Once again, I read with interest these four chapters. While I have heard about the French Revolution, until today, I did not know much about the circumstances surrounding it. The French Revolution took place between 1789-1815, a total of 26 years. It is amazing that, once again, another government, this time the French government, was facing bankruptcy. At the time, there were three classes in France: Two percent of the population was represented by the nobility and the clergy and represented the first two Estates General in the French organization; 98% represented the balance of the population, who represented the Third Estate and eventually declared themselves the National Assembly. King Louis XVI needed to increase taxes to offset the current financial situation. He sought to change the current tax system to make it more equitable; however, that idea was opposed by privileged class (sound familiar?). When the Estates General (all three estates) convened in 1789, the national Assembly separated themselves from the Estates General and launched the French Revolution. Ultimately, King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette were executed.
The French Revolution was motivated by social conflicts that included unfair taxation, the distinct differences in the classes and the privileges enjoyed by the wealthy, the urban poor who suffered from unemployment, oppression and inflation. Strayer indicates that the French Revolution was much more violent than the American Revolution (p. 505). The Revolution spread through conquest under the military leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte who ruled from 1799-1814. Strayer says that he kept the revolution’s emphasis on social equality, but that equality did not necessarily include liberty (p. 507). He was credited with ending feudalism, proclaiming equal rights and religious toleration, codifying the laws, and justifying or rationalizing government administration. He also was credited with creating the continent’s largest empire since the Roman Empire (Strayer, p. 507).
The other revolution that I was completely unfamiliar with was the Haitian Revolution, which took place between the years of 1791-1804. Interestingly, the French Caribbean colony, originally called Saint Domingue and later renamed Haiti, was considered the richest colony in the world. The vast majority of its population was made up of slaves, who revolted in 1971. The Haitian Revolution was the only successful slave revolt in world history (Strayer, p. 509). It was interesting to note that Napoleon’s defeat in Haiti convinced him to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
As I read through these two sections, I continue to see common threads in our world history’s revolutions: The oppression of peoples, the benefits of the privileged, the desire for wealth, social inequalities, unfair taxation, the need to govern and control, just to name a few. One would think that we would learn from our past experiences, but we just seem to continue to make the same mistakes. Additionally, I was not aware that the issue of racial and gender equality was so pervasive throughout our history.
I wonder why it was that we humans transitioned from an egalitarian society to one that was patriarchal instead. Clearly women have been an integral part of society and man’s partner since the beginning of time. I read with interest the African case study regarding women and colonial economy and the division of labor between men and women. Once again finding themselves subordinate to men, women during pre-colonial times had extremely difficult responsibilities. Included in their agricultural responsibilities, they had to plan, weed, harvest and may have been assigned to their own fields to work. They also were responsible for child rearing, food preparation, and many were involved in local trading activity. As the demands of the colonial economies grew, women had even more responsibilities, as cash-crop agriculture became more important and more profitable. I cannot imagine raising a family, being responsible for all the planting, weeding, and harvesting of my assigned field, in addition to being able to trade my harvested or produced goods, AND doing all of this without any male assistance and in the African heat!!! I much prefer an egalitarian society where gender differences are recognized and respected.
Having now a better understanding global colonial empires, it seems to me that colonization was a modern form of slavery. It included required unpaid labor in many instances, and in some places, such as French Africa, the natives were legally obligated to work ten to twelve days a year under “statute labor” (Strayer, p.599). Similar cruelties seen during the era of slavery were seen in colonization in many areas. It was extremely difficult for me to read about the cruelties of forced labor that occurred in the early 20th century in the Congo under Leopold II of Belgium. Rubber for tires and bicycles was in demand and villagers of the Congo were forced to collect rubber. If they failed in their collection or if their collection was inadequate, soldiers would kill them or maim them. This is just another example of man’s inhumanity to man. Again, one would think that we would have moved beyond this…
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