Atlantic Revolutions

The Atlantic Revolutions (19 April 1775 – 4 December 1838) were numerous revolutions in the Atlantic World in the late 18th and early 19th century. Following the Age of Enlightenment, ideas critical of absolutist monarchies spread. A revolutionary wave occurred, with the aim of ending monarchical rule, emphasizing the ideals of the Enlightenment, and spreading liberalism.

Atlantic Revolutions
Part of the Age of Revolution
Clockwise from top: The Storming of the Bastille (1789) Battle of Vertières (1803) Patriot troops during the Batavian Revolution (1795) John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence (1776)
Date	22 March 1765 – 4 December 1838 (73 years, 8 months, 1 week and 5 days)
Location	Atlantic World
Caused by	The Age of Enlightenment
Resulted in	Multiple revolutions and wars across the Atlantic world, including the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the Spanish American wars of independence

Other revolutions in West Africa emphasized forms of Islam that were egalitarian in comparison to traditional forms.

In 1755, early signs of governmental changes occurred with the formation of the Corsican Republic and Pontiac's War. The largest of these early revolutions was the American Revolution beginning in 1775, which founded the United States. The American Revolution inspired other movements, including the French Revolution in 1789 and the Haitian Revolution in 1791. These revolutions were based on the equivocation of personal freedom with the right to own property — a concept spread by Edmund Burke — and on the equality of all men, an idea expressed in constitutions written as a result of these revolutions.

History

A tree of liberty topped with a Phrygian cap set up in Mainz in 1793. Such symbols were used by several revolutionary movements of the time.

It took place in both the Americas and Europe, including the United States (1775–1783), Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1788–1792), France and French-controlled Europe (1789–1814), Haiti (1791–1804), Ireland (1798) and Spanish America (1810–1825). There were smaller upheavals in Switzerland, Russia, and Brazil. The revolutionaries in each country knew of the others and to some degree were inspired by or emulated them.

Independence movements in the New World began with the American Revolution, 1775–1783, in which France, the Netherlands and Spain assisted the new United States of America as it secured independence from Britain. In the 1790s the Haitian Revolution broke out. With Spain tied down in European wars, the mainland Spanish colonies secured independence around 1820.

Bastille Day, 1792, Belfast, Ireland. Volunteer companies parade "The Colours of Five Free Nations, viz.: Flag of Ireland – motto, Unite and be free. Flag of America – motto, The Asylum of Liberty. Flag of France – motto, The Nation, the Law, and the King. Flag of Poland – motto, We will support it. Flag of Great Britain – motto, Wisdom, Spirit, and Liberality."

In long-term perspective, the revolutions were mostly successful. They spread widely the ideals of liberalism, republicanism, the overthrow of aristocracies, kings and established churches. They emphasized the universal ideals of the Enlightenment, such as the equality of all men, including equal justice under law by disinterested courts as opposed to particular justice handed down at the whim of a local noble. They showed that the modern notion of revolution, of starting fresh with a radically new government, could actually work in practice. Revolutionary mentalities were born and continue to flourish to the present day.

The common Atlantic theme breaks down to some extent from reading the works of Edmund Burke. Burke firstly supported the American colonists in 1774 in "On American Taxation", and took the view that their property and other rights were being infringed by the crown without their consent. In apparent contrast, Burke distinguished and deplored the process of the French revolution in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), as in this case property, customary and religious rights were being removed summarily by the revolutionaries and not by the crown. In both cases he was following Montesquieu's theory that the right to own property is an essential element of personal freedom.

The American Revolution, a pivotal event in the broader context of Atlantic revolutions, led to the emergence of the United States as an independent nation. Its ripple effects resonated across the Atlantic, influencing subsequent independence movements and revolutions in Europe and the Americas. For instance, the Haitian Revolution erupted in the 1790s, challenging colonial rule and inspiring aspirations for freedom and equality. Similarly, mainland Spanish colonies secured their independence around 1820 amid the turmoil of European wars. These interconnected revolutions, fueled by ideals of liberalism and republicanism, sought to overthrow entrenched aristocracies and establish governments based on the principles of the Enlightenment. The revolutionary fervor underscored the belief in the possibility of creating radically new governments founded on the principles of justice and equality, a sentiment that continues to resonate in modern times. However, the Atlantic theme of revolution faced complexities and nuances, as highlighted in the contrasting views of figures like Edmund Burke, who supported the American colonists' fight against unjust taxation but criticized the French Revolution for its perceived violation of property and religious rights.

