Atlantic Revolutions, 8 Global Echoes 1750-1900

Comparing Atlantic Revolutions

• The Haitian earthquake of January 2010 reawakened issues from the country's revolution against slavery and French colonial rule.

• The French government demanded a payment of 150 million gold francs from Haiti as compensation for the loss of its richest colony and its "property" in slaves.

• Haiti took out major loans from French, German, and North American banks to repay those loans.

Echoes of Revolution

• In 2010, an international petition called on the French government to repay the "independence debt" extorted from Haiti 185 years earlier.

• The Haitian Revolution was part of a larger set of upheavals that shook both sides of the Atlantic world between 1775 and 1825.

• Haitians drew inspiration from the North American and French revolutions.

Atlantic Revolutions in a Global Context

• The Atlantic revolutions took place within a larger global framework of political and social upheaval.

• Many parts of the world witnessed political and social upheaval from the early eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century.

• The Atlantic revolutions occurred in the context of expensive wars, weakening states, and processes of commercialization.

Landmarks for Chapter 8

• Seven Years' War among European Great Powers (1754-1763)

• French Revolution and reign of Napoleon (1789-1815)

• Anti-tsarist uprising in Russia (1825)

• Slavery prohibited in British Empire (1833)

• Emancipation of serfs in Russia (1861)

• Unification of Italy (1870)

• Unification of Germany (1871)

• American Revolution (1775-1787)

• U.S. Civil War and abolition of slavery (1861-1865)

• Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

• Latin American wars of independence (1808-1825)

• End of slavery in Brazil (1888)

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• Various Atlantic revolutionaries shared a set of common ideas derived from the European Enlightenment.

  • These ideas were spread through newspapers, books, and pamphlets.

• The core notion was "popular sovereignty," meaning that the authority to govern derived from the people.

• The Atlantic revolutions aimed to challenge conventional ways of living and thinking, such as the divine right of kings and state control of trade.

• New ideas of liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance, republicanism, and human rationality emerged.

• These ideas were limited to the Atlantic world in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

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• The Atlantic revolutions had a significant impact beyond the Atlantic world.

• Revolutionary armies from France invaded Egypt, Germany, Poland, and Russia, spreading the ideals of the revolutions.

• These revolutions inspired efforts in other countries to abolish slavery, extend the right to vote, develop constitutions, and secure greater equality for women.

• Nationalism, feminism, socialism, and communism movements were influenced by the ideas of human equality articulated in the Atlantic revolutions.

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, echoed and amplified these principles.

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• The Atlantic revolutions differed from each other despite their common political vocabulary and broadly democratic character.

• The North American Revolution (1775-1787) was a struggle for independence from British rule.

• It resulted in the Declaration of Independence, a military victory, and the creation of a federal constitution.

• The American Revolution was a conservative movement aimed at preserving existing liberties rather than creating new ones.

• The British colonies in North America already had a considerable degree of local autonomy before the revolution.

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• The British colonies in North America enjoyed self-government and autonomy before the revolution.

• Colonists saw participation in the British Empire as advantageous and did not initially consider breaking away from England.

• The colonies had developed societies that were described as "the most radical in the contemporary Western world."

• Class distinctions were present, but there were real differences between English settlers in England and those in the colonies.

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• Social life in the American colonies was more open than in Europe due to the availability of land, scarcity of people, and absence of a titled nobility and established church.

  • No legal distinctions differentiated clergy, aristocracy, and commoners.

  • All free men enjoyed the same status before the law, excluding black slaves and white women to some extent.

• Adam Smith observed that British colonists were "republican in their manners and their government" even before their independence from England.

• The American Revolution was not caused by social tensions within the colonies, but by Britain's attempt to tighten control over the colonies and extract more revenue from them.

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• Britain imposed new taxes and tariffs on the colonies without their consent, infuriating many colonists.

• The colonists, armed with Enlightenment ideas, went to war and eventually prevailed with aid from the French.

• The American Revolution did not bring about a wholesale social transformation, but rather accelerated the democratic tendencies already present in colonial societies.

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• Political authority remained largely in the hands of the existing elites after the American Revolution.

• Property requirements for voting were lowered, allowing more white men of modest means to participate in state legislatures.

• No women or people of color shared in these gains.

• Land was not seized from its owners, except for pro-British loyalists who had fled the country.

• Slavery remained firmly entrenched in the southern states.

