Political Revolutions

World History political revolutions - America, France, Haiti, Latin America

The Stamp Act

* 1765
* Imposed on the Colonies by Great Britain in order to help pay for the French and Indian War
* Required colonists buy a stamp (pay tax) for paper goods such as newspapers and pamphlets
* Colonists opposed the Stamp Act because they felt they should only be taxed by their own representatives 
* “No taxation without representation”

Boston Massacre

* In early 1770, 2,000 British soldiers occupied Boston (pop. 16,000)
* Conflict between patriots and loyalists were common - patriots often vandalized stores that sold British goods
* Feb 22, patriots attacked the store of a loyalist, Ebenezer Richardson fired into the crowd (who threw rocks) and killed an 11 year old boy
* March 5, patriots gathered at the Customs House to protest and antagonize the guards. British commanding officer ordered his men to attach their bayonets. Protesters responded by throwing snowballs and other objects. After some soldiers were hit, they fired into the crowd and killed 5.

Intolerable Acts

Four Punitive measures passed after the Boston Tea Party

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Boston Port Act

* Allowed the Royal Navy to blockade the Boston Harbor

Massachusetts Government Act

* Restricted meetings of Massachusetts government and made the Massachusetts Council appointed by the crown (previously elected)

Administration of Justice Act

* Allowed Britain to move a trial to another colony or to Great Britain 

Quartering Act

* Allowed Britain to forcibly house soldiers in people’s homes

Declaration of Independence

* July 4, 1776
* Written by Thomas Jefferson and revised in committee 
* Explains why the colonies are at war with Great Britain 

Articles of Confederation 

* Written in 1777, ratified March 1, 1781
* First written constitution of the United States
* States remained sovereign and independent 
* Criticized for being too weak - congress could make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces, and coin money but could not levy taxes.

What were the causes of the American Revolution? 

The Seven Year war cost Britain a lot so they taxed the colonies. They also had little to no say in government and what happened to them, all of those led them to rebel. Also Britain kept sending troops over to them which they hated.

How did the American Revolution influence other revolutions around the world?

France joins the American revolution which makes them tax their own people more, which leads to the French revolution. The Haitian revolution had some parts of their revolution modeled after that.

Storming of the Bastille

* French troops gathered around Paris and rumors spread that Louis wanted to dissolve the National Assembly
* July 14, 1789
* Parisians gathered around the Bastille (prison), demanded weapons and gunpowder
* Commander refused to open the gates, opened fire on the crowd
* Crowd charged at the soldiers, ultimately took the prison, killed the commander and 5 guards. Nearly 100 “stormers” were killed.
* The Bastille had represented the King’s tyrannical rule. The storming of the Bastille came to symbolize the start of the French Revolution

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

* Issued by the National Assembly on August 26th, 1789 
* Inspired by the Declaration of Independence 
* Argued that all men were free and equal 
* Insisted governments exist to protect the rights of citizens 
* Did not grant equal rights to women 

Women’s March 

* Louis XVI and nobles continued to live luxuriously 
* October 5, 1789: Around 6,000 women marched from Paris to Versailles and shouted “Bread” at the king 
* Much of the anger was directed at Marie Antoinette (Louis’ wife) 
* Once the King agreed to return to Paris the women returned as well 
* Royal family moved into the Tuileries palace 

Committee of Public Safety (and Maximillian Robespierre) 

* By early 1793, France was at war with much of Europe, faced royalist rebellions against the government, demands for relief from food shortages and inflation, and a divided convention 
*  Jacobins and **Girondins** (Moderates)
* To deal with these threats, the Convention                                                  created the **Committee of Public Safety** 
* 12-member committee 
* Had almost absolute power 
* Ordered all citizens to contribute to the war effort 
* Led by **Maximilien Robespierre**

The Directory

* Crafted by moderate middle class and professionals 
* Set up a five-man Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property 
* Held power from 1795-1799
* Weak but willing to use force against enemies 
* Faced many challenges: 
* War continued with Austria and Great Britain 
* Corrupt leaders pocketed money, failed to fix problems like rising bread prices
* Quickly suppressed riots from the sans-culottes
* Emigres returned, often wanted a monarchy/increased presence of the Church


* Set up system of schools, helped the economy, strengthened the military

What were the causes of the French Revolution?

* Economic crisis. Huge debts, need to raise taxes, bad harvests
* Three estates: Clergy, Nobility, Bourgeoisie and rural peasants and urban workers

How did the French Revolution impact other countries around the world? (ex: European countries? Haiti?)

Inspired the Haitian Revolution, nationalism, the modern era, created lots of warfare.

Who was Napoleon? What impact did he have on France and the revolution? 

* Military hero who won many victories against the Austrians in Italy 
* Together with members of the French government, overthrew the Directory in a coup d’etat in 1799. First served as the First Consul of France
* Politicians wanted to use him to advance their own goals but he became the ruler of France
* Was Emperor of France from 1804-1814 (and briefly in 1815)

What were the stages of the French Revolution (think Crane Brinton)?

* Stage 1: injustices of the old regime
* Stage 2: moderate reformers take power
* Stage 3: rule by radical revolutionaries
* Stage: Return of moderates
* Stage 5: Emergence of a strong leader and a new regime

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Was a leader during the Haitian revolution. He declared himself governor in 1801.

