of removing the old feudal structures and the creation of independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in France in February, and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. Six factors were involved: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; demands for freedom of press; the demands of the working classes; the upsurge of nationalism; and finally, the regrouping of the reactionary forces based on the royalty, the aristocracy, the army, and the peasants. The uprisings were led by ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many more forced into exile. The only significant lasting reforms were the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of absolute monarchy in Denmark, and the definitive end of the Capetian monarchy in France. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, but did not reach Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and most of southern Europe (Spain, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire). Eastern Europe Russia May 22, 1841 – The Georgian province of Guria revolts against the Russian Empire. 1848 – Admiral Nevelskoi explores the Strait of Tartary. November 16, 1849 – A Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group, the Petrashevsky Circle. Facing a firing squad on December 23 the group members are reprieved at the last moment and exiled to the katorga prison camps in Siberia. Austrian Empire June 2 – 12, 1848 – Prague Slavic Congress brings together members of the Pan-Slavism movement. Hungary March 15, 1848 – Start of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. May 15, 1848 – 40,000 Romanians meet at the Blaj to protest Transylvania becoming a part of Hungary. October 6, 1849 – The 13 Martyrs of Arad are executed after the Hungarian War of Independence. Galicia February 18, 1846 – Beginning of the Galician peasant revolt. Northern Europe Sweden 1842 – Compulsory elementary education introduced. March 8, 1844 – King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway upon the death of his father Charles XVI/III John. Denmark 1843 – The Danish government re-establishes the Althing in Iceland as an advisory