Age of
Revolutions
Revolution: Defined
The overthrow and
replacement of an established
government or political system
by the people governed.
Revolution
begins in England
James I of England
He was King James VI of
Scotland and became James I
of England when Elizabeth I
died.
He already believed in the
Divine Right of Kings, having
already been an absolute
ruler in Scotland.
James I of England
James I ruled England
from 1603-1625 and was
also responsible for the
English translation of the
Bible in 1611.
He said this change was to
make the Bible accessible
to largest amount of
people
Charles I of England
James I’s son, Charles I (1625-1649)
inherited his views of being an absolute
monarch.
Charles ruled absolutely, putting his
enemies in prison without trial, spending
England into further debt, ignoring the
problems in his country and dissolving
Parliament in 1629.
English Civil War
Charles I’s policies led to a massive civil
war between supporters of Charles
(Cavaliers) and supporters of Parliament
(Roundheads) led by Oliver Cromwell – a
member of Parliament who opposed
Charles I.
Cromwell would win, and Charles I was
beheaded in 1649 after the English Civil
War.
English Civil War
Charles I’s execution signaled the end
of Absolute Power in England
Oliver Cromwell
Cromwell was a brilliant leader and became
Lord Protector of England, which became a
Commonwealth (Republic) and not a Kingdom
at this point.
He was able to seize power, in part, because he
was a Protestant while Charles I was a Catholic.
When he died in 1658, the Restoration of the
English Monarchy began.
It’s called the Restoration because the English Monarchy was restored to the throne.
Oliver Cromwell
After the monarchy was restored in 1660, the
new king (Charles II, son of Charles I) exhumed
Cromwell’s body then hanged and beheaded
him and four others for treason
(crimes against the government).
Charles II
Charles I’s son, Charles II (1660-1685) was a
popular ruler in part because he bowed to
the wishes of Parliament, such as
restoring the Protestant Church of
England and stabilizing the government.
James II
However, Charles II’s son, James II, was
openly Catholic and tried to revert back to
being an absolute monarch, spending t
country into debt and ignoring Parliament
once again. He was forced from the
throne in what is called the Glorious
Revolution
The Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution (1688) was the overthrow of
James II from the English throne. It’s called
“glorious” because no one was killed in the
process.
The Glorious Revolution created a limited
monarchy – Parliament gave Mary (James’
daughter) and her husband William of Orange
the throne IF they signed the English Bill of
Rights.
They ruled jointly (together) as William & Mary
English Bill of Rights
An act of Parliament that limited the
power of the monarchy, ensuring the
monarchy could neither make nor
suspend laws without the consent of
Parliament (who represented the people).
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights also required trial by
jury, abolished fines and cruel and unusual
punishment, and affirmed the “writ of habeas
corpus” – no person can be held in prison
without first being charged with a specific
crime (a system of due process of laws.)
This lays the groundwork for the American
system of laws.
Revolution
spreads to
America
The British Alienate the Colonists
The American 13 Colonies were a part of
the British global trade empire and the
people were considered as British citizens
and subjects of the King.
The British Alienate the Colonists
Causes of the American Revolution:
Navigation Acts – forced the colonies to trade only
with those the British approved (Mercantilism)
French and Indian War – The war with France drained
the British treasury, causing new taxes to be placed on
the colonies such as the Stamp Act and Tea Act,
without representation in Parliament.
Proclamation of 1763 – Forbade the expansion of the
colonies past a certain point
The Declaration of Independence
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, he argued that
people had the right to “alter or abolish unjust
governments.” (quoted from John Locke)
He included the idea of popular sovereignty – from
Jean Jacques Rousseau – all government power
comes from the people
King George III had trampled the peoples’ natural
rights, so the Colonists now had the right to rebel –
just like their forefathers in the Glorious Revolution
Articles of Confederation
The first form of government the United
States had was under something called the
Articles of Confederation.
The national government set up by the
Articles was too weak to rule the new
United States of America.
Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses:
• There was no ability to raise taxes to pay for
anything
• No national army or national courts existed
• No executive branch and no leader
• No agreement among the states on how
travel and taxes were to be done.
