In , one such scholar, Chalmers Johnson, grouped all revolutions into six different categories. The six include 1 jacqueries, 2 millenarian rebellions, 3 anarchistic rebellions, 4 Jacobin-Communist revolutions, 5 coups d'etat, and 6 militarized mass insurrections.
Reading about them will help you understand why revolutions happen, why some succeed, and why most fail. In , one of history's greatest jacqueries erupted among England's villeins--peasants forced to work for noblemen.
The rebels demanded an end to heavy taxes and feudal oppression. An army of villeins even succeeded in capturing London. But they balked at attacking the young king, Richard II. Like peasants elsewhere, they viewed their monarch as a parent, and they trusted him. Consequently, King Richard wasable to defuse the rebellion. He proclaimed the villeins free--and then, when the revolt ended, broke all his promises.
Typically, revolutions take the form of organized movements aimed at effecting change—economic change, technological change, political change, or social change. The people who start revolutions have determined the institutions currently in place in society have failed or no longer serve their intended purpose. Because the objective of revolutions is to upturn established order, the characteristics that define them reflect the circumstances of their birth. Revolutions are born when the social climate in a country changes and the political system does not react in kind.
People become discouraged by existing conditions, which alters their values and beliefs. Over the course of history, philosophers have held different views as to whether revolution is a natural occurrence in a changing society, or whether it indicates social decay. The Greek philosopher Aristotle linked revolution to a number of causes and conditions, but largely to the desire for equality and honor. Plato linked revolution to social decay.
He believed that revolutions occur when institutions, such as the Church or the State, fail to instill in society a system of values and a code of ethics that prevent upheaval.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Europeans generally did what they could to prevent revolution and preserve the established order. The Church maintained the authority in medieval times, and it aimed to preserve stability in society at all costs. Sometime during the Renaissance , however, the concept of revolution began to change.
People began to believe change was necessary for society to progress. Between and , philosophical and political ideas were changing rapidly throughout the world. The Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the Protestant Reformation all took place during this time period, and people expanded their worldviews as they gained knowledge of new concepts and accepted new ideas.
At this time in Europe, most countries had absolute monarchies, and people began to question the power of absolute governments. As their discontent grew, their questions turned to protests. A wave of revolutions took place in the s, an era commonly known as the Age Enlightenment—revolutions in France, in Latin America, and in the American colonies.
In all these countries, the revolutions not only changed the political systems and replaced them with new ones, but they altered public belief and brought about sweeping changes in society as a whole. A different kind of cultural transformation happened in the U. Evan Centanni specializes in world cultures and human geography. He grew up in Oregon, but has since lived in two other countries and traveled to many more.
Centanni is editor of Political Geography Now at www. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and linguistics from the University of Oregon. Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning.
Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language. See disclaimer.
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