Throughout the course of European history, revolutions have defined time periods. In three specific time periods: the mid seventeenth century, the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the early twentieth centuries, England, France, and Russia all underwent usurpations of their monarchies (countries are listed respectively to the listed time periods). In each of these revolutions, the revolutions began with an absolutist monarch, the revolutions all experienced a period in which a dictator ruled, and the final result of the revolutions were governments which gave more regard to the governed.
In respect to England, a monarchy had presided over the realm for several centuries ruling with little or no regard to its peoples up to the mid seventeenth century. The original aims of the people of this revolution were to gain more power for the parliamentary legislative branch of England’s government. Basically, the revolutionists wished for the people to have a greater say-so over governmental decisions. once the revolution had begun, the sides were clearly drawn between those who supported James I and those who supported Parliament. The battles waged on in stages until Parliaments first great victory, accomplished by Oliver Cromwell who created a Puritan dictatorship over England. In the end, the Parliament was victorious, James II abdicated and a figure-head monarchy was established with Parliament as the true governing body.
With regards to France, the Bourbon family had been ruling France for several centuries with rulers such as Louis XII and the famous Louis XIV who ruled France as a model of absolutism from his palace, Versailles. The revolutionists found their voice when the king of that time, Louis XVI refused to hear the wishes of the Third Estate and vicariously, the entirety of the French population. The revolutionists of the Third Estate wished to create a new government in which the king had to adhere to the voices of the people and to the newly formed parliamentary body of the National Assembly. As the revolution progressed, the success of the revolutionaries reached its highest point under the dictator, Robespierre who ruled France through the Great Terror, an event of mass murder of royalist supporters. At the endpoint of this revolution, the revolutionists had created a Republic from which the people of France, not the king, governed. Parallels can be drawn to the English revolution in that both the English and French revolutions were started because of unreasonable, absolutist policies of monarchs; both the English and French revolutions experienced a dictatorship; and finally, both revolutions ended with the people in control of the government.
Looking on to the Russian Revolution, similar to the circumstances leading up to the English and French revolutions, an absolute monarch had presided over the realm of Russia for several centuries, ruling with little regard to the populace, listening only to the nobility in dealing with political affairs. In the years leading up to the revolution, in light of the newly freed peasantry, the peoples of Russia had become less content with the incompetent monarchy of Nicholas II and also in light of the birth of Communism, the Bolshevik Party was growing in strength and opposition to the unreasonable absolutist policies of Nicholas II. After a first, failed revolution attempt, the Bolsheviks finally deposed the capitalist government and instead set up a government professing to adhere to the voice of the entirety of the Russian population. Also, the Russian revolution found its culmination under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, who like Robespierre, purged Russia of political dissidents. In the final product of the revolution there existed a government professing to give all men equality under law by the equal distribution of living conditions and by the abolishment of private property which is similar to the English and French revolutions in that the people were the primary focus of the government.
In conclusion, the mid seventeenth century revolution of England, the French Revolution of 1789, and the Bolshevik revolution of the early twentieth century all shared certain commonalities: they all found their spark because of absolutist monarchs, they all experienced a dictatorship, and they all resulted in a government which strove to serve the people. These commonalities show that throughout European history, revolutions were the attempts of masses to gain a greater prominence in the eyes of the government.
In respect to England, a monarchy had presided over the realm for several centuries ruling with little or no regard to its peoples up to the mid seventeenth century. The original aims of the people of this revolution were to gain more power for the parliamentary legislative branch of England’s government. Basically, the revolutionists wished for the people to have a greater say-so over governmental decisions. once the revolution had begun, the sides were clearly drawn between those who supported James I and those who supported Parliament. The battles waged on in stages until Parliaments first great victory, accomplished by Oliver Cromwell who created a Puritan dictatorship over England. In the end, the Parliament was victorious, James II abdicated and a figure-head monarchy was established with Parliament as the true governing body.
With regards to France, the Bourbon family had been ruling France for several centuries with rulers such as Louis XII and the famous Louis XIV who ruled France as a model of absolutism from his palace, Versailles. The revolutionists found their voice when the king of that time, Louis XVI refused to hear the wishes of the Third Estate and vicariously, the entirety of the French population. The revolutionists of the Third Estate wished to create a new government in which the king had to adhere to the voices of the people and to the newly formed parliamentary body of the National Assembly. As the revolution progressed, the success of the revolutionaries reached its highest point under the dictator, Robespierre who ruled France through the Great Terror, an event of mass murder of royalist supporters. At the endpoint of this revolution, the revolutionists had created a Republic from which the people of France, not the king, governed. Parallels can be drawn to the English revolution in that both the English and French revolutions were started because of unreasonable, absolutist policies of monarchs; both the English and French revolutions experienced a dictatorship; and finally, both revolutions ended with the people in control of the government.
Looking on to the Russian Revolution, similar to the circumstances leading up to the English and French revolutions, an absolute monarch had presided over the realm of Russia for several centuries, ruling with little regard to the populace, listening only to the nobility in dealing with political affairs. In the years leading up to the revolution, in light of the newly freed peasantry, the peoples of Russia had become less content with the incompetent monarchy of Nicholas II and also in light of the birth of Communism, the Bolshevik Party was growing in strength and opposition to the unreasonable absolutist policies of Nicholas II. After a first, failed revolution attempt, the Bolsheviks finally deposed the capitalist government and instead set up a government professing to adhere to the voice of the entirety of the Russian population. Also, the Russian revolution found its culmination under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, who like Robespierre, purged Russia of political dissidents. In the final product of the revolution there existed a government professing to give all men equality under law by the equal distribution of living conditions and by the abolishment of private property which is similar to the English and French revolutions in that the people were the primary focus of the government.
In conclusion, the mid seventeenth century revolution of England, the French Revolution of 1789, and the Bolshevik revolution of the early twentieth century all shared certain commonalities: they all found their spark because of absolutist monarchs, they all experienced a dictatorship, and they all resulted in a government which strove to serve the people. These commonalities show that throughout European history, revolutions were the attempts of masses to gain a greater prominence in the eyes of the government.
