Toussaint L'Ouverture

L'Ouverture was a Haitian Revolution leader. From 1791-1804 Ouverture fought for the freedom of Haitian slaves. Born a slave, Toussaint grew up in Haiti, a colony of France in the Carribean Sea. Even though he was a slave, Toussaint became educated and liked the enlightenment ideas he learned about. These ideas gave him the want for freedom and rights for the slaves of Haiti. Toussaint led a revolt in 1791-1798 which consisted of over 100,000 enslaved Africans. Then, in 1801, Toussaint seezed control of the entire island of Haiti and freedom was given to the slaves of Haiti. Toussaint was soon accused by the French in 1802 and then sent to the French Alps where he soon died in 1803. Because of Toussaint, Haiti became a republic and non-slave nation.

Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte was a powerful force in Europe from 1799 to 1815. He rose from the ranks of the French army to become the emperor of France. By 1812 he had control of most of Europe. Unfortunately, he met his demise when he attempted to invade Russia. His downfall was almost as swift as his rise to power.

1. Napoleon was a strong powerful character. In most people's eyes he was a hero and some people even adopted his name (Napoleon) as their own. Napoleon had a positive affect on Europe, spreading his empire as far as Russia. Napoelon also had respect for people he conquered, threatening that he will kill anyone who treated conquered people harshly. The church was also brought back into power under Napoleon's rule.

French Revolution

The French Revolution is defined as the political upheaval of world importance that began in France in 1789. Inspired by the success of the American Revolution, French citizens overthrew the noble, ruling class and establish a democratic government. The French monarchy under Louis XVI was viewed as oppressive and corrupt and the social structure was rigid, meaning it did not allow for social mobility which eventually forced the people to demand change.

1. The main reason the French revolted was because of the high taxes the king was collecting.

2. The enlightenment philosophers wrote about freedoms and rights that people should naturally have. Because of this, people thought they were getting treated unfairly and wanted the enlightenment rights, thus sparking the revolution.

3. The French Revolution was a success because the middle class recieved lower taxes and King Louis was executed.

The enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement of the 18Th century characterized by belief in the power of human reason and questioning authority. Many enlightenment philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau published their ideas on government.

1. Philosopher of the enlightenment influenced change by fighting for freedoms like freedom of speech (Voltaire), liberty, life, and property(Locke) and new forms of government like separation of powers (Montesieu). Other important philosophers had different ideas like Thomas Hobbes who said all men were born evil and Roussaeu who said men was born free but every is in chains.

2. The most influential philosopher was by far Montesqieu. Montesqieu created a popular idea called the separation of powers that is still used today. This is where government is separated into three branches that wont get too powerful. The United States still uses this idea to this day.