Age of Revolution

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Age of Revolution

Part of the Age of Enlightenment
Scene from the French Revolution: The storming of the Tuileries, August 1792
Date	22 March 1765 – 4 October 1849
Outcome	Industrial Revolution Multiple revolutionary waves Atlantic Revolutions Latin American wars of independence Revolutions of 1820 Revolutions of 1830 Revolutions of 1848 End of feudalism Widespread implementation of Republicanism
Deaths	American Revolution: 37,324+[1] French Revolution: 150,000+[1] Napoleonic Wars: 3,500,000–7,000,000 (see Napoleonic Wars casualties) Over 3,687,324–7,187,324 casualties (other wars excluded)

The Age of Revolution is a period from the late-18th to the mid-19th centuries during which a number of significant revolutionary movements occurred in most of Europe and the Americas.^[2] The period is noted for the change from absolutist monarchies to representative governments with a written constitution, and the creation of nation states.

Influenced by the new ideas of the Enlightenment, the American Revolution (1765–1783) is usually considered the starting point of the Age of Revolution. It in turn inspired the French Revolution of 1789,^{[citation needed]} which rapidly spread to the rest of Europe through its wars. In 1799, Napoleon took power in France and continued the French Revolutionary Wars by conquering most of continental Europe. Although Napoleon imposed on his conquests several modern concepts such as equality before the law, or a civil code, his rigorous military occupation triggered national rebellions, notably in Spain and Germany. After Napoleon's defeat, European great powers forged the Holy Alliance at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15, in an attempt to prevent future revolutions, and also restored the previous monarchies. Nevertheless, Spain was considerably weakened by the Napoleonic Wars and could not control its American colonies, almost all of which proclaimed their independence between 1810 and 1820. Revolution then spread back to southern Europe in 1820, with uprisings in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Continental Europe was shaken by two similar revolutionary waves in 1830 and 1848, also called the Spring of Nations. The democratic demands of the revolutionaries often merged with independence or national unification movements, such as in Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, etc. The violent repression of the Spring of Nations marked the end of the era.

The expression was popularized by the British historian Eric Hobsbawm in his book The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, published in 1962.^[3]