Revolutions and the Making of the Modern World
What this domain tests
This section examines political, industrial and social revolution from the late 18th century. Candidates must distinguish long-term causes from triggers, identify who gained and lost, and explain how revolutionary ideals were limited in practice.
Political revolutions
- American Revolution (1775–83): colonial resistance to taxation without representation; the Declaration of Independence (1776) drew on Enlightenment ideas.
- French Revolution (1789): fiscal crisis, food scarcity, noble privilege and Enlightenment criticism combined; the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 was a trigger, not the cause. The Declaration of the Rights of Man asserted liberty and equality before the law.
- Haitian Revolution (1791–1804): enslaved people overthrew slavery and colonial rule, producing the first Black republic.
Industrial Revolution
- Began in Britain around 1760, driven by coal, iron, canals, cotton textiles and the factory system.
- Urbanisation and child labour prompted reform: the Factory Act 1833 regulated child labour, and the Reform Act 1832 widened the franchise.
Social change
- Abolitionism, trade unionism, suffrage campaigns and public education expanded citizenship, but often slowly and unevenly.
Worked example
'Was the French Revolution caused by poverty?' Reasoning: poverty was acute in 1789, but the deeper causes included a fiscal system that exempted nobles, weak royal decision-making and the example of the American Revolution. The answer must rank causes and explain linkage.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing trigger and cause; claiming the French Revolution gave women the vote; treating industrialisation as sudden; ignoring the Haitian Revolution when discussing Atlantic revolutions; assuming reform laws immediately changed conditions.