Chapter 18: The West on the Eve of a New
World Order
Critical Thinking: In what ways were the
American Revolution, the French Revolution,
and the 17th century English revolutions
alike? IN what ways were they different?
 The French Revolution: demolished the
institutions of the old regime and
established a new order based on
individual rights, representative
institutions, and a concept of loyalty to
the nation, rather than the monarch
Toward a New Heaven and a New Earth: An
Intellectual Revolution in the West
 Scientific Revolution: effected mainly the
elites
 18th century- expanded to more of
population through Enlightenment
The Scientific Revolution
 overturned ideas that had been in place
since the Middle Ages
Toward a New Heaven: A Revolution in
Astronomy
 Geocentric Theory- dominant theory of
the Catholic Church…Ptolemaic Model
 Nicolaus Copernicus- Polishmathematician…heliocentric theory…Sun
as center of universe..planets in circular
orbits
 Johannes Kepler: German mathematician
and astronomer…orbits were elliptical
rather than circular
 Galileo Galilei: used a telescope to prove
the heliocentric theory…published The
Starry Messenger, condemned by Catholic
Church and forced to recant
 Isaac Newton: wrote Principia…defined
laws of motion…gravity…World-machine
concept
Toward a New Earth: Descartes and
Rationalism
 Rene Descartes: it is necessary to doubt
as far as possible all things…proof of
existence? “ I think, therefore, I am”
 Cartesian Dualism: absolute dualism
between mind and matter…using mind or
human reason and its best instrument,
math, humans can understand the
material world because it is pure
mechanism, a machine that is governed
by its own physical laws because it was
created by God- the great geometrician
 Rationalism
Europe, China, and Scientific Revolutions
 Not sure why the sci rev occurred in
Europe, and not in China
Background to Enlightenment
 Enlightenment: movement of intellectuals
who were impressed with
accomplishments of Sci Rev
 REASON- scientific method to life
 John Locke: argued every person was
born with a tabula rasa (blank
mind)…people were molded by their
environment…Two Treatises on
Government…natural rights- life, liberty,
property
The Philosophes and their Ideas
 Philosophes: literary people and social
reformers
o PARIS
 Apply reason to everything
Montesquieu
 Charles de Secondat, the Baron of
Montesquieu…The Spirit of the Laws
(1748)
 Comparative study of govt…liked Great
Britain
 Separation of Powers: power should be a
check to power
 Used extensively in US Constitution
Voltaire
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Francois-Marie Arouet/ Voltaire
Prolific author
Ideal of religious toleration
“Crush the infamous thing!”
Deism: build on Newtonian worldmachine…implied the existence of a
mechanic (God) who had created the
universe…like a clock
Diderot
 believed Christianity was “absurd”
 Encyclopedia: 28 volumes
Toward a New “Science of Man”
 SOCIAL SCIENCES!
 Adam Smith- (1723-1790): founder of
economics…individuals should be free to
pursue economic self-interest…state
should not interfere…laissez-faire (leave
it alone)…according to Smith, government
only had 3 basic functions: protect society
from invasion, defend its citizens from
injustice, and keep up certain public
works…consumer as “invisible hand”
The Later Enlightenment
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): 2
major works: Discourse on the Inequality
of Mankind and The Social
Contract…entire society to be governed
by its general will…Book Emile was about
education of a young boy- in woods
“commune with nature”…let child dictate
their education according to what they
were interested in…did not see gender
equality
The “Woman Question” in the Enlightenment
 For centuries, male intellectuals claimed
the nature of women made them inferior
to men and made male dominance of
women necessary and right
 Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
Feminist, Vindication of the Rights of
Women…arguing the hypocrisy of
enlightenment double standards…why
should women “obey” men, when it made
them like a slave? Also, the
Enlightenment was based on ideal of
reason innate in ALL human beings
o “Would men but generously snap our
chains, and be content with rational
fellowship instead of slavish
obedience, they would find us more
observant daughters, more
affectionate sisters, more faithful
wives, and more reasonable mothersin a word, better citizens. We should
then love them with true affection,
because we should learn to respect
ourselves; and the peace of mind of a
worthy man would not be interrupted
by the idle vanity of his wife…”
Culture in an Enlightened Age
 Baroque: power, grandeur, and
movement
 Rococo Art- grace, charm, and gentle
action…follow wandering lines of natural
objects…highly secular
 Ex: Antoine Watteau- lyrical views of
aristocratic life…upper-class pleasure and
joy
 Ex: Versailles-combo of Rococo Art with
Baroque Architecture
 Famous architect- Johann Balthasar
Neumann- Vierzehnheiligen
High Culture
 High Culture- literary and artistic culture
of the educated and wealthy ruling
classes, popular culture- written and
unwritten culture of the masses, most of
which has traditionally been passed down
orally.
