Atlantic Revolutions

AP World History: Unit 5 (1750-1900)

Learning
Objective
Topic 5.2

Explain causes and

effects of the various
revolutions in the
period from 1750 to
1900.
Historical
Developments
People around the world developed a
new sense of commonality based on
language, religion, social customs, and
territory (nationalism). This was
sometimes harnessed by governments
to foster a sense of unity.
Historical
Developments
Discontent with monarchist and imperial
rule encouraged the development of
systems of government and various
ideologies, including democracy and
19th-century liberalism.
Historical Developments
Colonial subjects in the Americas led a series of rebellions
inspired by democratic ideals. The American Revolution,
and its successful establishment of a republic, the United
States of America, was a model and inspiration for a
number of the revolutions that followed. The American
Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American
independence movements facilitated the emergence of
independent states in the Americas.
Historical
Developments
The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers,
as reflected in revolutionary documents—
including the American Declaration of
Independence during the American
Revolution, the French “Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen” during
the French Revolution, and Bolívar’s
“Letter from Jamaica” on the eve of the
Latin American revolutions— influenced
resistance to existing political authority,
often in pursuit of independence and
democratic ideals.
 Today’s Essential Question
How did the rise and diffusion of Enlightenment thought
influence revolutions and rebellions against existing
governments?
 Atlantic Revolutions Timeline
American Declaration of Independence 1776
British recognition of American Independence 1783
U.S. Constitutional Convention 1787
Tupac Amaru revolt in Peru 1780s
Outbreak of French Revolution 1789
Haitian Revolution 1791-1804
French “Reign of Terror” – execution of Louis XVI 1793-1794
Napoleon’s rise to power 1799
High point of Napoleon’s empire 1810-1811
Hidalgo-Morelos rebellion in Mexico 1810-1813
Wars of Spanish independence 1810-1825
Final defeat of Napoleon 1815
Independence of Brazil from Portugal 1822
 Comparing Atlantic Revolutions
• Shared a set of common ideas
• Atlantic basin = world of intellectual and cultural exchange
• Ideas that animated the Atlantic revolutions derived from the
European Enlightenment
• Ideas were shared via: newspapers, books, pamphlets
• At heart was radical notion that human political and social
arrangements could be engineered and improved by human
actions
• Conventional and long-established ways of thinking (i.e. divine
right of kings, state control of trade, aristocratic privilege,
authority of a single church, etc) came under attack
The American Revolution
American Revolution (1775-1789)
• Launched the Declaration of Independence
in 1776
• Generated a federal constitution in 1787
• Joined thirteen formerly separate colonies
into a new nation
• First in a series of upheavals in the Atlantic
world
• But what really changed?
• It was a movement to preserve the
existing liberties of the colonies rather
than create new ones.
American Revolution (1775-1789)
• Britain needed money after its war with France which ran up
their national debt
• British authorities looked to make up these losses in the
American colonies through the use of taxes and tariffs
• Britain was exercising its imperial power without offering the
American colonies representation in the British parliament
• American colonists were upset & armed with ideas of the
Enlightenment (popular sovereignty, natural rights, consent
of the governed) – they went to war
• By 1781 they had prevailed with help from the French (who
were ironically still a monarchy themselves)
 American Revolution (1775-1789)
• For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, the British
colonies in North America had a great deal of autonomy
• The British gov’t had its own internal conflicts which
allowed N. American colonies to be dominated by the
wealthier property-owning settles – gave them
something close to self-government.
• Colonists came to regard such autonomy as a birthright
and part of their heritage
• No one wanted to break away b/c British Empire
provided many advantages (protection in war, access to
British markets, etc) – few drawbacks
 Things Were Pretty Good in the US (all things considered)
• Class distinctions were real and visible (small class of
wealthy “gentleman” still pretty much ran
everything)
• Even so, the large availability of land (after kicking
the Native Americans off of it), scarcity of people,
and absence of both a titled nobility and a single
established church meant that social life was more
open than in Europe
• No legal distinctions differentiated clergy,
aristocracy, and commoners as they did in France
• All free men enjoyed the same status before the law
– excluding black slaves & white women
• Made for less poverty & more economic
opportunity, fewer social differences/conflicts than
in Europe
Documents of the Enlightenment: The Declaration of Independence
Causes of the American Outcomes of the American
Revolution. Revolution.
 How “Enlightened” was the American Revolution?
Make a choice and be
prepared to defend it with
evidence! Consider: who
gained rights from this
revolution? Who was
excluded?

