How and where was conservatism challenged after 1815?
WWHILE THE ROMANTICS ENACTED A REVOLUTION IN THE ARTS, liberal, national, and socialist forces battered against the conservative restoration of 1815. Political change could occur through gradual and peaceful reform or through violent insurrection, but everywhere it took the determination of ordinary people standing up to prerogatives of the powerful. Between 1815 and 1848, three important countries — Greece, Great Britain, and France — experienced variations on these basic themes.
Delacroix, Massacre at ChiosThe Greek struggle for freedom and independence won the enthusiastic support of liberals, nationalists, and romantics. The Ottoman Turks were portrayed as cruel oppressors who were holding back the course of history, as in this moving masterpiece by Delacroix. (Louvre, Paris, France/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library)