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The Frankfurt parliament completed its deliberations in the spring of 1849, but Frederick William IV refused to accept a federal union headed by a hereditary emperor with powers limited by a popularly elected legislature. This destroyed the last chance of the revolutionary movement for success.

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Germany - Revolutions, 1848-49: The hard times that swept over the Continent in the late 1840s transformed widespread popular discontent in the German Confederation into a full-blown revolution. After the middle of the decade, a severe economic depression halted industrial expansion and aggravated urban unemployment. At the same time, serious crop failures led to a major famine in the area from Ireland to Russian Poland. In the German states, the hungry 1840s drove the lower classes, which had long been suffering from the economic effects of industrial and agricultural rationalization, to the point of open rebellion. There were sporadic hunger riots and violent disturbances

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The Social Democrat Party was largely pacifist, but the spirit of 1914 encouraged many to support Germany in World War one. Khaleebnekt formed the Spartacus League, but was arrested for organizing strikes in 1916.

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1810 came about as a result of a number of factors, including a corrupt governor, the French occupation of Spain and growing sentiment for independence.

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On September 18, 1810, Chile broke from Spanish rule, declaring their independence (although they still were theoretically loyal to King Ferdinand VII of Spain, then a captive of the French). This declaration eventually led to over a decade of violence and warring which did not end until the last royalist stronghold fell in 1826. September 18 is celebrated in Chile as Independence Day.

Prelude to Independence

In 1810, Chile was a relatively small and isolated part of the Spanish Empire. It was ruled by a governor, appointed by the Spanish, who answered to the Viceroy in Buenos Aires. Chile's de facto independence in 1810 came about as a result of a number of factors, including a corrupt governor, the French occupation of Spain and growing sentiment for independence.

A Crooked Governor

The governor of Chile, Francisco Antonio García Carrasco, was involved in a huge scandal in October of 1808. The British whaling frigate Scorpionvisited Chilean shores to sell a load of smuggled cloth, and García Carrasco was part of a conspiracy to steal the smuggled goods. During the robbery, the captain of the Scorpion and some of his sailors were murdered, and the resulting scandal forever besmirched García Carrasco's name. For a while, he could not even govern and had to hide out at his hacienda in Concepción. This mismanagement by a Spanish official fueled the fire of independence.

Growing Desire for Independence

All throughout the New World, European colonies were clamoring for independence. Spain's colonies looked to the north, where the United States had thrown off their British masters and made their own nation. In northern South America, Simón Bolivar, Francisco de Miranda, and others were working for independence for New Granada. In Mexico, Father Miguel Hidalgo would kick off Mexico's War for Independence in September of 1810 after months of conspiracies and aborted insurrections on the part of the Mexicans. Chile was no different: Patriots such as Bernardo de Vera Pintado had already been working towards independence.

France Invades Spain

In 1808, France invaded Spain and Portugal, and Napoleon Bonaparte put his brother on the Spanish throne after capturing King Charles IV and his heir, Ferdinand VII. Some Spaniards set up a loyalist government, but Napoleon was able to defeat it. The French occupation of Spain caused chaos in the colonies. Even those loyal to the Spanish crown did not want to send taxes to the French government of occupation. Some regions and cities, such as Argentina and Quito, chose a middle ground: they declared themselves loyal but independent until such a time as Ferdinand was restored to the throne.

Argentine Independence

In May 1810, Argentine Patriots took power in what was known as the May Revolution, essentially deposing the Viceroy. Governor García Carrasco attempted to assert his authority by arresting two Argentines, José Antonio de Rojas and Juan Antonio Ovalle, as well as Chilean patriot Bernardo de Vera Pintado and sending them to Peru, where another Spanish Viceroy still clung to power. Furious Chilean patriots did not allow the men to be deported: They took to the streets and demanded an open town hall to determine their future. On July 16, 1810, García Carrasco saw the writing on the wall and voluntarily stepped down.

