HIS 106 Chapter 24

1. HIS 106Chapter 24 Revolutions in the Transatlantic World

2. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment led to a series of revolutions for independence and a new way of governing between 1776 and 1824 on 3 different continents

3. The American Revolution • Britain’s American colonies rebelled initially in 1775 after being taxed without representation in the British Parliament • American colonies had always been drawn in to British wars and these wars were costly • The British felt Americans should help pay for these wars and for their own protection

4. The British Parliament voted to tax the colonies • 1764, the Sugar Act was passed which lowered the tax on sugar, but the tax would be collected; it had been ignored before • Any smugglers would be tried in admiralty courts without juries

5. 1765, the Stamp Act put a tax on legal documents, receipts, playing cards, newspapers, and pamphlets • This tax affected more people, making them angry

6. 1773, the Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to import tea directly to the colonies • They even lowered the price of tea • Americans cried, “No taxation without representation” • As a result, Bostonians threw a shipload of tea into the Boston Harbor

7. In reprisal, the British: • Closed the port of Boston • Reorganized the government of Massachusetts using a military governor • Quartered soldiers in private homes • Did away with trials by jury, no more juries

8. Colonies’ response: • Formed the First Continental Congress to deal with Britain diplomatically; didn’t work • 1775, Battles at Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and Breed’s Hill near Boston between Americans and the British • Second Continental Congress was called to organize the American war effort • 1776, Declaration of Independence

9. After several years of fighting and with aid from France and Spain, the United States won its independence in 1781 • The new American government adopted many ideas advocated by the Enlightenment thinkers • 3 branches of government with checks and balances • Bill of Rights • Voting rights

10. The French Revolution • Inspired by the American Revolution, the French rebelled against their own absolute king who lived well while others couldn’t afford bread • The French people wanted: • Manorialism ended • The power of the Catholic Church limited • Rights and representation

11. Feeling pressured, King Louis XVI called the Estates General after 150 years of not meeting • Estates General had 3 groups: • The Clergy with 1 vote • The Nobles with 1 vote • The Middle Class with 1 vote The clergy and the nobles paid no taxes and always voted together against the middle class, 2-1

12. The people and the middle class rebelled in 1789 and their revolution began • Wrote a Bill of Rights called Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen • Stormed the Bastille on 14 July to get weapons and to release political prisoners; there were none there • Stormed manors and burned records of which peasants owed money to the lord

13. Aristocrats lost power and later, many lost their lives • Church property was seized • Voting rights were established • 1792, the revolution turned more radical during the Reign of Terror led by Maximilien Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety

14. Reign of Terror • Few were safe • Anyone deemed an enemy was guillotined, including Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette • Leaders of the revolution and later Robespierre himself were guillotined

15. Reforms: • Mass education • Votes for all men • Changes in fashion to reflect ancient Greece • Changes in the calendar • Military draft to fight for France against other European nations trying to stop the French Revolution

16. Reign of Terror ended in 1795 • A moderate government ruled until 1799 • 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general from Corsica, took control and established a thinly disguised dictatorship

17. Napoleon • Introduced reforms like a new law code, equality for men, and secondary schools, universities, and libraries • He also tried to take over Europe • He got as far as Moscow • This French empire began to fall apart in 1812 and was crushed by other European nations by 1815

18. Napoleon was exiled to Elba in 1815 • He returned to lead an army against the British at Waterloo • He was again defeated • This time exiled to the island of St. Helena in June of 1815 • Napoleon died there in 1821

19. France continued to search for a workable governmental system throughout the 19th century • On the whole, there were no wars among European nations after the demise of Napoleon for the rest of the century

20. Wars of Independence in Latin America • By the mid-1820s, Latin America had driven out their colonial rulers and had broken the colonial trade monopolies • Although rich in natural resources, the region did not achieve widespread prosperity and long-lasting political stability until the 20th century

21. Their wars for independence were not grass-roots’ movements by the people • They were started by the Creole elites who didn’t want to lose any of their power or influence to European leaders when they reorganized their colonies • Creoles also wished to keep the social structure that had them at the top

22. Creoles wished to control and reap the benefits of their trade • These Creole military leaders of the wars held much of the political power in the newly independent Latin American nations • These wars for independence hurt their economies because mines were flooded, livestock depleted, and the work force disrupted

