Atlantic Revolutions: Causes and Impacts
Added on 2020-05-16
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ATLANTIC REVOLUTIONSNameInstitution
1To 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 early1900. 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), Franceand its controlled witnessed it between 1789 and 1814 whereas Haiti experienced it between1791 and 1804. Spanish America was hit between 1810 and 1825 while Ireland felt only in1789. Brazil, Russia and Switzerland only felt smaller upheavals. 1The revolutionaries knew each irrespective of the country thereby inspiring oremulating them. The revolt followed the thirst for independence movements in the NewWorld. It commenced between 1775 and 1783, American Revolution. Here, Netherlands,Spain and France helped novel USA to secure their independence from British. HaitianRevolution emerged in 1790s. The Span was held in European war and its mainland coloniesgot independence around the year 1820. In general, these revolutions remained broadlysuccessful. 2The ideals of republicanism, liberalism, aristocracies, established churches and kingsoverthrew. 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 specificjustice rendered under the discretion of local nobles. These revolutions showcased that1Landers, Jane.Atlantic Creoles in the age of Revolutions. Harvard University Press, 2010.2Caiani, Ambrogio. "Book Review: War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of AtlanticRevolutions. Edited by Alan Forrest, Karen Hagemann, and Michael Rowe." (2018): 127-129.
2contemporary idea of revolution, of beginning fresh with a radically novel government, mightreally 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 timebetween 1800 and 1914. For example, these socialists were opposed the limitations put upontheir respective economic activities by the mercantilists systems. Further, they wanted to gaineconomic as well as social freedom and hence were highly prepared to try a revolution. Thesocialist had also opposed the absolutism, the king. They thus had the idea of theenlightenment and hence called for equality and liberty to reform. The idea was to havefreedom and equality among the citizens and the need for power to be shifted from thenational governments. They were also opposed to the idea of slavery and hence wanted toabolish slavery. The socialists were enlightenment thinkers and this is what inspired and triggered therevolution. For example, the French Revolution had such socialist thinkers as Voltaire andRousseau who gave their unswerving criticisms on the absolute monarchy system. This isbecause they did not believe in heredity as the right path of picking their leaders and hencechampioned for equality to vote in the revolution. The slavery was opposed by the socialists thinking. This can be reflected clearly in theHaitian Revolution whereby it led to great tension between Haitian slaves and their respectiveowners of slave. 3 The slaves thus bought into the idea of the socialist and hence wanted theirfreedom through the revolution. This is why the slaves made a decision to engage in fightsbacks against their oppressors who were the slave owners. Also, in Haiti, the existed a class3Roberts, Matthew. "Daniel O'Connell, repeal and Chartism in the age of Atlantic revolutions."The Journal ofModern History(2017).
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