Chapter 15 notes Kara Dees

I. Revolutionary transformations and new languages of freedom A. The transatlantic disruption between 1750 and 1850 had roots in the mercantilist system of the previous century B. As wealth increased, men and women demanded a relaxation of mercantilist restrictions 1. Demanded greater freedom to trade 2. Demanded more influence in governing institutions C. Over time, these demands became more radical and revolutionary 1. Revolutionaries championed the concept of popular sovereignty, free people, free trade, free markets, and free labor as a more just and efficient foundation for society 2. The question emerged of how far to extend these freedoms a. Revolutionaries disagreed whether these freedoms applied to women, slaves, Native Americans, other non-Europeans, and the propertyless D. By and large, Europeans and Euro-American elite groups reserved these freedoms for themselves E. Europeans used force to open Asian and African markets to their trade and investment II. Political reorderings A. The spread of revolutionary ideas across the Atlantic world in the second half of the eighteenth century followed the trail of Enlightenment ideas B. People disagreed over the meaning of terms such as liberty, independence, freedom, and equality C. Ideas spawned the American and French Revolutions, which encouraged similar developments in the Caribbean and much of Spanish America D. The idea of the nation-state arises E. The North American War of Independence, 17761783 1. Britains North American colonies proved highly prosperous by mid-century

2. A genteel class of merchants and plantation owners evolved a. Land was a constant source of dispute b. Big planters interests often collided with those of independent farmers c. Settlers moved west seeking available land; often clashed with Indian and French interests d. British made some concessions to Indians 3. Asserted independence from Britain a. Britain stood supreme in the Atlantic world b. King George III and advisors imposed taxes for the right to be British citizens and to pay for French and Indian War c. Resistance first in the form of boycotts and petitions d. Resistance became violent in 1775 between colonial militia and British troops in Massachusetts e. Calls came to sever ties with Britain using Enlightenment ideals i. Thomas Paine in Common Sense ii. Thomas Jefferson wrote Declaration of Independence on the premise of natural rights iii. Applied John Locke's idea of a social contract f. Americans formed new political structures i. States elected delegates to represent them in conventions ii. Eliminated royal authority and increased state power iii. Voting rights said to be for all men, created equal, overturning British social hierarchies g. Slaves sided with Britain since it had abolished slavery already 4. Building a republican government a. During this time, the prospect of a social revolution of women, slaves, and artisans was very real; elites labeled this "excesses of democracy"

b. Shay's rebellion of 1786 c. The Constitutional Convention forged a charter for a republican government with power in the hands of the people d. Anti-Federalists insisted on the inclusion of a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties from government interference i. Scope of power of federal government versus state power continued to be debated hotly ii. The new constitution substantially enhanced the power of the federal (national) government over state legislatures iii. Violence over this issue was warded off because of the existence of westward land vi. Issue of slavery was important in the debate over power F. The French Revolution, 17891799 1. The French Revolution, even more than the American Revolution, inspired other rebellions around the world, lasting into the twentieth century 2. Origins and outbreak a. Enlightenment ideas against oppressive government had gained legitimacy among millions and helped propel the nation into revolution b. In addition, harvests had been poor for years, leading many peasants to protest unreasonable tax burdens c. King Louis XVI opened the door for reform when he convened the EstatesGeneral in 1788 in order to seek new forms of revenue to service the crowns debt d.Reform turned to revolution as members of the Third Estate (the common people) called for greater representation i. Upon hearing of these events, peasants rose up in the countryside to protest unfair feudal dues and obligations ii. On July 14, 1789, a Parisian crowd attacked the Bastille, an infamous political prison 3. Revolutionary transformation a. In August, the Third Estate, calling itself a national assembly, abolished feudal privileges of the nobility and clergy and passed a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens

i. It recognized political equality and popular sovereignty ii. Some people suggested that women be included as citizens, but women's petitions were rejected a. Olympe de Gouges completed Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens b. As the revolution gathered speed, it split into different factions over the goals

c. More elites fled country 4. The Terror a. Launched by radical Jacobins, including Robespierre b. Eliminated all symbols of the old regime c. Tried to do away with aristocratic and Catholic influences on the nations culture d. In 1794, moderates regained control of the government upon the execution of Robespierre 4. In 1799, in light of ineffective government, Napoleon Bonaparte and other generals from the army organized a coup 5. In 1804, Napoleon declared himself emperor of the French nation a. Checked the excesses of the Radical era but let many revolutionary changes continue b. Allowed religious freedom c. Submitted a constitution to a plebiscite d. Code Napoleon codified the nations laws into one legal framework emphasizing the equality of men and the protection of individual property G. Napoleons empire, 17991815 1.Napoleon envisioned a new Roman empire based on the principles he espoused in France 2.His attempts to bring Europe under French rule laid the foundations for nineteenth-century nationalist strife a. Strong local resistance appeared in Spain, Germany, and Egypt b. Tired of hearing the French espouse the superiority of French culture, locals looked to their own past for inspiration

