Questions tagged [revolution]
An internal state of change within a political unit, organized by a typically popular movement formed with the express intent of overthrowing the established government for said political unit.
69
questions
0
votes
0answers
110 views
Why didn't Louis XVI print money prior to the French revolution?
I'm currently reading "Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution" by Simon Schama. It is an ok book. There is a lot of divergence into the culture leading up to the revolution, which ...
-1
votes
2answers
80 views
Do revolutions always need public support in order to succeed long-term? [closed]
I normally frequent Worldbuilding StackExchange, and I recently asked a question about werewolves attempting to declare themselves an independent, sovereign state in the American West. However, this ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
Have revolutions been won without the military establishment?
Various historical and political theorists (for instance, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita) have asserted that the support, or, at most, the abstention of a country's military is necessary for a successful ...
3
votes
1answer
162 views
What alternatives to working was proposed in Paris during May, 1968? [closed]
What ideas for alternatives to work, or a society where people work to survive, did people have during May 1968 in Paris? How could that society function and how could people feed themselves?
I've ...
19
votes
3answers
6k views
What caused the 1979 Iranian revolution to become Islamic?
How did an initially anti-Shah revolution become an Islamic revolution? Was it because of Khomenei's return to Iran such that he seized the Iranian revolution?
9
votes
6answers
949 views
Has there ever been a situation where the “motherland” treated its colonies well anywhere in the world?
Has there ever been a situation where the "motherland" treated its colonies well anywhere in the world?
So being born in a former French protectorate, I've been taught about the horrendous treatment ...
32
votes
8answers
6k views
Why do revolutions “eat their own?” What is the sociological dynamic here?
We have a number of cases in history of revolutionary movements growing increasingly radicalized by a kind of internal dynamic that eliminates more moderate factions. Instances include the Jacobins, ...
3
votes
0answers
72 views
Why was 'France' excluded from Henry Lane Wilson's clique during the Mexican Revolution?
The book by Friedrich Katz, The secret war in Mexico, mentions that the USA minister Henry Lane Wilson organized in part the overthrow of president Madero during the first phase of the Mexican ...
3
votes
1answer
143 views
Was a drop in standards of living a significant factor in the revolutions of 1848?
A lot ink has been expended discussing the revolutions of 1848 and their causes, only a small fraction of which I have read.
From my point of view, there seem to be two main schools of thought in ...
19
votes
2answers
402 views
Were Quintidis holidays in the French Republican calendar?
I did some research on the French Republican calendar and found some contradictory information on weekly (or decadian?) holidays.
Wikipedia (and most other articles I found) mention:
The calendar was ...
3
votes
3answers
381 views
What was the first recorded non-violent toppling of a dictator?
There has been a lot of research on non-violent resistance, but looking at Wikipedia's page on the topic, I can't seem to answer this question: What was the first non-violent toppling of a dictator?
...
4
votes
2answers
252 views
Why were the continuity states of Imperial and Royal Austria-Hungary disunited, while the continuity states of Imperial Russia were united?
Towards the end of WWI, both Austria-Hungary and Russia faced populist or socialist revolutions and successful nationalist uprisings. In both cases, both revolutions and uprisings resulted in the ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Who were the first “businessmen” to rival the kings throughout the world? [closed]
The merchants seem to have existed for as long as human history. But when did they begin to "take over" the kings? By that I mean, by the time of the "tycoons" like the Oil and Train people of the ...
7
votes
4answers
343 views
Does anyone have a concrete example of the British Empire using revolution to gain control over foreign resources, governments?
I can't remember where I read this but in multiple sources I've read the saying that the "The British Empire could unfurl the winds of revolution" to achieve control over foreign resources, ...
5
votes
1answer
345 views
Did Hitler and Nazi officials give interviews and cooperate with the Weimar republic general press?
Politicians often purposely avoid being interviewed by journalists based on numerous arguments and if they do get interviewed they might ensure to film the interview with their own crew to expose ...
16
votes
3answers
12k views
Why was the Cuban Revolution (1953-1959) ultimately successful?
Communist revolutions have been attempted across the world - what were the primary reasons that the Cuban Revolution succeeded while others failed?
