The Message of Revolution

Ideas Shape the World


I. Revolution at the Point of a Bayonet

A. Initial Enthusiasm--In 1792, Jacques Pierre Brissot, a leader of one faction of the Jacobins, advocated extending the Revolution to other areas of Europe by using the French army to “liberate” them; Robespierre counseled against this action, arguing that any invading force would quickly begin behaving like--and be perceived as--an invading force and be resisted (Hello? Donald Rumsfield? Dick Cheney? George W. Bush?)



B. Napoleonic Wars--the French under Napoleon kept the guise, or appearance, of a revolutionary force as they invaded other countries, and stripped away the remnants of feudalism from these countries (setting the stage for the rise of capitalism) that they invaded and briefly controlled, but they had difficulty in finding clients they could control after the initial enthusiasm. The French were seen as an invading force.

II. Revolution at the Tip of a Pen

A. The Corresponding Societies

1. Thomas Paine and The Rights of Man--The Rights of Man was a response to the condemnation of the French Revolution found in Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. Paine sold 100,000 copies of his pamphlet, which argued that men had the right to engage in a popular political uprising if they felt that their present government was not acting in their best interests.

2. Formation of the Corresponding Societies--Paine’s work provoked much discussion among workers, who began meeting in taverns to discuss the matters raised--and developed societies to disseminate their ideas among workers in other locations, until the government crushed them.

3. Laid the groundwork for the Chartist movement of the 19th century (1815-1848).

B. The Green Revolution

1. Protestant Plantation--when the government in England put down the Irish resistance in the 1650s, they confiscated land from the leaders of the resistance and induced people to settle on this land; this is known at the Protestant Plantation, because people--principally Scottish Presbyterians--were “planted” on the land. Fearful of Catholic reprisals. the descendants of the Plantation became reliable and pliant British allies--until the 1770s.



2. Threat of French Invasion--when the French allied with the revolutionists in the United States, the British saw this as an act of hostility toward them (as the French undoubtedly was it, as well); in response, Britain granted greater rights to the Irish Parliament in return for funding an Irish militia to stave off any French attack. When that conflict ended, the British also ended the increased independence for Ireland.

3. Irish Reaction to French Revolution--Volunteers began to drill in military procedures, and some began making demands for a constitutional convention and the removal of political restrictions upon Catholics--Catholic emancipation. This movement was led by Wolfe Tone, who founded and recruited members for a group called United Irishmen.

4. Upper class Irish reaction--called on Parliament in London to outlaw the United Irishmen and also to outlaw the carrying of arms, meant to do away with military drilling.

5. Orange Order--group of middle and lower class Protestants who felt their position threatened by the Protestant/Catholic alliance.

C. Revolution in Haiti

1. Slavery in Haiti--the slave population was approximately 500,000, as opposed to about 30,000 whites and a similar number of mulattos. The number of slaves was only maintained with the constant importation of slaves, because of working conditions and the sugar plantations

2. Productivity--Haiti produced more sugar than all the other colonies combined



3. Revolution--influenced by events in France--and the rhetoric of revolution by the plantation owners--slaves in Haiti began their rebellion in 1791.

a) Divisions among whites--the so-called “small whites” were resentful of the mercantilist system that had enriched the “big whites”--the plantation owners; but their rhetoric about “liberty” had an entirely different meaning for slaves.

4. 1794 Declaration ending slavery--which was rescinded when the Directory assumed power

5. Capture of Toussaint l’Overture--but the battle continued in Haiti under the generalship of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines’ defeat of the French at Vertieres forced Napoleon to abandon his bid for control of Louisiana in North American, and the sale of that claim to the United States.

D. Revolution in South America

1. Events in Spain--Napoleon’s attempt to install his brother on the Spanish throne after the abdication of Charles IV caused an uprising in Madrid in 1808, and continued guerilla activity in Spain from that date. This created favorable conditions for the British general Wellington to land an army in the country, and begin fighting the French forces occupying the country; this eventually helps bring down Napoleon.

2. Both Spain and New Spain were without an effective government for 6 years while events in Europe played themselves out; this created conditions ripe for colonies in Latin America to seek their independence.



3. Simon Bolivar--from a well-to-do slave owning family, yet he became a dedicated revolutionary. With assistance from forces from Haiti, he was able to defeat the forces of counter-revolution in Venezuela (temporarily). With other revolutionaries, he was able to win independence for a number of former colonies in South America--although the beneficiaries were large landowners, rather than the Indian peasants.

E. Revolution in the Middle East

1. Wahabism--founded byMuhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi (1703–1792), Wahabism is a fundamentalist sect of Sunni Islam. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab believed that what he perceived to be the moral corruption around him was caused by the corruption of Islam, and sought to return the religion back to “first principles,” which he believed were to be found in the Q’ran and other material produced in the first three generations of the faith.

2. House of Saud--the Saud family were followers of Wahabism; when they gained control of the Arabian peninsula, Wahabism gained greater influence because of the two holiest shrines of Islam.