Hungarian Declaration of Independence

Last updated
Hungarian Declaration of Independence
Coa Hungary Country History (1849).svg
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hungary (1849)
Date14 April 1849
Location Protestant Great Church of Debrecen, Hungary
Participants Kingdom of Hungary

The Hungarian Declaration of Independence declared the independence of Hungary from the Habsburg monarchy during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It was presented to the National Assembly in closed session on 13 April 1849 by Lajos Kossuth, and in open session the following day, despite political opposition from within the Hungarian Peace Party. The declaration was passed unanimously the following day. [1] [2]

Kossuth issued the declaration himself, from the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen. The declaration accused the Habsburgs of crimes, saying

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine is unexampled in the compass of its perjuries [...] Its determination to extinguish the independence of Hungary has been accompanied by a succession of criminal acts, comprising robbery, destruction of property by fire, murder, maiming [...] Humanity will shudder when reading this disgraceful page of history. [...] "The house of Habsburg has forfeited the throne".

Kossuth, In Liszt, The Weimar Years [3]

In a banquet speech before the Corporation of New York, Kossuth urged the United States to recognize Hungarian independence, saying

The third object of my humble wishes, gentlemen, is the recognition of the independence of Hungary. [...] our Declaration of Independence was not only voted unanimously in our Congress, but every county, every municipality, has solemnly declared its consent and adherence to it; so it became not the supposed, but by the whole realm positively, and sanctioned by the fundamental laws of Hungary.

Kossuth, In Headley's Life of Kossuth [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Joseph I of Austria</span> Habsburg Emperor from 1848 to 1916

Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, he was also president of the German Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire</span> Set of revolutions in 1848 and 1849

The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire were a set of revolutions that took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Bohemians (Czechs), Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Slovenes, Slovaks, Romanians, Croats, Italians, and Serbs; all of whom attempted in the course of the revolution to either achieve autonomy, independence, or even hegemony over other nationalities. The nationalist picture was further complicated by the simultaneous events in the German states, which moved toward greater German national unity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lajos Kossuth</span> Hungarian statesman (1802–1894)

Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the revolution of 1848–1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artúr Görgei</span> Hungarian military leader

Artúr Görgei de Görgő et Toporc was a Hungarian military leader renowned for being one of the greatest generals of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867</span> Establishment of Austria-Hungary

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary, being separate from, and no longer subject to, the Austrian Empire. The compromise put an end to the 18-year-long military dictatorship and absolutist rule over Hungary which Emperor Franz Joseph had instituted after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Hungary was restored. The agreement also restored the old historic constitution of the Kingdom of Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferenc Deák (politician)</span> Hungarian politician (1803–1876)

Ferenc Deák de Kehida was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation" and one of the greatest figures of Hungary's liberal movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josip Jelačić</span> Ban of Croatia between 1848 and 1859

Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and politician. He was the Ban of Croatia between 23 March 1848 and 19 April 1859. He was a member of the House of Jelačić and a noted army general, remembered for his military campaigns during the Revolutions of 1848 and for his abolition of serfdom in Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)</span> Period of Hungarian history while under the control of the Habsburg monarchy (1526–1867)

The Kingdom of Hungary between 1526 and 1867 existed as a state outside the Holy Roman Empire, but part of the lands of the Habsburg monarchy that became the Austrian Empire in 1804. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the country was ruled by two crowned kings. Initially, the exact territory under Habsburg rule was disputed because both rulers claimed the whole kingdom. This unsettled period lasted until 1570 when John Sigismund Zápolya abdicated as King of Hungary in Emperor Maximilian II's favor.

Robert John Weston Evans is a British historian, whose speciality is the post-medieval history of Central and Eastern Europe. He was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, and later at Jesus College, Cambridge. Evans was Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford from 1997 to 2011 and is a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He works on the post-medieval history of Central and Eastern Europe, especially concerning that of the Habsburg lands from 1526 to 1918.

