Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World,

1750 - 1850Chapter 21

(pp. 600 – 624)

Enlightenment Ideas Spark Revolution

• Enlightenment thinkers:– Encouraged observation and

inference in all spheres of life– Critiqued the role religion played

in public life– Developed new political ideas

about the individual, natural rights and the social contract

– Influenced resistance to existing political authority

Frontiers and Taxes

• After defeating the French in 1763, the British government faced two problems:– 1. Colonists were pushing into Amerindian

territory & creating expensive wars– 2. British treasury was empty, so it raised

taxes in the colonies• Stamp Act of 1765• Boston Massacre• Boston Tea Party

The Revolution, 1775 - 1783

• 1775, Patriot militia clashed with British troops at Lexington & Concord

• In response, colonists met as Continental Congress in Philadelphia– Washington selected to lead American army

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense further intensified conflict b/t colonists & England

“In England a king hath little more to do than to make war and give away places; which in plain terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.”

“We hold these truths to be self evident: That all men are

created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that

among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to

secure these rights, governments are instituted

among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the

governed.”

The Declaration of Independence

The American Revolutionary War

• British won early battles of the war

• 1777, Americans defeat British at Saratoga– Turning point of the war– Colonists gain French

support

• 1780, Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown– Proceeded by Treaty of

Paris (1783)

Effects of the American Revolution

• Led to the emergence of independent states with the U.S.

• Provided a model for later independence movements in France, Haiti and Latin America

• Formation of the Constitution– Based off Enlightenment ideals

French Society

•1st Estate– Clergy

• Catholic Church• Exempt from taxes

•2nd Estate– Nobility

• Government officials, military leaders, etc.

• Exempt from many taxes

•3rd Estate– Everyone else

• Peasants to Bourgeoisie• 97% of the population• Held 5% of the land• Paid 99% of the taxes

The Bourgeoisie

•Growing merchant class•No political power

– Read Enlightenment works

– Discussed the American Revolution

– Resented paying taxes– Saw nobles as silly,

vain and underserving of their privileges

• “To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.”

Fiscal Crisis

• When King Louis XVI assumed the throne in 1774, he inherited a bankrupt nation– Due to wars & the building of Versailles

• Nobles refused to help Louis impose new taxes

The Revolution, 1789 - 1792

Louis was forced to call the Estates General to discuss tax reform– The Third Estate demanded fair voting conditions

• The Tennis Court Oath• Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly• Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

• Article 4Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law. Article 5The Law has the right to forbid only those actions that are injurious to society. Nothing that is not forbidden by Law may be hindered, and no one may be compelled to do what the Law does not ordain.Article 11The free communication of ideas and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Any citizen may therefore speak, write and publish freely, except what is tantamount to the abuse of this liberty in the cases determined by Law.

The Revolution, 1789 - 1792

• July 14th 1789– Peasants stormed &

destroyed the Bastille

• October 5th 1789– After a series of bad

harvests, market women stormed Versailles•Forced the royal

family to return to Paris

• 1792, Louis & Marie tried to escape to Austria

• They were caught at the border & Louis was executed for treason

• Marie soon followed

The Terror

The Terror, 1793 - 1794

• National Convention– Republic of France– Jacobins were

dominant political group• Middle Class• Led by

Maximillien Robespierre

The Terror, 1793 - 1794

• Robespierre established Committee of Public Safety– Secret police who sought out

counterrevolutionaries

• The Reign of Terror– 40,000 executed; 300,000

imprisoned– Major reforms to the Catholic Church

• July 27th 1794, Robespierre was executed by moderates & the Terror was ended– But the country would remain in

turmoil for several years…

Napoleon’s Dictatorship

• Napoleon Bonaparte– Born into minor Corsican

nobility– Became a revered military

figure in the French Army

• 1797, he seized the French government– Popular authoritarian– Promised stability &

conquest

• 1804, he declared himself emperor & expanded the French Empire throughout continental Europe

Napoleon’s Dictatorship

• Napoleon’s Empire– Conquered most of

Continental Europe– Couldn’t take England

• Even using the Continental System

– Failed attempt to conquer Russia signaled the downfall of his reign

• Bitter winter, long supply lines, burn & retreat methods

– 1815, Napoleon was defeated by an alliance of European countries led by England at Waterloo

Effects of the French Revolution & Napoleon

•1815, Congress of Vienna (controlled by representatives of England, Russia & Austria) met to determine a peace settlement with France

– Reach an agreement based on Balance of Power