Age of Revolutions
Welcome to the Age of Revolutions, a century of upheaval inspired by Enlightenment ideas and ignited by the political and economic demands of revolutionaries across the world. First in the Atlantic world and quickly spread to new places, radical new forces shook the old world order. What caused this age of upheaval? How did it change the world?
Featured Materials
Source Collection: Words of the Enlightenment
Article
Source Collection: Words of the Enlightenment
Consider the words of thinkers and statesmen from Locke to Bolívar, people whose deeds reshaped how the world viewed sovereignty, rights, and freedom.
Edmund Burke
Graphic Biographies
Edmund Burke
The “father of modern conservatism” was a British political figure and philosopher who was an important leader of the liberal transformation of the eighteenth century.
Haitian Revolution
Video
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution defeated the French Empire, abolished slavery, and shook the foundations of the Atlantic slave economy. But the struggle didn’t end there.
Revolutions Lessons
Lesson 2.4
Atlantic Revolutions
The age of revolution wasn’t limited to one place or one story. The revolutions of the Americas, France, and Haiti were linked by shared ideas about freedom, but each movement had its own goals and its own struggles.
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Lesson 2.3
What Causes Revolutions?
No single cause explains every revolution. Some begin with ideas while others start with hunger, injustice, or fear. Understanding why they happen means asking deeper questions about power and possibility.
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Lesson 2.5
An Age of Revolution?
Not all revolutions delivered what they promised. Comparing them shows just how complicated the idea of revolution can be.
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Revolutions Materials
Manuela Sáenz, Jonotas, and Natan
Graphic Biographies
Manuela Sáenz, Jonotas, and Natan
Manuela Sáenz rebelled against the rules governing how women should act in her society. But she could not have done it without her enslaved companions, Jonotas and Natan.
West Africa in the Age of Revolution
Article
West Africa in the Age of Revolution
Were West African revolutions part of this Atlantic Age of Revolution? Did these conflicts share causes and impacts with those across the ocean?
Colonization and Resistance: Through a Pueblo Lens
Video
Colonization and Resistance: Through a Pueblo Lens
In 1680, Pueblos in Nuevo México revolted against their Spanish colonizers. Was this the first successful revolt against European colonialism in the Americas?
Economic and Material Causes of Revolt
Article
Economic and Material Causes of Revolt
The end of the eighteenth century saw a world in crisis as dire economic conditions collided with demands for political change.
Recipe for a Revolution
Activity
Recipe for a Revolution
A dash of unrest here, a sprinkle of bad harvests there, tossed in with some new ideas…. It’s time for you to design a recipe for revolution.
The Atlantic Revolutions
Article
The Atlantic Revolutions
Between 1775 and 1825, a series of revolutions overturned the administration of aristocratic or overseas rulers in several parts of the Atlantic world.
Enlightenment Materials
Diderot’s 1750 Encyclopedia
Video
Diderot’s 1750 Encyclopedia
Diderot’s Encyclopedia was a work produced through the massive effort of many authors and thinkers. It attempted to catalog human knowledge and reimagine the world.
The Enlightenment
Article
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a period in history named not for its battles, but for its ideas. These ideas contributed to many political revolutions that followed.
Enlightenment Quotes
Closer
Enlightenment Quotes
Examine a set of short quotations that helped shape the Enlightenment and evaluate them for yourself.
