The Americas in an Age of Revolution

Tony McFarlane

American Colonies

The revolutionary era in America, 1776-1826.

1. British North America: The American Revolution,1776-83.

2. French St. Domingue: The Haitian Revolution, 1790-1804: the end of slavery and the first black republic.

3. Spanish America: Rebellions, War and Independence in Mexico and South America, 1810-1825.

4. Portuguese America: Brazil’s Peaceful Transition to Independence, 1822.

Meanings

• Linkages and associations? The concepts of ‘Democratic’ and ‘Atlantic Revolution’: Palmer and Godechot.

• Repercussions? Turning point in Americas’ history– Dissolution of empires from California to Cape Horn by

separation from European rule: few remnants left.– Creation of new states based on sovereignty of the people and

idea of citizens’ equality under the law, embodied in written constitutions (incl. Brazilian monarchy of 1822)

– Political independence and economic freedom – Americas as the new political and economic frontier– European Empire turns East.

International Contexts

• Origins of Revolutions in Americas: crisis in colonial relations with European wars, related to international wars.

• Decline of Spain and growth of French and British empires in America: trade and population expansion in the West.

• Character of international wars in 18th century: coupled with competition for overseas empire, esp. France, Spain and Britain.

• Atlantic expansion and tendency of European Wars to ‘globalise’. Americas became major theatre.

• Impact of inter-imperialist competition in Americas: economic growth; more communication and exchange; increase in political tensions.

The American Revolution – Origins of conflict: the Seven

Years’ War and expulsion of France,

– ‘no taxation without representation’ and Parliamentary despotism

– Source of ideas: defence of traditional British ‘liberties’ + Tom Paine.

– Nationalism? Provincial identities.

– Pre-planned revolution? Negotiation and mobilisation: British political institutions as vehicles for rebellion: provincial assemblies into proto-states.

– Unity? from Continental Congress to United States of America.

– Democracy? From republican monarchy to monarchical republic.

The Haitian Revolution • France in America post-1763: the

Caribbean minus Canada• War of American Revolution and Crisis

in Paris in 1789: onset of French Revolution

• Slave colony: Saint Domingue • Repercussions of French Revolution:

escalation of crisis from divisions in elite to slave insurgency

• Foreign intervention exacerbates crisis• Slave revolution? Toussaint’s

compromise; Napoleon and the ‘gilded African’.

• From social rebellion to revolution for independence

• Political transformation and social revolution: the end of slavery

• Reception in the United States

Spanish American Revolutions: Contexts

• Spain’s revival under the Bourbons• The ‘second conquest’ of America• Reform and rebellion: Quito (1765), Comuneros

(1781), Túpac Amaru (1780-2)• American critiques of Spain: ‘Creole patriotism’

and the Enlightenment. • Impact of American and French Revolutions:

1790s conspiracies and their significance• The French Revolution and Spain: ‘decapitation’

of the state 1808-1810 and political revolution in Spain: towards constitutional monarchy.

Spanish America: revolutions and independence

• Imitating Spain:1810• Restive elites and

delegated sovereignty: the juntas, autonomy and independence.

• Elites and insurgency in Mexico: Hidalgo’s revolt and Morelos’ insurgency

• Cadiz Constitution and the defeat of insurgency

• Revolution from above, 1821.

Revolution and counter-revolution in South America

• Transitions, 1810-14: ‘Foolish fatherlands’

• Defining the patria: Regional conflicts and confederations

• Revolution defeated: Spanish restoration and re-conquest 1814-1825

• Militarization of the revolution: Wars of liberation under Bolívar and San Martin.

• Brazil: from monarchy to constitutional monarchy

Comparisons

• International Contexts: revolutions all related to international wars.

• Ideological Contexts and Linkages: Democratic revolutions? Influence of Enlightenment attack on privilege, and growth of anti-monarchical and republican sentiments?

• Ambiguities of pre-revolutionary Enlightenment; enlightened ideas for revolutionary legitimation.

• Importance of distinctive political cultures: American Revolution ‘born democratic’ in British political culture; Haitian Revolution drew on French Revolution; Spanish American revolutions combine modern doctrines of rights of man from both, but also draw on Spanish traditions of political thought.

Comparisons

• Nationalist Revolutions? Expressions of nascent national identities? First nationalist revolutions or ‘imagined communities’? (role of print in North American and Spanish America).

• Social revolutions driven by class and ethnic conflicts? – popular grievances drawn in and drove revolutions forward, but a ‘vertical politics’ and dimension of civil war in all cases.

• Myths of intentionality: the ‘founding fathers’ and the historias patrias. Revolutions share origins in erosion of political legitimacy of old regimes: in British America, driven by metropolitan aggression; in French and Spanish America based on collapse at the centre.

• Outcomes: US ‘democracy’; Haitian ‘republic of bayonets’; Spanish American tendency towards oligarchies and limited participation in politics. Reflections of colonial past?

Further Reading• Anthony McFarlane, ‘Independence and Revolution in the Americas’, History Today,

34, March, 1984.• Lester Langley, The Americas in the Age of Revolution (New Haven, 1998) • David Bushnell, ‘Independence Compared: the Americas North and South’, in

Anthony McFarlane and Eduardo Posada-Carbo (eds), Independence and Revolution in Spanish America: Perspectives and Problems, (London, 1999).

• J. H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic World, (Chapter 10-11), New Haven,2006)• John Elliott, Simon Newman and Anthony McFarlane, Revolutions! US and Spanish

American Independence Movements Compared (British Library, London 2010) Also online at www.bl.ecclescentre)

• Wim Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World (New York, 2009)