A Revolution (from Latin: revolutio, lit. “a turn around”) is sparked when a population are seeking, dramatic political, social and/or economic change. Common across all revolutions, the people are looking for change; whether that change be through the government, economy, society, etc. It is also common in a revolution for the people to overthrow the current government, ruler or regime. Revolutions such as the Haitian Revolution indicate this as the people who wanted revolution were looking for change among how they were treated and who administered them. The Black Haitians thought killing their masters was their escape from oppression and slavery; killing the people opposed to you is quite prevalent in revolutions across the world. It took more than just one negative event to spark the Haitian Revolution; the Black Haitians were subject to, oppression and mistreatment, all they needed was a leader and some inspiration. The Haitians were in luck, a well-educated man known as Toussaint came forward to take charge of the insurgency and took inspiration from the French Revolution. The French were very unfortunate during this time having supported the Americans on their path to freedom which then the French peasants used as inspiration for their own revolution and then losing Haiti from their grip due to Haitian Slaves inspired by the French Revolution. Every Revolution has its causes and effects. What causes a revolution can be hard to accurately say. Historians may conclude with ‘Tax’ or ‘Liberty Desire’ as the cause of the American Revolution however even these are broad terms. If Tax, then what tax? If Liberty Desire, then what caused the Americans to develop it? It takes more than one event to provoke a Revolution which makes the possibilities endless. Whether for example the ‘Tea act’ was put in place or not, if there is a people group hungry for an identity and freedom, even the smallest crisis could have kick-started a revolution.
The enlightenment was a period of development, creation and change. Spanning from 1685-1815 this era of great thinking encouraged major advancement in science and politics. The enlightenment inspired many to create and to share theories with the rest of the world. Starting in Europe the concept of enlightenment quickly spread to other parts of the world, including the Americas. Historians say that revolutions of the time were a “culmination of the High Enlightenment vision of throwing out the old authorities to remake society” (History.com Staff 2009, Enlightenment [6]). The concept of throwing out the old authorities was not new in the time of the American war for independence, people were fighting for freedom and legitimacy as far back as 2730BC with the Egyptians attempt of removing Seth-Peribson from power [7]. However, the enlightenment was necessary in inspiring people into fighting for what they believe in through the access and sharing of knowledge that had been popularised. With the inspiration of enlightenment, distaste for the ruling body, and liberty hungry citizens, the 13 colonies had everything it needed to trigger a revolution.
It is human nature to want to be free. A group of people under the rule of a foreign government will desire to see their own people be represented. The Umbrella movement was a youth movement in Hong Kong desperately trying to protect their nations independence from China. The demonstration was not at first violent however students staged protests, hunger strikes, and even slept on the streets for their cause. When the Students, the future of Hong Kong protested they were met with anti-protests which were mainly comprised of middle aged to older men and women [8]. This was another case of people wanting their own identity. Similar to the Americas, the people of Hong Kong are share the same ethnicity as the country trying to control them (HK: Chinese, 92% Majority of population [9]) however over two centuries of being separate, the people of Hong Kong have developed a vibrant and distinguished culture. This is due to the high multi-culturalism prevalent in the former-colony which has introduced a blend of Asian culture to cuisine, music and society. With their newly formed own identity the people of Hong Kong would not respect a foreign government ruling over them, especially a militaristic one like China’s. An oppressive government is never respected and is asking to be overthrown. The American people, like Hong Kong had developed their own identity, their own culture; “What then is the American, this new man? He is either an European, or the descendant of an European, hence that strange mixture of blood which you will find in no other country. I could point out to you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman…. He is an American” (Hector St. John C, 1781 [10]). The Patriots felt disconnected to Great Britain and felt that a government across the Atlantic Ocean was not fit to decide their social issues. The concept that a new country has evolved to almost create their own race could have been used to make the Americans even more proud and patriotic of their land. With anti-British propaganda and a thirst for liberty, the Americans were headed for revolution with momentum and passion.
Unarguably, revolutions are almost always the product of an oppressed people. The American revolution was inevitable regarding not Britain’s actions but the will of the nation. Britain could have supressed the American Patriots more effectively although with their current state this would have been difficult. The Seven Years War had a devastating economic impact on the British which left them in desperate need of money. Britain thought it was reasonable to tax the Americans with the intention of boosting their economy; because after all, they saved them from the French. Some Historians point at the taxes as the sole cause of the American Revolution however, the Americans had already an underground desire for liberty. Instead the Patriots used the Tax as an excuse to dump the monarchy and replace it with a republic.
It was inevitable for the American people to seek freedom and an identity. They were a passionate, motivated society ready for a nation of their own. Developing in the 1700’s, the patriots were in the middle of an influx of knowledge and information, the enlightenment. The American revolution was directly inspired by enlightenment ideals, the idea of throwing out old authorities to remake society. America was at the perfect state and time for a revolution to arise. The Americans were on a road to Revolution and nothing would get in their way, it was inevitable.