German revolutions of 1848–49 used on today's national flag of Germany as a symbol of the Republican movement and of the unity among the German-speaking people. Activism for liberal reforms spread through many of the German states, each of which had distinct revolutions. They were also inspired by the street demonstrations of workers and artisans led in Paris, France, from February 22 through 24, 1848, which resulted in the abdication by King Louis-Philippe of France and his exile in Britain. In France the revolution of 1848 became known as the February Revolution. The revolutions spread from France across Europe; they erupted soon thereafter in
Revolutions of 1848 of the peasants. European middle classes made political and economic gains over the next 20 years; France retained universal male suffrage. Russia would later free the serfs on February 19, 1861. The Habsburgs finally had to give the Hungarians more self-determination in the "Ausgleich" of 1867. The revolutions inspired lasting reform in Denmark, as well as the Netherlands. The Texas Hill Country was settled by German intellectuals fleeing the reactionary purges (German Texans). More widely, many disillusioned and persecuted revolutionaries, in particular (though not exclusively) those from Germany and the Austrian Empire, left their homelands for foreign exile in the