The Atlantic Revolutions and Their Echoes

1750-1914

Strayer: Chapter 17

Chapter Overview

• Part 1: Comparing Atlantic Revolutions– The North American Revolution 1775-1787– The French Revolution 1789-1815– The Haitian Revolution 1791-1804– The Spanish American Revolutions 1810-1825

• Part 2: Echoes of Revolution– The abolition of slavery– Nations and Nationalism– Feminist Beginnings

• Part 3: Reflections Pros and Cons

Comparing Atlantic Revolutions

• 1750-1850: A century of revolutions• Political revolutions occurred in North America,

France, Haiti, and Spanish South America• The Columbian Exchange accelerated cultural

diffusion and led to radical ideas• All were inspired by Enlightenment ideas• Each attempted to form Enlightened republican

governments with varying levels of success

• Enlightenment Ideas That Shaped Revolutions

– Liberty– Equality– Free Trade– Religious Tolerance– Republicanism and “Popular Sovereignty”– Human Rationality– Ending arbitrary rule of divine right monarchs– Ending special aristocratic privileges

• The World by 1750– Atlantic basin = center of cultural, intellectual,

and biological exchange– Enlightenment ideas shared in newspapers,

essays, pamphlets, and books– People began to believe they could actively shape

the world around them– Arbitrary rule of kings, and singular authority of

the Church questioned– Huge emphasis on popular sovereignty

• New questions arose:– Were liberty and equality compatible?– How far should liberty be extended?– What kind of government- unitary and centralized

or federal and decentralized- would best ensure freedom?

• Major similarity:– Propelled by Enlightenment ideas

• Major differences to explore:– Triggered by different circumstances– Expressed different social and political tensions– Varying levels of experience with democracy prior

to revolution– Varied in their outcomes

Question

1. In what ways did the ideas of the Enlightenment contribute to the Atlantic Revolutions?

North American Revolution (1775-1787)

• 1776- Declaration of Independence– What Enlightenment ideas are found in this

document?• 1781- Americans win an unlikely military

victory• 1787- Federal Constitution joins thirteen

colonies into a single nation

• Triggered political revolutions around the Atlantic

• Was politically conservative:– Originated out of an effort to preserve original

liberties of colonies, not create new ones– Less profitable than Britain’s West Indian colonies,

the 13 North American colonies benefitted from a huge amount of autonomy

– American colonists benefitted from trade, and protection

– American colonists came to see this autonomy as their birthright

– Availability of land led to less poverty and fewer economic differences between classes than in Europe

– Revolution DID NOT grow out of class tension, but from the sudden and unexpected attempt of the British government to take greater control over its colonies

• So what made it revolutionary?– The society that emerged in North America prior

to the revolution– The acceleration of democratic tendencies already

present in the colonies– Although power remained largely in the hands of

the wealthy, lower property requirements for voting allowed more small landowners to vote and hold office

– Widening of political participation eroded the traditional power of he landed gentry

• Successes of the American Revolution:– Declaration of Independence sets precedent for

the right of people to revolt against unjust rule– US Constitution was one of the first sustained

efforts to put Enlightenment ideas into practice• Bill of Rights• Checks and Balances• Separation of Church and State• Federalism

• Unresolved Issues:– Slavery

Questions

1. In what ways was the American Revolution revolutionary?

2. In what ways was the American Revolution not revolutionary?

The French Revolution (1789-1815)

• Causes– Enlightenment thought– Humiliating loss in the Seven Years War– Debt from giving monetary aid to American

Revolutionaries– Increasing taxes– Consecutive years of bad weather and poor

harvests– Emergence of middle class who resent their lack

of power

• Louis XVI attempts to solve problems– Calls the Estates General to raise taxes– Third Estate refuses to vote unless demands for

greater equality are met– Louis XVI bans Third Estate from meeting– Members of the Third Estate and some

sympathizers write The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

• National Assembly formed as planning for a new government, a limited monarchy, begins

Distribution of Wealth and Population in France before the French Revolurion

1.5

98

1020

70

0.50

20

40

60

80

100

120

1st Estate 2nd Estate 3rd Estate

PopulationWealth

• French Revolution: More violent and far-reaching than the American Revolution– Original goal: create a constitutional monarchy and

promote harmony– Ideals faded as the revolution turned radical• Urban crowds protested violently• Peasants attacked castles of their lords, “The Great Fear”• National Assembly abolished noble titles and formally end

feudalism• Church lands seized and sold• Civil Constitution of the Clergy made priests government

employees– 1793, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed

• 1793-1794: The Reign of Terror, the radicalization of the French Revolution– Most violent and politically radical phase of the

revolution– Turned of many of the revolution’s supporters like

Thomas Jefferson– Dominated by Robespierre and the Committee of

Public Safety– Tens of thousands of “enemies of the revolution”

die on the guillotine, most were just normal people

• Radical attempts to create a new French society– Differed from America in its attempt to totally

recreate the social order– New revolutionary calendar attempts to break

with the Roman calendar– Became a republic and briefly passed universal

male suffrage– Created a citizens army of over 800,000 people

(service was mandatory for all male citizens)– State replaced the Church in registering all births,

deaths, and marriages

• Moved politics into the public sphere for the first time ever as people…– Joined political clubs– Served on public committees – Ran for public office– Began to think of themselves as citizens of a

nation

The Hymn Of LibertyOh Liberty, sacred Liberty

Goddess of an enlightened peopleRule today within these walls.

