SSWH14 The student will analyze the Age of
Revolutions and Rebellions.
b. Identify the causes and results of the revolutions in
England (1689), United States (1776), France (1789),
Haiti (1791), and Latin America (1808-1825).
The English Revolution – Chapter 14
Sections 2 p. 437 – 439
• Why was it fought?
A struggle between the King and Parliament
to determine what role each should play in
governing England.
The Tudors and Divine Right
• Tudor dynasty came to an end with the death of Elizabeth
I in 1603
• The Stuart line of rulers began with the ascension to the
throne of Elizabeth’s cousin- James I, King of Scotland
• James believed in the divine right of kings—Parliament
disagreed and felt they shared power with the King.
• Religion was an issue as well.
• Puritans (Protestants in England inspired by Calvinist
ideas) did not like the King’s strong defense of the Church
of England
• The Puritans formed an important part of the House of
Commons
• Charles I tried to impose more ritual on the Church of
England causing many Puritans to flee to America.
Civil War and the Commonwealth
• 1642- The country slipped into civil war between the
Cavaliers or Royalists (supporters of the King) and the
Parliamentary forces (called the Roundheads because
of their short hair cuts.
• Parliament proved victorious, due largely to the New
Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, a military genius.
• Cromwell purged Parliament of any who had not
supported him and the Parliament that was left had
Charles executed January 30, 1649.
• Abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords and
declared England a republic, or commonwealth.
Oliver Cromwell
The Restoration
• 1660- Parliament restored the monarchy in the
person of Charles II
• Parliament kept much of the power it had gained and
continued to play an important role in government
• Restored Church of England as the state religion,
restricted the rights of Puritans and Catholics
• Charles II was sympathetic to Catholics- his brother
and the heir to the throne was a devout Catholic
• When James took the throne…
• Religion once again became a cause of conflict
between the King and Parliament.
A Glorious Revolution
• In 1688, William of Orange (husband of James’ daughter
Mary) invaded England
• James, his wife, and infant son fled to France
• January 1689, Parliament offered the throne to William
and Mary
• They accepted it along with a Bill of Rights
• This laid the foundation for a limited or constitutional
monarchy.
• Toleration Act of 1689 granted Puritans but not Catholics
the right of free worship.
• By deposing one king and establishing another, Parliament
destroyed the divine right theory of kingship.
p. 539- 540
The War Begins
• After the Seven Years’ War, the British wanted to get new revenues from
the colonies.
• In 1765, Parliament imposed the Stamp Act on the colonies.
• Act required printed materials such as legal documents and newspapers
carry a stamp showing that a tax had been paid to Britain
• Opposition was widespread and often violent
• Act was repealed in 1766 but the cause of the dispute was not resolvedNO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!
• The First Continental Congress met in September of 1774 in Philadelphia
urging colonists to take up arms and organize militias.
• April 1775 in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts fighting finally
erupted
• A Second Continental Congress met formed an army and made George
Washington its commander in chief
• July 4, 1776 the congress approved a Declaration of Independence
written by Thomas Jefferson which declared the colonies free and
independent states absolved from all allegiance to the British crown
Foreign Support & British Defeat
• French supplied the colonies with arms and money
and even sent officers to help train the militias
• In February of 1778, after a British defeat, the France
granted diplomatic recognition to the American state.
• General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to
combined forces at Yorktown, causing the British to
withdraw
• The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 recognizing the
independence of the American colonies
• The Declaration of Independence, Constitution,
Federal System, and Bill of Rights that resulted from
the revolution were seen to be the embodiment of
the Enlightenment’s political dreams
Chapter 18 Sections 1 and 2
p. 544 – 561
• The fall of the
__________________________ marked the
beginning of the French Revolution.
• Compared with the American Revolution it
was more complex, more violent, and far
more radical.
• It tried to create a new political order and a
new social order.
Causes
• Long range problems and immediate forces
• Long range problem- the condition of French
society; Population was divided into three
estates: clergy, nobility, and commoners. This
society was based on inequality.
• Immediate cause- near collapse of the
government’s finances
Origins of the French Revolution
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1787- 88 Bad harvests and a slowdown in manufacturing led to food shortages,
inflation, and unemployment
In spite of these problems, the French government continued to spend
enormous sums on wars and court luxuries
Louis XVI forced to call a meeting of the Estates General (Parliament) to raise
taxes. They had not met since 1614.
