Struggles for Liberty and Independence
outside the U.S. from 1750 to 1850

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Latest Changes: 06Jan 21 - created / 06May08 - add project, rephrase descriptions / 07Mar10 - more on the French Revolution /

1782: Irish Protestants secured the right to elect their own parliament. They used their political power to allow Catholics to own land but not to vote. 1789-1792: The French Revolution (see also more below) had four stages: Public pressure initially established a constitutional monarchy with a National Assembly. Radical politicians forced dissolution of the National Assembly and the formation of a Legislative Assembly, which was dominated by the radical faction. The radicals instituted a "reign of terror" in 1793, during which King Louis XVI, his family, and thousands of people from titled families were executed. The revolutionary movement's power faded, and in 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte, then a general in the army, declared himself emperor. 1791-1803: Haitian Revolution won this island's people independence from the king of Spain. 1798: Ireland A rebellion was crushed, and the 1801 Act of Union incorporated Ireland into the United Kingdom governed by a single parliament (located in London). Until 1829 Catholics were not allowed to hold public office. 1810-1814: Mexico Forces led by Miguel Hidalgo attempted to win independence from the king of Spain. The effort failed, and Hidalgo was executed. 1810-1817: Uruguay Forces led by José Gervasio Artigas. attempted to win independence from the king of Spain and nearly defeated the Spanish army, but military forces sent from Brazil (a colony of Portugual) attacked both sides, and Uruguay was annexed to Brazil. Artigas went into exile and never returned. 1810-1821: Northern South America Military forces led by Simón Bolívar -- the "George Washington of South America" -- wrested independence from the king of Spain for Columbia (1819), Venezuela (1821), and Bolivia (1825). 1815-21: Southern South America Military forces led by José San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins (the "George Washington of Chile") won independence from the king of Spain for Argentian (1815), Chile (1817), and Peru (1821). 1820-1821: Mexico succeeded in obtaining independence from the king of Spain with little fighting. 1821-1829: Greece secured independence from the Ottoman Emperor (who ruled the area from what is now Turkey). At the start of this conflict Egypt aided the Ottoman Empire. After extensive warfare the kings of France, Great Britain and Russia sent forces to eject the Ottoman amry and end the war. The allies appointed Otto, a Bavarian prince, as the king of Greece while barring the Greeks from participating in their nation's governance. 1822: Brazil The king of Portugal (John's son, Pedro I) granted independence to Brazil, but representative government was not established in Brazil until 1889. 1825-1828: Uruguay A revolution led by 33 followers of Artigas and backed by Argentina succeeded in gaining independence from Brazil only after Great Britain intervened. 1843: Greece expelled the foreign advisors to king Otto, after which he agreed to lead a constitutional monarchy. 1848: French Bourbon Revolution deposed king Louis Phillipe and gave all Frenchmen the right to vote. They elected Louise Napoleon Bonaparte (the nephew of the famous emperor Napoleon Bonaparte) as their first president. However, he siezed power and declared himself emperor. Representative government was not re-established in France until 1871.

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The French Revolution 1789-1795  Following the great expenditures made during the American Revolution the king of France became bankrupt (1787). To secure additional funds he called for a meeting of a National Assembly -- which had not been called together since 1614. Since medieval times there had been three divisions (or "estates": clergy, nobles, everyone else) with equal weight given to each group. Representatives met on 1789 May 05, but the third estate declared that the old division was not properly structured to represent the community and declared themselves to be the legal National Assembly of France. A few representatives of the other estates joined them to form a Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution for France. Events moved rapidly. A mob of Parisiens stormed the Bastille (a prison for political prisoners) on July 14, and in October the royal family became effectively prisoners at their palace at Versailles. Over the next two years the Constituent Assembly significantly diminished the privileges of the nobility. On 1789 Aug 26 the French National Assembly adopted The Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen written by Lafayette (aided by Thomas Jefferson), reflecting international interest in the rights noted in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and protected through the U.S. Bill of Rights. The new French Constitution was adopted in 1791, but the situation continued to deteriorate. In June 1791 the royal family attempted to flee and was placed under close guard. In April 1792 war broke out with Prussia and Austria. On 1793 Jan 21 the king was guillotined, and during about a month that summer thousands of people associated with the nobility were guillotined during a period known as "The Terror". The turmoil and revolt decreased considerably by 1795.

PROJECT: Make a poster describing one of the conflicts described above and evaluating it as a success or failure in terms of securing individual freedoms. PROJECT: Make a timeline from 1750 to 1900 indicating the significant events affecting individual liberties in one of the following nations: France, Haiti, Ireland, Mexico.

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