Through you this temple is purified.Liberty! Before you reason chases out deception,

Error flees, fanaticism is beaten down.Our gospel is nature

And our cult is virtue.To love one’s country and one’s brothers,

To serve the Sovereign People-These are the sacred tenetsAnd pledge of a Republican!

• The influence of the French Revolution spreads through Napoleon’s conquests (1799-1815)

• Napoleon’s accomplishments– Seizes power in a coup d'état but becomes emperor

through a plebiscite– Tamed the French Revolution– Conquered a huge empire spanning most of Europe– Ended feudalism– Codified laws into the Napoleonic Code– Insisted on legal equality and religious tolerance– Formed rational governments– Stimulated national consciousness throughout

Europe

• Despite all of this, Napoleon is only considered politically moderate

• Napoleon’s liberal ideas– Civil equality, secular law code, religious freedom,

freedom of occupation and promotion based on merit

• Napoleon’s rejected radical ideas– Did not grant suffrage to women or abolish slavery

• Embraced social equality but rejected liberty• Became an emperor

Questions

1. In what ways was the French Revolution similar to the American Revolution?

2. In what ways was the French Revolution different from the American Revolution?

The Haitian Republic (1799-1804)

• A unique, and unprecedented event in world history

• Marks the only time a revolution completely changed the social order by granting the lowest group within the society full equality and liberty

• Made Haiti the first independent nation to reject slavery

• Haiti before the revolution– Richest colony in the world– More than 8,000 plantations– Produced 40% of the world’s sugar– Produced 50% of the world’s coffee– Enormous inequality• 500,000 slaves• 40,000 whites including plantation owners, merchants,

lawyers, and petits blancs (poor whites)• 30,000 gens de couleur libres (free blacks)

• How the Haitian Revolution was inspired by the American and French Revolutions– Grands blancs (rich white landowners) wanted

more autonomy and fewer trade restrictions– Petits blancs wanted equality and citizenship for

all whites– Entrenched racism kept both white groups from

considering extending the “rights of man” to all free people

– Slaves wanted to end slavery

• In 1791, a rumor spreads among the slaves of Haiti that the king of France has abolished slavery sparking revolution

• Revolution spreads turmoil through Haiti– Factionalization– Spain and Britain attempt to grab territory– Confusion and brutality• 1000 plantations destroyed• Thousands killed in massacres

• Toussaint L’Ouverture, a former slave, emerges as the leader– Overcomes internal division– Turned back Napoleon’s army

• Positive effects of the Haitian Revolution on Haiti– Slavery ends- full equality and citizenship granted– Becomes the first non-European state to emerge

from Western colonialism– Private and public lands redistributed to former

slaves and free blacks small scale farms• Negative effects of the Haitian Revolution on

Haiti– Violence and distrust and division between racial

groups– Weak economy– Unstable authoritarian government

• Legacy of the Haitian Revolution– Source of hope for slaves in the Atlantic world– Source of fear for slave owners in the Atlantic

world– Boosted abolitionist movements– Increased Creole fear of non-European peoples in

Spanish and Portuguese Americas– Increased slavery in Cuba as Haitian sugar declined– Increased slavery in the USA following the

Louisiana Purchase

Questions

1. In what ways were the origins of the Haitian Revolution similar to the French and American Revolutions?

2. What makes the Haitian Revolution different from the other Atlantic Revolutions?

Spanish American Revolutions (1810-1825)

• Inspiration for the revolutions– Success of American, French, and Haitian

revolutions– Creoles angered over Spanish monarchy’s attempt

to take greater control over colonies– Creoles familiar with Enlightenment ideas

• Why did it take so long for the revolutions to begin?– Unlike 13 colonies, little tradition of self

government– Societies more stratified and more authoritarian– Whites fearful of losing control of much larger

non-white populations, especially after Haitian RevolutionP

eninsulares

Creoles

Mestizos and Mulattoes

Free

Native A

mericans

and

Africans

Slaves

• Napoleon’s actions in Europe thrust the revolution upon the colonists– 1808- Napoleon invades Portugal forcing the royal

family into exile in Brazil– 1808- Napoleon invades Spain deposing king

Ferdinand VII– Lack of royal authority threw Spanish colonists

into disarray– Creoles work to establish control independence

movements

• Mexico’s journey to independence– Began in 1810 as a peasant insurrection led by

priests Miguel de Hidalgo and Jose Morelos– Creole landowners raise an army, crush the

rebellion and execute Hidalgo– Later, Creole elites control the movement to

independence in 1821– Creole military leader Augustin de Itrubide

becomes emperor of Mexico– In 1825, Mexico became a republic

• In South America, Creoles break the Spanish imperial state but maintain colonial social order– Most Creole leaders were liberals inspired by

Enlightenment ideas– Creole leaders like Jose de San Martin and Simon

Bolivar gain the support of “the people”– Relied on nativism to unite Americanos against the

Spanish– Mestizos joined the revolution believing promises of

greater social status– Few promises of the revolutions were kept

• Geography made uniting the Spanish colonies impossible– To many different regions with distinct local

identities and different needs

Questions

1. How were the Latin American Revolutions shaped by the American, French, and Haitian revolutions that occurred before them?