(Each state even had its own money!)
The U.S. Constitution
Used ideas of Locke (the giving up of some rights to
gain others), Montesquieu (separation of powers
and checks and balances), Rousseau (popular
sovereignty – we elect our rulers/representatives),
and Voltaire (freedom of speech and religion)
Created a Federal Republic – a government in which
power is divided between the national, or federal
government, and the states, which we still use today
The U.S. Constitution
Federalist Papers – Writing campaign to
convince American citizens to ratify the new
Constitution
George Washington – first President of the
United States of America.
Bill of Rights – added later- 10 amendments or
additions to the Constitution
Revolution
Spreads to
France
Three Estates of France
This is a political cartoon
from the French used to
encourage anger towards
the First and Second
Estate.
First Estate – The Church
Second Estate – The King
Third Estate – The People
The First and Second
Estates were exempt
from paying taxes, which
angered the Third Estate
Comparable Lives?
King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette
and their children. This painting was done
to show that the royal family was just like
every other French family.
A French peasant family from the same
time period
Louis XIV (1643-1715)
Quote: “l‘etat, c’est moi” or
“I am the state”
• Built France into one of the most
powerful nations in Europe
• Disbanded Estates General (Government)
• Spent vast amounts of money on arts
• Created extensive military
• Built Versailles
• Left France deeply in debt
Louis XV (1715-1774)
• Continued deficit spending
• Taxed the third estate unmercifully
• Pursued pleasure before the
business of the state
• When warned that France was in
serious danger of collapse, he replied,
“For now, all is well. After me, the
deluge.”
Louis XVI (1774-1792)
• Inherited a huge economic crisis
• Starvation was very real in the cities
• France deeply in debt
• Called Estates General to try to raise
funds by enticing bourgeoisie to raise taxes
on themselves.
• Third Estate objected to unfair conditions
and demanded reform
Marie Antoinette
• Wife of King Louis XVI and daughter of
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
• Nicknamed “Madam Deficit” because the
public saw her spending money on shoes and
wigs during a financial crisis
• Had little understanding of the conditions of
the lower classes
• Confused by the March of Women on
Versailles.
The March of Women
The March of Women was one of the
earliest and most significant events of the
French Revolution (October 5, 1789)
The crowd marched from Paris to
Versailles and, after a violent
confrontation, forced the King and the
government to move back to France
Why were Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette in trouble?
• Financial crisis in France (the country is in
massive debt)
• Both were completely disconnected from the
plight of the ordinary citizen (both were blind
to what was going on around them in their
own country
French Revolution
Beginning – Summoning the Estates General
In 1789, Louis XVI summoned the Estates General – a
general assembly representing the French estates of
the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobles (Second
Estate), and the common people (Third Estate) – to
raise new taxes to pay for the debt, many
representatives wanted sweeping political and social
reform
The Third Estate protested by forming something
called the National Assembly (an assembly of the
people formed by the Third Estate)
The National Assembly
The National Assembly was a transitional
government made up of representatives of the Third
Estate which demanded a written constitution and
popular sovereignty.
They wrote the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and
the Citizen,” which is modeled after Declaration of
Independence
• “All men were born free and equal in rights.”
• “Freedom of religion and people would be taxed
according to their ability to pay”
The National Assembly
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” (Brotherhood) –
the national motto of France
The Assembly abolished the feudal system,
altered the role of church
• The Royal Family attempts to flee to Austria,
but are captured and imprisoned in Paris. They
are kept as monarchs.
French Revolution
Austrian and Prussian armies invaded France to
restore the “ancien régime” (or ancient regime).
They fail to restore the King and Queen to the
French throne.
In 1791, The Convention was gathered to
replace the National Assembly. The Convention
was another transitional government led by
Maximilien Robespierre, they began what is
called the “Reign of Terror.”
French Revolution
The Terror
Using the guillotine, Robespierre became a dictator,
abolishing the monarchy and proclaiming France a
republic.
The Terror – a period of violence that occurred after
the onset of the French Revolution, marked by mass
executions of "enemies of the revolution.”
