326. The Year of Revolutions: 1848

Few years in European History saw as much change and turmoil as 1848: across the continent, from Vienna to Paris to Palermo, mass protests took place, catching the old elites by surprise. The political order that stood strong since the defeat of Napoleon fell aside, making way for a newer, modern Europe, influenced by the rise both of socialism and nationalism. In today's episode, Tom and Dominic are joined by the Regius Professor of History at Cambridge, Christopher Clark, to discuss 1848, and the lasting impact of the revolutions that came about that year.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:Tom and Dominic are going on an international tour in 2023 and performing in London, Edinburgh, Salford, Dublin, Washington D.C. and New York!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook

[@earlymeg]

More Christopher Clark please.

[@daydays12]

Agreed. He is excellent and a serious historian.

[@michaelk19thcfan10]

I know of Christopher Clark from his excellent work on what led to the outbreak of the Great War, “The Sleepwalkers”.

[@ted356]

My fore bearers, who emigrated from Germany to the USA, were motivated to make the trip around 1848. What effect the revolutions had in that emigration is unknown to me, but this episode caught my interest.

[@danieleskridge3180]

My grandmother’s family emigrated from Germany to Missouri around that time as well. It was said the father didn’t want his son to be drafted into the army when he came of age. As it turned out his son joined the Union Army when the American Civil War broke out.

[@MarcInTbilisi]

It's great to have Herr Flic and Inspector Cluseau in the same room together.

[@JonniePolyester]

I could have happily heard several more hours on this fascinating episode, really enjoyed how Christopher Clark mixes the social and political with the individual and psychological especially in the character of Robert Blum. Funnily enough I will be cutting through Kennington Common ( or Park as it now is) later today. To think Napoleon III had been a special constable on that day. My sister actually used to live in his house in Leamington Spa we used have great parties there! 😊😃👍

[@hawk9664]

I'm Australian. This guy's accent is like something out of the distant past. Like an ABC newscaster from the 60s.

[@birotomodachi]

I think he sounds a little like Rowan Atkinson?

[@adrianseanheidmann4559]

His German is impeccable also, probably the only English speaking person that I've heard that is able to pull that off.

[@jasongray4517]

You mean he sounds posh?

[@jenjen.rutherford8559]

In what way is this guy an Aussie.

[@papamurrth1]

The singing was wonderful

[@ekesandras1481]

Robert Blum was not a peaceful bystander in Vienna or a mere delegate of the Frankfurt parliament. He got heavily involved in the revolt. His speeches radicalized the situation and when it came to fighting he took military command of a militia. The troops under his command did fight with firearms and I suppose they didn't only fire blank rounds in the air.

[@archeanna1425]

1848 in Canada: recognised as the year responsible democratic government was reliably established. Canada's version of a revolution.

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

I agree with the point about the artificiality of national costumes. If you look at national dress in Bavaria, Norway or Poland, it's all frozen in time from this period

[@AmyEHawthorne]

The accents were a tour de force!

[@rogerlorenmulligan8822]

Just bought the Audible preorder. Thanks guys.

[@LooseTheremin]

That was a very interesting episode in all sorts of ways. Almost too de force ! But I felt sorry for poor King Pear who I thought was ridiculed most unkindly and unjustly. But as an Australian how had I never heard of Christopher Clark !? What a stellar performer ! Not only a Master Historian but able to convey his knowledge clearly and concisely. Such a talented man, so it goes without saying that he had to get out of Australia ! And on top of it all that song at the end ! Oh mein Gott, so eine schöne Singstimme ! I had to laugh through my tears at the part about England being spared revolution because it had transported many of its ratbags to Australia ! Also someone mentioned Christopher Clark's accent as sounding like an ABC broadcaster from the 1960's but I can't agree with that. Actually Barry Humphries sounded like an ABC broadcaster from the 1960's. He had that beautiful educated Australian speaking voice that was heavily influenced by English received pronunciation but it was still an Australian accent not an English one. And strangely Barry held onto that accent all of his life in spite of having lived in England for so long. Christopher Clark to my ear sounds like he has very little of his Australian accent left ( native English speakers may disagree with me ) and seems to have a mostly English accent although there is something else in there as well. And seeing that he is fluent in German and has lived and worked in Germany I guess that's where that something else may come from. And speaking of Barry Humphries I have always said that he was a ratbag although admittedly a supremely intelligent and talented one. His Edna and Les characters were savage portrayals of Australians and Australia. Of course many people have said that Barry was charming in person so that is contradictory. Certainly a complex man. I hope someone produces a really good in depth documentary about him, it would be fascinating. Probably he and Germaine Greer were/are the two biggest ratbags Australia has ever produced, and that's saying something !

[@andrewwatson6913]

Barry Humphries and Christopher Clark are people any country could be supremely proud of. And no doubt you are too, Mr Theremin.