Very Enlightened Not Enlightened

The French
Revolution
1789
 French Revolution (1789-1815)
• French soldiers returned from assisting
America full of republican enthusiasm
• France was also bankrupt from assisting the
Americans in their war against Britain
• King Louis XVI (not to be confused with Louis
XIV – the Sun King) – knew there needed to
be tax reform so he called the Estates
General which contained representatives
from the three “estates” or legal orders
• Three estates = the clergy, the nobility, and
the commoners
• First two estates = 2% of the population,
everyone else fell into the “commoners”
category
Second Estate Third Estate

First Estate
1. Who makes up most of the population in pre-revolutionary France?
2. Who paid most of the taxes in pre-revolutionary France?
3. How might someone use these pie charts to argue that land ownership in
pre-revolutionary France was unfair?
4. What is unfair about the tax system in pre-revolutionary France?
 How does this
cartoon
summarize one of
the causes of the
French
Revolution?
Declaration of the Rights
of Man and Citizen
• In 1789, representatives of the Third Estate
formed their own special group called the National
Assembly, claiming the sole authority to make laws
for the country

• A few weeks later they drew up the Declaration of

the Rights of Man and Citizen which declared
that “men are born and remain free and equal in
rights.”
Articles:
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general
good.
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These
rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any
authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural
rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment
of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden
by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his
representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being
equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations,
according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms
prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order,
shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as
resistance constitutes an offense.
The Tennis Court
Oath
 French Revolution (1789-1815)
• French Revolution was driven by sharp
conflicts within French society
• Members of the nobility resented the
monarchy’s efforts to subject them to new
taxes
• The growing middle class (doctors, lawyers,
merchants) resented the rights of the
aristocracy, from which they were barred
• These gave the French Revolution a much
more violent, far-fetching, and radical
character than the American Revolution
 Pariser Poisarden (ca. 1794)
illustrates the role of women
during the insurrectionary days of
the French Revolution. Here a
Parisian fishwife strides forward,
hand-in-hand with a young,
aristocratic woman, possibly an
early Marianne figure, driven by
a menacing harpy representing
the anger and violence of
working class women.
In France, censorship of the
press was a major issue
throughout the 19th century,
Descente dans les ateliers
de la liberté de la presse
(1833) is a good example of
the extent to which the king
and his officials went to
silence the criticism from the
press, here Louis-Phillippe,
himself, is shown stopping
the mouth of the printer.
Storming the Bastille
 Reign of Terror
• In 1793, King Louis XVI and his queen,
Marie Antoinette were executed –
shocked traditionalists across Europe
• This began the Reign of Terror from
1793-1794 – led by Maximilien
Robespierre and his Committee of
Public Safety
• Tens of thousands deemed enemies of
the revolution lost their lives on the
guillotine
• Eventually Robespierre himself was
arrested and guillotined, accused of
leading France into tyranny and
dictatorship
 BTW: Marie Antoinette never
said “Let them eat cake.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le
t_them_eat_cake
 French Revolution vs. American Revolution
• French Revolution also differed from the American
Revolution in the way its influence spread
• U.S. became a world power at the end of the 19th century
• France spread through conquest under the leadership of
Napoleon Bonaparte (1799-1814)
• Napoleon is credited with taming the revolution
• Napoleon preserved many of the more moderate
elements such as civil equality, secular law code,
religious freedom, and promotion by merit
• He kept the revolution’s emphasis on social equality but
dispensed with liberty
• Created Europe’s largest empire seen since the Roman
Empire
• Napoleon was eventually brought down by resistance
from Russia and Britain
Causes of the French Outcomes of the French
Revolution. Revolution.
 Comparisons Practice
How did the French Revolution differ from the
American Revolution?
American Revolution

French Revolution
 How “Enlightened” was the French Revolution?
Make a choice and be
prepared to defend it with
evidence! Consider: who
gained rights from this
revolution? Who was
excluded?