<i>Funérailles</i>

Funérailles is the 7th and one of the most famous pieces in Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, a collection of piano pieces by Franz Liszt. It was an elegy written in October 1849 in response to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 by the Habsburgs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungarian Revolution of 1848</span>

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although the revolution failed, it is one of the most significant events in Hungary's modern history, forming the cornerstone of modern Hungarian national identity - the anniversary of the Revolution's outbreak, 15 March, is one of Hungary's three national holidays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutions of 1848</span> Series of political upheavals in Europe

The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rise of nationalism in Europe</span> Part of the history of Europe

The rise of nationalism in Europe was stimulated by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. American political science professor Leon Baradat has argued that “nationalism calls on people to identify with the interests of their national group and to support the creation of a state – a nation-state – to support those interests.” Nationalism was the ideological impetus that, in a few decades, transformed Europe. Rule by monarchies and foreign control of territory was replaced by self-determination and newly formed national governments. Some countries, such as Germany and Italy were formed by uniting various regional states with a common "national identity". Others, such as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Poland were formed by uprisings against the Ottoman or Russian Empires. Romania is a special case, formed by the unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and later gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878.

Kossuth, Sz. 21, BB. 31, DD. 75a is a symphonic poem composed by Béla Bartók inspired by the Hungarian politician Lajos Kossuth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New German School</span>

The New German School is a term introduced in 1859 by Franz Brendel, editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, to describe certain trends in German music. Although the term has frequently been used in essays and books about music history of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a clear definition is complex.

<i>Hungaria</i> (Liszt) Symphonic poem by Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt wrote his symphonic poem Hungaria in 1854, basing it partly on the Heroic March in the Hungarian Style for piano which he wrote in 1840. It was premiered under Liszt's baton at the Hungarian National Theater in Budapest on September 8, 1856, where it achieved an enormous success. "There was better than applause," the composer later wrote. "All wept, both men and women!" He was reminded with that scene of the proverb that "tears are the joy of the Hungarians."

The March Constitution, also called Imposed March Constitution or Stadion Constitution, was a constitution of the Austrian Empire promulgated by Minister of the Interior Count Stadion between 4 March and 7 March 1849. Though declared irrevocable, it was eventually revoked by the New Year's Eve Patent of Emperor Franz Joseph I on 31 December 1851. The Stadion Constitution emphasized power for the monarch; it also marked the way of the neo-absolutism in the Habsburg ruled territories. It preempted the Kremsier Constitution of the Kremsier Parliament. This state of affairs would last until the October Diploma of 20 October 1860 and the later February Patent of 26 February 1861.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slovak Uprising of 1848–49</span> 19th-century uprising of Slovaks against Hungarian rule

The Slovak Uprising , Slovak Volunteer Campaigns or Slovak Revolt was an uprising of Slovaks in Western parts of Upper Hungary with the aim of equalizing Slovaks, democratizing political life and achieving social justice within the 1848–49 revolutions in the Habsburg Monarchy. It lasted from September 1848 to November 1849. In October 1848, Slovak leaders replaced their original Hungaro-federal program by Austro-federal, called for the separation of a Slovak district from the Kingdom of Hungary and for the formation of a new autonomous district within the framework of the Habsburg Monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pál Almásy</span> Hungarian lawyer and politician

Pál Almásy de Zsadány et Törökszentmiklós was a Hungarian lawyer and politician, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungarian State</span> 1849 unrecognised state in Central Europe

The Hungarian State was a short-lived unrecognised state that existed for 4 months in the last phase of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848–49.

References

  1. András Boros-Kazai (2005). "Hungary". In Richard Frucht (ed.). Eastern Europe: an introduction to the people, lands, and culture. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. pp.  354. ISBN   9781576078006.
  2. Miklós Molnár (2001). A concise history of Hungary . Cambridge concise histories. Anna Magyar. Cambridge University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN   9780521667364.
  3. Alan Walker (1997). Franz Liszt: The Weimar years, 18481861. Franz Liszt. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Cornell University Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN   9780801497216.
  4. Phineas Camp Headley (1852). The life of Louis Kossuth, governor of Hungary: including notices of the men and scenes of the Hungarian revolution; to which is added an appendix containing his principal speeches, &c (10th ed.). Auburn: Derby and Miller. pp. 415, 417–418.

Further reading