There were mini-revolutions all over Europe in 1848. None of these revolutions worked. The Revolutions of 1848 were due to the fact that people wanted more liberty and freedom and that the lower class was frustrated. A revolution started in France in 1848 and moved outward to other places as the people in other countries decided they weren't being treated fairly. It wasn't one big all-encompassing revolution–just a lot of small ones in a lot of countries. There were lots of messy revolutions with intellectual leaders, college students and professors, and city people getting the revolutions going. The farmers didn't really care much one way or the other. Then, about 1850, the armies got all of the revolutions shut down by shooting the protesters. Pretty much, by 1850, all of the revolutions were off. The French Revolution was a loser, but there is still a burning desire for democracy all over Europe. In 1848, Austrian radicals were trying to force the new leader out. Hungarians and Czechs were trying to break away from Austria. Italy was trying to get some provinces back and Prussia was an internal mess. Everything is a mess, essentially. Russia and England were the only countries in Europe without a major revolt. Russia doesn't have a revolution cuz they are so "under the thumb" of the ruler, and the British don't revolt because minor (but steady) progress is being made.
In 1848, statesmen all over Europe became ruthless. They'd cheat at other countries' expense. This was called Realpolitik–"political reality" in German. Idealism was out and ruthless takeovers and false promises were in. People had forgotten the death and destruction of the Napoleonic Wars. They have just read about war and it sounds like a good idea to them! They want to do whatever is necessary to get what they want.
In France in 1848, some reform meetings were going on and the government broke them up. There wasn't any bloodshed until the police came. Louis Philippe, the French king from 1830 to 1848, abdicated the throne, and Louis Blanc took over as the leader of the provisional government in France. The assembly drew up a new constitution. The French people didn't like this revolution. Louis Blanc was dropped and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte ran for President of the Republic in 1848. He was Napoleon's nephew. The people forgot the bad times with Napoleon and remembered the victories and Louis Napoleon had the magic name. He was not a commanding figure; he was short and pudgy. He had a good education from Germany. He was elected President and would eventually become Napoleon III. He got in good with the young army. According to the Constitution, he can only be president once for four years. He wanted to be elected for a 2nd term, which was illegal. It required 2/3 of the vote to change the law and he almost but didn't quite get 2/3 of the vote, so he brought in the military and overthrew the government. Essentially, now he is a military dictator. He is very popular, but he is still a military dictator. He suggested a new government which gave him the power to make treaties and initiate bills. After a plebiscite in 1852, the French named him Emperor Napoleon III. [Napoleon I had a son with Marie Louise of Austria– Napoleon's followers called this son Napoleon II even though he never ruled.] Napoleon III wasn't a fighter. He built railroads, canals, widened the boulevards of Paris, beautified Paris, and designed a new sewage system for Paris. He is spending money to build up France. He was emperor of France from 1852 to 1870. The French and English begin to get along during this time period. There is really no reason for them to be enemies any more. Napoleon III is doing whatever he can to cooperate with England.
The French foreign policy of getting along with England involved them in the Crimean War (1853-1856). The Turks (Ottoman Empire) were in the Holy Land minding their own business cuz they were too weak to do anything else. Christians were allowed to visit and there was less antagonism between Christians and Moslems than there had been in the Middle Ages (Crusades, etc.). Occasionally, some fanatic would blow up a shrine, so the French Catholics want to send people to protect the Christian holy places. The Turks say ok. The Russian/Greek Orthodox people wanted to send their own protectors. The Turks refuse to let the Russians in to protect their shrines. Russia begin to move into the Ottoman Empire. The Turks get ready to fight back and declares war on Russia in 1853 (confident of British and French support). The Russians destroyed some of the Turkish fleet which led to public outcry in England and France. The English and French declared war against Russia in 1854. Why do the English declare war? It seems to be either due to boredom or a superiority complex or both. The English have no medical supplies at all–they essentially don't think one should think of being wounded! Lots of Brits are killed–huge scandal. This war included the famous "Charge of the Light Brigade" (Tennyson poem) at the Battle of Balaklava in which Russia surrounded a bunch of English troops and smashed them. The newspapers built the war up. Florence Nightingale headed a Brigade of Women to help the soldiers. This is the first time that female nurses are used in a war. Lord Raglan (raglan sleeves are named for him) and Lord Cardigan (cardigan sweaters are named for him) were big English generals during this war. Cardigan led the ill-fated "Charge of the Light Brigade" (also called "The Charge of the Six Hundred"). The war finally ended when Austria threatened to enter the war against Russia. The war sobered up the English. Half a million men were killed (2/3 from disease) in this senseless war. This is a big scandal in England and makes England much less likely to enter a war after this fiasco. It made it abundantly clear that medical practices were appalling at the time. It was a very costly war that made all the participants look bad. In the end, the Russians weren't allowed to protect their shrines, keep the places they had occupied, and felt picked on by everyone else. Everyone else thought the Russians were trying to bust the Turks in order to get a warm water port. France got off slightly better. France's help in the Crimean War put pressure on the Sultan of Turkey to allow France to build the Suez Canal in Egypt (built by Ferdinand de Lesseps 1859-1869) which removed the necessity of going all the way around Africa as a trade obstacle. France got in and out of the war without hard feelings. In 1870, Napoleon III held a free election after he'd been in office for 21 years and the people voted for him to stay.