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Independence of the United States
The Enlightened ideas of freedom and equality were applicated for the first time in the Thirteen Colonies held by Great Britain, on the east coast of North America.
In 1607, the British colonists had first settled in North America. They were some 300,000 by the 18th century. The spread of new Enlightened ideas caused colonists to consider the British government despotic. -
Boston Tea Party
Relations between the colonies and Great Britain became tense mainly because of the taxes imposed by the British Parliament, where the colonists had no representation.
In 1773, a group of colonists threw an entire British tea shipment into Boston Harbour. The British response was severe. -
War of Independence (1775-1783)
In 1775, armed hostilities broke out between the colonies and the British. -
Declaration of Independence
In 1776, the Thirteen Colonies issued their Declaration of Independence based on liberal ideological principles. -
Treaty of Paris
After a long war, Great Britain acknowledge the United States as a sovereign nation at the 1783 Treaty of Paris. -
Constitution
The new nation had to establish a system of government after the war.
1787: delegates from the states met in Philadelphia to draft the Constitution, a document that contains the major political ideas of the Enlightenment:
- national sovereignty
- separation of powers
- suffrage
- individual rights and liberties -
French crisis
French political, social and economic crisis. Causes:
· Absolute monarchy, opposed by Enlightenment ideas.
· Inequality of the estate system.
· Bad harvests.
France is in desperate financial circumstances due to its luxurious court and the support given to the British colonies in the American War of Independence. -
The reign of Calos IV
In 1788 Carlos IV took the Spanish throne. The next year the revolution broke out in France. This event would have a major impact on the history of Spain.
Carlos was not a popular monarch. He was very criticised because of delegating his power to his prime minister Manuel Godoy who the nobility hated. -
The outbreak of the French Revolution
In 1789, a revolution broke out due to widespread dissatisfaction in 1780s France. This shocking event and period would lay the foundations for our world today. -
Estates-General
In 1789, King Louis XVI calls a meeting for the representatives of the three states: the Estates-General. He wants emergency funds to solve the terrible financial situation. Complaints and requests in the form of cahiers de doléances (books of grievances) are brought by the deputies for the king.
The commoners demand one vote for its deputy rather than voting by state because they made up 96%, but was given as many delegates as the clergy and nobility combined. -
National Constituent Assembly
The National Assembly soon becomes the National Constituent Assembly which writes a constitution for France. In a short time, the diputies of the Assembly take action to end the Ancien Régime:
· Abolition of the state system and equality of all men against the law.
· Declaration of rights of man and of the citizen.
· Civil constitution of the clergy: reduces the clergy to the civil status of citizen. -
Storming of the Bastille
The individual vote was not allowed, so the third estate diputies declared themselves the national assembly, later joined by some of the clergy and nobility.
On 14 July 1789, Parisian people storm the Bastille. This is the beginning of the popular revolution. -
Louis XVI exile to Austria
Fearing for his safety, Louis and his family try to flee to Austria, and were discovered and forced to return to Paris, where they were confined to the Tuileries Palace. -
Legislative Assembly
The constitution is passed in September 1791. It is the first of its kind in Europe.
· France is now a constitutional monarchy.
· It gives the vote to men who are 25 and over with a certain level of income or property.
· It establishes the separation of powers: executive (kings and ministers), legislative and judiciary. -
The first coalition against revolutionary France
Louis XVI accepted the document against his will. European monarchs, feeling their thrones are in danger, form what would be the First Coalition against revolutionary France. The allies are secretly aided by the French king and queen. -
The attack on the Tuileries Palace
The people started to turn against the king and call for his abdication. In August 1792, in response to Prussian threats, the people attacked the Tuileries Palace and the royal family was arrested. -
National Convention (1792-1795)
The new republic was governed by the national convention. This assembly is split between to main factions:
· The Girondins (upper bourgeoisie representants) had worked with the constitutional monarchy of Louis XVI.
