This map highlights the major centers of the Revolution of 1848–49 in Europe, which aimed to overthrow monarchies and establish liberal and democratic nation-states. The series of revolutions began in Sicily in January 1848 and reached France in February 1848. In March 1848, the revolution spread to the Austrian Empire (Vienna, Prague, and Budapest) and to Prussia, among other centers. Revolutions also broke out in various states in the German Confederation, including Hesse, Baden, and the Palatinate. With the exception of the revolution in France, these European-wide struggles for freedom were not successful and were roundly defeated by reactionary and violent counterrevolutionary forces, which defended existing monarchical order.