Profiles of Revolutionaries in Atlantic History, 1700-1850

This book offers imaginative biographical essays of prominent political and scientific revolutionaries. Contributors illustrate how supporters of Newtonian mechanistic and materialistic ideologies helped to transform eighteenth-century scientific and early industrial life; explain how nationalistically inspired revolutionaries in the Americas and Europe worked to destroy inequitable institutions and establish viable republics; and reveal how biography can be used as an effective tool for studying the rapidly growing and vibrant field of Atlantic history. These profiles demonstrate the impact of nationalistic, republican, and radical egalitarian doctrines upon nations in three continents. Chapters concerning the American Revolution depict the military achievements of George Washington, the feats of the heroine Molly Pitcher, and the brilliant diplomatic accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin. Essays covering revolutions in Latin America describe the leadership role of Toussant L'Ouverture during the Haitian Revolution; the aspirations of Father Hidalgo during the Argentine, Chilean, and Peruvian Revolutions; and sections covering Europe focus on the leadership of Brissot during the Decembrist Revolution; the salient status of Adam Czartoryski during the Polish Revolution; and the accomplishments and failures of the Irishman John Mitchell and those of the Hungarian Louis Kossuth during the 1848 Revolutions. A suggestive essay about Alexis De Tocqueville suggests the motives behind his denouncement of the radical ideologies and violence that arose during the 1848 French Revolution.