The mistakes of the Vienna settlement of 1815 caused the 1830 revolutions in Europe. For example, the Vienna settlement made a mistake of restoring the unpopular legitimate rulers. In France, the Bourbons were restored and by 1830 Charles X was the king of France. In the Italian states of Naples and Sicily, Ferdinand I had been restored as king. These rulers became very oppressive to their subjects. For example, Charles X and King Ferdinand I overthrew the liberal constitutions that had been granted to them. The revolutionaries therefore wanted to overthrow these unpopular regimes that had been restored by the Vienna settlement.
The desire to attain national independence and unification also led to the 1830 revolutions in Europe. By 1830, people who shared a common history, language and culture but were under foreign rule revolted in order to attain independence and unification. In Italy for example, revolutions broke out against the Austrian control. In the kingdom of Netherlands, the Belgians revolted against the Dutch while in Poland, a revolution was staged against the Russian control.
The desire to end unjust or bad governments in European countries caused the 1830 revolutions in Europe. In the United kingdom of Netherlands, France, Naples and Poland there was widespread censorship of the press by the ruling governments. The Dutch imposed unfair taxation over the Belgians and also substituted their language with that of the Dutch as the official language. In general, therefore, revolutions broke out in order to overthrow the bad government in the respective countries.
The economic hardships in some of the European countries led to the 1830 revolutions. In the Kingdom of Netherlands for example, the Dutch imposed high taxes on the Belgian food and also collected revenue from the Belgians to pay the Dutch national debt. In France, there was a problem of unemployment, which was worsened by food shortages. Such conditions caused discontent, thus leading to the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions in Europe.
The harsh system used by Prince Metternich also influenced the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions in Europe particularly in the Austrian Empire. In the German Confederation, Prince Metternich abolished students’ societies, political clubs and the university professors who opposed his views were expelled. In the Italian states, Prince Metternich deployed spies and foreign armies, the opponents would be arrested, tortured, imprisoned and others killed. The revolutionaries in the Italian and German states therefore revolted in against the unpopular “Metternich System”.
The French revolution of 1789 influenced the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions in Europe. In 1789, the French men revolted against the unfair, bankrupt and autocratic system of government. They managed to achieve fundamental changes like religious freedom, abolition of social classes as well as the introduction of constitutional governance. The success of the French revolution of 1789 therefore encouraged the people who were experiencing autocratic regimes like in France of Charles X, in Naples of Ferdinand I and Poland which was under the Russian control to stage revolutions so as to bring about political, social and economic reforms.
The desire for liberal reforms led to the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions in Europe. The revolutionaries wanted the restoration of a fair parliamentary democracy, freedom of the press, expression, worship and equality before the law in those countries where liberalism was being abused. In France for example, Charles X abolished the Constitutional Charter of 1814 and ruled as the dictator. In Naples, Ferdinand I abolished the liberal constitution of 1812. In Belgium, France and the Italian states, there was no freedom of the press. Such conditions therefore created grounds for the masses to revolt so as to attain liberal reforms.
The success of the French revolution of 1830 influenced outbreak of other revolutions in Europe. In July 1830, the Frenchmen revolted and overthrew the Bourbon regime of Charles X. This encouraged the Belgians who shared their common boarder with France to stage a revolution against the Dutch. The July revolution in France also influenced the people of Poland to revolt against Russian rule.
The rise of a strong middle class and the growth of industries influenced the outbreak of revolution in 1830. In France for example, the middle class (rich merchants) opposed the policy of Charles X who confiscated their funds and compensated his supporters who had lived in exile since the outbreak of the 1789 French revolution in Belgium, the industrialists wanted to put an end to the policy of free trade preferred by the Dutch and replace it with protectionism so as to protect their manufactured goods from competition with foreign goods. The industrial workers also demanded for better pay, housing conditions to be improved and less working hours because most of the employers were not willing to improve on the working conditions of the workers as their interest was to maximize profits.
The British support towards liberal movements also encouraged the outbreak of revolutions in 1830. Britain had a constitutional monarchy and allowed freedom of worship and press among other liberties. The British government had hatred for governments in Europe which violated the fundamental human rights or which were autocratic. It is not surprising therefore, that Britain supported the Belgians to rise up against the Dutch who were oppressive to the Belgians.
The weaknesses of the Congress System also contributed to the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions. In the first place, members of the congress system like Russia and Austria were very conservative and therefore they were also against the forces of change like nationalism for example in Naples and Poland. They were also committed to protecting the unpopular and restored regimes in Europe while on the other hand, other members of the congress system like Britain encouraged revolutions as a means of rectifying or correcting the mistakes of the Vienna settlement of 1815.
The example of the Greek War of Independence of 1821- 1832 contributed to the outbreak of the 1830 revolutions in Europe. In 1821, the Greeks revolted against the Turkish foreign control and poor administration. In 1829, the Greeks attained semi- independence and finally full independence in 1832. This encouraged the oppressed people in Europe and those who were under foreign rule to stage revolutions with a hope of attaining their goals for example in Belgium, Poland, Naples as well as the German and Italian states.
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