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• The United States became the world's most democratic country in the century following independence, but this was a gradual development rather than a direct result of the revolution.

• The principles of equality announced in the Declaration of Independence played a role in shaping the United States as a democratic country.

• The American Revolution inspired revolutionaries and nationalists in other parts of the world, such as Simón Bolívar in Latin America and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.

• The U.S. Constitution, with its Bill of Rights and political ideas of the Enlightenment, influenced political upheavals in the following century.

• The French Revolution, closely connected to the American Revolution, took place in 1789 and was influenced by the republican enthusiasm brought back by French soldiers who had assisted the American colonists.

• The French government was on the brink of bankruptcy and facing social unrest.

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Comparing Atlantic Revolutions

• French Revolution driven by conflicts within French society

• Tensions between privileged classes and monarchy's tax reforms

• National Assembly formed by representatives of the Third Estate

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed equality

• French Revolution more radical and violent than American Revolution

AP Comparison

• French Revolution driven by internal conflicts, American Revolution by colonial relationship with imperial power

• Both revolutions had grievances against aristocracy and sought equality

AP Causation

• Louis XVI's desire to raise taxes against privileged classes contributed to French Revolution

• Growing discontent among middle-class, urban workers, and peasants

• Enlightenment ideas influenced grievances against aristocracy

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Contextualization

• French Revolution led to the end of legal privileges and abolition of slavery

• National Assembly sold Church lands to raise revenue

• Execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette marked a new act of revolutionary violence

• Terror of 1793-1794 led by Maximilien Robespierre resulted in mass executions

How would the mass executions of the Terror have impacted the way that people outside of France interpreted the French Revolution?

• The revolution was seen as devouring its own children

• Attacks on the old order and efforts to create a new society

• Creation of a republic and new administrative system

• French women played active roles in major events of the revolution

The Execution of Robespierre

• Beheading of Robespierre marked a turning point in the French Revolution

• End of the most violent phase of the revolution

• Queen Marie Antoinette and thousands of others were also executed

• Serious political demands made by women during the revolution

Page 11: Women's Rights in the French Revolution

• Women's demands for rights during the French Revolution

  • Lack of education, male competition in female trades, prevalence of prostitution, rising prices of bread and soap

• Women's clubs and organizations

  • Cercle Social campaigned for women's rights

  • French playwright Olympe de Gouges appropriated the language of the Declaration of Rights

• Opposition to women's rights

  • All-male legislative body voted to ban women's clubs

  • Conception of gender defined masculinity in terms of political power

• Impact of the French Revolution on women's rights

  • French Revolution opened up the question of women's rights

  • Laid the foundations for modern feminism

Page 11: Immediate Impact of the French Revolution

• Changes in public sphere and politics

  • Streets got new names, titles vanished, people referred to as "citizen"

  • Participation in political clubs, marches, demonstrations, local committees, and public office

• Shift in identity from local communities to nation

  • State replaced the Catholic Church for registering births, marriages, and deaths

  • Revolutionary festivals replaced church holidays

• Radical revolutionary leaders conveyed a sense of new beginnings and possibilities

  • Festival of Unity burned crowns and scepters of the royal family

  • Cathedral of Notre Dame turned into the Temple of Reason

  • "Hymn to Liberty" combined traditional church music with Enlightenment ideals

Page 12: Napoleon's European Empire

• Napoleon's leadership and the spread of French influence

  • Napoleon credited with taming the revolution and preserving its moderate elements

  • Spread of French influence through conquest

• Revolutionary practices imposed by Napoleon

  • Ending feudalism, proclaiming equality of rights, religious toleration, codifying laws, rationalizing government administration

• Reactions to French domination

  • Welcomed reforms in many places, but also resentment and resistance

  • National resistance brought down Napoleon and his empire by 1815

Page 13: The Haitian Revolution

• Influence of the French Revolution in Saint Domingue (Haiti)

  • Saint Domingue was the richest colony in the world, producing sugar and coffee

  • Majority slave population, divided white population, and free people of color

• Volatile setting and the impact of the French Revolution

  • Ideas and example of the French Revolution ignited violence in the colony

  • Haitian Revolution inspired by revolutions in the American and French colonies

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• The French Revolution had different impacts on different groups of people in the colonies

  • Landowners sought greater autonomy and fewer economic restrictions

  • Petits blancs (poor whites) sought equality and were opposed to the social structure based on race

