Prague Slavic Congress, 1848

Pan-Slavism

“Pan-Slavism” developed over time leading up to the Congress in 1848. The development of some sort of national identity helped to unite the Slavic lands against the increasing German nationalism. The identification of these lands as Slavic does not mean that they are all the same. Within the overarching Slavic category, there are many other groups such as Poles, Hungarians, Czechs and Slovenes.

The intensity of “Slavism” varied among the different factions coming to Prague. Hungarians exhibited the greatest “cultural Pan-Slavism” due to Magyarization (Orton 6). The Slavism was less noticeable with the Czechs and Slovenes because of the already large German influence. Polish Slavism was also intense and was mostly exhibited through the literature of writers such as Jan Gawiński (Orton 6).

1848 Upheavals in Europe

A general disgust with conservative domestic policies, an urge for more freedoms and greater popular participation in government, rising nationalism, social problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution, and increasing hunger caused by harvest failures in the mid-1840s all contributed to growing unrest in the nations ruled by the Habsburg monarchy. In February 1848, Paris, the archetype of revolution at that time, rose against its government, and within weeks many major cities in Europe followed suit.

The Revolution of 1848 in the Habsburg monarchy came in three forms – social, democratic-liberal, and national, but outside Vienna the national aspect soon overshadowed the other two, which was the most evident in Hungary. Emperor Joseph II's effort to incorporate Hungary more fully into the monarchy intensified the Hungarians’ endeavors to preserve their cultural traditions and continue their political domination of the land. Under the leadership of the lawyer and journalist Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian diet demanded sweeping reforms, including civil liberties and far greater autonomy for the Hungarian government, and the Emperor was forced to accede to those. A new constitution – the April Laws – was drafted; however, minority nationalities living in Hungary put up resistance against the knowledge of Hungarian as a qualification for membership in parliament and for participation in government. The new regime was namely marked by an intense pride in being Hungarian, although 60 percent of the Hungarian portion of the Habsburg monarchy was non-Hungarian. Kossuth’s government was as unsympathetic to the demands and hopes of its Serbian, Croatian, Slovak, and Romanian populations as Vienna had been to the demands of the Hungarians.

Besides the Hungarians and the Italians, the Slavic peoples of the monarchy also responded to the revolutionary surge, although with less violence than the other two. The Habsburg authorities faced diverse and growing opposition in the Bohemian capital in the 1840s, but no group initiated a revolution before news of other uprisings and the government's own weakness provided the opportunity. The Czech nationalist movement called for liberal constitutional reforms and equal educational rights for Czech speakers and Germans.

To advance the cause of civil and cultural rights for all Slavic peoples in the Monarchy, the historian Frantisek Palacky and other Czech leaders organized a Slavic congress to meet in Prague.

The Congress

The Prague Slavic Congress of 1848 (also known as the Pan-Slav Congress of 1848) took place between June 2 and June 12, 1848. It was a manifestation of power, unity and vigilance of the Slavs, endangered in their existence by the plans of unification of Germany and the nationalistic policy of the Hungarians as well as a show of resistance. Furthermore, it was the first attempt to negotiate the future relations among neighboring Slav nations of the Habsburg monarchy; and to regulate international, rather than inter-state relationships. It was one of the few times that voices from all Slav populations of Europe were heard in one place.

The idea of the Congress was first conceived on April 20, 1848, by Croat Ivan Kukuljevic Sakginski and Slovak Ľudovít Štúr; this inspired similar projects by Jedrzej Moraczewski of Poznan, Poland. Since it was a response to a startling intensification of German nationalism, it was supported by the Czech politicians as well. On May 1, the preparatory committee of the congress issued an address inviting delegates; officially only representatives of the Slavs living in the Habsburg monarchy were invited, although Slavs from other parts of Europe were welcomed too. Altogether 340 delegates arrived representing Croats, Czechs, Dalmatians, Moravians, Poles, Ruthenians, Serbs, Silesians, Slovaks and Slovenes, as well as 500 official guests.

The Congress held debates in three sections: Czechs and Slovaks (sent the most, 237, participants), Poles and Ruthenians (joined by Silesians, Mazurians, Wielopolaks, Lithuanians, and the Russian revolutionary and one of the founders of Anarchism Mikhail Bakunin), and South Slavs. Each elected its officers and designated 16 representatives for the plenary committee. The section of Czechs and Slovaks was headed by Pavel Josef Šafařík, the Poles and Ruthenians by Karol Libelt, and the South Slavs by Pavao Stamatovic. Czech liberal František Palacký was the president and moving force behind the Congress, aided by deputies Jerzy Lubomirski from Galicia and Stanko Vraz from Slovenia.

