Topic 3.

The Enlightenment and the Liberal Revolutions

Introduction

Do you like science? In one way or another, humans have always made significant
achievements. In one period of history, a revolution in thought gave place to great advances in
science. Do you know in what century these developments became notable? Do you know which
scientists lived in that period? Through this topic, you will have the opportunity to learn about the
details that gave place to this transformation in thinking, setting the standard for science as we
know it. But you will also have the opportunity to recognize how this model of thinking gave place
to new ideas about forms of government and the value currently given to the people that make
up a nation.

Explanation

3.1 The Revolution in Science and European Thought

What do you think science means? This discipline is always portrayed as cold, rigid, and
imitative. However, like all other human activities, science is not completely objective and is
subject to change and modernization. In the seventeenth century, the scientific revolution
effected a profound change in the concept of knowledge and the method for obtaining it.

The scientific method, developed in the seventeenth century, was based on empiricism; that is,
on what we perceive through our senses. But in order for knowledge to be considered as such, it
should have at least two characteristics. In the first place, it should be reproducible; that is, it
should be possible to repeat the experiment in different contexts. In the second place, it should
be verifiable or falsifiable; that is, one should be able to prove that it is true or false. This last
stipulation ultimately determines that every fact should be the object of debate.

Under these premises, the scientists of the period made gigantic strides in the development of
human knowledge. The following table shows some of their contributions.

Table 3.1 Contributions of Scientists

Contribution

Discovered
the laws
governing the
movement of
the planets
around the
sun
Showed the
truth of
Nicolaus
Copernicus's
heliocentric
theory

Discovered
the constant
gravity
 Succeeded in
defending
chemistry as
a scientific
discipline in
its own right,
separating it
from
medicine and
distancing it
from alchemy

As we told you in the introduction to the topic, the scientific revolution served as the antechamber
for the rise of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. The era that would become known by
the nickname “century of lights” was characterized by the rise of the new science as well as
new currents of thought in practically all areas of human experience.

The spirit of the Enlightenment attempted to make scientific knowledge beneficial to the general
public. Once there had been a crucial step forward in our understanding of nature, it was time to
apply this innovation for progress and development. Throughout Europe, kings began to
patronize science as a new ally in the pursuit of the economic and political interests of the state.
 King Charles III of Spain (1734-1759) was one of the principal exponents of enlightened despotism.
Image retrieved from http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/carlos_iii.htm, for educational purposes only.

The most important monarchs, who became interested in the new ideas and based their reigns
on the principles of the Enlightenment, adopted a new model of absolutism now commonly
referred to as enlightened despotism. The word despotism alludes to the fact that they did not
allow their populace to intervene or give an opinion on their government policy. The word
enlightened, as was mentioned, refers to their interest in learning the new ideas and advances of
the day. Among others, the following monarchs were characterized by using reason as the basis
for state decisions and by assessing national well-being on a societal basis:

E K
m i
pe n
ro g
r F
Jo r
se e
ph d
II e
(r. ri
17 c
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-1 II
 79 (
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in h
th e
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H r
ol e
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R t;
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an 7
E 4
m 0
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7
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P
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● King Charles III (r. 1759-1788) in Spain

● Emperor Joseph II (r. 1765-1790) in the Holy Roman Empire
● Czar Catherine II (r. 1762-1796) in Russia
● King Frederick II (the Great; r. 1740-1786) in Prussia

The monarchs' enthusiasm and appreciation for science contributed to the rise of new societies,
academies, and universities. Under this institutional model, the scientific elite enjoyed an
accelerated process of research and its dissemination: new journals, circulars, and newspapers
appeared. This change permitted new ideas and theories to be published quickly. Their
publication, in turn, led to the proliferation of research and publication. This energetic search for
knowledge produced many new developments, of which the following are the most outstanding:

Table 3.2 Scientists of the Period and Their Contributions

Click to view video

Fault of the Stars (2015, November 8). The French Revolution History Channel HD. [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXxoyk5wOo

Contribu
tion

Discover
y of the
Law of
Conserva
tion of
Matter

Creation
of the
taxonomy
for
classifyin
 g living
things

Develop
ment of
philosoph
ical
empiricis
m

Dissemin
ation of
new
political
ideas
based on
the
separatio
n of
powers in
a republic
So many changes and so much new information brought the masses to a turning point in their
mentality. As you will see in the next section, little by little, the different people groups began to
wake up from a long political lethargy and speak out in the face of absolutism. This situation
initiated a series of revolutionary movements that would deeply transform the concept of state
and the social organization of Europe and America.

3.2 The French Revolution and the New Sociopolitical Age in Europe

Would you agree that France is currently a First-World country? The truth is, incredible though it
may seem, in eighteenth-century France, there was poverty and misery. Life was very difficult for
the peasants and workers in France; the lack of hygiene in the towns, the scarcity of food and the
nonexistence of workers' rights produced a dismal scene. The difference between the classes
was extreme: while the peasants fought to survive, the nobles and high clergy enjoyed numerous
privileges. They did not have any taxes and lived surrounded by luxury, comfort, and excesses.

Frustrated by social injustice and inspired by new political aspirations of the period, an angry
mob of workers and peasants unleashed a violent movement on July 14, 1789 when they
stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris. While King Luis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette rested
in the luxurious Palace of Versailles, the Parisians had begun a revolution that would forever
transform the government of France, and eventually the rest of Europe.

