Atlantic Revolutions

Between 1750 and 1900, the spread of Enlightenment ideals and the increasing discontent
with imperial rule propelled revolutionary and reformist movements. The Enlightenment ideas of
the separation of powers in existing governments, natural rights, social contract, and tabula rasa
prompted oppressed individuals to fight for equality. These people established alliances with
their counterparts based on numerous commonalities such as religion, language, territory, and
social standing.
During the period 1750-1900, research findings have shown that people from various
countries worldwide confronted the structures of established governments, leading to a great deal
of economic, political, and social change (Squicciarini & Voigtländer, 2015). Scholars have
found that Enlightenment ideas directly impacted the advent of many of these Revolutions. For
example, the American Revolution involved the rebellion of British North American colonies
against the Great Britain Empire, which exerted more and more of its influence across North
America (Squicciarini & Voigtländer, 2015). During the mid-19 th century, the Great Britain
Empire controlled and governed large parts of the world.
The Enlightenment became a significant intellectual and cultural movement pushed by
writers, thinkers, political leaders, artists, and new groups of ordinary people hence contributing
to many political revolutions worldwide against existing governments (Steinsson, 2020). This
period shook the foundations of Europe’s intellectual life, leading to economic, social, and
political consequences globally. Understanding the role played by Enlightenment requires in-
depth scrutiny of the movement’s ideas and social setting, which emerged from constant
deliberations among many people (Steinsson, 2020).

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Conclusively, the success of Enlightenment in preceding rebellions and revolutions
against exiting governments is associated with the active presence of its writers, thinkers, and
artists in Europe and other European settler colonies. The Enlightenment began as an intellectual
and scientific movement and later became a political movement with cultural and economic
significance.

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References

Squicciarini, M. P., & Voigtländer, N. (2015). Human capital and industrialization: Evidence
from the Age of Enlightenment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(4), 1825-
1883.
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/nico.v/Research/Encyclopedie_forthcoming.pdf
Steinsson, J. (2020). How Did Growth Begin? The Industrial Revolution and Its Antecedents.
https://eml.berkeley.edu/~jsteinsson/teaching/originsofgrowth.pdf