· The Jacobins (have the support of the middle and petty bourgeoisie and the revolutionary lower classes -> sans-culottes). Leaders: Danton, Roberspierre and Marat. -
The First Republic
The attack on the Tuileries Palace marked the fall of the monarchy. The First Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792. -
Maximiliane Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) was a French lawyer, writer, speaker and politician nicknamed "the Incorruptible." He was one of the most prominent leaders of the French Revolution, a deputy, president of the National Convention on two occasions, the undisputed head of the most radical faction of the Jacobins and a member of the Committee for Public Salvation, an entity that governed France. -
Louis XVI death
Louis XVI is condemned to death and guillotined in January 1793. -
Execution of Louis XVI
The foreign policy was associated with the Pacte de Famille until the execution of Louis XVI. At that point, Spain declared war on France. -
The first republican constitution
The Jacobins produce the first republican constitution, which recognises male suffrage -
The Reign of Terror
The moderate Girondins initially have control, but the Jacobins seize power that summer. In September, a 10-month period of extreme violence begins, the Reign of Terror, in which Robespierre is a key figure. -
The execution of Robespierre & the First White Terror
In July 1794, a coup de état results in the execution of Robespierre. The first half of 1795 brings represarials against the supporters of the previous period. This was known as the First White Terror. -
Directory (1795-1799)
The convention comes back under more moderate control. They adopt the constitution of 1795 creating a new form of government called the Directory. This is a committee made up of five members, so that power wouldn´t depend only on one person.
The Directory faces numerous domestic problems: financial issues, an unstable food supply and a political crisis.
Also the European war against revolutionary war continues and a young general known as Napoleon Bonaparte stands out. -
Consulate (1799-1804)
In November 1799, a coup de état brings an end to the Directory. Napoleon, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès and Pierre-Roger Ducos, govern as the Consulate.
Napoleón takes advantage of the desire for stability and he is eventually elected First Consul for Life. Napoleon’s government established:
· Napoleonic code: this replaces the legislation of the ancient regime.
· Careers open to talent: the bourgeoisie can now become top officials.
· Order: He organises police action to prevent civil unrest. -
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a military man, First Consul and Emperor of the French. His figure emerged with the French Revolution. He was raised in a noble family. He took the control of France in 1799 with a coup d’état and in 1804 he was named the emperor. He was defeated in 1815 in the battle of Waterloo where he was exiliares to the island of Santa Elena where he passed away in 1821. -
The Napoleonic Empire
Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of the French in 1804. For many years, he controlled much of Europe, either directly or indirectly. He won victories over the enemies of France, changing borders and creating a new map of Europe. -
Battle of Trafalgar
In 1805, Napoleon was defeated by the United Kingdom at the naval Battle of Trafalgar. He then attempted to destroy British commerce by establishing the Continental System to prevent ports on the continent from trading with it. -
Mutiny of Aranjuez
Spain came under Napoleon´s control. As a result of this alliance, Spain lost its naval fleet at the battle of Trafalgar against Great Britain.
This defeat, along with the opposition of Godoy and other factors, led to the Mutiny of Aranjuez, in March 1808. The royal palace was attacked by the lower classes. They forced him to abdicate and to remove Godoy from the power. -
The Peninsular War
On 2 May 1808, the people of madrid rose up against the French occupation. The rebellion was brutally put down. But this did not prevent the resistance from spreading to others parts of Spain, leading to the Peninsula War. -
Joshep I Bonaparte as king of Spain
After the uprising, Napoleon summoned Carlos IV and Fernando VII to Bayonne. There, they both surrendered the crown to Napoleon. He then appointed his brother Joseph as king of Spain. A Cortes was convened to draft the Bayonne Constitution as a basis for Joseph's rule. -
Battle of Bailén
The Spanish army was able to defeat the French at the Battle of Bailén (1808) in July. Resistance was so strong that Napoleon led a large army into Spain himself. This shifted the conflict in France's favour and they took control of the country. -
Battle of Ocaña
After the Spanish defeat at the battle of Ocaña in 1809, the leadership of the resistance took refuge in Cadiz. -
Paraguay
Paraguay gained independence in 1811, in Río de la Plata. -
The emancipation of Spanish America
During the Peninsular War and the reign of Fernando VII, Spain´s American colonies fighted for independence. Causes:
- Dissatisfaction of the criollos, descendants of Europeans born in Latin America, who felt ignored and mistreated by the mother country.
- The independence of the United States of America, an example for the Spanish colonies.
- During the Peninsular war, the colonists formed their own Juntas to run the colonies.
