World History I: Industrial Revolution, French Revolution and American War of Independence

The syllabus asks for the events, causes and effects of major world events. This note covers the first three: the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. Part 2 covers the Russian Revolution, the two World Wars and the Indian independence movement.

0. Magna Carta (1215)

• The Magna Carta (“Great Charter”) was sealed by King John of England at Runnymede on 15 June 1215, under pressure from rebellious barons.
• It said the king was not above the law: no free man could be imprisoned or punished except by lawful judgement of his peers or the law of the land, and taxes could not be raised without the consent of the realm’s council.
• Importance: it is seen as the foundation of rule of law, due process, limited government and later parliamentary democracy; its ideas influenced the English Bill of Rights (1689), the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1. Industrial Revolution (about 1760–1840)

• Where it began: Great Britain, in the second half of the 18th century.
• Meaning: the change from hand production to machine production in factories, using steam power and coal.
• Key inventions: flying shuttle (John Kay, 1733), spinning jenny (James Hargreaves, 1764), improved steam engine (James Watt, 1769), power loom (Edmund Cartwright, 1785), steam locomotive (George Stephenson, 1814).
• Causes: Britain had coal and iron, colonies for raw materials and markets, capital from trade, new inventions and a growing population.
• Effects: factory system, rapid growth of cities (urbanisation), rise of capitalism and a working class, child labour and poor living conditions, later trade unions and labour laws, and a race for colonies.

2. French Revolution (1789–1799)

• Began: 14 July 1789 with the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris (now France’s national day).
• King at the time: Louis XVI; queen Marie Antoinette.
• Slogan: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”.
• Causes: absolute monarchy, unfair tax system in which the clergy and nobles (First and Second Estates) paid little while common people (Third Estate) paid most, financial crisis, food shortage, and the ideas of thinkers Rousseau (Social Contract), Voltaire and Montesquieu (separation of powers).
• Main events: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), end of monarchy and declaration of a republic (1792), execution of Louis XVI (1793), Reign of Terror, rise of Napoleon Bonaparte (1799).
• Effects: end of feudal privileges, spread of democracy, nationalism and human rights ideas across Europe and the world.

3. American War of Independence (1775–1783)

• Who fought: the 13 American colonies against Great Britain.
• Causes: British taxes such as the Stamp Act passed without colonial representation (“No taxation without representation“), trade restrictions, and the Boston Tea Party (1773).
• Declaration of Independence: adopted on 4 July 1776, mainly written by Thomas Jefferson.
• Commander: George Washington, who became the first President of the USA in 1789.
• End: Treaty of Paris, 1783, in which Britain recognised American independence. France helped the Americans.
• Effects: birth of the USA, a written constitution (1787) with separation of powers, and inspiration for the French Revolution and other freedom movements.