Revolutions during the 1820s
Revolutions during the 1820s included revolutions in Russia (Decembrist revolt), Spain, Portugal, and the Italian states for constitutional monarchies, and for independence from Ottoman rule in Greece. Unlike the revolutionary wave in the 1830s, these tended to take place in the peripheries of Europe.[1]
Timeline
- 1820: The Trienio Liberal in Spain
- 1820: the Liberal Revolution in Portugal
- 1820: the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
- 1821 – 1829: Greek War of Independence
- 1821: the Kingdom of Sardinia
- 1825: the Decembrist revolt in Russia
- 1828: the Decembrist revolution in Argentina
Europe
Italy
The 1820 revolution began in Sicily and in Naples, against King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, who was forced to make concessions and promise a constitutional monarchy. This success inspired Carbonari in the north of Italy to revolt too. In 1821, the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) forced King Victor Emmanuel I to abdicate and temporarily obtained a constitutional monarchy as a result of the Carbonari's actions, as well as other liberal reforms.
The Holy Alliance would not tolerate this state of affairs and decided in October 1820 to intervene. In February 1821, it sent an army to crush the revolution in Naples. The King of Sardinia also called for Austrian intervention. Faced with an enemy overwhelmingly superior in number, the Carbonari revolts collapsed and their leaders fled into exile.
Spain
Colonel
Portugal
The Liberal Revolution of 1820 began with a military insurrection in the city of Porto, in northern Portugal, that quickly and peacefully spread to the rest of the country. The Revolution resulted in the return in 1821 of the Portuguese Court to Portugal from Brazil, where its members had fled during the Peninsular War, and initiated a constitutional period in which the 1822 Constitution was ratified and implemented.[3]
According to Kenneth Maxwell, "the important point about Brazil is that it became economically and politically emancipated between 1808 and 1820 while acting as the centre of the Luso-Brazilian Empire", meaning Brazil's independence was proclaimed after the nation had had an "imperial-like" experience.
"This unusual circumstance explains why in 1820 it was Portugal that declared independence from Brazil, and only afterwards, that Brazil declared its independence from Portugal", as one may read in the Manifesto issued by the rebels in Oporto in 1820:
"[...] The idea of the status of a colony to which Portugal in effect is reduced afflicts deeply all those citizens who still conserve a sentiment of national dignity. Justice is administered from Brazil to the loyal people in Europe [...]"[4]
Greece
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution of 1821 or Greek Revolution (
Russia
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising (
Latin America
Argentina
The Decembrist revolution (
References
- ^ James H. Billington, Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Faith, Transaction Publishers, 2011, p. 148: "Whereas the revolutions of 1820 had occurred in traditional societies (Spain, southern Italy, Greece, and Russia), the revolutions of 1830 affected regions where the workings of a market economy were relatively advanced..."
- ^ "Revolutionary Spain by Karl Marx". Marxists.org. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ "Centenario do Revolução de 1820". Gutenberg.org. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ "Why Was Brazil Different? The Contexts of Independence - Council on Foreign Relations". Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
- ^ "War of Greek Independence | History, Facts, & Combatants".