 Increase in written word, higher rate of
literacy…ex: magazines and newspapers
Popular Culture
 Distinguishing characteristic: collective
nature
 Festivals
Economic Changes and the Social Order
 18th century in Europe witnessed the
beginning of economic changes that
ultimately had a strong impact on the rest
of the world
New Economic Patterns
 Europe’s population began to grow
around 1750, and continued to increase
steadily
 Falling death rate…disappearance of
bubonic plague, and improved diet…more
plentiful food and better transportation of
food supplies
 “little ice age” dissipated
 cultivation of new vegetables: Potato and
Maize
 “Putting-Out”/ “Cottage Industry” for
textile production…early capitalism
 True global economy: patterns of trade
that locked Europe, Africa, the East and
the Americas
 Spain, Portugal, and the Dutch Republic
became overshadowed by France and
England in the 18th century
European Society in the Eighteenth Century
 Society still divided into the traditional
orders or estates determined by heredity
 Peasantry- 85% of Europe’s population
 Serfdom continued in Eastern Germany,
Eastern Europe, and Russia…peasants
elsewhere were largely free
 Nobles- 2-3% of European Populationhad dominating role…tax exempt
 Patrician oligarchies in the cities
Colonial Empires and Revolution in the
Americas
 Portugal continued to profit from Brazil
 Spain’s importance as a commercial
power declined in 17th century…drop in
output of the silver mines and poverty of
the Spanish monarchy
 Rivals- Dutch, English, and French in
Western Hemisphere
The West Indies
 British: Barbados, Jamaica,
Bermuda…French: Saint-Dominque,
Guadeloupe, Martinique…plantations
with African slaves…tobacco, cotton,
coffee, sugar
 Sugar Factories- large output, about
150,000 tons of sugar/year…high death
rate of slaves…Saint-Dominique- first
successful slave uprising in 1793
British North America
 Spain had claimed all of North America,
but largely ignored…”prescription
without possession availeth nothing.”
 1609- Henry Hudson “discovered”
Hudson Bay/River for Dutch 1609…1664English seized colony of New Netherland
and renamed it New York
 Jamestown- 1607-first permanent English
Colony…settlers barely survived
 Massachusetts Bay Colony…religious
freedom for Puritans (Calvinists)
 British North America- 13 colonies
 Part of mercantilism- colonies served two
main purposes- provide raw materials for
the mother country, and a market for the
mother country’s manufactured goods
French North America
 French in North America- 1534: Jacques
Cartier “discovered” Saint-Lawrence
River and claimed Canada…Samuel de
Champlain settled Quebec 1608
 Canada run autocratically as a vast
trading area…furs, leather fish, and
timber…thinly populated by FrenchCanadians
 French lose Seven Year’s War (French and
Indian War) and surrender Canadian
lands to Britain in 1763
The American Revolution
 mid-18th century: increasing trade and
industry led to a growing middle class in
Britain that favored expansion of trade
and world empire
 Prime Minister- William Pitt the Elder
(1708-1778)…expanded the British
Empire
 Americans and British had different
opinions for rule…18th century Britainking or queen and Parliament shared
power…Parliament appointed advisors to
monarchy and had power to make laws,
levy taxes pass budgets.
