Because of Franz's reputation as a "tyrant," the entire incident did not cause much of a stir.
In truth, the Czech nationalists had not suffered especially heavy losses in absolute numbers in 1848. But there had never been many Czech nationalists to begin with, and Franz's open-door policies had multiplied the number of Germans in Bohemia severalfold. Life was now very difficult for the Czech nationalists.
Several professors and students advocating Czech independence had been exiled directly to Africa by Franz. After several years, not only did they no longer want independence—they now staunchly supported the rule of the Austrian Empire.
As for the Czechs in the cities, the vast majority could not speak Czech at all. In the countryside, thanks to the spread of education, especially among the younger generation, nearly all Czechs could speak fluent German.
Of course, Franz understood the principle of combining favor with authority. He had, in fact, opened a path for Czechs to rise through the social classes, but they had to advance step by step according to his design.
Economically, as one of the Austrian Empire's most industrially developed regions, Bohemia offered its people more opportunities to enter factories.
Not everyone liked rural life, and as the times changed, Austria's small farmers were seeing ever-dwindling profits due to their lack of economies of scale.
Had Franz not artificially slowed this process, what they would have felt would not have been pressure, but eviction notices from the banks. Many farmers would have gone directly bankrupt.
Especially the serfs who had only just been emancipated—they had merely traded one cage for another.
Of course, the Austrian Empire was not short on jobs at this time. As long as they were willing, finding work to make a living was no problem. After all, Franz had forcibly