of Hitler and the Nazis had a tremendous impact on international affairs.
Until 1934, Hitler was mostly concerned with establishing internal control soon after, he began
to adopt more aggressive foreign policy. Initially this involved taking Germany out of the World
Dismastment Conference and the League of Nations. At the Disarmament conference, Hitler
urged Britain and France to allow Germany to rearm to the level of other powers. MacDonald,
the British prime minster urged France to agree. However, the French insisted that the Germans
guarantee that the Versailles Treaty Limitations would be respected for the next four years.

Once Hitler had withdrawn from the Disarmament Conference and the League, 1934, he began
to pursue more aggressive policies which directly threatened the survival and effectiveness of the
League. For instance his attempted Anscholums with Australia in 1934 was only reversed by
Mussolini who moved His forces to the Austral border.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 305

Parallel development to the league formation began to unwind; Britain, France and Italy formed
the short-lived front in April 1935 with the intention of opposing any further German action
which might endanger peace in general.

The Invasion of Abyssinia Oct-1935

In the same years, Mussolini took advantage of the nominal support of Britain and France to
invade Abyssinia in October. The League imposed economic sanctions on Italy but did not
include oil in the list of banned goods. Oil was thus allowed to pass through the British and-
French-owned Suez Canal to the Italian forces, enabling Italy to continue with their invasion.

In addition, many League members continued to trade with Italy. France was reluctant to
provoke any further arguments with Mussolini since he had acted to restrain Hitler.
The Hoare-Laval Pact
The result of the French reluctance to take more serious action against Italy was the secret
Hoare-Laval Pact which offered Italy the bulk of Abyssinia. Hence, in public, Britain and France
denounced Mussolini’s invasion and asked him to withdraw but in private, the two powers were
approving of Mussolini’s actions. The contents of the pact leaked to the press and thus caused a
public outcry. The plan had to be abandoned. The French and British decided in March 1936 to
include oil in the ban but by the time this was enforced in May of the same year. Italian conquest
was complete. Mussolini had actually withdrawn from the League on 6 March 1936 and in
disappointment with the double-dealing of France and Britain began to move more closely
towards Hitler. This spelt doom for the League of Nations.

While British and French was pinned on Italian actions in Abyssinia, on 7 March 1936 Hitler
ordered German troops to re-occupy the Rhineland, which, according to the Treaty of Versalties
was to remain a demilitarized zone. Following the collapse of the Stress a Front, Britain and
France were on their own and they followed separate policies- and were prepared to “appease.”
With Hitler, such actions signified the death of the League of Nation, the goodwill and collective
action of the 1920s, before onset of the Depression.

Study Guides
i) How significant was the depression in the decline of co-operation?
ii) Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the League of Nations’ ability to prevent conflict and
encourage international co-operation.?
iii) What criticism can be made of how the League dealt with non-European problems?
iv) How far was the failure of the League responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War?

The Declaration of the Rights of the Citizen, (26 August 1789)

This Declaration was about the principles upon which the New France was to be established. It
set out the “natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man.” It asserted, among other things, that;
-Men are born free and remain free and equal in their rights
-The purpose of government is the maintenance of these rights, which include liberty, property
security and resistance to oppression.
-All government power is derived from the nation, the people (i.e popular sovereignty.”)

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 306

-The law, which is there to protect the equal freedom of all, is the expression of the general will
given voice by an elected assembly.
-All are equal before the law.
-Careers and offices should be open to talent (meritocracy)
-No-one can be arrested without legal cause.
-Punishment for doing wrong must fit the crime
-There should be freedom of speech of the press and of conscience
-Taxation necessary to finance government should be borne equally by all citizens in proportion
to their means;
-Taxation should be agreed by an elected assembly
-Members of the government should be answerable for their actions
-The powers of the executive, judiciary and legislature should be separated to ensure
constitutional rule.
-The right to property is inviolable.

IMPACT OF THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE CITIZEN ON

THE KING LOUIS XVI AND ON EUROPE

To a modern person, living in a liberal democracy, nothing in the Declaration seemed to raise
any conflict. However, at the time the declaration represented a revolutionary step which
breached the accepted orders of the past. Absolute monarchy and the privileged position of the
monarchy were gone. Government power now came not from divine appointment but from the
people from the vote. Government power too, could not infringe the natural and equal rights of
citizens.

However, it must be noted that whilst all Frenchmen were to be equal citizens, some were more
equal than others in relation to politics and eligibility for public office. It was decided to
distinguish between active and passive citizens for the purposes of the right to vote.

To be an active citizen, with the right to vote in the primary stage of local and national elections,
a Frenchman had to pay the equivalent of three days’ labour in taxes. This effectively excluded
the poorest 40% of the citizens from the electoral process. Moreover to be eligible to vote in the
second stage of elections and to hold public office, a further hurdle had to be passed, payment of
ten days labour in taxes. Furthermore, to be eligible election into the National Assembly (known
as the Legislative Assembly from October (1790), the equivalent of a 50 days’ labour in taxes
had to be paid.

The combination of indirect elections and a wealth qualification effectively ensured middle-class
domination of government at both local and national level. Local bourgeois property owners,

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 307

small merchants and artisans tended to dominate local government. This in itself was a
revolution as these social groups had not played a direct role in government before. However, the
arrangement was divisive because it excluded the less wealthy elements of society from
involvement in politics. The abolition of the distinction between active and passive citizens
became a key demand of the sans-culottes and popular clubs in Paris after 1789.

The Declaration, nevertheless, did not mean an end to the monarchy. No one in the assembly saw
an alternative to the Monarch as head of government, but there was debate over the exact extent
of his powers, a debate coloured by the attitude of the king and the fears of the revolutionaries.
The crucial issue was the extent of the king’s powers. In particular should the king have power of
veto over legislation passed by the elected assembly.
For the King the answer was ‘yes’ for without that power he would be but a puppet king, a mere
stooge. The king had a group of sympathizers in the national Assembly known as ‘monarchies.
Another powerful and contrary group led by Abbe Sieye’s distrusted Louis xvi and feared that
once given the power of veto, the King would use it to frustrate and reverse the revolution
Nevertheless, due to the fact that there was no alternative to the monarch in France, the
Assembly voted to give the king a suspensive veto- the power to effectively prevent laws from
being passed for up to four years. This was included in the Constitutional Articles that set out the
relationship between the elected assembly, the monarchy and the judiciary. The sovereignty of
the nation was re-emphasised, the position of the French monarchy as the head of the executive
was agreed, and the institution of a permanent elected National Assembly as the legislature, was
laid down. There would be an independent judiciary. The King appointed ministers and ran the
executive but had no power to initiate legislation, and his ministers were to be responsible for
their actions. The National Assembly was to be elected every two years and was to consist of a
single chamber. This was because it was feared that a second chamber would be hi-jacked by the
nobility and hence lead to the return of noble privilege and power.

These articles and the August Decrees and the Declaration of the Rights of Man were given to
the king for his signature, to make them into law. He hesitated, voiced his criticisms and would
not agree. It was this reluctance that helped provoke the second Parisian journey’ (revolutionary
day when the people of Paris rose up in decisive protest). This marked another turning point in
the course of the revolution.

However, the king eventually agreed to sign the Declaration, together with the August Decrease
due to a combination of factors. First, the drought of September 1789 left the watermills
powerless; bread was in short supply and its price was high. This was also compounded by rising
unemployment in the luxury trades on which the Parisian workers depended. However, the
immediate stimulus to the events of 5 and 6 October was the reported actions of the officers of
the Flaunders regiment who arrived at Versailles. This aroused fears that the king was going to
use force. The soldier’s roudy behaviour in trampling the revolutionary Tricolour and the
toasting of the white Bourbon flag angered the peasants and the middle class. The mixture of
economic despair, political distrust, anger and fear resulted in the marching of women and men
to Versailles to demand bread, the Rights of Man and the King’s presence in Paris (5 October).
The invasion of the royal chambers on 6 October and the forced march of the royal family to
Paris immediately forced the King to sign the August Decrees and the Declaration into law.
Hence the king had cooperated did what was constitutionally required of him but he had not

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 308

embraced the spirit of the revolution. The king and the National Assembly were now in the
centre of Paris and were now subject to pressure, scrutiny and intimidation as never before. This
situation in turn eventually worsened the relations between the king and the growing radical
minority in the national Assembly.

Examination type questions

1. How accurate is the view that the League of Nations failed because it was a “British and
French affair”?
2. Assess the aims and achievements of the League as a peace-keeping organization.
3. How successful was the League in solving disputes in the period 1919-1929?
4 .How valid is the view that the initial weaknesses of the League structure prevented it from
being a success in the 1930s?
5. How successful was the League of Nations in encouraging international co-operation from
1920 to 1933?
6. “Its links with the Versailles Treaty was its greatest weakness.” How valid is this view of the
League in the 1920s and 1930s?

Chapter References

1. McDonough F-The Origins of the First and the Second World Wars.
2. McDonough F-Conflict, Communism and Fascism: Europe 1890- 1945.
3. Todd A-Democracies and Dictatorships Europe and the World: 1919-1989
4. Traynor J -Europe 1890- 1990.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 309

 CHAPTER 26
NAZI GERMANY (1933-1939)
Chapter objectives
By the end of the chapter the student should be able to:

1.Describe the impact of the Depression upon the fortunes of the Nazis.
2.Explain why Hitler was able to become chancellor in January 1933.
3.Evaluate the role played by
a)Propaganda
b)Hitler’s oratory
c)Force from the Hitler Youth, the SA and SS.
d)The Gestapo
e)Big business

In the rise of the Nazis as a mass movement.

4.Explain how Hitler first used democracy to rise to power in Germany, then destroyed
democracy in order to resort to dictatorship.
5.Analyse the significance of the following events in Hitler’s rise to dictatorship in Germany:
a)The Enabling Act
b)The Reichstag Fire
c)The Night of Long Knives
d)The death of Hindenburg.
6. Assess the achievements and popularity of the Nazis in Germany by 1939.
7. Assess the extent to which autarky (economic self-sufficiency) was achieved in Germany.
8. Describe Nazi policies towards the Youth, Women, Jews (minorities) and employment.

NB: This section will focus mainly on the internal or domestic policies of Nazi Germany. The
Nazi foreign policy will be discussed under the causes of World War II. In this section, the main
highlights will be the rise of Hitler to power, his consolidation of that power and the ultimate
achievement of Nazi dictatorship.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 310

Factors which helped the rise of Hitler and the Nazis
(i) Unpopularity of the Weimar Republic
Hitler and the Nazi Party offered a seemingly attractive alternative just when the Weimar
Republic was at its lowest ebb. Hence, the decline of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler
are inextricably linked. In other words, the misfortunes of the Weimar Republic became the
fortunes of Hitler and the Nazis.

(ii)Economic Instability
The fortunes of the Nazis were more linked to economic instability. According to Norman
Lowe, the more unstable the economy, the more seats won by the Nazis in the Reichstag. For
example, by March 1924, when the economy was unstable, the Nazis won 32 seats in the
Reichstag; By December1924, when the economy was recovering, their seats dropped to 19.
They dropped further to 12 seats in 1925, when the country was experiencing prosperity.
However, in 1930, their seats increased to 107, when the country was experiencing economic
hardship due to the Great Depression. By July 1932, they had won 230 seats, a year when
unemployment had risen to a record 6 million. The Nazi party became the largest single Party.

(iii)The Popularity of the Nazi Programme

The Nazis offered an array of promises that were attractive to the people. Some of the promises
were:
a) To offer national unity, prosperity and full employment.
b) Promised to overthrow the hated Versailles Treaty and build Germany into a great power.
This appealed to Nationalists who hated the idea of a weak Germany.

(iv) The fear of Communism

This led the wealthy landowners and industrialists to support the Nazis who were also anti-
communist. They feared that communism would lead to the nationalization of their properties
and businesses. They also feared the empowerment of the workers.

(v) Hitler’s extraordinary abilities

There can be little doubt that the Nazis owed at least some of their spectacular success to the
extraordinary political ability of their leader, Adolf Hitler. Hitler possessed tremendous energy
and will power. He was an orator, who put across his ideas with great emotional force. He was
a potential propagandist. In this he was quite unsurpassed. He was a master of the psychology of
mass politics. He had an unrivalled gift for exploiting contemporary discontent. According to
William Carr, without doubt, Hitler was one of the greatest demagogues of modern times. Hitler
never reasoned with audiences, he simply put into words what they were longing to hear, feeding
on their hidden resentment, playing on their anxieties and forcing his listeners to surrender their
will to that of their leader.

Therefore, on the whole, it was the striking contrast between the governments of the Weimar and
the Nazi Party, which impressed the people. The Republic’s coalition governments were
cautions, respectable, dull and unable to maintain order, while the Nazis promised strong and
decisive government and the restoration of national pride. In fact according to Norman Lowe,
without the economic crisis, it is doubtful whether Hitler would have had much chance of
attaining political power.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 311

Characteristics / Features of Nazism

(i)Anticommunism: the communists were blamed for the ills of Germany.

(ii)Totalitarian: Great emphasis was laid on the ruthlessly efficient organization of all aspects of
life with violence and terror if necessary.
(iii)Militarism: Since it was likely that greatness could be achieved only by war, the entire state
must be organized on a military footing.
(iv)Racism: The race theory believed that the Aryan race (Germans) were the master race,
destined to rule the whole world. All the other races were inferior to the Germans.
(v)The policy of Lebensraum – that is “living space” This was to be the guiding principle in Nazi
foreign policy. Most of Hitler’s ideas were expressed in his book’ the Mein Kampf (My
Struggle).
(vi)Anti-Semitism – The Jews were believed to be responsible for all the misery in Germany.
Therefore they had to be exterminated. They were rich at the expense of many Germans who
were languishing in poverty.
(vii)One party state, strict censorship, massive use of propaganda and suppression of women’s
rights.

Study Guides
i) In what ways did the Great Depression prove to be a blessing in disguise for Hitler and the
Nazis?
ii) How did Hitler come to power in 1933?
iii) Identify the key, groups from which the Nazi party gained electoral support before 1933.
iv) Did Hitler create an efficient system of government in Nazi Germany?

Hitler’s takeover of power

Hitler took over power by legal means, through elections. His rise to power and subsequent take
over was very much opportunistic. Events and circumstances, not of his own making assisted his
take over of power. The elections of July 1932 proved to be decisive in Hitler’s assumption of
power in Germany. The Nazi’s got the most seats (230) in that election. When Hitler was invited
by Hindenburg to serve as Vice-Chancellor to Von Papen, he refused.

Von Papen failed to secure popular support leading to his resignation in November – 1932.
Hitler could only accept unconditioned Chancellorship. The failure by Von Schleicher to form a
government in January 1933 presented Hitler with an opportunity and in January 1933 – Hitler
became Chancellor of Germany.

Consolidating the Nazi Dictatorship

The Reichstag Fire, 27 February, 1933

The Nazis’ election chances were improved when the Reichstag building was set on fire on 27
February 1933. Although a young Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was arrested on
the scene and later executed it is still far from clear whether he or the Nazis themselves were
responsible for the fire.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 312

Hitler made good use of the incident to move Germany closer to dictatorship by portraying the
fire as a signal for the start of a communist revolution. On 28 February, he instructed Frick
Minister of the Interior to draft a Decree for the Protection of the people and state, which was
approved and signed by President Paul van Hindenburg.

This decree outlawed the Communist Party and gave the government power to suspend most of
the civil and political liberties established by the Weimar constitution. As a result, thousands of
Nazis’ political opponents were arrested at will (especially Communists and Socialists) their
newspapers were shut down and SA violence and intimidation were stepped up. It also provided
for the suspension of the Lander”, or provincial governments, thus strengthening central
government.
Despite all this, the Nazis were only able to push their share of the vote up to 43,9 per cent from
33,1 percent, they had gained in November 1932. In many working class and Catholic areas, in
fact, the Nazis were heavily out voted. Not surprisingly, support for the Communists and
Socialists went down.
The Nazis then seized control of the several ‘Lander’ governments where their opponents were
in power, sometimes without official approval and usually accompanied by extreme violence. In
fact, the chaos resulting from the activities of some local Nazi parties was so great that the
minister of the interior was forced to intervene.

The enabling act, March 1933

Although the Nazis still had no absolute majority in the Reichstag, their 288 seats did enhance
their positions. By negotiating with 52 deputies of the other smaller parties for their support, the
Nazis were able to claim a majority. Yet even this was not enough to overturn the Weimar
Constitution, as a two- thirds majority was needed to make any changes.

Nevertheless, Hitler requested full emergency powers for four years in order to deal with the
‘communist threat.’ This would allow him to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag.
To achieve this, two methods were used,

(i) Hitler needed to obtain support from other parties, especially the German workers Party to
assure them that the Nazis were not necessarily taking over Germany. Hence a 21 March,
Goebbels organized the opening ceremony of the new reichstag in the Potsdam garrison
church. At the ceremony, attended by many conservatives-Hindenburg army generals and the
son of the deposed Kaiser-Hitler claimed that the Nazis were in tune with the values of
imperial Germany. This “Day of Potsdam.” was followed, two days later, by the first session
of the Reichstag.

ii)Large numbers of communist deputies were barred from entering the Reichstag building as the
S.S and SA threatened them. Hitler then persuaded the religious sectors to support his bid for
emergency powers by promising to respect the rights of the Catholic Church and Christian
principles in general.

In this way, with only the Social Democratic Party deputies voting against him, Hitler obtained
the necessary two-thirds majority to have this legislation, known as the Enabling Act, passed.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 313

The Night of long Knives, (June 1934)
Although by June 1934 the process of Gleichschaltung-or bring into line- or forcible co-
ordination-whereby many aspects of German political, social and cultural life were brought into
line with Nazi ideology and values. Hitler’s position was still not secure enough. His position as
well as that of the leading Nazis were increasingly being threatened by the more militant sections
of the party who wanted him to carry out the second revolution based on the socialist values. In
particular Earnest Roehm, who was one of Hitler’s earliest colleagues and the leader of the 2,5
million strong SA, was demanding that the regular army be merged with the SA to form a new
People’s Army under his command. Nazis such as Roehm had been worried for some time by
Hitler’s growing contacts with the conservatives and industrial leaders. They had been dismayed
by Hitler’s speed to the Reichstathalter (the 10 Nazi provincial governors) on 6 July 1933, that
the Nazi ‘revolution’ was over.

Roehm’s calls for a people’s militia was a threat to the aristocratic commanders of the army, who
clearly despised the SA as upstairs. Hitler did not wish to upset any of the army commanders
because their support and expertise in his grand foreign policy objectives were very crucial.
Hitler was very concerned that the activities of Roehm and his followers, if not checked, might
provoke the reichswehr (army) into taking action against the new Nazi regime as a whole.

Other leading Nazis like Himmler and Goering saw Roehm as a real rival to their influence
within the party. Roehm was potentially the most powerful of the Nazi chiefs as the SA was
strong enough to carry through the “second revolution” with or without approval (secondary
revolution would mean nationalization of all industries and businesses).
There is evidence that Hitler was encouraged in his decision to move against Roehm and the SA
by Nazis such as Himmler, Goering and Hess as well as by von Papen, who warned that failure
to act soon, might result in conservative opposition to his government. So on 30 June 1934, on
Hitler’s orders, the SS, with transport and weapons provided by the army, arrested and shot many
of the SA leaders including Roehm. In all, over 400 people were murdered over the next few
days, including Gregor Strasser, the former leading Nazi who been part of the party’s militant
populist wing that wanted action against the bigger capitalist firms. Some leading monarchists
were also murdered as Hitler was concerned that they might try to persuade Hindenburg to
replace his regime with the monarchial option.

This ruthless action effectively removed the possibility of a Nazi “second revolution” from
below
-When von Hindenburg died on 1 August 1934, the army supported Hitler’s takeover of the post
of President Hitler immediately merged the posts of Chancellor and President to become Further.
-On 2 August 1934, the army swore an oath of personal loyalty to the new Fuhrer and supreme
commander of the armed forces.
-At the Nazi party rally at Nurenmberg in September 1934, Hitler announced that there would be
no other revolution in Germany for the next thousand years.
Study Guides

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 314

i) Why did Paul von Hindenburg appoint Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933?
ii) Identify and explain any two factors which helped to increase Hitler’s power in Germany after
1933.

The Nazi’s Economic Policy

When the Nazis came to power, they had no detailed economic plans. However, they had 2 main
aims:-
a) Removing unemployment
b) Making Germany self-sufficient, by boosting exports and reducing imports, this policy was
called autarky, economic self-sufficiency.

Hitler announced the First Four Year Plan in February 1933 – 1936. The plan targeted curing the
unemployment problem and rescueing farming communities. Hitler needed co-operation of the
industrial magnates to solve the problem of unemployment. The Industrialists were told what to
produce depending on what the country needed at any time. Factories were closed down if their
products were not required. Overall control of the economy was first vested on the lands of
Halmar Schacht, the financial wizard of 1924, highly respected in industrial and banking circles.

-The Nazis showed interest in John Keynes’s theory of deficit financing. According to this
theory, governments should increase, not cut expenditure to lift the country out of a deflationary
crisis.

Public Works

-On the basis, of this, the public works programme consisting of slum clearance, land drainage
and motorway (auto bahns) construction drawn up by Bruning and introduced by Von Papen
were continued and greatly extended. Up to the end to 1935, 5000 million marks were pumped
into job-creation schemes. Job – creation – schemes included afforestation and water-
conservation schemes. Investment was also open in the construction and automobile industries.

-The overall effect of these Nazi measures was impressive. By 1934, unemployment fell to 2,7
million and fell further too 1,7 million in mid 1935. On the eve of World War II, a shortage of
skilled labour existed in some industries. From 1936, emphasis was now on armaments.
Consumer goods production slowed down and expenditure on armaments rose sharply form 5400
million marks in 1935 to 17200 million marks by 1938 – accounting for 44% of total state
expenditure.

The Second Four-Year Plan (1936-1939)

The drive for autarky intensified in 1936 with the introduction of the 2nd Four-Year Plan under
Goering’s direction. The First Four-Year Plan aimed at creating employment. The Second Four-
Year Plan aimed at placing Germany on a war-footing. In August 1936 in a top-secret directive,
Hitler ordered the army and the economy to be ready for war in four years. Hence great efforts
were made to increase domestic production of synthetic rubber, petrol and oils, regardless of
cost. Nazi control over industry tightened considerably after 1936.

-Schacht’s influence had declined sharply by 1937 for two reasons, namely that: -

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 315

(i) He feared that autarky was being taken to extremes.
(ii) He was opposed to Hitler’s insistence of economic consequences. At the end of 1937, he
resigned and was replaced by Walther Funk, a nonentity – completely under the control of
Goering. Inflation was kept in check through tight control of the money market.

-The Second Four- Year Plan, on the whole-was successful. However, it did not produce arms as
quickly as Hitler and the army wanted. Autarky succeeded in that although Germany was still
dependent on imports, in 1939, her degree of dependence had not increased despite her economic
expansion. The Nazis greatly expanded production. The goods industries were the cornerstone
of the economic policy of Federal Germany in the 1950s’.

Social Policies
These focused on Education, Religion and anti-Semitism.
Education was controlled by the State. Children were indoctrinated with Nazi views. School
textbooks were re-written to fit the Nazi theory. Subjects to suffer were history and Biology.
History was rewritten to support Hitler’s tactics of the use of force. Biology portrayed the
Germans as a Superior race. Teachers, lecturers, Professors were closely watched to ensure that
they did not oppose government and teach pupils to do so. Children were used to reporting their
teachers to their parents who supported the government.

Boys and girls were taught that “the Fuhrer is always right”. Boys at 14 years joined Hitler’s
Youth. Their syllabus emphasized physical fitness- hence preparing them for war. The girls
joined the League of German Maidens. Their Syllabus emphasized domestic science since it was
believed that their place was in the kitchen.

Church and State in Nazi Germany

Friction between the church and state is inevitable under a totalitarian regime. Tyrants cannot
tolerate to go along institutions which have any claim to an independent existence outside the
state. Nazis were not officially hostile to religion. In the party programme, they spoke of
commitment, ‘positive christianity’ and promised to respect freedom of religion provided that it
did not endanger the security of the state or offend the moral sense of the Germanic race. Hitler
was himself a Catholic and in the early days, he paid lip service to Christian beliefs and promised
to respect the position of the various churches.