Rule of Mateo de Toro y Zambrano

The resulting town hall elected Count Mateo de Toro y Zambrano to serve as governor. A soldier and member of an important family, De Toro was well-meaning but a bit daffy in his advancing years (he was in his 80's). The leading citizens of Chile were divided: some wanted a clean break from Spain, others (mostly Spaniards living in Chile) wanted to remain loyal, and still others preferred the middle route of limited independence until such time as Spain got back on its feet. Royalists and Patriots alike used de Toro's brief reign to prepare their arguments.

The September 18 Meeting

Chile's leading citizens called for a meeting on September 18 to discuss the future. Three hundred of Chile's leading citizens attended: most were Spaniards or wealthy Creoles from important families. At the meeting, it was decided to follow the path of Argentina: create an independent government, nominally loyal to Ferdinand VII. The Spaniards in attendance saw it for what it was-independence behind the veil of loyalty-but their objections were overruled. A junta was elected, and de Toro y Zambrano was named President.

The Legacy of Chile's September 18 Movement

The new government had four short-term goals: establish a Congress, raise a national army, declare free trade, and get in contact with the junta then leading Argentina. The meeting on September 18 set Chile firmly on the path to independence and was the first Chilean self-government since before the days of the conquest. It also marked the arrival on the scene of Bernardo O'Higgins, son of a former Viceroy. O'Higgins participated in the September 18 meeting and would eventually become Chile's greatest hero of Independence.

Chile's path to Independence would be a bloody one, as patriots and royalists would fight up and down the length of the nation for the next decade. Nevertheless, independence was inevitable for the former Spanish colonies and the September 18 meeting was an important first step.

Celebrations

Today, September 18 is celebrated in Chile as their Independence Day. It is remembered with the fiestas patrias or "national parties." The celebrations kick off in early September and can last for weeks. All over Chile, people celebrate with food, parades, reenactments, and dancing and music. The national rodeo finals are held in Rancagua, thousands of kites fill the air in Antofagasta, in Maule they play traditional games, and many other places have traditional celebrations. If you're going to Chile, the middle of September is a great time to visit to catch the festivities.

Concha Cruz, Alejandor and Maltés Cortés, Julio. Historia de Chile Santiago: Bibliográfica Internacional, 2008.

Harvey, Robert. Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2000.

Lynch, John. The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826 New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986.

Scheina, Robert L. Latin America's Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899 Washington, D.C.: Brassey's Inc., 2003.

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On September 18, 1810, Chile broke from Spanish rule, declaring their independence (although they still were theoretically loyal to King Ferdinand VII of Spain, then a captive of the French). This declaration eventually led to over a decade of violence and warring which did not end until the last royalist stronghold fell in 1826.

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The Austrian government did not yield to popular pressure and reinforced its garrisons in Lombardy-Venetia, arrested opposition leaders in Venice and Milan, and suppressed student demonstrations in the university cities of Padua and Pavia.

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The first of the Revolutions of 1848 erupted in Palermo on January 9. Starting as a popular insurrection, it soon took on overtones of Sicilian separatism and spread throughout the island. Piecemeal reforms proved inadequate to satisfy the revolutionaries, both noble and bourgeois, who were determined to have a new and more liberal constitution. Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was the first to grant one (January 29, 1848). Other rulers were compelled to follow his example: Leopold II on February 17, Charles Albert on March 4, and Pope Pius IX on March 14. The Austrian government, on the other hand, did not yield to popular pressure. Instead, it reinforced its garrisons in Lombardy-Venetia, arrested opposition leaders in Venice and Milan, and suppressed student demonstrations in the university cities of Padua and Pavia. By March 22-23, when revolution had also reached Budapest and Vienna, Venetian and Milanese insurgents moved to depose their Austrian overlords. Within a few days the Austrian army lost nearly all of Lombardy-Venetia and retreated into the Quadrilateral (the region between Mantua, Peschiera, Verona, and Legnago).

