Atlantic Revolutions: Causes and Impacts

This assignment requires students to critically analyze the Atlantic Revolutions, a period of widespread upheaval and change across the Atlantic world from the 18th century. Students must explore the various factors that contributed to these revolutions, including political, economic, and social forces. They should also examine the profound impacts of these events on different societies and regions, considering both short-term and long-term consequences. The analysis should be supported by evidence from historical sources and scholarly literature.

ATLANTIC REVOLUTIONS
Name
Institution

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To what extent did socialist thinking in the period between 1800 and 1914 reflect the
issues of the Atlantic Revolutions?
The Atlantic Revolutions denoted a wave of revolutionary in the late 1800 and early
1900. This was linked to Atlantic World in the course of the period between 1820s and 1770s.
The revolution occurred in Europe and America. The US (between 1775 and 1783), France
and its controlled witnessed it between 1789 and 1814 whereas Haiti experienced it between
1791 and 1804. Spanish America was hit between 1810 and 1825 while Ireland felt only in
1789. Brazil, Russia and Switzerland only felt smaller upheavals. 1
The revolutionaries knew each irrespective of the country thereby inspiring or
emulating them. The revolt followed the thirst for independence movements in the New
World. It commenced between 1775 and 1783, American Revolution. Here, Netherlands,
Spain and France helped novel USA to secure their independence from British. Haitian
Revolution emerged in 1790s. The Span was held in European war and its mainland colonies
got independence around the year 1820. In general, these revolutions remained broadly
successful. 2
The ideals of republicanism, liberalism, aristocracies, established churches and kings
overthrew. The revolution stressed the Enlightenment universal ideals like equality of all men.
This included justice anchored in law by the courts that are disinterested instead of specific
justice rendered under the discretion of local nobles. These revolutions showcased that
1 Landers, Jane. Atlantic Creoles in the age of Revolutions. Harvard University Press, 2010.
2 Caiani, Ambrogio. "Book Review: War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of Atlantic
Revolutions. Edited by Alan Forrest, Karen Hagemann, and Michael Rowe." (2018): 127-129.

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contemporary idea of revolution, of beginning fresh with a radically novel government, might
really work practically. These mentalities stayed born and persist to blossom to date.
The above ideals were really the ones pursued by the socialist thinkers during the time
between 1800 and 1914. For example, these socialists were opposed the limitations put upon
their respective economic activities by the mercantilists systems. Further, they wanted to gain
economic as well as social freedom and hence were highly prepared to try a revolution. The
socialist had also opposed the absolutism, the king. They thus had the idea of the
enlightenment and hence called for equality and liberty to reform. The idea was to have
freedom and equality among the citizens and the need for power to be shifted from the
national governments. They were also opposed to the idea of slavery and hence wanted to
abolish slavery.
The socialists were enlightenment thinkers and this is what inspired and triggered the
revolution. For example, the French Revolution had such socialist thinkers as Voltaire and
Rousseau who gave their unswerving criticisms on the absolute monarchy system. This is
because they did not believe in heredity as the right path of picking their leaders and hence
championed for equality to vote in the revolution.
The slavery was opposed by the socialists thinking. This can be reflected clearly in the
Haitian Revolution whereby it led to great tension between Haitian slaves and their respective
owners of slave. 3 The slaves thus bought into the idea of the socialist and hence wanted their
freedom through the revolution. This is why the slaves made a decision to engage in fights
backs against their oppressors who were the slave owners. Also, in Haiti, the existed a class
3 Roberts, Matthew. "Daniel O'Connell, repeal and Chartism in the age of Atlantic revolutions." The Journal of
Modern History(2017).

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tension between the whites that occupied Haiti’s island. This tension was opposed by the
socialist thinkers because there was discrimination against the petits Blancs.
For example, they were opposed to the idea of the grands blancs who oppressed petits
blancs by wanting liberty to represent the colony against the petits blancs who wished for
equality to grans since there was feeling amongst them than their fellows had more say in
governance. 4 Thus, the socialist opposed this and this reflected in their revolution to uproot
these Blancs. This is because the whites who lived in these islands were opposed to abolition
of slavery and hence the Haitian decided to adopt the socialist view by revolution which
successful chased away those who backed slavery. 5 Thus the whites Haiti were banished
saved to thought of socialist thereby leading to a more social equality and freedom. Thus, the
horrid slave treatment styles stopped in Haiti as a result of the implementation of the socialist
view on the need to abolish slavery.
In Venezuelan Revolution, the idea of the socialist thinkers are apparently reflected.
For example, because the socialist were opposed to Spanish government way of rule that
never favored locals’ economic interests through oppressive Hacendados, the natives
embraced the socialists’ view and revolted to boost social, economic and political power
among the Venezuelans as opposed to the Spanish movement. 6
In what ways did socialist thinking depart from those earlier revolutionary upheavals?
4 Klooster, Wim. Revolutions in the Atlantic World, New Edition: A Comparative History. NYU Press, 2018.
5 Armitage, David, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, eds. The age of revolutions in global context, c. 1760-1840. Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009.
6 Ducharme, Michel. The Idea of Liberty in Canada During the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, 1776-1838. Vol. 62.
McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2014.

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The point of departure was on the strategies used to get locals benefit from the
oppression of the people who had conquered their lands. The socialist thinking suggested the
need for a stronger and united movement to oppose their oppressors. For this reason, they
appreciated the need for people to come together and work or fight as a team in order to send
a strong statement to their oppressors. Unlike early revolutionary upheavals that were
individual-based, the socialist supported a group-based approach to getting solutions to the
problems that marred their respective countries. 7 They saw the need for enlightenment of the
citizens rather the few elites like the early revolutionary upheavals. They saw the need of not
benefiting a few people of higher classes, but the freedom and liberty for everyone. They thus
supported viewpoints that could result in social goods rather than few individuals. Thus
ensured better results as the fight could be well-organized with everyone feeling that he or she
is part of the movement irrespective of the class. Thus made the revolutionaries to be highly
determined to achieve their goals unlike the earlier failed upheavals.
Bibliography
7 Paquette, Gabriel. Imperial Portugal in the age of Atlantic revolutions: the Luso-Brazilian world, c. 1770–1850 .
Cambridge University Press, 2013.

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Paquette, Gabriel. Imperial Portugal in the age of Atlantic revolutions: the Luso-Brazilian world, c. 1770–1850.
Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Landers, Jane. Atlantic Creoles in the age of Revolutions. Harvard University Press, 2010.
Klooster, Wim. Revolutions in the Atlantic World, New Edition: A Comparative History. NYU Press, 2018.
Ducharme, Michel. The Idea of Liberty in Canada During the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, 1776-1838. Vol. 62.
McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2014.
Geggus, David Patrick, ed. The impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic world. Reaktion Books, 2001.
Armitage, David, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, eds. The age of revolutions in global context, c. 1760-1840. Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009.
Roberts, Matthew. "Daniel O'Connell, repeal and Chartism in the age of Atlantic revolutions." The Journal of
Modern History(2017).
Caiani, Ambrogio. "Book Review: War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of Atlantic
Revolutions. Edited by Alan Forrest, Karen Hagemann, and Michael Rowe." (2018): 127-129.