The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with
16,594 executed by guillotine (2,639 in Paris), and
another 25,000 in summary executions across France
French Revolution
The Convention executed both King Louis XVI
and Queen Marie Antoinette in 1793. They
then killed thousands others who supported the
Catholic Church or were deemed a threat to the
Republic.
The Directory (1795-1799) – A conservative
reaction against the excesses of the
Convention. The group executed Robespierre
in July 1794.
How were the American Revolution and
the French Revolution similar? Different?
Similarities: Both wanted popular sovereignty and to
get rid of a ruler who didn’t represent or help out the
common people. They used Enlightenment thinkers
to form their new governments.
Differences: The Americans figured out their
government in 14 years and without bloodshed of
their own people. The French had a dictator, an
emperor, and took 26 years to get to a republic.
From 1500 to 1800,
Latin America was
colonized by Europe,
especially Spain
European nations
used mercantilism to
gain wealth from their
American colonies
Catholic missionaries
from Spain & France
converted Indians
White Europeans were at
One major impact of
the top of society
European colonization
Peninsulares were royal
was the unequal
■ Text
governors sent by the king
social hierarchy in
to enforce mercantilism &
Latin America
maintain order in the colony
White Europeans were at
One major impact of Title the top of society
European colonization
Spanish colonists living in
was the unequal
■ Text
America were called creoles;
social hierarchy in
They had land & wealth
Latin America
but had no political power
The lack of European
women in America led to
intermarriage & a large
mixed-race population
that made up the next level
of the social hierarchy
Mestizos were
the offspring of
Europeans & Indians
Mulattos were
the offspring of
Europeans & Africans
Indians & African slaves
made up the bottom of
the social hierarchy
Indians & slaves were
used as workers for
creoles plantations
From 1800 to 1830, Latin American colonies began
declaring independence from European nations &
establishing democracies throughout the Americas
By the late 1700s,
Latin Americans
were inspired to
gain independence
because of the
success of the
American & French
Revolutions
The ideas of the
Enlightenment
inspired
independence
especially among
the well-educated
creole class
Haiti was a French colony with Plantation owners
500,000 African slaves working used brutal methods
on sugar & coffee plantations
to control slaves
In 1791, Haitian slaves rose in revolt;
Toussaint L’Ouverture became the
leader of the slave uprising & helped
free all the slaves by 1801
Haiti was the first Latin
American colony to free
itself from European rule
From 1802 to 1804, Haitians
fought for their independence
against Napoleon’s French
army
In 1804, France granted
Haiti its independence
& created a republic
Throughout the Spanish
colonies in South America,
the creoles had wealth &
education but could not
participate in government
Creoles embraced Enlightenment
ideas like natural rights &
consent of the governed
In 1810, the demand by
creoles for political rights
led to revolutions
throughout South America
South American nations
gained their independence
because of the leadership
of two creole generals
From 1811 to 1824, Venezuelan
creole Simon Bolivar led an army
of revolutionaries against Spain
Bolivar helped create new nations
of Grand Colombia, Peru, Bolivia
Argentinean creole San Martín
led the independence movement
in southern South America
San Martín helped create new
nations of Argentina, Chile & Peru
Unlike the South
In 1810, a poor but well
America creoles, in
educated Catholic priest
Mexico the Indians & named Miguel Hidalgo used
mestizos played the Enlightenment ideals to call
leading role
for a revolution against Spain
Hidalgo led an army of 80,000
Indian & mestizos revolutionaries
against the Spanish military &
creoles who feared losing their wealth
During the rebellion,
Hidalgo was killed but
Mexicans found new
leaders to continue the
fight another 10 years
The turning point in the
war came in 1820 when
the creoles switched
sides & joined the
revolt against Spain
In 1821, Spain granted
Mexico its independence
& a republic was formed
Throughout Latin
America, new
democratic republics
were created
But, Latin Americans
did not have a history
of self-government &
many of the new
gov’ts were unstable
In many nations,
military dictators
called caudillos seized
power & made few
reforms for citizens
Latin America became
dependent on the USA