Part 3: Chapter III: Oligarchy and its Discontents: 1842-1850

Chapter III: Oligarchy and its Discontents: 1842-1850

Oh, you're back! The gentlemen from Munich Rail, right? Seeking a government partnership for the new line in Regensburg? His Majesty the King of...the Bavarians, I believe the new title goes, would be thrilled to see you. Court's not as impressive as it was in his father's time. No one back in 1842 would dream the day would come when the King would wear business attire, or be forced to use the first-person singular. But your audience isn't for another half hour...would you care to discuss the late revolution and how things changed so drastically?



I'm sure you remember the day. January 2nd, 1842. His Majesty...the previous His Majesty, that is, announced that all papers in Bavaria were hereby free. The masses, clamoring for a say in affairs and gaining a voice to criticize affairs instead, grew increasingly restless and demanded further concessions. His Majesty, looking to calm them, made the fatal error of offering further concessions: state-managed labor unions. The public desired neither of these concessions, but the concessions made the state appear weak, and the masses begun to gather in armed revolutionary societies, some calling for a full Constitutional Monarchy and the absolute curtailing of royal authority, and some radicals even calling for annexation by Prussia into a greater German state.




In the midst of the American invasion of Mexico, the world had its first taste of a true revolution in decades as El Salvador refused to join in a war as a lapdog of American imperialism and renounced membership in the United States of Central America, critically weakening the USA's junior partner. Though the USA won the war and annexed Colorado, it was not able to prevent the further dismembering of its junior ally by Colombia. Meanwhile, Spain expanded its holdings in Morocco.








Despite the advanced medical technology of Bavaria, smallpox continued to run unchecked, and poverty and starvation from the famines of the Hungry Forties began, launching a pattern that would haunt Bavaria through the rest of the decade.





Artistic and philosophical discoveries did nothing to quell the discontent, though a new piece by visiting Hungarian composer Franz Liszt that debuted in Munich in 1843 put Bavaria on the map again for reasons other than despair and misery. Meanwhile, the court wondered whether the widely-hailed Proto-Existentialist movement was actually illiterate or whether their treatises were merely poorly translated.









Things finally seemed to be brewing out of control after an article by a prominent Liberal philosopher arguing that the poor brought their squalid state upon themselves by their semi-bestial actions and that famine was the natural cure for all social evils as per Malthus was reprinted approvingly by the largest of the Liberal papers. Revolution seemed imminent as the desperation and poverty of the day grew more and more acute.



At the end of August, 1843, the revolution finally broke out. The armed forces, taken by surprise, were horrified by their orders to mow down thousands of their friends and relatives in the streets. His Majesty, who was ceremonially breaking ground on the first rail line in Bavaria (but you gentlemen were all there that day!) was horrified as he heard that, despite the lack of his orders, men were bleeding and dying in the streets of Munich.




The Munich coup failed, but sparked a wider general movement in all the capitals of Europe. The accursed Springtime of Nations was here.





Some states responded to the challenge of Revolution by adopting anti-clerical policies:



Others by submitting to Prussian rule, much to French dismay:





The latter category worried His Majesty the most. A growing clamor of voices, rich and poor alike, demanded annexation to the new German Federation, reminding people that the King of Prussia did not have his subject's blood on his hands and that the new North German Federation had a limited government with an elected body sharing power with the King. Ludwig, who had no desire to live under such an arrangement but who knew that remaining in power invited a pro-NGF coup, abdicated and allowed his son Maximilian II to become the first "King of the Bavarians," a title that demoted the throne from the ruler of a hereditary land to merely the leader of a people. His Majesty created a Diet of the aristocrats, but finding the political opinions of that class distasteful, he expanded it to include some wealthy commoners, creating the mixed Diet of today.





The concessions sated the wealthy among the dissidents, who cut ties with the mob and aligned with Good King Max, leaving the more radical dissidents leaderless and isolated. However, "Good King Max" soon showed that he was no weakling and utterly refused to give up his right to appoint the prime minister of his choice no matter what the election returns said, much to the dismay of the Diet.






Overseas, Persia had crushed the Central Asian Khanate of Kokkand and given most of its land to its ally Bukhara, leaving the Russian Empire to seize much of what was left of the now-defenseless Kokkand.





The discovery of Mechanical Production opened the door for a great many innovations in agricultural work, and spurred the search for a Practical Steam Engine and a new Market Economy.










For all their high-minded talk, the Liberal Revolution had merely produced an oligarchic society that had shifted from the concerns of the high-born to the wealthy. You gentlemen have all benefited greatly from the new order, though some have not and are very loud about it. Why, I believe we have the owner of Bavaria's first, and so far only, factory, the glass monopoly, here with us today. You were here when John Stuart Mill talked to us in person, as I recall.







