Over the course of the eighteenth century, a series of famines and economic crises deepened wealth inequality and narrowed access to political power on both sides of the Atlantic. As the growing influence of the public sphere and Enlightenment ideas of equality and liberty shaped opposition to colonial and monarchical privilege, the century concluded with a series of revolutionary movements and the adoption of novel democratic systems.

The American Revolution, which initiated the revolutionary era, launched the foundation of the newly formed United States of America but established a paradoxical model of political liberty that coexisted with the institution of slavery. Inspired by the colonists’ victory over the British monarchy, those who led the French Revolution established a political model based on principles of democratic rights and equality, but they faced significant challenges due to political factionalism and ongoing economic crises. The Haitian Revolution resulted in the most radical break from the past by toppling the French colonial government, successfully challenging the institution of slavery, and creating the new nation of Haiti. However, Haiti faced long-term economic challenges after France imposed an independence debt on the fledgling nation in 1825.

Although these revolutions reflected a variety of political aims and consequences, each radically reshaped the political landscape of the Atlantic world by challenging traditional models of monarchical privilege and calling into question long-standing disparities in wealth and access to political power.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/7-3-revolutions-america-france-and-haiti

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.