The European Revolutions of 1848 were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary forces had won out and the revolutions collapsed. This revolutionary wave began in France and immediately spread to most of Europe. Over 50 countries were affected, but there was no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. The purpose of this paper is to describe the revolutionary upheavals of 1848 which swept across Europe. The specific objectives gravitated around the context which prevailed at the time of the revolutions. The reasons which prompted the occurrence of the revolutions were explored together with the course of the revolutions. The revolutions were wiped out hence justified the need to explain what prompted their failure, to describe the significance and contribution of the revolutions towards the development of democracy in Europe.