Revolutions That Changed The World

         

     The world we live in today, was not as it is today, about two-three centuries ago. The world has changed drastically over about two-three centuries. All aspects of human life have changed because of the many different processes and events. The social, political, economic, and cultural life of people all over the world has changed. Many events are responsible for this change. Events such as the American, French, and Russian revolutions gave many new ideas to the world. We make the mistake of considering these revolutions just political events. but actually, these events changed many aspects of human life.

when we consider the reason behind these revolutions we find that the common people revolted against the exploitative system. They invented new ideas that shaped our modern world. These revolutions changed the social structure of society. The old social structure was the main reason for the suffering of common people. Now we will see in detail how these Revolutions took place and how they impacted the world. 

 1. American Revolution

 

  

   Today, the United States Of America is a leading superpower in the world. The USA is leading the world in technology, military equipment, and the economy. This country has a very interesting history that starts with the American Revolution. When Europeans first arrived in the American continent it was a habitat of many indigenous people. Many tribal and pastoralist people used to live in North America. Europeans called them Red Indians due to their skin color. South America and Central America were occupied by many advanced civilizations like the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations. These civilizations were based on agriculture. Surplus agricultural production caused these civilizations to flourish.

When Europeans first arrived in America, They were eager to take with them whatever resources they find in these civilizations. European countries divided the whole American continent among themselves to colonize. Britain managed to colonize the eastern coast of North America. There were thirteen British colonies that contained a population from many European countries.

1. Reasons for Revolution

 

                

      American settlers started various trades and productions within the vast land of America. They wanted to use the all-natural resources of this land to earn more and more profit. The attitude of the British Empire towards their American colony was different. The British Government wanted that the American settlers should trade with British traders. But in such a manner that the flow of wealth should be towards Britain. The British government imposed many taxes and regulations on America. British Empire at that time was very large. Britain was fighting, many wars to maintain such a large Empire. For military expenses and economic affairs, Britain was in need of wealth. They wanted to acquire this wealth from their colonies. It was their strategy to acquire maximum resources from their colonies.

American settlers were not happy with new taxes, regulations, and the prohibition on their trade. There was no representation for the American settlers in the British parliament. That made American settlers even more unhappy with the taxes and regulations imposed on them. Many thinkers and activists opposed the policy of the British Government and decided to take action against this. American settlers already had the experience of war. They had supported Britain against the French army. Many activists decided to unify the American settlers for their common cause. Due to efforts from many leaders, American settlers united and established their Army.

                                        The war against the British first broke out in 1775. Many wars took place between 1775 and 1783. France helped the American settlers. With help from France America defeated the British Empire Finally in 1783 and achieved its independence.

2. New Ideas of the American Revolution

 

American Revolution was Considered an important event in history because it gave many new ideas to the world. Many new scholars and thinkers gave their ideas during this period which inspired American settlers to fight for their independence. Thinkers like ' Thomas Paine gave revolutionary ideas about  Human Rights. Which were about the freedom and equality of all human beings. American Revolution showed that common people can free themselves from aristocracy and imperialism. All human beings have the right to political, social, and economic equality, this was the most important idea of the revolution.  America emerged as the first democratic country with a constitution and full sovereignty over the people.

 

 

     2. French Revolution

 

              Today, France is among many developed countries in Europe. It was one of the colonial powers in the era of colonialism. French Revolution is an important event in the history of human rights and social equality. In the seventeenth century and before, French society was based on inequality and there were three different classes in society. Each class, called Estate, had different responsibilities toward society. The first estate consisted of the Clergy, the second one was Nobility, and the third estate consisted of many common people like peasants, laborers, artisans, teachers, merchants, lawyers, etc.

The first and second estates enjoyed many privileges. The two estates exploited the third estate. The third estate had all the burden of the economic affairs of the state. because they had all the taxes imposed on them. There were no taxes on the first two estates. The continuous exploitation from the Two estates and many economic conditions caused the third estate to take revolutionary steps.

 

 

     1. Reasons for Revolution

 

  In the late eighteenth century, the population of France rose significantly. but the production of food was not enough to fulfill the rising demands of the population. Food prices grew rapidly and many common people faced a lot of hardships due to this. Because of a series of wars against the British Empire, the national treasury of France was empty and the state was under heavy debt.

King Louise XVI decided to hold an assembly to impose new taxes on the third estate. In the assembly, there was one vote for each estate. During the assembly meeting, the members of the third estate demanded that there should be one vote for each person as the members from the third estate were. The members of the third estate were angry because they faced a subsistence crisis due to the harsh economic conditions. The demands of the third estate were not fulfilled and they walked out from the assembly

The third estate held its own national assembly and created a constitution and demanded that the authority of the king should be limited by the constitution. The king recognized the national assembly and accepted the limits to his authority, but he secretly made a pact with the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian empires to help him fight the revolutionary members of the third estate and the national assembly.

