The History of Hungarian Passive Resistance 1849-67 By Rory Kinane
Dec 24, 2015
The History of Hungarian Passive
Resistance 1849-67By Rory Kinane
Contents1. Introduction
2. Context
3. Timeline
4. Methods of Passive Resistance
5. Ferenc Deak
6. Historiography
7. Conclusions
Introduction Hungary between 1849-67 went through a period of passively
resisting their Austrian rulers
Passive resistance led and inspired (to a debatable degree) by Ferenc Deak
This is seen by many as the forerunner to much of what Gandhi would later do in India
Perhaps the first example of passive resistance and also it was successful
Richard B. Gregg - the first major populariser of nonviolence describes Hungary as the earliest example
Gene Sharp - in The Politics of Nonviolent Action talks of how Ference Deak was well ahead of his time
Context Hungary is a large part of Austrian empire, Sugar describes it as practically
half of the empire
Revolutions of 1848 impact the Austrian empire and Hungary in particular
The events of 1848 meant Hungary gained a Constitution
Emperor Ferdinand seen as weak in allowing Hungarians to gain constitution and give other concessions
Forced to abdicate bye nephew and subsequent Emperor Francis Joseph
New Emperor quickly repeals constitution
Violence erupts
Attempts by Kossuth and others at declaring Independence
Austrian Oppression 1848 Notoriously brutal General Haynauwas
given a free hand by the regime
In the city of Arad, thirteen Hungarian military revolutionaries executed
Lajos Batthyány - the first Hungarian head of state executed
Military courts sentenced some 500 to death, executed 114, and jailed 1,763. Around 50,000 ex-infantrymen were shanghaied into special "retribution" units
A new gendarme force was formed and a pervasive network of informants created
Timeline 1849-671849-59 resistance is largely directionless
Deak sets tone in 1850 by repeatedly refusing to join in governing with the Austrians
1859 Emperor visits and Hungarians refuse to celebrate and burn down an arch the Emperor was meant to pass through
1859 Emperor attempts to appease Hungarians by asking for representatives to go to Reichstag – only 3 out of 6 go
Emperor again concedes to Hungarian demands and allows a Diet in 1861
Timeline – The 1861 Diet The actions of the Diet
re-establish County Councils and also attack Austrian control: -
New Diet soon closed at gunpoint by Austrian soldiers
Decrees of 1861
Sack all Austrian officials
Ban all taxes that support the Imperial Army
Ban all future taxes unless approved by Hungarian parliament
Send a critical letter to the Emperor
Timeline – 1861 Onwards passive resistance begins Boycott of Austrian goods
Refusal to pay taxes
Refusal to co-operate
Refusal to speak German
Refusal to take part in Imperial Parliament
Austria responds by billeting soldiers Only increases polarisation and massively
unpopular with soldiers
Timeline -1863Conciliation attempted but Deak refuses
Austria and Prussia go to war with Denmark and seize Schleswig and Holstein
Bohemia also leaves Imperial parliament
Tension begins to build between Austria and Prussia over Danish spoils
Bismarck, realises Austria is weak and Prussian military advancements make war a good option
Timeline - 1865Emperor again offers Deak a settlement short of
constitutional revival, Deak refuses
Emperor visits Hungary to gain/gauge support
Asks Palffy (Governor) to get Hungary covered in Imperial flags
Hungarians respond by covering Pesth in Nationalist flags
Timeline – 1865 ContinuedEmperor realises support in Hungary is very
weak
Sacks Palffy
Emperor attempts to gain French support against Prussia but Bismarck had already squared them in neutrality
Position of Austria increasingly weak
Signs treaty of Lauenberg with Austria giving them the rest of the Danish spoils for the very cheap price of £500,000
Timeline – 1865 Continued20th September Manifesto - Emperor dissolves
Imperial parliament and restores Hungarian and Bohemian parliaments
December – Emperor opens new Hungarian parliament wearing Hungarian dress, speaking Hungarian with motif of “1848!” behind him
Gives eloquent address but little consolation
Spends time in Pesth giving dinner parties to every Hungarian patriot he could find
Tells people he is more of a Hungarian than an Austrian
Timeline – 1865 ContinuedDiet respond by continuing to demand restoration
of 1848 Constitution for Hungarian co-operation
Some back and forth with Emperor but ultimately he leaves Pesth baffled and to no fanfare
Diet begins to ignore Austria and act as 1848 laws were in existence
Austria impotent to stop this
Prussia now allied to Italy and Austria facing disaster
Timeline – 1866
Austro-Prussian War Italy beaten, but Prussians
devastate every Austrian army
Last ditch attempt by Emperor for Hungarian support
Even asks Deak if he restores Constitution would Hungary fight He says “No” – it was not a
matter to be bartered over Results of war: Austria looses
head of Germanic Confederation, some territory to Prussia, Italian provinces and has to pay a war debt
Timeline – 1866 ContinuedEmperor fires some old guard and turns to Baron
Beust
Deak strains to prevent rebellion in Hungary
Austrians fear Bismarck backed Hungarian uprising and so Deak suddenly becomes a very attractive option
But Deak also sees if a violent insurrection destroyed the Austrian empire and left Hungary weak – Russia may well take over
Timeline – 1867 Continued 18th February 1867 Emperor
recognises Hungarian Constitution
Under the Ausgleich Hungary controls it’s army, taxes and borders
Austria-Hungary becomes new name
Hungary pays only 1/3 of Imperial expenditure but gets equal vote in how it is spent
Emperor Francis Joseph proclaimed King of Hungary to sincere fanfare
Methods of Passive Resistance
Patrick Murray argues the most important tactic employed was the “steadfast refusal of the Hungarians to send representatives to the Imperial parliament in Vienna, as a means of securing the re-establishment of a separate Hungarian parliament in Budapest.”