 After Seven Year’s War- British
policymakers sought to obtain new
revenues from the colonies to pay for
British army expenses in defending the
colonies, the colonists resisted…Stamp
Act of 1765 led to riots
 July 4, 1776- Second Continental Congress
declared independence from British
Empire…Declaration of Independence,
penned by Thomas
Jefferson…Enlightenment ideas “life,
liberty, pursuit of happiness”
o French sent aid to colonists…French
Navy blockade let to General
Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown,
VA 1781…Treaty of Paris (1783)recognized independence of American
colonies and granted the Americans
control of the territory from the
Appalachians to the Mississippi River
Birth of a New Nation
 Weak Articles of Confederation to
stronger US Constitution
 Federal Government separate from State
Governments
 3 branches of government (legislative,
judicial, executive)
 Constitution narrowly ratified with Bill of
Rights (1st 10 Amendments)
Toward a New Political Order and Global
Conflict
 Philosophes believed in natural rights,
privileges that should not be withheld
from any person…equality before the law,
freedom of religious worship, freedom of
speech and press, and the right to
assemble, hold property, and seek
happiness
 Enlightened despots/ Enlightened
absolutism: Frederick II of Prussia,
Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of
Austria
Prussia: the Army and the Bureaucracy
 Frederick the Great (1740-1786): one of
best-educated monarchs…invited Voltaire
to his court for several years…king as
“first servant of the state”…enlarged
Prussian army…had best reputation,
officers were members of
nobility…abolished use of torture except
in treason and murder cases…maintained
serfdom
The Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs
 Austrian Empire difficult to rule because
is was a sprawling conglomerate of
nationalities, languages, religions, and
cultures
 Empress Maria Theresa (1740-1780)made administrative
reforms…enlargement and modernization
of the armed forces
 Joseph II (1780-1790)- far-reaching
reform program…abolished serfdom,
abrogated death penalty, religious
toleration, all equal before law…however,
alienated the nobility and the church
o Wrote his own epitaph “Here lies
Joseph II, who was unfortunate in
everything that he undertook.”
Russia Under Catherine the Great
 Catherine II the Great (17621796)…invited Diderot to Russia, but did
not implement his suggested
reforms…1785 gave nobles a charter that
exempted them from taxes…Russian
peasant uprising led by Emelyan
Pugachev (1773)…he was captured,
tortured, and executed…Catherine
responded with even harsher restrictions
against he peasantry…territorial
expansion into Poland and the Black
Sea…3 partitions of Poland- Russia gained
about 50% of Polish land
Enlightened Absolutism Reconsidered
 Joseph, Frederick, and Catherine were all
primarily guided by a concern for the
power and well-being of their
states…heightened state power was used
to create armies and wage wars to gain
more power
 Hereditary aristocracy- still most
powerful class
Changing Patterns of War: Global
Confrontation
 Europe consisted of a number of selfgoverning, individual states that were
largely guided by the self-interest of the
ruler
 Seven Years’ War- fought on 3
continents…in Europe, British and
Prussians fought the Austrians, Russians,
and French…stalemate, ended in 1763
 India- British, under Robert Clive, won
out against the French…Treaty of Paris in
1763- French withdrew and left India to
the British
 North America (French and Indian War)
Treaty of Paris…French ceded Canada and
lands east of Mississippi to Britain..Spain
transferred Florida to British, and French
gave their Louisiana territory to Spanish
The French Revolution
 1789- New Constitution for US, and the
beginning of the French Revolution
 French Revolution was very violent and
radical..attempted to reconstruct both a
new political order, and a new social
order
Social Structure of the Old Regime
 Divided into 3 Estates
 1st Estate: Clergy…1% of population,
controlled 10% of land…exempt from
taille
 2nd Estate: Nobility…2 % of population,
controlled 25-30% of land…exempted
from taille as one of many noble
privileges
 3rd Estate: Commoners…further divided
with Bourgeoisie at top…inspired by
Enlightenment
 Opposition of elites to the old order led
them to take drastic action against the
monarchical old regime…Revolution had
its origins in political grievances
Other Problems Facing the French Monarchy
 food shortages, rise in food prices,
unemployment
 Louis XVI (1774-1792) seemed apathetic
towards his role…wife Marie Antoinette
from Austria…focused on frivolous
things…didn’t have heirs right away,
lambasted in press
 Financial crisis, led to Louis XVI calling a
session of the Estates-General (vote by
order unpopular with 3rd estate)
From Estates-General to National Assembly
 opened at Versailles May 5, 1789
 decided on vote by order
 June 17, 1789, 3rd estate locked out of
proceedings, met in and made Tennis
Court Oath, declared themselves the
National Assembly
 Storming of the Bastille- July 14th 1789symbolic beginning of French Revolution,
