Revolutionary Spring

Revolutionary Spring follows the uprisings that spread across Europe in 1848 and 1849, from Palermo and Paris to Vienna, Berlin, Budapest and Venice. Liberals demanding constitutions, workers seeking economic protection, radicals pressing for wider democracy and national movements challenging imperial rule briefly converged against the established order.

Clark traces the formation of revolutionary governments, the conflicts that divided their supporters and the increasingly effective counter-attacks by monarchies and armies. He also examines debates over slavery, women’s political participation, Jewish emancipation, labour and national independence, showing how the defeated revolutions transformed governments, political expectations and nationalist movements long after the barricades were cleared.