THE PRUSSIAN REVOLTUION 1848

Frederick William IV:

• was a successor of his father
• known to be very unstable
• at one point he was even declared insane - later in life
• he began quite liberal minded by releasing political prisoners, abolishing censorship, etc
• was a firm believer in Divine Rights (meaning that Kings are God's representatives)

Revolution in Berlin:

• 13th March 1848 in Berlin, revoltuions errupted over pay and working conditions, mainly workers were the revolutionaries
• the demonstrators threw stones at soldiers, who responded by opening fire
• fighting continued for two more days
• news of a revolution in Vienna plus the resignation of Metternich hit Berlin 16th March 1848 which added fuel to the uprisings
• on the 18th of March, a somewhat large crowd of people gathered around outside King Frederick's balcony
• the crowd cheered greatly when he appeared, wanting them removed the King commanded his troops to get rid of them
• communication must have been misinterpreted as the soldiers shot dead 300 rioters
• the King absolutely detested…