The Enlightenment - World History Review

World History Review The Enlightenment ● The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was an intellectual and ideological movement centered in 18th century Europe that advocated the use of reason to reconsider the accepted ideas and social institutions of the time. The Enlightenment thinking occasioned the social and political changes that were necessary for the Industrial Revolution. - - Rejected traditional ways of thinking in favor of the application of logic and reason. It was the application of human reason to natural laws. The world was ordered by a set of natural laws, and if we could tap into the wisdom of those natural laws, and apply them to our society, then progress would occur. Previously, reality was understood though religious and given thought. However, the Enlightenment believed that it is only the working of our minds and the understanding of natural laws that will lead us to the truth. When philosophers identified a principle to reject, they replaced it by asking important and relevant questions, and answering their own questions through their own experiences, empirical evidence, and the application of reason and logic. Francis Bacon Empiricism~ the idea that the nature of reality is discerned through the senses, not through external beliefs such as religion. - Scientific experiments were conducted to determine whether something was true or false. John Locke - The divine right of kings was a deeply flawed organization of the political hierarchy - Human beings are endowed with natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. These rights are not granted by a king, but by the virtue of a living human being, and therefore humans ought to have the power in a government. - Humans and their governments were in a social contract with each other, meaning if the power of the government is in the hands of the people, the social contract means this: - The people willingly give up some of their power to the government, which is responsible for protecting their natural rights. If the government violates this social contract, the people have the right to overthrow the government. This resulted in the notion of revolution. Enlightenment principles like the equality of human beings led to the breakup of empires and the proliferation of constitutional governments around the world, and a growing sense of nationalism. Nationalism~ a strong identification of a group of people who share an identity or a language. It led to the spread and enactment of political ideas such as popular sovereignty, individual rights, women9s suffrage, other opportunities for women, and the abolition of slavery. Economics Adam Smith - critiqued the mercantilist economies of Europe. - Mercantilism required the heavy involvement of government within the economy. However, Smith argued for laissez-faire economics, meaning < let alone=. - Smith9s economic replacement for mercantilism, namely capitalism, was the idea that the government needed to take their hands off and let things go. If individuals were allowed to make their own economic choices, it would ultimately benefit society. ● Religion Christianity often involves the thought that God is directly responsible for many changes in history, but the Enlightenment led many to doubt this theory and form a new religion. - Deism was the idea that a God existed which created all living things in the beginning, but He does not intervene in all history. If you want to know God, you need to examine the natural laws. Conservatives were not in favor of the Enlightenment. - Conservatism~ a strong belief in tradition and the shunning of ideology in the favor of practical ideas ● Social Implications Many cultures believed that women were incapable of rational thought, but many women found their voices in the midst of the Enlightenment Mary Wollstonecraft - Wrote < A Vindication of the Rights of Women= in which she argued for women9s education and claimed that women, if given the chance, could succeed in every endeavor which were reserved exclusively for men like politics or professional society. Seneca Falls Convention - Called to rally for women9s rights and suffrage - Composed the Declaration of Sentiments, which borrowed heavily from the Declaration of Independence, but with key changes that included women. - Women ought to be less dependent on their husbands in terms of property and income Institutions of Slavery and Serfdom - The idea that all humans were bestowed with unalienable rights fueled the abolitionist movement. - In the US, the slave trade was banned in 1808, and resulted in a dramatic population growth of the enslaved people, resulting in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery - In Russia, 23 million serfs were emancipated 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions 1750-1900 European enlightenment came to life when American colonists declared independence from the British Empire and the monarchical forms of government imposed on them. This helped to spark further revolutions in France, Spanish America, and Haiti in the Caribbean. All of these revolutions are examples of Enlightenment ideas of popular sovereignty, individual rights, and the social contract being applied in real world terms. However, in all of these cases, the extension of the ideas of the Enlightenment were greatly limited. The notions of natural rights and the social contract caused by the Enlightenment contributed to global revolutions, starting with the British colonies of North America. The American Revolution - Colonies gradually became independent of the British crown over time, especially due to geographical separation from England - Tension with Britain because of the massive debts accrued by fighting the French in the Seven Years9 war, which was also called the French and Indian War. The British monarch tightened controls over the American colonies and used mercantilist policies to impose burdensome taxes on the colonies. On July 4th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was coined by Thomas