-However, Nazism was a deeply anti-christian creed. It spurned the christian virtues of charity,
mercy and humility and exalted the use of violence. The failure of German Christians, both
Catholics and Protestants, to offer vigorous resistance to the crimes of the Nazi’s in general and
to their persecution of the Jews, in particular, has been the subject of much historical
controversy. Nevertheless, for German Christians, the Nazi era was a time of pressure and
persecution.

The Evangelical church

The Nazis attempted to subordinate the Christian churches to their control. The major protestant
denomination, the German Evangelical church, was forced to accept the direction of a

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 316

handpicked national Bishop. Dissenting Protestants established the Confessing Church under the
Leadership of Pastor Martin Miemoller (1892-1984). He and other dissident churchmen were
imprisoned in concentration camps.

The Catholics Church

In July 1933, the Nazi regime signed a Concordat with the Vatican, pledging to maintain the
traditional rights of the Catholic Church in Germany. Increasing violations of the concentrated
led to protests from the Catholic leaders. In 1937, Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) joined those
protests – issuing the encyclical letter “With Burning Concern.” For the most part Protestant and
Catholic leaders sought to avoid direct confrontations with the Nazi regime.

Anti-Semitism – (Anti-Jewish Campaign)

Hitler’s hatred of Jews was pathological. The Jews were not simply members of an inferior race.
In his eyes, they were a ‘counter-race’ whose aim was to enslave and ultimately destroy the
Aryan race. The Jews symbolized all that was evil in Hitler’s world. They stabbed Germany in
the back in 1918. Hitler’s anti-Semitism started continuously in the early years of his reign.

-Many (but not all) Jewish officials in government were dismissed. Books by Jewish writers
were burnt in May 1933. Persecution of the Jews reached a new stage with the passage of the so-
called “Nuremberg Laws’ promulgated at the Nazi Party Congress of 1935. According to these
laws: -

i) Jews were to be deprived of full citizenship

ii) They were forbidden to marry Aryans.
iii) Extra-marital relations between Jews and Gentiles became a punishable offence.

-Persecution intensified in 1935 when a 17-year-old Jewish boy murdered a German embassy
official in Paris. This was used as a pretext for a large-scale programme organized by the SA
(Storm Troopers).

-During the night of 9-10 November 1938, Jewish shops were looted, houses, schools and
synagogues were burnt down and several Jews were murdered. The programme which aroused
widespread horror abroad was followed by a spate of laws which at last drove the Jews out of
commercial life and confiscated their industrial assets.

-The Jews were practically deprived of their means of livelihood. They could not enter cinemas,
theatres, and swimming pools and could not own cars. Their children were expelled from school
and university.

-Hitler in 1939 declared that if war broke out, it would lead to the annihilation of the Jewish race
in Europe. It is believed that by 1945 out of a total of 9 million Jews living in Europe, at the
outbreak of World War II, 6 million had been murdered – most of them in gas chambers of the
Nazi extermination camps.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 317

The Popularity of Nazi Policies
The Nazis undoubtedly enjoyed much support in all classes because of the economic revival of
their country and its foreign policy successes. Some of these classes or groups are discussed
below:-

(i) Many Intellectuals

These became supporters of the Fuhrer. Many did it out of choice, but some out of the fear of
opposing Nazi policies. Most intellectuals wrote in favour of the Nazi regime and its policies.

(ii) Industrialists and businessmen

These had been lukewarm towards the Weimar Republic. They did not mourn its passing. They
liked the Nazi destruction of trade unionism. They felt safe from a communist revolution. The
coal and steel industries flourished and became a key concern in the Four Year Plan. However,
industrialists found that they were no longer free agents. The state, not the private entrepreneur
controlled investments, requested profits and determined priorities.

(iii) Farmers
In the countryside, the Nazis had their most loyal supporters. The rural folk occupied a special
position because of the drive for agricultural self-sufficiency especially in food production.
Prices of agricultural produce were fixed so that they were assured of a reasonable profit.

(iv) Industrial Working Class

There were substantial gains in the shape of full employment, stable rents, more paid holidays,
subsidized holidays in Germany and abroad, in Italy and Norway, and cheap theatre. Those were
provided by the strength through joy organization. On the other hand, workers lost their right to
strike, working hours were longer and wages increased slowly.

(v) The Army (Reichswehr)

Hitler gained the support of the army, which was crucial if he was to feel secure in power. The
Reichswehr was the only organization, which could remove him from power by force. By 1934,
Hitler had won it over. His aim of setting aside the military restrictions of the Versailles Treaty
by rearmament and expansion of the army got him the support of the officer class. Hitler filled
the lower ranks of the army with the Nazis. Army leaders were greatly impressed by Hitler’s
handling of trouble-some SA (Storm Troopers) in the notorious Rohm of 1934. The SA under
their leader Ernest Rohm, a personal friend of Hitler, was becoming an embarrassment to the
new Chancellor. Roehm wanted the brown shirted SA to be merged with the army and himself
made a general. Most of the generals in the army were from the aristocratic class and considered
the SA to be little more than a bunch of gangsters. Hitler was forced to choose between the
Rechswehr and SA. He chose the former.

Study Guides
i) What impact did the Nazis have on economic policy?
ii) Did the workers benefit under the third Reich?
iii) How did the Hitler Youth try to indoctrinate Germany’s young people?
iv) What were the causes and results of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany?
v) How effective was Nazi propaganda?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 318

vi)Who opposed the Nazis and how effective was their opposition
vii)How total was Nazi control of Germany?
viii)Was there a “cult of personality in Nazi Germany?

Examination type questions

1How effectively did Hitler establish and consolidate Nazi authority?
2.What impact did the Nazi economic policies have on Germany in the 1930s?
3.How far and why, was the Weimar regime unstable?
4.What impact did the post-war settlement have on Hitler’s foreign policies in the 1930s?
5.Identify and explain the factors which contributed to the popularity of the Nazis in the 1930s.
6.How valid is the view that the policy of appeasement benefited Hitler more than Britain and
France?
7.To what extent by 1939 had Hitler’s domestic policies solved the problems, which had brought
him into power.
8.Why did the policy of appeasement fail to prevent the outbreak of hostilities between Germany
and the Western powers in 1939?

Key References
1. Baines H. -Modern History: A-Level Study Guide.
2. Layton G. -Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany, 1918-33
3. Layton G. -The Third Reich, 1933-45.
4. McDonough F. -Conflict, communism and Fascism: Europe 1890- 1945.
5. Todd A. -The European Dictatorships;
Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini.
6. Todd A. -Democracies and Dictatorships Europe and the World, 1919-1989
7. Traynor J. -Europe: 1890- 1990.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 319

 CHAPTER 27
FASCIST ITALY (1919 – 1939)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Describe and illustrate the economic, social and political situation in Italy after the First World
War.
2. Explain the methods used by Benito Mussolini to rise to power in Italy by 1922.
3. Explain why Mussolini was able to establish fascism in Italy.
4. Describe and assess the corporate state.
5. Evaluate the reforms of Mussolini
6. Describe the battle for Birth Battle for Grain and trade policies.
7. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of Mussolini’s fascists policies.

This is another popular topic, which has striking paralles with Nazi Germany. Again, to facilitate
an organized coverage of the major issues, it is important to break down this broad topic into
manageable units. The student is expected to consider the post – war problems faced by the
liberal Regime in Italy, the rise of Mussolini, his take over of power, its consolidation and the
establishment of a Fascist dictatorship. The Fascist domestic and Foreign policies will complete
the topic.

Economic problems faced by the liberal government

i) Unemployment as result of war destruction and demobilization of soldiers. There were many
industrial firms geared for the demands of war, which went bankrupt when the war ended hence
their closure. This resulted in wide spread unemployment, which soared to over 2 million in
1919.This is more of a social problem than an economic problem.
ii) There were strikes, factory occupations and foods riots. Strikes can also be regarded as social
problems
iii) Economic depression from 1920 added to the mood of bitterness amongst many sections of
industrial and urban society
iv) There was ruinous inflation. The lire lost two – thirds of its value in the course of 1919 and
many middle – class savings were wiped out.
v) Unequal development.
Southern Italy was economically and socially backward compared to the industrial North. The
First World War worsened this disparity. The liberal governments failed to close the gap.
vi) Massive internal and external war debt

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 320

Social Problems
i) Poverty, starvation and suffering especially in the south.
ii) Demonstrations and street fights
iii) Land seizures by returning soldiers and the rise of peasant unions and co-operatives made the
iv) laundering class fearful of social upheaval in the rural areas.
v) Widespread corruption within the liberal regime
Political Problems
a) Lack of a strong and stable government. There were too many political parties none of them
having a majority to form a government-resulting in short- lived coalition governments and
hence general political instability.
b) Difficulty in reintegrating war veterans into society.
c) Disgust and disappointment with the Versailles Treaty. The Italians got little territory. They
had expected more. They failed to get Dalmatia and Fiume.
d) Conflict between church and state – with the Roman Catholic Church refusing to recognize
the new Kingdom.
e) Fear of Communism and Socialism amongst the business and educated classes.
f) Divided leadership.Entering the war had split the old leadership, some had been in favour of
the war, others were against. Catholics and Socialists both appeared to threaten the state, and the
1919 elections revealed a deep political split between north and south with almost all the
socialist deputies from the north and almost all the middle of the road government parties’
deputies coming from the south. All this was a disastrous recipe for chaos in central government.
g) Mussolini personal qualities – was an orator and a demagogue.

Study Guides
i) What are the characteristics of Italian fascism?
ii) Why did fascism develop in Italy after the First World War?
iii) Briefly outline three problems facing Italian democracy immediately after the end of the First
World War.

The Rise of Benito Mussolini

The rise of Mussolini to power was brought about by the lack of a stable political framework
within which the democratic politicians could work to solve the many social and economic
problems facing Italy after 1918. Therefore the various social, economic and political problems
stated above constituted the factors which helped Mussolini’s rise to power.
-Mussolini’s support came from demobilized soldiers from junior officers to other ranks,
disgruntled with the anti – climax of peace, and unemployment. Many were genuinely concerned
about what was happening to Italy.
-His support also came from working men disillusioned with the failure of strikes and unions to
get them a better deal.
-He also got support from the lower middle – class, self- employed and the professionals seeking
law and order and protection of their property. These groups were joined by wealthy
industrialists, businessmen fearful of the threat of communism, and finally, by groups of young
intellectuals who were valued for their ability to spread the fascist message.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 321

- In addition to these active supporters of the fascist cause there were many in the army and the
Catholic Church and supporters of the monarchy who felt that they had in common with
Mussolini’s anti- left stance.

Characteristics of Fascism
-The individual should distrust reason and simply obey orders.
-Denial of equality: the strong have an obligation to destroy the weak.
-Violence is an essential tool.
-Government by the elite as the average person is incapable.
-Totalitarianism – total state control of the lives of individuals.
-Racism and imperialism – these were justified in that certain nations are elite and are obligated
to control power.

Fascist take over of power

-The liberal governments, over fearful of a communist revolution, were too slow to curb the
black shirt violence, and failed to reach agreements amongst themselves which would have
created a broad based government with some prospect of long – term survival.
-Giolitti’s (Prime Minister) miscalculation, allowing Fascists into the lists of government
candidates in the 1921 elections gave them 35 seats. It was however, outside Parliament that the
Fascists made their real mark.
-Here, increasing violence, often ignored by the local civil authorities, was unopposed by a
succession of briefly surviving governments. In 1921, they founded the fascist militia and
organized their own unions of employers and employees.

The Fascist March on Rome – October 1922

-Mussolini’s black shirts began a march on Rome to gain power, as the Prime Minister Giolitti
Facta had refused to allow the Fascists within government.
-The king Victor Emmanuel III feared a civil war, and offered the government to Mussolini to
avoid this. Thus Mussolini took power with relatively little bloodshed. The violence of the
Fascist black shirts, and the complicating of the police and army – who did not suppress Fascist
violence – also contributed to Mussolini’s take over of power.
-Victor Emmanuel II decided to invite Mussolini to become Prime Minister rather than using the
army to stop him. With greater courage, the king could have resisted Mussolini with the help of
the army.

Study Guides
i) How did Mussolini consolidate his political power in Italy from 1922- 1928?
ii) How efficient was Mussolini’s fascism in Italy?
iii) Explain Mussolini’s economic and social policies
iv) How total was Mussolini’s control of Italian affairs?
v) How successful was Mussolini in his domestic policies?

Consolidation of Fascist Power – (1922 – 24)

Most – examination questions on Mussolini’s gaining of power require the story to be pegged
beyond 1922, for at that time; Mussolini still had much to do. He did not become a dictator in

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 322

1922. The king, Victor Emmanuel II remained the Head of State. The Fascists strengthened their
position through the following measures.

-Excluding socialists from the Coalition

-Continuing to attract members, and weakening opponents at the same time.
-Continuing violence against political opponents.
-Improvements of relations between church and state as the Catholic Church had become pro-
Fascist.
-Explanation of the lack of unity amongst the Fascist opponents.
-The Acerbo law of July 1923
This law stated that the party of the Coalition which won an election was to be automatically
awarded two – thirds of the Seats in Parliament. This made strong government possible.
-Fascists won the April 1924 election, getting 374 of the 535 seats in Parliament, about 60% of
seats.
-Fascists also used electoral fraud in the South Italy to ensure Fascist victory. There was a
general support at this point for what Mussolini appeared to be doing, particularly in providing
effective government.

Moves towards Dictatorship – 1924

The murder of Matteotti: -
-Matteotti the socialist leader was murdered in June 1924. He was the most ferocious and
courageous of Mussolini’s opponents who might have succeeded in winning the moderate
fascists from their loyalty to Mussolini. This led to the withdrawal from the chamber by
opposition deputies – an event commonly referred to as the Aventine cesession. This was a
mistake, for Mussolini was now vulnerable to the charge of murder, and even in the absence of
his opponents, it required all his efforts to survive the crisis.

The following measures confirmed his dictatorship

-In December 1925 – a law was passed which passed complete power into Mussolini’s hands. He
also introduced more repressive measures. For instance: -
-Political parties were banned
-Trade Unions were banned
-Free press was ended through take –over by Fascists and the introduction of Censorship.
-Elected officials were replaced by officials appointed by the central government.
-Increased power of arrest and detention without trial.
-Scope of the death penalty was widened to include action against the authorities.
-Setting up a special court to deal with political crimes’
-Creation of a secret police force (OVRA)
-Closure of opposition newspapers

These measures were, (during the mid – 1920s), key moments in the moves towards dictatorship.
The posturing and the displays of military might and the incessant propaganda which
accompanied them also need noting in the strengthening of dictatorship.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 323

The Corporate State
The corporate state was a feature of the Fascist state in Italy. Under corporation, a group
composed of representatives of the employers, the workers, and the state would govern a
corporation. It was hoped this would:
-End conflicts between owners and labour
-End class conflict
-Increase production (no more strikes)
-Increase living standards

Fascist Economic Policies

In economic policy Mussolini made concessions to big business interests.
-No attempt was made to destroy capitalism. Mussolini compromised with the capitalists and left
them in charge of their industries in return for their support.
-‘Production’ was the word used by the Fascists to describe their aims. However, this was vague
and limited to a desire to boost production.
-There were close bonds between the state and heavy industry. More funds were directed
towards these branches of the economy.
-There was little attention paid to the development of the consumer industries.
-Taxation levels were high. This was to fund investment in heavy industry.
-The lire was fixed at an artificially high level because of national pride.
-Protectionism increased – to protect heavy industry and agriculture – since Mussolini sought to
achieve autarky, that is, economic self – sufficiency.
-Government intervention increased because of the Great Depression.
-Private banks were taken over to finance and to invest in industry.
-Allocation of raw materials was brought under government
-Propaganda made the most of development in the railways control, hydro – electricity,
motorways, and above all the draining of the Pontine Marshes.
-There was the battle for grain and battle for births which were aimed at achieving national self –
sufficiency (autarky)
-Tourism grew, but unemployment, despite the vast labour intensive land reclamation schemes
and a doubling in the number of public employees, remained high and the build up of heavy
industry was disappointing. Italy was not ready in 1939 when the 2nd World War began, to stand
alongside Germany, its ally, provides some comment on the reality of Mussolini’s achievement
in creating a strong national economy.

Social Policies
In education, the state decided to take direct control of this important sector. Textbooks were re-
written to popularize Fascist policies. Mussolini, the IL Duce was viewed as a hero. Teachers
were closely supervised and had to show their support of the Fascist state. There was a lot of
indoctrination in education. Pupils were taught that “Mussolini was always right.

Church - State Relations: the Lutheran Treaties of 1929

Mussolini concluded a treaty with the Pope and the Catholic Church in 1929. According to this
accord, the Vatican was to remain the domain of the Pope. Catholicism would be declared the
only state religion and a compulsory school subject. By so doing Mussolini secured the tacit
support of the vastly influential Catholic Church. This momentous healing of old wounds must

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 324

loom large in any explanation of the durability of the Fascist regime. In fact it is considered to be
the most important and notable achievement of the Fascist regime.

Politically, the regime was authoritarian, centred around the increasingly isolated Mussolini, who
insisted on making decisions down to the most trivial level. The fascist co-operations did not
take over the functions of the older state. The monarchy, the Chamber of Deputes (though all
fascists), the army, the police and the local provincial leaders all survived. It seemed increasingly
unlikely that much of the increasingly inefficient Fascist state would last beyond the death of the
Il Duce (Mussolini’s popular name), for a long time through the skilful use of propaganda and
this from the Italian people.

Fascist Foreign Policy: (1922 – 36)

Italy’s interests concentrated on three areas, the Mediterranean, Africa and the Balkans, yet there
was a desire to ‘revise’ the settlement of 1919 – 1920.
-Mussolini obtained Fiume from Yugoslavia
-Mussolini invaded Corfu (Greek Island) in response to the murder of an Italian general but was
pressured by the League of Nations to withdraw (see section on the league)
-He also declared a Protectorate over Albania
-Mussolini sought to destabilize Yugoslavia
-He crushed a revolt in Libya with the use of massive force and executions.
-He signed a treaty of friendship with Ethiopia in 1928

By the late 1920s, Mussolini was becoming increasingly revisionist and frustrated at the failures
of traditional diplomacy, but the weakness of the Italian armed forces made him support the
disarmament efforts of the League of Nations and made him co-operate with Italy’s World War
Allies.
-Relations with Germany were not good in the early years of Hitler’s regime. Mussolini opposed
Hitler’s designs on Austria by backing the Austrian government. Later he moved troops to the
Austrian frontier to forestall what he suspected were German intervention in Austria.
-October 25, 1935, Mussolini ordered the invasion of Ethiopia - realizing that the Allies would
do little to stop him because they were worried over Hitler’s Germany. The League of Nations
imposed sanctions for this action but they did not succeed because oil was not included in the
banned items. Also Britain did not close the Suez Canal to Italian warships.
-Neither Germany, nor the USA were members of the League and sanctions could therefore only
be ineffective (see section of League of Nations)
-Now Mussolini turned towards a more Fascist- driven foreign policy. The reasons for this
change were: -
-Anger at the actions of Britain and France in response to his Ethiopian invasion.
-The success of the Ethiopian invasion and the nature of Fascism which demanded expansionist
policies.

Foreign Policy (1936 – 1943)

-Intervention in the Spanish Civil War

-A move towards Hitler.
-The establishment of the Rome – Berlin Axis 1936

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 325

-Italy left the League of Nations – in 1937
-Mussolini let Hitler annex Austria – February – March 1938
-Mussolini proposed the Munich Conference when war between Germany and the western
powers seemed likely.
-Mussolini annexed Albania – April 1939
-The Pact of steel – a military alliance with Germany was signed in May 1939.
-Italy was unable to support Hitler in September 1939, and Hitler accepted Italian neutrality.
-1940 i. Convinced of Hitler’s success, Mussolini joined the war (World War II).

MUSSOLINI:

Analysis and interpretation

What were the main features of fascism?

a)Increased Violence
Extreme violence against political opponents was common during Mussolini’s time. Mussolini
himself claimed the responsibility for the murder of Italian opposition leader Matteotti (1925).
Violence was also practiced under newly appointed Party secretary’s brief rule when Mussolini
was ill. He was Fariacci, who supervised a purge of Fascist party members who were seen as
insufficiently loyal to Mussolini.

b)The Press
The first step in establishing a Fascist dictatorship was taken in July 1925 when Mussolini
imposed a series of laws to control the press. Anti-Fascist newspapers were closed down and
those remaining were only allowed to print articles approved by the government. From
December 1925 all journalists had to be registered with the Facist party.

c) Central and Local Government

In August 1925, Mussolini took the next step in establishing his dictatorship. This time he
focused on local and central government. Elected mayors and councils of towns and cities in the
93 provinces were replaced by appointed fascist officials known as prodesta. Although they were
party members, they were mainly conservative and were drawn from the traditional landowning
and military elites. In this way, Mussolini tried to ensure that the more militant fascists were
excluded from real power in the provinces.

Fascist political control was further established on 3 August 1925 when all meetings by
opposition parties were banned. Mussolini also moved to increase his personal power in central
government. On 24 December 1925 Mussolini made himself head of government and in January
1926 he increased his powers to allow him to issue decrees without parliamentary approval and
made himself responsible only to the king. Soon Mussolini insisted on being called Duce (the
leader). By 1929, he held eight ministerial posts himself, which excluded many other Fascist
leaders from powers.

d)The cult of the Duce

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 326

The indoctrination of the Italian people in the wisdom and leadership qualities of the Duce
became a central activity of the fascist state. It paid off in the much-repeated graffit “Mussolini is
always right” scrawled on walls over Italian towns.

The cult of the strong leader had featured in European Literature from the late nineteenth century
onwards but had not figured largely in the early days of fascism. It developed in Italy as a way of
explaining and supporting Mussolini’s personal dictatorship. Mussolini was portrayed as
follows:

-The scholar, writing learned articles for the Encyclopedia Italiana

-The man of culture, in a widely distributed photograph of him playing the violin
-The man of action leading by example, bare-chested and helping to bring in the grain harvest.
-The athlete running bare-chested along holiday beaches
-The military leader, in different uniforms-marching, reviewing troops sitting in planes and
military vehicles.

Widely circulated stories of Mussolim’s incredible capacity for work and his Mastery of all
aspects of government-almost entirely fictitious backed up these images of the supreme leader.

e)Propaganda
Outside the work place it was more difficult to control and direct the citizen’s lives, but much
was still done to draw the Italian people into the embrace of the state. Above all, they were
subjected to an endless barrage of state propaganda in newspapers on the state-run radio network
and at the cinema. It was almost impossible to acquire an independent view on political issues,
domestic or foreign. The thrust everywhere was to glorify the fascist regime and to celebrate
Italian greatness and, in its control of the presentation of public affairs at every level, the regime
perhaps came closest to controlling the minds of its citizens e.g. it provided free radios to schools
and communal radios to villages. The image of the Duce and Italian military achievements were
glorified. Whatever the Italians views on the credibility of some claims the propaganda offensive
ensured that the general public accepted the regime until the late 1930s.

f)The Corporate state

The attempts to exercise state direction of the economy through the institutions of the corporate
state proved less successful, being constantly evaded by the larger employers who preferred to
bargain with individual civil servants or government ministers in order to direct the country’s
economic policies into paths they thought favourable to their own company’s interests. Despite
creating a bureaucratic web of petty regulations, licenses and committees, the corporate system
worked ineffectively and often stifled economic activity.

If the aim of totalitarianism was to produce an economically efficient nation directed towards
national greatness through victory in war, then it failed miserably. Outside the central planning
and directed activity of the Corporate state many small businesses, especially countless little
shops, survived and often prospered. Small light-engineering firms in particular remained largely

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 327

unregulated but proved to be major economic success stories. Even by 1940, some 50 per cent of
industrial workers in the northern towns remained outside the syndicates. In rural Italy too,
especially in the south small peasants were unaffected by state planning and pursued their
livelihoods much as they had always done, uninterrupted by Mussolini’s totalitarian visions.

Flaws in the Corporate System

a)At the highest level, too many decisions remained outside the scope of the corporations. The
Ministry of Economics worked hard to limit the powers and responsibilities of the corporations.
This weakened the corporations.
b)At the level of national policy, the corporations became simply spectators of the new direction
taken by the economy. On papers they were supposed to hold the lead of all industry and
economic enterprise.
c) Far from rationalizing production and encouraging enterprise, the corporate bureaucracy
became a block on economic development and an additional obstacle to be overcome by
entrepreneurs.

