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Montesquieu Publishes book, On the Spirit of Laws
Montesquieu was a philosopher who devoted himself to the study of political liberty. He believed in separation of powers and checks & Balances. His book reflected on a radical idea that the type of government varied, depending on circumstances and the best government was the one that best accorded with the nature of the people in question. -
America declared independence
The Declaration of Independence was ratified and announced that the 13 colonies were now independent from Great Britain. They had formed a union called The United States of America. -
French Revolution
The French revolution was a time in which the French Governmental structure (a monarchy) went through radical changes based on various Enlightenment theories. This included the end of the old regime, the creation of the National assembly, and the beheading of Louis XVI. -
Napoleon overthrows the Directory through a coup d'etat
While the Directory was in power, not many things were going well for France: only the fact that Napoleon was winning battles. When he came back from Egypt the Directory had lost almost all political power. He took this oppurtunity to seize power. He used his armies to drive the Directory out. -
Napoleon crowns himself emperor, begins to create a vast European Empire
Napoleon first tried to be the constitutionally chosen leader of a free republic. He created efficient tax collection and established a national banking system which helped ensure that the government would get a steady supply of money. He even opended Lycees or government run public schools to provide trained officials for the government. But eventually he decided to become more than that. He crowned himself emperor with the French viters supporting him and started to control Europe. -
Haiti wins freedom from France
Once ideas of revolution travel to Haiti the planter demand that the National Assembly give them the same rights as the people of France. Enslaved Africans also feel the same way, but instead of rights they want their freedom. A civil war erupts and enslaved Africans take control of the colony. Napoleon tries to take back the colony but his army was devastated by disease and the rebels were fierce fighters. -
Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence
Miguel Hidaglo was a preist in the village of Dolores. One day he rang the Church bell and all the Peasants gathered to hear him call for a rebellion against the Spanish -
Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Britain, russia, Prussia, and Sweden joined forced against France. Napoleon army was not very inexperienced so they were easily defeated by the other armies. Napoleon was exiled to Elba, a small island off the coast of Italy. Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. The European armies quickly marshaled their armies. The british army waited near Waterloo and the French attacked. The Prussians joined the Enlgish and Napoleons armies' exhaustion gave away, and they were defeated.
