The Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas

In 1848, the Austrian Empire under the Habsburgs was confronted with the combined effect of economic, social class, and nationalities conflicts. Within its boundaries lived Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Romanians, Serbs, Italians and Croats.

Revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary

:See also: History of Hungary

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Hungary, at just over half the land area of the Empire, at the time was a bit like the American South of the time: agricultural, backwards economically, controlled by a conservative elite, and soon to fight a war of independence that would eventually fail due to ethnic, linguistic, and religious splits.

Related Topics:
American South - Agricultural

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The Hungarians set out to form their own government, but restricted the new Pest Diet to speakers of Hungarian. This angered the Slavs and the Romanians who had their own desires for self-rule and saw no benefit in replacing one centralist government for another. Armed clashes between the Hungarians on the one hand and the Croats, Romanians, Serbs and Slovaks on the other hand ensued.

Related Topics:
Pest - Hungarian - Croats - Romanians - Serbs - Slovaks

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Croatia, the only province of the Hungarian Kingdom that already had some form of home rule, sided with the Habsburgs and severed relations with the new Hungarian government. Josip Jela?i?, who had become governor of Croatia in March, led an army into Hungary by September 1848. Hungarians filtered over from Italy; many women served, but independent Hungary progressively shrunk.

Related Topics:
Croatia - Home rule - Josip Jela?i?

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On the Serbian National Assembly in Sremski Karlovci in May, 1848, Serbs, aided by the Romanians and Croats, declared the unification of the regions of Srem, Banat, Ba?ka, and Baranja (including parts of the Military Frontier) into the province of Serbian Vojvodina and wanted to unite with the Turkish autonomus principality of Serbia. Hungarians were outraged by this declaration and their army confronted the Serbian army near Srbobran, where the Serbs and other peoples gained victory over Hungarians. Later Serbs and Croats reached an agreement to cooperate with Austria and Russia. Serbs gained their province, enlarged and much more ethnically diverse, containing more Germans and Romanians than Serbs. It was named the Vojvodina of Serbia and Tami? Banat and it was a big disappointment for the Serbian unity movement. Soon, both sides had successes of their own.

Related Topics:
Sremski Karlovci - Serbs - Romanians - Croats - Srem - Banat - Ba?ka - Baranja - Military Frontier - Serbian Vojvodina - Turkish - Serbia - Srbobran - Vojvodina of Serbia and Tami? Banat

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Basing his ideas on the American Declaration of Independence, Hungary's leader Kossuth declared independence. It lasted about four months. By May the Hungarian secessionists had recaptured all of their country except Buda, which they won after a three-week bloody siege. Hungary came close to independence in 1849.

Related Topics:
Declaration of Independence - Kossuth - Siege

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However, it was not to be. The Austrians had enlisted the help of the Russians, while the Hungarians solicited help from as far away as the United States, to no avail. England did nothing; many in the U.S.A. and England at least privately favored Hungarian independence, but their governments did nothing. Finally, the Hungarians surrendered to the government troops.

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Many of the rebels were hung or shot. Some of the most active of the executed secessionists are called the 13 Martyrs of Arad (Lahner György, Aulich Lajos, Damjanich János, Knezich Károly, Leiningen-Westerburg Károly, Poeltenberg Ern?, Török Ignác, Nagy-Sándor József, Dessewffy Arisztid, Kiss Ern?, Lázár Vilmos, Schweidel József). Kossuth and others ultimately escaped to America, Kossuth giving speeches and collecting money for a new war to save his Fatherland. While Kossuth was safe, Hungary was punished extensively, with the punishments being administered from Vienna, and all local control abolished. But serfs were legally freed, one of a handful of victories for the serfs; moreover, Habsburgs couldn't keep industry from developing in Hungary any more.

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