Explores "age of revolutions" (1789-1848). Describes revolutions in France, Haiti, and Latin America. Thesis: revolutions are similar in leaders, dealings church, basic cycle.

Essay by lauren7249High School, 10th gradeA+, January 2004

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The period between 1789 and 1848 is often called the Age of Revolutions, as it was a time of uprising, chaos, and the demand for freedom and independence. During this time, revolutions were occurring simultaneously throughout France, Haiti, and Latin America, each one inadvertently inspiring others. While these revolutions were different in many ways, they all shared certain similarities in their types of leaders and dealings with the church, and a basic pattern/cycle that can be used in sequence with almost any revolution: large revolts of lower classes, push for change, modifications in political system followed by disorganization, and takeover by a ruler or system similar to the one that the revolution set out to eradicate. While the last step is occasionally impermanent and the positive change that was originally accomplished is restored, as one will see later in Haiti, the revolution is usually a vicious cycle of unhappiness with current leadership and/or policies, bloodshed, temporary change, and sadly, the undoing of all of the previous work by the implementation of an oppressive type of rule that is instigated for the sake of better organization.

The best example of this type of cycle is the French revolution, counting both the Liberal and Radical stages. The French Revolution, which occurred from around 1789 to 1799, was the first of the Age of Revolutions, and served as a source and foundation for others after it to draw inspiration from and follow (though often not intentionally). One similarity was that while all of the revolutions produced the change that they originally set out to accomplish, very rarely was that change permanent. In the case of the French Revolution, the goals were the increased power of the third estate, a more democratic government, fair taxation, and equality of the three estates. The...