British Perceptions of the Austro-Prussian Struggle for Supremacy, 1848–51

Abstract

Between the defeat of the revolutions of 1848/9 and Palmerston’s dismissal in December 1851, foreign affairs probably attracted more attention among a wider British public than at any period previously considered. However, while the fate of Hungarian and Polish refugees and the Don Pacifico affair aroused a great deal of excitement, they were in themselves relatively minor issues whose appeal owed much to Palmerston’s penchant for playing to the gallery. In the Hungarian refugees’ affair, he skilfully rode the crest of popular Russophobia and Austrophobia. Having refused to support the Hungarian revolution before it was crushed, Palmerston was quick to profit from Britain’s public outrage at Austria’s harsh treatment of the vanquished revolutionaries. In the autumn of 1849, Britain and France stiffened the Sultan’s resistance to Russian and Austrian demands for the extradition of the Polish and Hungarian refugees who had fled to Turkey. Keen to boost British influence at the Porte, Palmerston even breached the Straits Convention of 1841 by ordering a naval demonstration in the Dardanelles. In 1850, the Foreign Secretary found himself again in line with popular Austrophobia, when he all but endorsed the manhandling of an Austrian general by a London mob. In the following year Palmerston planned to extend a private invitation to Lajos Kossuth, the exiled leader of the Hungarian revolution, during the latter’s triumphant visit to Britain.1KeywordsGerman StateBritish GovernmentGerman GovernmentUniversal SuffrageFederal InterventionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.