Chapter 21: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850

1. Chapter 21: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850

2. Prelude to Revolution: The 18th Century Crisis • Colonial Wars & Fiscal Crises • The Cost of War • Cost of maintaining defense of colonies = expensive • War debts strap European powers • The Enlightenment and the old order • Enlightenment – scientific revolution meets politics & religion • Intellectual Challenge to Old Order – hereditary rulers & the church • Hobbes – Social contract, we surrender certain rights to government in exchange for order • Locke – Government duty to protect life/liberty/property, otherwise rebel • Rousseau – Governments operate with the consent of the governed • Monarchs and the Enlightenment – enlightened despots – benevolent dictators

3. Prelude to Revolution: The 18th Century Crisis… continued • The Community of Belief Systems • Many channels of communication open – pamphlets, salons, correspondence • Expanding middle class – high literacy rate – coffee & tea houses • Enlightenment and the New World • America = unrestrained by Europe’s corruption would thrive • Benjamin Franklin – writer, inventor, representative, ambassador • The Counter Enlightenment – driven by Catholic nations • Folk Cultures and Popular Protest • Reform and Popular Culture • Tax reforms met with riots and protests – prefer status quo • Reformers look to replace non-productive festivals • Meet with popular uprisings

4. The America Revolution, 1775-1800 • Frontiers & Taxes • British Frontier Policy • Westward push seen as future cost of conflict • Ottawa chief Pontiac fought British over policies • Proclamation of 1763 – est. western limits • New Colonial Tax & Commercial Policies – Americans enjoyed foreign trade • Colonial Protests • Stamp Act of 1765 – every document was taxed • Women from prominent colonial families organized boycotts • Reaction to boycotts threatens liberties • Boston Massacre – fueled popular support for independence • East India Co monopoly on tea – met with Tea Party, and martial law

5. The America Revolution, 1775-1800… continued • The Course of Revolution, 1775-1783 • Continental Congress • Created a currency, declared independence, and organized an army • George Washington – Virginia planter & veteran of French Indian war • Joseph Brant – Mohawk chief on side of British • British defeat at Saratoga – Mohawk go to Canada, French join American side • Yorktown courtesy of French support • Treaty of Paris – unconditional independence • “Common Sense” – Thomas Paine – made argument for independence • The Construction of Republican Political Structures, to 1800 • Europeans lived vicariously through U.S. – constitutions published in Europe • 2nd Continental Congress = Articles of Confederation • One House legislature • No executive branch • Creating a new Government: Constitutional Convention – 3 branches • Limits of Democracy – still slavery and limited women’s rights

6. The French Revolution, 1789-1815 • French Society and Fiscal Crisis • Estates General – each has one vote • 1st Estate – Church – 10% of land • 2nd Estate – Nobles – 30% of land • 3rd Estate – 98% of Population, 33% of land, tied to economy • 1780 onward – poor harvests • The Poor – 80% of population – Les Miserables, increase in bread price = riot • The Politics of Debts and Taxes – Louis XVI (& Marie Antoinette) inherit debt but support US • Protest turns to Revolution, 1789-1792 • 3rd Estate Acts – after 6 weeks of deadlock • Tennis Court Oath – becomes National Assembly • 33% unemployed and hungry • The Bastille Falls • Fear leads to Bastille and heads on pikes • Great Fear spreads throughout France – not a good time to be rich

7. The French Revolution, 1789-1815 … continued • Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen – similar to US • The Women of Paris Act – march to Versailles, bring back royals • Revolutionary Changes Begin – Church’s land seized, neighbors worried • The Reign of Terror, 1793-1794 • September Massacres – one way to clean out the prison population • Guillotine – democratic & used on Louis XVI +40,000 • The Jacobins • Girondists & the Mountain • Maximilien Robespierre – king of the hill • Women & the Revolution – women’s sacrifices go unrewarded • The end of Robespierre – when he dies, the end is near

8. The French Revolution, 1789-1815 … continued • Reaction and the Rise of Napoleon, 1795-1815 – coup détente – popular authoritarianism • France under Napoleon • 1801 – Civil Code: Protection for persons and property • 1804 – Concordat with Church & declared himself emperor • Free speech limited • French Expansion and Defeat • Starts off undefeated in battle • Continental System – unified economic Europe – Britain • Iberian war – King of Portugal to Brazil • Russian Scorched Earth Policy – losses 95% of Army • Loses and exiled to Elba, leaves for 100 days – Waterloo • St. Helena in South Atlantic

9. Revolution Spreads, Conservatives Respond, 1789-1850 • The Haitian Revolution, 1789-1804 – while the cat’s away… • Accounted for 66% of French tropical imports and 33% of French Foreign trade • Gens de Couleur (free mixed race) sent delegates to Estates General for greater freedoms • The Haitian Revolution begins – colonial government weakened • Rebelling slaves killed & destroyed plantations • Toussaint L’Ouverture takes military leadership • Defeats British expeditionary force and next door Spanish • Napoleon sent forces , Toussaint ends up in Prison, eventually Haiti • The Congress of Vienna & Conservative Retrenchment, 1815-1820 • Balance of Power, reseat Iberian monarchies, reestablish borders • The Holy Alliance – Austria/Russia/Prussia • Nationalism, Reform, and Revolution, 1821-1850 • Greek Independence – from Ottomans • Revolutionary Fears in France and Britain • The Revolutions of 1848 – Paris/Vienna/Rome/Berlin looking for self-determination