Passive Resistance (''passzív ellenállás'') is a name attributed to an era of Hungarian politics in the 19th century. It refers to a form of opposition to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n domination of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. "Passive resistance" refers in this case to the reluctance of any notable and prestigious personalities to take any position or office or to otherwise engage in politics, and also to certain other acts of non-cooperation. This approach characterized Hungarian public life between 1849 and 1865, with a brief intermezzo in 1860-61. In Hungarian historical context, therefore, the meaning of the term
passive resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...
is slightly different from in other contexts. Passive resistance, including in the forms practised in Hungary in this period, represents one form of the broader phenomenon of
civil resistance
Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
.
First stage - 1849-1860
Passive resistance began immediately after the 1848-1849
war of independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List of o ...
was crushed by the Austrians and Russians in August 1849, and became crystallized as a movement under the "leadership" of
Ferenc Deák, a former moderate leader of the Reformist party in the 1840s. In 1850 Austrian minister of justice
Anton von Schmerling requested Deák to participate in a committee of the legislation in order to bring about consolidation between Austria and Hungary. Deák's response ("After the dismal events in the near past, under the circumstances that still prevail, my cooperation in public matters is impossible") was widely distributed in secret and served as a call for other notables to join Deák's passive resistance. The journal
Pesti Napló
''Pesti Napló'' was a Hungarian newspaper published from March 1850 to October 1939. The paper was based in Budapest, Hungary.
The Hungarian author Zsigmond Kemény
Baron Zsigmond Kemény (June 12, 1814December 22, 1875) was a Hungarian a ...
, edited by novelist
Zsigmond Kemény
Baron Zsigmond Kemény (June 12, 1814December 22, 1875) was a Hungarian author.
Life and work
Kemény was born in Alvincz, Principality of Transylvania, Austrian Empire (today Vințu de Jos, Romania) to a distinguished noble family, but famil ...
became the chief organ of the movement, which was instrumental in keeping up hope and spirit in a Hungary fully incorporated into Austria and characterized by reprisals against political dissidents, thousands of treason trials, military governance, centralization, absolutism, censorship and direct control of Vienna over every aspect of public life.
Deák, Kemény and other leaders of the resistance carefully avoided any political agitation or criticism of the establishment (which was impossible anyway), and, strictly in the framework of civic organizations, concentrated on national issues of non-political nature, such as the use of the
Hungarian language
Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...
, development of the Hungarian economy, and protection of the legal standing of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. Its ma ...
. Their followers, a considerable part of the intelligentsia and the landed gentry, either completely withdrew to private life or similarly limited themselves to non-political activities and, through various means of
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
, refused to lend support or recognition to the authorities. Through their non-cooperation they managed to undermine the legitimacy and credibility of the institutions of the Austrian oppression, which came to be dependent on foreign (mostly Czech) civil servants and discredited collaborationists collectively known by the sobriquet ''Bach hussars''. (
Alexander Bach
Baron Alexander von Bach (German: ''Alexander Freiherr von Bach''; 4 January 1813, Loosdorf, Austria – 12 November 1893, Schöngrabern, Austria) was an Austrian politician. His most notable achievement was instituting a system of centralized co ...
was Austrian minister of the interior at the time with the mission of transforming Hungarian public administration in such a way that all chance for commotion should be eradicated; the 1850s are therefore also referred to as ''
Bach era'' in Hungarian historiography.)
Besides the absence of authentic personalities from state institutions, passive resistance was increasingly characterised by a widespread refusal to pay taxes, avoidance of military service and desertion.
Political events of 1860-1861
By the beginning of the decade, the worsening diplomatic isolation of Austria and events such as the 1859
Second Italian War of Independence undermined the Habsburg Empire militarily and financially, increasing Vienna's willingness to come to a compromise with the Hungarians. In 1859 Bach, the symbol of repression was dismissed; this, and the issuance of two successive "constitutions" for the Empire (the
October Diploma
The October Diploma was a constitution of the Austrian Empire adopted by Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Joseph on 20 October 1860. The Diploma was written by the Minister of Interior, Agenor Gołuchowski (senior), Agenor Gołucho ...
and the
February Patent, issued in 1860 and 1861, respectively) paved the way for Hungarian political leaders
Ferenc Deák and
József Eötvös to abandon their passive resistance and actively engage in politics again at the Diet convened by the Emperor on 2 April 1861.
However, the Hungarian Estates and the Viennese Court were unable to arrive at an agreement. The constitution proposed by
Emperor Francis Joseph was seen as curbing Hungarian autonomy to an extent unacceptable by Hungarians, many of whom were still unwilling to give up their hopes of seceding Hungary from Austria entirely. The constitution was therefore rejected by the Diet, which was, in turn, dissolved by the Emperor with the threat of military violence.
Road to the compromise
After the dissolution of the Diet, Deák resumed his policies of passive resistance; however, political fermentation started in 1860-61 proved unstoppable. Deák expressed his willingness to resume negotiations with Vienna in his famous 1865 article (the so-called
Easter article), marking the end of the era of passive resistance.
The worsening politico-military situation of the Empire, especially the disastrous defeat in the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
strengthened the support of reform in Vienna, while the diminishing moral and financial reserves of the Hungarian nobility also proved instrumental in bringing the majority of Hungarian leaders to acquiescing in their inability of achieving the complete independence of Hungary. The necessity of coming to a modus vivendi was therefore increasingly accepted by both parties; eventually, these tendencies and the interdependence of Austria and Hungary led to the
Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...
and the creation of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
.
The passive resistance as seen in Ireland
The period of passive resistance in Hungary from 1849 to 1867 attracted the interest of one prominent Irish nationalist,
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...
, who was a leading figure in the
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
movement from 1905 onwards, and who was later to be the Irish Foreign Secretary. He wrote a notable book, published in 1904, on ''Resurrection of Hungary: A Parallel for Ireland''; and in a later edition of this book he reproduced his speech to the first annual convention of the National Council of Sinn Féin, in which he urged that Ireland follow the models of Hungary and Finland in casting off oppressive foreign rule through sustained passive resistance.
[Arthur Griffith, ''The Resurrection of Hungary: A Parallel for Ireland'', 3rd edition (Dublin: Whelan & Son, 1918), pp. 139-63.]
References
Further reading
Tamás Csapody: Deák Ferenc és a passzív rezisztencia*{{in lang, hu}
* András Gergely: ''Magyarország története a 19. században'', Budapest: Osiris, 2003.
* György Szabad, ''Hungarian Political Trends between the Revolution and the Compromise (1849-1867)'', Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1977.
* Géza Závodszky: ''Magyar történelmi kronológia'', Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó, 1987.
19th century in Hungary
1840s in Hungary
1850s in Hungary
1860s in Hungary