ABSTRACT
There is little doubt that the general economic condition of Europe deteriorated in the 1840s, especially in the period 1845–47. The precise nature of this deterioration, and therefore its effect on the different classes of the population, has been hotly disputed by historians. Even those who have stressed the importance of political factors in the causes of the revolutions have accepted that ‘there is a close relationship between the political crisis which culminated in the overthrow of the July Monarchy and the economic crisis which marked its final years’ ( 72 ). However, it should be remembered that all revolutions are essentially political, whereas not all economic crises result in revolutions. The social unrest that ensues from economic catastrophe must become channelled into political activity that challenges the validity of existing institutions ( 71 ). What, then, was the nature of the economic catastrophe in Europe in the 1840s? Simply put, the widespread agricultural crisis caused by crop failures brought rapid increases in grain and bread prices [docs 4a–c]. The hardships caused by the price increases were further compounded by the effects of a potato blight which drastically affected the standard of living of the working classes in the towns and the peasantry in the countryside. Whether this was a crucial and decisive cause of the revolutions historians now doubt. Food riots alone do not lead to revolutions.