We didn't ignore military matters, either. Our rapid pace of research and our new position at the cusp of greatness motivated our scientists and our military to become more powerful quicker and have yielded stunning dividends.











Even when important news was coming from abroad, like the coronation of a new Ethiopian Emperor:



Or the first university in Persia, or the Swedish abandonment of their Finnish claims:



The development of Bavarian industry was always the foremost concern.

The last election was a real shocker. The Liberals won despite membership in the Liberal Party being a misdemeanor offense! Of course, King Maximilian reinstalled his beloved Prime Minister the following day, but how could the Liberals win if their party can only operate underground?



Speaking of foreign affairs, quite a bit has happened in just the past few years. The "Emperor" of Ethiopia launched a foolish attack on Egypt that puttered out in a humiliating defeat.



The BEIC exercised its "Doctrine of Lapse" yet again.



Portugal seized part of Omani Africa.



Of course, four stories are of greatest interest. First, the Dutch/British race for domination of Southeast Asia. The Dutch sparked the race by annexing Bali, leading Britain to take over the Malays and the Dutch to launch an invasion of Aceh that, while not yet complete, can't possibly end in anything but Dutch victory. The Sultanate of Brunei is the only independent Malay state left and who knows how long that will last.








Next, of course, is the Taiping Rebellion. Ghastly piece of work, wasn't it? It only lasted two months but I hear millions of people died! The man claimed to be Jesus Christ's brother, can you imagine? Kingdom of Heavenly Peace indeed. Part of a general awakening in the East, I'd wager.




Third up is the ongoing war between the USA and Mexico. At the moment, it looks like Mexico will lose Nevada-Utah, New Mexico, and what's left of their holdings in Texas. It's a huge defeat in the making, though fighting is still going on.




Finally, there's the mess in Egypt. As you'll recall, a few years ago the Turks pushed Muhammad Ali out of Syria. Well, now they're going for the whole Levant, and in the process causing a restoration of Ottoman fortunes that makes it no longer look like the sick man of Europe. We had been expecting Turkey's decline to let Bavaria be considered a Great Power, but instead, the Ottomans might well overtake Spain and let Madrid become the true Sick Man of Europe. Strange times, indeed.



Now His Majesty has a few words. If you'll follow me into this room...let me present His Majesty Maximilian II, King of the Bavarians!

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen. Our efforts to link the entire country together by rail continue apace, and with state funds and your organization, I have no doubt that Bavaria will soon be home to not one, but many factories.

I have summoned you here to consult with you about the future. All the signs are evident: whether it be the Ottomans or the Spaniards, one of the two lesser Great Powers will lose its seat at the Concert of Europe and lose its voice in the great affairs of the day, and we will take their place. This is not a boast, it is a fact. With our newfound power will come a need for a new diplomatic course: no longer will the wings of Austria cover us, we will have to fly on our own or plummet to the bottom of the rocky ravine in failure.

I have two questions for you, gentlemen.

I have heard our people desire unification into a greater German state. I will never bend my knee to Berlin or their North German Federation, but our neighbors in Baden and Württemberg bear much in common with us culturally and live in rich lands that would make sense as an integrated part of a South German realm. I could lead such a Federation with no shame, as a leader of a powerful South German, Catholic state to be a counterbalance to Berlin and the upstart Prussian-led Confederation.

A. Austria has been our ally for centuries and has been our protector since time immemorial. We should try to maintain good relations with Vienna while we try to establish hegemony over the rest of South Germany and settle for being one of three great German states. From 38 to 3, with Munich joining Berlin and Vienna as one of the centers of German political and intellectual life.
B. Too long has the House of Wittelsbach yielded to the House of Habsburg. If the South Germans are to be united, let all of them be united. Breaking Austria, setting its oppressed subjects free, and bringing its Germans into a Bavarian-led union is the only hope for a true South German Federation.

The second question is just as heavy. The orders to crush a popular revolt crushed my father's spirit and his political power, and I do not know if I could do the same. What course of action should I take next time a revolt occurs? Keep in mind that I may be busy and, in the heat of the moment, unable to ascertain the nature of the revolution or its goals.

1. Revolutions must be crushed. If need be, let reform happen as it did in this past decade, but never let the mob install its own government. That way lies the Jacobin madness of the last century, which we should never unleash again.
2. A king who shoots his own subjects is no king at all. The king is father of the fatherland, after all, and no one applauds the man who murders his children. Let them demonstrate!

These are weighty matters worthy of consideration by wise men such as yourselves. I look forward to your reply. I expect that by the next time I see you, Munich will be the global center of culture...a young French painter named Edouard Manet has shown me samples of a new style that I suspect will make quite an impression soon. God Save Bavaria!"