European History Hive

 1. THE GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1821-1832 The Greek war of independence was the first phase of the Eastern Question  that started in 1821 up to 1832. The Greeks were forcefully conquered andincorporated in the Turkish Empire during the Century. This deprived the  Greeks of their former position and privileges hitherto enjoyed in Europe and  the World at large. The Greeks were forced to be under Turkish Moslem  administrators. In spite of the privileges the Greeks enjoyed in the empire  such as freedom of education and commerce, the Greeks rose up  demanding for greater freedom and independence. The rebellion was  therefore a nationalistic movement by the Greeks against Turkey in which  religion was used as a tool of resistance against the Moslem Turks. It was  due to political, economic, social and religious factors within and outside  Greece. CAUSES 1. The growth of Greek nationalism for independence was primarily  responsi...

 Louis Philippe's government was very unstable from 1830 - 1840. It was  characterized by revolts, strikes and demonstrations. These were master  minded by republicans who felt cheated in 1830 since they had played a  leading role in the revolution of 1830. They had wanted a republican  government but had failed because of the fear of the possibility of war with  other monarchial governments in Europe. From 1830-1840, ten different  chief ministers (prime ministers) held office. Adolph Thiers was the last who  resigned in 1840 because of dissatisfaction over Mehemet All's affairs. From  1840 - 1848, Guizot's cabinet held power. His policies greatly contributed to  the downfall of Louis Philippe in 1848. The following were the achievements,  failures and weaknesses of Louis Philippe's domestic policies. Achievements and positive impact of Louis Philippe (Orleans monarchy) in  France 1. Industrialization Louis Philippe made comme...

 The 1830 revolutions had positive and negative effects on the political,  social and economic developments of Europe. Some of its effects were  short term while others were long term and everlasting in the history of  Europe. Negative effects 1. Loss of life and destruction of property The 1830 revolutions resulted into massive loss of lives and destruction of  property. In Belgium, the Dutch troops attacked and killed thousands of  Belgians while the revolutionaries destroyed important places like opera  house. In Italian states, Spain and Portugal, civil war developed after the  revolutions and led to more death and destruction of property. 2. Downfall of Kings and their governments The 1830 revolutions led to the downfall of Kings and their governments. The  revolution in Belgium overthrew the Belgian crown as the Belgians regained  their independence from king Leopold II of the Kingdom of Netherlands. In  France, Charles X and ...

 The 1830revolutions in Europe occurred in France, Belgium, Poland,  German stales, Italian states etc. They possessed similar characteristics in their causes, course and  consequences. 1. The roots / origin of the 1830 revolutions can be traced back to the French  revolution of 1789. The revolution came with the idea of liberty, equality and  fraternity that inspired ItaU.ans, Germans and Poles to rebel in 1830. They  also used strategies and tactics adopted from the French in 1789. Besides,  the success of the 1830 revolutions in France also moral boosted these  states to revolt in 1830. 2. The revolutions were also caused by the unrealistic Vienna settlement of  1815. The settlement imposed foreign rule on the Belgians, Italians and  Germans. It also restored the unpopular bourbon rule in France. These  brought bitter resentment that flared up into 1830revolutions. 3. The revolutions were either liberal or nationalistic in nature...

 The Crimean war is the third violent event in the 19th century eastern  question. It was fought by Turkey, Britain, France and Piedmont against Russia on the island of  Crimea in the black sea from 1854-1856. The Crimean war was the first major war between the great powers after  the Napoleonic war. It is one of the most wasteful and useless wars fought without strong reasons.  A critical view of the characteristics of the war has made some historians to conclude that  it was a war of insanity and absurdity fought without clear objectives and principles. The  immediate event that sparked off the war was the Russian occupation of the two Turkish  provinces of Wallacia and Moldavia in 1853. Causes of the Crimean Wars in Europe 1. The Russian imperialism in the Balkans was a serious threat to the British,  French & Turkish interests. Tsar Nicholas 1 of Russia exaggerated the conditions of Turkey as a sick-man  of Europe in order to fac...

 1. King Louis XVIII was less despotic. He maintained a parliamentary system  of government and tried to abide by the provisions of the constitutional  charter of 1814. This helped to cool down the French revolutionaries and  Napoleonic supporters whose fear was that the restored Bourbon  monarchy would revive the despotic and undemocratic pre 1789 system  of rule. His acceptance of the 1814 constitutional charter also won him  diplomatic recognition from the Great powers especially Britain. All these  helped to consolidate the rule of the restored Bourbon monarchy in a  dynamic and revolutionary France. 2. Louis XVIII succeeded in paying off the war indemnity that had been  imposed on France after the downfall of Napoleon I. At the 2nd Paris peace  treaty of20th Nov 1815, the victor powers imposed a huge war indemnity  of_700'million francs on France. King Louis XVI cleared off the whole  indemnity within only three (3) y...

 1) Britain (Lord Stewart Castlereagh and George Canning) I) Britain was primarily responsible for the collapse of the congress system.  She pursued a policy of isolation from continental obligations i.e. non  interventionist foreign policy. The policy was to avoid unnecessary  expenses, loss of her citizens in suppressing revolutions and negative public  opinion in case of failures. The policy was unfortunate for the congress  system because it was Britain that played the greatest role in the dawn fall  of Napoleon and her role in the post Napoleonic re-organization of Europe  was therefore of paramount importance. Above all, Britain was the most  politically stable state and the greatest economic and military power in  Europe. The British isolation therefore denied the congress system of her  enormous economic resources and military power that could have  improved the capacity of the congress system to meet its challenges. He...