23. Previously, colonial Latin America was dependent on Spain or Portugal for their exports and imports • The newly independent Latin America would become economically dependent on the United States and Britain • They would export raw materials and import manufactured goods – Neocolonialism: politically independent, economically dependent

24. As a result, they were dependent on the world market to set prices; they didn’t set the prices • If there were a depression or a recession in the world, Latin America felt it • They did not develop their own manufacturing until the 1930s during the Great Depression

25. Independence • Latin America was also influenced by the Enlightenment and they wanted: • Representative government • Freedom to trade with different countries • Freedom to choose their own careers • Right to private property • Right to be free and independent

26. Mexico • First tried for independence under the guidance of Father Miguel de Hidalgo in 1810 • United Indians and mestizos • Won some victories • Was captured by Creole elites and executed

27. After 1820, when Spain seemed weak, the Creoles worked for independence under Augustin de Iturbide • United various forces • Occupied Mexico City in 1821 • Proclaimed Emperor over the Mexican Empire that included Central America • Lasted until 1824 when Central American states pulled away from Mexico; 1830, they formed independent states

28. Venezuela, Colombia, & Ecuador • Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), a Creole officer, became the leader of the revolt against Spain in northern South America • He mobilized those in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador • Won a series of victories there between 1817 and 1822 • These 3 areas initially formed Gran Colombia until 1830 when they broke into 3 states

29. Argentina or Rio de la Plata • 1806, citizens of Buenos Aires fought off a British invasion and did it without Spanish help • Learned they could look to themselves for effective military and political action • 1810, people in Buenos Aires threw off the Spanish authority there and sent liberation forces to Paraguay and Uruguay

30. Their armies were defeated there, but Spain still lost control of these 2 areas • Paraguay asserted its own independence • Uruguay was eventually absorbed by Brazil • Government was determined to liberate Peru, the greatest stronghold of royalist power and loyalty in South America

31. By 1814, Jose de San Martin (1778-1850), the leading general of the Rio de la Plata forces , had organized and led an army over the Andes mountains into Chile • By 1817, he helped to establish Chilean independence leader, Bernardo O’Higgens, as supreme dictator • Then San Martin constructed a naval force to carry his army to Peru in 1820

32. 1821, San Martin drove out the royalist forces and assumed the title of Protector of Peru • By 1825, all of Spanish South America had gained political independence • They all began as republics with representative governments, putting the ideas of the Enlightenment into action

33. Brazil • Brazilian independence came rather peacefully and simply by comparison • The Portuguese royal family, several thousand government officials, and members of court took refuge in Brazil in 1807 when French troops under Napoleon invaded Portugal • Their arrival in Rio de Janeiro transformed the city into a court city and capital of the Portuguese Empire

34. Prince regent, Joao (r. 1816-1826), made Brazil a kingdom so that it could no longer be seen as a colony of Portugal • Brazil was more prosperous than Portugal • 1820, a revolution occurred in Portugal and Joao had to return home leaving his son Pedro (r. 1822-1831) to rule in Brazil • Joao encouraged Pedro to be sympathetic to the political aspirations of the people

35. He was • Pedro embraced the idea of Brazilian independence and declared himself emperor of an independent Brazil at the end of 1822 • Brazil remained a monarchy until 1889 with a centralized government whose political and social elite were determined to keep slavery • Wars of independence elsewhere led to the abolition of slavery or closer to the abolition of slavery

36. Consequences of Latin American Independence • Wars left them • Free from direct European control • Economically exhausted • Politically unstable • Weak and vulnerable

37. Overseas trade had been interrupted and changed • Trade among republics was difficult because of poor roads, no railroads; there were mountains and rivers • There was no money for investment • Latin American governments looked to Britain for protection, markets, & investment

38. Life didn’t change much for the lower classes • There were caste and racial distinctions despite having been removed from the law • Indian population was not brought into political life • Slave trade had been abolished in most areas • However, slavery, itself, did not disappear from former Spanish Empire until 1850s and not from Brazil until 1888

39. Landowners became the major governing group • Much of the population felt no loyalty to the new regimes • These new regimes operated mostly in the interests of the Creole elites that had created them