Other social controls

If the success of fascist totalitarianism is judged by the Battle for Births then it must be judged to
be a failure. Even the punitive tax on men who remained bachelors failed to bring down the
average age of marriage. The average age of marriage remained at over 28 for men, and over 25
for women, and even slightly higher in the 1930s than it had been when the fascists achieved
office in the early 1920s. The extensive propaganda and the incentives failed with only 10
percent of women of child-bearing age giving birth in any one year. Equally unsuccessful was
the attempt to keep women in the home by restricting their job opportunities. This actually led to
more women staying in secondary schools and entering universities as a way of shunning the
boredom of the home.

Success and Failure

Most of Mussolini’s economic battles were far from successful often because they were
inconsistent. The battle for grain,” however, succeeded in almost doubling cereal production by
1939, thus making Italy self-sufficient in wheat. However, it also involved the misallocation of
resources and resulted in Italy having to import olive oil. Fruit and wine exports dropped, as did
the numbers of cattle and sheep. The battle for land resulted in only one area, the Pontine
Marshes being effectively reclaimed. As it was near Rowe, Mussolini saw this as a way of
impressing visitors and tourists.
The battle for the lira,” which had involved certifically overhauling the lira resulted in Italian
goods becoming more expensive and a consequent decline in exports and an increase in
unemployment because car exports, in particular, were badly hit.

The revaluation also undermined free trade and traditional financial policies which Mussolini
had adopted in the period 1922-25. It led to a recession in Italy, made worse by the Great
Depression. As already noted, the battle for births” was disastrous. Most of Mussolini’s battles
which were intended to achieve entirely (self- sufficiency), tended to cause at least as many
problems as they solved. This negative tendency was worsened by the effects of the Great
Depression.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 328

Study Guides
i) Why did Mussolini introduce the corporate state? How successfully did it address Italian
problems?
ii) Assess the major aspects of Mussolini’s foreign policy
iii) Identify and explain at least two factors which led to Mussolini’s downfall during the Second
World War.
Examination type questions
1.How far did Mussolini achieve totalitarianism in Italy after 1925?
2.How far did Mussolini’s policies in the 1920’s and 1930’s address the post war problems faced
by Italy?
3. How accurate is the view that only Mussolini could have prevented Hitler’s violation of world
peace during the 1930s?
4.Critically examine the factors, which helped Mussolini and the Fascists take over power in
Italy by 1922.
5.‘Unfriendly and Provocative’. How fitting is this description of Mussolini’s Foreign Policy?
6.“Failure at home, disaster abroad”. How fair is this assessment of the results of Mussolini’s
government of Italy?

Key references
1. Baines H. -Modern History; A-Level Study Guide.
2. Mc Donough F-Conflict, communism and Fascism: Europe 1890-1945
3.Todd A-Democracies and Dictatorships; Europe and the World, 191-1989.
4.Todd A.-The European Dictatorship Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini.
5. Townley E -Mussolini and Italy.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 329

 CHAPTER 28
RUSSIA (1917 – 1953)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Explain the failure of the Provisional Government in Russia.
2.Evaluate the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
3.Explain the role played by V.I Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin in the Russian Civil War.
4.Assess the Impact of the Russian Civil War on Russia and the Bolsheviks, 1918-1921.
5.Describe and explain the New Economic policy (1924).
6.Assess the impact of the death of the death of Lenin on the political developments in Russia.
7.Describe and Explain the Five Year Plans in Agriculture and Industry.
8.Analyse the reasons for and impact of the purges in Russia
9.Evaluate the policies of Stalin in light of the country’s preparedness for war in 1939.
10.Analyse Stain’s foreign policy after the Second World War.

This is an important period in Russian history. Landmark events which students need to be aware
of took place during this period. The major highlights of his period include the Russian
revolution, the Russian civil war, Lenin’s New Economic Policy and Stalin’s policies in Russia.

The Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution developed in two stages namely the February (March) Revolution and
the October / November Revolution. These two revolutions will be discussed separately below.

The February Revolution (as according to the Russian Calendar). According to the international
Gregorian Calendar – it is the March Revolution.

The causes of the revolution

Effects of World War 1
(a)World War one increased the dissatisfaction the Russian people had felt for decades about
their autocratic system of government. The war demoralized the troops at the front. At home,
Rasputin’s influence increased and the economy worsened, creating an explosive state of
affairs.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 330

(b)The corrupt state of affairs: made a few aristocrats, among them the relatives of the imperial
couple very unpopular among the majority in Russia. Numerous Russians had lost all respect
for the Tsar and Tsarina. When the February revolution erupted, Nicholas II and Alexander
had virtually no friends among the Russian people.

(c)The war had far –reaching effects on several facets of the Russian economy. The rising cost of
living and shortages of food, fuel and housing caused the most dissatisfaction. While wages
doubled between 1914 and 1917, this was not enough to keep pace with the cost of living,
which increased fourfold. The dissatisfaction caused by the rising cost of living is reflected in
the number of strikes during the war years – 68 was between August and December 1914,
1034 in 1915 and 1410 in 1916. The effect of World War I on Russia was to increase the
dissatisfaction in an already dissatisfied nation. The government represented by the tsar was
held responsible for the setbacks on the war front, the destructive influence of Rusputin and
the general distress. At the beginning of 1917, the situation in Russia was indeed ripe for
revolution.

The Start of the February Revolution

Although Russia was ready for revolution early in 1917, it was not a planned event which ended
the reign of Nicholas II. It was a spontaneous eruption, surprising all the revolutionary leaders.
No Bolshevik leaders were on the scene. Lenin and Zinovov were in Switzerland, Trotsky in
America, and Stalin and Kamenev in Siberia.

The revolution was sparked off in Petrograd – the former St Petersburg on the 8th March 1917
the 23rd of February according to Russian Calendar). On that day a number of female employees
of the Lesnoy textile factory started demonstrating in the streets for more bread. They were
joined by more workers. Soon 90 000 people were in the streets of Petrograd. They plundered
several bakeries, chanting, “Give us bread”, “and End the war”and“Down with autocracy”. The
following day the number increased to about 197 000 people. On the third day the number of
demonstrators had increased to 240 000. When the army regiments, who had initially shot at the
demonstrators, joined them, this marked a turning point in the February revolution. By the
evening of the 12th of March 1917, Petrograd was in the hands of the demonstrators.

On the day the soldiers had begun joining the demonstrators, two governing bodies were formed.
One was the provisional committee of the Duma representing the autocracy and the middle class.
The other was the provisional committee of the Soviet Council of Workers and soldiers –
representing the workers. These two bodies set up a provisional government under Prince Lov.
This was followed by the abdication of the Tsar on the 15th of March 1917. Thus the Romanov
dynasty, Russian rulers for over 3 centuries came to an end and was being replaced by a
Provisional Government, with Prince Lvov as Prime Minister.

The Rule of the Provisional Government

The Provisional Government which took office on the 15th of March 1917, was a government
without power. It could only operate with the support of the Petrograd Soviet, which had control
of the urban workers and soldiers. This raises the question, “why the Petrograd Soviet did not
assume power”. The socialists in the Soviet decided to remain in the background and to leave the
government to the representatives of the middle – class for more than one reason.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 331

i) Firstly, they did not want to alienate the middle class. Their greatest fear was a counter-
revolution, which would undo the successes of the revolution. They were therefore eager to
obtain the support of the middle class against the groups of the far right.

ii) A second reason was that they did not regard themselves as fit to take control. As
representatives of the working class, they did not have the political, economical and
administrative experience that the middle class had.

iii) Thirdly, they acted according to Marxist principles to which they adhered. According to Karl
Marx, there would be two revolutions which would sweep the middle class to power, and it was
the second, the socialist revolution, which would put the proletariat in power. The socialists were
satisfied that the February Revolution was the democratic revolution and that the middle class
should assume leadership. The Soviet’s unwillingness to assume control did not, however,
prevent this body from forcing its will on the Provisional Government. The Soviet was able to do
this because of its power. An example is the Soviet Order No. 1 of the 14th of March 1917.
According to this order, there was to be an election of a committee in each military and naval
unit, which had to assure charge of arms and which was in effect to decide which orders were to
be obeyed. As the provisional government did not have the power to resist the Soviet, it had to
accept order no 1. Lenin justifiably spoke of a “dual power”, a sharing of government between
provisional government and Soviets.

The Provisional Government’s Policy

On the 16th March 1917, the provisional government announced its policy. Amongst the
objectives were:

(i)The convening of a constitutional assembly to draw up a constitution for Russia (ii) amnesty
for all political prisoners, (iii) discrimination on the grounds of class, religion or nationality,
(iv) common, direct, equal and secret voting rights, and (v) the replacement of the police, by a
citizen force, which was in conflict with the revolutionaries.

The Soviet supported this policy. In fact, the last two points indicate that body’s complicity in
its formulation. Not only the moderate socialists, that is, the Mensheviks and Socialist
Revolutionaries supported the Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks initially were also in
favour of co-operation with the middle – class in the Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks
leaders, Stalin, Kamenov and Muranov arrived on the 25th March 1917 from Siberia, and
declared their willingness to support the provisional government as long as it served the urban
workers and farmers. Only after Lenin’s arrival in Petrograd on the 16th April 1917 did the
Bolsheviks take a different line.

Study Guides
i) Why was the Provisional Government of Kerensky ineffective in addressing Russian
problems?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 332

Lenin and the Provisional Government
Lenin was in Zurich in Switzerland, where he spent most of the war years when he heard the
news of the February Revolution. He was anxious to get to the scene of action as fast as possible
but the problem was how. The problem was overcome when Germany, which was at war with
Russia, consented to the request that Lenin and a number of Russian exiles be allowed to travel
to Russia across German territory. The German authorities correctly suspected that someone of
Lenin’s convictions would immediately begin to thwart the Russian war effort.

-On the 17th April 1917, a day after arriving in Petrograd, Lenin read his famous “April Thesis”
to a gathering of Social Democrats – Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. In the “April Thesis”, he
announced a political programme, which called for peace, the nationalization of the land, and
the granting of power to the Bolsheviks. This, however, did not discourage Lenin, whose
influence was helped by the mistakes of the Provisional government:

i) The first mistake was Milykov’s diplomatic note of May 1917. Milykov, who was minister of
foreign affairs held the view that the revolution had not changed Russian foreign policy.
According to him, the revolution was merely a protest against the Tsar’s clumsy war effort and
not against the war itself. The war, therefore had to be continued. The Soviet did not agree with
these views. It contended that it was the Tsar’s war that the war had to be ended as soon as
possible. In other words they wanted peace.

The growth of Bolshevik influence

Lenin judged that if the Bolsheviks offered a programme with sufficient revolutionary appeal,
they could gain control over the soviets. While the Provisional Government, which did not have
a clear or incisive line of policy, muddled along, discovering increasingly that it could not
sustain both war and revolution at the same time, Lenin proceeded to outflank the other parties.
He stole popularity from the Social Revolutionaries with his programme of land for the peasants
and showed himself more radical than the Mensheviks (who argued that Russia was not ready for
a socialist revolution) by calling for an immediate proletarian upheaval. With the continued poor
show by Russia on the battle field, the Provisional Government, now under the leadership of the
socialist revolutionary Alexander, Kerensky government also showed that it could reach no
agreed solution on the central question of land reform.

A move by the Right Wing – the Kornilov Coup forced Kerensky to turn to the Bolsheviks for
support. By October – the Russian Armies were breaking up and the soldiers drifting home. The
peasants were taking matters into their own hands across the country and seizing the land. At the
same time, the Bolsheviks had achieved a majority in the Petrograd Soviet.

The October Revolution

By the middle of September 1917 it was clear to Lenin that it was time to overthrow the
Kerensky government. Any further delays would only diminish the Bolsheviks’ opportunity of
staging a successful Coup d’etat. The Bolsheviks seized power on the night of 6 November 1917.
The Coup was timed to coincide with the all Russian Congress of the Soviets. This received full
power from the Petrograd Soviet, units of the Army and Navy and the Party organization itself.
The programme formulated by Lenin was fourfold.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 333

(i) Land to the peasants (ii) distribution of food to the starving, (iii) power to the Soviets and (iv)
peace with Germany.
-The first of these was already spontaneously happening with the peasant seizure of land, and the
fourth was brought about by the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk, which involved massive losses of
Russian territory and of productive capacity. The second and third were achieved together in that
food was distributed only to those willing to grant power to the Soviets.

-Soviets sprang up all over Russia, especially in the factories. The two decrees on land and peace
consolidated the revolution. The Congress appointed the Council of People’s Commissars to
govern to state.

Consolidation of Power
Though they had won a majority in the Petrograd Soviet, in the local provincial soviets the
Bolsheviks were still outnumbered. The elections for the Constituent Assembly produced in fact
a clear majority for the social revolutionaries (the Bolsheviks obtained fewer than a quarter of
the seats). The Bolsheviks military command acted immediately, closing down the assembly.
The Third Act was the Russian Congress of Soviets, which the Bolsheviks were now able to
dominate, assuming the function of the Constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks showed
themselves willing to seize and consolidate power in defiance of democratic legality as
expressed in the election to the Constituent Assembly.
-The authority of the Bolsheviks was further consolidated by the creation of the Cheka, the
extraordinary All- Russian Commission of the struggle against counter – revolution, speculation
and sabotage). A month later, in January, 1918, the Red Army was founded by Trotsky, Lenin
proceeded to lay the basis of a single – party, totalitarian dictatorship principally through four
instruments of the party (designated the communist Party in March 1918), the Soviets, the secret
police and the Red Army.

Study Guides
i) What factors enabled the Bolsheviks to gain in strength?
ii) Why was there so little resistance to the Bolsheviks in October 1917?
iii) How did the Bolsheviks tackle the problems confronting them after they had taken over
power n 1917?
iv) How far was Lenin personally responsible for the Civil War?
v) Was the Bolshevik victory a result of Red strength or White weakness?

The Russian Civil War (1918 – 1920)

Barely three months after the Bolsheviks had signed the Treaty of Brest – Litovsk, they were
once again engulfed in a war. This time it was a civil war, between the White Russians
(Conservatives) and the Red Russians (the Bolsheviks). The Whites were in the minority, but
were supported by Britain, France and the USA in the form of advice, money and weapons. They
threatened Lenin’s government in Moscow from four directions: from Siberia in the east, from
Murmarisk on the northern coast, from Estonia in the west, and from the regions of the Black sea
in the south.
The civil war served particularly to strengthen the power of the communist government as a
national government. It forged the Red Army into a more efficient fighting force for national

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 334

defence. This led to the defeat of the White army. On the home front, the Cheka launched a reign
of terror against all elements of ‘bourgeois reaction’, and eliminated all rivals to the Bolsheviks.

i) Firstly, the Reds had better leaders than did the Whites. The white leaders – Kolchak,
Denikim, Yudenich and Miller, were army offices and navy officers who could take command,
but they were incapable of inspiring the people with their ideas. Lenin and Trotsky did that very
well. These two were, furthermore, great realists. Their actions were cool and considered. The
credit for building the Red Army from nearly nothing to a military machine goes to Trotsky in
the first place. He spent nearly the whole period of the Civil war in a railroad carriage, traveling
from one front to another to issue the necessary orders.
ii) Secondly, the Red soldiers were better disciplined than the Whites. Trotsky mercilessly
punished drunkenness, cowardliness and desertion. Discipline was less strict in the white armies.
Drunkness was more common among, the White soldiers than among the Reds.

iii) Thirdly, the Reds were more single- minded than the whites. Lenin and his supporters had
clarity of mind over the political dispensation they wanted for Russia. Not so with whites. These
were against the Bolsheviks, but that was their only point of concurrence. Some were simply
reactionaries, wanting nothing less than a return to Tsarist Russia. Some White Russians, such as
Kolchak and Denikin were in favour of a unified Russia. Unlike the Reds, the Whites could not
form a unified front.

iv) Fourthly, the Reds had greater popular support than the whites, The Reds had the support of
the urban as well as a rural workers, especially those who benefited from Lenin’s decree of
dispossessing the landowners. The Whites had the support of the middle class, but they were in
the minority.

v) Fifthly, the Reds had the advantage of controlling the Russian heartland, while the whites had
to operate from the outposts of the country. This benefited the Reds in three respects: They were
able to use the railroads to thier advantage, rapidly moving forces from one front to another; it
gave them control of military supplies stock-pited for World War 1, and it prevented the whites
from forming a United front.

Study Guides
i) What effect did the Civil War have on the character of the Bolshevik Party/
ii) What role did Trotsky play in the Red Terror?
iii) What was the impact of War Communism on industry?

The New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin’s economic policy can be divided into two phases: the first phase of “War Communism”
was the policy he adopted on coming to power and which he followed up to March 1921. It was
directed at implementing socialism, but was restricted by the needs of the Civil War. The second
phase was the “New Economic Policy”, (NEP), begun in March 1921 and pursued till about
1928, long after Lenin’s death in 1924. It was a partial return to capitalism.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 335

War Communism
War communism had a dual character throughout. On the one hand there was socialism, which
amongst other things required that the state assume control over all means of production, and that
on the other hand, the civil war required rationing and commandeering foodstuffs. The policy of
War Communism had far- reaching effects on agriculture, industry and commerce.

Agriculture:
-As far as agriculture is concerned, Lenin’s decree of 8 November 1917, was one of the most
important ever proclaimed in Russia. It stated that the property of all big landowners was
henceforth expropriated and provisionally placed under the control of local land committees. The
poorer farmers who owned no land were delighted by this decree and immediately occupied the
expropriated areas.
-One of the aspects of the agriculture policy which encountered resistance was the pressure the
government exerted on the farmers to supply the hungry inhabitants of the cities with food. The
authorities decided to send, in May 1918, “food expeditions” into the country to commandeer the
wheat of the rich farmers (the so called “kulaks”). This was called food requisitioning. These
means led to great – dissatisfaction among the farmers. The commandeering of the farmers’
wheat led them to decide to sow just enough wheat for their own use. As a result, the total crop
was smaller, and food became even scarcer.

-Another source of dissatisfaction was the founding of communal or collective farms. The
Bolsheviks favoured such focus, but the farmers, like the Social Revolutionary Party, favoured
private ownership.

Industry
-As far as the industrial sector was concerned, the authorities were committed to nationalization
and centralization. In June 1918, the most important industries were nationalized (that is,
declared the property of the state). They went even further in November 1920, when all concerns
with more than 10 workers were nationalized. However, the policy of nationalization and
centralization did not improve production. In fact production decreased even further.

Commerce
The policy of War Communism had far – reaching effects on commerce. One implication was
that money was eliminated as a means of payment, and replaced by goods. Workers, for
example, were paid in food, clothes and fuel. The trend recorded with the communist belief that
money was an evil of capitalism. Another implication was that the authorities increasingly had to
commandeer or seize anything they required. An element of coercion was part of all transactions
between the state and its citizens. A third implication was that a differentiated form of rationing
was introduced. In September 1918, the inhabitants of Moscow were grouped into four classes,
workers doing dangerous work, farmers, professionals and unemployed people. These four
classes received rations in the ratio of 4:3:2:1.
After three years of war communism, it was clear that this policy could no longer be maintained.

It was a failure in two aspects: -

i) Firstly it did not improve the country’s economy
ii) Secondly, it was resisted by both the farmers and the workers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 336

That the policy of War Communism was unsuccessful is proved by the fact that the Russian
economy was weaker in 1921 than before the October Revolution “Almost everywhere” writes
EH Carry, “industrial production reached its lowest level in 1920, registering a total of 16% of
the 1912 figure: Of course, it is true that the civil war had a negative influence on the economy,
but the shortage of food, lack of fuel, a decrease in industrial production, the decline in the value
of the rouble, the declining production of wheat, and other economic declines cannot be blamed
solely on the civil war. Thus, because of dissatisfaction among the different sections of society,
Lenin abandoned War Communism in favour of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

The New Economic Policy (NEP)

The NEP was announced by Lenin at the 10th Congress of the Communist Party.
1) In short, it meant that certain key sectors of the economy, such as the heavy industries, banks,
railways, and foreign exchange would remain under state control.
2) Private entrepreneurs would regain a foothold in agriculture, industry and commerce.
3) Henceforth, farmers could sell on the open market after delivering part of their crops to the
state. To encourage this, industry would have to produce goods the farmer would buy.
4) Finally, private trade would once again be permitted. Lenin conceded that this new policy was
a return to capitalism, but according to him, it was the only way out of existing conditions. It
was, he said,”a defeat and retreat for a new attack.” “One step backwards to gain two steps
forward”, some Bolsheviks who were not happy with the NEP, but it soon became clear that
Lenin, as so many times in the past, had moved in the right direction. The advantages which
Lenin’s New Economic Policy promised in agriculture were delayed by a severe drought which
dealt the 1921 wheat crop in central Russia and the Volga catchments area a hard blow. The
famine which followed even exceeded that which Russia experienced in 1891. In 1922, farmers
sowed more wheat in response to the concession of being able to sell surplus wheat. The crop in
1922 was excellent, as it was in the following year. A small amount of wheat could even be
exported.
-Lenin’s New Economic Policy was undoubtedly a major stimulus to agriculture. Many
proponents of socialism did not like the fact that the policy enriched the wealthy farmers
(kulaks), but they had to close their eyes to it temporarily. What was important at this stage was
the fact that the farmers could produce the necessary wheat for the hungry urban workers.

Effects of NEP
i) The NEP considerably lessened the earlier pre-occupation with nationalization and
centralization of industries. The big and important industries (forming part of Lenin’s so
called “controlling heights”) remained in the hands of the state, but the smaller and less
important ones were left to private initiative.

ii) A certain extent of decentralization was also introduced as the direct control which the
Supreme Economic Council exerted over its departments was abolished and greater autonomy
was given to the various industries.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 337

iii) As a result of the NEP, industrial production achieved a strong upsurge and by 1927, all
sectors of industry were once again at pre- war levels.

iv) The NEP also caused a strong commercial revival. Retail trade was given over to private
dealers, who were again allowed to trade and employ people as had been the situation before the
October Revolution.

v) The revival of trade increased the importance of money. Lenin was not very happy about this,
but he – endured it as a necessary evil.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy, announced in March 1921, remained the official line until long
after his death. Only in 1928, did his successor, Stalin, see it fit to deviate from it.

STALIN’S RUSSIA – (1928 – 1953)

STALINIST RUSSIA: 1928- 1953

The Five Year Plans

One of the central aims of the communist regime in the Soviet Union was to industrialize the
economy. The Soviet Union’s economy had made advances under Lenin’s NEP but
economically the Soviet Union remained behind the rest of Europe. The Five Year Plans were
designed to break away from the NEP, with its capitalist elements, bring about rapid
industrialization to modernize the economy and bring about socialism. The changes introduced
under the plans were to transform the USSR from a backward, peasant-based country into a
modern, urban and industrial-based society.

Why did Stalin Launch the Five-Year Plans?

a)The Fear of Foreign Invasion

The decision to launch the first Five year Plan in 1928 was based on a combination of economic
and political factors which were linked by a fear of foreign invasion. Despite the economic
progress made under the NEP, the Soviet economy was still backward compared to the rest of
Europe. In the 1920s the Soviet Union, with its vast size and abundant resources was still
producing less coal and steel than France. If the Soviet Union was to ever face an attack from the
capitalist power it would need a much stronger industrial base. Memories of the aid given to the
whites by Britain Japan France and the USA during the Civil war of 1918- 1921 seemed to
confirm suspicions that the West would wish to invade and destroy communism at some point in
the future, as Stalin stated in 1931. “We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. We
must make good this distance in 10 years. Either we do it or we shall be crushed.” Thus to
industrialize formed an important part of Stalin’s cry of “Socialism in One Country.” The rise of
Hitler with his anti- communist statements provided a further incentive for the successful
completion of the Five-Year Plans as the 1920s progressed.

Economic Reasons
Under the NEP industrial production, although improving, remained disappointing to many in
the Communist Party. By 1926 pre-war levels had been reached in many sectors but production

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 338

was nowhere near what it could have been. The disruption of the First World War and the civil
war had damaged Russia’s infrastructure and essential services such as distribution remained
haphazard. Society production figures were still far below the modern industrial economies of
Western Europe. State control under the Five- Year Plan would enable the government to direct
the economy and ensure the adequate production and distribution of essential materials,
including the food needed to support the industrial and urban growth. Economic control could
thus maximize the resources of the Soviet Union.

Political Reasons
Although there was an economic case for the Five-Year Plans this was secondary to political
reasons. To all Communist party members industrialization was seen as a necessary development
in order to ensure the survival of the revolution. It was believed that socialism, and with it the
communist party, would not survive in a non-industrial society. It was therefore essential to
undertake a programme of industrial development. Industrialization would create many more
members of the proletariat, who were the backbone of the revolution.

