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Leviathan
The first major Enlightenment figure in England was Thomas Hobbes, who caused great controversy with the release of his provocative treatise Leviathan. Hobbes felt that by nature, people were self-serving and preoccupied with the gathering of limited number of resources. -
Two Treatis of Goverment
The Second Treatise consists of a short preface and nineteen chapters. Locke defines political power as the right to make laws for the protection and regulation of property. In his view, these laws only work because the people accept them and because they are for the public good. Locke hoped to provide a convincing critique of England’s current form of government and lay the groundwork for a better option. -
Enlightened Monarchs
European rulers who saw Enlightenment improving social conditions in their countries saw themselves as "enlightened monarchs." Centralize their power. Curb nobles’ power. Enlightened monarchs were absolute rulers, but they were interested in education, in improving their country, and often, in some degree of betterment for their people. Some examples would include Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Joseph II of Hungary. -
The Spirit of Laws - Baron de Montesquieu
Montesquieu wrote about various forms of government. Favors English constitutional monarchy (with a responsible nobility): Separation of Powers: legislature, executive, judiciary, checks and balances. Montesquieu started the study of bonds between political patterns and social forms now called political and social sciences. -
War Breaks Out
The first shots of the Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The news of the bloodshed rockets along the eastern seaboard, and thousands of volunteers converge on Cambridge, Mass. These are the beginnings of the Continental Army. -
Meeting of the Estates General
The Estates General were reluctantly summoned by King Louis XVI in May of 1789 with an aim to solve the monarchy’s financial crisis. There were three classes represented by the Estates General: the nobles, clergy and the rest of the population or the so-called Third Estate. Each estate had only one vote. -
Flight to Varennes
After much debate, members of the Assembly decided to impose limits to the King’s authority. These restrictions appalled Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. They decided to leave France and seek refuge in Austria, hoping to eventually be reinstated on the throne as absolute monarchs. The King’s attempt to flee and his denouncement of the Revolution came just as the new constitution was about to be implemented. -
Dissolution of the National Assembly
The long awaited constitution finally came into effect on September 30, 1791. France was proclaimed a constitutional monarchy, while the National Assembly was dissolved and replaced by a new political body named the Legislative Assembly. -
Declaration of the Republic and the Trial of Louis
After the arrest of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Legislative Assembly disbanded and replaced with the National Convention. The first act of the latter was to declare France as a republic on September 21, 1792. Louis was charged with treason. The vote at the end of the trial was unanimous: Louis was guilty. Voted for death penalty on January 21, 1793. Marie Antoinette was accused of numerous crimes, many of them based on rumors. She was found guilty and guillotined on October 16,1793. -
Reign of Terror
The reign of terror was a period of violence in which occurred from 1793- 1794 after the strong onset of the French Revolution. It was a time of fierceness and anger, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people living in France at that period of time. -
Directory and the Rise of Napoleon
After the dramatic fall of Robespierre, the National Convention created a new constitution for France that was implemented in 1795. The Directory, consisting of an executive council of five members. They became mired in corruption, political conflict, financial problems and depended on the army to remain in power. In 1799, a successful military commander, Napoleon Bonaparte returned from a military expedition in Egypt and ousted the Directory. Napoleon then developed the Consulate. -
Napoleon as the First Consulate
he Consulate was the government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804. By extension, the term The Consulate also refers to this period of French history. -
Rise and Fall of Napoleon
In 1801 he crowned himself "Emperor". Napoleon championed equality under the law, but not political freedom. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a large empire for Europe before its final collapse in 1815. He is considered one of the greatest commanders in history, and his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy has endured as one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in human history.
