Editing 1840s (section)

=== Revolutions of 1848 ===
[[File:Europe 1848 map en.png|thumb|240px|Map of Europe in 1848–1849 depicting the main revolutionary centers]]
There was a wave of [[revolution]]s in Europe, collectively known as the [[Revolutions of 1848]]. It remains the most widespread [[revolutionary wave]] in [[European history]], but within a year, [[reactionary]] forces had regained control, and the revolutions collapsed.

The revolutions were essentially [[Liberal democracy#Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie|bourgeois-democratic]] in nature with the aim of removing the old [[Feudalism|feudal]] structures and the creation of independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in [[French Revolution of 1848|France in February]], and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. Six factors were involved: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; demands for freedom of press; the demands of the working classes; the upsurge of nationalism; and finally, the regrouping of the reactionary forces based on the royalty, the aristocracy, the army, and the peasants.<ref>R.J.W. Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann, eds., ''The Revolutions in Europe 1848–1849'' (2000) pp v, 4</ref>

The uprisings were led by ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many more forced into exile. The only significant lasting reforms were the abolition of [[serfdom]] in Austria and Hungary, the end of [[absolute monarchy]] in Denmark, and the definitive end of the [[Capetian dynasty|Capetian monarchy]] in France. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, but did not reach Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and most of southern Europe <!-- stet. Do not change to the ambiguous 'Britain' or the wrong 'United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Ireland] because there was an 'upheaval' in Ireland --> (Spain, Serbia,<ref>Serbia's Role in the Conflict in Vojvodina 1848–49, Ohio State University, http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/serbvio.htm</ref> Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire).<ref>Nor did it reach Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, or the Ottoman Empire. Evans and Strandmann (2000) p 2</ref>