Chain of causation overview

Scientific Revolution (1543-1700) establishes that observation and reason can explain the natural world without religious authority

Enlightenment (1685-1789) applies the same reasoning to politics, society, and ethics

American Revolution (1775-1783) demonstrates that Enlightenment ideas can produce a viable independent republic

French Revolution (1789-1799) attempts a far more radical restructuring of European society

Napoleon (1799-1815) spreads revolutionary institutions across Europe through conquest

Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) extends revolutionary principles to enslaved people, producing the first independent Black republic

Latin American independence (1810-1825) liberates most of Spain and Portugal's American colonies

Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) attempts to restore the pre-revolutionary order

Nationalist unification movements (1848-1871) reshape the political map of Europe along ethnic lines