  • Slaves saw the revolution as a challenge to the entire slave labor system and sought personal freedom

• The slaves' revolt in Haiti triggered violence and led to the end of French colonial rule

• Warring factions of slaves, whites, and free people of color battled for power

• The slaves, led by Toussaint Louverture, outmaneuvered foreign powers and defeated Napoleon's attempt to reestablish French control

• Haiti became the second independent republic in the Americas and the first non-European state to emerge from Western colonialism

• The slaves became equal, free, and independent citizens, and Haiti became a nation of small-scale farmers

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• The Haitian Revolution had a significant impact on the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and France

• The revolution inspired other slave rebellions and boosted the abolitionist movement

• Whites throughout the hemisphere were horrified by the events in Haiti and were determined to prevent similar outcomes

• The Haitian Revolution led to an expansion of slavery elsewhere, particularly in Cuban plantations

• Napoleon's defeat in Haiti led to the sale of French territories to the United States, which resulted in the creation of "slave states"

• The example of Haiti did not lead to successful independence struggles in the rest of the Caribbean colonies

Latin American Revolutions, 1808-1825:

• The Latin American revolutions were shaped by preceding events in North America, France, and Haiti

• Native-born elites (creoles) in the Spanish colonies played a significant role in the revolutions

• The revolutions were influenced by the political and social power of the creole elites in Latin American history

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• Spanish colonies in Latin America were offended and insulted by the monarchy's efforts to exercise greater power and subject them to taxes and tariffs.

  • Creole intellectuals became familiar with ideas of popular sovereignty, republican government, and personal liberty derived from the European Enlightenment.

  • These conditions led to scattered and uncoordinated protests rather than declarations of independence, war, and unity like in the British colonies.

• Spanish colonies won their independence almost fifty years later than British North America due to factors such as authoritarian governance, class divisions, and a larger population of Native Americans, Africans, and mixed-race individuals.

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• The process of independence in Latin America lasted longer than in North America due to divisions by class, race, and region.

• Violence in Latin American revolutions was directed against the Spanish and spilled over into domestic disputes.

• The move toward independence in Mexico began in 1810-1811 driven by hunger for land and high food prices, led by priests Miguel Hidalgo and José Morelos.

• Creole landowners, with the support of the Church, raised an army and crushed the rebellion, leading to a more socially controlled independence in 1821.

• The entire independence movement in Latin America took place under the shadow of the fear of social rebellion from below, influenced by the violence of the French and Haitian revolutions.

• The casta system provided a class system for the multiracial societies of Latin America, with peninsulares at the top, criollos as whites born in the colonies, indios as the indigenous people, mestizos as offspring of a relationship between a colonist and a native, negros as peoples of African ancestry, and mulattos as those of mixed race between free blacks and European and African ancestry.

• Nativism played a role in mobilizing people of color into the struggle for independence, with promises of freedom and social advancement.

• Women, both upper-class and working-class, participated in the independence struggle in various ways, but overall, women as a group did not gain much from the revolution.

AP Contextualization:

• The Spanish American revolutions were shaped by the American, French, and Haitian revolutions.

• The extensive violence of the French and Haitian revolutions served as a lesson to Latin American elites about the dangers of political change.

• The lower classes, Native Americans, and slaves benefited little from independence, and colonial society was preserved despite the destruction of the imperial state.

• Women and nonelites faced opportunities and barriers during the era of revolutions in Latin America from 1800-1850.

Page 18: Latin American Independence and its Consequences

• Latin American women were excluded from political life and under the control of men in their families.

  • General San Martin of Argentina recognized a number of women and there were modest improvements in educational opportunities for women.

• Latin American colonies were unable to unite like the small British territories in North America.

• Simón Bolívar, a prominent independence leader, expressed disappointment in the outcomes of independence and the lack of unity in South America.

Page 19: Echoes of Revolution

• The repercussions of the Atlantic revolutions extended beyond their places of origin.

• The loss of Britain's North American colonies led to its interventions in Asia.

• Napoleon's conquest of Egypt led to modernizing reforms in the Ottoman Empire.

• The idea of a "constitution" spread to various countries, including Poland, Russia, the Philippines, China, and India.

• Revolutionary eruptions occurred in Europe in 1830, 1848, and 1870, reflecting ideas of republicanism, social equality, and national liberation.

• Major states in Western Europe, the United States, and Argentina expanded voting rights, granting universal male suffrage by 1914.