2. Describe the major issues that delayed the beginning of the Latin American revolutions

Echoes of the Atlantic Revolutions

• Abolition of slavery• Rise of nations and nationalism• Emergence of feminism

Abolition of Slavery

• Between 1790 and 1890 slavery lost its legitimacy and was largely ended– Enlightenment though was critical of slavery– American and French revolutions focused on

liberty and equality raising more questions– Quakers and other Protestant sects found slavery

repugnant to their religion– Emergence of industrial society further made

slavery obsolete

• Actions of slaves also helped end slavery– Haitian revolution followed by three more major

slave revolts in the British West Indies– Illustrated that enslaved people were not content– Brutal suppression outraged the British public

• Britain, the nation that once dominated the slave trade brings about its end– Puts international pressure on other nations to

end slavery– 1807- Britain bans sale of slaves within its empire– Strongest navy in the world actively patrols oceans

disrupting international slave trade– 1834- Britain emancipates all slaves in its empire

• Coerced labor comes to an end outside the British empire– Most Latin American countries abolish slavery in

the 1850s– Russian Czar Alexander II emancipates serfs– Emancipation Proclamation ends slavery in the

USA in 1863– In 1888, Brazil becomes the last nation in the

Americas to end slavery

• Resistance came from slave owners and slave traders in the colonies and in West Africa

• Kingdoms like Asante began to use slave labor to build plantation economies

• Haiti was the only nation to abolish slavery and grant full equality to formerly enslaved people

• For former slaves in other nations, emancipation meant little more than freedom

• Reluctance of former slaves to continue plantation work a new wave of global migration and an influx of indentured servants from India and China

• Former slave trading kingdoms began to rely on slave labor as they transitioned to plantation economies– Ironically, Europeans would use the need to end

slavery in Africa as an excuse to establish colonies throughout the continent in the late 19th century

Questions

1. Describe how the end of slavery came about in the Atlantic world

2. How did the end of slavery affect the loves of formerly enslaved peoples?

Nations and Nationalism• Nation: A group of people who

share culture, ethnicity and language, often possessing or seeking its own independent government

• A nation is not necessarily a country. A country is a state ruled by a centralized government within defined borders.

• Although "nation" is also commonly used as a synonym for state or country, a nation is not identical to a state.

• Countries where the social concept of "nation" coincides with the political concept of "state" are called nation states.

• Atlantic revolutions gave rise to modern nations– Represented a major shift away from local

loyalties with little connection to the empires that controlled them, often associated with the early modern era

– Revolutions gave rise to new nations in the Americas and a new sense of nation in France

– Resistance to Napoleon’s army across Europe also led to nationalism

• Emergence of industrial society further aided the rise of nationalism– Urbanization broke local bonds and traditions– Emerging sciences weakened the hold of religion

for some– Printing standardized the vernacular and helped

create shared national narratives– A reawakening of older cultural identities was

cultivated as part of the creation of collective identity

• Nationalism became a flexible tool for governments and independence seeking groups– Inspired the unification of Italy and Germany in 1871– Encouraged Greeks and Serbs to rebel against

Ottoman rule– Czechs and Hungarians demanded greater

autonomy from the Austrian empire– Poles and Ukrainians became increasing aware of

Russian oppression– Irish efforts to gain “home rule” from the British

increased– A small Zionist movement of Jewish people seeking

a homeland in Palestine began

• Rivalries between European nations grew and fueled competition for colonies in Africa and Asia

• Governments acting on behalf of their nations sought to instill national loyalties– Increased emphasis on establishing schools, public

rituals, mass media, and military services• Nationalism was not limited to Europe– “Egypt for Egyptians” movement in the 1870s against

British and French presence– Desire to protect Japanese culture against foreign

influences– Western educated Indians began to think of their

diverse area as a nation deserving of independence

Questions

1. How did the Atlantic Revolutions help bring about nationalism?

2. How did industrialization bring about nationalism?

Feminism Begins

• Feminist thought originates in the Enlightenment– Condorcet argued that women were equal to men– Mary Wollstonecraft wrote The Vindication of the

Rights of Women during the French Revolution arguing for greater rights and equality for women

– Olympe de Gouges wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Women in direct response to The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen demanding basic legal protection for women in France

• Women participated in revolutions and social movements as a way of trying to gain more power in their societies– Angry Parisian women marched on Versailles and

forced Louis XVI to swear allegiance to the revolution

– Were active participants and sometimes leaders in abolition movements

– Shared ideas across national boundaries forming international organizations

• Although women briefly gained suffrage during the French Revolution, they would not gain full legal and political equality in most parts of the Western world until the 20th century

Question

1. What factors contributed to the emergence of the feminist movement in the West?