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Montesquieu published the book "On the Spirit of Laws"
Baron de Montesquieu wrote the book "On the Spirit of Laws" to express his feelings on how the government should be run. He didn't believe that one group should have total control. He wanted a separation of powers. He came up with the idea to have three branches of government; 1. a legislature, 2. an executive, and 3. courts (judicial). -
America Declared Independece
Britain wanted to tax the colonists and they wanted to keep troops in the colonies. The colonists did not like living under British rule and they wanted to break away. Britain placed the Stamp Act and the colonists were upset about it. They did want taxation without representation. The colinists decided to declare independece for America. -
French Revolution
French citizens did not like their king and queen. King Louis XVI and Mary Antoinette spent way too much and they didn't focus on their country. They tried to break free but they couldn't. They thought that the King and Queen were hiding weapons in Bastille, so they stormed the prison and gained independence. -
Napoleon overthrew the Directory through a coup d'etat
Napoleon wanted to become the emperor. He made an agreement, or a concordant, with the pope to make France a Catholic state if he got to be the emperor. Instead of having the pope place the crown on his head, he took it to symbolize that he had the most power. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor, begins to create a vast European Empire
Napoleon was originally one of the three leader of the Directory. He had a huge vision. He wanted to create a huge empire in which he could rule. First, he declared himself Emperor of France (even though he wasn't exactly French). Then, he decided to go conquer other countries. This was the beginning of his reign. -
Haiti wins freedom from France
On the island of Santo Domingo, the slaves decided to revolt. It was conquered by the French many years before, and they used the island to grow crops. The population was mostly made up of slaves so it was very easy for them to revolt. One man named Boukman was the slave who started it all. -
Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence
Mexico was very isolated. They didn't hear everything that was going on with the Enlightenment. Padre Hidalgo was the one who told everyone in Mexico about the revolutions and how it was time to have one of their own. -
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
The people began to hate Napoleon. They sent him off to an Island where he stayed for a few months. He eventually came back and decided to go conquer more places. He went to Waterloo, but was defeated.