This tactic does two things: -
First it denies the Austrians legitimacy
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, unlike open revolt or electing a National parliament, this tactic gives the Austrians nothing to aim a sword at
So it frustrates the Austrians as much as it undermines them
Methods of Passive Resistance
Refusal to pay Taxes, Griffith describes vividly how Hungarians refused to pay taxes, confiscate property of those that wouldn’t pay or but said property
This meant people had to be brought in to do all those tasks
The Austrians soon learned it cost more than was gained to collect taxes
Methods of Passive Resistance
Refusal of Hungarian leaders to participate
Boycott of Austrian goods
Nationalist Songs
Nationalist organisationsNational Agricultural and Industrial councils direct
economyNational Theatre attended as matter of patriotismHungarian spoken and taught in defiance of all
attempts at Germanification
Methods of Passive Resistance
Constant telling of every Austrian from taxmen, soldiers to the Emperor himself that their regime was illegalPsychological effect on the oppressors?
Playing the long game – Schmerling: “Austria can wait and win” – Deak: “She can’t wait half so long as we can.”
The Times warns : “Passive resistance can be so organised as to become more troubling than armed rebellion”
Ferenc Deak 1803-1876 “The Wise Man of the Nation”
Griffith calls him – not a “politician, but a statesman”
Walked the streets of Pesth playing with children, giving alms to beggars and conversing with all sorts of people
Refused position of Prime Minister and many other titles
Emperor offers gifts, money, favour, position and asks what Deak wants
Deak responds “Sire when I am dead you can say Ferenc Deak was an honest man.”
Retires to modest rural estate
Dies in 1876 and has a massively attended funeral – but personally requests a simple grave
Today a national hero and 200th anniversary of his birth recently celebrated
Historiography (1)Miller notes that it was not passive resistance alone,
but a combination of factors “It may be questioned whether the passive
resistance ... was responsible solely for Hungary's success, but it was doubtless a large factor.”
Csapody and Weber argue history is often constructed for fairly pragmatic reasons and Hungarian resistance triumph is an example of this. Serves as a National legend Has a “Great man” hero Serves histories looking to trace back Ghandi and
perhaps even attempts to steal his ideas to European parents (Euro-centrism?)
Historiography (2)Molnár looks at the passive resistance as a way
of life and not necessarily driven primarily by Deak
Griffith’s work is primarily propaganda and unashamedly idolises Deak
Péter Dávidházi argues Deak was a brilliant figure but not in charge. The movement was largely directionless and without vision. Furthermore the social environment largely produced the resistance movement, not individual actors.
Historiography (3)Kontler argues that the dimensions of passive
resistance have been greatly exaggerated by national legend, but still dominant political attitude in Hungary.
Uses Salman Rushdie to some up: "Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.”
Deak’s apparent uniting strength must balanced with the realisation people were unusually united by anti-Austrian and Nationalist sentiment
Griffith even admits this and Sugar also discusses it
ConclusionsGriffith’s work is a useful narrative but obviously
biased and in need of moderation
Miller is correct – the campaign was part of a larger picture that caused the success
Molnar and Dávidházi also make a good point that Deak was not in direct control of the movement
But he did lead by example
Kontler also rightly points out the obviously dubious simplicities associated with this period
Conclusions - ContinuedHowever this was still an incredible movement
that showed passive resistance was possible and could achieve results
It arguably showed passive resistance could be superior to violence
Deak’s role is perhaps overstated, but should definitely not be understated. He was a truly great leader and is comparable to figures as revered as Gandhi.
Sharp was right, he was very ahead of his time