The violent nature of the revolution brought about dramatic social change. The lower classes,
blinded by their frustration with constant poverty and hunger, hunted down and in many cases
killed the nobles and clergy. Imagine the scenario: from a desire to right a situation of social
injustice, France fell into extreme violence. Do you know the result of this riot? With the execution
of King Luis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette by guillotine. This event, in turn, immediately
unleashed a fear of “the light of the Enlightenment” in other European courts. European kings
feared that their countries' inhabitants would revolt against them, following the example of the
French. The era of enlightened despotism had come to a sudden end.

The revolution called for a complete break with the past, an intolerant and dangerous resolution
expressed by useless acts, such as adopting a new calendar, or violence, such as attacking the
Catholic religion. The most extreme revolutionaries named the worship of reason as the
new state ideology. France was headed toward a genocidal period called the “Reign of
Terror,” under which any Frenchman who openly disagreed with the revolution was killed.

You might think that peace and order would follow a revolution of such magnitude, but that was
not the case. After the abolition of the monarchy, France suffered under a series of unstable,
erratic republican governments which are briefly described below:

The Directory,
composed of a
two-chamber
legislative system Napoleon He consulate,
and an executive Bonaparte leads a governed by First
body of five coup against the Consul Napoleon
The First Republic members called Directory. Bonaparte
directors.

(1792-1795) (1799) (1799-1804)

(1795-99)
In society, the noblest accomplishment of the French Revolution was the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen, a document that marks a before and after in the personal story of
man and his dignity. This change probably doesn't seem very significant to you since you live in a
time when human rights are recognized, at least as dictated by the law. However, for many, many
years, human beings and their rights were not normally valued as you expect them to be in
today's society.

Finally, society had expressed the natural rights of man and begun to recognize his need for a
government that would guarantee the timely observance of these prerogatives for its citizens.
The French Revolution also brought to light the importance of the ideal of universal suffrage, that
is, the right to vote. Human beings have the right as citizens to elect their rulers.

As you can see, the importance of the French Revolution lies in the re-evaluation of the
relationship between the state and the general populace. This event was the first step in the
transformation from subject to citizen, a politically active person with the right to vote. For
example, according to the law, we are all recognized as citizens, not subjects. Those are two
different things, aren't they? Thanks to this difference, Mexicans enjoy a representative
democracy, and all citizens eighteen years old or older have the right to elect their leaders. This
right is mainly owing to the revolutionaries who, at the end of the eighteenth century, dared to
question the order of the age to demand a more just and fair society.

3.3 US Independence

With the arrival of the ideas of the French Revolution to America, this continent also became the
scene of deep political changes. The constant flux of the ideas of the Enlightenment began to
generate a new consciousness and a sense of American identity that would later manifest itself
in an independence movement. The first experience of this type in the New World was on the
Atlantic North American coast, where Great Britain had thirteen colonies.

The driving force of the American Revolution was the

irritation colonists voiced over the constant taxes that were imposed by the British
parliament. As you know, all the economically active inhabitants of a country should pay taxes,
but we do it for the benefit of our country. The North Americans were frustrated because they
came to the conclusion that the London parliament had no right to impose taxes on them since
the Americans were not represented in this legislative body. From this premise, one of the main
slogans of the Revolution arose: “No taxation without representation.”

To know more about (English) colonies in U.S. review the following video carefully
http://ed.ted.com/on/lOrzfPGq and answer the questions that are at the end of it.

At the beginning of the 1770s, a series of political and military figures, such as George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, began to surface as leaders of the
movement, eventually initiating an open rebellion that would turn violent against the British
authorities and British army. The rebellion took a decisive turn when, on July 4, 1776, delegates
sent by twelve of the colonies approved the Declaration of Independence of the United
States of America, a new country completely independent of Great Britain.

But the British were not ready to give up their rich colonies. Thus there began a war that would
last several years. Skillful diplomacy allowed the Americans to win allies in France, Spain, and
Holland, giving them the military upper hand and leading them to triumph with the signing of the
Treaty of Paris in 1783, through which Great Britain officially recognized the independence of
the United States of America.

As a citizen of a democratic country, you can imagine the importance of this great
accomplishment. The Americans finally agreed on their political system, granting state functions
such as tax collection and legislation. The United States of America would become a pioneer
society in concepts such as suffrage and representation, pillars of the modern concept of
democratic government.

Conclusion

In this topic, you have learned about the triumph of science and democracy as principal traits of
modern times. As you well know, the appreciation of science and democracy are columns of
Western civilization, values that became popular in the eighteenth century with the great
revolutionary movements, from the Enlightenment to the French Revolution. An understanding of
this period ensures a better understanding of our social, political, and economic reality.

But as you'll see in the following topics, Western civilization would still have to pass through other
periods of revolution and conflict to acquire its current structure. All of the interesting historical
facts and stories that follow will allow you to reflect on the complexity of human experience, as
well as learning the importance of its study and interpretation.

Checkpoint

Check to see if you can do the following:

● Show the link between the precepts of the scientific revolution and the
Enlightenment.
● Appreciate the importance of the French Revolution as one of the first steps toward
the triumph of democracy in confrontation with the old regime of absolute monarchy.