5
votes
2answers
1k views
How do totalitarian states/empires usually fall?
How do totalitarian states/empires usually fall? Are there cases or plausible where these states fall without it necessarily being invaded or face a rebellion? When i say fall, i mean the move from ...
14
votes
3answers
796 views
Who decided on the name “Mexico”?
New Spain's independence struggle led to adopting the national identity of "MƩxico", the name of its major city and the Mexica society there. In referring to a specific indigenous group, Mexico seems ...
10
votes
1answer
357 views
Why were Catholic priests so instrumental in the Mexican independence movement?
Catholic priests were leading figures in the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence.
In 1810, Hidalgo gave the Grito de Dolores; in 1811, Morelos occupied Acapulco and Mercado took San Blas. ...
-5
votes
3answers
243 views
Were there any successful revolutions that didn't end in a totalitarian regime? [closed]
By revolution, I mean a violent overthrow of a system of government, from within the country itself. So, the American Revolution doesn't count for my question, since it was a revolution to push out an ...
0
votes
2answers
104 views
Revolutions of communication
Different from other revolutions which took place just once like Harari's
cognitive revolution
agricultural revolution
unification of mankind
scientific revolution
revolutions of communication took ...
4
votes
1answer
394 views
What was the 'indemnity' paid out by Haiti actually for?
The Haitian Revolution was a successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection between 1791 and 1804 and led by Toussaint L'Ouvrture.
Haiti paid reparations to French slave-holders set in 1825 ...
-1
votes
3answers
375 views
Women in the Iranian revolution
Iranian women are now always portrayed as oppressed in the media and social media compared to the 1970s. I expected their situation to be similar to that for women in Saudi Arabia but after reading a ...
1
vote
2answers
203 views
Are there any historical examples of (non government-approved) fake news having a strong effect?
Right now there is great concern about "fake news", with calls to regulate journalists and social media to prevent people from seeing or propagating fake news stories. I would like to know what kind ...
5
votes
2answers
577 views
Which recent revolutions resulted in a major redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor?
What are some of the recent examples of a violent large-scale redistribution of wealth?
18
votes
4answers
4k views
What was the first successful non violent independence movement?
It is a known fact that Mahatma Gandhi launched a non-violent movement which freed the Indian subcontinent from the British rule on 15th August 1947. But was this the first instance that a freedom ...
2
votes
0answers
100 views
What proportion of revolutions that overthrew tyrannical regimes made things as bad or worse? [closed]
I realize that a phrase like "as bad or worse" is subjective. By what metric do we decide if a new regime is "better" or "worse" than an old one?
However, I want to know if this is a known area of ...
17
votes
5answers
1k views
To what degree has the historical effectiveness of non-violent resistance movements been impacted by parallel violent resistance movements?
Martin Luther King had Malcolm X. Gandhi had Bhagat Singh.
I've lately been involved in a pretty radical movement in which there are many people arguing against the movement being only non-violent....
5
votes
1answer
315 views
How can I understand the effect of the Sonderweg on the Revolution of 1848?
I'm trying to understand the effect that the German 'Sonderweg' had on the Revolution of 1848 in Germany. Are there authoritative/canonical references that would help?
PS: Since I also speak German ...
3
votes
1answer
267 views
How did Tunisia's revolution (and Arab Spring) begin?
I am asking because the most cited reasons are not that convincing:
The self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi: He was neither the first nor the last to self-immolate himself.
Poverty: Prices more than ...
2
votes
2answers
366 views
When was the first secular society?
When was the first attempt to create a secular society? (a society that was intentionally separate from religion). Was the French Revolution the first to discard religion as an legitimizing force and ...
4
votes
2answers
635 views
Was there risk of revolution in France at end of World War I?
Germany was forced to finish World War I with signing peace treaty on very humiliating conditions for them. That's because in 1918 in Germany there was active fifth column of communists who were ...
12
votes
5answers
2k views
What happens after a widespread social chaos? [closed]
I have a pretty limited knowledge in History but I want to know the future (or outcome) of the Tunisian revolution based on the development of current events and also on some data that I know/can ...