The Five-Year Plan would get rid of the detested Nepuen (private business people and traders
who had gained under NEP) people who made a profit from their trade, the Nepuen were seen as
capitalists, class enemies (reminiscent of the reminder of the old world and its values. How could
socialism survive, it was argued, with the enemy lurking within? These capitalist elements’
concerned with selfish gains needed to be wiped out and the Fiver-Year Plan would achieve this
objective.

The Implementation of the Five-Year plans

The Five-Year plans were introduced after a fierce power struggle within the Communist party
which was divided between the Right, Left and Centre. Such a power struggle and the ‘purges’
which followed will be discussed later in this chapter.

The abandonment of the NEP and the introduction of the push towards rapid industrialization
was made in 1928. Industrialization was to be directed by Gosplan, the State Planning Authority,
given the task of planning industrialization in the USSR under the Five-Year Plans. Gosplan set
targets for industries and allocated resources, especially those industries which the government
viewed as having higher priority in terms of modernization.

The First-Year Plan (1928-1932) concentrated on heavy industry, such as coal, steel and iron,
using the ideas of Preobrazhensky, the economists and theorist. He was expelled from the party
but his ideas were stolen by Stalin. The focus on heavy industry was a consequence that the
Soviet Union had to deal with for the rest of its history. The original justification for this was the
need to build up an industrial infrastructure of factories, plant and communications before other
sectors could flourish.

Results of the First Five-Year Plan

The fact that the USSR was able to withstand and later defeat the mighty of German military
attack in 1941 seemed to confirm that Stalin’s policies had brought about a successful
modernization of the country. Russia had been transformed from a relatively backward economy
into a modern industrial state. Yet progress was unbalanced and achievements were made at an

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 339

enormous human cost. Although few industries met the over-ambitions targets of the first Five-
Year Plan there is no doubt that there was tremendous growth in industrial production.

The historian Nove has drawn attention to some of the issues concerning official production
figures, which indicate that production of machinery greatly over- fulfilled the plan despite less
success in the production of metal. This appears odd given the obvious connections between the
two industries. Nonetheless, there seems to have been rapid growth in the engineering industry
and fuel production. Heavy industry in general saw substantial growth.

The first Five-Year Plan increased production by improving efficiency in existing factories as
well as developing new industrial plants and towns. The Plan saw the successful completion of
projects to provide power for the growth of industry. The Dnieper Dam project was one of the
most important examples. The Plan developed both traditional industrial centres such as Moscow
and Lenningrad, as well as new centres in the less developed parts of the country. Both
Kazalehstan and Georgia saw significant industrial development.

Chaotic implementation and planning have often been highlighted as factors which limited the
economic achievements. The state’s rigid adoption of a command economy directed by the
government, led to failures because planners based in Moscow had little understanding of local
conditions in the far-flung parts of the Soviet Union. The result was that many resources were
wasted because they were inappropriate.

The imposition of over-ambitious production targets by central government on factories

throughout the country encouraged managers to inflate production figures. Creativity with
production figures led to corruption which later became an integral part of the Soviet society.

Labour conditions were appalling and the Plan relied on revolutionary fever to motivate a
workforce that was largely unskilled. In 1933, only 17% of the workforce in Moscow was
skilled. Training schemes had to be introduced in order to transform the workforce.

Overall, the period of 1928 to 1941 saw a four-fold increase in the production of steel and a six-
fold increase in coal production. There was substantial progress made in energy production, iron
ore and metal industries, but consumer industries suffered. The products from textiles actually
declined during the first Five-Year Plan whilst the housing industry was virtually ignored. The
shortage of consumer goods was made worse by the fact that collectivization had destroyed a lot
of cottage industry previously undertaken in rural areas.

The Second Plan, (1933-1937)

This set high targets for the production of consumer goods but as the 1930s progressed, the vice
of Hitler in Germany changed the focus towards the needs of defence. This meant that heavy
industry continued to receive priority.

The second Five-Year Plan drew on lessons learnt from the chaotic planning of the first plan and
made more use of technical expertise and with the new industrial centres commencing
production, the results were, impressive. In particular, coal production rose substantially during

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 340

the second plan. The chemical industry also made progress but the oil industry remained
disappointing.

Drawbacks
However, under the pressure to meet the targets set by the Five-Year Plans, safety was neglected
and working conditions worsened. Machinery was used without proper training or protection.
Levels of pay were low although factory shops did provide some goods at reasonable prices. The
government ordered factory canteens to keep habits to ensure a steady supply of food.

Due to a critical shortage of labour in general, workers became difficult to keep until the passport
system which restricted the movement of workers was introduced in 1932. Increased
absenteeism was another sign of discontent and it became such a problem that in 1939 it was
made a criminal offence which could result in imprisonment. Of course, with labour in such
short supply these measures were to be applied always.

Slave labour from the labour camps had to be used to meet the demand of workers. More
importantly, to encourage workers to work harder, incentives were introduced. Soviet workers
were encouraged to work like the hero Stackhanov, a coalminer from the Donbass region who
mined in one shift, fifteen times the average amount of coal. Rewards for model workers
included, among other things a new flat. Alexi Stakhanov toured the country encouraging his
fellow workers to follow his example. The Soviet leadership used him to attack industrial
management who seemed unable to meet the high targets set under the Five-Year Plans. In the
1980s, however, it was revealed that Stackhanov’s achievement was a fraud: he had been helped
by a team of support workers:

Summary of the results of five-year plans

Economics
-Emphasis on heavy industry
-Six-fold increase in coal production
-Four-fold increase in steel production
-Chaotic implementation and increased corruption
-Building of large industrial centres
-Neglect of consumer industries
-Decline in textile production

Social
-Decline in working conditions e.g. safety measurers
-Low levels of pay
-Workers discontent at poor conditions
-Introduction of passport system to prevent workers leaving jobs
-Use of slave labour to overcome labour shortages
-Huge growth in the number of industrial workers.

Political
-Control of the Communist Party strengthened through the organization of workers.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 341

-Capitalist classes removed- e.g. Nepmen and “bourgeois experts.”
-Expansion of government’s role in the economy through central planning (Gosplan)
-Strengthening of Stalin’s position as those opposed to the Five-Year Plan were removed.

Study Guides
i) What was the NEP and how did it preserve party unity?
ii) How far did NEP meet Russia’s needs?
iii) What were the strengths and weaknesses of the First and Second Five Year Plans?
iv) Assess the impact of the Purges upon the Soviet Union before and after the WWII.

Collectivisation

This was the policy of creating larger agricultural units where the peasants would farm
collectively rather than on individual basis on farms.
Why did Stalin adopt Collectivization?
1. Industrial development would only be possible if it was supported by an increase in
agricultural productivity. There was need for food surpluses which had to be generated by
changing the basis of farming in the countryside. By 1928, agriculture was still run largely on an
individual basis by peasant households under the supervision of the Mir (an organization made
up of village elders and controlling agricultural activity in the villages). Hence agricultural
production was highly inefficient compared with the rest of Europe. It could not produce enough
surplus grain to support further industrial and urban growth.

2. Labour would be needed in the new industrial centres and this could be achieved in the short-
term only by the mechanization of agriculture. This would enable labourers to be released from
the countryside to work in industry. Thus the policy of industrialization could be achieved only
if agriculture was made more efficient.

3. Stalin had become convinced that the state of Agriculture and the attitudes of the peasantry
were holding back industrial production and progress. State procurements that is- the amount
of surplus grain given to the government by the peasants- had fallen since 1926. The peasants
had become wary of growing too much food, knowing it would be seized by the state at a low
price.

4. This acted as a disincentive to raise production, as did the lack of industrial goods available to
buy using any profit made from a food surplus. The problem for the government was that
industrial production could be increased only if food production rose. This problem, known as
the scissors crisis’ (widened gap between prices of industrial goods and those of agricultural
goods. The increase in prices for industrial goods compared with agricultural prices meant that
the peasants had less incentive to grow surplus food for such a low price). Stalin therefore saw
the solution as a forced policy of collectivization to raise food production.

5. As well as improving the efficiency of agriculture, collectivization would help extend

socialism to the countryside and therefore ensure the survival of the revolution.
Collectivization also provided the opportunity for getting rid of the kulaks, those richer
peasants who seemed to benefit from NEP. In the eyes of the Communists the Kulaks hoarded

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 342

 food for their own consumption rather than provide it for industrial workers in the towns. This
led to pressure on the government leadership to rid the country of this capitalist class. To fail
to do so would hold back the progress towards socialism.

What were the results of Collectivization?

Initially the process of collectivization was to be voluntary, but by the autumn of 1929 coercion
was used to quicken the pace. In this all-out drive for collectivization the kulaks were not to be
admitted to the new collectives. “Labelled as class enemies” they were to be deported to Siberia
and the Urals in Russians cold labour camps.

The process of collectivization involved local party officials going into villages and announcing
the organization of a collective farm (Kolkhoz) and lecturing the peasants on the advantage of
farming as collectives until enough of them had signed up as members. The collectivisation
could then seize animals, grain supplies and buildings as the property of the collective. The term
“kulak” was applied not just to the richer peasants but to any peasant who refused to join.

The Kulaks usually set fire to their farms and slaughtered their animals. Party officials were
sometimes murdered on arrival in the villages. The regime dealt with this opposition by sending
in dieselization squads party members from the cities who would forcefully helped organize
collectives. The OGPU, or secret police were also used to round up unco-operative peasants;
deporting them to the remote regions of Russia. The Red Army would also come in to crush
resistance. The situation was usually worse in the Ukraine, North Caucasus and Kazakhstan.

The human cost of collectivization was enormous. The elimination of nearly 10 million out of 15
million Kulaks represents a human tragedy of epic proportions. In addition, there were an
estimated four million deaths from the famine in 1933 despite official statements by the soviet
government denying its existence.

The historian Robert Conquest (1986) has argued that collectivization, with its resulting famine,
was a deliberate policy of genocide against the Ukranean people on the part of Stalin. An
analysis of the grain harvest in 1932 indicates that it was low in most areas of the Soviet Union,
but as the chief- growing region of the country, the Ukraine bore the brunt of this food shortage.

The case of the Kazakhs illustrates another side to the human cost. This nomadic group was
forced into collectives against their will. The change in their way of life had devastating
consequences. Their sheep flocks were virtually wiped out and a typhus epidemic reduced the
Kazakhs population by 40%.

Economic results of collectivization were equally disastrous. The cattle population was reduced
from about 70 million in 1928 to less than 39 million in 1933.

-Grain production fell from 73, 3 million tones in 1928 to 67, 7 million tones in 1934. Although
the more widespread use of agricultural machinery led to some recovery in the 1930s,
productivity levels remained extremely low. It took decades for Soviet agriculture to reach some
of the production figures for foodstuffs attained in the period before collectivization.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 343

The Purges
Purges- The term used to describe the wave of terror and killings which Stalin and his supporters
used to eliminate his political opponents. The targets were so-called enemies of the state or
people who were accused of crimes often they could not have committed. Victims of the purges
were either shot or sent to the labour camps.

A series of show trials were held which saw former leaders of the regime accused and then, in
nearly all cases, executed. Yet the purges were to extend beyond those farmers leaders who had
fallen out with Stalin, to include army personnel, managers and middle-ranking officials of the
party.

By the early 1930s, there was an extensive state machinery of terror. There was the party
secretariat that collected information on Soviet citizens and party officials, and also the secret
police, known as OGDU until 1934 and the NKVD thereafter. These were involved in the
surveillance of individuals and the running of labour Camps. Thus, the apparatus was in place for
dealing with opposition as and when it arose.

The murder of Sergei Kirov, a member of the Politburo based in Leningrad triggered the Great
Purges. He had opposed the violent manner in which collectivization was being enforced on the
peasants. He was murdered on the order of Stalin but the murder was blamed on Zinoviev and
Kamenev who were known to be opponents of Stalin. The two were sentenced to long
imprisonment terms.

The Purge of the Left

During 1935 and 1936 there was a wave of denunciations and arrests of members of the Left
Opposition who were still at large. These had supported the idea of Permanent Revolution in the
1920s. This put them in opposition of those who called for “Socialism in one Country.” The Left
had called for rapid industrialization and abandonment of NEP before Stalin was ready to do so.
Because the Left was associated with the ideas of Trotsky, it was relatively easy to attack them
as enemies of the state. Trotsky, although he had fled abroad, continued to denounce Stalin.
Zinoview and Kamenev were the two most prominent members of the left and both were accused
of being Trotsky’s agents.

Opposition from the Right

These were party members who had wished to keep the NEP and criticized Stalin’s rapid
industrialization under the Five-year Plans as harsh and unnecessary. The leading members of
the right were Bukarin whose criticisms of Stalin’s policies led to his execution in 1938.

The Purge of the Red Army

Three out of five Marshals were purged. Fourteen out of sixteen army commanders and 37000
officers were either shot or imprisoned. The navy lost every one of its admirals during the purge.
The usual accusation leveled against members of the armed forces was of links with foreign
countries, especially Germany.

The Secret Police too was purged. These were the purges who were purged to ensure that they
posed no threat to him. In 1938 Genrikk Yagoda, a former head of the NKVD, was shot. He was

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 344

replaced by Nicolas Yezhov who oversaw the most excessive phase of the purges from 1936 to
1928. Yezhov purged over 3000 of his own personnel. He was later dismissed and arrested in
1938 as Stalin sought to make him scapegoat for the excesses of the purges.

It is shocking to note though that the people who were purged for political offences from 1930 to
1953 when Stalin was effectively in office exceeded that of all those executed for political
offences in tourists Tsarist Russia in the 100 years up to 1917.

And yet one might ask, how far beyond Stalin did the responsibility for the purges and the terror
spread?

While accepting fully that Stalin was the architect of the terror, historians have begun to look
beyond him in assessing the responsibility for the purges. Their approach has been prompted by
their reading of Russian archival materials that showed that Stalinism was not as monolithic
system of government as has been traditionally assumed.

The purges clearly initiated by Stalin himself, but he, after all, was only one man, no matter how
powerful or feared he was. Many actually welcomed the purges as an opportunity to settle old
scores as well as a way of advancing themselves by filling the jobs vacated by the victims. It has
to be acknowledged that the purges were popular with some Russians who believed that Stalin’s
harsh rule prevented the country from sliding back into its historic weakness and backwardness.
To such people, Stalin was a genuine savior whose unrelenting methods were precisely what the
nation needed.

Study Guides
i) What were the effects of collectivization on the peasantry?
ii) How successful had collectivization proven to be by 1939?
iii) How popular was Stalin in the Soviet Union?
iv) Was Stalin responsible for the emergence of the Cold war?

Examination Type Questions

1.Why were Bolsheviks able to seize power by October 1917?
2.How valid is the view that the Russian Civil War between 1918 and 1921 had more negative
than positive results?
3.Why and with what results was the New Economic Policy (NEP) implemented?
4.How far had Lenin overcome the problems facing the Bolshevik government of Russia by the
time of his death in 1924?
5.How far, by 1924, had Lenin established a Marxist state in Russia?
6.Why, by 1939, had Stalin been able to impose totalitarian rule on the Soviet Union?
7What role did the ‘cult of personality’ play in the government of the USSR from 1945 to 1953?
8.How far were Stalin’s reforms a Revolution from above”?
9.How effective were Stalin’s economic policies after 1945?
10.Why, despite implementing the Great Purges, did Stalin continue to face political and special
opposition to his rule in Russia?

Key References

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 345

1.M Lynch -Bolshevik and Stalinist Russia, 1918-1956
2.Frank McDonough -Conflict, communism an Fascism
3.Michael Lynch -Reaction and Revolution 1894- 1924
4.A. Todd -The European Dictatorships:
Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini.
5. A Todd -Democracies and dictatorships, Europe and the World, 1919-1989
6. Steve Philips -Lenin and the Russian Revolution.

CHAPTER 29
THE CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Explain the severity of the Treaty of Versailles, especially on Germany and other defeated
powers.
2.Link the failure of the League of Nations to the coming in war in 1939.
3.Assess the impact of the Great Depression upon international co-operation in Europe.
4.Assess the impact of Hitler’s foreign policy in relation to the outbreak of war in 1939.
5.Explain the policy of appeasement and how it led to war in 1939.
6.Describe the Nazi- soviet Pact and how it acted as a slide into war in 1939.

The period from 1933 to 1941 was one of deep international instability eventually resulting in
the Second World War. The tension began with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as German
Chancellor in January 1933. Prior to that, in the mid-1920s, Hitler had actually shown that he
somehow envisaged the remoulding of Germany into a great world power. Hitler clearly outlined
four aims of what would become his foreign policy in his book, Main Kampf, “My struggle”
thus:
1.The destruction of the Treaty of Versailles. This would allow Germany to recover lost territory.
2.To gain territory- or “living space” or Lebensraum for Germany in Eastern Europe would mean
a war in order to defeat Soviet Bolshevism.
3.To include all German-speaking people in his proposed “Third Reich,” especially those living
in Austria, the sudden area of Czechoslovakia and Danzig.
4.To create a “racially pure” German state that would be the most dominant power in Europe.

The rise to power of Hitler therefore immediately raised concerns that Germany would soon
rearm and openly challenge the Paris Peace Settlement. However, Hitler was initially too
concerned with consolidating Nazi control of Germany to take a great interest in Germany’s
foreign affairs.

Initially, Hitler decided to proceed cautionally in the realm of foreign affairs and repeatedly
made soothing speeches which insisted that Germany wanted peace. At the World Disarmament
Conference, Hitler suggested that all the other major powers either disarm to match the German
level of armaments set at Versailles, or that they allow Germany to rearm to the same level as all
the other major powers. Ramsay MacDonald the British prime minister, urged the French to

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 346

accept the request, but they would only agree if Germany, as an act of good faith, accepted the
Versailles arms limits for only four years. In October 1933, Hitler withdrew from the World
Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations altogether on the grounds that Germany had
to been treated on unequal terms.

These moves provoked fears about Nazi intentions. To ease these worries, Hitler signed a four-
year non-aggression pact with Poland in January 1934. The Polish government thought that the
agreement offered them security against Soviet ambitions, but it seems that Hitler signed the
agreement to thwart a possible Franco-Polish alliance, and to bring Poland under German
influence. The agreement was seen by the British as a sign of Hitler’s peaceful intentions, but the
French were more suspicious and in April 1934, the French government announced that it would
‘henceforth assure her (France) security by her own means” Meanwhile the arrival of Hitler on
the international scene allowed the Soviet Union to emerge from years of diplomatic isolation. In
November 1933, the USA officially recognized the Soviet Union and restored diplomatic
relations. In July 1934 the Soviet Union was admitted to the League of Nations.

However in the summer of 1934 the Nazis attempted to force an Auschluss with Austria.
Dollfuss, the Austrian Chancellor opposed the idea and in June 1934 slapped a ban on the
Austrian Nazi Party through which the Nazis hoped to achieve the Anschluss. A month later, he
was assassinated by pro-Nazi extremists. This action provoked world-wide outrage: Mussolini,
the Fascist leader in Italy, sent four army divisions to the Austrian border, and the French and
Italian governments issued a joint declaration opposing any attempt to undermine Austrian
independence. Hitler was forced to deny any Germany involvement in the murder of Dollfuss,
and refuted any Nazi plan for an armed seizure of Austria.

Meanwhile, a crisis erupted in domestic German politics which shocked most liberal-minded
people in the democracies, Hitler ordered a lawless and merciless eradication of his political
rivals during the Night of Long Knives, between 29 and 30 June 1934. General van Schleicher,
the former German chancellor; Gregor Stress, a leading socialist figure in the Nazi Party; and
Enerst Roehm leader of the SA were among those brutally murdered.

On 2 August 1934, president von Hindenburg the last link with the Weimar republic died. This
greatly strengthened Hitler’s power in Germany. He swiftly abolished the post of president,
ended the Weimar constitution and declared himself Fuhrer (Leader) of the German people. Each
member of the German armed forces was now required to swear a personal oath of
loyalty/allegiance to Hitler-and not the state.

While the above developments were mostly domestic-oriented, they caused growing concern and
anxiety in Britain and France. Moreover, such a strange hold on power by Hitler certainly made
him pursue even more aggressive foreign policies which destabilized European peace.

1935 witnessed a number of major developments in international affairs. In January 1935, 90

percent of voters in the Saar region of Germany, in a plebiscite held by the League of Nations
opted for the restoration of the area to Germany. In the same month, France and Italy signed a
diplomatic agreement which resolved mutual discontentment in North Africa, and promised co-
operation in the event of German aggression. On 16 March 1935 the Nazi propaganda ministry

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 347

assembled the world’s press to announce what everyone already knew: Germany was rearming
The German army was now 400 000 strong (the Treaty of Versailles had limited it to 100 000)
conscription was introduced, the air force and navy were undergoing rapid programmes of
expansion and Hitler claimed that Germany was no longer bound by the military clauses of the
Versailles Treaty.
The public announcement that Germany would now embark on rearmament caused public
outrage Britain, France and Italy met at Stressa in April 1935, and issued a joint declaration
which opposed “by all practical means any unilateral repudiation of treaties which may endanger
the peace of Europe,” and asserted Austrian independence. The Stressa Front” seemed to be a
great public show of unity against German revisionism regarding the terms imposed at
Versailles, but in reality it pronounced empty rhetoric. No action was taken against Germany.
This directly encouraged Hitler to become more aggressive.

Study Guides
i) What impact did the First World War have on the origins of the Second World War?
ii) What role did the Great Depression play in destabilizing international affairs?

The Collapse of the League of Nations (1935- 1937)

Since the establishment of the League of Nations, Mussolini was avenging the defeat of Italy by
Abyssinia in 1896 at the battle of Adowa. Samuel Hoare, the British foreign secretary, asked the
League of Nations to impose economic sanctions on Italy. These were imposed but proved
ineffective because they did not include oil, a key war material, and that many non-League
members continued to trade with Mussolini.

The French government did not want to punish Mussolini too harshly because they regarded him
as a vital counterweight to Germany designs in Austria. Hoare decided to meet Laval the French
foreign minister in Paris, to try to find a way of easing pressure on Italy.

Hoare and Laval agreed privately to Italy gaining most of Abyssinia, except for a small strip of
land along the coast. When it leaked to the press, the Hoare-Laval Pact caused deep political
embarrassment. After all, Hoare and Laval were not condemning Italian aggression in private,
while condemning it in public. Hoare was forced to resign. The whole Abyssinian affair was a
disaster for Britain and France. It showed that they only paid lip-service to the ideals of the
League of Nations. Hence this destroyed the Franco-Italian alliance, and it alienated Mussolini.-
Mussolini left the League of Nations and eventually signed the Rome-Berlin Axis with Hitler
that same year in 1936. This completely destroyed the spirit and letter of the Stressa front (1935)
and therefore removed the last hope Europe could have to restrain Hitler’s aggression.

Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

Hitler took advantage of the fact that British and French attention was absorbed in the
Abyssinian crisis and marched his troops into the Rhineland on 7 March 1936. The French
government offered words of outrage, but decided that it would not use force to reverse Hitler’s
action. Hitler had marched his troops into the area as a gamble and had given his generals clear
instructions to withdraw at the slightest sign of French military resistance. No such sign of
military backlash came from the French, and so Hitler occupied the area permanently. His simple

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 348

excuse was that the Franco-Soviet pact signed violated German security, and that the Rhineland
remained insecure for Germany.

On the other hand, Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, claimed that British policy was
designed “to come to peaceful agreed solutions by appeasement of justified grievances” and
although promised British support of France in the event of a German attack, he claimed that the
occupation of the Rhineland had to be accepted as an accomplished fact. The view of The Times
that Hitler was “only going into his own back garden.” became widely accepted.

By marching his troops into the Rhineland Hitler had removed a key grievance created by the
Treaty of Versailles and was now in an excellent geographical position to launch an attack
against France in future. The League of Nations took no action and ceased to have any
significant influence on the subsequent course of events.

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in October 1936 added to the sense of anarchy in
international affairs. The war grew out of the circumstances surrounding the collapse of yet
another fragile democracy. In February 1936, Nationalists became the largest group in the Cortes
(Spanish Parliament), but a Popular Front coalition, consisting of Republicans, Socialists and
Communists, combined to prevent them form taking power. The Nationalists, led by General
Franco, who had commanded the Spanish army in Morocco, refused to accept this decision and
proceeded to set up alternative government, supported by the army. A civil war was soon under
way to decide who should rule Spain. The Nationalists presented the civil war as an ideological
struggle between fascism and communism, while the Popular Front viewed the war as a battle
between democracy and fascisms. The issues dividing both sides were very complicated and
produced deep rifts.