The national assembly realized the plans of the king and declared war against the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian empires. The members of the third estate decided to revolt against the king and finally, they captured the king and declared France a republic in 1792. By court decision in 1793 the King was executed, he was charged with treason by the court. There were many clubs formed by the people of the third estate to bring revolutionary change in society. The most powerful of them was the jacobian club under the leadership of Maximilian Robespierre. The Jacobian government imposed very strict laws on people.

To preserve democratic principles, The Government curbed the individual freedom of people. The people revolted against the Jacobian government also and they executed Robespierre. Later a Directory consisting of people from various classes of society, especially merchants and traders started governing France. Political instability caused France to be ruled by a military dictator like Napoleon Bonaparte.

 

  2. New Ideas Of The French Revolution

   The French Revolution gave many new ideas such as liberty, equality, and fraternity. French people showed that the government is an institution that is for people. If the government is not looking for the welfare of the people, the people have all the right to overthrow such a government. The national assembly declared many rights for humans. which included freedom of speech, right to life, freedom of opinion, and equality before the law. All such rights were declared natural and inalienable. French people showed that common people can revolt against monarchy and aristocracy to free themselves from all kinds of exploitation imposed by these systems. Various ideas given by the French Revolution to the world remained an inspiration for people all over the world to fight for their rights and independence.

3. Russian Revolution

 

                  

     Russian Revolution is an important event in the world. it gave the world a new political and economic system and an idea called 'communism'.During the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Russia had a less industrialized economy. Nearly 85 percent of the Russian population was dependent on Agriculture and Russia was a major exporter of grain. The government in Russia was a complete Autocracy and the king held all the power. The King of Russia called the Tsar, had complete authority in the government. The idea of socialism was not new at that time Even in countries like France, Germany, and Britain there were people supporting the idea of socialism and they were very influential in the policymaking of these countries. Russia also had the emergence of a group of people in their country who advocated ideas of socialism.

   1. Reasons For Revolution

 

             The industrial revolution changed many economic and social conditions in society. two new classes emerged in society, namely workers and industrialists. Both classes have conflicting interests. socialism considered private property as evil to the welfare of common people. it advocated public ownership of property. Russian society had a large population of people working as peasants and laborers. They found that the idea of socialism might solve their problems and make their life exploitation free. At the same time, many radical and liberal groups also emerged in Russia and they started demanding a constitution that will limit the powers of the Tsar.

Many protests took place and finally after the incident of 'Bloody Sunday 'that took the lives of many protesters, the Tsar accepted the formation of a Duma. The Duma was a group of elected representatives from the people. The idea of Duma failed. because, In the Third Duma, Tsar changed the voting rules. He kept liberal, democratic, and socialist people out of the Duma.

          

     The economic condition of Russia was not well during that time. there were constant protests from workers and peasants due to their harsh working conditions and low wages. Russia participated in the First world war but lost badly to Germany and Austria-Hungary. There were many casualties in the war and economic conditions also became worse. People revolted against these harsh conditions. Large-scale protests from all corners of the country caused, the officers of the Russian military to advise the King to resign. king resigned in February 1917. This event is called as February Revolution. The provisional government started ruling Russia but it consisted mainly of conservatives and people from Aristocracy. Russia continued to take part in the war.

The faction of radical socialist people in Russia called Bolsheviks. Their leader Vladimir Lenin returned from exile to Russia. He started demanding that Russia should stop fighting the world war and that the various demands of workers should be fulfilled. Bolsheviks under the leadership of Lenin started an armed revolt against the provisional government. France, America, Britain, and Japan gave support to the provisional government. but the internal support of the common people of Russia, caused the Bolsheviks to defeat the provisional government. Finally, in October 1917 bolsheviks turned Russia into a Soviet country. Civil war broke out between the Red Army of Bolsheviks and the White Army of people opposing them. After the end of the civil war, Russia came under the power of the communist party.

  2. New Ideas Of The Russian Revolution

 

     Russian Revolution gave a new political system to the world. It emerged as the first socialist country in the world. The idea of communism inspired workers and peasants from all over the world to fight for their rights. there are many negative points in the communist system of government. but it is an important system to fight against exploitation. it is an idea that fights against the bad conditions of workers and peasants all over the world. The idea of communism is important to avoid the ill effects of capitalism and protect the rights of common people. Many thinkers and activists believe that, despite many negative points, socialism can lead to a society that will be free of exploitation.