The Atlantic revolutions
From 1775 to the 1820s, revolutions in North America, France, Haiti, and Latin America overturned old regimes and spread ideas of popular sovereignty.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was the first successful colonial revolt against a European empire in this era. Its Declaration of Independence and Constitution put Enlightenment ideas into practice and inspired others, while French support for the Americans worsened France's own debts.
Causes of the French Revolution
France faced a financial crisis from war debts, a tax system that burdened commoners (the Third Estate) while nobles and clergy were largely exempt, poor harvests and high bread prices, and spreading Enlightenment ideas. In 1789, King Louis XVI called the Estates-General for the first time since 1614.
Revolution begins
The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and swore the Tennis Court Oath not to disband until France had a constitution. Parisians stormed the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789. The Assembly abolished feudal privileges and issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, proclaiming liberty, equality before the law, and popular sovereignty.
Radical phase
War with European monarchies and internal conflict radicalised the revolution. France became a republic in 1792, and Louis XVI was executed in 1793. During the Reign of Terror (1793-1794), Maximilien Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety executed tens of thousands of suspected enemies, many by guillotine, until Robespierre himself was executed.
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte, a successful general, seized power in 1799 and crowned himself emperor in 1804. His Napoleonic Code (1804) established legal equality, property rights, and secular authority, spreading across Europe. He conquered much of Europe but was defeated after invading Russia in 1812 and finally at Waterloo in 1815. The Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) restored many monarchies.
The Haitian Revolution
In the French colony of Saint-Domingue, the world's richest sugar colony, enslaved people rose up in 1791. Led by Toussaint Louverture and later Jean-Jacques Dessalines, they defeated French, Spanish, and British forces. Haiti declared independence in 1804, becoming the first nation founded by formerly enslaved people and the first to permanently abolish slavery.
Latin American independence
Inspired by revolutionary ideas and taking advantage of Napoleon's invasion of Spain, creole leaders led independence movements. Simón Bolívar liberated much of northern South America; José de San Martín led campaigns in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Mexico gained independence in 1821, following an uprising begun by the priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810. Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822, peacefully, under a monarchy.
Worked example
The Haitian Revolution shows the radical potential of revolutionary ideals. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man proclaimed that men are born free and equal, but France still enslaved hundreds of thousands in Saint-Domingue. Enslaved Haitians took those principles more seriously than their colonisers, forcing France to abolish slavery in 1794 and later winning full independence.
Key takeaways
The American Revolution inspired others and deepened France's debts. France's financial crisis, unequal taxes, and Enlightenment ideas led to revolution in 1789: the Tennis Court Oath, the Bastille, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The radical phase brought the republic, the king's execution, and the Terror. Napoleon spread the Napoleonic Code before defeat in 1815. Haiti became the first nation founded by formerly enslaved people in 1804. Bolívar, San Martín, and others won Latin American independence by the 1820s.
Flashcard
French assembly called in 1789
Check your understanding
Why is the Haitian Revolution historically unique?