Impact of early-modern European Empires

1. Impact of early-modern European Empires French and Indian Wars (1754-63) • expensive, extensive • overlapped with Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) • conflict in Europe, India • British victory ensured global dominance North American prosperity

2. To pay: increased taxation in 1760s on the British side • tax burden falls to the colonies • Sugar Act (1764) • Stamp Act (1765) • Quartering Act (1765) (Housing British Troops) • Tea Act (1773)

3. Britain: • strong central govt. • navy, army • loyalist population The American Revolution • Colonies: • logistic advantage • popular support • support of British rivals • imaginative military leadership • 1776 Independence • treaty at Peace of Paris, 1783 • recognition of American independence • 1787 US constitution drafted • political and legal equality for men of property

4. 18C maturity pains not limited to France religious struggles struggles because of modernizing states agricultural growth, economic growth urban/rural divide and business growth of educated middle classes or bourgeoisie – desire new rights traditional elites resist change: landowners [land, arms, monies] institution of the church cycles of crop failures and economic stress terrible downturn in 1780s indirect taxes; new taxes on nobility The Three Estates The French Revolution (1789-179-)

5. Terms, Events, Results • The Estates General process to call; these brought cahiers de doléances King not absolute – nobility had the right to resist taxation Third estate demanded sweeping political and social reform • The National Assembly - formed the National Assembly, June 17, 1789 • demanded a written constitution and popular sovereignty – King prognosticated Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen • only about 50 000 of 2.5 million eligible to be elected as electors [not modern democracy] power transferred from aristocrats to propertied people

6. Then the world went mad • suppressed guilds • peasants had to PAY to escape from old feudal dues • forbid worker groups • confiscated church lands and sold them (to…) • new money assignats • religious divisions because of loyalty oath (RC church) • threatened relations with outside countries and Pope condemned caught escaping to Germany (emigres)and returned to Paris; King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette executed, 1793

8. sans culottes levee en masse - armies, against all expectations, started to be successful Committee of Public Safety – rule by terror Maximillion Robespierre executed, 1794 in the end The Directory, consisting of conservative men of property, controlled France used their army and General Napoleon Bonaparte to do so - to turn against the people return to political reform to re-establish calm so the result: a re-ordering but only within set parameters: liberal, limited change Opportunity knocks

9. Corsican; minor nobility top military academy but outsider - provincial accent marriage to gain place in society peace within France: administrative genius general amnesty support of army; conscription Concordat w. Catholic Church Napoleonic Code (merit) banking laws/industrial growth once peace in France – turned to opportunistic enemies and invasions between 1804 and 1815 (Waterloo) conquered most of Europe Nationalism: inspired by the French nation the revolution, and against France Napoleon in Alps The Napoleonic Era

10. Napoleonic Europe

11. How was Napoleon so successful? • could field an army of 700 000 conscripts; 100 000 in a single battle • committed citizen soldiers: professional innovative tactics • no other country could match that • coalitions against him were not successful • only by over-reaching his command capability was he defeated • by sea: 1805 defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar (with Spanish) ended hopes of invading Britain; Britain controlled the sea • on land: militarily successful and deft propagandist diplomatically canny - married d. of Austrian Emperor Continental system

12. Niemen R. to Moscow [422 000->100 000] • but: failed invasion of Russia survived uprising in Paris and raised new army of 350 000 1813 final coalition successful at Battle of Waterloo

13. Revolution in Haiti owners, freed society and slaves independent in 1804 François-Dominique Toussaint Brazilian Independence Mexican Independence Revolutionary Americas - by 1830

14. Nelson’s pigtail/queue (1805) (removed by ship’s surgeon Beatty for Lady Hamilton as dying wish)

15. only country to emerge relatively unscathed Nelson monument centre of Trafalgar Square surrounded by Heroes of Empire: George IV, Napier and Havelock in London, surrounded by what defines GB: art Church finance learning colonies finance people = modernity Britain Triumphant for the 19C