The German Question, Part Forty-One

Very slightly updated "Word History" 8/19/2015

"Revolution....Sort Of" Part One

By February of 1848, the French monarchy had tried ever so hard to suppress any sort of freedom of assembly in France, even forbidding many social events.* This brought about large public demonstrations against the government and monarchy, especially in Paris. There was sporadic violence, barricades were actually set up in the streets, and a number of people were killed. This only added fuel to the fire, with a mass of citizens marching near the residence of the French king, Louis Philippe, who decided to abdicate. This event sent Germans into action, and there were large public demonstrations in Vienna. This led to the resignation of Fürst (Prince, see "Word History" below) Klemens von Metternich, a long time prominent German/Austrian diplomat and chief Austrian government minister.**/*** Metternich had long been viewed by many Germans as too conservative, if not downright reactionary, in protecting the interests of the nobility.

Demonstrations and uprisings took place in various German states, with all of these events occurring in 1848 (some sputtered to a stop, only to reignite a few months later). Hmm, maybe that's why they're collectively called "The Revolution of 1848." Ya think? Must be! Anyway, everything is far too involved to deal with here, but certain events are worth noting. Once again, the general motivation of the "revolution" was German unity for the establishment of nationhood, along with a constitution that guaranteed basic rights to citizens. Second, Austria's centuries' old dominant role in German affairs faced a serious challenge from Prussia to oust Austria from that position. Southern German states favored their fellow southern state, Austria, for leadership of Germany, not only because of geography, but also because of religion (the south, including Austria, was largely Catholic), with tradition also playing a part (most, but not all, of the dialects were very similar, too). During the "revolution," while both Prussia and Austria had their hands full (to be covered in "Part Two"), Prussia used its military to help halt an uprising in Baden (in southwest Germany). This caused rulers (all nobles) of the southern states to wonder if perhaps Prussia was more to be counted upon than Austria to help them keep control of their states. This was the beginning of a dramatic shift in southern opinion towards Prussia.

To be continued.... (A Word History is below the notes)

* In an effort to get around the French law, citizens had at times used the cover of "social events," or gatherings, to vent political dissatisfaction. The government saw through the guise and issued proclamations banning virtually any large gatherings.

** For Americans, we call our governmental department heads, "secretaries," as in Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense, but in Europe, there is more of a tendency to use the term "minister," which we Americans use more in a religious sense. Do I hear an "Amen?"

*** Remember, each German "state" had its own government, as they were in essence independent countries held loosely together by the umbrella organization of the German Confederation. Metternich was born in Koblenz, a city located on the Rhine River, but through a number of events, not the least of which was an advantageous marriage, he first became involved in Austrian, and thus overall German, political affairs. Metternich married the granddaughter of former Habsburg official Reichsfürst von Kaunitz-Rietberg (Reichsfürst =Imperial Prince, as this was when the German Empire was still in existence). 

WORD HISTORY:
First-This goes back to the Indo European root "per," which seems to have had variants "por," "pro," or "pre." Whatever the case, the general meaning was "before, in front of," as in "Proto Germanic;" that is, "the Germanic language that came before others." In Old (Proto) Germanic, the "p" became an "f" sound, giving Germanic the base "fur/for," also with the same meaning. This then gave Old English "fore," and its superlative form "fyrst," prior to the modern spelling. It is very common in its various forms in the Germanic languages, and German has "Fürst," Low German Saxon has "Föörst," West Frisian has the now little used "foarst," and Dutch has "vorst," all meaning "prince;" that is, "first, or foremost ruler." (If you have been following the above series on the Germans, recall that the rulers of the various German states were collectively known as "the German princes," regardless of their proper titles, such as king, duke, or archduke.) Norwegian and Danish have "først," Swedish has "första," and Icelandic has "fyrsta."