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Montesquieu publishes book, On the Spirit of Laws
On the Spirit of Laws, is a famous book by Baron de Montesquieu. In this book, he proposes that the seperation of powers would keep any individual group from gaining total control of the government. He wrote, "Power should be a check to power." This idea later becomes the checks and balances system. -
America Declares Independence
July 1776, the 2nd Continental Congress publishes the Declaration of Independence. This document was written by Thomas Jefferson and was firmly basedo n the ideas of John Locke and the Enlightenment. It reflected the ideas in its "eloquent" argument for natural rights. -
French Revolution
The National Assembly adopted a statement of revolutionary ideals, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Influenced by the Declaration of Independence, the document stated that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights." It states that these rights include liberty, property, security, and resistance to oprression. -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory through a coup d%u2019etat
By 1799 the Directory had lost control of the political situation and the confidence of the French people. When Napolena returned from Egypt his friends "urged his to seize political power." He took action in 1799. The Directory dissolved and a group of three consuls was established. Of course, Napolean quickly took the first consul and took the power or the dictator. A sudden seizure of power like Napolean's is called a coup d'etat, or a blow to the state. -
Haiti wins freedom from France
The enslaved Africans in Hispaniola wanted their freedom. a civil war errupted and Toussaint L'Ouverture was the leader, and they took control of Hispaniola by 1801. HE was then sent to prison, where he died in the French Alps. But one of his lieutenents took over and declared the colony independent and named it Haiti. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor, begins to create a vast European Empire
Napolean decided to make himslef emporer and the French people agree. During the cermony of becoming emporer as the Pope is placing the crown on Naplolean's head, he grabs it and places it on his own head, trying to show that he is more powerful than the church. Napolean is not done yet, but wants to control the whole rest of Europe. -
Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence
Padre Miguel Hidalgo, a priest in the small village of Dolores, "took the first step toward independence." He was a firm believer in th Enlightenment ideas. On september 16, 1810 he issued for a rebellion against the Spanish. Unfortunatly in 1811 Hidalgo an his men were defeated. -
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Within days of Napolean's return from Elba, he is the Emperor of France. The Brittish army, led by the Duke of Wellington, prepared for battle near Waterloo in Belgium. Napolean attacked on June 18, 1815. Later that day the Prussian army arrived, and together the British and the Prussian army defeated Napolean.