celebrated as Bastille Day in France, and
Andrew’s Bday in the US
 Led to peasant uprisings throughout
France
Destruction of the Old Regime
 National Assembly abolished the rights of
landlords and fiscal exemptions of nobles,
clergy, towns, and provinces
 Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen:
charter of basic liberties- proclaimed
freedom and equal rights for all
men…meritocracy…”Liberte, Egalite,
Fraternite”
 Olympe de Gouges- Declaration of Rights
of WOMAN and Female Citizen
 Catholic Church was reformed…church
lands were seized…Church seen as enemy
of Revolution
 1791: National Assembly completed a
new Constitution- legislative body had
power, but still a King of the French
 Jacobins: a radical political club, that
wanted more extreme reforms for France
 June 1791- King Louis XVI and family
attempted to flee to Austria, but were
captured and brought back to Paris…put
under house arrest
 August 27, 1791- Austria and Prussia,
fearing rebellion spreading to their
countries, formed the Coalition Forces
and attacked France
The Radical Revolution
 September 1792: newly elected National
Convention began…abolished monarchy
and established a republic
 January 21, 1793 King was executed by
guillotine
 Coalition forces grew against France:
Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain,
Dutch Republic, and Russia
A Nation in Arms
 Executive committee of 12, led by
Maximilien Robespierre…Committee of
Public Safety 1793-1794
 Universal mobilization of the nation
 Raised an army of 650,000 and fought
back coalition forces
 Nationalism- “people’s wars”
Reign of Terror
 Revolutionary courts were set up to
protect the Republic from its internal
enemies…via guillotine (the great
equalizer)
 City of Lyons defied the authority of the
National Convention…1,880 citizens were
executed…by guillotine and cannon fire
Equality and Slavery: Revolution in Haiti
 Slavery was abolished in France in
September 1791…but continued in
French colonies because it was so
lucrative
 February 1794- National Convention
abolished slavery in the colonies
 Island of Saint-Domingue had already
started rebelling under the ex-slave
Toussaint L’Ouverture
 1802 Napoleon reinstituted slavery, and
sent an army to capture
L’Ouverture…brought to France where he
died in a French dungeon
 January 1, 1804: Haiti announced its
independence
Reaction and the Directory
 Reign of Terror intensified as Robespierre
became obsessed with purifying the body
politic of all the corrupt
 Robespierre turned on members of the
Convention, including Georges
Danton…eventually Convention had
Robespierre arrested and beheaded on
July 28, 1794
 Replaced with a Directory- five directors
that acted as executive authority
 Government under the Directory (179599) corruption..relied on military to
maintain power…led to a coup d’etat in
1799, led by Napoleon Bonaparte
The Age of Napoleon
 Dominated European history from 1799
to 1815
 Officially ended the French Revolution
with his coup d’etat
The Rise of Napoleon
 born in Corsica in 1769…recently
annexed by France
 had a military education…led to a
commission as a lieutenant
 1794: made Brigadier general by the
Committee of Public Safety
 After coup in 1799: Consulate established
with Napoleon as 1st Consul…also held
plebecite to reinforce his position…made
himself Consul for Life, then Emperor in
1804
Domestic Policies
 established peace with Roman Catholic
Church
o Concordat with Pope
 Napoleonic Code
 Divorce was made harder for women
under new Civil Code, women lost many
rights
 Bureaucracy based on merit…government
career open to talent was what many
bourgeoisie had wanted before the
Revolution
 Losses: creation of new aristocracy,
strong protection of property rights, and
use of conscription for military
Napoleon’s Empire
 War with Third Coalition: Britain, Austria,
Russia, Prussia
The Grand Empire
 1807-1812: Napoleon was master of
Europe…Grand Empire
o French Empire
o Dependent States
o Allied States
 Dependent States- kingdoms under the
rule of Napoleon’s relatives
o Ex: Spain under brother: Joseph
Bonaparte
o Allies included Prussia, Austria,
Russia, and Sweden
 Tried to destroy Old Order
 British defeated Napoleon at sea Battle of
Trafalgar (1805)…Admiral Horatio
Nelson…red jacket, brown pants
 Continental System…French blockade of
Great Britain…failed
 Guerilla warfare in Peninsular WarSpain/Portugal
The Fall of Napoleon
 1812- Napoleon attempted to invade
Russia after they refused to support the
Continental System…June 1812, Napoleon
led Grand Army of 600,000 men into
Russia…Russians implemented the
Scorched Earth Policy…retreat under
heavy snows…only 40,000 arrived back in
Poland in January 1813!
 Napoleon exiled to Elba 1814, escaped
when Louis XVIII proved to be unpopular
(Louis XVII, son of Louis XVI, had died in
prison after horrendous torture and
neglect at age 10…Louis XVIII was
brother of Louis XVI)
 Napoleon slipped back into France and
gained army back on his side…ruled for
Hundred Days…Defeated at Waterloo
(1815) and was exiled (again) to Saint
Helena…died 6 years later
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