Jean-Jacque Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Under Dessalines, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery. He led a genocidal campaign against white Haitians in 1804.

Francois Mackandal

Led a rebellion which included poisoning plantation owners. Was ultimately captured and executed.

Léger-Félicité Sonthonax

The new governor abolished slavery in Saint Domingue.

Dutty Boukman

Was an early leader. August 21, 1791, thousands of slaves began to revolt, killing their masters after his signal.

1804 Massacre

* Carried out against the French population and French Creoles (people with French parents but born in Haiti)
* Dessalines decreed that all suspected of conspiring with the French army be put to death 
* Some white women were spared if they agreed to marry non-white men 
* Some Polish ex-soldiers, German colonists, and medical doctors were also spared 
* Between 3,000 and 5,000 were killed
* Dessalines claimed that this massacre was necessary but that he would have peaceful relations with other countries that had slavery

Describe Saint Domingue’s economic structure and the impact of this colony on France. 

It was one of France's most prosperous New World possessions, exporting sugar and smaller amounts of coffee, cacao, indigo, and cotton.

Describe the social class system in Saint Domingue.

The white colonists at the top, the mulattoes and free blacks in the middle; the black slaves at the bottom.

What was the 1801 constitution? What about it was especially historic? What about it was problematic? 

The 1801 constitution banned slavery and all forms of racial discrimination. Pronounced Toussaint Louverture governor for life of Saint Domingue. It also devised a social and agricultural framework that would allow Saint Domingue to rebuild its colonial sugar economy.

Peninsulares

* Peninsulares: Spanish-born, highest social class
* Could hold top jobs in government and Church
* Feared rebellions inspired by Haiti

Creoles

* Creoles: Born in Latin America but with European parents
* Owned haciendas, ranches, and mines

Father Miguel Hidalgo

* Called Mexicans to fight for independence on September 15, 1810
* Supported by Mestizos and Native Americans. Creoles generally resisted because they feared losing power to the Native Americans
* Supporters killed peninsulares and destroyed property 
* Saw some successes early but was captured and executed within a year

Father Jose Morelos

Was a Mexican Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811.

Augustin de Iturbide

Army general Augustin de Iturbide (1783‒1824) galvanized Mexican support for independence. After a decade of fighting, Iturbide negotiated the Plan de Iguala, which set the terms under which Mexico defined its identity as an independent nation.

Llaneros

llaneros (Venezuelan cowboys) marched w/ army across the Andes and in 1819 attacked the Spanish at Bogota.

Describe the social class structure in Latin America. 

Peninsulares: Spanish-born, highest social class

* Supported by Mestizos and Native Americans. Creoles generally resisted because they feared losing power to the Native Americans
* Could hold top jobs in government and Church
* Feared rebellions inspired by Haiti

Creoles: Born in Latin America but with European parents

* Feared rebellions inspired by Haiti
* Owned haciendas, ranches, and mines

Mestizos: People of Native American and European descent and Mulattoes: People of African and European descent

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Native Americans and enslaved people

What were the causes of the Latin American revolutions? 

* Enlightenment ideas, revolutions in other lands, and dissatisfaction with European rule caused revolutions in Latin America.
* The immediate cause of the Wars, however, was the fact that the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII, was captured in France by Napoleon who then invaded the Peninsula. This was the sudden unexpected removal of the central imperial authority and many creoles feared Napoleon's incursions into the Americas.

Compare and Contrast the independence movements of Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. 

Bolívar was in favor of forming a series of republics in the newly independent nations, whereas San Martín preferred the European system of rule and wanted to put monarchies in place.

How did Brazil gain independence? Why was it different from the other Latin American nations? 

* Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil after Napoleon invaded. The King eventually returned to Portugal but left his son, Dom Pedro, in charge of Brazil
* Following his father’s advice, Pedro declared Brazil independent and himself King


* Accepted a constitution that provided for freedom of the press, religion, and an elected legislature
* Brazil remained a monarchy until 1889

How was the American Revolution influenced by the Enlightenment? 

It was influenced by the Enlightenment because the majority of their ideas on how a country should be ruled came from that time period. For example, the idea that every man should be equal to one another and even the three branches of government came from the philosophers of the Enlightenment Time period. 

Alliances during the Haitian Revolution were often in a state of change. Describe L’Ouverture’s decision to align with and against Great Britain and Spain at different stages of the revolution. 

Initially, L’Ouverture allied with Spain and Britain to fight against France, who were trying to corral the slaves back together. But, when France then abolished slavery and decided to accept L’Ouverture and the revolutionaries, he then allied with France and disregarded his former colleagues. But, when Napoleon came into power and tried to reinstate slavery, L’Ouverture had no choice but to ally with Spain and Britain again to try and overtake France and Napoleon. 

How did France’s relationship with the revolutionaries change when Napoleon took control of France? 

They changed because France suddenly decided to reinstate slavery, which angered the Haitian and the previously freed slaves. Thus, they once again became enemies. 

Describe the results of the Latin American Revolutions. How were they revolutionary? How weren’t they?

They were revolutionary in that they were able to free many countries from monarchy, and they were also able to create the present-day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador (from the remains of Bolivar’s single nation New Granda). But, they failed in the aspect that many countries were still under sovereignty and the social hierarchy, patriarchy, and the power of the Catholic Church still remained.