The eighteenth century was home to a series of enormous developments that have had enormous impacts on society to this day. When discussing the “most important” developments, one must be quite critical about their significance, to do this one must take into account several criteria: whether the development has had a large impact over the century; whether it inspired various other events; whether it was a unique development; whether it impacted multiple demographics of people; and whether other developments were of greater importance. Based on this criterion, it is clear that, while of great significance, the Haitian Revolution was not the most important political transformation of the eighteenth century. If something is a 'transformation', the political climate would be completely different to what it was before the event occurred, and although the Haitian Revolution had this effect, only in the nineteenth century was its influence fully felt and in this “transformation” Haitian revolution” and its causes are defined. The Enlightenment fulfills both aspects of the statement, not only was the Haitian Revolution a byproduct of the Enlightenment, but it also inspired other revolutions and gave birth to the modern feminist movement, completely altering the way society viewed power and completely changing the political climate in the world. 18th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Scholar Valentina Pegeuro argues that "the significance of the Haitian Revolution is that it is considered the first successful slave revolt in modern times." Pegeuro's opinion has great credence, although compared to his claims the revolt did not end before 1804, meaning that its scope is limited mainly to the 19th century, contrasting its weight in the 18th century. For this reason, we already eliminate the criterion of whether it will have had a large impact over the course of the century. Clearly, the Enlightenment is the most important “political transformation,” an argument supported by Jonathon Israel who states that “the roots of anticolonialism itself, as well as the modern idea of ​​racial, ethnic, and sexual equality” are found in Enlightenment writers . . The ideas that inspired the Haitian Revolution were formulated and spread during the Enlightenment. The most significant events of the eighteenth century all have deep roots in the Enlightenment, not only did they have a huge impact over the course of the century, but they inspired numerous other events, they had a huge impact on different demographics of people, and overall, they had a much greater impact on the population. 18th century compared to the Haitian revolution. To demonstrate this, the influence of the Enlightenment in inspiring revolutions and giving birth to a new movement will be discussed. First, the Enlightenment inspired a major contender for the title of “major political transformation,” namely the American Revolution of 1775–1783. . This revolution represents a physical form of the Enlightenment ideas that were reaching the height of popularity in the eighteenth century, without this ideology, it is unclear whether the revolution would have ever been as successful as it was or if it would have ever happened in the first place. . Bernard Bailyn argues that “the greatest achievement of the revolution was obviously the repudiation of such state authority and the transfer of power to popular legislatures, no one will deny that this action was undertaken in accordance with the highest principles of Enlightenment theory.” In this Bailyn attributes the success of the Revolution to the Enlightenment, a topic of great value, we can see how the works of the Enlightenment writers had a profoundimpact on the uprising and the product of the United States of America. An example is in the work of Baron De Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, a man who contributed much to enlightenment in his review of the greatest type of government between monarchy, republics and despotism. In doing so, Montesquieu formulated a new way of thinking, a new and more critical vision of politics, allowing individuals to question their own state and form their own opinions about their own government. Particularly threatening to Britain's colonial power in America was the following quote from The Spirit of Laws: “It is best to say that the government most in conformity with nature is that which best accords with the humor and disposition of the people to whom it is favorable". established". Here Montesquieu implies that colonial power is unnatural and that the best form of government is in a democratic republic. It also implies that other forms of government are not suitable for the people they govern. The idea that the state should be like the people, with similar “humor and disposition” establishes the idea of ​​representative government and forms a great anti-colonial sentiment – ​​a huge threat to the colonial forces in America. Thus further demonstrated in the following: “For it is clear that in a monarchy, where he who commands the execution of the laws is generally thought to be above them, there is less need of virtue than in a popular government, where the person charged with the execution of the laws, its being subject to their direction is sensitive”. Montesquieu emphasizes here the inequality within the monarchy and the lack of control over the power of the monarch, they are above the law, and therefore this is an injustice towards the people. So, continuing his previous point, the need for representative government, those in power, in representing the people, should be subject to the same law as the people. This enlightened ideology “nourished” the American population, and the anti-colonial and republican ideology. sentiment grew, resulting in the American Revolution. We can see the extent of the influence of Enlightenment ideas on the leaders of the revolution in the product of the revolt, the United States Constitution (ratified in 1787). A legislative branch, all directly elected by the people, with a body even called the "House of Representatives", was established in Article I, clearly responding to the idea of ​​representative government established by Montesquieu. The executive power, the president, also directly elected, was established in Article II, responding to the need for the leader to serve the people, being directly responsible to the population. The Supreme Court was established in Article III, with the task of checking the power of the president and parliament, ensuring that their power remains constrained in accordance with the constitution, carrying out another key aspect of Montesquieu's writings, a check on the state power which he believes is necessary to prevent abuse of power. So it is very clear how the Enlightenment was embodied by the American Revolution, as Bailyn states: "in the name of Enlightenment liberalism revolutionary leaders undertook to complete, formalize, systematize, and symbolize what had previously been only partially understood, confused, and contest the facts.” In other words, the American Revolution demonstrated that the ideas of the Enlightenment could be realized and set the example of revolution as a method of achieving this. Through force you could achieve freedom as a solitary event it can be considered of great importance, although it cannot be considered the most important political turning point since itsentire foundations lie in the Enlightenment and the ideology established in the Enlightenment, its main value