Why Europe Exploded in 1848

In 1848 revolutions broke out in dozens of cities across Europe within a few weeks, a wave later called the Springtime of Peoples. Several causes combined: economically, potato blight and poor grain harvests in 1845–47 drove up food prices, and a financial crisis caused unemployment among artisans and workers. Politically, liberals demanded constitutions, wider voting rights and a free press, while nationalists in Italy, Germany, Hungary and elsewhere wanted unity or self-government.

Socially, growing cities contained many poor workers whose anger could be mobilized quickly. New technologies such as railways and the telegraph helped news of one revolution spread to the next. When the French king was overthrown in February, the example ignited Vienna, Berlin, Milan and Budapest. Historians debate the balance between hunger and ideas, but most agree that economic distress turned long-standing political grievances into revolution.