• The American and French revolutions inspired elites in Central Europe and elsewhere to seek change.

• Three major movements emerged: abolitionists, nationalists, and feminists.

  • Abolitionists sought to end slavery.

  • Nationalists aimed for unity and independence from foreign rule.

  • Feminists challenged male dominance.

Page 19: The Abolition of Slavery

• From 1780 to 1890, slavery underwent a remarkable transformation.

• Slavery, widely practiced and little condemned, lost its legitimacy and was largely ended.

• The abolition of slavery in the Atlantic world is considered one of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century.

Page 20: Atlantic Revolutions and the End of Slavery

• Enlightenment thinkers in Europe criticized slavery as a violation of natural rights

  • American and French revolutions emphasized liberty and equality, drawing attention to slavery as a breach of principles

• Religious voices, such as Quakers and Protestant evangelicals, also expressed opposition to slavery

• Growing belief that slavery was not essential for economic progress

• Actions of slaves themselves, including the successful Haitian Revolution and major rebellions in the British West Indies, hastened the end of slavery

• The Great Jamaica Revolt of 1831-1832 prompted Britain to abolish slavery throughout its empire in 1833

• Moral, religious, economic, and political arguments came together in the abolitionist movement, particularly in Britain

• Abolitionist techniques included pamphlets, petitions, lawsuits, boycotts, and public meetings

• Britain banned the sale of slaves within its empire and emancipated those who remained enslaved

Page 21: The Transformation and Persistence of Slavery

• Other nations followed Britain's lead in abolishing slavery, responding to international pressure

• Slave economies continued to flourish well into the 19th century, with plantation owners and slave traders resisting abolition

• The end of slavery in the United States occurred through a bitter civil war (1861-1865)

• Economic lives of former slaves did not improve dramatically in most cases

• Redistribution of land did not occur in most parts of the Atlantic world, except in Haiti

• Former slaves sought economic autonomy, but often faced challenges in achieving it

• Various forms of indentured labor, such as sharecropping, emerged in the southern United States

• Former slaves did not achieve political equality, except in Haiti

• White planters and colonial rule persisted in the Caribbean, while the southern United States experienced a brief period of "radical reconstruction"

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• Emancipation of slaves in the Americas and Russia led to harsh laws, denial of rights, lynchings, and segregation that lasted into the 20th century.

  • Former slaves in the Americas faced virulent racism and limited rights.

  • Emancipation in Russia led to peasants receiving land, but they remained impoverished and politically volatile.

• The closing of the external slave trade in West and East Africa led to a decrease in the price of slaves and increased their use within African societies.

  • Europeans imposed conditions for colonial rule on Africa while proclaiming their commitment to ending slavery.

• Slavery in the Islamic world was long practiced and regulated, but the freeing of slaves was recommended as a mark of piety.

  • Some Muslim authorities opposed slavery altogether.

• The Atlantic revolutions contributed to the end of slavery and the rise of nationalism.

  • Independence movements in the Americas and France mobilized people in the name of new nations.

  • The rise of nationalism was facilitated by eroding older identities and loyalties, migration, standardization of languages, and the construction of appealing national identities.

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• The rise of nationalism was facilitated by Europe's modern transformation and the erosion of older identities and loyalties.

  • Science weakened the hold of religion.

  • Migration to industrial cities or abroad diminished allegiance to local communities.

  • Printing and the publishing industry standardized languages, allowing for the formation of common linguistic groups or nations.

• Nationalism was constructed or invented, drawing on the songs, dances, folktales, historical experiences, and collective memories of earlier cultures.

• Nationalism inspired political unification in Italy and Germany, independence movements in Greece, Serbia, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Ukrainians, and the Irish, and a small Zionist movement seeking a homeland in Palestine.

• Nationalism fueled rivalries among European states and a competitive drive for colonies in Asia and Africa.

• Nationalism contributed to the suffering and sacrifice of World War I and rivalries among European-derived states in the Americas.

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• The national principle substantially reshaped the map of Europe by the end of the 19th century.

• Major empires remained with subject peoples seeking national independence.

• The rise of nationalism contributed to the political map of Europe by creating nation-states and challenging existing empires.

