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Montesquieu Publishes, On the Spirit of Laws
Montesquieu was a key member of the Enlightenment and expressed his views on limited government in On the Spirit of Laws. In the book he explained why there should be separation of powers. The idea was later called a system of checks and balances. -
America Declares Independence
The Declaration of Indepence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was a document based on elightenment ideas that declared the colonies' separation from Britain. The colonists did not like Britain's king, and listed their grievances in the document. Then, they summed it up by declaring themselves their own independent nation on July fourth. -
French Revolution
In 1789, the French were inspired by the Enlightnement to revolt. They were sick and tired of being ruled by King Louis, so groups of people formed together to form an alternative government, the National Assembly. Through many failed attemps at a new way of life in France, like under the rule of Robespierre the dictator, they eventually were able to come up with a system that worked. -
Napoleon Overthrows the Directory through a Coup D'Etat
Napoleon had recently been quite successful in battle, and because of this he overthrew the Directory through a coup d'etat with the vote of the people. In it's place, they established three consuls, one of which had the powers of a dictator. -
Haiti Wins Freedom In France
With all of Napoleon's success, there was always a small portion of the Caribbean that belonged to the French called San Domingue. This area was heavily populted with slaves that had had enough. Boukman, an African priest, sparked the slave revolt. The brilliant Toussaint L'ouverture almost led the slaves to victory, but Jean-Jacques Dessalines had to finish the job because L'ouverture was imprisoned. Dessalines was able to complete one of the only successful slave revolts in history in 1804. -
Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor, Creates a Vast European Empire
Napoleon did many great things for France early on, and because of these successes, the people had no problem voting him as emeperor to rule France. Instead of letting Pope Pius III crown him, Napleon crowned himself, symbolizing that he was above God. With this power, he went on to conquer more European empires. He was hungry for more successes, which led him to attempt to conquer many more nations, some successfully. -
Padre Hidalgo Calls for Independence in Mexico
Having Napoleon appoint unqualified leaders to the empires that ruled the people in Mexico caused Miguel Hidalgo to want a change. In 1810, Padre Hidalgo, a poor priest, rang the church bells in what would later be called the grito de Delores, or the cry of Delores. He got lots of the poor people to come together to revolt. Hidalgo was defeated by the Spanish but his idea caused others to carry out the plan and eventually acheived independence in Mexico. -
Napoleon is Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
After Napoleon was banished to Elba, the enemies he had made for France had formed together to go to war. Napoleon came back from Elba for the battle against the Duke of Wellington. The battle took place at Waterloo in Belgium. Due to unfortunate weather patterns, Napoleon was outsmarted and lost. This was the last big battle of his career before he was sent to St. Helena by the British.