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The years from 1815 to 1848 provided a much-needed respite from the endless wars of the Napoleonic Era. From 1799 to 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte rampaged through Europe, conquering a vast empire and spreading the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment and laws based on them (the Napoleonic Code). When a coalition of European powers finally managed to defeat him, all the rulers wanted to do was return Europe to “normal.” They didn't want Napoleon-style emperors marching their armies all over Europe, they didn't want legal equality among the classes, and they didn't want revolutions every few years. In short, they wanted stability, and the reorganization of Europe undertaken at the Congress of Vienna was aimed at creating that stability.
However, as much as the monarchs of Europe and their advisors wanted stability, there were several historical dynamics at the time that ensured the opposite. In Great Britain, the enclosure movement of the early 18th century had created a large, socially mobile labor force, leading to the Industrial Revolution in British manufacturing during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Industrial Revolution brought new wealth and influence to the Bourgeoisie class of entrepreneurs and manufacturers, in particular, who would soon demand increased political representation and power under the banner of laissez-faire economics.
The battle between the once dominant aristocracy and the rising Bourgeoisie would open a floodgate of reforms, and this process would soon be replicated in the rest of Western Europe.
During this period, a young intellectual movement called Romanticism, which was a response to the French Enlightenment’s rationalism, held sway in Germany, Britain, and France. Romanticism challenged the ideal of universal standards for all mankind, leading to the glorification of the unique “national genius” of each ethnic and linguistic group. This ideal contributed to the rise of nationalism from 1815 to 1848. Tired of existing as a loose federation, many people in the fragmented German states hoped for unification, as did the various Italian states. Numerous groups within the ethnically diverse Austrian Empire dreamed of forming their own nations. The possibility of nationalists achieving their goals greatly frightened the reactionary rulers of Europe, who knew how destabilizing these changes might be.
Thus, the years from 1815 to 1848, though not plagued by rampant wars, can be seen as a more subtle battle between conflicting worldviews. On one side were the powerful and entrenched members of the Old Regime, who opposed change of any kind. On the other side were the forces of change: the bourgeoisie created by the dynamics of the Industrial Revolution, liberals, socialists, republicans, radicals, romantics, and nationalists. The struggle of ideas erupted in various small-scale revolutions, first in 1830 and then in 1848. Although the revolutionaries were disappointed by the results, ultimately, change was on the way.