The fight for independence was directed by criollo military leaders. -
The Cádiz Cortes & the Constitution of 1812
In Cádiz, a succession of regencies acted as the governing body. The Cadiz Cortes were called to serve as a National Assembly. This body passed the constitution of 1812, which established a constitutional monarchy -
French Invasion of Russia
In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia. This was a disaster: the French army suffered numeous losses and had to withdraw in defeat. -
Battle of Salamanca
In 1812, there was a major change. Napoleon was forced to move some of his armies to Russia. With British and Portuguese support, the Spanish were able to win a number of battles and there was a decisive British victory at the Battle of Salamanca. The French were finally defeated in 1814. -
Battle of Leipzig and Napoleon´s abdication
In 1814, after losing the Battle of Leipzig, he abdicated. He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. -
The Congress of Vienna
The states that had defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 to reorganise Europe. Almost all the countries involved were represented, but the decisions were actually made by four great powers: Austria, Prussia, Russia and the United Kingdom. -
Battle of Waterloo
In 1815, Napoleon escaped and returned to Paris. He reassumed power and governed for a period known as the Hundred Days. He was definitively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and banished to Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic. -
The Concert of Europe
They adopted the Concert of Europe in order to maintain the balance of power and restore the Ancien Régime:
· Absolute monarchies were re-established. The thrones of France and Spain were returned to the Bourbons: Louis XVIII in France and Fernando VII in Spain.
· Great powers formed alliances -Holy Alliance, Quadruple Alliance and Quintuple Alliance- to protect the monarchs from revolution. If one was threatened, the others would intervene.
·The political map of Europe was redrawn. -
The new map of Europe
The Congress of Vienna did not restore the territorial boundaries in place before Napoleon. Instead, it drew a new map of Europe.
The main aim of the United Kingdom was a balance of power in Continental Europe. This would prevent any threat to its control of the seas.
France returned to its 1782 borders.
The continental powers gained territory, but without any of them becoming stronger than the others. -
The unification of Germany
The German Confederation (an association of German states) was created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna. After the failed 1848 revolutions, German nationalists were divided as to how Germany should be unified:
• The Greater Germany solution centred on Austria, a Catholic power.
• The Lesser Germany solution excluded Austria and was led by Prussia, a Protestant power.
Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck managed to unify Lesser Germany after a series of wars with neighbouring states. -
Argentina
Argentina gained independence in 1816, in Río de la Plata. -
Chile
General San Martín crossed the Andes and defeated the royalist troops at Maipú, giving hile its independence in 1818. -
Gran Colombia
In New Granada, Simón Bolívar defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Boyacá (1819). This created the independent state of Gran Colombia, made up of today´s Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia. -
Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)
Simón Bolívar, the "Liberator", was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 24, 1783. He was a South American general and statesman who brought political independence to present-day nations such as Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú and Venezuela. He was the greatest military figure of South America.
Possibly his death was hastened by the failure of his political plans, but more likely he died of tuberculosis, on the 17th of December, 1830, near the city of Santa Marta, Colombia. -
The revolutions of 1820 and 1830
The Congress System in Vienna was challenged in the 1820s and 1830s by some revolutions. They were based on two principles: liberalism and nationalism.*
Revolutions in Spain and Naples were put down through the intervention of great powers.
In Greece the nationalist movement achieved independence from the Turkish Empire in 1832. -
Liberalism and nationalism
Liberalism:
Liberals wanted to bring an end to absolutism through constitutions and parliaments. Strictly speaking, they called for census suffrage, which excluded anyone not registered in the census of taxpaying property owners.
Nationalism:
Nationalists demanded freedom and independence for their nations: sometimes to unite those which had been separated, and other times to free those who had been subjected under the reign of foreign monarchs. -
Mexico (1821-1823)
In Mexico the struggle began with an Indian revolt led by Miguel Hidalgo.
Independence was achieved in 1821 with Agustín de Iturbide as emperor.
In 1823, an insurrection led by generals Santa Ana and Guerrero led to the First Mexican Republic. -
The United Provinces of Central America
Guatemala. Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica gained their Independence in 1821. -
Peru and the Battle of Ayacucho (1821-1824)
Peru became independent in 1821.
However, it was the last bastion of Spanish supporters until the victory of Sucre at the Battle of Ayacucho. -
Uruguay
Uruguay became independent in 1828. -
Belgium
1830s revolutions in other parts of Europe were not so succesful. Belgium was the only exception, which gained independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. -
The July Revolution
The July Revolution of 1830 removed the Bourbons from power and appointed Louis-Philippe of Orleans as French King. He supported the interests of the bourgeoisie, but did not do away away with absolutism. -
The reign of Isabel II
Two elements that characterised the reign of Isabel II (1833-1868) were the Carlist Wars and the triumph of liberalism over absolutism. -
Progressives and moderates
- Progressives: They favoured popular sovereignty, greater municipal autonomy and border census suffrage than the moderates. They Segway the constitution of 1837 and they govern during an era called the progressive biennium.
