Explain the basic causes of "Hunger …

The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe. There was huge growth in population in the first half of the nineteenth century. Number of unemployed had increased manifold. There was large scale migration from rural areas to urban areas. Such migrants lived in overcrowded slums in the cities. At that time, the industrialization in England was more advanced than in other parts of Europe. Hence, cheap machine-made goods from England gave stiff competition to small producers in the towns of the other European countries. In some regions of Europe, aristocracy was still powerful and the peasants were under the burden of feudal dues and obligations. A year of bad harvest; coupled with price rise in food led to pauperism in town and country.

The year 1848 was one such bad year. Because of shortage of food and high level of unemployment, the people of Paris came out on the roads. The protest was at such a large scale that Louis Philippe had to flee. A National Assembly proclaimed a republic. It granted suffrage to all adult males above 21. It guaranteed the right to work. National workshops were set up to provide employment.