Enlightenment and Nationalist Revolutions

  • Montesquieu publishes book on the Spirit of Laws

    In The Spirit of Laws written by Montesquieu, he expresses his ideas on having three separate branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.
  • America Declares Independence

    The Second Continental Congress met and Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence with the committee. The document declared that America was breaking away from Great Britain.
  • French Revolution

    The French Revolution was a war between classes and began when the French stormed the Bastille, a prison where Louis XVI kept much of his ammunition.
  • Napoleon overthrows the Directory through a coup d’etat

    Napoleon returned victorious from Egypt and his friends urged him to overthrow the Directory through a coup d’etat, which means blow to state.
  • Napoleon crowns himself emperor, begins to create a vast European Empire

    Napoleon set out to conquer the world by fighting various wars around his country and expanded his empire.
  • Haiti wins freedom from France

    General Dessalines claimed independence for Haiti from France, though Napoleon did not admit the defeat.
  • Padre Hidalgo calls for Mexican Independence

    Padre Hidalgo started the revolution for Independence by ringing the church bells in his small village and started the grito de dolores.
  • Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo

    Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington who realized that because it had rained there was a lot of mud to trudge through, which led to Napoleon’s army’s downfall.