Eduardo Quintero

 

 

1. How did the Enlightment influence the Age of Revolutions?

 

The Age of Enlightment influenced many revolutions in the 1700´s and 1800´s because it gave a whole new concept of how should a government govern its people. In Haiti, slaves rebelled against the powerful French army, in France people were executed for giving their point of view about their government, and in the United States, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence from England.

The Age of Enlightment brought prosperity and hope for a new government.  Enlightment thinkers like John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Baron Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many others started and promoted the idea for people to question the government and its philosophies. The ethnic inequality between whites and blacks broke down in Haiti, ending up in a revolution from the slaves against the French army.  Many slaves burned crops and left their jobs to revolt, which brought many deaths but they were able to get independence by fighting for their equality as human beings. Haiti won a battle where France was also facing revolutions on its own land. High taxes to the people and a lack of freedom of speech was the major cause of the French Revolution through 1789 to 1791. The written document of the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson but it sure had John Locke´s ideologies of how should a government govern its people. The Declaration was essential for the United States to gain their independence in 1776 from England. The Enlighment thinkers who gave suggestions and demonstrations about how should a government should be, inspired all of these revolutions. Many of them by John Locke´s point of view, where he states: “But though men, when they enter into society, give up the equality, liberty, and power they had in nature, into the hands of the government”.  All of these revolutions were born from these ideas, shaping what today´s governments are build from.

 

 

 

2. The French Revolution was a major world event. Not only did it topple the French monarchy, it caused a ripple effect around the world. How did the French revolution cause other revolutions?

 

The French Revolution in 1789 to 1791 affected many revolutions such as the Brazilian Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Mexican Revolution. Taking over Spain and a lack of government control were some causes that affected these revolutions. The major causes of the French Revolution was the implementation of taxes that the people weren´t able to pay and the social inequality of a monarchy in France. In 1808, the Braganza royal family left Portugal to Brazil with the fear that the Napoleonic wars will reach Portugal. The family´s arrival in Brazil was just the start of the causes of the Brazilian Revolution.  Dom João names his son, Dom Pedro, king which he later declared Brazil independent through his speech in 1822 known as the “Fico”. Without the translation of the royal family to Brazil, Dom Pedro wouldn’t have declared independence and king of Brazil. The Napoleonic wars did influence brazil´s independence by forcing the Braganza family to leave out of Portugal. Meanwhile, the harsh wars between the slaves and the French in Haiti was also reaching its highest point.  Slaves rebelled against France for political trading systems, meaning that Haiti could only export and import products from and into France. The French Revolution brought poorness and misery to France, which made France to exploit Haiti in order to maintain itself economically. Napoleon´s conquest over Spain and the naming of his older brother as Spain´s king inspired Mexico to revolt against the Spanish settles in Mexico.  Spain was facing a crisis for which facilitate the possibility for a revolt. When Mexico found out about the French revolution, they exploit it to promote independence through Miguel Hidalgo´s revolt in 1808.  The French Revolution did affect many revolutions like the Brazilian, the Haitian and the Mexican revolution through a series of events that made part of the causes of these revolutions. These revolutions shaped today’s countries and governments in an extraordinary way. All of those changes were originally decent from the French Revolution.

 

 

 

 

3. Inequality – social, political, and economic – often causes revolutions. What role did inequality play in the age of revolutions?

 

Inequalities were the major cause of revolutions especially in the Americas during the Age of Enlightment. The Social inequalities between Native and European settlers created inequalities among people. These social classes were referred as the Caste system. In the Mexican Revolution, peninsulares, or Spanish men that resided in the new world remained at the top of the spectrum. Below them were the Crioles. A Criole was a person whom was of full Spanish decent, but was born in New Spain. The third group was the Mestizos. This term was used to describe a person that who had a Spanish parent and a native parent. At the bottom of the system were the Mulatos, who were decedents of a Spaniard and an African. That difference between people was one of the causes of the Mexican Revolution. Others revolutions in America like the Rio de la Plata, also originated from inequality. The unequal social system imposed by the colonial power meant that whites born in the colony had less rights than in the colonial power. People in the Americas who weren´t European settlers had very little right or no rights at all. This revolution led by José Martin protested for independence with the idea of free right for every citizen. Even though there were inequalities in the Americas, Europe also faced unequal social systems. In France for example, they had the Ancien Régime. This system was based on three major social classes, the monarchy, clergy, and aristocracy.  People didn´t have any rights and no freedom for speech. People were completely controlled by the officials, and criticizing the monarch or officials ended up in horrible executions. Overall, inequality played a huge role in causing revolutions in the Americas and in Europe, social inequalities brought tense between the officials and the people until it broke down, resulting in revolutions all over the world!

 

4. Overall, what caused these populations to risk life by rebelling against the government? In other words: why did these revolutions take place, and why so many of them take place during this period?

 

Social inequality, taxes, corruption, lack of rights, and independence were the major causes of these revolutions in the Age of Revolutions.  People risked their life revolving for a change in their life because their current situation was harsh and brutal and people couldn’t stand it anymore. In the Americas, the European armies strictly controlled the native people. That basic need for human rights was always needed to promote revolutions, or a hope for a change. The Age of Enlighment brought new ideologies and philosophies on how should a government rule and what limitation does it has. The enlightment questioned the government and influence many countries to change. They were inspired by these ideas and it influenced them to revolt. At the same time, the French Revolution was taking place, which also influenced many revolutions in the Americas. Both the Age of Revolution and the French Revolution changed and influenced revolutions. The Mexican, Rio de la Plata, Brazilian, New Granada, Haitian, and many other revolutions took place during the 1700´s and 1800´s. These two series of events were vital to change political and social views of countries that today make part of the today’s world.