• 17th century the British Government takes control of colonies.
• 1750 about 1 million settlers in the American colonies.
• 1756-63 the Seven Years' War grows England's national debt.
• England demands payments from the colonies. 1765 "The Stamp Act", later high import tariffs.
History:
• At the beginning only passive resistance and boycott by the population.
• 1773 "Boston Tea Party".
• Demand for separate representation "no taxation without representation".
• Further suppression by England.
• As a result an association of colonies for common defense against England is founded.
• Interruption of trade with England.
• 1st Continental Congress George Washington becomes Commander in Chief of the insurgent militia.
• 1775 start of the eight-year
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The meaning of the French Revolution in Europe at the time:
The Revolution was the first in Europe at this time, in which the population rose up against the oppression of the king, the nobility, and the estate society and demanded more equality.
It sparked through the thoughts of Enlightenment a wave of revolutions against the prevailing absolutism in Europe, so for example shortly thereafter it was tried in Germany in the 1848 revolution and the Belgian state was only able to arise by this French model.
The French Revolution was also the first to introduce the democratic ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity, as well as civil and human rights to Europe, which then spread. It can be seen as the starting point of democratic values in Europe and the French Revolution was also the cornerstone of the democratic Europe of today.
The significance of the French Revolution today:
• For the first time there were fundamental democratic values in Europe, which are taken for granted today.
• For the first time there was a democratic constitution, including the separation of power and their mutual monitoring.
• For the first time there was such a thing as political parties (the Jacobins and the
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• Napoléon came to power because of the French Revolution and introduced his Code Civil to countries that were dominated by France during that time for example the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Duchy of Warsaw, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Italy. The Code Civil was used in Germany until it was replaced in 1900 by the Civil Code of Germany (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch).
• However, women were still not equal or able to contribute politically.
Differences between the two Revolutions:
• The French revolted against the feudal-absolutist estate state.
• The Americans wanted to get rid of the British colonial power.
• The crucial difference between the French and the American Revolution is that the French had no experience in the subject of freedom, while the Americans practically ruled themselves. The cause was the town halls, in which people in the cities and communities managed and ruled themselves with contracts and laws. The best-known of such a self-rule contract is the Mayflower-Compact.
Similarities of the two Revolutions:
• From the world-historical point of view the American and French Revolutions both had revolutionary