analysis of atlantic revolutions
American Revolution (1775-1776)
Important leaders from the American Revolution were George Washington and Friedrich Von Steuben. Both of these leaders gave assistance to the gain of independence for america from Britain. George Washington was a military leader who was stated as saying "To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace", according to International Buisness Times. Wahington was the prommoter for fighting for the what the Aericans wanted, which was freedom. Von Steuben was responsible for helping teach the militia how to be better equipped for war even though the men that composed the army were not born fighters, they were common citizens who all shared a common yearning for freedom. Britain was trying to control America in a way that the Americans deemed unfair, the Americans wanted to be able to control their own economy and trade for themselves. This new freedom would allow the Americans to have foreign trade without being taxed without representation, and although they would lose Britain's protection, America was already gaining allies that would make up for the loss, such as France. Washington would come to help draft the documents, constitution, that would clarify what America wanted, stood for, and provided for their citizens.
Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
Saint-Domingue was upset with their mother country, France. France held a control over the island's economic system and required a certain amount of product to be produced in order to keep up with their own demands of both domestic and foreign trade. This requirement was met by the French utilizing slavery, with natives. This prompted racism and started a hatred for the French to grow stronger. One influential leader that helped lead the natives to freedom from the French is Toussiant Louverture. Louverture was once quoted to saying "I was born a slave, but nature gave me a soul of a free man", according to Britannica. Louverture was able to connect with the slaves that were furious with France and assembled together an unconventional army. This army made up of mostly slaves was not ready to face the strong army that France had, which at that time was one of the strongest forces to be reckoned with. Louverture was able to spark the passion in his army that desired freedom, to work together and defeat the French army. This recent victory meant economic freedom from the French, but backfired because the new rules that were included in Louverture's constitution had strict requirements on owning land, so all the slaves that had just been liberated, had to go back to working in the fields in order to provide. Louverture drafted documents in order to tell France what he expected for the island; the economic freedom, the protection expected, as well as what the citizens would receive and new guidelines to follow. The French thought that this was an insult, and decided to reestablish their presence in the island, where those once freed slaves are now back to working because they couldn't afford the guidelines that Louverture put in place for them.
Mexican Revolution of 1810
Mexico has had several Revolutions but the one in 1810, was lead by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. He was a priest as well as his successor, Jose Maria Morelos. Costilla was stated as saying “May slavery be banished forever together with the distinction between castes, all remaining equal, so Americans may only be distinguished by vice or virtue... In the new laws, may torture not be allowed” by frasesypensamientos.com. His care about those enslaved, shown through this quote, helps you to gain an understanding for why the Revolution started. The ideologies behind the 1810 revolution were started when the government at that time took funds from the church to pay debts, which furthered the country’s debt even more, causing the peasants to revolt in order to have a better life than what they had at that time. Independence that would come for the Mexican people would mean economic freedom from the crown and loss of slavery- which was one of their ways to pay for their debt. The downfall for this newfound independence would mean that their was only one religion, catholic, which is a natural response to a Revolution lead by priests. The upside to the Revolution was that the people would receive independence from the government of that time, which was lead by the crown in Spain. Spain had taken advantage of the colony and placed them in finical ruin, which would be the main cause for Mexico to revolt against Spain. To fight the Spaniards Hidalgo gathered an army of 80,000 Creoles and Peninsulares, the army was unorganized which caused chaos. Hidalgo was captured and killed one year after he started the revolution, and was not able to see the Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexico that was drafted in 1814, establishing an independent republic for Mexico.