Very Enlightened Not Enlightened

Haitian Revolution
 Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
• French Revolution had huge influence on the
French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue
(later Haiti)
• Saint Domingue was richest colony in the world,
produced 40% of the world’s sugar and 50% of
the world’s coffee
• Slave labor force made up majority of the
population
• Whites were divided between very well-to-do
plantation owners, merchants, and lawyers and
poor whites (petits blancs) – 1/3 of population
was gens de couleur libres (free people of color)
– many of them with mixed-raced background.
• France controlled the Western part of the island
• French plantation owners learned about the
events of the French Revolution
Slavery in • The conditions on the island were the
worst in the world.
Saint • The death rate of enslaved Africans was
Domingue around 50%.
• Most died of overwork in the sugar,
coffee and indigo plantations.
• Torture of slaves who resisted was
common.
• Most enslaved Africans had memories of
freedom in Africa.
The Social Classes of Saint
Domingue
Petit Blancs - White non-
landowners who sought
equality of citizenship for all
whites.
Enslaved People of African
Descent - Wanted an end to
slavery and to gain freedom
and equality.
Grand Blancs - Rich white
landowners wanted greater
1 autonomy for the colony
and fewer economic
restrictions on trade.
2
Gens de Couleur (Libre)
Free people of color who
3 wanted equality for
everyone, regardless of
race.
4
 Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
• Principles of the revolution meant different
things to different people:
– grand blancs (rich white landowners)
wanted greater autonomy for the colony
and fewer economic restrictions
– petits blancs sought equality of citizenship
for all whites
– Both groups were adamantly opposed to the
insistence of free people of color that the
“rights of man” meant equal treatment for all
free people regardless of race
 Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
• In 1791, triggered by rumors that the French
king had already declared an end to slavery,
slaves burned 1,000 plantations and killed
hundreds of whites as well as mixed-race
people
• Warring factions of slaves, whites, and free
people of color battled one another
• Slaves were led by Toussaint Louverture –
himself a former slave
• TL and his successor overcame internal
resistance and defeated an attempt by
Napoleon to reestablish French control
 Slave Revolts
• Because enslaved Africans
outnumbered whites 10:1,
enslaved Africans were allowed
to keep their African customs.
• Vodou (Vodon) was widely
practiced among the slaves.
• This religion gave the slaves a
form of cultural expression and
rallying point for protest against
their oppressors.
 • Former enslaved African who wanted to
ensure the revolution took hold.
• Began organizing enslaved Africans into
military units.
• Did not participate in the original uprising.
• Organized the military to fight the French,
Spanish, and English.
• All three countries wanted to control the
island and ensure failure of slave revolt.
Toussaint
L'Ouverture
 Letter from Toussaint L’Ouverture, 1793
Brothers and friends. I am Toussaint L’Ouverture, my
name is perhaps known to you. I have undertaken
vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in San
Domingo. I work to bring them into existence. Unite
yourselves to us, brothers, and fight with us for the
same cause, etc.

Your very humble and very obedient servant.

(signed) TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE, General of the Armies
of the King, for the Public Good.
 How did L'Ouverture beat the
French, Spanish, and English?

• Joined forces with the Spanish army against the

French.
– rose to high rank within the Spanish army.
• When France abolished slavery, he switched
sides.
– Promoted to General in the French Army.
• Toussaint Louverture ruled the colony as the
French governor-general.
• Forced the British troops to withdraw.
– Defeated a mulatto group in the south in a bloody
race war.
What happened to L'Ouverture?
• Liberated the entire island from slavery but
still demanded the production of sugar and
coffee.
– Wanted to rebuild the French/Haitian
economy.
• Napoleon sought to return Saint Domingue
to French control and reinstate slavery.
• Sent French force to recapture the island.
– L’Ouverture is captured and imprisoned in
France.
 How did Haiti gain its independence?

• Jean-Jacques Dessalines lead a revolt

following the capture of L’Ouverture.
• Horrific war broke out where both sides
resorted to mass murder.
Because France could not re-supply their
troops and suffered fever in their camps,
Haiti wins the war in November 1803.
Causes of the Haitian Outcomes of the Haitian
Revolution. Revolution.
 How “Enlightened” was the Haitian Revolution?
Make a choice and be
prepared to defend it with
evidence! Consider: who
gained rights from this
revolution? Who was
excluded?