Page 25: Echoes of Revolution

• Nationalism became prominent in the 19th century

• Governments sought to instill national loyalties in their citizens through various means

  • Schools, public rituals, mass media, and military service

• Russian authorities imposed the use of the Russian language, but it led to greater awareness of Ukrainian, Polish, and Finnish nationalism

• Examples of conflicts influenced by nationalism:

  • Mexican-United States War of 1846-1848

  • Conflict between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay between 1864 and 1870

    • Resulted in the death of about half of Paraguay's population

Page 26: Nationalism in Poland

• Poland had been divided among Prussia, Austria, and Russia in the 18th century

• Polish nationalism emerged in the 19th century through revolts against Russian occupiers

• Painting depicts Russian officers surrendering to Polish insurgents during the November Uprising of 1830

• Poland regained its independence as a nation-state in 1918 at the end of World War I

Page 26: Various forms of nationalism

• Nationalism took on different political ideologies in the 19th century

• Civic nationalism identified the nation with a particular territory and allowed for assimilation of various backgrounds

• Other versions of nationalism, like in Germany, defined the nation in racial terms that excluded certain groups, such as Jews

• Nationalism could be used by conservatives to combat socialism and feminism

• Nationalism generated controversy as it did not provide clear answers on who belonged to the nation or who should speak for it

• Nationalism was not limited to the Euro-American world

  • "Egypt for the Egyptians" movement arose in the 1870s

  • Japan's long sense of distinct culture transformed into assertive nationalism

  • Indian National Congress expressed the idea of a single Indian nation

  • Ottoman Empire seen as a Turkish national state

  • Chinese intellectuals began to think in terms of a Chinese nation

  • Idea of an "African nation" stirred among freed slaves and missionary-educated men

Page 27: Feminist Beginnings

• Feminist movement emerged in the 19th century

• Women's rights challenged the subordination of women to men

• European Enlightenment thinkers challenged ancient notions, including women's inferiority

• French Revolution raised the possibility of re-creating societies on new foundations

• Mary Wollstonecraft wrote "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" in response to the French Revolution

• Growing middle classes provided educational opportunities and freedom from household drudgery for women

• Women became involved in various movements and organizations

• First organized expression of feminism took place at the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848

• Feminism became a transatlantic movement with European and American women attending the same conferences and corresponding with each other

• Major concerns included access to education and professions

• By the 1870s, suffrage became a primary focus of feminist movements

• Feminism gained a growing constituency, including middle-class housewives and working-class mothers

• By 1914, the women's movement became a mass movement in highly industrialized countries of the West

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• Progress of women's rights movement by 1900:

  • Upper- and middle-class women gained entrance to universities in small numbers.

  • Women's literacy steadily increased.

  • Legislation in the United States allowed women to manage and control their own property and wages.

  • Divorce laws were liberalized in some places.

  • Professions like medicine and teaching opened up to women.

  • Florence Nightingale professionalized nursing and attracted many women to the profession.

  • Jane Addams virtually invented "social work," which became a female-dominated profession.

  • New Zealand became the first country to give the vote to all adult women in 1893.

  • Finland followed in 1906.

  • Widespread voting rights for women in national elections were not achieved until after World War I in most countries.

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• Impact of women's suffrage movement:

  • Prompted a discussion about the role of women in modern society.

  • Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" (1879) depicted a woman leaving her loveless and oppressive marriage, causing outrage among European audiences.

  • Writers, doctors, and journalists addressed previously taboo sexual topics.

  • Socialists were divided about women's issues, questioning if the movement distracted from class solidarity or added energy to the workers' cause.

  • Feminists disagreed about the basis for women's rights, some advocating for human equality while others emphasized the role of women as mothers.

  • Opposition to feminism arose, with arguments about the strains of education and life outside the home causing reproductive damage and depopulation.

  • Feminists were viewed as selfish and a threat to the family and nation.

  • Women's rights movement sparked a passionate and public debate about the position of women, a novel feature in Western historical experience.

  • Concerns about women's rights spread beyond Western Europe and North America, albeit less widely.

  • Examples of feminism beyond the West include Brazil establishing an overtly feminist newspaper in 1852 and Mexico founding an independent school for girls in 1869.

  • In Japan, issues about marriage, family planning, and education were raised, but the state cracked down on women's political participation.

  • In Russia, radical feminist activists operated within socialist or anarchist circles, targeting the tsarist regime.

  • In the Islamic world and China, some modernists believed that education and higher status for women strengthened the nation in its struggles for development and independence.

  • Thoroughly revolutionary consequences of nineteenth-century feminism were not seen, but it raised issues that echoed in the following century.