Jefferson, and was heavily influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke. With the help of the French, by 1783 the USA was officially independent from Britain. Once they had rid themselves of their government, they needed to establish a new government upholding the ideals of the Enlightenment espoused in the Declaration. - Articles of Confederation (scrapped) - Constitution (amended 27 times) Though the government implemented important Enlightenment ideas such as popular sovereignty(ppl choose rulers), unalienable rights, and the protection of individual rights, these rights were considerably limited by race and gender. - - Even though prominent women wanted to have a voice in the government, the Constitution and its founders denied them a right to vote or participate in the new government. Citizens of color, primarily black people, were delegated even less rights. Not only were they denied the right to vote and participate in government, they were legally defined as ⅗ of an individual. The French Revolution By the 1780s, France was drowning in economic debt caused by war spending. In order to address these problems, King Louis XIV called together the Estates General meeting in 1789 to remodel the tax structure. The Estates-General was the official body that represented the 3 estates of the French population, namely the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. Members of the clergy and landowners were barely taxed at all, while commoners and peasants were taxed beyond their means. - Even though the majority of the French population was commoners, they still had an equal vote with the clergy and nobility, which only represented around 2% of the population. The commoners quickly realized that this kind of representation was unfair, and broke away and formed their own representative body called the National Assembly. After hearing of this new National Assembly, King Louis XVI threatened to arrest anyone within this body. As a result, on July 14th, 1789, an angry crowd stormed the Bastille, a prison that in the eyes of the people symbolized monarchical abuse and corruption of the aristocracy. This fervor spread throughout France, inciting peasants countrywide to rise up against their nobles. In response, King Louis XVI was forced to accept a new governmental arrangement that gave significant voice to the National Assembly. Afterwards, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was written, and was deeply influenced by the American Declaration of Independence, and included protection of natural rights and provided for a limited monarchy. King Louis XVI fought against the limited monarchy, inciting a period of the French Revolution called the Reign of Terror which culminated in the beheading of the king. - A group known as the Jacobins, who wanted a constitutional republic, not a monarchy at all, rose to power over France. This time became known as the Reign of Terror because of the use of the guillotine to execute thousands of of French revolutionaries. The queen, king, and the leader of the Jacobins were all executed by the guillotine. The Haitian Revolution - French plantation owners - Huge population of enslaved Africans working for the plantation owners. After witnessing the French Revolution, the enslaved population of Haiti rose up in revolution against their masters. In 1791, a Haitian named Toussaint L9ouverture took charge and led the rebellion against the French enslavers. The Haitians actually reigned victorious against the French and established an independent Haitian government. It was the first successful revolution of enslaved people and the first black-led independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. New Zealand Wars The British annexed New Zealand in 1840 and established dominance over the natives, which were known as the Maori. The Maori were not welcoming of the British, and joined tribes to fight against the British and expel them from their land. But, by 1872, the British had crushed the rebellion and clamped down even tighter on the Maori. Latin Americas When Europeans introduced themselves into the Americas, it created a new social hierarchy. - Peninsulares (those born in Europe) were at the top. - Creoles were under the Peninsulares, and were European, but born in the Americas. With the growing awareness of the revolutions throughout the world, as well as the perfusion of Enlightenment thought into their daily lives, the creoles began thinking of revolting themselves. - Many Creoles were extraordinarily wealthy because of their agricultural pursuits, but because of the mercantilist policies from Spain, they were losing a huge chunk of their profits. - They were often passed over for positions of authority, which were summarily reserved for Peninsulares. Under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, the creoles rose up against Spain. He was extraordinarily successful and gained a huge chunk of territory that he called Gran Colombia. This movement also birthed a new document inspired by Enlightenment thought. - In Bolivar9s Letter from Jamaica, he argued for the necessity of constitutional republics, of natural rights, and for democratic ideals in the governing of the people in Latin America. Italian Unification Since the fall of Rome many centuries before, the Italian peninsula had been divided into independent and competing states. In 1848, the prime minister Count Cavor of one of the states led the charge to unify Italy under his house: the House of Savoy. Since his house was the only native Italian dynasty, it was logical for him that the entire nation ought to be united under his rule. Through strategic alliances and battles, he was able to unite Italy. German Unification In 1848, the Prussian leader Otto von Bismarck engineered three wars that united the German people in spirit against the enemy, and in 1871, he united them in a nation when he founded the new unified German empire. 