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Mostesqueiu publishes his book, "On the Spirit of Laws"
This was the writing where Montesqueiu talks about the seperation of powers. He said that seperation of powers would keep any one group/individual from gaining total control. He famously said that "power should be a check to power" -
America declares independence
After meeting at the Second Continental Congress (They met for a second time because King George III was not respecting their rights), the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas jefferson, is issued. The DOI was based on enlightenment ideas and included a list of King George III wrongdoings. After the DOI was issued, the colonists and British almost immediately went to war, and the Amerians ened up winning in 1781. -
The French Revolution happens
The French Revolution begins when the Estates-General (members from all three states) meet. The third estate, the biggest, creates the National Assembly at the Estates-General to pass laws and reforms, and when they arrive the next day they are locked out, so they go to a tennis court to take the Tennis Court Oath (new constitution). The new constituion creates the Legislative Assembly. During the revolution, oMANY people die during the Reign of Terror (Robespierre), so they kill him, ending it -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory with a coup d'etat
A coup d'etat is a sudden change in power. Napoleon, when he returned from Egypt, was urged to seize power. He took action in 11/1799. His troops surrounded the national legislature abd drove out many of its members. The few remaining members vote to get rid of the directory, instead creating a group of three consuls, Napoleon being one of them. He then took the title of first consul and took dicttator powers. -
Haiti wins indeoendence from France
This was the only successful slave revolt in history. Startd by Boukman, a voodoo priest, the person who led the revoution was Toussaint L'Overture, a slave. He became a successful general who had taken control of all Saint Domingue (Haiti) and freed all the enslaved Africans, until he had to sign a treaty with the French saying h would stop the revolt if they stopped slavery. L'Overture was still killed by the French, so Dessalines officially declared Haiti's freedom -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor and begins to create a vast European empire.
On December 2, 1804, Napoleon walked down the aisle of the Notre dame Cathedral in his ceremony. He decided to start conquering Europe. many countries were fearful of his ambitions, so the British teamed up with Russia, Austria, and Sweden, yet he still beat them all. Another amazing thing he did in Euope was getting in too Austria by CROSSING OVER the Alps, not going around, surprising the Austrians and allowing Napoleon to seize them. This empire could not stay like this forever. -
Miguel Hidalgo calls for the freedom of Mexico
In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo rang his church bells and issued the Cry of Dolores, a call of rebellion. Because of this, an army of over 80,000 stomed Mexico City, alarming the Spanish people. The Soanish army killed Hidalgo in 181. Jose Maria Morelos led the revolution for another four years, until he was defeated by Augustin de Iturbide. He was the one who declared independence in 1824, ironic since he would be a ruthless emperor for a couple years. -
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon coming back to France from Elba in the 1815 scared the Euopeans, so they deciced to prepare their armies. Led by the Duke of Wellington, the British army went to Waterloo, Belgium. Napoleon made a big mstake. For the element og surprise, he brought in extra horses, but the ground was muddy, so he had to wait for it to dry. When it finally dried, the British had brought in reinfor\cements in the British and that was too much for Napoelon to handle so he lost