3.Napoleons military campaigns became a global conflict, with fighting in Africa, Europe, and the Americas a. A coalition of Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Britain finally defeated him in 1815 4.The victorious powers at the Congress of Vienna redrew European borders, established a balance of power among themselves and France, and promised to guard against future revolutions a. Austria, Prussia, and Russia remained absolutist monarchies b. The Congress of Vienna could not turn the clock back completely i. In many areas, some of Napoleons reforms were kept in place, such as the abolition of serfdom among German states ii. The nationalist sentiments that French troops stirred continued in places such as Germany and Italy H. Revolutions in the Caribbean and Iberian America 1. The contagion of revolution spread to the Caribbean and Iberian America a. These rebellions temporarily renewed Iberian American elites loyalty to the crowns of Portugal and Spain b. When elites joined in the call to severe colonial ties, they still sought to establish regimes less committed to revolutionary goals than in the United States or France c. Elites limited power by interpreting liberty as only for landed classes 2.Revolution in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) a. The island slaves (500,000) outnumbered whites (40,000), and free people of color (30,000) b. After 1789, whites campaigned for self-government, while slaves used the language of the French Revolution to call for freedom i. By 1791, the island had descended into civil war ii. In 1792, slaves fought French troops sent to restore order iii. In 1793, the French National Convention abolished slavery iv. Former slaves took over the colony c. In 1802, Napoleon tried to reassert French authority and slavery by sending an army of 58,000 troops to the island

i. Toussaint LOuverture organized resistance among the former slaves ii. Most French troops died of disease or wounds inflicted by guerrillas d. In 1804, leaders declared the Republic of Haiti i. International recognition proved elusive 3. Brazil and constitutional monarchy a. Brazils road to statehood avoided revolution i. When French troops occupied Portugal, the royal Braganza family fled to Brazil and ruled their empire from there ii. In 1821, long after liberation, the king agreed to return to Portugal but left his son Pedro in charge iii. When calls for independence grew popular, Pedro declared himself head of an independent Brazil with a constitutional monarchy iv. Pedro was supported by Brazilian elites who wanted to avoid slave insurrections or regional insurrections v. The central government put down revolts by gauchos in the interior and urban slaves in Bahia vi. By the 1840s, Brazil had achieved political stability without revolutionary unrest 4. Mexicos independence a. Unlike Brazil, Mexico and other Spanish colonies gained autonomy from the Spanish crown during the Napoleonic Wars i. When the crown regained power, Creoles (American-born Spaniards) resented the reappointment to power of peninsulars (officials from Spain) and wished to regain this elite position ii. Used Enlightenment ideas to back up their grievances b. In Mexico between 1810 and 1813, Fathers Hidalgo and Morelos organized a revolt of peasants, Indians, and artisans calling for the redistribution of wealth and land reform, among other things i. Creoles, peninsulars, and the Spanish army overcame the rebellion after years of fighting c. When the Spanish crown was unable to prevent anarchy, the local army joined the Creoles in proclaiming Mexicos independence in 1821

5. Other South American revolutions a. Men such as Simn Bolvar and San Martn waged wars for independence in the rest of Spains colonies from 1810 until 1824 i. This warfare mobilized Indians, mestizos, and slaves as well as elites b. When the wars of liberation ended, civil war erupted between different social, ethnic, and religious groups c. Multiple new states rather than a united federation appeared, and they were controlled by social elites and usually ruled by caudillos (military chieftains) III. Change and trade in Africa A. Increased domestic and world trade led to new state building 1. New and powerful kingdoms emerged around Lake Victoria in the first half of the nineteenth century B. Abolition of the slave trade 1. In the aftermath of the American and French Revolutions, a small group of abolitionists emerged, often led by Quakers, who wanted to end the slave trade 2. Soon they achieved success a. Denmark banned the slave trade in 1803 b. Great Britain banned it in 1807, and the United States banned it in 1808 c. France followed in 1814 d. By 1850 the amount of slaves traded had dropped sharply e. In 1867 the last slave vessel crossed the Atlantic 3. The British navy was instrumental in suppressing the slave trade and enforcing these bans a. Both Sierra Leone and Liberia on the West African coast became home to freed captives and former slaves returning from America C. New trade with Africa 1. European traders promoted new forms of commerce, dubbed legitimate trade, after the demise of the slave trade a. West Africans began to export palm oil, peanuts, and vegetable oils

2. Legitimate commerce a. Some deforestation occurred because of new export crops, but less than the damage in the West Indies b. Legitimate trade gave rise to new political and commercial powers c. A new generation of successful West African merchants amassed fortunes i. Jaja of Opobo ii. William Lewis, Yoruba 3. Effects in Africa a. For some states, the demise of the slave trade was a disaster i. The Asante state wavered but endured ii. The Yoruba state fell b. The end of the slave trade strengthened slavery in Africa c. More and more slaves were used in Africa for fieldwork or as porters, not domestic servants d. The Fulani Emirates of northern Nigeria had a population that was 80 percent slave e. Africa became the largest slaveholding continent in the nineteenth century