Outline for Chapter 21

A. France After the Restoration

1.      When the Congress of Vienna restored Louis XVIII to the French throne, he prudently issued a constitution, the Charter of French Liberties.

2.      It allowed a two-house legislature and allowed limited freedom of the press.

3.      Louis’s efforts at compromise satisfied few people.

B. The French Revolution of 1848

1.      Liberals denounced Louis Philippe’s government for corruption and called for expanded suffrage.

2.      In February 1848, when the government took steps to silence critics and prevent public meetings, angry crowds took to the streets.

3.      As the turmoil spread, Louis Philippe abdicated.

C. “Europe Clashes Cold”

1.      In both 1830 and 1848, the revolts in Paris inspired uprisings elsewhere in Europe. “When France sneezes, Europe catches the cold.”

2.      In 1815, the Congress of Vienna had united the Austrian Netherlands and the kingdom of Holland under the Dutch king.

3.      The Belgians and the Dutch had different languages, religions, and economic interests.

D. The Springtime of the Peoples

1.      In 1848, revolts in Paris again unleashed a tidal wave of revolution across Europe.

2.      Middle class liberals wanted a greater share of political power for themselves, as well as protection for the basic rights of all citizens.

3.      Metternich falls as the Austrian Emperor when workers rose up against him to students.

E. Looking Ahead

1.      By 1850, the flickering light of rebellion faded, ending the age of liberal revolution that had begun in 1789.

2.      By mid- century, Metternich was gone from the European scene.

3.      In the decades ahead, liberalism, nationalism, and socialism woud win successes not through revolution but through political activity.

 

III. Latin American Wars of Independence

1.      Like many wealthy Latin Americans Creoles, young Simon Bolivar was sent to Europe to complete his education.

2.      There, he became a strong admirer of the ideals of the French Revolution.

3.      Bolivar would fulfill his oath, leading the struggle to liberate northern South America from Spain.

A. Climate of Discontent

1.      Discontent was rooted in the social, racial, and political system that had emerged during 300 years of Spanish rule.

2.      Spanish born peninsulars dominated Latin American political and social life.

3.      In the 1700’s, education Creoles read the works of Enlightenment.

B. Haiti’s Struggle

  1. Haiti was France’s most valued possession in the 1700s.
  2. In the 1790s, revolutionaries in France were debating ways to abolish slavery in the West Indies. However, debating issues in Paris did not help enslaved Haitians gain their freedom.
  3. In Haiti, French planters owned great sugar plantations worked by nearly half million enslaved Africans.

C. Toussaint L’ Ouverture

  1. Toussaint was born into slavery in Haiti. But his father, the son of a noble West African family, had only recently been brought to the West Indian Island. He taught the boy to take pride in his African heritage.
  2. When a slave revolt broke out in 1791, Toussaint was nearly 50 years old. His intelligence and military skills soon earned him the position of leader.
  3. When Toussaint died, Haiti still struggled for their right of freedom. In 1804, Haitian leaders declared Independence.

D. A Call to Freedom In Mexico

  1. In 1810 a Creole priest in Mexico, Father Miguel Hidalgo, raised a cry for freedom that would echo across the land. He was called El Grito de Dolores.
  2. Another priest picked up the banner of revolution. Father Jose Morelos was a mestizo who called for wide ranging reform.
  3. In Spain in 1820, liberals forced the king to issue a constitution. This alarmed Agustin de Iturbide, a conservative Creole in Mexico. Iturbide feared that the new Spanish government might impose liberal reforms on the colonies as well.

E. New Republics in Central America

  1. Spanish ruled lands in Central America declared Independence in the early 1820s. Iturbide tried to add these areas to his Mexican empire.
  2. After his overthrow, local leaders set up a republic called the United Provinces of Central America.
  3. The Union was short lived. It soon fragmented into separate republics of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

F. Revolutions in South America

  1. In South America, Native Americans had rebelled against Spanish rule as early as the 1700s. These rebellions had limited results, however. It was not until the 1800s that discontent among the Creoles sparked a widespread drive for independence.
  2. In the 1800s, widespread discontent began to surface among the other South Americans. Educated Creoles like Simon Bolivar, had applauded the French and American Revolutions.
  3. Like Bolivar, San Martin was a Creole. He was born in Argentina but went to Europe for military training. In 1816, this gifted general helped Argentina win freedom from Spain.

G. Independence from Brazil

  1. When Napoleon’s army conquered Portugal, the Portuguese family fled to Brazil. During his stay in Brazil, the Portuguese King introduced many reforms, including free trade.
  2. When the king returned to Portugal, he left his son Dom Pedro to rule Brazil. “If Brazil demands independence, proclaim it yourself and put the crown on your own head.”
  3. In 1822, Pedro followed his father’s advice. He became emperor of an independent Brazil. He accepted a constitution that provided for freedom of the press and religion as well as an elected legislature.