Issues of Individual Slavic Nations

The exact goal was unclear. The conference planners even quarreled over its format and the agenda, an indication of how difficult it would be for the Slavic factions to come together, which revealed political divisions and disappointed many participants. The early sessions were marked by discontentment with the vague agenda. Dr. Josef Fric of the Czech section argued that the “primary goal is the preservation of Austria,” (Orton 69), whereas Ľudovít Štúr saw it in self-preservation.” (Orton 69)

For the South Slavs, the danger of Magyarization (Hungarization) was the primary concern, which led to an inevitable conflict with the Poles, who sought the regeneration of the independent Polish state within the boundaries of 1772 and the right to a sovereign country. Polish aspirations were popular with the younger Czech democrats but in conflict with the political interests of most of the Czech politicians, who advocated Austroslavism – transformation of the Habsburg monarchy into a federal state, where Slavic nations would forego full political independence in favor of cultural freedom within Austria. This idea also suited the Serbs and Croats, who were likewise under Habsburg domination and threatened by Hungarian nationalism. Czechs between 1848 and 1849, with Palacky at the head, were alarmed by the vision of a united Germany whose boundaries would include the Czech lands.

On the other hand, some Czech politicians, such as Václav Hanka, saw the best future for the Slavic people in their gathering around Russia. This earned a partial approval among the southern Slavs and Ruthenians in Galicia, but certainly not so with the Poles, who were threatened by the expansion and strengthening of the tsartsarist Russia, their neighbor to the east. The Poles even tried to mediate between Slavs and Hungarians.

The Ruthenian delegates representing the Supreme Ruthenian Council [Holovna Rus'ka Rada] in Lvov stated their grievances against the Poles and publicly presented a demand to divide Galicia into eastern (Ruthenian) and western (Polish) parts. The Polish and Czech delegates were against this division, and so was Bakunin. Finally, thanks to the efforts of Leon Sapieha, representing the Ruthenian Assembly [Rus'kyy Sobor], comprising Poles of the Ruthenian origin, a Polish-Ruthenian compromise was signed on June 7, 1848. It stipulated that Galicia would remain undivided until appropriate decisions were taken by the local Diet, both nations would have equal rights, especially language-wise; the official language in regional offices and schools would be one spoken by the majority of inhabitants of that region; and the Uniate clergy would enjoy the same rights as the Roman Catholic Church. The last requirement was not approved.

Objectives

On June 5, Libelt proposed a new agenda with three objectives:

1. To issue a manifesto to all European nations stating the political orientation of the Congress
2. To send a petition containing the Slavic demands to the Emperor
3. To draw up plans of promotion of cooperation and unity among Slavs

The "Manifesto to the European peoples" was a Polish accomplishment led by Libelt and Moraczewski, who prepared a politically and socially radical counter-proposal to the adulatory address to the Austrian Emperor proposed by the Czechs. It became the basis of the final version of the "Manifesto" worked out by Libelt and Palacky, assisted by Moraczewski, Lucjan Siemienski, Bakunin and František Zach. Although many radical fragments were removed under the pressure of moderate Czech delegates, the "Manifesto" was important for its emphasis on the superiority of national rights over international treaties. The delegates pledged readiness to acknowledge and support equal rights of all nations, regardless of their political power, and called on all Slavonic nations to organize a general congress of European peoples so that they could "regulate their international relationships on a one-to-one equal basis... before the reactionary politics of some cabinets succeeded in stirring again hate and jealousy of one nation against the other."

Regarding statehood requirements, the “Manifesto” sought transformation of the monarchy into a federation of equal nations. Under the Polish influence, the initially strong anti-German tendencies were accommodated, and the right of German-speaking population outside Germany to cooperate with the inhabitants of Germany was acknowledged. The Slavs did not look for any type of revenge (Orton 88). Rather, they wanted to “extend a brotherly hand to all neighbouring nations who are prepared to recognize and effectively champion with us the full equality of all nations, irrespective of their political power or size.” (Orton 88).

Finale

On June 12, the draft of the manifesto was approved, with the final session scheduled for June 14. However, street fighting broke out shortly after noon of the 12th, and the weeklong scuffles that followed disrupted the congress. Most of the delegates left Prague; some were arrested and expelled. This later became known as the Whitsuntide events because of the timing during the Christian holiday of Pentecost.