- Moderates: They advocated joint sovereignty shared by the queen and the Cortes a centralised government and very restrictive census suffrage. Moderates governed during the moat of Isabel regime. They imposed the constitution of 1845.
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Creation of a liberal state
Isabel's reign began as absolutist but became more liberal in order to gain popular support. However, there were still divisions, as the liberals were divided into two factions: progressives and moderates*. -
Carlists Wars
The Carlists were supporters of Isabel's uncle Don Carlos, who they felt should succeed his brother Fernando VII to the throne. They were also opposed to liberalism and advocated a return to absolutism. They provoked two wars during the reign of Isabel II. -
The revolutions of 1848
A new wave of revolutions swept across Europe in 1848.
In France, the monarchy of Louis-Philippe fell. The Second Republic was proclaimed, with the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis-Napoleon, as president.
Some revolutionaries were motivated by nationalism. There were attempts to unify the Italian and German states, which had been separated by the congress of Vienna.
In other parts of Europe, revolutionaries made liberal claims (demanding democracy, universal male suffrage). -
Nationalist and liberal movements
Some revolutionaries were motivated by nationalism. There were attempts to unify the Italian and German states, which had been separated by the Congress of Vienna.
In other parts of Europe, revolutionaries made liberal claims (demanding democracy, in words, universal male suffrage). -
Lombardy and the Northern Duchies (1859-1860)
Austria is defeated with the support of Napoleon III of France. Lombardy is annexed in 1859 but Venice remains in Austrian hands.
In 1860, there are nationalist insurrections in Parma, Modena,
Tuscany and papal Romagna. These duchies vote in a series of referendums to join Piedmont. -
The unification of Italy
Italian unification was more complex for two reasons:
. The north-eastern part of the Italian Peninsula was occupied by a foreign power: Austria.
· The presence of the Papal States required nationalists to deal with the temporal power of the pope.
The Kingdom of Piedmont became the focal point for nationalists. Piedmontese statesman Count Cavour, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe OGaribaldi are considered the leaders of Italian unification. -
Central Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
In 1860, an army of volunteers ('red shirts') led by Garibaldi conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily). At the same time, the Piedmontese invade Umbria and the Marches (Papal States).
The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed, with Victor Emmanuel II as king. -
German-Danish War
Austria and Prussia come into conflict with Denmark over the possession of the German-speaking duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war threatens the European balance of power. Denmark is defeated. Under the terms of the Treaty of Vienna, Prussia will administer Schleswig and Austria will govern Holstein. -
Veneto and Rome (1866-1870)
After Austria is defeated by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War, the area around Venice is added to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.
During the Franco-Prussian War, Italian troops enter Rome, which had been protected by Napoleon III. The capital of the kingdom is moved to Rome in 1871. -
Austro-Prussian War
Prussia provokes this conflict with Austria over the administration of Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia wins, demonstrating its military superiority and unifying northern Germany, from which Austria is excluded. -
Six years of Democracy (1868-1874)
Opposition from republican parties, coupled with scandals at court led to the deposition of Isabel II. In 1868, she was overthrown by the Glorious Revolution. The following six years of history were very confusing. -
Revolutionary period and Constitution (1868-1870)
The Constitution of 1869 is passed during this period. One of the most controversial issues facing the Cortes is determining what form of government the country would have.
In the end, they decide on a monarchy. After a lengthy search, Amadeo of Savoy is elected king. Prime Minister Prim is his main supporter. -
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
A coalition of German states, led by Prussia, defeats Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan and invades France. Prussia annexes two German-speaking French provinces: Alsace and Lorraine. The Prussian king, William I, is proclaimed kaiser (emperor) at the Palace of Versailles. The German Empire is a nation-state organised as a federal constitutional monarchy. -
Democratic Monarchy of Amadeo I (1871-1873)
Before the king reaches Madrid, Prim is assassinated. As a result, the reign has a difficult start.
The king also faces opposition from a combination of Carlists, Alfonsists (supporters of Isabel II's son Alfonso) and republicans. Feeling unable to rule, Amadeo abdicates and leaves Spain. -
Federal and Authoritarian Republic (1873-1874)
The First Republic is declared in 1873. The ongoing war in Cuba and the Third Carlist War increase the atmosphere of social turmoil. -
General Serrano and then, Bourbon Restoration
In January 1874, a coup d'état dissolves the Cortes. General Serrano takes power. At the end of the year, another pronunciamiento proclaims the Bourbon Restoration, and Alfonso XII is named king.