Revolutions
The uprisings, inventions and movements that tore up the old order and built a new one.
- revolution
- change
- history
Some of the stories included
- The American RevolutionThe American Revolution from the First Continental Congress in 1774, through the Declaration of Independence and the French alliance, to Yorktown, the Treaty of Paris and Washington's resignation.
Benjamin Franklin: Lightning, Liberty, and ContradictionFrom runaway apprentice to revered diplomat, Benjamin Franklin's life saw him tame lightning and champion liberty, even while owning slaves.
Fela Kuti and the Sound of RevolutionHow Fela Kuti created Afrobeat and used his song 'Zombie' to attack Nigeria's military, leading to the 1977 raid on his Kalakuta Republic.
The Russian RevolutionIn 1917, Russia saw two revolutions, with Lenin's Bolsheviks seizing power from a government that had only just replaced the Tsar.
The French RevolutionThe French Revolution from the 1789 Estates-General and the fall of the Bastille, through the king's failed escape and the Terror, to Napoleon's seizure of power and his Civil Code.
Nelson MandelaThe life of Nelson Mandela, from founding the ANC Youth League and the armed struggle to the Rivonia Trial, 27 years in prison, and his election as South Africa's first Black president.
The Paris CommuneFor 72 days in 1871, Parisians established a radical government, the Commune, before it was brutally crushed in the 'Bloody Week'.
The Haitian RevolutionEnslaved people in Saint-Domingue overthrew slavery and founded Haiti on 1 January 1804, then owed France 150 million francs.
The Civil Rights MovementThe struggle for social justice by Black Americans, from the 1955 bus boycott to the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Peasants' RevoltIn 1381, England's peasants rose up against a harsh poll tax, marching on London to confront their young king, Richard II.
The Unification of ItalyThe story of the Risorgimento, the decades-long struggle to transform Italy from a "mere geographical expression" into a united state.
The Fall of Marie AntoinetteHow the Queen of France went from a symbol of royal excess to the guillotine.
SpartacusSpartacus, the Thracian gladiator who led a slave army against Rome from 73 to 71 BC, and what we can and can't know about him.
The Industrial RevolutionHow Britain moved from farms and cottage work to machines and factories, from Newcomen's 1712 mine engine and Watt's condenser to Arkwright's mills, the Rocket, child-labour reform and the Great Exhibition.
The Rise and Fall of RasputinHow a Siberian mystic gained influence over Russia's empress and his legendary assassination foreshadowed the fall of the Tsars.
The Boxer RebellionIn 1900, a secret society of Chinese martial artists known as the Boxers attempted to drive all foreigners out of China.
The 1979 Iranian RevolutionHow a year of protest in 1978 drove the Shah of Iran into exile and brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power as the head of a new Islamic Republic.
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