1.Explain the 1848 revolution of liberals …

2. The decade of 1830 had brought great economic hardship or crisis in Europe.
The following are the arguments to support this statement :
(i) There was an enormous increase in population all over Europe. As a result unemployment became a common feature in most of the countries.
(ii) Migration of rural people to the cities further made the situation worse. Small scale producers in towns sometimes faced with stiff competition from rural areas where production was carried out mainly in homes or small workshops. These products imported from rural areas were obviously cheaper than the town-made products.
(iii) Due to population, the demand of foods increased. It led to the rise of food prices. This increased price along with a year of bond harvests led to widespread pauperism in town and country.

1. The 1848 revolution of the liberals refers to the discontent and various national movements pioneered by educated middle classes alongside the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers in Europe. While in countries like France, food shortages and widespread unemployment during 1848 led to popular uprisings, in other parts of Europe (such as Germany, Italy, Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire), men and women of the liberal middle classes came together to voice their demands for the creation of nation-states based on parliamentary principles. The political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals were:

• Politically, they demanded constitutionalism with national unification, a nation-state with a written constitution and parliamentary administration. They wanted to establish individual freedom and equality before the law and equal political rights.
• Socially, they wanted to rid society of its class-based partialities and birthrights. Serfdom and bonded labour had to be abolished.The Issue of political rights to women also was a social issue. Liberal also stressed the inviolability of private property.
• Economically they demanded freedom of markets and right to property. Abolition of state imposed restrictions on the movements of goods and capital.