Revolutions That Changed The World

• A revolution is a mass movement aiming to establish a new political regime by violently transforming the existing government.

• The term comes from Latin “revolutio”, meaning a turnaround.

• It involves a fundamental change in power or organizational structures over a short period.

• Revolutions mainly refer to political change but also affect culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.

• They have occurred throughout human history with wide variations in methods, duration, and motivating ideology.

• Revolutions can be either short and bloody or slow and painful.

• Despite differences, revolutions follow recurring patterns.

• There is often a hunger among people to punish fallen rulers after a revolution.

• Retribution against old leaders can serve as a distraction from ongoing economic and social problems.

• These problems do not disappear simply with the change of regime.

The French Revolution

• The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799, transforming France from a monarchy under King Louis XVI to a people’s republic, then to a dictatorship under Napoleon.

• It was one of the bloodiest periods in European history.

• The main cause was the French people’s frustration with the king’s inability to handle declining living conditions, including financial crisis, food shortages, and religious intolerance.

• Growing resentment against the privileged few led the people to seek overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a government based on a constitution with people’s representatives.

• The storming of Bastille Prison is considered the first major act of the revolution.

• King Louis XVI’s reorganization of the French Ministry was seen by reformists as a royalist coup, sparking open rebellion.

• Insurgents seized the Bastille, killed the prison governor, and freed prisoners.

• The Storming of the Bastille became a symbol of rebellion against monarchy; Bastille Day is still celebrated in France, similar to India’s Independence Day.

• After years of struggle, a new French constitution was ratified in 1795, establishing a parliament of 500 representatives and 250 senators.

• Despite this, royalist opposition continued and was suppressed by the increasingly powerful French army.

• This allowed General Napoleon Bonaparte to stage a coup in 1799 and become Emperor of France in 1804.

• The Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe.

• The absolute monarchy collapsed within three years.

• Feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated due to pressure from liberal political groups and masses.

• Old ideas of hierarchy and tradition gave way to Enlightenment principles of citizenship and inalienable rights.

• The modern era has been shaped by the French Revolution, including the growth of republics, liberal democracies, secularism, and the rise of modern ideologies and total war.

The American Revolution

• The American Revolution was when British colonists in America rebelled against Great Britain’s rule.

• The conflict included many battles and resulted in the colonies gaining freedom and becoming the independent United States.

• The American Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783.

• There were several British colonies in America, but only 13 colonies rebelled: Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island.

• A main cause of rebellion was the colonists’ feeling of lack of representation in the British government.

• The British government imposed laws and taxes on the colonies without their consent.

• Colonists wanted representation in government if they had to pay taxes and follow British laws.

• The revolution did not start immediately; it began with protests and arguments, then small skirmishes between colonists and British troops, escalating over years into full conflict.

• Each colony had its own local government and elected representatives to the First Continental Congress in 1774 as a first effort to unite.

• In 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain.

• The new US government rejected monarchy and created a democratic government ruled by elected leaders.

• The government was designed with balances of power to prevent any one person from becoming a king.

• The revolution sparked social, political, and intellectual transformations in American society.

• Americans rejected European aristocratic oligarchies and embraced republicanism based on Enlightenment liberalism.

• The revolution led to the creation of a representative government accountable to the people.

• Sharp political debates arose over how much democracy was appropriate, with some Founders fearing mob rule.

• Many key governance issues were resolved with the ratification of the US Constitution in 1788.

The Glorious Revolution

• James II (1633–1701), a Roman Catholic King of Great Britain from 1685 to 1688, largely brought the “Glorious” Revolution upon himself.

• Upon succeeding his brother Charles II, James alienated key political and military groups by attempting to Catholicize the army and government and packing Parliament with supporters.

• He used the Dispensing Power (royal prerogative to suspend laws) to evade the Act of Uniformity and the Test Act, later declared illegal by the Bill of Rights (1689).

• His Declaration of Indulgence (1687-88) suspended penal laws against religious dissenters, allowing Dissenters to worship openly and Catholics to worship privately.

• The birth of his son in June 1688 raised fears of a Catholic dynasty.

• Prominent Protestant statesmen invited William of Orange to take the throne.

• William landed with an army at Torbay in November 1688, promised to defend English liberty and the Protestant religion, and marched unopposed to London.

• James II fled to France ignominiously.

• Parliament denounced James, offered the throne to William and Mary as joint sovereigns, and imposed constitutional limits on the monarchy.

• A Scottish Jacobite rebellion under Dundee threatened William and Mary’s rule; Dundee died at the Battle of Killiecrankie (1689).

• In 1690, Irish and French Jacobites under James II were defeated at the Battle of the Boyne.

• After securing the throne post-Jacobite defeat, William involved England in the War of the League of Augsburg (against France), lasting until 1697.

The Russian Revolution

• The Russian Revolution of 1917 centers on two main events: the February Revolution and the October Revolution.

• The February Revolution removed Tsar Nicholas II from power.

• It arose spontaneously from violent demonstrations and riots in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) while the tsar was away visiting troops on the World War I front.

• Although popular, the February Revolution was mainly limited to Petrograd and did not fully represent the majority of Russia’s population.

• The provisional government and Petrograd Soviet, which took power after the February Revolution, generally favored at least partially democratic rule.

• The October Revolution, also called the Bolshevik Revolution, overthrew the provisional government and established the Soviet Union.

• The October Revolution was a deliberate, orchestrated coup led by the Bolsheviks.

• The Bolsheviks prepared the coup over six months and had little popular support when they started serious efforts in April 1917.

• By October, their support grew, especially in Petrograd and urban centers, though they remained a minority nationwide.

• After taking power, the Bolsheviks found they could not maintain control through elections without sharing power or compromising.

• In January 1918, they abandoned the democratic process and declared themselves the representatives of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

• This led to the outbreak of the Russian Civil War in summer 1918, which lasted until around 1920.

Taiping Revolution/Rebellion

• The Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt from 1851 to 1864 against the Qing Empire in China.

• It was led by the Hakka mystics Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing.

• Hong Xiuquan, an unorthodox Christian convert, declared himself the new Messiah and the younger brother of Jesus Christ.

• Yang Xiuqing, a former firewood salesman from Guangxi, acted as a mouthpiece of God and gained significant political power.

• They established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace) and controlled large parts of southern China.

• Estimated deaths during the 15-year rebellion are about 20 million civilians and army personnel, though some sources suggest as high as 50 million.

• Some historians estimate that combined with natural disasters and political insurrections, the death toll between 1850 and 1865 could be as high as 200 million, but this is considered exaggerated.

• The rebellion is considered one of the bloodiest conflicts before World War II.

• It was a consequence of the collision between imperial powers and traditional China, introducing new ideas about governance and people’s rights that clashed with existing customs.

• Despite popular appeal, the rebellion failed partly due to its inability to integrate foreign and Chinese ideas.

• This integration was later achieved by Mao Zedong in the 20th century with his ideology of “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”