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Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
The word “revolution” alone can have many meanings. One might say that revolution is a time of
change for the better of a nation or republic. This may not always involve violence, such as the
Ipod, which was indeed a revolutionary change in technology in our world today. Others may
argue that the word “revolution” describes anarchy amongst a lower class of people to rid the
current government that controls there lives. Both of these statements are not incorrect,
however it depends on the perspective in which the event takes place. Revolution does in fact
symbolize change, but what kind of change? A change in government? A change in society?
The fact is that revolution can bring any kind of change to a republic, nation, or state, and at
most times, it is viewed as a change for the greater good. There are two nations in our world
that have faced long, grueling revolutions, and both of them did eventually result in political,
economic, and changes in society. These two nations today are known as France and Haiti.
Both of these revolutions ( French Revolution and Haitian Revolution) seem to correspond with
each other due to the fact that the French Revolution occurred first (1789), and a few years
later (1791) sparked the start of the Haitian Revolution. As a matter of fact, the revolutions
effected political, economic, and social change in both France and Haiti.
The word “radical” would define the political effects of revolution in France. Throughout
the Revolution, legislative bodies dissolved to create new governments. Each government
system followed different morals. Throughout the Revolution, the legislative bodies that
“controlled” France (at this time it was chaotic and nobody in particular was in absolute control)
were the National Assembly, the Legislative assembly, the National Convention, and the
Directory. Out of the four legislative bodies, the one that stuck out the most and effected political
change in France the most is definitely the National Convention. The National Convention first
met in September 1792, and the first political change that they brought was a big one, for they
ended monarchy in France and proclaimed France as a republic. In addition, to show the people
Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
of France that they were a republic, the Convention tried and executed Louis XVI for treason.
This wasn’t just a lawful act by the National Convention, this was done to send a message out
to the the citizens. “If you aren’t with us, then you’re against us”. This idea of a counterrevolution
sparked The Reign of Terror, in which National Convention government radicals such as
Maximilien Robespierre began a series of accusations, that of which led to the deaths of several
thousand citizens who were apparently “against the revolution”. Most of them were beheaded by
the guillotine. Aside from the excessive violence, the National Convention did in fact begin
codifying laws and eventually created a public education system in which young men of any
social class could become educated. All in all, the political effects from the Revolution in France
appear to be very hectic, and the majority of the changes do not appear to be for the greater
good; judging from the perspective of a non-government member.
Not only did France face a grueling political change, but it was also the revolution in Haiti
that brought political changes to that nation as well. At the time, Haiti was known as Saint
Domingue, an island colonized and recognized by the French Republic. What effected the
changes in politics in St. Domingue was the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. Although
it was established in France, the same laws applied to the state of St. Domingue, but of course,
this was not an event where the people of St. Domingue gave into right away; it was a catalyst
to a very bloody revolution. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen caused France’s
legislative Assembly to acknowledge civil and political rights of the free and biracial classes of
St. Domingue. This seemed fair, but what was missing? Where were the rights for the slaves?
That question right there was asked by the thousands of slaves that occupied St. Domingue. To
them (and to many of us today) the Declaration of Rights was contradicting itself due to the fact
that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights”, yet the slaves had no freedom and still
had to continue their very mediocre lives working in the sugar plantations. This sparked several
Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
slave rebellions which were led by a former slave known as Toussaint L'ouverture, who playe a
pivotal role in the battle for equality. Many considered him to be the “Black Napoleon” of the
Haitian Revolution due to his keen sense of military knowledge and tactics. These slave
rebellions eventually led to the creation of the Haitian republic, so in this case, the political
change due to revolution was indeed a positive shift for the people of Haiti, and the end did
eventually justify the means.
Most would think that the National Convention brought the most change in economy to
France, based on the fact that they brought several political changes in France. There were
actually two reasons for which the economy of France was impacted by the Revolution, one was
The National Assembly, and the second was by Napoleon Bonaparte. The National Assembly
was create don June, 17, 1789, and one of their main changes to economy was the fact that the
National Assembly ended feudalism and privileges of the First and Second States. This
occurred dafter the creation of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, which was
essentially created by the National Assembly. The Assembly also eliminated the First Estate’s
legal privileges. A controversial move, many would say by the National Assembly is that they
seized church lands and made clergy paid employees. The fact that this is controversial is that a
great deal of the people of France were very religious, and the idea of selling church lands
would be ludicrous to the “pious” peasants of France. But this had to be done because the
religious lands were sold to pay off extensive debts that France faced. Aside from the National
Assembly, Napoleon Bonaparte played a small , yet pivotal role to bringing a economic change
in France. His main economic policy was the establishment of the Bank of France, which
provided a much more efficient tax collection, and before this was even established, the
economic system of France was as efficient as a car with no wheels. In final consideration, the
idea of “revolution” brought a positive change in the economy of France.
Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
In contrast, the post-revolution of Haiti was an economic turmoil. Haiti faced several
post-revolution problems. Haiti was in severe debt to France, and the abolishing of slavery did
not necessarily benefit the economy of Haiti. Haiti’s economy thrived off of sugar production.
And most of the production occurred due to the fact that slavery existed. It is indeed great that
the slaves were freed, but Haiti now had several reparations to the French for the loss of slaves,
but how were the Haitians going to pay off their debts if there staple production source was not
being made anymore? Who was going to do the work now? There was no slavery, and no one
volunteered to work in the plantations. Not only did Haiti as a whole face a serious debt crisis,
but the plantation owners took the heaviest toll. Now they had no one tending to the sugar
fields, and they alone could not manage vast sizes of sugar plantations. Was the ridding of
slavery truly a “good” thing for Haiti? In a situation based on morals of course it was a great
event for Haiti, but to think of it economically, the revolution brought the sugar thriving economy
of Haiti to a nation in need of help, and no other nation was willing to step in to help Haiti pay off
these large debts. In final consideration, “Revolution” triggered somewhat of a recession in
Haiti.
Out of the three changes in France, the changes in society were the most effected by
the Revolution. These changes in society resulted from governing from the National Convention.
The revolution completely transformed French society. The leaders of the new government
wanted to rid all connections to old ways of life, which included religion. Many clergy members
lost their positions and in Paris local governments closed the churches. To replace Catholicism,
Maximilien Robespierre created the Cult of the Supreme Being, in which enthusiasm for
Revolution was the object of worship. Workers had to change the titles on bibles to read
“Declaration of the Rights of Man”. A metric system replaced the old system of weights and
Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
measures. A new calender was also established. The months were renamed, and every month
had three weeks of 10 days. The style of clothing had also changed. Instead of stiff, fussy
dresses, women began to wear light, loose ones that recalled to the styles of Greece, which
was much admired for its democracy. In addition, to erase connections with royalty, makers of
playing cards replaced the traditional images of kings and queens with revolutionary ideas.
Hence, Revolution brought an expansive change in society in France, in which the main goal
was to abolish the old ways of life.
The impact of Revolution had a contrasting effect with society in Haiti. The key social
issue that was occurring in Haiti at the time was the racial struggles. There were mainly three
social classes of people. On the top of the food chain were the white European plantation
owners, in the middle section of the food chain were the mixed race people, often referred as
mulattoes, who were half African and half European. At the bottom of the chain were the slaves,
which was the highest population of inhabitants than any other. Each of these classes of people
had different struggles and goals that they wanted to surpass. The white plantation owners
sought to achieve independence, because they wanted to regulate their own trade and methods
of life. On the other hand, the mulattoes struggled with equality. They were commonly referred
as having “dirty blood” since they weren’t a single race of classification, yet they were given the
same rights as the white people in Haiti. The mulattoes may be equal based on the laws, but in
reality (society), they were viewed as an outcast to the many non-mulattoes of Haiti. Finally,
there were the slaves who had a very simple goal during the revolution: freedom. It was the
most difficult for the slaves to achieve their freedom due to the fact that the US did not
recognize them as a nation, and the due to fact that the US would not intervene in this social
situation because slavery still existed in America, so there was no point in contradicting
themselves and the the act that US had high tensions with France, so “screwing” around with
Student #1
World History
10/27/11
Revolution: An Era of Change
this issue was not worth the risk for the US. In final consideration, the Revolution of Haiti led to
social change; mainly racial struggles faced by all three classes.
The word “Revolution”, a mighty word, that causes us to think, but what does it make us
think about? Judging from the two revolutions mentioned, most revolutions bring changes in
politics, economy, and society. Revolution can bring freedom to a nation such as Haiti, which
fought until it declared itself and independent nation. On the other hand, revolution can be the
violent overthrow of the old government, in which France did, and establish a whole new way of
life, where anyone who opposed changed was sentenced to death. These revolutions seemed
to contrast a bit more than compare, but what brought these two revolutions together is the fact
that there were political, economic, and social changes based off of a revolution, and in final
consideration, revolution can be described as a time of change. . . for the better or worse.
20/20 Wow!