Unfortunately, the Pan-Slav congress met in a highly charged atmosphere, as young inhabitants of Prague likewise had been influenced by revolutions elsewhere and had taken to the streets. Back in May, the reactionary military commander Alfred Prince Windischgrätz returned to Prague, which radical Czech students viewed as a provocation, and on June 12, while the Congress was being held, they organized an outdoor "Slavic" mass. After the mass, skirmishes with Windischgrätz's soldiers started, and in the commotion, a stray bullet killed the wife of Windischgrätz. Enraged, Windischgrätz seized the city, dispersed the Congress, and established martial law throughout the province of Bohemia.

From July 1848, political events were increasingly unfavorable to the liberation aspirations of suppressed Slavs, and so the "Manifesto" did not change the course of political events. Still, it charted a new concept of regulating international relations in Europe, influenced by the French Revolution.

Who’s who in the Prague Congress of 1848?

The four most important individuals of the Congress were František Palacký as the president, Karol Libelt as the chairman of the Poles and Ukrainians, Pavo Stamatović as the chairman of the South Slavs, and Pavel Šafárik as the chairman of the Czecho-Slovaks.

František Palacký (1798 – 1876 is considered the Father of the Czech Nation, an attribute he received already during his life. He chose to be a historian to aid the process of Czech National Revival, a movement aimed to revive the Czech language, culture and history. He had not only called for the cooperation of the Habsburg Slavs but had also endorsed the Habsburg monarchy as the most reasonable political formation to protect the peoples of central Europe, a doctrine called Austroslavism. This was affirmed in the Manifesto at the Slavic Congress in 1848. When asked by the Germans to endorse their desire for national unity, he responded that he could not do so because it would weaken the Habsburg state. And in that reply he wrote his famous words: “Truly, if it were not that Austria had long existed, it would be necessary, in the interest of Europe, in the interest of humanity itself, to create it.” However, he also said, in response to Austria’s reluctance to ensure equality for individual nations in the monarchy: “We were around before Austria and will continue to be so even when it is gone.”

His impact on the revival movement lies in his History of the Czech Nation (Dějiny národu českého). Besides outlining historical facts from the nation's origin until the start of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1526, he set out to stimulate national consciousness of his people. He stressed the importance on maintaining a high moral level as a nation. His work proved that “Whenever we were winning, it was always through the prevalence of spirit rather than physical power; and whenever we were succumbing, it was always the lack of spiritual activity, moral brevity, and courage that was at fault." His funeral was described as greater than a royal one.

Pavel Josef Šafařík, also known by the Slovak spelling of his name "Pavol Jozef Šafárik" ( May 13, 1795 in Kobeliarovo, Slovakia, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary – June 26, 1861 in Prague, Czech Republic, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) was one of the major figures of the Czech and Slovak national revival movements and Slavic philologist of European acclaim. Studies and work brought him to several European countries, where he absorbed local culture and realized the extent of Slavic oppression. While most of his fellow revivalists favored Russia as the head of Slavs, he defended the rights of individual Slavic nations in the formation of their national destiny and heritage. He came from a poor, educated Protestant family and had an early start into the world of learning thanks to his father. In the beginning of his career he wrote mostly poetry, which was soon replaced by science, literary history, history, and ethnography. He is the founder of Slavic ethnography. In his scientific work he defended Slavs, who were downtrodden and considered inferior by their Austrian rulers. Since most of his greatest and influential works were conceived in Prague, he had to write in Czech in order to resurrect the glory of Czechs. This is why he is claimed as one of the greatest patriots by both Czechs and Slovaks. However, his ideas of the Slovak language as a vernacular of the Czech language used by Slovak Lutherans were soon surpassed by demands for a new standard of the Slovak language. He also wrote in German. A hard-working man with a large family, he experienced political repressions and persecution, accentuated by poverty and dependence on the generosity of friends. Eventually he yielded to the external pressures and attempted to take his own life. He was rescued but died a year later. He is remembered as a man who loved truth, and he went to great pains to discover and prove it.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Sources:
Orton, Lawrence D., The Prague Slav Congress of 1848. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.

Polišenský, Josef, Aristocrats and the Crowd in the Revolutionary Year 1848. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1980.

External Links

• http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ip/prague.htm

Jolanta Pekacz

• http://www.ohiou.edu/~chastain/ac/congslav.htm
• http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-33362/Austria
• http://www.pis.cz/cz/dalsi_informace/info_a_z/palacky_frantisek/searchresult=palacky#searchres
• http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36682

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