5.3 The Industrial Revolution Begins ● Industrial Revolution Industrial Revolution~ the process of producing goods with machines in order to make labor more efficient This shift in the method of production of goods led to worldwide changes in social and economic structures on a massive scale. The Industrial Revolution primarily began in England because… - Proximity to water ➔ England is surrounded by bodies of water, and has abundant access to rivers and canals. This created the conditions for easy and inexpensive trade - Raw materials ➔ Under the surface of England9s soil lay huge deposits of coal which would be the main source of energy powering the Industrial Revolution. ➔ Abundant deposits of iron were used to create infrastructure, thanks to new methods of separating iron from its ore. - Improved agricultural productivity ➔ Significant advances in agriculture during this time increased harvests abundantly. ➔ Crop rotation~ if you plant the same crops in the same soil year after year, then that crop uses the same nutrients year after year, and eventually the soil can9t replenish itself. But if you rotate crops on the same ground year after year, then each year they9re using different nutrients in the soil, and the productivity of the soil increases. ➔ Seed drill~ enabled farmers to place seeds in the ground at the exact right location and depth. - Urbanization ➔ Because of the improvement in agriculture, there was more food available, contributing towards a population increase. - - - ➔ The combination of agricultural and farming efficiency advancements resulted in less demand for farmers. As a result, there was mass rural to urban migration. Legal protection of private property ➔ Enabled entrepreneurs to take risks and build businesses without the fear that the government or other businesses would take what they built Access to foreign resources ➔ England had access to all the raw materials of their foreign colonies Accumulation of capital ➔ Because of wealth generated by the African slave trade, British capitalists had accumulated huge amounts of capital. This meant that they had the occasion to invest such capital into new entrepreneurial opportunities. Advent of the factory system ➔ Factories were able to produce goods in mass. ➔ Richard Arkwright~ invented the water frame in 1769 (a wheel that spun in water) ➔ James Hargraves~ invented the spinning jenny in 1760 (weavers could produce cloth at a much faster rate) ➔ Water frame + spinning jenny = mass textile making machine ➔ Eli Whitney came up with the notion of interchangeable parts, applied to guns. Now the manufacture of goods was focused not on whole products, but on the individual parts of the products. This meant producers no longer had to rely on skilled laborers to produce their goods for sale. The combination of those technologies and new systems of labor birthed the new factory system. 5.4 The Industrial Revolution Spreads After the Industrial Revolution was firmly established in Britain, other nations began adapting to industrialization to strengthen their economy. From Britain, the industrial process spread into Belgium, France, and Germany because they had the same natural advantages that England had to begin with. After that initial spread into the European continent, the Industrial Revolution spread into the United States, Japan, and Russia. ● United States Once industrialization came into the American shores, it wasn9t long before the U.S became the most significant industrial force in the world. - The huge waves of European immigrants into the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Irish, German) provided a cheap source of labor to factories. Many Americans thought the immigrant presence polluted the American nation. ● Russia - Industry focused heavily on the building of railroads. In the beginning of the late 10th century, Russia undertook the magnificent feat of constructing the Trans-Siberian Railroad which stretched from Moscow to the Pacific Ocean. The main effect of the completion of this railroad was a significant increase in trade with eastern states like China. - Another focus of the Russian industrial movement was the expansion of the steel industry. By 1900, Russia was the fourth largest producer of steel in the world. ● Japan Japan didn9t industrialize because they thought western manufacturing processes were great, but were more defensive in nature. The Japanese possessed an ancient culture, of which they were very proud. When they looked at the social, political, and economic changes that came along with industrialization, the Japanese realized that the adoption of industrialization would put their cherished cultural values at risk. However, at the same time, they knew that there was no stopping industrialization. Furthermore, it was becoming clear that the power in the world was gathering around industrialized nations. As a result, Japan decided to borrow western industria techniques in order to make themselves viable in this new world. But, they only did it to keep western powers from coming in and sabotaging their traditions and culture. ● Middle Eastern and Asian Countries Others in the Middle Eastern and Asian nations continued to produce manufactured goods for sale, but not on the scale of the industrialized nations. As a result, their share in global manufacturing declined during this period. - - Shipbuilding in India and Southeast Asia ➔ Despite a revival of shipbuilding in this region at the end of the 17th century, the increasingly oppressive British rule in India especially meant that shipbuilding went on a severe decline. ➔ One of the main reasons for this was that the British navy took over the Indian Ocean. Iron works in India ➔ The ground beneath the Indian soil was rich with iron, and they had previously prospered by it. However, because of the steep tariffs imposed by the British, the Indians found it was no longer worth it to mine the iron and engage in any kind of economically meaningful metalwork. ➔ There was an uprising in India against British rule, and the British suspected that much of the iron the Indians were mining was being turned into ammunition. As a result, the British shut down the Indian iron industry, which became