The Americas in an Age of Revolution

1. The Americas in an Age of Revolution Tony McFarlane

3. American Colonies

4. The revolutionary era in America, 1776-1826. • British North America: The American Revolution,1776-83. • French St. Domingue: The Haitian Revolution, 1790-1804: the end of slavery and the first black republic. • Spanish America: Rebellions, War and Independence in Mexico and South America, 1810-1825. • Portuguese America: Brazil’s Peaceful Transition to Independence, 1822.

5. Meanings • Linkages and associations? The concepts of ‘Democratic’ and ‘Atlantic Revolution’: Palmer and Godechot. • Repercussions? Turning point in Americas’ history • Dissolution of empires from California to Cape Horn by separation from European rule: few remnants left. • Creation of new states based on sovereignty of the people and idea of citizens’ equality under the law, embodied in written constitutions (incl. Brazilian monarchy of 1822) • Political independence and economic freedom • Americas as the new political and economic frontier • European Empire turns East.

6. International Contexts • Origins of Revolutions in Americas: crisis in colonial relations with European wars, related to international wars. • Decline of Spain and growth of French and British empires in America: trade and population expansion in the West. • Character of international wars in 18th century: coupled with competition for overseas empire, esp. France, Spain and Britain. • Atlantic expansion and tendency of European Wars to ‘globalise’. Americas became major theatre. • Impact of inter-imperialist competition in Americas: economic growth; more communication and exchange; increase in political tensions.

7. The American Revolution • Origins of conflict: the Seven Years’ War and expulsion of France, • ‘no taxation without representation’ and Parliamentary despotism • Source of ideas: defence of traditional British ‘liberties’ + Tom Paine. • Nationalism? Provincial identities. • Pre-planned revolution? Negotiation and mobilisation: British political institutions as vehicles for rebellion: provincial assemblies into proto-states. • Unity? from Continental Congress to United States of America. • Democracy? From republican monarchy to monarchical republic.

8. The Haitian Revolution • France in America post-1763: the Caribbean minus Canada • War of American Revolution and Crisis in Paris in 1789: onset of French Revolution • Slave colony: Saint Domingue • Repercussions of French Revolution: escalation of crisis from divisions in elite to slave insurgency • Foreign intervention exacerbates crisis • Slave revolution? Toussaint’s compromise; Napoleon and the ‘gilded African’. • From social rebellion to revolution for independence • Political transformation and social revolution: the end of slavery • Reception in the United States

9. Spanish American Revolutions: Contexts • Spain’s revival under the Bourbons • The ‘second conquest’ of America • Reform and rebellion: Quito (1765), Comuneros (1781), Túpac Amaru (1780-2) • American critiques of Spain: ‘Creole patriotism’ and the Enlightenment. • Impact of American and French Revolutions: 1790s conspiracies and their significance • The French Revolution and Spain: ‘decapitation’ of the state 1808-1810 and political revolution in Spain: towards constitutional monarchy.

10. Spanish America: revolutions and independence • Imitating Spain:1810 • Restive elites and delegated sovereignty: the juntas, autonomy and independence. • Elites and insurgency in Mexico: Hidalgo’s revolt and Morelos’ insurgency • Cadiz Constitution and the defeat of insurgency • Revolution from above, 1821.

11. Revolution and counter-revolution in South America • Transitions, 1810-14: ‘Foolish fatherlands’ • Defining the patria: Regional conflicts and confederations • Revolution defeated: Spanish restoration and re-conquest 1814-1825 • Militarization of the revolution: Wars of liberation under Bolívar and San Martin. • Brazil: from monarchy to constitutional monarchy

12. Comparisons • International Contexts: revolutions all related to international wars. • Ideological Contexts and Linkages: Democratic revolutions? Influence of Enlightenment attack on privilege, and growth of anti-monarchical and republican sentiments? • Ambiguities of pre-revolutionary Enlightenment; enlightened ideas for revolutionary legitimation. • Importance of distinctive political cultures: American Revolution ‘born democratic’ in British political culture; Haitian Revolution drew on French Revolution; Spanish American revolutions combine modern doctrines of rights of man from both, but also draw on Spanish traditions of political thought.

13. Comparisons • Nationalist Revolutions? Expressions of nascent national identities? First nationalist revolutions or ‘imagined communities’? (role of print in North American and Spanish America). • Social revolutions driven by class and ethnic conflicts? – popular grievances drawn in and drove revolutions forward, but a ‘vertical politics’ and dimension of civil war in all cases. • Myths of intentionality: the ‘founding fathers’ and the historias patrias. Revolutions share origins in erosion of political legitimacy of old regimes: in British America, driven by metropolitan aggression; in French and Spanish America based on collapse at the centre. • Outcomes: US ‘democracy’; Haitian ‘republic of bayonets’; Spanish American tendency towards oligarchies and limited participation in politics. Reflections of colonial past?

14. Further Reading • Anthony McFarlane, ‘Independence and Revolution in the Americas’, History Today, 34, March, 1984. • Lester Langley, The Americas in the Age of Revolution (New Haven, 1998) • David Bushnell, ‘Independence Compared: the Americas North and South’, in Anthony McFarlane and Eduardo Posada-Carbo (eds), Independence and Revolution in Spanish America: Perspectives and Problems, (London, 1999). • J. H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic World, (Chapter 10-11), New Haven,2006) • John Elliott, Simon Newman and Anthony McFarlane, Revolutions! US and Spanish American Independence Movements Compared (British Library, London 2010) Also online at www.bl.ecclescentre) • Wim Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World (New York, 2009)