7
votes
1answer
780 views
Did the Zapatistas actually kill anyone?
The armed Zapatista movement started in 1994 as an armed revolution and spanned more than 20 years.
Disambiguation - this is the 1983/1994 movement, not the 1910 movement.
It is surprising to note ...
4
votes
0answers
228 views
Guadalupe Victoria's imprisonment
In 1821 AgustĆn Iturbide formed a ruling junta for newly independent Mexico that excluded his prominent fellow revolutionary officers. Near the end of 1821, Iturbide imprisoned several that may have ...
-1
votes
2answers
740 views
In which estate were the soldiers prior to the French revolution?
In which estate did the soldiers come prior to the French revolution?
In my book it is written "peasants had to serve in the army..." and "army was not open as I was not a noble by birth"
6
votes
4answers
713 views
Has there ever been a revolution backed by a royal or a noble against their own family?
Has there ever been a true rebel in the higher Royal or noble society who charged against a regime or a kingdom that is run by his own family, for altruistic reasons?.
1
vote
0answers
89 views
How direct was the Enlightenment's role in the French Revolution?
John Thomson, in his book "Europe after Napoleon", argues that the Enlightenment had little direct role in creating the conditions for revolution. Neither the thinkers prescribed revolution nor the ...
2
votes
1answer
181 views
New Latin American navies raiding Spanish interests
The newly formed navies of the Latin American wars of independence sometimes raided or blockaded Spanish interests in other parts of the Americas. Consider the Liberating Expedition of Peru, the ...
6
votes
1answer
539 views
What did Catesby and crew expect to do after the explosion?
In Britain, we are taught in school about the Gunpowder Plot, the events that led to it and to Fawkes's capture on November 5th 1605 under the Houses of Parliament and the gradual round-up of the co-...
1
vote
2answers
185 views
Why did human and civil rights gain a foothold at the time they did? [closed]
Even though the idea of human equal rights has a rather long history, it wasn't a reality up until the late 18th century. Nobles still had more or less absolute power over the lower classes. The lower ...
2
votes
1answer
370 views
Does anyone know the name of the student who died during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956? If not, why not?
I'm reading up on the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and it seems that if that one student hadn't died, the revolution never would have started.
The revolt began as a student demonstration, which ...
6
votes
5answers
279 views
How accurate is Russell on liberalism versus fanaticism in war?
After the second world war, reflecting on the rule of empiricism versus various kinds of dogmatism in political philosophy, Bertrand Russell writes (Philosophy and Politics, 1947; emphasis mine):
...
17
votes
8answers
2k views
Dictators who came back through elections?
Were there any dictators1 who, after being toppled by a revolution or the like, managed to get back to power via what is (or was considered by the norms applied at the time) free and transparent2 ...
5
votes
1answer
211 views
Why was the Imre Nagy government deported to Romania?
After the 1956 Hungarian upgrising, the KGB briefly deported Imre Nagy and his closest followers (DonƔth, LukƔcs, etc.) to Romania. I understand that the Soviet Union would have wanted to remove Nagy ...
16
votes
3answers
20k views
Economic effects of the Cuban Revolution
What were the economic effects of the Cuban Revolution? Were living conditions improved for the average Cuban? I'm looking for objective criteria like average income, wealth distribution, life ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How and Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? [closed]
How did the Soviet Union collapse? (Collapse meaning loss of central power over its member states who declared their independence.)
Was it economic, and to what extent?
Was it Ronald Reagan and ...
4
votes
2answers
276 views
What economic incentives (if any) did France have to aid the American army during the revolution?
Most history texts only state France had a desire to seek revenge for their defeat in the 7 Years War and that a Treaty of Alliance (1778) was signed. I'm having a hard time convincing myself that ...
2
votes
1answer
830 views
Wendell Phillips Quote that “Revolutions Never Go Backwards”
What did Wendell Phillips mean when he said, "Revolutions never go backwards."? I believe that Abraham Lincoln also used this quote as a means of promoting the Republican Party and anti-slavery ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
Paying for something in Revolutionary Times
If someone were paying a bill or for a debt in 1790, did they pay with cash or a note of some sort?