A nascent bourgeois class developed and in the general breakdown of political authority in the revolutions that swept Europe in 1848, this class attempted to perform the political liberalizing function that its English, Dutch, American and French counterparts had already fulfilled. The revolution was however premature and in the wake of the failure of the liberal middle class to create a unified, liberal German state, the old, traditional forces were able to reassert their authority through the military strength of the Prussian state. Economic development continued and political unity was achieved in 1871, but under the leadership of the traditional, authoritarian Prussian state.