The Age of Assassination: Monarchy and Nation in Nineteenth-Century Europe

  • Rachel G. Hoffman
Chapter

Abstract

Over the course of the long nineteenth century, assassination emerged as a violent phenomenon across Europe. In contrast to the relative quiet of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth saw renewed the surge of political murder that had characterized the early modern period.1 In the late nineteenth century alone, assassins tried to kill nearly every major European ruler and head of state, including Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, the Kaisers Wilhelm I, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II of Germany, the Tsars Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia, the kings Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I and Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, and various presidents of France, as well as numerous prominent politicians. During her long reign, Queen Victoria famously survived seven attempts on her life, while her husband, Prince Albert, and the future kings of England, Edward VII and George V, were targeted. It was not only the actual attacks that inspired fear among European royalty. The period was rife with rumours of assassination. The mere hint of conspiracy to commit political murder caused distress and anxiety at every European court. As monarchs, state ministers and police authorities grew concerned, so, too, did society at large. Assassination attempts provoked mass public demonstrations of loyalty to the state, with crowds gathering in their thousands to sing patriotic hymns, to illuminate and flag their streets, and to convene religious services and vigils.

Keywords

Security Measure Royal Family National Anthem Interior Minister Constitutional Monarchy 
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Notes

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© Rachel G. Hoffman 2015

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  • Rachel G. Hoffman

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