Showcase Course Restoration and Reaction in Europe, 1815-1848 Overview

In Week 2, we cover Europe's emergence from and reaction to the changes of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. The victorious powers imposed a peace on Europe at the Congress of Vienna, but the great powers had different interpretations of what it meant. The forces of liberalism and nationalism that had been unleashed proved difficult to suppress. As a further vehicle for change, the Industrial Revolution and peace sparked the economic and social transformation of Europe. The plight of workers emerged as another pressure faced by nineteenth-century European governments. Colin Heywood offers his own explanation for the survival of conservative forces in the face of these challenges. With the collapse of the restored Bourbon monarchy in 1830, it was clear though that the revolutionary impulse was not at an end.As you work through the Module 2 material, consider the following questions:

How did the Congress System attempt to maintain peace in Europe? How successful was it?
How did the Industrial Revolution transform society? How did governments respond to the new challenges it presented?
Why did the Bourbon Restoration fail by 1830?
What were the roots of the continued discontent of the 1840s?

Module Objectives

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Identify the post-Napoleonic conservative order and the reaction to it.
Describe the Industrial Revolution and its effects.
Explain the social changes of the mid-nineteenth century and the responses to them.
Analyze the causes of the 1848 revolutions.

Readings

Nineteenth-Century Europe
- pages 58 - 98
- pages 109 - 132
The Nineteenth Century: Europe, 1789-1914
- Chapter 2
- pages 158 - 165
The European Revolutions, 1848-1851
- Chapter 1
Restoration and Reaction in Europe, 1815-1848 Lectures (Tabs)
Restoration and Reaction in Europe, 1815-1848: Composer and Artist Profile (Accordions)

Course Learning Activities

Your assignments for this module include: