From 1775 to 1825 a wave of revolution swept through the Atlantic world. Its origins included long-term social and economic changes, Enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality, and the costs of colonial warfare. British efforts to raise taxes after the Seven Years’ War aroused violent protest in the American colonies. In 1776 the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, and by 1783 Britain had recognized the independence of the thirteen colonies. Following ratification of a new constitution, Congress passed ten amendments to safeguard individual liberties but denied equal rights to women and nonwhites.

In 1789 delegates to the Estates General defied royal authority to declare themselves a National Assembly, which promulgated France’s first constitution in 1791. Led by the Jacobin Club, the Assembly waged war on Austria and Prussia and proclaimed France a republic. From the end of 1793, under the Reign of Terror, the Revolution pursued internal and external enemies ruthlessly and instituted economic controls to aid the poor. The weakness of the Directory government after the fall of Robespierre enabled charismatic general Napoleon Bonaparte to claim control of France. Napoleon’s relentless military ambitions allowed him to spread French power through much of Europe but ultimately led to his downfall.

After a failed uprising by free men of color, slaves rose in revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in August 1791. Their revolt, combined with the outbreak of war and the radicalization of the French Revolution, led to the enfranchisement of free men of color, the emancipation of slaves who fought for France, and ultimately the abolition of slavery throughout the colony in late 1793. Like Napoleon Bonaparte, Toussaint L’Ouverture was an unknown soldier who claimed glory and power, only to endure exile and defeat. After his exile, his forces won independence for the new Haitian nation in 1804.

Latin American independence movements drew strength from Spain’s unpopular policies. External events — the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution and Napoleon’s seizure of the Spanish throne — accelerated the path toward revolt. Under the leadership of Simón Bolívar, the United States of Venezuela claimed independence in 1811. Led by Creole officers but reliant on nonwhite soldiers, rebel armies successfully fought Spanish forces over the next decade. Despite Bolívar’s efforts to build a unified state, in the 1830s New Spain split into five separate countries. In Brazil the royal regent proclaimed independence in 1822 and reigned as emperor of the new state.