Hitler and Mussolini provided military support to Franco, Stalin helped the Popular Front, but
the British and French decided on a policy of non-intervention, not willing to inflame the likely
winner despite all the fears that the Spanish Civil War raised about an impending European War
it remained a local conflict, which ended in a victory for Franco by early 1939. The Spanish
Civil War was a notable success for Germany and Italy in their ideological battle with
communism. The victory of Franco also allowed Germany and Italy easy access to a range of
important war materials, including iron ore, copper, zinc, tin and mercury.

The year 1936 was one of enormous success for Hitler’s Nazi Germany. In July Austria agreed
to accept the supervision of its foreign policy by Germany in return for a guarantee regarding its
sovereignty. In October Hitler and Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis, in which they
loosely agreed on collaboration, which illustrated the movement of Italy away from Britain and
France. In November Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comminten Pact, which promised
joint action to prevent the spread of communism and which raised the spectre of a possible
alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan. By the end of 1936, the German economy had
dramatically recovered, unemployment was virtually eradicated mainly due to an aggressive
programme of rearmament. Hence Hitler’s popularity stood at an all-time high.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 349

However, it is important to note that Hitler could still have been curbed, and the Second World
War postponed if not prevented altogether. The problem in Europe was that France and Britain
were not prepared to adopt any stern measures to decisively clip Hitler’s wings.

The US response to the growing turmoil in Europe was complex. Franklin Delano. Roosevelt,
the US president, had private worries about the threat posed by Nazi Germany to world peace,
and was often willing to condemn acts of aggression by Germany, Italy and Japan. However, the
key aim of US foreign policy was to keep the US out of any future war. The prevailing US
attitude towards Nazi Germany up to the time of the Munich Conference in 1938 was to support
the appeasement of legitimate German grievances. The US therefore could not be counted on in
efforts to restrain Hitler.

Study Guides
i) How did the collapse of the League of Nations worsen hostilities in the 1930s?
ii) Was Hitler primarily to blame for the outbreak of the Second World War?
iii) What part did the policy of appeasement play in the origins of the Second World War?

NEVILLE CHAMBERIAN, APPEASEMENT AND THE ROAD TO THE MUNICH

CRISIS, 1937- 1938
By 1939 international relations were in disarray. Germany and Italy were threatening peace in
Europe; Japan was at war with China; and a bitter civil war was underway in Spain. It was
against this background that Neville Chamberlain became the British prime minister. He
believed that through appeasement, he would preserve lasting peace in Europe. Several factors
therefore must be considered when looking at appeasement.

1. There was a widespread horror at the idea of a Second World War.

2. Too much faith had been placed in the League of Nations, which proved ineffective when
faced with military aggression.
3. There was a widespread feeling that Germany had been punished too harshly by the Treaty of
Versailles.
4. British public opinion constantly opposed the rearmament of Britain
5. There was need within France and Britain to focus on recovery from the Great Depression.

Furthermore, the position of France, Britain’s only firm ally, had sharply deteriorated in the face
of the growing fascist threat. The Locarno Treaty, designed to protect France from attack had
been ignored by Germany, the Franco- Italian agreement had broken down, and Belgium had
opted for neutrality. Moreover, the poor state of Britain’s armed forces also influenced the policy
of appeasement and often justified it. Britain was in no position to offer any help to France,
either to defend its cities from air attack or to defend its possessions in the Far East from Japan.

The policy of appeasement grew out of a variety of factors, intermingled. This is not to say that it
was inevitable but in the difficult circumstances of international affairs in the late 1930s it
seemed rational and logical to chamberlain. It was not the only option available to Chamberlain
in the late 1930s. The first was to support peace by collective security through the League of
Nations, but this policy had never been implemented, even when the league was strong and stood
less chance of success in 1937. When the League was weak and discredited, a second alternative

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 350

was to create a “Grand Alliance” of the anti-fascist powers, a policy champion by Winston
Churchill, who suggested that the dictators would only respond to military force. Yet this policy
amounted to a return to the pre-1914 alliance system, and very few leaders liked to adopt a past
policy which had already proved unsuccessful, even though in this case it might have prevented
war.

The only other option then was to satisfy the grievances created by the Paris Peace settlement,
and Chamberlain, along with the a majority of the “National Government favoured this stance. A
bold policy of appeasement came to be seen by Chamberlain as the only choice if war was to be
avoided. He believed that unless he could negotiate a revision of the Treaty of Versailles with
Hitler, then a second world war would probably break out. For example, Chamberlain sent Lord
Helifax to meet with leading Nazis and Hitler in November 1937. Helifax said that Britain would
support any legitimate German claims in Europe provided they were negotiated peacefully.

The Hossbach Memorandum

Hitler treated Halifax’s visits as an unwelcome intrusion into his own military plans. On 5
November 1937, he summoned von Neurath, general von Blomberg, the war minister and other
leading military chiefs to a meeting to discuss his future plans. A record of the meeting was kept
by colonel Hossbach, and it later became known as the Hossbach memorandum. The document
is believed by most historians to be authentic. In the meeting, Hitler suggested that the key aim
of German policy was “conquest in the east,” which had to be achieved by some time between
1943 and 1945 while Germany still had the clear military leader over Britain and France. Hitler
also told the meeting that Austria and Czechoslovakia had to be seized and predicted that these
actions might provoke a war with France and Britain. Shortly after the conference, Hitler started
to remove moderate members of the “old guard” from key positions. In November 1937,
Schacht, the economics minister who opposed the rapid pace of rearmament, was dismissed. In
January 1938, von Blomberg was also dismissed; Hitler became war minister, and new pro-Nazi
men were moved into other leading positions. Von Ribbentrop, a very Nazi, replaced the
moderate von Neurath as foreign minister.

Such key internal developments had a direct bearing on Germany’s foreign affairs.

i)The measures taken after 1937 directly precipitated the outbreak of War, with their enormity,
timing and pre-planning e.g. The Anchulus with Austria and the seizure of Czechoslovakia.
ii)It clearly shows how Hitler desired war as a means to achieve lebensraum, and how he in fact
agitated for it through the appointment of pro-Nazi officials and taking the front- seat as war
minister himself.
iii)Appeasement appeared to Hitler as if the British and French had no real policy blueprint of
their aim and he judged that their response to his demands was dominated by fear of Germany.
This urged him to become bolder in his demands.

The Anschulus with Austria

During 1938, Hitler’s actions brought Europe to the brink of war. In January 1938, the Austrian
police discovered Nazi plan for a seizure of power in Austria, even though Hitler had no plans at
that time for an invasion. Alarmed by this discovery, Schuschnigg, the Austrian chancellor met
Hitler at Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s mountain retreat, on 12 February 1938. At the meeting Hitler

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 351

bullied Scanning into signing an agreement which brought two Nazis into the Austrian cabinet,
allowed Nazis complete freedom in Austria, and gave Germany total control of Austrian foreign
policy. On his return to Austria, however, Schuschnigg-quite bravely-decided to call a
referendum which asked voters to support a “free and independent Austria.” It was a provocative
move designed to gain popular support to resist German aggression. When the vote seemed to
reject union with German, Hitler bullied Schuschnigg once more and he resigned. Hitler’s
favorite, Seyss-Inquart took over, and immediately afterwards invited Germany to occupy
Austria. On 12 March 1938, Hitler drove through the parked streets of Vienna in triumph, having
achieved the Anchulus without a single shot being fired.

Britain and France uttered words of protest and disapproval, but there was no action taken
against Germany As a result of the Anchulus, the Treaty of Versailles was virtually destroyed,
the balance of power in central Europe turned sharply in Germany’s favour and the position of
Czechoslovakia was now under grave threat.

The Munich crisis, (1938)

Czechoslovakia consisted of mixed nationalities amalgamated by the Treaty of Versailles. Of
these were 3, 5 million German speakers of the Sudetenland. Since Hitler had given financial
support to the pro-Nazi. Sudeten German Party led by Korirad Henlei, German takeover was
eagerly awaited. The Czech crisis was made even more complicated by the existence of a
Franco- Czech alliance dating back to 1925 and the Franco-Soviet Pact of 1935 which both
promised to preserve the integrity of Czechoslovakia. This meant that the Czech crisis held the
prospect of turning into a European war. Hitler insisted that he was advocating for German self-
determination and that those German speaker needed to be reunited with the third Reich where
they rightfully belonged. France, however, had no intention of going to war to save
Czechoslovakia and the Franco-Soviet Pact would only become operational if France acted first.

Chamberlain believed that the Czech crisis had to be solved by negotiation. In May 1938, the
Czech government claimed that Germany was ready to invade. France, the Soviet Union and
Britain all promised aid to Czechoslovakia in the event of a Nazi assault. However, Hitler denied
any such claims and when the “May Crisis” died down, Hitler set October 1938 as the date for
German invasion. Chamberlain decided that the British government should act as a mediator
between the Sudeten Germans and the Czech government. To this end, Lord Runaman, the
Liberal leader in the House of Lords, who had no reputation as a conciliator, was sent to
Czechoslovakia in August 1938 to try and find a settlement to the problem. The Czech
government offered every concession possible, but the Sudeten German Party, encouraged by
Hitler kept asking for more and the negotiations broke down. In his report, Runaman depicted
the Sudeten Germans as an oppressed minority and advised Chamberlain to allow them to join
Hitler’s Third Reich.

Hitler met Chamberlain on 15 September 1938 and told him that Germany wanted the
Sudetenland to be incorporated into the Third Reich. On 21 September 1938, the Czech
government was given a stark choice by the British and French government to agree to a
peaceful handover of the Sudetenland or fight alone. Under this extreme pressure, the Czechs
agreed to hand over the Sudetenland.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 352

Chamberlain took the news to Hitler on 22 September 1938, but found that Hitler had new
demands, which included an immediate German occupation of the Sudetenland, with those
Czechs who wished to leave only being permitted to take a single suitcase of belongings with
them. Astonishingly, Chamberlain was even willing to agree to this. However, the British
cabinet, the Czech government and the French government could not.

It was left to Mussolini, who was in no position to go to war to persuade Hitler to settle the
matter peacefully at Munich. Hitler, chamberlain, Dalachier for France and Mussolini met on 29
September 1938 at Munich to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia. The Munich Conference was a
return to old- fashioned European diplomacy, with four major European powers forcing a small
nation to concede territory. It was justified on the principle that national self-determination had
been denied to the Sudeten Germans in the first place. The Munich Conference simply agreed to
the Sudetenland being incorporated into Germany by 10 October 1938. A vague promise to
respect the territorial integrity of the rest of Czechoslovakia was given by the four powers.

It seemed that Hitler, despite gaining the Sudetenland without firing a shot, was dissatisfied with
Munich and was eager to push ahead with his own desire to occupy the remainder of
Czechoslovakia at the earliest opportunity. In a separate meeting Chamberlain persuaded Hitler
to sign a piece of paper which declared that Britain and Germany would “never go to war with
one another again.” To Hitler, it was a worthless peace of paper, but Chamberlain flourished it
on his return to Heston airport firm Munich- This gesture would haunt him to his dying day.

Nevertheless, the Munich agreement, despite its dubious morality, did solve a major German
grievance without a major European war. It was heralded as a triumph for Chamberlain’s bold
new policy, and he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 1938. Not everyone agreed
though, Winston Churchill described the events as the “blackest page in British history.” The
Soviet’ Union believed that Britain and France were happy so long as Hitler moved eastward.
The Czech crisis which went on for over six months, was a traumatic experience.

But why did Britain and France give in so much to the demands of Hitler?

1. Historians seem to have thoroughly exhausted this question. In the first place, the Great
Depression had ruined the economies of Britain and France and so the leaders eluded to buy
time in order to achieve full economic recovery.
2. Chamberlain was under the mistaken view that appeasement of Hitler’s demands would
prevent war because Hitler was thought to be a reasonable man. The more Hitler was allowed,
the more and more demands he brought up. It got to a point where Hitler’s demands were
unsustainable.
3. Both France and Britain were not prepared to confront Hitler in a war because their armies
were, throughout the greater part of the 1930s, weak. Public opinion at home too bitterly
resented war, mainly because its horrors were still fresh in their minds. It was basically the
same generation of people which had gone through, or fought in the First World War.
4. The fact that Mussolini now supported Hitler, further made British and French positions more
vulnerable and therefore there was every need to settle for a peace at any cost.
5. Finally, however, it must be remembered that the Munich crisis led to the death of the policy
of appeasement. The policy had been responsible for the recovery and continued growth of the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 353

 German army and economy by giving Hitler the benefit of the doubt. This had initially arisen
from the fact that Britain had thought that the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh on
Germany and therefore needed to be moderately revised.

The road to global war, (1938-41)

Expectations of a fundamental peace in the winter months of 1938-9 disappeared very suddenly
in March 1939. Germany had used diplomatic and military threats to bully and secure the
destruction of the weakened Czech state. He went on to secure the rich provinces of Bohemia
and Monoravia and reduced Slovakia to a German protectorate.

This latest annexation was vital for development in Europe. This showed clearly that Hitler had
acted far beyond his early territorial claims of the Sudetenland and a unification of the German-
speaking population. While Britain and France might not have responded militarily to this over
turning of the Munich Agreement, it resulted in a few months of peace but hectic diplomatic
activity. Chamberlain understandably felt he had been duped and so an Anglo-French military
guarantee was drawn up on 31 March 1939 to uphold Poland’s independence, now the obvious
target of Hitler. This clearly lessened Hitler’s chances of a free hand in Eastern Europe and yet,
he most definitely did not want a war with Britan and France. Hitler’s ultimate objective was still
the creation of Lebensraum at the expense of the USSR. However, he hoped this could be eased
by Britan developing its appeasement policy into a more general acceptance of Germany’s
dominant position in central and Eastern Europe. This assumption on the part of Hitler proved
quite the opposite to be true: The destruction of the Munich agreement by further territorial
annexations equally led to the death of the policy of appeasement, and a general mobilization on
the part of Britan and France.

Even before the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the subsequent invasion of Poland, signs of a general War
were pretty self-evident. Britain and France moved towards a greater mutual understanding, and
public opinion in these countries demanded that military interactions begin.’ Germany and Italy
signed the Pact of Steel in May 1939, a military alliance where either side pledged military
assistance in the event of War.

The Nazi-Soviet pact:- (1939)

Stalin had been very worried about the German threat to the Soviet Union ever since Hitler came
to power in 1933. Hitler had openly stated that he wanted to take over the Soviet Union as his
grand plan. Hitler who had already set a date for the invasion of Poland believed that such a pact
was necessary because of the Soviet Union’s military capacity that was still weak as it appeared.
He calculated that with no Soviet ally, Britain and France would not honour their pledges to
Poland. Stalin saw such a pact in the event of no firm alliance with Britain and France as giving
the Soviet Union more time to prepare defenses against a German invasion. Thus the Molotov-
Ribbentrop Non-Aggression pact was concluded on 23 August 1939.

On 29 August, Hitler offered Poland the choice of peaceful dismemberment by negotiation,

allowing the country to be broken up to prevent a German invasion or war on Poland refused and
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. Two days later. Britain and France declared war
on Germany. The Second World War had begun.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 354

THE HISTORICAL DEBATE
One of the assumptions behind the Nurenburg trial that followed the end of the Second World
War was that Hitler had deliberately planned such a war even before he came to power. This was
based on the study of his book, the MainKampf. There was certainly the belief that after 1933 he
deliberately followed the same masterplan which he pursued consistently up to and beyond the
start of the war. Initially most historians shared this view, pointing to how Hitler began attempts
to drive wedges between Poland and France, and between Italy and its Stressa Front partners,
Britain and France, as early as 1934. The examination of specific crises tended to confirm this
view: during the Czech crisis, for instance, Hitler had set a date for the invasion (1 October) as
early as May 1938. Similarly once the invader won and Memel taken from Lithuania, Hitler then
set 1 September 1939 as the date for the invasion of Poland, even before he had secured the Non-
aggression Pact with the Soviet Union.

This orthodox view, also known as the internationalist school was first strongly criticized by
historian A.J.P Taylor in his books the origins of the Second World War. Taylor claims that
Hitler had not followed a pre-determined master plan for war, and his questioning of the
reliability of the Hossbach Memorandum as historical evidence, provoked heated historical
debate. Taylor argued that Hitler’s foreign policy was essentially improvised and based on taking
the most opportunities when they arose. He further stated that simply directing his generals to
prepare for war did not mean that Hitler was actively intending to start a war. He pointed out that
from 1935 British and French government also directed their generals to prepare for a possible
war. Such actions, he argued, were precautions, and not blueprints for aggression.

He also stressed how Hitler’s desire to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and also to restore
German greatness, was an aim “shared by all German politicians, by the Social Democrats who
ended the War in 1918 as much as by Stresemann. Taylor claimed that German rearmament after
1936 was not strong enough to sustain a world, or even a European War.

They argue that Hitler’s direction of foreign policy after 1937 to obtain Lebensraum in the east
was important as regards, short-term tactics, as opposed to just opportunism. Other historians
argued that Hitler intended to go beyond the conquest of Europe and culminate in a war against
the USA for world domination.

Yet another school of thought argues that Hitler was really not in firm control of foreign affairs
or having a clear or consistent long-term plan. They argue that his foreign policy was essentially
a spontaneous response to internal problems and external opportunities. Later historians and as
T. Mason (1977 and 1981) stress the fact that Hitler’s foreign policy and war preparation were
limited by the economic problems which he faced in the 1930s and that his foreign policy was
more confused than planned. It was often an escape from the economic problems which he
would not solve.

Conclusion
Having said this, a conclusion to such a vital topic needs to highlight the fact that there were both
elements of opportunism and some short-term planning on the part of Hitler’s foreign policy.
These can be no doubt for example, that the 1936 German remilitarization of the Rhineland was
a clear opportunity which Hitler exploited. Whilst British and French attention was pinned on

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 355

Abyssinia, Hitler ordered his troops to invade the Rhineland. It is important to note that the fact
that he instructed them to retreat and not fight the French indicates that Hitler was taking a
gamble which unexpectedly worked in his favour.

Neither can one argue that Hitler’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 was planned. It
was an opportunity which cropped up, and Hitler exploited it to test his army as well as reap
economic rewards out of it.

There is no doubt too, that Hitler only got stronger because no one was prepared to stop him.
Britain and France, the real hedge which Hitler could face, were not prepared to take strong
enough measures to block Hitler’s aggression because they were more concerned about their
own domestic problems. Hence, appeasement gave Hitler the opportunity to become unstoppable
and eventually caused war. The Munich crisis was a typical example which shows Hitler’s
aggressive demands were tactlessly met. Having broken the Munich agreement war was in sight.

It is important to note however, that Hitler had grand plans, but opportunities usually arose in the
direction of his plans. He was not just lucky all the way, sometimes he made some big
miscalculations. For example, he believed that Britain’s guarantee over Polish independence was
not strong enough and once he obtained the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact, he would prevent
fighting war on two fronts. But, as he invaded Poland (two days later) Britain and France
declared war on Germany. His belief that France and Britain would let him have a free hand in
the east proved to be a big error.

Therefore, short-term plans, opportunities, internal demands in Germany, as well as

appeasement; all in the final analysis, contributed to Hitler’s drive towards the Second World
War.
Study Guides
i) Why did the Munich Agreement mark the highest stage in the policy of appeasement? Why
was the policy of appeasement abandoned thereafter?
ii) How important was the force of nationalism as a cause of the Second World War?
iii) Why and with what impact was there a growth of militarism in the 1930s?
iv) Why did Hitler sign so many “friendly” pacts in the 1930s?
v) How significant was the Nazi-Soviet Pact as a cause of the outbreak of the Second World
War?
vi) Which factor or individual contributed the most to the outbreak of war in 1949?

Examination type questions

1.“War could have been avoided by challenging Hitler militarily over the Rhineland invasion in
1936.” What are the strengths and weaknesses of this view?
2.How valid is the view that Britain and France went to war in 1939 in order to defend the
independence of Poland which they had guaranteed?
3.Did Hitler plan the Second World War?

Key References
1. McDonough F-The Origins of the First and Second World Wars
2. McDonough F-Conflict Communism and Fascism: Europe 1890-1945.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 356

3. Taylor A.J.P-The Origins of the Second World War
4. Todd A-Democracies and Dictatorship Europe and the World, 1919-1989.

CHAPTER 30
THE RECOVERY OF WESTERN EUROPE

Most of the countries of Western Europe faced a painful task of reconstruction after 1945.
Economic revival was the primary requisite after the devastation of the Second World War.
Following the war, American aid provided statesmen in most of the non- communist state with
vital experience in economic co-operation. Candidates are expected to examine and assess the
contribution of the USA to western economic recovery. They are also expected apart from
looking at general recovery of Western Europe, to look at the developments of the individual
Western countries.
The major aim in this recovery programme was to achieve political and economic ‘integration’.
By integration, was meant the process of political and economic unification of the nation states
of Western Europe since the end of the Second World War, in 1945. ‘Integration is to be
distinguished from co-operation by the fact that the participants in integration must delegate part
of their national sovereignty to a body with supranational powers.

Factors favouring integration

There were a number of reasons why European statesmen were persuaded to move in the
direction of European integration after 1945. The major ones were:

i) The discrediting of Nationalism and the fact that, during the war, the nation – states of Europe
had not been able to offer a minimum of security to their inhabitants against the aggressor.
ii) The impact of the Cold War and the need for European defence.
iii) Europe had ceased to be the dominant force in world affairs and was now – replaced by the
two superpowers, the US and the USSR. The idea grew of giving to Europe the necessary
strength to preserve its independence and identity in the world.
iv) The need for large markets and the co-ordination of economic efforts in a modern
technological economy if European countries were going to be able to compete for instance with
the US.
v) American support for a strong Europe capable of resisting Soviet aggression – the US
consistently exerted pressure in favour of integration.
vi) A means of solving ‘the German question’ by incorporating her into a larger unit on the basis
of reconciliation with France.
The following steps need to be noted as Western Europe undertook the drive towards economic
integration.

The Marshall Plan

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 357

A particularly strong impetus towards European unity came from the United States, as a result of
the grieving cold war conflict between East and West, with the Truman Doctrine and the
Marshall Plan.

The Marshall Plan was announced in Principle in Secretary of State Marshall’s Howard Spordy
in June, 1947. The distribution of the US aid was worked out by the European nations in the
Organisation for European Economic Recovery (OEEC). This aid was used for:

(a) The financing of European imports from the US, especially capital goods.
(b) Investment in basic industries in Europe. In the first year, the Plan accounted for 4% of the
national income of the 14 European recipients.

- The contribution of the Plan was both economic and political.

- Economically, (i) it led to the removal of the bottleneck of the dollar gap, and the revival of
German machinery production for supply to the rest of Europe.
i) It also allowed a continuing and very fast industrial growth (especially in West Germany) (iii)
It also led to the restoration of the trade balance between the USA and Western Europe by 1950-
1.
Politically – the plan led to a solution to the problem of German recovery. Germany’s
neighbours, especially France, feared that Germany’s economic recovery would enable her to
again because of a military threat.

The Plan overcame terms of obstacles because:

i) Germany’s recovery would lake place only as part of a recovery of Western Europe as a whole
and hence would be less threatening.
ii) Germany’s neighbours would not get reparations, but would be compensated for this by US
aid,
iii) German recovery would be less dangerous if within the political framework of a continuing
presence of US troops in Europe and of French alliances with Britain (for example the Dunkirk
and Brussels treaties, (1947 and 1948) and with the USA (the North Atlantic Treaty 1949).

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Council of Europe

The two most significant Western Organisations to be set up in 1949, were NATO and the
Council of Europe. NATO committed its members to consult together on the means of planning
their common defence and to ‘take such action as it deems necessary’ in case of attack.

In, fact the Western European countries had begun to establish a system of defensive military
alliances before the escalation of the cold war in 1947. Both the Franco – British Treaty of
Dunkirk and the Treaty of Brussels, signed by Britain, France and the Benelux countries were,
however, signed partly with fears of a revived Germany in mind. This crisis that led the West to
expand the Brussels Treaty into NATO was the Berlin blockade of June 1948 – May 1949.

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)

In May 1950, the French foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, following the suggestion of Jean
Monnet proposed a European Coal and Steel Community. One motive behind this initiative was
that French political leaders wanted to ensure that German strength would never dominate

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 358

Europe again. In particular, France wanted to maintain some control over the Ruhr industrial
area. The pooling of coal and steel production would help to solve this problem.

There were other considerations. For instance, the pooling of coal and steel production would
immediately provide for the establishment of common bases for economic development.

