The irresistible ideals of liberalism, nationalism, democracy, and equality were created, and exported, across the European continent and elsewhere originally by the 1789 French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars. However the Congress of Vienna saw the Great Powers attempting to hold back these notions and buttress the floodgates against future deluges. It was not to be.
In 1848, Europe was engulfed in a revolutionary wave larger and more profound than any seen before or after until the end of the 20th century. The 1848 Revolutions have been variously described as the Spring of Nations, a European convulsion, reconciliation, a series of republican revolts, and the emergence of populist human aspirations. The end of the revolutionary period has likewise been described in numerous ways; as a failure, a restoration to dictatorship or conservative rule, as the establishment of widespread disillusionment among liberals. However it can always be agreed upon that while the immediate political effects of the revolutions were largely reversed, the long-term reverberations of the events were far-reaching.
The 1848-49 period saw an immense outpouring of populist movements across Europe. From the French struggle for la République to the German Question, from the Hungarian scramble for independence to Italy's endeavors for unification, and beyond. Often these populist revolts were either put down by force, or twisted to religious, nationalist or dynastic imperial monarchists’ aims. As liberal, nationalist, absolutists, constitutionalists, monarchists, republicans, imperialists and even the first visages of socialists fought back and forth across the continent, the foundations of the modern world as we know were laid down. It need not have happened the way it did.
This TL will attempt to explore an alternative history in which the 1848 revolutions happen in a very different way, for very different reasons. This will be my first attempt at writing a fully-fledged timeline for these forums, and while I do not claim to be an expert in the area or a good writer, I have spent the last six months doing research for this project, and I hope my hard work will show. I'd like to thank MRig for his early help in developing my ideas for this project, specifically for Germany. His input has been sorely missed these last few months he has been away from these forums. I'd also like to thank Falecius for his review of my early drafts, and a thank you to subversivepanda and tormsen regarding developments further down the line. Finally, I also want to give a very special thank you to both Geekhis Khan and to Shurik for their encouragement, support, and critiques throughout the entire process. I only hope the rest of you receive my finished work half as well as they did my early drafts.