In 1848, Lajos Kossuth led a Hungarian nationalist movement demanding independence from Austria. (a) What were the demands of the Hungarian revolutionaries ...

(a) What were the demands of the Hungarian revolutionaries in 1848? [4 marks]

• The Hungarians demanded a separate parliament (Diet) in Budapest, with a government responsible to it rather than to the imperial court in Vienna.
• They demanded the use of the Hungarian (Magyar) language in all administration, education and official business, replacing German and Latin.
• They demanded control over taxation, military affairs and the establishment of a Hungarian national army independent of the imperial forces.
• The March Laws of 1848, forced through by Kossuth, established a largely autonomous Hungarian government with its own ministry, embodying these demands in legislation.

(b) Why did the Hungarian revolution ultimately fail? [6 marks]

• Alienation of minorities: The Hungarians alienated the other national groups within their territory. The Croats under Ban Jelacic, the Romanians, Serbs and Slovaks feared that Hungarian independence would mean Magyar domination over non-Magyar peoples. Hungarian insistence on the Magyar language in all official business provoked particular resentment.
• Minorities sided with Austria: These alienated minorities allied with the Austrian government against Hungary. Jelacic's Croatian forces invaded Hungary in September 1848 with Habsburg support, opening a second front against the revolutionaries.
• Austrian exploitation of divisions: The Austrian government was able to use the divide-and-rule strategy, turning the empire's many nationalities against each other rather than allowing them to unite against Habsburg rule.
• Russian military intervention: At Austria's request, Tsar Nicholas I sent approximately 200,000 Russian troops into Hungary in June 1849. The combined Austro-Russian forces overwhelmed Hungarian resistance. General Gorgei surrendered at Vilagos in August 1849.
• Two-front war: The Hungarian army, despite considerable bravery and initial successes, could not fight both Austria and Russia simultaneously. The sheer weight of numbers was decisive.
• Internal divisions: The Hungarian leadership was divided between moderates who sought compromise with Vienna and radicals under Kossuth who demanded full independence. This weakened decision-making and strategy.

(c) How important was nationalism as a cause of the 1848 revolutions? [10 marks]

Arguments that nationalism was very important:

• Multi-national empires: In the Austrian Empire, nationalism was the primary driving force. Hungarians, Czechs, Italians, Poles, Croats and Romanians all sought national self-determination or autonomy from Habsburg rule.
• Italian states: The desire to expel Austria from Lombardy and Venetia and to unite the Italian peninsula was a central motivation. Piedmont's declaration of war on Austria was driven by nationalist ambition.
• German states: The Frankfurt Parliament reflected the aspiration to create a unified German nation-state, bringing together representatives from across the German-speaking lands.
• Pan-Slavism: The Pan-Slav Congress in Prague (June 1848) expressed the growing self-consciousness of Slavic peoples and their desire for recognition within or independence from the empire.

Arguments that other factors were equally important:

• Economic hardship: Harvest failures in 1846-47 and industrial depression caused widespread unemployment, food shortages and rising prices across Europe. Economic suffering created the conditions in which revolution became possible.
• Liberal demands: The desire for constitutions, free press, freedom of assembly and wider political representation was equally important, particularly in France, the German states and Austria itself. In France, the revolution was primarily about political reform, not nationalism.
• Class tensions: The June Days in Paris demonstrated that class conflict between workers and the middle classes was a powerful force in 1848. Social and economic grievances were distinct from nationalist aspirations.
• Government weakness: The incompetence and rigidity of existing governments (Louis Philippe in France, Metternich in Austria, Frederick William IV in Prussia) made revolution possible by failing to address legitimate grievances through reform.
• Varied motivations: Different countries had different primary causes. In France, the revolution was about political reform and social justice. In Hungary, it was about national independence. In the German states, it combined nationalism with liberal constitutionalism.

Conclusion: Nationalism was one of the most important causes of the 1848 revolutions, particularly in the multi-national Austrian Empire and in the Italian and German states. However, it operated alongside economic hardship, liberal political demands and class tensions, and its relative importance varied considerably from country to country. The revolutions of 1848 were not a single movement with a single cause but a series of interconnected upheavals driven by a combination of national, political, economic and social forces.