Very Enlightened Not Enlightened

Latin American Revolutions
Latin American Revolutions
 Latin American Independence Movements
(1810 – 1825)
• Revolutions were shaped by events in North
America, France, and Haiti
• Native-born elites in the Spanish colonies (known
as creoles) were insulted by Spanish monarchy’s
efforts during the 18th century to exercise greater
power colonies
• Spain tried to subject them to heavier taxes and
tariffs
• Creole intellectuals had become familiar with
ideas of the Enlightenment: popular sovereignty,
republican government, and personal liberty
 New Social Hierarchies in New Spain
• New social hierarchies emerged
based on race and birth location
• Peninsulares had the most
power, land, and political authority
– Looked to Spain for guidance
but largely saw themselves as
unique and independent
• Creoles were the children of
peninsulares, born in New Spain
• A lack of Spanish women meant
that mixed race children were also
included in the social hierarchy,
but below peninsulares and
creoles
Since they were born
on the Iberian
Peninsula (Spain
and Portugal)
“peninsulares” were
most likely to have
“purity of the blood.”

Creoles in Latin America

resented the power of the
peninsulares. They were
also white and felt they
deserved upper level
positions in the
government.
 Jamaica Letter Questions
Read the excerpt from the Jamaica Letter and answer these questions on a
sheet of paper:

1. What was the context in which this letter was written, and who was its
intended audience?
2. List some of Bolivar’s grievances as described in the letter.
3. How does its content reflect social tensions inherent in the independence
movements in Latin America?
4. How did Bolívar see Latin America’s ideal future?
"Americans, under the Spanish system now in
vigor, have in society no other place than that of
serfs fit for work, and, at the most, that of simple
consumers; and even this is limited by absurd
restrictions, such as prohibition of the cultivation
of European products; the mono of certain goods
in the hands of the king; the prevention of the
establishment in America of factories not
possessed by Spain; the exclusive privileges of
trade, even regarding the necessities of life; the
obstacles placed in the way of the American
provinces so that they may not deal with each
other, nor have understandings, nor trade. In
short, do you want to know what was our lot?
The fields, in which to cultivate indigo, cochineal,
coffee, sugar cane, cocoa, cotton; the solitary
plains, to breed cattle; the deserts, to hunt the
wild beasts; the bosom of the earth, to extract
Bolivar's Letter from
gold, with which that avaricious country was Jamaica, 1815
never satisfied."
 Latin American Independence Movements
(1810 – 1825)
• Revolution occurred after North American revolutions b/c settlers in Spanish
colonies had no tradition of self-government such as that in North America
• Society was far more divided by class
• Whites were outnumbered by Native Americans, people of African descent, and
those of mixed race
• All of this inhibited the growth of a movement for independence
• Instability caused by Napoleon’s invasion of Spain and Portugal forced Latin
Americans to take action (Spanish king was deposed and the Portuguese royal
family was exiled in Brazil)
Latin American Independence Movements (1810 – 1825)
• Revolutions lasted twice as long because Latin American
societies were so divided by class, race, and religion.
• In Mexico, the move toward independence began in
1810 in a peasant insurrection, drive by hunger for land
and by high food prices and led by two priests: Miguel
Hidalgo and Jose Morelos
• Alarmed by the social radicalism of the Hidalgo-Morelos
rebellion, Creole landowners, with the support of the
Church, raised and army and crushed the insurgency
• Later the alliance of clergy and Creole elites brought
Mexico to a more socially controlled independence in
1821
• Such violent conflict among Latin Americans, along lines
of race, class, and ideology, accompanied the struggle
against Spain in many places.
How “Enlightened” were the Latin American Revolutions?
Make a choice and be
prepared to defend it with
evidence! Consider: who
gained rights from this
revolution? Who was
excluded?

Very Enlightened Not Enlightened

Causes of the Latin American Outcomes of the Latin
Revolutions. American Revolutions.
Haitian Revolution

Latin American Revolutions

What do you think: which
revolution was the MOST
revolutionary?
Historical Developments
Newly imagined national communities often linked this new national identity
with borders of the state, and in some cases, nationalists challenged
boundaries or sought unification of fragmented regions.

Call for national unification or liberation:

● Propaganda Movement in the Philippines
● Maori nationalism and the New Zealand wars in New Zealand
● Puerto Rico—writings of Lola Rodríguez de Tió
● German and Italian unifications
● Balkan nationalisms
● Ottomanism