Brown_C Response and Annotations Week 8 1
Weekly Readings Summary and Response
The constant conflict that embroiled the Atlantic eventually led to a state of resentment.
The old world resented the need to constantly clean up and care for their colonies in the new
world, while the new world resented the east’s refusal to allow for any margin of freedom or
autonomy. These crisscrossing lines of resentment across the Atlantic would eventually lead to
an age of revolutions. During this time, colonial powers saw their leash on their colonies slip as
many of them took action to claim independence. The second half of the 18th century and early
19th is marked by a series of physical revolutions that would completely reshape the cultural and
social landscapes of the Atlantic.
The Enlightenment, or the era of reason, birthed conversations centered around liberty,
individual rights, freedoms, and governments that derived their power from the people that were
tasked in protecting them and their rights became the dominate political and social thought.
Across the Atlantic, people came to see themselves as marginalized by their European imperial
rulers. These ideas became part of a larger shared experience that grew from the bottom up.
During this time, we see these marginalized populations seize the opportunity driven by these
ideas to question and act on the barriers and authority that had subjugated them1. These shared
experiences eventually led some to armed conflict in the name reshaping the world for the
common good.
Within the Atlantic, we see two different and distinct versions of revolutions occur. The
first type of revolutions was led predominantly by the “majority” or affluent white males. Within
these circles we find that the revolutionary goals were predominantly political2. These
revolutions were mainly aimed as creating a new political structure based on those enlightenment
1 (Games and Rothman 2008, 354)
2 (Benjamin 2009, 568)
Brown_C Response and Annotations Week 8 2
ideas. Within these revolutions these concepts of liberty, equality, and democracy only applied to
the white men of society3, however these principles could not be isolated by class, race, or
ethnicity. This is why the second type of revolutions found are those carried out by the
marginalized populations of society. Women, enslaved Africans, the poor, and Native populations
also found value in these concepts. The revolutions that they wages were much more cultural and
societal in nature4. They sought to reshape the rigid social and cultural hierarchy to create a true
state of equality.
The age of revolution marked the end of major European colonization and imperial rule.
The consequences and results of each revolutionary action depended on and varied throughout
the Atlantic. The creation of these new nations and independent states meant that they had a
clean slate in designing and implementing a political structure that reflected those populations
core values. New American nations centered their values much more in republicanism and
democracy as a result of their focus on popular sovereignty and individual rights and freedoms.
European revolutions adapted to what already has preexisted, hence the creations of many
constitutional monarchies5. Caribbean and south American revolutions driven by the enslaved
populations enshrined abolition within their constitutions ensuring racial and ethnic freedom and
equalities6.
The age of revolution and enlightenment brough forward the difficult question regarding
the slave trade. For many colonies and some now free independent nations, their previous and
established economy was derived from slave labor. However, in an age that began to value
freedom, equality, and individual rights, the legitamcy of the slave trade was now being
3 (ibid)
4 (ibid)
5 (Benjamin 2009, 612)
6 (Games and Rothman 2008, 363-366)
Brown_C Response and Annotations Week 8 3
questions on moral, social, religious, and ethical grounds7. This era forced the Atlantic to reflect
on the very roots for their justification of slavery. The view of slavery soon took the form that it
was not only immoral and sinful, but no longer economically viable thanks to the industrial
revolution8. By 1830, the slave trade had been abolished in the Atlantic, but it would take at least
another 40 years to see then end of slavery itself as an institution throughout the region.
Despite the success in gaining freedom, the abolition of slavery simply exasperated
preexisting issues of poverty and discrimination in many places around the Atlantic. Thus, a
secondary era of revolutions seeking to fight for civil rights would ensue. Many of those groups
that fought in social and cultural revolutions would find themselves once again seeking civil
rights and equality.
Annotations
Badley, G. (2023). Heirs of the Enlightenment? Qualitative Inquiry, 0(0).
https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004231186583
7 (Benjamin 2009, 615)
8 (Games and Rothman 2008, 402)
Brown_C Response and Annotations Week 8 4
This article seeks to explore core ideas from the enlightenment and to compare and apply it to
our modern state. He breaks down the writings of 6 different enlightened thinkers and analyses
from the belief that the enlightenment state is not a definitive or total state, but a continued work
in progress. He discusses how these ideas and beliefs about individualism, rationalism, and
equality are fluid and apply not only to this era in the past but also today.
Bell, Karen Cook. "Fugitivity and Enslaved Women's Agency in the Age of Revolution." Journal
of Women's History 34, no. 4 (2022): 58-80. https://doi.org/10.1353/jowh.2022.0036.
Bell’s article focuses on the story of Margaret Grant, a mulatto woman who escapes slavery in
the United state in 1770 and again in 1773. Margaret’s story simply represents one example of
enslaved African women exerting their claim to freedom and resisting the traditional ways of
thought. In becoming fugitives and running away, not only are black women asserting their
rights, but they also became a key participant in the early abolition and anti-slavery movements.
Perl-Rosenthal, Nathan. “Ideas of Revolution in the Age of Atlantic Revolutions.” Modern
Intellectual History 20, no. 4 (2023): 997–1022.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479244323000070.
This article discusses how revolutionary thought was interconnected with political thought of the
time. The author contends that this era of revolutions maintained a higher level of flexibility as
compared to before noting the dramatic political and cultural changes that occurred throughout
the Atlantic as a result. He also describes how when comparing revolutions, we find two distinct
types in total versus limited revolutions. Total referring to a complete restructuring while a
limited refers to an adaption and modification to suit the wants of those involved.
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