Major Revolutions: Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and France

Comprehensive vocabulary and key figures from the Mexican, Cuban, Haitian, and French Revolutions based on lecture notes.

Porfirio Díaz

Authoritarian ruler whose dictatorship, corruption, and inequality sparked the Mexican Revolution.

Francisco Madero

Leader who called for free elections and democratic reform against Porfirio Díaz’s rule.

Emiliano Zapata

Peasant leader who fought for land reform with the slogan “Tierra y Libertad” (Land and Liberty).

Pancho Villa

Revolutionary military leader in northern Mexico who supported land and labor reforms.

Dolores Jiménez y Muro

Revolutionary woman who organized support, promoted reform, and advocated for social justice during the Mexican Revolution.

Venustiano Carranza

Leader who helped create the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and led the post-revolution government.

Plan de San Luis Potosí (1910)

A call for armed revolution against Porfirio Díaz issued by Francisco Madero.

Mexican Constitution of 1917

Document that established land reform, labor rights, and limits on church power.

Debt peonage

A system in Mexico where many workers were trapped by debt to landowners.

Fidel Castro

Leader who led the revolution against Batista and became Cuba’s communist leader after 1959.

Che Guevara

Guerrilla fighter and close ally of Castro who helped lead revolutionary battles in Cuba.

Fulgencio Batista

Authoritarian ruler of Cuba whose corruption and inequality sparked the revolution.

Vilma Espín

Revolutionary leader who organized support and promoted women’s involvement in the Cuban movement.

Attack on the Moncada Barracks (1953)

A failed attack led by Fidel Castro that served as an inspiration for further resistance in Cuba.

July 26th Movement

The revolutionary organization formed by Fidel Castro.

Sierra Maestra

The mountain range from which Castro and Che Guevara launched guerrilla warfare in 1956.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

A failed U.S.-backed invasion that strengthened Cuba’s alliance with the Soviet Union.

Toussaint Louverture

Leader of enslaved Haitians who fought against slavery and organized revolutionary victories.

Sanité Bélair

A woman revolutionary who fought specifically for Haitian independence.

Catherine Flon

A supporter of the Haitian revolution who became a symbol of the nation's freedom.

Saint-Domingue

The name of the French colony where enslaved Africans began a revolt in 1791, later becoming Haiti.

Haiti's 1825 Debt

A massive debt France forced Haiti to pay for lost “property,” including enslaved people, in exchange for recognition.

King Louis XVI

King of France executed for treason in 1793 whose weak leadership and overspending helped cause the revolution.

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France known for luxury spending and seen as a symbol of royal greed and inequality.

Maximilien Robespierre

Radical revolutionary leader who led the Reign of Terror to eliminate enemies of the French Revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Military general who seized power after the French Revolution and eventually became emperor.

Voltaire

Enlightenment thinker who promoted freedom of speech and challenged the absolute monarchy.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher who believed government should be based on the will of the people.

Tennis Court Oath

A promise by members of the Third Estate to create a new constitution after being locked out by the King.

Storming of the Bastille

The July 14, 1789 attack on a prison symbolizing royal power, marking the start of the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

A defining document of the French Revolution declaring freedom, equality, and rights for citizens.

Reign of Terror

A violent period during the French Revolution where thousands were executed under Robespierre’s leadership.