National revolutions

Europe

• Corsican Revolution (1755–1769)
• Geneva Revolution (1782)
• Revolt of Dutch Patriots (1785)
• French Revolution (1789–1799)
• Liège Revolution (1789–1795)
• Brabant Revolution (1790)
• Polish War in the Defence of Constitution (1792) and Kościuszko Uprising (1794)
• Serbian Revolution (1804–1835)
• Stäfner Handel in Canton of Zürich, Switzerland (1794–1795)
• Batavian Revolution (1795)
• Scottish Rebellion (1797)
• United Irish Rebellion (1798)
• Helvetic Revolution (1798)
• Altamuran Revolution (1799)
• Norwegian War of Independence (1814)
• Liberal Revolution of 1820 (1820, Portugal)
• Decembrist revolt (1825) and Chernigov Regiment revolt (1825–1826)

Americas

• Pontiac's War (1763–1766)
• American Revolution (1775–1783)
• Revolt of the Comuneros in New Granada (1781)
• Northwest Indian War (1785–1795)
• Brazilian Revolutionary Movements (1789–1817)
  • Minas Conspiracy in Minas Gerais, Brazil (1789)
  • Bahian Revolt (Conjuração Baiana) in Bahia, Brazil (1798)
  • Pernambucan Revolt in Pernambuco, Brazil (1817)
• Haitian Revolution (1791–1804)
• In the British Virgin Islands, minor slave revolts occurred in 1790, 1823 and 1830.
• Slave revolt in Curaçao (1795)
• Bush War, Saint Lucia (1795)
• Fédon's rebellion, Grenada (1796)
• Second Maroon War, Jamaica (1795–1796)
• Second Carib War, Saint Vincent (1795–1797)
• Spanish American Wars of Independence (1808–1833)
  • Independence movements in New Granada
    • Colombian War of Independence (1810–1825)
    • Venezuelan War of Independence (1810–1823)
    • Ecuadorian War of Independence (1810–1822)
  • Independence movements in Río de la Plata
    • Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818)
    • Bolivian War of Independence (1810–1825)
  • Independence movements in New Spain
    • Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821)
  • Independence movements in Peru
    • Chilean War of Independence (1810–1826)
    • Peruvian War of Independence (1810–1826)
• 1811 German Coast uprising (1811)
• Brazilian War of Independence (1821–1824)
• Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions (1837–1838)

Various connecting threads among these varied uprisings include a concern for the "Rights of Man" and freedom of the individual; an idea (often predicated on John Locke or Jean-Jacques Rousseau) of popular sovereignty; belief in a "social contract", which in turn was often codified in written constitutions; a certain complex of religious convictions often associated with deism and characterized by veneration of reason; abhorrence of feudalism and often of monarchy itself. The Atlantic Revolutions also had many shared symbols, including the name "Patriot" used by so many revolutionary groups; the slogan of "Liberty"; the liberty cap; Lady Liberty or Marianne; the tree of liberty or liberty pole, and so on.