The Economic Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formally set up in April 1951 and was a
supranational organization. The essential feature of the Schuman Plan was that six European
governments were prepared to accept voluntary limitations on their national sovereignty in a
vital part of their economic life with the political aim of progressing towards a United Europe.
One of the main purposes of the ECSC was to serve as a pioneer for other movements towards
integration.

The ECSC was welcomed by most countries. The West German Chancellor, Konrad Adenuaer
welcomed the plan. He saw it as a means of rehabilitating Germany and giving her greater status.
By 1953, the ECSC had six members, namely France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and
the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

The European Defence Community and the European Political Community – (1950 – 54)
The outbreak of the Korean war led to American fears that the Soviet Union might move against
Western Europe. The next area in which integration was proposed was that of defence. From
1950- 54 the arguments for and against the European Defence Community (EDC) dominated the
political life of France and Germany in the first place, it raised the fundamental question as to
whether Germany should be rearmed at all. It was only 5 years since the Allies had resolved to
abolish German militarism forever, and the German people had to a larger extent supported the
decision that the new federal Republic would have no armed forces. There was also a marked
resistance in France to the idea of the French army merging its identity in a common European
army.

The refusal of the French assembly to ratify the EDC led to a serious setback for the European
integration movement, but arrangements were speedily made for the rearmament of West
Germany in a new and acceptable form. The outcome was the agreement of October 1954, to
enlarge the Brussels treaty organization into a Western European Union into which Germany and
Italy would both be admitted. They were also to become members of NATO and the function of
the WEU was essentially to ensure that Germany did not create armed forces larger than 12
divisions and that she respected her pledge not to manufacture atomic, biological or chemical
weapons. Britain also undertook to keep four army divisions and her tactical air force on the
continent.

The Treaty of Rome

The movement towards further European integration was revived with the Mossina Conference
of June 1955. In October of that year, M- Morret announced the formation of the Action
committee for the United States of Europe. These laid the basis for the Treaty of Rome by which
the six members of the ECSC agreed to go ahead with the integration of their economies on a
much broader scale, which was to include agriculture. This was signed in March 1957.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 359

The provisions of the Treaty of Rome contained articles of two categories: those designed to
achieve
(i) ‘positive’ and (ii) ‘negative’ integration

The first included such aims as the development of common European policies for industry and
technology. The second involved all measures aimed at removing tariff barriers and obstacles to
the free movement of labour and capital.

The major community institutions which came into existence were:

(i) The executive commission (ii) the council of ministers
(iii) The European Parliament, with largely consultative powers and (iv) the court of Justice

The European Economic Community (EEC), established in 1957 by the Rome Treaties, emerged
a more than a traditional intergovernmental organization but less than a full federal structure.
The commission represented the unity of the community, but the final decisions were taken by
the representatives of the individual member states in the Council of Ministers.

The Enlargement of the EEC

The EEC was helped by various factors to establish itself. One of these was the continuing rapid
pace of economic growth and prosperity, to which it contributed. Another factor was the
continued support of the US. In 1961 the British applied for membership of the EEC. This
application was vetoed by France, which wanted to resist Anglo- Saxon dominance in Europe.
The final and successful negotiations for the enlargement of the EEC were opened in June 1970.
All the major issues of the British case were settled within a year. In January1973, the six
became the Nine with the accession of the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland.

Examination type questions

1) How far was USA aid responsible for the recovery and prosperity of Europe after 1945?
2) How far can the increasing co-operation between western European states after the Second
World War be explained by fear of the USSR?
3) How did West Germany gain political stability and economic prosperity in spite of the
devastation caused by the Second World War?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 360

 CHAPTER 31
POST STALIN RUSSIA (1953 – 1964)
Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Describe the legacy left behind by Stalin.
2.Explain Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinization
3.Assess Khrushchev’s economic and foreign policies.

Although not a popular topic, this is an important part of the syllabus. The major focus during
this period is on the de-Stalinization process by those who succeeded Stalin, especially
Khrushchev. Candidates are also expected to examine the leadership struggle to examine the
leadership struggle after the death of Stalin.

The leadership struggle after the death of Stalin

On March 5, 1953 Stalin died. His death altered the future for all the states of the eastern bloc. It
was followed by a struggle for power within the Soviet leadership, which necessarily became
more ‘collegiate’ or ‘collective’ since there was no single figure of Stalin’s stature to replace
him. This leadership struggle involved Malenkov, who became chairman of the Council of
Ministers; Beria the sinister and apparently very powerful leader of the secret police, and
Khrushchev, who became secretary of the communist party, a post from which he imposed ideas
of collective leadership.

In this struggle, Molotov, Khrushchev and Malenkov proved eventually to be dominant

personalities. These three represented three different attitudes to the future. Molotov, supported
by Kaganovich, wished to retain both the economic and foreign policy of Stalin.
Khrushchev wished to change foreign policy but would be content to retain Stalin’s economic
policy. Malenkov, supported by Beria, wished radically to alter both economic and foreign
policy. Khrushchev was relieved of other functions in order to allow him to concentrate on his
work in the Party Secretariat, and he was not at first as important as Beria.

In April 1953, the leadership in the state was collective, in the hands of Molotov, vice –
chairman of the Council of Ministers in charge of foreign policy, Malenkov, chairman of the
council of Ministers and concerned with economic policy, and Beria, also a vice chairman of the
Council Ministers and, as Minister of the Interior, head of the security policy. In June, Beria fell.
He was dismissed from his offices and arrested. In December 1953, he with certain associates
were executed after a secret trial. The collective leadership was now firmly in the hands of
Molotov, Khrushchev and Malenkov. There were amnesties; price reductions and some
relaxation of political pressure Public propaganda began to notice the error of the personality
culture. In March 1955, Khrushchev dismissed Malenkov and replaced him with Bulgarian.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 361

By the twentieth Party Congress, he had emerged as the real Soviet Leader, though he did not
become Prime Minister as well as Party secretary until 1958 when he succeeded Buganin. But
that Congress, which met from February 17- 24, 1956, is a turning – point for another reason. It
began the public process known in the west as deStalinization. Khrushchev delivered a speech
denouncing the ‘personality culture. At a secret session on the last day, he made a famous report
on the crimes of Stalin. It was gradually made known to different levels of the Party, and it
leaked out to the West.

De- Stalinization: The Economic Sector

This was a process whereby Stalinism was attacked and efforts made to reverse or revise some of
his policies. This process was begun by Khrushchev. Candidates are expected to find out why
Khrushchev embarked on a process of deStalinization. No short answer is a real answer, but it
may, at least, be said that Khrushchev’s method of rule was not Stalin’s and that he had to
establish the distinction between himself and Stalin in order to rule at all. The repudiation of the
reign of terror was part of this need. But it should also be said that destalinization was a
continuous process which had begun already in 1953.

Malenkov’s economic policies: -

DeStalinization meant first some change in Soviet economic policy. This was ‘the Malenkov
new course’ Malenkov drastically reduced the number of Ministries and departments concerned
with economic affairs. The attempt to rationalize the central planning system was sensible.
Malenkov’s real achievements, which justify historians in writing of the Malenkov new course,
were different. He caused an expansion of the output of the consumer goods indicates, on the
assumption that the USSR now had a powerful heavy industry and could afford to change her
economic emphasis. He increases the prices paid for agricultural procurements from the peasants
and lowered tax levels for them. He made a general retail price cut of some 10 per cent. The
eventual economic results of these measures were not always good, but their immediate result
was to make life easier for the soviet citizen.

Khrushchev’s Economic Policies

When Khrushchev had emerged as the dominant figure, he continued Malenkov’s policy and
developed an agricultural policy of his own. This resulted in a number of small measures, which
eased life on the collective farms, and relaxed central control over them.

(i) The managements of the collective forms were allowed to decide their own work
requirements and, in course of time, to make the decisions on most matters.
(ii) Khrushchev also initiated a colonial drive to take new land into cultivation. It was strikingly
successful in Siberia and Kazakhstan.
(iii) Khrushchev, like Malenkov made an attempt to cut down the bureaucracy and streamline
the economic administration. Thus a regional structure for the control of the industrial economy
under the central planning agency (Gosplan) enabled him to get rid of several ministries involved
in the control of industrial planning.
(iv) Control at the center was relaxed but the process of farm amalgamation continued. The
peasants, however, remained attached to their own plots, so productivity was slow to rise.
(v)The whole wage structure was revised and greater mobility of labour was allowed and control
over it relaxed.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 362

(vi) Forced labour camps were scaled down.
(vii) Trade unions were more active and more successful in defending workers’ interests.
(viii) Trade with the West was expanded and new trade links established.
(ix) Where generally, there was an increased emphasis on the production of consumer goods and
a massive drive to build more houses.
(x) The chemical industries expanded
(xi)Some of the railway systems were modernized.
(xii) After initial successes, the ‘Virgin Lands’ schemes were pushed too far and they led to soil
erosion and disaster. The 1963 food shortages, following grain group failures in both the virgin
lands and the Ukraine led to imports from the USA, and this undoubtedly helped bring about
Khrushchev’s fall. The launching of the first earth satellite in 1957 suggested that the USSR was
the equal in some respects of the USA, but the heavy spending on arms and space was already
proving to be a brake on economic growth.

DeStalinization in Foreign Policy

DeStalinization meant a complete change in foreign policy. Much of the easing of tension
between east and west resulted from the death of Stalin and his replacement by a five- man
directory. There was an immediate relaxation, and the start of an era of peaceful co-existence.
The new Russian leaders, among whom Malenkov at first appeared to be the strongest, eased the
economic pressure on the satellites. In 1955, as the answer to NATO, and the remaining part of
Germany, the Warsaw Pact was established, whereby the satellites were bound together in a
military alliance with the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia did not join the Warsaw Pact, but in 1955 Nikita Khrushchev, visited Tito, an
attempt to effect reconciliation. His statement, that there were different roads to socialism,
appeared to be a vindication of Tito and an acknowledgement that Stalin had been wrong. As
Khruskchev openly came to be recognized as Stalin’s heir, he was more outspoken in his
denunciation of the “crimes of the Stalin “era”. And as part of his relaxation measures in 1956,
the Cominform was dissolved. The de-Stalinization process resulted in an immediate thaw in the
ranks of the party and advantage was taken of Khrushchev’s promise of a more liberal line.

In general, therefore, in foreign policy, destalinization meant a revision of Stalin’s hard stance in
his relations with the west. During Khrushchev’s era, there was a thaw of relations, as he became
more conciliatory towards the west. In his famous speech (February 1956) Khrushchev explained
his new policy in which he criticized Stalin and said that ‘peaceful – co-existence with the west
was not only possible but desirable and essential. According to Khrushchev, there were only two
ways- either peaceful co-existence or the most destructive war in history.

Examination type questions

1.How far and why, did the Soviet Union recover from the Second World War?
2.Assess the reasons behind the Soviet Union’s takeover of Eastern Europe after 1945.
3.How far to 1964 had the Soviet Union established itself as a World Power?
Key references
1.Geir Lundestand -East, West, North, South: Major Developments in
International Politics since 1945.
2Steve Phillips -Stalinist Russia.
3.A. Todd -Democracies and Dictatorships:

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 363

 Europe and the World 1919-1989

CHAPTER 32
COLD WAR

Chapter objectives
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Describe the conferences at Tehran, Yalta and Postdam.
2.Explain the breakdown of the war time alliance over the issues of Poland, detonation of the
Atomic bombs and the reparations towards the Soviet Union.
3.Explain the impact of soviet takeover of Eastern Europe.
4.Explain the significance of the following episodes in relation to the Cold War:
a)Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech
b)George Kennan’s Long Telegram
c)Riga Axious
d)The Truman Doctrine
e)The Marshal Aid
5.Assess the consequences of the Berlin Blockade and Air Lift.
6)Account for the globalization of the Cold War in Korea, Cuba, Vietnam and Africa.
7)Explain the reasons for the break-up of the USSR and the end of the Cold War.

The Origins of the Cold War

Overview
Distress between the capitalist West and communist Soviet Union had been a feature of
international politics since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. When Germany invaded the Soviet
Union in 1941, the West and the Soviet Union put aside their differences and co-operated in
Grand Alliance against the common threat of Nazi Germany. But signs of strain soon began to
emerge.
At the Fehran Conference in 1943 Stalin was concerned about the delay in opening a second
front and there was disagreement over the futures of Germany and Poland. At the Yalta and
Potsdam conference in 1945, these differences deepened –especially after Truman became
president of the USA, following Roosevelt’s death. Tensions over Germany and the growing
Soviet domination of Eastern Europe were heightened after the USA dropped the atomic bombs
on Japan.

What was the Cold War?

The term Cold War is used to describe the antagonism between the United States and the West
on the one side and the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe on the other. This conflict existed
during most of the period 1945- 1991. Its most obvious signs were the division of western and
eastern Europe by the Iron Curtain, the emergence of two hostile political and military alliances
(NATO and the Warsaw Pact), and an arms race which at times seemed to threaten nuclear war.
Though direct hot war between the two superpowers was avoided, there were many international
crises during the Cold War and several vicious hot wars involving the allies or “client states” of
the rival superpowers. The term superpower was first used in 1944 and refers to a country

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 364

considered so powerful because of its economic and military resources, that it can largely dictate
and control international events to serve its own interests.

Why did the Cold War begin?

Breakdown of the Grand Alliance, 1944-45

Tensions which finally led to the breakdown of the Grand Alliance and the start of the Cold War,
began to emerge more sharply at the 1945 conferences held at Yalta in February and at Postsdam
in July. There were four main areas of disagreement: Germany, Poland, economic reconstruction
and nuclear weapons

Germany
Although the war against Germany was still continuing when the Allies met at Yalta in February
1945, it was clearly over as far as Europe was concerned. The problems which had emerged at
Tehram, especially Poland and the fate of the eastern European countries-now had to be
resolved. The conference agreed, quite amicably, to temporarily divide Germany into four zones
of occupation, with an initial agreement on reparations for the damage done by Nazi Germany,
especially to the USSR.
The problem of Poland proved more difficult to solve eventually, it was agreed that the USSR’s
demands regarding Poland’s eastern boarders would be met and that Poland would receive
territorial compensation from Germany, up to the order-Neisse Rivers. The allies also accepted
the plan to have a provisional government for Poland. However , the coming to power of Truman
in 1945 following the death of Roosevelt meant that the US- Soviet relations grew worse as
Truman took a more hardline approach towards the USSR.
In May, Truman abruptly ended the land-lease aid to the USSR- this was a serious as well as
worrying blow to the war-devastated Soviet Union. Then at the Potsdam conference in July
1945, Truman stated the USA would only agree to the Soviet Union extracting reparations from
the eastern zone of German, which was mainly agricultural and therefore poorer, as well as
receiving 25 percent of the machinery from the three western zones. This was on condition that
the USSR sent back to the western zones 60percent of the value of what it had received from
them in the form of goods and raw materials (especially coal).

Poland and Eastern Europe

The issue of Poland was complex Stalin saw it as a life and death question for the Soviet State. In
October 1944 Churchill and Stalin met in Moscow. They concluded the informal “percentages
agreement” concerning influence in south-eastern and eastern Europe. Although Roosevelt was
not present, he was briefed afterwards and made no objections, however, Poland was not
mentioned at this meeting.
At Yalta, however, Roosevelt backed away from the prospect of a Soviet sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe. Stalin felt this was essential for Soviet security and was worried by the new
Soviet call for an “open-door” policy and their suggestion that there should be no formal spheres
of influence. Roosevelt, who had kept the earlier agreements with Stalin about Eastern Europe
secret from the US public, now suggested that the proposed United Nations Organization should
make decisions about these issues after the war was over.
These, shifts persuaded Stalin to begin taking practical measures to ensure Soviet security
interests in Eastern Europe. When the Soviet Union failed to carry out the Yalta agreement on

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 365

free elections in Poland, US suspicious about Soviet motives were aroused even further. Once
Truman became President, friction increased and the USA became more determined to contain
Soviet power whenever possible. The first sign of this was thus the abrupt ending of the land-
lease aid in May 1945. Truman’s decision also came about as a result of congressional pressure
to reduce expenditure, and applied to Britain as well.

Economic Reconstruction
In view of the dreadful destruction suffered by the USSR, Stalin’s priority after the war was
economic reconstruction. Consequently he agreed to join then International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944. The promise of a loan from the USA
overcame his reservations about their (institutions) growing influence. But when the USSR asked
for a $6 billion loan in January 1945, the USA imposed conditions, such as giving eastern
European markets to US capital. The USSR would not accept this dollar diplomacy (USA’s
economic) dominance was seen as giving it power to determine diplomatic and internal politics
in those countries in which it invested).

For this reason, Stalin placed more emphasis on reparations from Germany, and at Yalta it was
agreed that $10 billion would be a starting point for negotiations. A further Soviet request for a
loan, in August 1945, was “lost” by the US State Department. Consequently, the USSR allowed
the December 1945 dead-line for membership of the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to pass without signing up. Instead, it decided to increase reparation from its own
sphere of influence and this necessitated greater Soviet control of Eastern Europe.

The US Atomic Bomb

Further misunderstanding was created by American dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan, on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. More significant for relations between the USA and
the USSR was the USA’’s refusal to share the technology which it had with its ally.
At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Roosevelt had got a promise from Stalin to join
forces against Japan once Germany was defeated. However, Truman and his secretary James
Byrnes, saw the Atomic bomb as a way of ending the war quickly against Japan without Soviet
help, as well as keeping US casualties to a minimum. This would pre-empt any Soviet demands
for influence in Asia which was seen as vital to US interests. The Potsdam Conference was
therefore delayed until July 1945 partly to give Truman a new powerful negotiating position.
This policy was opposed by the US secretary of War, Henry Stimson, who argued that the Soviet
Union should be offered an atomic partnership if the USSR was prepared to make some
concessions on Eastern Europe.
Stalin interpreted the refusal by USA to share nuclear technology as a demonstration of US
power to seriously weaken USSR. This interpretation landed weight to the argument that Truman
wanted to use the lonely possession of nuclear technology between 1945 and 1949 as a
negotiating tool “to force the USSR to accept its plans for post-war Europe and the world. These
plans were to ensure the unhindered spread of liberal capitalism world-wide, to prevent anti-
capitalist revolutions and to protect US interests around the globe.
Stalin was very concerned about this nuclear monopoly and quickly authorized a speed-up in the
development of a Soviet bomb: However, though the USSR was without its own bomb until
1949, this did not necessarily derail Soviet expansionist policies in Eastern Europe From mid-

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 366

1944 onwards, soviet forces took back Soviet territory previously occupied by German forces.
Communist governments were thus later on set up in Romania and Bulgaria.

Study Guides
ia) Explain how differences between the Soviet Union and the USA emerged over (i) US refusal
to share information on the technology of the Atomic Bomb.
ii)How the Soviet Union went against the Yalta expectations on Poland.
iii)How the USA failed to meet its promises to pay the Soviet Union reparations with raw
materials collected from Trizonia (US-controlled part of Germany).
ii)Why did the USA develop the policy of containment?

How can the Cold War be explained?

The historical debate
Orthodox Theory
There are various theories put forward to explain the roots of the Cold War. Soon after the
Second World War, supporters of the orthodox view argued that the Cold War was a result of
Soviet ideology which focused on the destabilization of capitalist states. This placed
responsibilities for the Cold War on the USSR, with the West forced to adopt policies which
“contained” the “communist threat.” This was also known as the traditional view.”

Revisionist Theory
By the late 1950s, however, a new revisionist- interpretation was emerging, which argued that
the USSR was too weak to pose a real threat in terms of global expansion and that responsibility
for the Cold War rested with the USA not the USSR. According to the argument, Stalin focused
on internal policy; reconstruction, and did little to promote international revolution. Instead, the
Soviet Union was pushed into increasing its control over Eastern Europe to counter US action,
which aimed to establish American domination through the “open-door” policy. Having pushed
to undermine the sterling area and the imperial preference system (which gave advantage to
British manufacturers selling to British colonies) during the war to reduce influence, the USA
now attempted to do the same in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union was, therefore, forced to
establish greater control in the region in order to protect itself from the aims of US global
dominance Pan America.”

Post Revisionists
A third opinion is offered by post-revisionists, who try to avoid placing blame on just one of the
superpowers. One post-revisionist argument is that the cold war was the result of confusions,
especially in the aftermath of Roosevelt’s replacement by Truman, when Truman’s hard-line
policies deepened the suspicions of a Soviet government more accustomed to Roosevelt’s
conciliatory approach. Other post-revisionists trends look at the role of nuclear proliferation or
spread, which impelled both sides to distrust each other Class conflict theorists, on the other
hand see the Cold War as the inevitable result of the global conflict between capitalism and
communism. More recent research has begun to focus on how Stalin chose to ignore Litvinov’s
more moderate advice and take a hard line advocated by other advisers.
Hence, in explaining the Cold War it is important to consider and illustrate all the theories put
forward, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 367

Early stages of the Cold War

1946, a turning point?

By the end of 1945 tensions between the allies were already apparent. The problems that arose
between 1946 and 1949-Germany, atomic weapon, the economic crisis in Western Europe and
increasing Soviet control of Eastern Europe and the decision made about them resulted in more
serious divisions.
1.In 1946, western governments came to see increasing Soviet control in Eastern Europe as the
first step towards the spread of communism westwards. Some politicians believe in the
possibility of communist takeovers in Greece, Italy and even France, where communist support
was relatively strong. As early as February 1946, Byrnes began to urge French prime minister
to resist any Soviet advances in that important oil-rich region.
2.Furthermore, in February 1946 two significant developments took place. First, the failure of
the Branch Plan ended any hopes of an agreement on the control of nuclear weapons.
Second, Kennan sent his famous “Long Telegram.” In which he argued that the USSR was a
dangerous and expansionist state that would never co-operate with the USA. This meant that
no matter what the USA did, Soviet policy towards the west would not be altered in the short
or medium term. This view rapidly became the basis of US policy and was the origins of the
policy of “containment” (the term first used by Kennan) which emerged the following year,
essentially reviving the Rig Axioms.

3.In March 1946, Winston Churchill made his famous Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missioner,
USA. In this speech he supported the view that the Soviet Union was an expansionist state,
arguing for an end to compromise and calling for a stronger Anglo-American alliance. This
was an important shift away from the spirit of Yalta and Roosevelt’s policy of co-operation
with the USSR, and coincided with Kennau’s “Long Telegram” The Iron curtain” was a term
used to describe the boundary between capitalist Western Europe and Communist Eastern
Europe. As the Cold War deepened, the frontiers, especially in Germany, became physical and
visible.
In essence, Kennan was in favour of a “fully fledged and realistic showdown with the Soviet
Union” over developments in Eastern Europe. As early as 1945, February, he had argued that if
the West was not prepared to “go the whole way” to block any expansion of the Soviet
influence in Europe, then the only alternative was to split Germany permanently in two and to
draw a definitive frontier between East and West. He believed the world should be divided into
rival sphere of influence and that the USA should conduct a propaganda war against the USSR
and communism.

How important were the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan?
Containment and the Truman Doctrine
In the years 1945-46, Byrnes used international loans and credits to both stabilize economies
outside the soviet sphere of influence (e.g. France) as well as hinder the spread of Soviet
communism.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 368

By linking the issue of USA loans to the struggle against communism, Dean Ackeson was able
to gain support for Truman’s policy of “containment.” He argued that if Greece fell to
communists then the Balkans and ultimately, Africa and Western Europe (especially France and
Italy) would be undermined. The “rotten apple,” is an argument, based on the idea that one
communist state would begin to “spoil” its immediate neighbours and was similar to the “domino
theory.” Which came to dominate US foreign policy in the following decades.
The US change in policy from isolationism to containment was announced by Truman in his
speech to congress on 12 March 1947. In order to gain the support of the Republican Congress,
he had to exaggerate the USA’s differences with the Soviet Union and argue that the ideological
struggle between democracy and communism was a crucial one.
The USSR, he implied, was aggressively expansionist and therefore needed to be contained,
although he did not directly attack the Soviet Union itself. The new policy- which came to be
known as the Truman Doctrine argued that all countries had to choose between the “freedom of
the west or the subjugation of communism.” Truman then announced US readiness to assist any
country resisting “armed minorities” or “outside pressure.” Congress finally approved aid for
Greece $300 million) and Turkey ($100 million). Hence in 1949 the Greek communists suffered
a heavy defeat while Turkey moved firmly into the western block.
Historians have put forward various reasons why the policy of containment was adopted so
quickly by the USA in the 1940s. In general there was a feeling in the USA that was appealing to
Hitler. In the 1930s this had resulted in the Second World War and that there should be no repeat
of this in relation to Stalin’s regime.
Several other explanations have also been put forward. One is that, as the USA emerged from the
Second World War as a truly global power with World-wide interests, political developments in
other countries that were not totally pro-capitalism might endanger the power of the USA and
should therefore be resisted.

