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The Revolution of 1848 in Luxembourg was part of the revolutionary wave which occurred across Europe in 1848, in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg which at the time was in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dissatisfaction with inequality, an authoritarian government, a lack of civil liberties and a political system that excluded most people from government, caused widespread upheaval. This in turn forced the government to concede various reforms, particularly the granting of a new constitution, which introduced new civil liberties, parliamentary government, wider participation in the political system, and the separation of powers. == Background == After being annexed by the French in the Napoleonic Wars, Luxembourg was elevated to a Grand Duchy and awarded to the Dutch King by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. While it was supposed to be ruled by him in personal union, rather than as part of his kingdom, the King-Grand Duke William I treated it merely as a province of the Netherlands. (At the time, modern Belgium was part of the Netherlands, so Luxembourg was not separated from Dutch territory.) The Grand Duchy would also be part of the German Confederation (the successor to the Holy Roman Empire), and its fortress therefore garrisoned by Confederation troops. Luxembourg was profoundly affected by the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Many in Luxembourg supported the cause of the Belgian secessionists, and indeed most of the country was ''de facto'' annexed by the new Belgian state, while only the capital Luxembourg City remained loyal to the Dutch King, as it was garrisoned by Prussian troops. The situation was only resolved in 1839, when the Dutch King consented to the partition of Luxembourg. In the Treaty of London of 1839, the French-speaking parts of Luxembourg were carved off to form part of Belgium, while the remaining German-speaking part made up the rump Grand-Duchy, and would continue to be ruled by the Dutch King-Grand Duke, even though it was now territorially separated from the Netherlands. It would also remain in the German Confederation. In 1841, William II authorised the first constitution of Luxembourg.〔 This document left all meaningful power in the hands of the sovereign. The legislature provided by the Constitution, the Assembly of Estates, was little more than a shadow parliament. It was elected indirectly, the ballots were not secret, and the vast majority of the population were excluded from political life by a system of census suffrage, requiring the payment of 10 florins per year in tax. At the elections of 1845, in the canton of Luxembourg, only 956 out of 28,477 inhabitants were eligible to vote.〔 The Assembly's sessions were held in private, and its assent was required only for penal and fiscal laws, the civil list, and the extraordinary budget. In 1841, this constitution was generally welcomed, but over the years, voices started to be raised in the Assembly of Estates, demanding a return to the civil liberties which had applied under the Belgian annexation of 1830-1839. Various other issues were a cause for discontent, such as the muzzling of the press, the ban on associations, the exorbitant expenses of the civil list, and lack of judicial and educational reforms.〔 There had been several famines in the 1840s, of which the poor were the worst affected. Little had been done by the authorities to deal with the consequences of these crises, at least in the eyes of the people. Furthermore, unpopular taxes caused widespread discontent. Complaints were also raised about the annual payment of 150,000 guilders to the sovereign, which weighed heavily on the state's budget. In the 1840s the government had additionally restricted traditional rights of pasture and gathering firewood, which was seen by the rural poor saw as an unfair attack on their ancient rights. The 1845 law forbidding straw roofs in houses, introduced after several destructive fires, likewise burdened the poor, who could ill afford the required renovations.〔 On top of all this, unemployment and price increases turned the economic problems into a social crisis. More and more frequently, vagabonds and beggars appeared in whole groups, demanding charity from property owners.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Revolution of 1848 in Luxembourg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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