Important individuals during the revolutions

Name of person or movement	Allegiance	Life
Benjamin Franklin	United States	1706–1790
Israel Putnam	United States	1718–1790
Samuel Adams	United States	1722–1803
Richard Price	United States France	1723–1791
Pasquale Paoli	Corsica	1725–1807
Horatio Gates	United States	1727–1806
Guillaume de Bellecombe	Haiti	1728–1792
George Washington	United States	1732–1799
Joseph Priestley	United States	1733–1804
John Adams	United States	1735–1826
Patrick Henry	United States	1736–1799
Thomas Paine	United States	1737–1809
Ethan Allen	United States Vermont	1738–1789
Nathanael Greene	United States	1742–1786
Toussaint Louverture	Haiti	1743–1803
Thomas Jefferson	United States	1743–1826
John Jay	United States	1745–1829
Tadeusz Kościuszko	Poland–Lithuania United States	1746–1817
John Paul Jones	United States	1747–1792
Francisco de Miranda	Venezuela France United States	1750–1816
Henry Knox	United States	1750–1806
James Madison	United States	1751–1836
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla	Mexico	1753–1811
Alexander Hamilton	United States	1755–1804
Marquis de Lafayette	United States France	1757–1834
Maximilien Robespierre	France	1758–1794
Georges Danton	France	1759–1794
Wolfe Tone	Ireland	1763–1798
José Gervasio Artigas	Liga Federal Río de la Plata	1764–1850
José María Morelos	Mexico	1765–1815
Antonio Nariño	Colombia Cundinamarca New Granada	1765–1823
Camilo Torres Tenorio	New Granada	1766–1816
Francisco José de Caldas	New Granada	1768–1816
Napoleon Bonaparte	France	1769–1821
Manuel Belgrano	Río de la Plata	1770–1820
Cristóbal Mendoza	Venezuela	1772–1829
Manuel Piar	Venezuela	1774–1817
José Félix Ribas	Venezuela	1775–1815
Thomas Cochrane	Chile Brazil	1775–1860
José de San Martín	Río de la Plata Chile Peru	1778–1850
Bernardo O'Higgins	Chile	1778–1842
Jørgen Jørgensen	Iceland	1780–1841
Vicente Guerrero	Mexico	1782–1831
Mariano Montilla	Colombia Venezuela New Granada	1782–1851
Simón Bolívar	Colombia Venezuela New Granada Peru Bolivia	1783–1830
Agustín de Iturbide	Mexico	1783–1824
José Miguel Carrera	Chile	1785–1821
Gregor MacGregor	New Granada Venezuela Florida	1786–1845
Louis-Joseph Papineau	Lower Canada	1787–1871
Rafael Urdaneta	Colombia Venezuela	1788–1845
Santiago Mariño	Venezuela Colombia	1788–1854
Charles Deslondes	Louisiana slaves	1789–1811
José Antonio Páez	Venezuela Colombia	1790–1873
Samuel Lount	Canada	1791–1838
Francisco de Paula Santander	Colombia New Granada	1792–1840
Antonio López de Santa Anna	Mexico	1794–1876
Antonio José de Sucre	Colombia Peru Bolivia	1795–1830
William Lyon Mackenzie	Canada	1795–1861
Pedro I of Brazil	Brazil	1798–1834
Alexis de Tocqueville	France	1805–1859

Important organizations or movements during the revolutions

Name	Region
Society of the United Scotsmen	Great Britain
Sons of Liberty	United States
Patriottentijd	Netherlands
Jacobin Club	France
Société des amis des Noirs	France
Society of the Friends of the People	Great Britain
London Corresponding Society	Great Britain
Lautaro Lodge	Hispanic America
Patriote movement	Lower Canada|-	Société des Fils de la Liberté	Lower Canada

See also

• Age of Revolution
• Atlantic history, on historiography
• Atlantic World
• Piracy in the Atlantic World
• Revolutions of 1848

Further reading

• Canny, Nicholas, and Philip Morgan, eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Atlantic World: 1450–1850 (Oxford UP, 2011).
• Donoghue, John. Fire under the Ashes: An Atlantic History of the English Revolution (U of Chicago Press, 2013).
• Geggus, David P. The Impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (2002)
• Jacques Godechot. France and the Atlantic revolution of the eighteenth century, 1770–1799 (1965)
• Gould, Eliga H. and Peter S. Onuf, eds. Empire and Nation : The American Revolution in the Atlantic World (2004)
• Greene, Jack P., Franklin W. Knight, Virginia Guedea, and Jaime E. Rodríguez O. "AHR Forum: Revolutions in the Americas", American Historical Review (2000) 105#1 92–152. Advanced scholarly essays comparing different revolutions in the New World. in JSTOR
• Israel, Jonathan I.. The Expanding Blaze: How the American Revolution Ignited the World, 1775-1848. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2017. ISBN 978-0-691-17660-4
• Klooster, Wim. Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History (2nd ed. 2018)
• Leonard, A.B. and David Pretel, eds. The Caribbean and the Atlantic World Economy(2018)
• Palmer, Robert. The Age of Democratic Revolutions 2 vols. (1959, 1964)
• Perl-Rosenthal, Nathan. "Atlantic cultures and the age of revolution." William & Mary Quarterly 74.4 (2017): 667–696. online
• Peterson, Mark. "The Cambridge History of Age of Atlantic Revolutions" (2023) pp. 159-541 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108567671.008
• Polasky, Janet L. Revolutions without Borders (Yale UP, 2015). 392 pp. online review
• Potofsky, Allan. "Paris-on-the-Atlantic from the Old Regime to the Revolution." French History 25.1 (2011): 89–107.
• Sepinwall, Alyssa G. "Atlantic Revolutions", in Encyclopedia of the Modern World, ed. Peter Stearns (2008), I: 284 – 289
• Verhoeven, W.M. and Beth Dolan Kautz, eds. Revolutions and Watersheds: Transatlantic Dialogues, 1775–1815 (1999)
• Vidal, Cécile, and Michèle R. Greer. "For a Comprehensive History of the Atlantic World or Histories Connected In and Beyond the Atlantic World?." Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales 67#2 (2012). online