nearly non-existent by the early 1800s. 5.5 Technology in the Industrial Age There were two Industrial Revolutions distinguished by the kinds of technology that drove them. ● First Industrial Revolution Took place roughly from mid 18th century to mid 19th century Steam Engine - James Watt discovered that if you burn coal, you could heat up water, which could be used to produce steam. The pressure from the steam could push a piston, used to turn a wheel. - The water frame was the initial advancement of the industrial revolution, but it limited factories to be constructed around water. However, the steam engine made it possible for factories to be built anywhere, as long as there is a plentiful supply of coal. - Additionally fundamentally changed transportation through the development of ships. Ships - Ships were previously powered by the wind blowing into sails. However, if steam engines were implemented into ships, it doesn9t matter if the wind is blowing from any direction -- you don9t need the wind anymore. - Rivers had long been used by merchants as one of the most efficient means to transport goods, but they only flowed in one direction. But, the steam engine made it possible to steer ships downstream and upstream. - Trade increased. Locomotives (trains) - Locomotives powered by steam engines could transport mass amounts of goods. - In Russia, the completion of the trans-Siberian Railroad meant a flourishing trade with eastern states like China. - In the United States, the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad meant a big boom in trade across the country, and it facilitated significant migrations of people from the east to the west, and vice versa. ● Second Industrial Revolution Occurred roughly from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Major players were the United States, Britain, and Germany. While the first industrial revolution specialized in steam, iron, and textiles, the second industrial revolution majored in steel, gas power, and communications. Steel - There was mass production of steel, which was much stronger than iron. - Became the building block of the Industrial Revolution because a new process for refining it was introduced. - Bessemer process~ blast hot iron with air, it gets rid of the impurities, and steel is produced. It gave people the ability to produce steel in massive quantities. Gas Power - The byproduct of oil. - Oil wells were prominent by the mid 1800s. Once the raw oil was obtained, it could be refined and separated into kerosene and gasoline. - Kerosene was used widely as a way to power lamps in people9s homes, but gasoline was the main benefit of oil extraction. - The internal combustion engine was developed in the late 19th century, and was similar to the steam engine in that it used pistons to turn cranks, but instead of being powered by steam, ignited gasoline pushed the pistons. Communication - The major developments in the harnessing of electricity during this period contributed to revolutions in communication. - Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1837, and it was capable of sending pulses of electricity in a combination of long and short bursts along electrical wires at a great distance. - Alexander Graham bell invented the telephone in 1876, which further transmitted actual voices. Overall consequences of both revolutions - Increase of trade ➔ With new means of transportation, first in the steam engine and later with the internal combustion engine, manufactured goods could be shipped to distant markets far more efficiently. - New waves of migration ➔ Not only was it easier to travel to different parts of the globe, but it was also easier to communicate with family members that you left behind. Therefore, it was easier to conceive of moving places distant from your family, which had major social consequences. 5.6 Industrialization: Government’s Role from 1750-1900 As industrialization spread, many governments had to choose between holding onto their traditional values or industrialize and go modern. Ottoman Empire During the 1800s, the Ottoman Empire9s nickname was the < sick man of Europe= because… - Other powerful European countries like Britain, France, and Russia were surrounding the Ottoman Empire to establish colonial holdings As power and wealth began to transition into the industrialized nations, non-industrial nations like the Ottomans began to see their power and wealth decline. Had a spring of weak leaders who did nothing to stop or rectify the first two listed. Muhammed Ali was an Ottoman officer who rose to prominence during a scuttle in Egypt. At this time, Egypt was a part of the Ottoman Empire, but the Ottoman sultan had largely lost control of the region. The local Egyptian leaders named Ali their governor, and because he had the backing of the people, the weakened sultan could do little about it. Under the leadership of Muhammed Ali, Egypt was brought into the Industrial Age. - Oversaw the building of textile factories, arms factories, and shipyards -- an example of state sponsored industrialization. Japan For about 400 years prior to this period, Japan kept itself isolated because they had developed a rich culture and wanted to protect it from outside influence, particularly industrial influence. They knew that to accept industrialization meant more than factories and trade -- it carried western cultural freight. To accept industrialization was tantamount to accepting western culture. Western powers began to press Japan to open its borders to trade. In 1853, a naval fleet of American destroyers floated into Japan9s harbors. Commodore Matthew Perry asked Japan to open their doors to trade with the United States, which Japan refused. As a result, Perry intimidated Japan by revealing the United State9s abundance of warships. When Perry returned the following year, Japan opened their borders to trade with the US. However, Japan decided that they weren9t going to be the victims of western takeover, like they saw happening in China. As a result, they went on the offensive. If they were going to be forced