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Montesquieu publishes On the Spirit of Laws
Baron de Montesquieu published his book On the Spirit of Laws. Montesquieu's writings influenced many revolutions throughtout the world, and many of his beliefs have come to shape Western culture. -
The United States of American is born
Many factors led to the United States of America declaring independence. First of all, the British restricted many of their freedoms with the navigation act. Secondly, the British taxed the colonists heavily, while the colonists still did not have representation in the House of Commons. -
The French Revolution begins
After the storming of the Bastille, the French Revolution began. The French demanded more freedoms and wanted equality. More radical than it's American counterpart, a wave of terror soon engulfed France. Louis XVI was killed along with his wife, Marie Antoinette. -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory in a coup d'etat
Napoleon waas born in Corsica, France and quickly rose to become a powerful general. He then decided to go one step further and overthrew the French Directory. He seized power as a dictator and soon conquered much of Europe. -
Napoleon crown himself Emperor
After overthrowing the Directory, Napoleon crowned himself emperor. He soon embarked on a series of conquests, finally being defeated by the Russians. He was then defeated by the British at the battle of Waterloo, and was exiled to St. Helena -
Haiti wins freedom from France
Haiti was an island mostly made up of slaves. After many years of bad treatment by the French, the slaves rebelled. The French soon granted Haiti independence, but not without a price. The rest of the world shunned Haiti and even today it remain the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. -
Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence
Padre Hidalgo rose up against the Spanish in Dolores and soon was an influential figure in the fight for Mexican Independence. Mexico was finally granted independence from Spain in 1821. -
Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo
Napoleon quickly rose to power and soon conquered much of Europe. The British, along with many other countries, stood up to him at Waterloo. Napoleon survived a bad loss, and was exiled to St. Helena