The Marshall Plan, 1947

As well as giving aid to Greece and Turkey, US Congress decided to help revive the economies
of the Western European states through US credits and the revival of the key German economy.
In order to qualify for Congressional support, it was made clear that only countries with capitalist
economies would qualify for aid and it was pointed out that an expanded European economy
would also be good for US exports. At the same time, it would allow, the revival of the German
economy.
In order to qualify for Congressional support, it was made clear that only countries with capitalist
economies would qualify for aid and it was pointed out that an expanded European economy
would also be good for US exports. At the same time, it would allow, the revival of the German
economy within a European framework thus preventing a new German Dominance which France
in particular feared.
On 23 May 1947, Kennan gave his support to the idea and it was put forward as the Marshall
Plan on 5 June 1947. Technically, it was given to the Soviet Union and the eastern European
states, but the plan’s political and economic criteria meant Stalin was unlikely to accept it. In fact
both the USA and the USSR saw it as a way and an attempt to weaken Soviet control of Eastern
Europe.
However, by July 1947, the Soviet Union decided participation in the proposed Marshall Plan
would involve too many risks and soon rejected further negotiations. Early positive responses

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 369

from Soviet spheres of influence such as (Zechoslvaleia, Poland and Hungary) were therefore
ended on 10 and 11 July due to Soviet pressure.
The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, consequently contributed to the collapse of the
earlier Soviet policy of cooperation with the USA.

What were the Main Points of Tension in Europe from 1947 to 1949?
On 22 September 1947, the Soviet control of eastern European countries was strengthened when
the communist parties of these state met in Poland. They agreed to set up the Communist
Information Bureau (Cominform) and, under Zhdanov’s influence, they condemned the Marshall
Plan on the grounds that it was preparing to extend US power in order to launch a new world
war. According to Zhdanov, the post-world war was divided into two camps: the Soviet anti-
imperialist and democratic camp and the US-led imperialist and anti-democratic camp. Hence, he
argued, Cominform was intended to keep the communist parties in Europe under Moscow’s
control. This was a significant step and marked the end of the USSR’s flexible and hesitant
foreign policy in relation to US actions.

Germany
Germany became one of the major factors for the worsening relations between the USA and the
USSR. After 1945 it was clear that Germany would be fundamental to the European and global
balance of power and thus it was of tremendous importance to Soviet security concerns. As
tensions grew into the Cold War, both sides feared Germany becoming part of the opposing
camp.
At Potsdam, it had been agreed that despite being temporarily divided into four allied zones of
occupation, Germany should be treated as one economic unit to be administered by the Allied
Control Council. Berlin, deep inside the Soviet zone of Germany, was also to be divided into
four zones and it was also agreed that the Five D’s should be applied to Germany. These were
demilitarization; degasification; de-industrialization; democratization and decentralization.
After the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, announced in June 1947, the USSR began to
see these steps as attempting to build up the economy of a western Germany which had
75percent of the German population and the important industrial regions. Such a West German
state might prove to be a military threat in the future, as it had in the past- especially if it were
allied to what the Soviet Union perceived to be an increasingly hostile USA. Soviet fears about
western plans for Germany led to a more hardline response. At a meeting of the Council of
Foreign Ministers in London during November and December 1947 Britain and the USA agreed
on one last attempt to revive the economy of a unified Germany.

However, the plans and talks failed because Britain and the USA refused to accept Soviet
demands for reparations. Hence they proceeded with plans for a separate development of the
western zone of Germany, known as Trizonia, comprising the US, British and French zones
joined together. They introduced a new federal constitution, replaced the Reichsmark with the
Deutschmark, all without consulting the USSR. This set the ground for more direct conflict with
the USSR.

Berlin Blockade, 24 June 1948

The Soviet Union, opposed to the idea of a separate West German state, tried to prevent this by
putting pressure on west Berlin by cutting off all road, rail and freight traffic to west Berlin on 24

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 370

June 1945. The Berlin Blockade was the first open conflict of the Cold War between the two
sides. However, though the USA transferred 60B29 bombers, capable of dropping nuclear bombs
to Britain, no bombs were supplied and this crisis did not develop into a “hot” war.

The Berlin Airlift

In light of the Soviet blockade of all supplies to the Western zone, the Allies responded with the
massive Berlin Airlift, in which tons of food, fuel and other basic items were flown from
Trizonia into West Berlin to supply its 2 million citizens. The airlift was organized by General
Lucius Clay, who was also military governor of US zone of Germany in 1947-49. The airlift
lasted for almost a year, until May 1949, when the obvious failure of the blockade finally led
Stalin to call it off.

The Berlin Blockade, designed to make the west drop its idea of a separate West Germany state,
actually speeded up the very thing it was intended to stop. The West portrayed it as an attempt by
the Soviet Union to drive the Allies out of West Berlin in preparation for taking over the western
zones of Germany. The prime ministers of the West Germany Lander (Federal Republic of
Germany) who had, at first been reluctant to accept the creation of a separate West Germany
state, now agreed as a way of ensuring Us protection against the Soviet threat of a takeover.
In May 1949, the new Federal Republic of Germany was set up and its first government began
operating in September 1949. On 7 October, the USSR finally accepted the division of Germany
and announced the transformation of its eastern zone into a new state, called the Germany
Democratic Republic. This division of Germany soon came to represent the division of Europe
into two mutually suspicious and hostile camps. Soviet fears that the West wanted a revived
Germany, closely allied to the USA, were later confirmed in 1955 when West Germany was
allowed to join NATO.

The Soviet response to the increasing tensions which followed the Berlin crisis was mainly
economic. In January 1949, it announced the formation of the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (Comecon), which bound the east European states even more closely to the Soviet
Union. The creation of NATO raised huge security concerns in the Soviet Leadership as the
USSR was, at most, only a regional power, whereas the USA was already clearly established as a
global superpower.

The victory of the Chinese communists which led to the creation of the People’s Republic of
China in October 1949 did little to even up the relationship of the opposing forces in the Cold
War as China was economically and militarily weak and needed Soviet assistance. This meant
that China was not a comparable ally in the same way that Britain and France were for the USA.
This left the USSR a much weaker superpower than the USA.

To What Extent did Relations between the Two Camps Fluctuate in the Period 1949-68/?
In October 1949 with the creation of the Communist People’s Republic of China led by Mao
Zedong and then the start of the Korean War in 1950, the Cold War tensions shifted from Europe
to Asia. After the Berlin crisis of 1948-49 and the formation of NATO in April 1949, Soviet
nationalism increased in the USSR and generated a desire to cut off the Soviet block from all
Western influences.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 371

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union followed a dual-track foreign policy while consolidating its
control of the eastern European satellites; it also tried to limit the polarization of Europe into two
opposing Cold War Camps. During this time, Stalin kept a firm control over foreign policy-
especially as Molotov, who had been Soviet foreign minister and his closest adviser since 1939,
lost his position in 1949.

Attempts to Limit Cold War Polarization

Stalin attempted to limit the emerging arms race in 1949 by launching what became known as
“peace campaigns.” A petition known as the Stockholm Appeal eventually received 560 million
signatures. By this, Stalin hoped to put pressure on western government to reduce international
tensions created by the Cold War and to follow policies which would foster the continued
recovery of the Soviet Union.
Another Stalinist attempt was to suggest to the west that German be demilitarized, armies of
occupation be withdrawn and that the country be reunified as well and gain neutrality. Such a
plan was presented to the West in March 1952 in the form of “Stalin Notes.”
However some historians have suggested that these proposals were mainly propaganda ploys, in
that the USSR knew they would be rejected by the West since the start of the Korean War in
1950 actually increased Cold War tensions.
In fact, one outcome of the start of the Korean War was to persuade Truman to act on the policy,
document NSC 68. This was drawn up by the state and Defence Departments after Truman had
asked the national Security Council to reappraise the USA’s Cold War policy. It called for a
trebling of the USA’s defense budget so that the Soviet threat could be met anywhere in the
world. Hence the defence budget was increased from US13, 5 billion to US50 billion. In 1952,
plans were drawn up to increase NATO divisions from 14 to 50 and to establish US army, naval
and air force bases in Europe. Contrary to what Stalin was hoping to achieve the west decided to
rearm West Germany in case the Soviet Union would try to reunite it by force.
These developments increased Stalin’s fears and forced him to divert huge economic resources
from industrial reconstruction and development into defence expenditure. Given the USSR’s
relative economic weakness, this produced much more negative results in the Soviet economy
than US military spending did in the USA.

The “thaw”, (1953- 1955)

When Stalin died in March 1953, the new Soviet leadership attempted to “thaw” Cold War
tensions. This was one of the reasons why an agreement was signed in July 1953 to end the
fighting in Korea. Soviet willingness for peace saw them pressuring North Korea to stop.
Eisenhower’s desire for peace as well, rather than victory, represented a significant change in
relations. As early as 1952 Malenkov called for “peaceful co-existence” and in 1953 Soviet
internal affairs minister, Beria spoke of Germany being reunified and becoming a neutral state.
This thaw continued despite the escalation of the nuclear arms race, which took the form of the
explosion of the first Hydrogen bomb in November 1952 by the USA, with the USSR following
suit in July 1953. According to some historians, 1953 can be seen, as the end of the first Cold
War and the period 1953- 1968/69 as one of fluctuating relations between the two superpowers
in which attempts to lessen confrontation and reach agreement were periodically frustrated by
the emergence of new tensions and crises.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 372

Study Guides
i) Explain how the attitudes of the USA and the USSR in 1945 help cause the Cold War.
ii) By what methods, and with what success, did the USA attempt to contain Communism
between 1945 and 1949?
iii) Who was to blame the USA or the USSR for the outbreak of the Cold War.?

A Comparative Analysis:

THE COLD WAR OUTSIDE EUROPE

Why did the USA get involved in Vietnam?

We have seen that US policy towards the Soviet Union and Communism had been based on the
Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment since 1947. This policy was further entrenched
after Mao and the Communists came to power in China in October 1949. However, Truman was
only prepared to make a military stand in Asia along what was known as the defensive per-
meter.
US policy regarding the Asian mainland, including south-east Asia, was to give economic aid to
anti-Communists forces. Indochina ad especially Vietman were seen as vital in blocking
Communist access to the region. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 was a turning
point in US policy towards Vietman. Once North Korea began its invasion of the South, Truman
and Dulles quickly began to implement the NSC 68 proposal as Truman and his administration
believed that the USA and the west, could not afford to lose significantly more population,
territory and resources to the other side.’

Why did US involvement in Vietman increase after 1964?

Johson and escalation

By the time of J.F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963 the Viet Cong were in control of
more than half of rural South Vietnam. They already controlled North Vietnam. In the cities,
they launched a terrorist campaign against government officials and police commanders. When
President Lyndon Johnson took over after Kennedy’s death he was determined to step up US
involvement in the war in order to prevent South Vietnam falling to communist.
What gave Johnson the excuse to “flush out” the communists was an incident which took place
in August 1964. A US battleship, the Destroyer” was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, in North
Vietnamese waters. Johnson took this incident as a basis to bomb the North’s rural bases, even
though no state of war had been declared. The US congress was then persuaded to pass the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which gave the president the power to “take all necessary steps,
including the use of the armed force as he saw fit without further consulting congress.
In March 1965, US bombers were flying regular massive bombing missions against the North, in
a campaign known as Operation Rolling Thunder, and thus the conflict between the USA and the
Viet Cong escalated into full-blown war.
In March the president sent US ground troops to initially protect the US air base at Da nang.
Then in July he ordered 180 000 US troops to go into South Vietnam. By 1968, the number of
US troops in Vietnam was 540 000. Although the arrival of such large numbers of American
soldiers helped prevent the total collapse of the concept, South Vietnamese military regime

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 373

headed by General Thieu, the increasingly heavy fighting did not succeed in destroying the Viet
Cong.

The US bombing of both North and South Vietam is estimated to have dropped more bombs on
North Vietnam in three years than the total number of bombs dropped on Germany, Italy and
Japan during the whole of the Second World War.
The Viet Cong aided by equipment and troops from North Vietnam with itself receiving military
equipment from the Soviet Union were able to survive by digging a vast network of underground
tunnels. Furthermore, the vast experience of the Viet Cong in guerilla warfare meant they
frequently outmaneuver the US troops.
Unable to match the expertise of the Viet Cong in setting up ambushes and body traps, US
military commanders decided to rely more on their massive fire-power advantage.
In addition to traditional bombing the USA made heavy use of napalm- an inflammable jelly
which was put in bombs and when they explode, the flaming petrol spreads widely and sticks to
anything it touches. When it was discovered that victims jumped into water to try to put out the
flames, phosphorous was added so that the jelly would continue to burn even under water. Many
Vietnamese civilians and soldiers were horribly burnt or killed. Defoliants such as Agant orange
as well as anti-personnel bombs were also widely used. They, however, frequently killed
civilians and caused mounting opposition to US involvement and tactics, both in Vietnam and
abroad, including in the USA itself.

The Tet Offensive, (January 1968)

The lack of success being achieved by US tactics was shown dramatically in January 1968.
During the Tet religious festival. Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops launched a massive
attack against many towns and US military bases across South Vietnam. They even attacked the
US embassy in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The Communists hoped that this would
spark off an urban insurrection in the South, but this did not happen. For the next three months,
there was intense and bitter fighting, as the USA attempted to recapture the towns taken in
January. By the end of March 1968, over 50 000 Communist troops had been killed and virtually
all their gains had been lost.
Despite this, the Tet Offensive turned out to be a turning point in the Vietnam War. Though in
the short term it proved to be a defeat for the Communists, in the long term it marked the
beginning of reappraisal in the USA of its involvement in the War.
Some of Johnson’s advisers such Dean Acheson, began to think that USA could not prevent the
Communists from winning in the south. The Tet Offensive showed that the USA was far from
achieving a victory and that the Communist’s resistance was as determined as ever. Many US
politicians became disillusioned with the war and the anti-war movement in the USA grew
considerably.

Why did the USA decide to withdraw from Vietnam?

1.The negative publicity which the war received back home, coupled with the rising casualty
forced the US to withdraw from the war.
2.The coming to power of Richard Nixon, a Republican candidate, taking over from the
Democrats, meant a total change of policy somewhat. Nixon had no option but to go with the
current tide of public opinion.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 374

3.More practically, Nixon decided on a policy of Vietnamisation of the war. This involved
putting more of the burden of fighting the war on to the South Vietnamse army by withdrawing
US troops: US financial aid, however, continued. In April 1969, the number of US troops in
South Vietnam was 543 000; by 1971, Nixon had reduced this figure to 157 000.
4.US atrocities in Vietnam were exposed and this increased the anti-War sentiments and protests.
For instance, in March 1968, the US “search and destroy” mission led by Lieutenant William
Calley, massacred about 400 civilians, mostly children and old men and women in the small
village of My Lai in South Vietnam. The revelations increased anti-war sentiments and
protests, especially after it emerged that the My Lai Massacre was not an isolated incident.

What effect did the Vietnam War have on US foreign policy after 1975?
The failure of the USA to win the war in Vietnam and the fact that a nation from the developing
World had forced the world’s mostly powerful superpower to withdraw- was a deep shock for
US politicians and public alike.

Not only had the war cost $150 billion more than 55 000 soldiers had been killed and many more
were seriously wounded or maimed. Despite all this, South Vietnam had been lost to
Communism as had the neighboring states of Laos and Cambodia.

More disturbing as far as containment was concerned was the fact that these Communist
successes were seen to be as much the result of popular support as of the “outside pressure.”
Consequently, Nixon and his chief adviser Henry Kissinger decided to pursue the new policy of
détente as regards the Communist world. Kissinger argued that the USA was focusing too much
on Communist activity in one area of the world at the expense of the total global balance of
power. He also saw that the world had shifted from a bi-polar international situation-when the
USSR and the USA were the two superpowers to a multi-polar situation were two or three
powers emerged.

The rift between the Soviet Union and China presented new opportunities for developing US
foreign policy. This approach was continued by Nixon’s successors, Ford and Carter, until the
end of the1970s. The defeat in Vietnam also contributed to a US reluctance to commit its own
troops to other developing-world conflicts. The USSR took advantage of this during the
remainder of the 1970s to attempt to increase its influence in those parts of the world where it
was weak especially in the Middle East and Africa.

Study Guides
i) What challenges were there to Soviet domination over Eastern Europe during the period 1950-
80?
ii) At the end of the Korean War both sides ended up more or less back at the 38th parallel. What,
if anything did each side gain from the war?
iii) Why did Soviet control over Eastern Europe crumble in 1989?
iv) Who or what was responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991?
v) How successful was the “Brezhnev Doctrine”?
vi)Why did the USA believe that the USSR had gained a technological advantage in the 1950s?
vii) Why did East-West relations change between 1948 and 1962?
viii) Why did America get involved in the Vietnam War?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 375

The Cuban missile crisis: (1962)

ORIGINS

The USA was seriously worried about Castro’s agrarian Reform Law of May 1959. Not only did
it limit all estates to 1000 acres- but it said that foreigners would no longer be allowed to own
Agricultural land in Cuba of Particular concern was the fact that Castro appointed Nunez
Jimenez, a Communist, as head of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA). The USA
began to see Castro, with his plans for land, health and welfare reforms as pure Communist
reforms in their back-yard.

Eventually Castro, from 1959 onwards strengthened his position by announcing that neutrality
was the only realistic position for developing states in the Cold War. This was a clear rejection of
US influence over Cuba.

With Cuba exiles already flying bombing missions from Florida and firing sugar-cane fields,
Castro accused the USA of plotting the return of Batista, the ousted dictator. During the 1960s
tensions increased when Castro ordered the American-owned oil refineries in Cuba to process
Soviet crude oil, which was cheaper than the oil normally purchased from Venezuela. When they
refused to do so, hence breaking Cuban law, Castro then nationalized the US oil companies.

In response, Eisenhowever suspended the Cuban sugar quota within the USA in December.
Castro responded by nationalizing almost all US-owned companies in Cuba and the USA placed
an embargo on virtually all trade to Cuba. In February 1960, Cuba had signed a trade agreement
with the USSR which gave Cuba $100 million credit for the purchase of equipment while the
Soviet Union promised to purchase 2 million tones of sugar a year for the next four years. Castro
further upset the USA by concluding a trade agreement with Communist China.

Later in 1960, Castro began a general programme of nationalization of the Cuban economy and,
in response to his government’s growing fears about the possibility of imminent counter-
revolution and invasion, many political freedoms were withdrawn, most notably, freedom of the
press. During this Castro, although not a member himself-came to rely increasingly on the Cuban
Communist party to provide administrators for his reform programmes.

In March 1960, the CIA persuaded Eisenhowever to approve the training of an invasion force of
right-wing Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. Training began in earnest in July based in
Guatemala. These exiles were given US weapons and training. The USA were further angered
when, in September 1960, Cuba became the first Latin American state to establish diplomatic
relations with Mao’s China.

As Castro moved closer and closer to the Soviet bloc, Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations
with Cuba in January 1961. A small island in the USA’s “backyard” seemed to be offering a
direct challenge to the USA’s containment policy and thus became an important factor in the
Cold War. By mid-1961, Castro had established diplomatic and trade relations with every

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 376

Communists state, including both North Korea and North Vietnam. The stage for clashes with
the USA, and even the US- USSR hot war, was set!

The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

Though US plans to invade and overthrow Castro clearly failed following the failure of the
invasion at the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy and the CIA were still determined to overthrow Castro
because he represented the success of Communism right in the backyard of the USA.

Fearing another US- backed invasion. Castro appealed to Khrushchev for protection. From May
1962 Soviet weapons deliveries to Cuba increased dramatically. Castro’s request came at a time
when the Soviet Union was becoming increasingly concerned about the nuclear missiles which
the USA had placed in Turkey on the Black Sea Coast close to the Soviet Union. Khrushchev
was also worried in general about the “Nussle gap” between the USSR and the USA.

During a visit to Bulgaria in May 1962, Khrushchev began to consider how placing Soviet
missiles in Cuba might serve a dual purpose, Castro would get the protection he had requested
against US aggression while the Soviet Union would be able to counter the threat posed by the
US missiles in Turkey with a similar threat against the USA. By September 1962, the Soviet
Union had began to install and equip missile sites in Cuba as well as increase the number of
tanks bombers and fighters supplied to Castro’s armed forces. There were soon over 5 000 Soviet
technicians and engineers working on the missile sites which were, however, under Soviet, not
Cuban Control. The total Soviet presence on Cuba eventually reached 42 000.

On 11 September, Kennedy warned Khrushchev that the USA would prevent the installation of
Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba by “whatever means might be necessary.” Khrushchev replied
that the Soviet Union had no intention of providing such missiles for Cuba.

Khrushchev felt able to take such a risky step as the crisis over Berlin had subsided after the
building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, thus leaving him free to concentrate on other problems.
More importantly, the failure over Berlin led him to seek a success elsewhere. However, these
Soviet short and intermediate-range missiles were seen by Kennedy as altering the strategic
balance of forces in a region long seen as being a US sphere of influence.

On 14 October, a US U-2 spy-plane flew over Cuba and came back with photos of an
intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) site being constructed in Cuba. These missiles, with
a range of over 1 600 km, turned most of US cities into potential targets. Hence on 24 October
18 Soviet ships possibly containing missile warheads were stopped or turned back just before
reaching the limit set by the USA.
The risk of nuclear War breaking out was increased when the USA announced that, if the
missiles were not removed at once, Cuba would be invaded. On 25 October, the US began to put
into effect plans for an airstrike against the missile site, to take place on 29 or 30 October.
Castro, together with some Soviet generals, urged Khrushchev to launch some missiles in order
to prevent the threatened US invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev, however, rejected these calls and
instead on 26 October sent a letter to Kennedy. This letter offered the withdrawal of Soviet
missiles from Cuba and promised no more would be sent if the USA would lift its blockade of
Cuba and promise not to invade the island. Then on 27 October, without having had a response

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 377

from the USA, Khrushchev sent a second letter with different demands. This time, the Soviet
Union offered to remove its missiles from Cuba if the USA would reciprocate by removing its
own Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Khrushchev further suggested that this could be done through
the UN. This presented difficulties for the US since had never publicly admitted it had missiles
in Turkey.
Eventually the USA gave the Soviet Union an ultimatum that Soviet missiles should be removed
from Cuba by 28 October in return for the removal of US missiles in Turkey in future.
Khrushchev accepted the compromise, thus ending the crisis.

Results of the crisis

1.The end of what proved, for 13 days, to be the most serious crisis of the entire Cold War was
portrayed by the West as a victory for Kennedy and a defeat for Khrushchev. In April 1963, the
US missiles were removed, but the American public were not told until 1969. Infact, the Soviet
Union gained very little from the deal on US missiles, as the USA had already decided to
remove them as land-based sites had been made absolute by the introduction of SLBMs
(Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles) which were much more difficult to detect and
destroy.

2.The Cuban Missile Crisis undoubtedly played a part in Khrushchev’s removal from power in
1964 the same time Khrushchev’s agreements confirmed the Chinese communists belief that
he was unwilling to stand up to the USA. The Chinese therefore continued to develop their
own independent foreign policy, thus widening the split in the world communist movement the
Sino- Soviet split.

3.In Western Europe, there was anger at how little the USA had consulted its allies during this
emergency, despite the risk that any conflict between the USA and the USSR would probably
have involved other NATO members. France, in particular, was resentful and this was one of
the reasons why de Gaulle eventually decided to withdraw France from NATO and tried to
encourage the rest of Western Europe to adopt an independent foreign policy.

4.Both sides had been shocked by how close they had come to a nuclear third world war over
Cuba, and were determined to avoid such serious tensions in future. A hotline” telephone was
installed between the Kremlin and the White House so that the leaders could communicate
quickly and directly with each other during any future crisis.

5.The crisis helped bring a partial thaw in East-West relations. In what came to be seen as the
first step towards halting the nuclear arms race, the Soviet Union and the USA signed the
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in August 1963. Although it did not limit or reduce the building and
deployment of nuclear weapons, it did attempt to control the testing of such devices. The
Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, though drawn up, was not actually
signed until 1969 during the era of definite. However, from 1962 the Cold War conflict
remained confined to the Third World.

