Loads of European countries had revolutions or wars in 1848 but the United Kingdom didn't. So why not?

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1848 was a pretty rough year for many European rulers.

It saw revolutions in places like France, the German Confederation, the Austrian Empire and Sardinia.

The revolutions sought to improve living conditions, settle nationalist questions and fix government deficiencies.

And Despite having problems with all of these, Britain did not have a revolution or even an attempt at 1 in 1848.

Why was Britain spared a revolution when much of Europe wasn't so lucky?

So to begin, despite not having a revolution, the British people shared many of the same grievances with their government as those across the channel.

Industrialisation had seen the rise of poor working conditions.

Many were annoyed at the lack of political representation and in Ireland and Wales there were many who felt aggrieved by the way Westminster was running things.

Much of this sprang from the 1832 Reform Acts which notably expanded the electorate, but only to landowners and a few others, meaning most men still couldn't vote, which unsurprisingly, upset them.

Opposition began to organise via Working Men's Clubs, whose members called for more rights and better conditions.

Leaders of these clubs, along with some members of Parliament, met to draft what was called the People's Charter.

This pushed for the British government to radically change the way that Parliament worked.

So after the Charter was published, it was promptly ignored.

This was mostly because doing stuff is annoying and the current system worked well for everyone in power, so why bother?

Tensions rose over the following decade and the government had to deal with riots and strikes across the country.

The leader of the Chartist movement, Fergus O'Connor, was elected an MP in 1847 and promptly began to demand change in the House of Commons.

Nothing did change though and when news reached Britain about the revolutions abroad, the Chartists saw their chance.

O'Connor arranged for a large march to carry a petition to Parliament, which organisers claimed had over 5 million signatures which for a nation of 26 million people was quite a lot.

The government got wind of this and remembering what happened in France they wanted to be sure that there was no threat to the British government or the Crown.

And they knew that the presentation to Parliament was when the danger of revolution would be at its greatest.

Headed by the Duke of Wellington, soldiers were placed all across London just out of sight of the planned route, and thus they wouldn't be provoking anyone but they'd be able to respond if anything went wrong.

The government also hired an extra 100, 000 special constables, who were voluntary police officers whose training consisted of here's a truncheon, go hit someone with it.

Interestingly, among the 100, 000 officers recruited were former Prime Minister Robert Peel and some guy called Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, who would later go on to find gainful employment in France.

These extra men would prove unnecessary though, since the march on Parliament would never happen.

The Chartists weren't planning to violently overthrow the government and their leaders had faced down troops before, so why didn't they march?

It wasn't muskets or truncheons that stopped them, it was the rain.

You see, rights and reforms were important but nobody wanted to fight for them whilst wet.

And with the coming of the rain, the demonstrators just sort of went home.

The petition was delivered to parliament by a couple of Chartists and was promptly ignored.

Turns out, most of the signatures were forgeries and the Chartist movement was so thoroughly embarrassed that it never recovered.

The chance for revolution was gone, but in the end, most of the Chartist demands were adopted by the British Parliament eventually.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Korsha Wolf, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D.

Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swan, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K.

Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Isette, Matthew Shipley, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwin, Anthony Beckett Copper Tone Maggie Patskowski Schuenin Spinning 3 Plates Charles I


Speaker 0: 1848 was a pretty rough year for many European rulers. It saw revolutions in places like France, the German Confederation, the Austrian Empire and Sardinia. The revolutions sought to improve living conditions, settle nationalist questions and fix government deficiencies. And Despite having problems with all of these, Britain did not have a revolution or even an attempt at 1 in 1848. Which raises the question, why?

Why was Britain spared a revolution when much of Europe wasn't so lucky? So to begin, despite not having a revolution, the British people shared many of the same grievances with their government as those across the channel. Industrialisation had seen the rise of poor working conditions. Many were annoyed at the lack of political representation and in Ireland and Wales there were many who felt aggrieved by the way Westminster was running things. Much of this sprang from the 1832 Reform Acts which notably expanded the electorate, but only to landowners and a few others, meaning most men still couldn't vote, which unsurprisingly, upset them.

Opposition began to organise via Working Men's Clubs, whose members called for more rights and better conditions. Leaders of these clubs, along with some members of Parliament, met to draft what was called the People's Charter. This pushed for the British government to radically change the way that Parliament worked. So after the Charter was published, it was promptly ignored. This was mostly because doing stuff is annoying and the current system worked well for everyone in power, so why bother?

Tensions rose over the following decade and the government had to deal with riots and strikes across the country. The leader of the Chartist movement, Fergus O'Connor, was elected an MP in 1847 and promptly began to demand change in the House of Commons. Nothing did change though and when news reached Britain about the revolutions abroad, the Chartists saw their chance. O'Connor arranged for a large march to carry a petition to Parliament, which organisers claimed had over 5 million signatures which for a nation of 26 million people was quite a lot. The government got wind of this and remembering what happened in France they wanted to be sure that there was no threat to the British government or the Crown.

And they knew that the presentation to Parliament was when the danger of revolution would be at its greatest. Headed by the Duke of Wellington, soldiers were placed all across London just out of sight of the planned route, and thus they wouldn't be provoking anyone but they'd be able to respond if anything went wrong. The government also hired an extra 100, 000 special constables, who were voluntary police officers whose training consisted of here's a truncheon, go hit someone with it. Interestingly, among the 100, 000 officers recruited were former Prime Minister Robert Peel and some guy called Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, who would later go on to find gainful employment in France. These extra men would prove unnecessary though, since the march on Parliament would never happen.

The Chartists weren't planning to violently overthrow the government and their leaders had faced down troops before, so why didn't they march? It wasn't muskets or truncheons that stopped them, it was the rain. You see, rights and reforms were important but nobody wanted to fight for them whilst wet. And with the coming of the rain, the demonstrators just sort of went home. The petition was delivered to parliament by a couple of Chartists and was promptly ignored.

Turns out, most of the signatures were forgeries and the Chartist movement was so thoroughly embarrassed that it never recovered. The chance for revolution was gone, but in the end, most of the Chartist demands were adopted by the British Parliament eventually. I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Korsha Wolf, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D. Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swan, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K. Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Isette, Matthew Shipley, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwin, Anthony Beckett Copper Tone Maggie Patskowski Schuenin Spinning 3 Plates Charles I

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Why didn't Britain have a Revolution in 1848? (Short Animated Documentary)