On March 23 Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont declared war on Austria. It was a risky decision, but prospects for a national war seemed promising, and he wanted to seize the initiative to preclude republican and democratic domination of the insurgency. After annexing Parma and Modena, whose rulers had been driven out by insurgents, the Piedmontese won a few more victories before suffering reverses. Pius IX, Leopold II, and Ferdinand II, all of whom had initially sent troops to northern Italy to support the Piedmontese army, hastily withdrew their forces. The pope's address to the cardinals on April 29 revealed his reluctance to back national movements against Austria and did much to discredit him among patriots. Lombardy and Venetia, though not without internal opposition, accepted merger with Piedmont. Nevertheless, the Piedmontese army was unable to withstand the Austrian counteroffensive. After a series of defeats, Charles Albert's forces withdrew from Milan and on August 6 left the city and its insurgents to the mercy of the returning Austrians. Accusations of royal treachery, formulated by Lombard democrats at that moment, long survived in Italian political debates. By the terms of the Salasco armistice (August 9, 1848), the Piedmontese army abandoned Lombardy. In Piedmont the new constitution, the Statuto Albertino (Albertine Statute), remained in force, and democratic ideas survived.

Throughout Europe the forces of reaction were triumphant. The Revolutions of 1848 were suppressed in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Paris. In Naples the king regained power in a coup on May 15 and went on to reconquer Sicily. Meanwhile, in Rome the papacy reintroduced a range of obscurantist policies. Venice, however, under the dictatorship of Daniele Manin, refused to accept the Salasco armistice and resisted the Austrian siege. Leopold II of Tuscany took refuge in the Bourbon fortress of Gaeta in February 1849, when the democrats Giuseppe Montanelli and Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi were on the verge of taking control of the government and proclaiming an Italian constituent assembly. In Rome the minister Pellegrino Rossi, a former member of the Carbonari who had promoted conciliatory policies after returning from exile in France, was assassinated on November 15, 1848. This event triggered a democratic insurgency and caused Pius IX to flee to the safety of Gaeta. A constituent assembly elected by universal male suffrage proclaimed the Roman Republic on February 5, 1849.

The Italian revolution seemed to have been reborn. However, Charles Albert, pressed by Piedmontese democrats to resume his war with Austria (March 20, 1849), saw his army routed at Novara three days later. On the same day, March 23, he abdicated and went into exile. His successor, Victor Emmanuel II, was granted an honourable armistice because the Austrians did not want a weakened Savoy monarchy that could be exploited to the advantage of its democratic opponents. The defeat of Piedmont made the position of the democratic and republican opposition untenable in other parts of Italy as well. In Tuscany moderates recalled the grand duke, whose Austrian protectors crushed an insurrection in radical Livorno (May 1849). In Lombardy the Austrian reconquest of Brescia in March, after 10 days of fighting, left Venice isolated, though the city resisted enemy forces until August. The Roman Republic, led by Mazzini and Garibaldi, held out until July 3 against a French army sent by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the new president of the French Republic (later the emperor Napoleon III), whose restoration of the papacy repaid his Roman Catholic supporters. The returning sovereigns rapidly set about abrogating constitutions, disbanding parliaments, and, especially in the south, filling the prisons.

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Italy - Revolutions, 1848, Unification: The first of the Revolutions of 1848 erupted in Palermo on January 9. Starting as a popular insurrection, it soon took on overtones of Sicilian separatism and spread throughout the island. Piecemeal reforms proved inadequate to satisfy the revolutionaries, both noble and bourgeois, who were determined to have a new and more liberal constitution.

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Napoleon had redrawn the borders of Italy during his reign as emperor, but the Austrian Empire was given control. This upset many Italians. The years following the Vienna settlement were troubled with unrest with many liberal thinkers forming secret societies. There were several revolts and coups across the Italian state, but no one could agree on anything.

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Ten Minute History - The Unification of Italy (Short Documentary)

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Spain conquered a huge amount of the Americas, taking Peru in 1533 and marching it to Chile a few years later. However, conflict with the Mapuche stalled and deterred the Spaniards more than anything, leading to the seven southern cities being abandoned. Chile declared independence from Spain in 1810, and gained independence in 1818. Its political temperature remained tumultuous until Hosea Hakeem Prieto took power in 1831, and his conservative administration was dominated by Diego Portales, who was the one really in charge.