[@LooseTheremin]

Well as a life long and rigorously trained contrarian let me disagree with you my dear Watson. I am puzzled by all of this pride business. Americans are the worst at it. It seems to me they are proud to be proud of being proud at the drop of a hat. But back to Barry and Christopher how could I be proud of their achievements ? I had no part to play in them at all and so any pride I felt would be unearned and to my mind inappropriate. So I admire their work but no pride attaches itself to me because of it. I gather this mysterious vicarious pride is some kind of communal emotional association. That is an emotional response ( and not the only one by any means ) that I was not "wired up" to experience. This I believe is not unexpected for someone like myself who was not socialised as a young child.

[@michaelk19thcfan10]

The decade of the 1840s would be called the Hungry 40s. The failure of 1848 would trigger a large wave of Germans to seek a new life in America. These immigrants would be called the Forty Eighters. Many with their military experience would enlist in the Union Army when the Civil War broke out including Carl Schurz who rose to become a general.

[@ambitionbird]

Radio play of the 1848 revolutions with Tom, Dominic, & Christopher doing all the voices?

[@robertbollard5475]

The 1848 revolutions arguably played out in Australia where they were also a failure, but also, ultimately, a victory. The Victorian gold rush led to an influx of young men from all over Europe in the early 1850s, many of them veterans of 1848. This, in turn, led to an armed uprising, led by an Irishman, though the leaders included an Italian and a German (the Italian returned to Italy and was one of Garibaldi's 1,000). The uprising was crushed, but juries refused to convict those arrested and, as a consequence, the prospectors were given the franchise, and the parliament they elected established manhood suffrage.

[@jenjen.rutherford8559]

Im concerned that professor Clark didnt listen to your podcast or he would know Marie Antoinette never said anything about eating cake.

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

Fun part about the revolution (if you may call that) in the Netherlands: it was actually enforced by the King. He noticed all these revolutions around him and decided to go liberal overnight.

[@martijn1111]

Because he knew his son was a fruitcake.

[@robertlevine2827]

Dame Edna was played by the son-in-law of the great British poet Sir Stephen Spender. That made him ... the last of the big-time Spenders!

[@jenjen.rutherford8559]

I always thought it was Barry Humphries in drag .

[@yazanasad7811]

Matternich Austrian - wary against nationalism against multi-ethnic empire (conservative). Revolutions - not to see as successes or weaknesses but as engines of change and then measure the effects (there isn't one goal with a revolutin but thousands of goals). Inputs go in revolutin and then see what comes out, what is updated, added or removed

[@yazanasad7811]

Says nothing here about reformist moves, food prices low, enforced migration, depletion of Irish population due to famine UK could also muster counter-revolutionary forces

[@yazanasad7811]

Revolutions as a series of unlikely events leading to other unlikely events (can't predict) only looks inevitable when looking back Popular Conservative backlash - realisation from conservatives that they could relate to little people, that revolutionaries could be in a bubble themselves (even when having control of all popular resources) 1848- birth of revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces (not to undo revolution but learn from it). Nationalism comes from this. A managed force - Bismarck. (Yoked to state power) Lots of constitutions reach back in 1848. Switzerland. Denmark. Italian. German. Did stand test of time. Modern Catholic church remakes itself then.

[@Monty_Jackson]

Brilliant all round.

[@Jinkaza1882]

I have been working my way through "Democracy in America", and taking notes along the way. He is a person of conflicting opinions. Is that all the editions stepping on each other? Possible.

[@invisibleray6987]

LMAO what is this Inspector Clouseau accent !! hahaaha

[@josefrietveld219]

From a german perspective the 1848 revolution was definitely a failute. The one goal, everybody agreed on, the creation of a united germany, wasn't achieved.

[@johnnycomelately9400]

Ironically, it took Bismarck. The old Junker to make it happen.

[@ekesandras1481]

The primary goal was a more liberal, less class oriented society. A united nation was thought of a vehicle to achieve that, so it was a secondary goal. And the members of the Paulskirche parliament coming from the different regions soon realized, that they have less in common as they thought, especially the protestant regions and the catholic ones. The Western regions also sought protection from French longings in a more united Germany, while the Southern regions didn't want to be in one state with Prussia. Both Prussia and Austria also didn't want to renounce their non-German provinces, for which there would be no room in a united Germany.

[@zakjaggs9761]

the 1848 German revolutions were my favourite and best topic at university, and I'd have to agree that its problematic to give the binary choice of success or failure, for the rural peasants in Germany 1848 was a great year, for the liberal nationalists... not so great

[@davidvasey5065]

Year of revolutions: 2025

[@EquipteHarry]

Harris Deborah Garcia Larry Lopez Linda

[@daydays12]

Why do you have to insult the French with these cod accents? Unpleasant and sort of xenophobic. I imagine de Tocqueville spoke French. I would have liked to hear Professor Clark who is a good, serious historian, unlike the other two rather trivial sounding people.

[@StrayCatInTheStreets]

I fart in your general direction

[@PalleRasmussen]

Auw poor, did they hurt your fee-fees? Time to toughen up then.