was to provide a physical representation of these ideas and create an example for others to emulate. This emulation is evident in the French and Haitian revolutions, in what can be described as the butterfly effect of the Enlightenment. These revolutions for freedom and the overthrow of monarchical colonial powers and replacement with a republic appear to be a frequent occurrence in the eighteenth century and, as Robin Blackburn argues, “should be seen as interconnected, each [revolution] helping to radicalize the next ”. Immediately, the thesis that the Haitian Revolution is the most important political transformation is undermined, since it took the influence of two previous revolutions and used well-established and influential Enlightenment ideology: it was not very unique and did not generate new ideas. in the eighteenth century. Blackburn argues that the Haitian Revolution played a role in “the complete reshaping of slavery in the early 19th century.” In the context of the new century, its importance increases significantly, since by then the new republic, the first black republic, had already been established. It was a huge transformation that set the tone for the rest of the century, inspiring many other colonies to revolt and ultimately leading to the end of slavery - although in the 18th century, without the title of first black republic, the Haitian Revolution was only one of the many revolutions that occurred at that time. These revolutions can be seen as a product of the Enlightenment, political thought was completely transformed in the 18th century, criticism of the powers of the old world and the search for freedom, key characteristics of the Enlightenment, became a broader and more popular practice, the critical thinking became commonplace, and a general disquiet with the old order was arising. This took shape not only in revolutions, as mentioned above, but also in new movements. One of these new movements is the modern feminist movement, which began as another byproduct of the Enlightenment. Many Enlightenment thinkers of the past, such as John Locke, ignored women as rational beings in investigations of human nature. This chauvinistic approach was heavily questioned at the end of the 18th century, the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment, freedom and equal opportunities were not applied to women and, as Katherine Clinton also argues, “the arguments they presented and the solutions they proposed became the basis of modern feminist logic.” The “woman question” became a huge problem and highlighted the mistreatment of women, so we see how the Enlightenment not only led to the challenge of physical structures, but also of social structures. One of the Enlightenment thinkers who challenged the patriarchal system is Mary Wollstonecraft, often recognized as “the mother of English-speaking feminism” and who brought the issue of female inequality to the surface in her “A Vindication for the Rights of the Woman”. ”. This is demonstrated in the following quote: “Think, I address you as a legislator, whether, when men fight for their freedom and to be able to judge for themselves respecting their own happiness, it is not inconsistent and unjust to subjugate women, even if you believe firmly to act in the most suitable way to promote their happiness? Who made man the exclusive judge, if woman shares the gift of reason with him? The terminology used to describe an oppressive state such as “subjugate”, along with the subsequent quote “tyranny of man”, presents the idea that patriarchy must be overthrown just like monarchical and colonial states, demonstrating the influenceof the Enlightenment and the revolutions of the world. century. Wollstonecraft also argues the following: “My main argument rests on this simple principle, that if she is not prepared by education to become man's companion, she will arrest the progress of knowledge and virtue; for the truth must be common to all, otherwise it will be ineffective with respect to its influence on general practice. And how can the woman be expected to cooperate if she does not know why she should be virtuous? not be equipped with the knowledge to be virtuous or help their husbands to be virtuous. From a modern perspective, a woman receiving an education primarily to be a better wife is clearly a problematic ideal, so much so that critics accuse Wollstonecraft of being misogynistic, although it is important to note that this too was incredibly radical for the eighteenth century. By highlighting these inequalities and the oppression of women, Wollstonecraft laid the foundation for today's feminism, and the context of the Enlightenment and the political climate created by the Enlightenment made this possible. Please note: this is just an example. Get an article customization now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay To conclude, it is clear from both the revolutions and movements that arose in the 18th century, that the Enlightenment was the most important political transformation, not the Haitian Revolution. Israel argues that “the most vital aspects of modernity have recently come to seem much clearer and more defined products of the Enlightenment”, an extremely valuable point and, as mentioned above, for something to be a “political transformation” one must would expect a development that would completely alter the political climate and political thinking. The Haitian Revolution does not have this quality, especially in the context of the 18th century, where revolutions had already occurred. Instead the Enlightenment had this impact, the ideas it entailed promoted the critical thinking that took shape in the revolutions and movements, such as feminism, that we see arising in the eighteenth century. Reflecting on the criteria established in the introduction to this essay, it is clear that not only did the Enlightenment have a butterfly effect throughout the century and beyond, but it inspired various other events and reached multiple demographics of people (women, upper classes , lower classes and ethnic minorities). While the Haitian Revolution was undeniably important, it cannot be considered the most important political transformation because it was not particularly unique, nor did it inspire other events throughout the century, not to mention that its foundations are rooted in ideology enlightenment. . Thus, it is undeniably clear that the statement "the Haitian Revolution was the most important political transformation of the eighteenth century" cannot be true due to the great value of the Enlightenment.BibliographyBailyn. B, “Political Experience and Enlightenment Ideas in the Eighteenth Century,” The American Historical Review, 67 (1962) pp. 339-351Blackburn. R, “Haiti, Slavery, and the Age of the Democratic Revolution”, The William and Mary Quarterly, 63 (2006) pp.643-674, Britannica, 'Haitian Revolution' (2021) https:www.britannica.comtopicHaitian-Revolution (Accessed: January 15, 2022) Britannica, “American Revolution” (2021) https:www.britannica.comventAmerican-Revolution (Accessed: January 15, 2022) Clinton. K, “Femme et Philosophe: Enlightenment Origins of Feminism”, Eighteenth-Century Studies, 8 (1975) pp.283-99Ford. T, “Mary Wollstonecraft and the Motherhood of Feminism”, Women's Studies Quarterly, 37 (2009) pp.189-205Israel. J, 'Enlightenment! Which Enlightenment?', Journal of the History of Ideas, 67 (2006) pp.523-545Montesquieu. B, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T.Evans, 1777) National Archives,, 1792)