Study Guides
i) Did the outcome of the Cuban missile crisis reflect a victory for both the USA and the USSR?

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 378

ii) Was The USSR at any point equal to or better than the USA in nuclear technology between
1945 and 1964?
iii) Consider the arguments for and against the claim that Stalin’s foreign policy towards Europe
was defensive.
iv) To what extent can Truman’s foreign policy be considered a major cause of the development
of the Cold War between 1945 and 1950?

Examination type questions

1.Were Soviet economic and political manoeuvres in Eastern Europe between 1945 and 1949
more offensive than defensive?
2.Why did the Cold War spread to the Third World in the 1960s and 1970s?
3.“The Marshall Plan caused the division of Europe and thus the Cold War.” Discuss this
assertion.
4.“The Cold War in Europe was caused by the superpowers’ misjudgment and misunderstanding
of each other.” How far do you agree with this view?

Key references
1. Gaddis JL.- We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.
2. Kent J.-International Relations since 1945.
3. Lundersad G.- East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International
Politics sine 1945.
4. Philips- S The Cold War.
5. Todd A - Democracies and Dictatorships: Europe and the World 1919-1989.
6. Williamson D- Europe and the Cold War; 1945-1991

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 379

 CHAPTER 33
DECOLONISATION AFTER THE SECOND WORLD
WAR
Chapter objectives
By the end f this chapter, students should be able to:
1.Define decolonization.
2.Explain the key factors which enabled Decolonization to take place after WWII.
3.Explain the models for interpreting the history of decolonization
4.Describe the rise of nationalism after the WWII.
5.Assess the impact of the methods used to achieve decolonization-diplomacy and warfare.
6.Compare and contrast the models of decolonization in Asia and Africa.
7.Account for the “winds of change” across the continent of Africa- whether it was spontaneous
or not.
8.Explain the importance of Pan-Africanism in decolonization.
9.Explain the varying degrees of success from region to region and from colony to colony.
10.Explain why Britain was more eager to decolonize than France.

A number of questions need to be asked in order to fully assess the causes, course and even
results of decolonization:
1.Why did decolonization take place?
2.Why did the process begin after 1945?
3.In what ways did British and French approaches to decolonization differ?
4.What external factors influenced the process of decolonization? Cold War? Revolutionary
movements?
5.How similar and how different were the outcomes of decolonization
a)For the colonial powers, whether big or small
b)For the newly independent states whether in Africa or Asia.

In explaining the process decolonization, it is perhaps more analytical and even appropriate at
Advanced level to adopt a model already developed by historians Robinson Ronald and Win
Roger Louis. The causes are actually ascribed to three levels
i)The international level
ii)The National Level (Colonial Powers)
iii)The Local Level (The Colonies).

Changes on the International Level: Superpowers

The Second World War meant a sharp reduction in the international influence of the traditional
colonial powers. There was a relative shift of power away from Britain, France and the smaller
European colonial nations to the two superpowers, the limited states and the Soviet Union. They
were both characterized by an anti-colonial heritage and would accelerate the process of
decolonization, in their own separate ways.

The principle on which Washington’s attitude was based were clear enough. The existence of
colonies conflicted with the right to national self-determination. As the United States had once

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 380

torn itself loose from Britain, it was inevitable that other colonies would also attain their
freedom. It was the Americans’ duty to quicken this process of decolonization.

In the first instance, the United States was the first country to free its own colony, the
Philippines, and such an example was bound to influence her partners in doing the same.

In the second place, the US attitude helped establish a foundation for changes in the policies of
the more traditional colonial powers such as Britain and France. The USA encouraged the
introduction of reforms in the colonies. In a number of limited cases, the USA actually applied
some pressure on some colonial powers to set steps for granting independence to the colonies.
This was the case in 1948/49 when Washington threatened to halt all economic and military
assistance to the Dutch. This was an important factor behind the Dutch’s decision to grant
independence to Indonesia.

In the third place, the liberation movements played on the attitude and powerful position of the
United States. One of many examples of this was that the Vietnamese independence declaration
of 2 September 1945 followed the US declaration of independence of 1776 in several respects.
This was an attempt to engage the USA on the side of the Vietnamese. Just as France was an
important power in European politics and the liberation of movement in Vietnam was under
communist leadership, US pressure here was much weaker than the Netherlands regarding
Indonesia.
On the other hand, the influence of the Soviet Union on the struggles for independence was also
many-faceted. Moscow’s policy line was clearly anti-colonial. All colonies had to be granted
independence. Lenin had proclaimed that imperialism was the highest stage of capitalism. Local
communists were often among those who were most active in the struggle for liberation.

If armed struggle took place, the Soviet Union could supply weapon partially in order to spread
communism to the prospective independent state. Thus Moscow influenced the actions of the
colonial powers both through its policies and by its mere existence.

The National Level: Changes within the Colonial Powers

After 1945, major changes took place in the colonial powers’ capacity and willingness to retain
the colonies. Their capacity was influenced by their weakened international position, especially
economic problems. Many politicians as well as segments of public opinion changed their
attitudes towards colonies altogether, and even larger groups no longer wanted to use force to
retain forms of rule that violated the ideals they claimed to uphold in their own countries.

British policies
One theory of decolonization was that it was more or less a logical process that would inevitably
result in the dismantling of the colonial empires. This process had actually begun with the
achievement of US independence from Britain in the 1770s and 1780s. The United States was
followed by the white dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The eventual independence of India in 1947 in a way opened the floodgates for the independence
of non-white colonies. What Britain had begun, others had to complete: the Netherlands, France,
Belgium and finally Portugal as well.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 381

In February 1947, Prime Minister Attlee declared that Britain would withdraw from India by
June 1948. In reality, events would unfold even more rapidly. Because of pressure from the
Congress Party leaders in India and Britain’s strained economy India was declared independent
already in August 1947. The Attlee administration also had to abandon attempts to keep India
unified. Pakistan was partitioned off as a separate country. Hindus opposed Muslims a division
the British had previously tried to exploit through the tactic of “divide and rule” Burma and
Ceylon, too, became independent in 1947-48.

Events in India in turn acted as a great source of inspiration for future events in Africa. The first
of a series sporadic Pan-African Congresses were held as early as 1900. Later at the sixth Pan-
African Congress in Manchester in October 1945, African delegates constitute the majority in
relation to the American Negroes. The conference approved a highly radical programme:
complete independence for a unified Africa based n a socialist economy. One of the participants
of the conference was Kwame Nkrumane. A unified Africa was an unrealistic demand so was a
unified West Africa Nkrumane returned to the Gold Coast to lead the struggle for independence
there.

GHANA
A revolt in 1948 stimulated the demand for independence. In 1949 Nkrumah founded a new
political party, the Convention People’s Party, which pressed for dominion status. This party
employed methods that had been developed by the nationalist leaders in India. Like them,
Nkrumah landed in jail, but as had been the case for the Indian leaders, that did not diminish his
popularity. In 1951 his party won an overwhelming election victory. The British had either to
make concessions or to resort to harsher measures. In many ways, the outcome was obvious. In
1957 the Gold Coast, under the name Ghana, became the first of the new independent nations of
West Africa Nigeria followed suit in 1960.

Hence the independence of West Africa moved fairly quickly partly because the white
community residing there was small and there was no need to resist constitutional methods of
petition and pleas for independence.

The British and conservative circles in particular, perceived great differences between West and
East Africa. In East Africa the white minority was larger and the level of cultural and economic
development among the Africans not as advanced as in Wet Africa. In areas such as Kenya and
Southern Rhodesia, the settlers had a particularly strong position, and there had been a
substantial amount of immigration after 1945. Thus the white population in Kenya rose from
12000 in 1945 to more than 50 000 ten years later. In southern Rhodesia, the corresponding
figures were 20 000 and 80 000. As late as April 1959, colonial secretary Alan Lennox Boyd
stated that he was unable to envisage a time when it will be possible for any British Government
to surrender the ultimate responsibilities for the destines and well-being of Kenya.”

However, the process leading to independence continued to accelerate. Sudan had acquired its
independence as early as in 1955, but was considered an exception as the country had formally
been governed by a British Egyptian government.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 382

Conservative British governments wanted to build up federations practically controlled by whites
in East and Central Africa. Even so, Tanganyika’s independence in 1961 was succeeded by
Uganda’s 1963. The federation that was actually established further south was short-lived.
Malawi and Zambia became independent nations in 1964. Thus Southern Rhodesia was the
remaining colony.

In 1965, the white minority under Ian Smith declared themselves “independent” in an attempt to
half developments towards a majority government. Even in southern Rhodesia, however,
retaining white control proved hopeless. The major Western powers applied political and
economic pressure to the country, and the nationalist movement grew steadily stronger. In 1979-
80, Southern Rhodesia attained independence under the name Zimbabwe. Hence a combination
of diplomatic pressure (including sanctions) and a stinging local guerrilla war forced the
realization of independence in southern Rhodesia.

South Africa had acquired dominion status as early as in 1909. Particularly after 1948, Pretoria
put up a strict apartheid system between the white minority and the black majority. The country
also had control over the previously German colony of Namibia. South Africa became subject to
strong international condemnation and withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961. The struggle
against the racist regime increased both within South Africa and abroad in the Automn of 1989,
F W. de Klerk became president, and put an end to most aspects of apartheid and initiated
dialogue with the released African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela. Namibia
attained independence in 1990. During the course of 1993-94 the process leading to majority rule
was completed and Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa. Again international
pressure was at the core of the removal of apartheid.

French policies

French colonial policies were quite different from those of Britain.

Instead of decentralization, with local assembles which gradually received more power, the
French model was based on Paris as its centre with a strong governor general as the capital’s
local representative. Whereas the British policy gradually led to a considerable degree of local
autonomy, finally culminating in full independence, France’s attitude was that the local
population was gradually to be assimilated within French culture, thus in theory attaining rights
as French subjects within a French union. This union was still to be controlled from Paris, but the
local populations would be increasingly better represented in the National Assembly there.

In the defence of French great power status, of French culture and long-range assimilation, the
French used harsher means of controlling their colonies than the British. The French too, realized
that the Second World War was bound to produce major changes in relations between mother
country and colonies. As a result, they expanded their educational facilities to encompass more
Africans’ there was to be an end to forced labour and the Africans were to be granted greater
electoral influence. These reforms would create a new foundation for permanent French rule.
Hence they thus declared through the Brazzaville conference of 1944; “Any idea of autonomy
any possibility of evolution outside the French block as well as the eventual, even far-off
constitution of self-government in the colonies must be set aside.”

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 383

Not surprising therefore, even many African leaders such as Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory
Coast, long pursued a policy of placing greater emphasis on having a voice in Paris than on local
independence. Decolonization under French rule in most cases therefore tended to result from the
use of military force in the colonies. Such was the case in Indochina (Vietnam) in 1954 when the
French suffered a political and military defeat to be confirmed by the Geneva conference that
same year.

African colonies: France

The stark contrast presented by the newly independent states under Britain presented French
nationalists with models which they could emulate. Egypt which formally got independence in
1952 presented a strong contrast to French nationalists in Tunisia and Morocco, which eventually
got their independence in 1956.

The French hard-line approach had to be relaxed seeing examples of the British colonies getting
independent in their neighborhood. They had to grant concessions even to Togo as well which
was under the United Nations trusteeship system.

France’s most uncompromising stand was made in relation to Algeria. This areas was still
considered an integrated part of France itself and French policy fluctuated between harsh
repression of the Arab majority and attempts at assimilation. The French minority of about 10
percent of the population owned the best land and controlled the most important sectors of the
economy. They firmly resisted any development that might reduce their dominance.

The nationalist movement, the Front for the Liberation of Algeria had no option but to take up
arms against French colonial domination. But French settlers were immediately backed by their
government, led by democrat Guy Mollett.

However, decolonization assumed a new role under French administration after de Gaulle rose to
power in 1958. The government drew up sections of the constitution that were to transform the
French Union into the French community. The colonies were given the choice between
independence or continued close co-operation with France, with local autonomy. Surprisingly,
with the exception of Guinea, which thus became the first independent Black Country in French
Africa, all the colonies chose the latter alternative.

The new French community “communicate” was to have a joint foreign policy and a joint
defense policy, as well as a common economic policy for the most part. In theory, these common
policies were to be determined by an executive body consisting of the presidents from all the
member states. In reality, the French viewpoint was usually decisive. On the more symbolic
level, French remained the official language, the “Marseillaise.” the national anthem and the
French tricolor the common flag.

However, this system was replaced by formal independence in 1960. There were many reasons
for this rapid course of development from 1959 to 1960.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 384

The example of Guinea was one reason; British decolonization was another and internal rivalry
among several of the colonies in French West Africa was another reason de Gaulle was
eventually forced to grant Algeria complete independence in 1962. However, it is significant to
note that even after decolonization, the ties between the French and her former colonies
remained close for a long time, closer than between London and the former British colonies. This
was because the French policy of assimilation tended to absorb the colonies into departments of
France.
Study Guides
i) How did the Second World War change British and French attitudes towards colonialism?
ii) How did the involvement in the Second World War strengthen the resolve of the colonies to
liberate themselves from colonial rule?
iii) Why did India decolonise so rapidly and yet some African countries only got independence
in the 1960s to the 1980s?
iv) Why, in general, did British decolonization in Africa begin later than in Asia and then
proceed so rapidly?
v) Why were there differences in the pace of decolonization under the British and under the
French during the same period?
vi) What effects did the Cold War have on decolonization?
vii) How important are the following themes in understanding the character of French
decolonization:
War?
Violence?
Nationalism?
Communism?
Economic Interests?

Portugal and Belgium

Belgian policy in the Congo has often been described as paternalistic. Through a general
improvement in the standard of living, the Belgians hoped to postpone political demands if such
ever arose.

The Belgians considered themselves far more conscientious than other colonialists, as in fact
they were, in many ways. In 1955 the Belgian authorities proclaimed that 10 percent of the
Congoese population attended school (just basic education) while the corresponding figures were
7percent in Ghana, 6 percent in India and 3 percent in French Equatorial Africa. However, there
were only 16 Africans with university education in all of the Congo in 1990. This naturally
caused more problems than peace for the Belgians. The process of decolonization moved very
quickly once the Belgians showed signs of military revolt in 1959.

They wanted to maintain strong ties with the Congo and continue to benefit from its vast
resources. She was not therefore willing to use excessive force to retain herself in the Congo.
Belgium immediately backed the moderate forces for independence in the Congo and hostility
dismantled its political administration there. The new state contained many ethnic groups and
languages, and the governing bodies soon collapsed. Five years of unrest ensured until the
country achieved a sort of stability under the leadership of General Mobutu Sese Seko.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 385

The Portuguese on the other hand were less affected by the general trend of decolonization than
the Belgians were. Lisbon tried to pursue the French policy of assimilation even further than
Paris did. The Portuguese colonies were still integrated parts of the mother country. Politically,
the Africans would be allowed to participate when they had attained a specified standard of
“civilization.”

Portugal’s colonial policy was closely linked to her domestic situation at home. In a dictatorship,
spreading ideas of freedom and a gradual build-up of self-government were inconceivable.
Decolonization could mean the collapse of the Salazar regime. But the costs of retaining control
were tremendous as the independence movements grew stronger. Thus Portugal’s colonial policy
was much of the reason for the fall of the regime in 1974.

Guinea-Bissau became independence in 1974 and Angola and Mozambique followed in 1975.
Decolonization therefore followed the fall of the autocratic regime of Salazar in 1974. This
envigorated the liberation movements in the colonies. The fact that Portugal was a poor colonial
master with limited resources to sustain armed confrontations in the colonies only made the
dawn of independence more certain.

Why different attitudes?

There were many reasons and for the differences in colonial powers’ attitudes. The most
significant factor was perhaps the relation between the colonial policy and the dominant
ideologies in the mother country.

1.Britain had a feasible pattern for its colonial policies: the key was decentralization, as much as
possible. A lot of authority was granted to local chiefs or rulers. This meant that the white
dominions could almost at least foresee the goal of eventual self-government by Africans
taking place. The ultimate transfer of power was therefore something that was undramatic for
the British

In contrast, France was caught up in a vicious circle in several areas. Partly due to its
unwillingness to grant independence, Paris had to face radical liberation movements. This was
most evident in Indochina and to a lesser extent, in Algeria. Radical movements meant that
France in turn became even more determined in its policies. Thus developments in certain
colonies reinforced themselves.

2.The British governments were also far more viable than the French. Dismantling colonial rule
required strong governments, particularly in areas where substantial interests were linked to the
maintenance of the status quo, such as in Algeria and in some of the British colonies in Central
and East Africa. It was easier for British governments to resist the pressure from settlers and
their supporters, than it was for the rapidly changing French governments. However, de
Gaulle’s rise to power paved the way, for the final decisions regarding decolonization.

3. Considerations of prestige and great power politics were other factors influencing the attitudes
of the colonial powers. Rivalry among the European powers had been a central factor in the

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 386

 establishment of the colonial empires. This rivalry had ceased. Both Britain and France were
nations on the wane in an international perspective. The colonies were now seen partly
necessary in order to defend their roles as the third and fourth ranking major powers in the
world.
Britain’s international influence was clearly stronger than that of France. Thus it was easier for
Britain to make concessions to demands for independence. France, on the other hand, had a
tremendous need to re-establish its prewar status to some extent. Paris was largely unwilling to
make accessions to its colonies. If a war had broken out, it had to be won. Because France lost in
Indochina, it had to fight all the harder in Algeria.

4. The countries’ relationship with the United States were also significant. Washington’s stance
had greater impact in London than in Paris because Britain’s relations with the USA were
much closer than France’s. The closer a country was to an anti-colonial USA the more it
quickly embraced the concept of decolonization, and vice versa.

5. The colonies had varying significance for the different mother countries. The British economy
was only dependent on the colonies to a slight degree. For example, in 1938, only 8,5per cent
of their exports went to the colonies, and 12,5per cent of their exports accounted for almost
one-third of both exports and imports. Where settlers were numerous and the economic
interests especially great, such as in Southern Rhodesia for Britain, and in Algeria for France,
this was a factor that delayed independence. The white minority consistently opposed plans to
transfer power to the local majority.

6. However, it gradually became clear to the colonial powers that independence did not
necessarily entail such great changes in relation between mother country and colony.
Economic, military, political ties could still persist. The greater the chance of this happening,
the easier it was to grant political independence. There could be advantages to not having to
spend large sums of money to retain administrative control. Independence would also mean
that the colonial power would be spared from having sole responsibility for local development
programmes.
The maintenance of close ties with the mother country was also a condition for the changes that
took place in French colonial policy in the years 1958-60. In Africa south of the Sahara, in
Morocco and in Tunisia, the French largely succeeded in retaining the new nations’ orientation
towards France. The former smaller colonial powers, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and
Portugal had difficulties in maintaining the former ties. They were simply not strong enough,
neither economically nor militarily.

The local level: independence movements grow stronger

The Three Stages

The historian Geoffrey Barracough has divided the struggle for independence into three stages
that can be identified in the course of development of many of the colonies.

1. Proto-nationalism: This was what dominated the first stage. During this period colonial rule
was accepted, but new social groups and political movements emerged these strove for reforms
within this system.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 387

The Congress Party was established in India in 1885, but until 1905 it was largely a debate forum
for a narrow upper class. British civilization was considered superior. The most important
demands for reform included limited local autonomy and more job opportunities for educated
Indians. Similar movements were established in important African colonies such as the Gold
Coast, Nigeria and Tunisia around 1920.

2. “The rise of a new leadership” was identified by Barraelough as the second stage.
Nationalism, here, began to gain ground in a growing middle class. The demands the new
leaders made on the colonial power were expanded substantially, and independence was
considered at least a future goal. This stage was well before the Second World War and
nationalist associations were still far from being mass movements.

3. The third stage was a nationalist movement with “a mass following” working actively to
achieve independence. Nationalist movements grew so strong that the use of force had to be
stepped up in order to maintain the colonial system. Whereas the colonial power had formerly
been able to play the masses off against the narrow social groups that led these, movements
this was now more difficult, although there were still many who were not directly engaged in
the political struggle. Again India serves as the model. Under Gandhi’s leadership, from 1920
onwards the Indian Congress Party established clear lines from the political centre to India’s
tens of thousands of rural villages. The objective was now clearly independence. In Nigeria,
the third stage occurred in 1951. In the Gold Coast, the second phase and the beginning of the
third phase almost converged during the years 1947-49.

Thus, the stages were not equally distinct everywhere. The process tended to extend over the
longest period of time in the British colonies. In the French colonies in Africa south of the
Sahara, the entire course of development could take a mere 10 to 20 years. In some instances it
went even more quickly. In the Belgian Congo, for instance, there were hardly any demands for
independence until 1955. Even then, local leaders thought that it might take 60 to 100 years
before the colony would become independent. This in practice, proved to be shorter.
Independence struggles sometimes even took as short as four to five years.

The Influence of International Events on Decolonization.

A number of events in various parts of the world contributed to the strengthening of the
independence movements or to the weakening of the mother countries. These two aspects are
difficult to keep entirely separate.

1. The Second World war the most important single factor. This war led to changes on the
international level, and it contributed to the creation of new attitudes towards the colonies in
their mother countries. Equally important were the changes the war brought about in the
colonies.
2. The occupation of some Asian colonial areas by Japan strengthened the move towards,
decolonization. New governing structures were created and psychological barriers broken
down. Partly to gather support against the allies and partly as a step on the way towards
Japanisation, the Japanese promoted nationalism in several areas. National leaders were given

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 388

 offices and to some extent power that they were certainly not prepared to relinquish when the
war was over. National languages were encouraged in Indonesia and Burma and national
armies established. Aung San in Burma and Roxas in the Philippines were given a huge
amount of self-government. This later fostered nationalism which eventually aided them in
achieving decolonization.
3. The liberation of Asia necessarily had substantial consequences for Africa as well. As the
historian D.A Low has stressed.” It is not financial to assert that many of the critical battles for
British colonial Africa were fought not on the banks of the Volta, the Niger, or the Zambezi,
but on the Ganges (India).” After all, four-fifths of the population of Britain’s colonial
territories lived in India. The floodgates were opened and the pattern established, not only for
the British colonies, but for all colonies.

The Role played by the Non-Aligned movement and OAU in decolonization.

NAM:
The question of co-operation with other liberated nations became highly relevant.

The first meeting among African and Asian countries was held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955.
All the independent countries from the two continents of Africa and Asia were represented, with
the exception of South Korea and Israel.

Western-oriented states such as Turkey, the Philippines and South Vietnam and Communist
nations such as China and North Vietnam all took part. The twenty-nine participants
concentrated their efforts on condemning colonialism emphasizing the need for economic growth
in the Third World and calling for a decrease in international tension based on the principles of
cooperation and peaceful co-existence.

The conferences of Non-Aligned Nations all concentrated on decolonization, economic

development and anti-bloc policies. The non-aligned countries raised concern about the countries
that still had to attain independence, such as Namibia and South Africa, the Palestinian problem
as well as the Falkland Islands where Argentine claims enjoys support. In 1982 the islands were
seized by Argentina but then re taken by British troops.

It is significant to note that although NAU as a body contributed very little practical aid towards
decolonization, their vocal stance gave moral support to those striving for independence and
helped to reshape the attitudes of the colonial masters towards a new political dispensation.

OAU- Organization of African Unity

The OAU was founded in 1963, August. Its main aim was to aid, more directly, the colonies
which were still fighting for independence. It probably made more relevant and effective inroads
towards the goal of independence. This was because the organization even organized military
training as well as arming the freedom fighters. The organization also actively campaigned for
the diplomatic isolation of South Africa. In such direct ways, decolonization was evidently
achieved.

Study Guides

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 389

i) How did the Second World War Weaken Dutch colonialism?
ii) Why was Portuguese decolonization so late and so violent?
iii) In what ways was decolonization:
a) A blessing in disguise for the colonial powers?
b) A paradise lost?

Examination type questions

1. Why did the process of decolonization appear relatively easier under British dominions than
under the French?
2. Explain the key factors which influenced the process of decolonization after 1945.
3. Assess the impact of decolonization on newly- independent states in the period from 1945 to
1991.
4. Why was the decolonization of British dominion quicker in most respects in Asia than in
Africa?
5. Looking at the immediate result of independence, was decolonization a disappointment for
Africans?

Key References
1. Betts RF. -Decolonisation
2. Kent J. -International Relations Since1945.
3. Lnderstad G. East, West, North, South:
Major Developments in International Politics since 1945.
4. Thorn G. -End of Empires:
European Decolonisation 1919-1980.

‘A’ Level European History Study Pack Page 390