The revolutions of the 18th century are mutually reliant on one another and bred a new form of creativity that could exist without warfare in theory, but almost always caused conflict in practice. This paper will examine two of the revolutions – the intellectual and political – and will analyse the connections between the two, using the French Revolution as a case study to embody them, and their impact on the modern state.
The intellectual revolution of the 18th century was deeply rooted in the religious turmoil of the reformation. In the 16th century, corruption in the clergy and the mistreatment of the poor during the black plague caused a newly founded distrust in the Christian Church in Europe (Beales, 2005). This caused an identity crisis throughout the continent, since most people had turned to religion for answers to the abstract questions of life and its meaning. Without this canonical set of rules to live by, many began turning to scientific intellectuals who had previously been branded heretics (Hampson, 1968) to gain knowledge of how and why humans were here. The emergence of a scientific method – and the invention of the printing press in 1440 – made it more useful for the general population to be literate (Headrick, 2002). This is because while previously many would listen to their priests in order to gain perspective on the world and its creation, it was now necessary to read what others had written to learn of the constant intellectual breakthroughs. The intellectual revolution resulted in many discoveries now proved as law, such as Isaac Newton’s (1643-1727) ‘discovery’ of gravity and other forces of motion.
Similar to the effect diminishing trust in religion had on the intellectual revolution, a growing resentment towards the monarchy was the spark that ignited the political revolutions of the 18th century. The ongoing conflict between European states (mainly in the New World) and rising taxes decreased the legitimacy of the monarchy (Watson, 1992), causing a political void to emerge that had previously been held by royalty, the elite, and the Church. Simultaneously, new mercantilism caused the emergence of an economically productive middle class (Jones & Wahrman, 2002) that increasingly saw the elitism of the monarchy as a barrier to their upward mobility. The new middle class and de-legitimisation of the monarchy in tandem caused a new obsession with capitalist power, in which anyone could become an important political leader based on merit rather than divine right. Another factor that began the political revolutions of the late 18th century was the spread of political ideology by philosophers, mainly from the Renaissance period (Wood, 2012). Political theorists such as John Locke and Jean-Jaques Rousseau further critiqued the legitimacy of a monarchical state system (Cranston, 1986) and began to spread ideas of a constitutional civil society.
After learning of the two revolutions in vacuum, it becomes possible to analyse the connections between them. This is when it becomes clear that while it is often argued that conflict is the main driver of the evolution of the European state system (Tilly, 1990), that warfare is merely a by-product of a society that needs the ingenuity that war provides to evolve to a point where creativity can occur on its own. The individual revolutions of the 18th century were mutually reinforcing developments and could only occur in tandem, epitomised in the French Revolution of 1789-1799.
The ways the intellectual revolution is connected to the political are almost undeniable. Firstly, the emergence of the middle class due to the political revolution meant that literacy rates were exponentially increasing, and information became more readily available as secrecy gave way to intellectual curiosity – as seen with the release of the Encyclopédie in 1780. This meant that the increasing number of literate people could research and read the anti-monarchical ideology that had been written by philosophers and political theorists of the renaissance and reformation. This intellectual theory furthered the political revolution by encouraging the middle- and working-class masses to begin questioning the ‘divine right of kings’ and begin forming their own views as to how a society should be ruled.
Another connection between the two revolutions is found in the new constitutionalism brought on by the political revolution. A constitution that promotes republicanism favours a meritocracy, in which (in theory) anyone can become powerful based on their actions and skills rather than their birth-rights or wealth. A society which bases its levels of power on the hard work and innovation of each individual citizen is more likely to breed intellectual creativity, since in order to displace the person or people holding power (be that in intellectual, economic, or political means) you are required to be, or create something, better than them. Therefore, it is clear that warfare was not the driver of the revolutions, but rather each area of revolution allowing the others to evolve the society as a whole.
The connections between the political and intellectual revolutions of the 18th century were embodied in the French Revolution. Since the 16th century, increasing colonisastion and capitalism created a new breed of globally aware middle-class citizens, increasing literacy rates nationwide. After the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), France was bankrupt. This meant the monarchy of Louis XV had to increase taxes in order to pay off debts the country had accumulated. The increased taxes and dissension of the war alienated the middle and working classes (the Third Estate), who increasingly saw the monarchy to be hampering their prosperity. This, combined with the republican intellectual ideology being celebrated across France (Doyle, 1989) unified the Third Estate, culminating in the creation of the National Assembly in June 1789. After this, a meritocracy was established, allowing the intellectual revolution to prosper. The French Revolution is an explicit example of how intellectual leads to political, which leads to intellectual in a never-ending cycle of evolution which causes – but is not defined by – conflicts necessary for the continuation of society.
The revolutions of the 18th century did not occur in a vacuum, and the changes they made to society have helped shape the modern states system in a variety of ways. The intellectual revolution brought on the establishment of mass ideology, in which an increasingly literate population had the right to research and choose which theories of governance and society they believe in. This was the precursor to the modern political spectrum, in which left/right politics are how each ideology is defined. Not only did political theory consolidate the ideas of mass ideology, but also a sense of individualism. This is because although many tended to agree on a method of rule due to their social and historical contexts, it was ultimately the choice of each individual as to who to support. Another long-lasting effect of the intellectual revolution was the emergence of ideas of liberty and equality that still cause disagreement in modern society. The idea of liberty stemmed from the ability to choose who rules you and how (and why), and equality of opportunity from the newly founded social mobility of 18th century France.
The intellectual revolution was not the only revolution to influence modern states, and perhaps the political upheaval had an even larger impact than the former. The first way it impacted states for the centuries to come was the republicanism and constitution that became the common way for (Western) states to rule themselves. This consolidated the sovereignty of nations (Spruyt, 1996) without the need for a divine sovereign and was the precursor to modern democracy. Also, the political revolution brought on a new sense of nationalism in European states, and an identity as being ‘French’ or ‘English’ or any other nationality became increasingly evident. This has continued into modern societies in which citizenship and identity are an integral part of each state (Pierson, 1996) and dominate political discourse in the current refugee and migration crises.
The revolutions of the 18th century were crucial to the development of the modern states system. The political and intellectual upheavals not have evolved in a vacuum; they reinforced each other while allowing the evolution of ideas and systems to be formed. While it is clear that these evolutions caused conflict, it was no longer the case that war was necessary to evolve since the new capitalist meritocracy that emerged following the French Revolution allowed creativity to become an everyday occurrence rather than the wartime ingenuity, and this entrepreneurship continued into the modern society. The impacts of the revolutions to this day are undeniable, and without the impeccable timing of the revolutions – and a little bit of luck – the European state system would be entirely different today.