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Montesquieu publishes book "On the Spirit of Laws"
Montesquieu was a philosopher in the Age of Enlightenment and his theories created the basis for our U.S. Constitution. He wanted there to be a balance of powers in government so that one branch of government wouldn't have more power than another branch. This idea led to checks and balances and the different U.S. branches of government. He is famous for saying, "Power is the check of power." -
America declares independence
After having unfair taxes issued by the British government, the Americans decide to revolt and declare independence from Britain in a document called the "Declaration of Independence." This document argued that America had the right to break away from the government if the British government treated them unfairly. The declaration also listed all the King's violatons of their rights and explained why the Americans declared independence. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution may have brought many new theories and ideas but it wasn't very revolutionary because the French went from a monarch to different reigning goverments and then to an emperor. The French managed to execute King Louis XVI and then the Reign of Terror started, in which many were executed by the guillotine for their beliefs against anything that the radicals said. George Danton, a Jacobin, led many guillotine executions and he himself was eventually executed by th guillotine. -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory through a coup d'etat
Napoleon and the Directory brought order to France and ended the Reign of Terror. He stepped in and arrrested Robespierre, the leader of the Reign of Terror, and executed him by the guillotine. After, Napoleon wanted power and is seen as a hero in France. So, even though he lost in a battle wit Britain, he comes back known as a a hero and becomes emperor through a plebiscite, or vote. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor, begins to create a vast European empire
Napoleon crowned himself emperor instead of the Pope which showed that he had more power than the Catholic Church. Napoleon tells Pope Pius VII to give him the power and that he will give the Pope much spiritual power instead. At Napoleon's peak, he had Scandinavia and all of Western Europe and many other parts of Europe under his power. -
Haiti wins freedom from France
Boukman, a Haitian priest, fueled and started the revolution with his many ceremonies in which he had the slaveowners represented by a pig and carved it up. This type of ceremony is now known as voodoo. This made the slaves in Haiti angry so they started to revolt and were led by Toussain L'Overture. Finally, Jean Jacques Dessalines achieved freedom and is known as the father of Haiti. He named the country Haiti, or mountainous land. -
Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence
Padre Hidalgo came from a city called Dolores in Central America and was a Catholic priest He rang the bells at a weird time so it was known as Grito de Dolores. But, Grito de Dolores was actually a sign that told people when they were going to march to the capital. However, Hidalgo was not a military leader so he turned over all his troops over to Jose Maria Morelos. -
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon is finally defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. On one morning of the battle, Napoleon realized that he was on even footing with the British and that he could defeat them by horse. However, he decided to wait until the ground dried up because it was raining and was too slippery for horses to gallop. But, by then, the British had sent in reinforcements leading them to overpower Napoleon and his troops, leading to his defeat.