May 5, 1789 meeting opened at Versailles, troubled from the start with a
problem with voting.
Traditionally, each estate had one vote allowing the first and second to outvote
the third estate 2 to 1. (The third estate is comprised of 98% of the population.
See chart on p. 548)
The third estate demanded each person have one vote.
King in favor of the current system.
On June 17, 1789 the third estate met and decided to draft a constitution and
called itself the National Assembly
Louis XVI prepared to use force against the Third Estate but a mob stormed the
Bastille marking the beginning of the French Revolution
Royal authority had collapsed
Popular revolutions broke out across France over the social structure and
landholding system
Destruction of the Old Regime
• The National Assembly abolished the rights of the
landlords and adopted the
__________________________
• King refused to accept the Assembly’s decrees
until the palace was stormed by an angry mob
• National Assembly seized and sold lands of the
church
• Set up a limited monarchy with the Constitution
of 1791
• Louis XVI attempted to flee France, but was
captured and returned to Paris
The Paris Commune
• Defeats in war with foreign enemies and
economic shortages led to new political
demonstrations.
• Radical political groups called the Paris
Commune attacked the royal palace and
Legislative Assembly and took the King captive
• Forced the Legislative Assembly to suspend the
monarchy and call for a National Convention to
decide on the nation’s future form of
government.
Move to Radicalism
• September 1792, the newly elected National
Convention established a republic, the French
republic
• But once again, split into factions over the fate of the
King; both groups were members of the Jacobin club
– Girondins- feared mobs and leaned towards keeping the
King alive
– The Mountain- wanted the King dead
– Mountains won!
• January 21, 1793 King beheaded on the guillotine
creating new enemies for the revolution
• Conflicts over who ruled France internally
• Murder of the King outraged royalty of Europe
• A coalition formed to invade France
Reign of Terror
• Revolutionary Courts were set up to prosecute the enemies of the
revolutionary republic.
• Close to 40,000 people were killed
• 16,000 including the Queen of France- Marie Antoinette died under
the blade of the guillotine
• Revolutionary armies would change the nature of modern warfare.
• By September 1794, the Revolutionary army was the largest ever in
Europe.
• Important step in the creation of modern nationalism.
• By summer 1794, the French had largely defeated their foreign foes.
• Jacobins lost power and more moderate leaders took control.
• The new constitution created in 1795 reflected the desire for stability
Revolution in Haiti
p. 371 and 672
• In 1791, the ideals of the American and French
revolutions traveled across the Atlantic and the
Caribbean to the French held colony of St.
Domingue on the island of Hispaniola
• Inspired by talk of freedom enslaved Africans
took up arms
• Led by a former slave, Toussaint L’ouverture, the
rebels fought for 13 years against the French
• January 1, 1804, the nation now known as Haiti
became the second nation in the Americas to
achieve independence from colonial rule
• First independent state in Latin America
Revolution
in Latin
America
Chapter 21
Section 4,
p. 672 –
673
• Napoleon’s overthrow of the
monarchies of Spain and
Portugal weakened their
authority in their colonial
empires.
• Between 1807 and 1825, a series
of revolts enabled most of Latin
America to become independent
Mexico
• Led by Miguel Hidalgo, a parish priest who
roused the local Indians and mestizos to free
themselves from the Spanish
• September 16, 1810, formed a mob army to
attack the Spanish
• His forces were crushed and he was sentenced
to death, but his memory lived on
• In 1821, Mexico declared its independence
from Spain.
Simon Bolivar
Revolution in South America
• Jose’ de San Martin of Argentina and Simon Bolivar of Venezuela
are considered the Liberators of South America
• Believed the Spanish must be removed from South America if any
nation there was to be free
• By 1810, San Martin had liberated Argentina
• Bolivar began in Venezuela in 1810 and went on to lead revolts in
New Granada (Columbia) and Ecuador
• Surprised the Spanish and defeated them in Chile and moved on to
Lima, Peru—the center of Spanish authority
• Bolivar crushed the last significant Spanish army in December 1824
• Brazil gained their independence in 1822 from Portugal
• The Central American states gained their independence in 1823
and broke into five republics in 1838- 1839: Guatemala, El Salvador,
Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua