The Enlightenment was an age of reason, where science and learning took over superstition.

The problem with Galileo’s assertion was that it overturned over 2,000 years of belief; the Church had accepted Aristotle’s argument, not Galileo’s. The Bible stated that the Earth was fixed, and could not move. He was arrested by the Catholic Inquisition.

Heretics during the Catholic Reformation were arrested and punished. Galileo’s books were burned, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He also had to publicly deny his discoveries that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

Scientific thinking spread north, to Protestant countries like Holland and Britain, where there was freedom of thought.

The Mughal Emperors ruled through an absolute monarchy, with absolute power.

Aurangzeb was a different kind of ruler because he was religiously intolerant, compared to his brother and father (he killed his brother & imprisoned his father). The laws he passed set up a system of censorship, only really allowed Islam, allowed Hindu temples to be burnt, and forbade things like historical writings, music, dancing, and alcohol.

What made Aurangzeb more similar to European rulers was the fact that he wielded his power, was religiously intolerant, and censored many rights of people.

Aurangzeb’s accomplishment was building the most extensive empire up to that point in Indian history. Its many costs include bringing the empire to the edge of bankruptcy, which severely weakened it. The British were able to invade and take over India after Aurangzeb’s rule.

The Americans were angry at the British because they were governed by a parliament in London, in which they had no representation.

The American colonists responded to tea taxes by resolving that not an ounce of tea from Britain should enter the United States. They basically threw the Boston Tea Party.

The new government that the United States created allowed for more freedom, liberty, and equality. It was a representative democracy, with power held by the people. It was so remarkable at the time because it was based off of Enlightenment and modern ideas.

France’s contribution to the United States in their revolutionary war against Britain had contributed to their own economic collapse under King Louis.

Peasant mobs raided the Bastille because they wanted its storage of gunpowder.

Revolutionary ideas imposed by the leaders of the revolt were the abolishment of the privileges of the aristocracy, fair taxes, the lessening of the Catholic Church’s power, fair courts, the equality of all citizens, free speech, and the right to an elected government. (Liberty, equality, fraternity)

The other monarchs in Europe reacted by panicking quite a bit, since the revolutionary ideas could drive their own citizens to overthrow them. If other revolutions were successful, then there was no reason why a revolution in their country wouldn’t be able to take place. 

This time was called “The Terror” because 40,000 citizens had died. The extremists had gained control of the revolution, and they sought to destroy all their enemies. Paris was met with paranoia and hysteria during this time.

Napoleon Bonaparte brought absolute power back to France.

Britain wanted to send their convicts and criminals to Australia.

Their strategy for communicating with the Aboriginal people in Australia was to study them, respect them, and to try to understand them at first. Then, they kidnapped a man, Bennelong, and made him learn English, so he could become a translator.

The British treatment of the Aborigines were similar to the European treatment of Native Americans because both native groups may have been kidnapped, but for different purposes. The British treatment of the Aborigines and the European treatment of Native Americans were different because the British had been given orders to make peace with the Natives; they did not try to kill them or make them slaves initially. Also, both Native groups had contracted European diseases, and died.

The treatment of slaves in the Americas was terrible. They had been kidnapped from Africa, and now they were forced to work on plantations in horrible conditions. They were also punished by branding, whipping, and other tortures. The death rate was quite high.

Slaves were used for labor on the plantations in the Americas.

The French Revolution had inspired the slave rebellion in Haiti. Voodoo ceremonies were a cover-up for meetings where leaders planned rebellions. One leader was called Bookman Dutty (he could read). He mixed French revolutionary thinking with African religion to influence Haiti’s rebellion. Liberty and equality were some ideas of the revolt. Toussaint L’Ouverture was a prominent military leader of the Haitian Revolution; he had been a former slave.

The long-term consequence of the slave rebellion was the collapse of Haiti’s economy. Their economy had only flourished through slave labor and slave trade, and plantations had been burnt down. Also, great white nations such as France and the United States shunned the black republic. Tyrannies soon followed in Haiti.