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Content: Farmers east of the Elbe often were
landless laborers hired to work on large estates. Artisans, that is, skilled
workers in handicrafts and trades belonging to the traditional guilds, saw their
economic position worsen as a result of the industrialization that had begun to
appear in Germany after 1815. The guilds attempted to stop factory construction
and unrestricted commerce, but strong economic trends ran counter to their
wishes. Factory workers, in contrast, were doing well compared with these other
groups and were generally content with their lot when the economy as a whole
prospered. The Revolutions of 1848
Europe endured hard times during much of the 1840s. A series of bad harvests
culminating in the potato blight of 1845-46 brought widespread misery and some
starvation. An economic depression added to the hardship, spreading discontent
among the poor and the middle class alike. A popular uprising in Paris in
February 1848 turned into a revolution, forcing the French king Louis Philippe
to flee to Britain. The success of the revolution sparked revolts elsewhere in Europe. Numerous
German cities were shaken by uprisings in which crowds consisting mainly of the
urban poor, but also of students and members of the liberal middle class,
stormed their rulers' palaces and demanded fundamental reform.