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Rh the doctrines of the encyclopædists, of Voltaire, of Rousseau, and of Herder, soon became popular, and gave to a few Czech patriots, who had never lost hope in the future of their people, a means of reviving the nation, seemingly dead for more than a century. The brutal acts of Joseph II. and the oppressive measures of his successors, Leopold II. and Francis I., and the Metternich régime, also helped to bring about a salutary reaction, which led to the regeneration of the nation.

We now come to the period when a small handful of enlightened men, the Czech "awakeners," by means of books written in Czech or translated from other languages began to spread the knowledge of the glorious past of Bohemia among the people; after seventy years of work they succeeded in creating a real revival of the Czech nation.

In 1848 the nation was able to celebrate its renaissance. It immediately threw itself into the political struggle. Inspired by the recollection of the ancient independence of the Crown of St Venceslas, and relying on the principle of the right of nationalities, the Czechs took part in the revolutionary movement, and sought to free their country.

They demanded autonomy for the Bohemian lands. And this was the beginning of the constitutional struggles.