212 In March,
a peaceful
demonstration
in Vienna,
Austria,
turned violent.1789
Revolution!
World history has been marked
by episodes when a sudden uprising
of people driven by hardship has
overthrown those in power. An
alternative political system has been
established in the hope for a better life.
1799
O Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) was leader of the Bolshevik Social
Democratic Workers’ party and first head of the Soviet state.
O Mohandas Ghandi (1869-1958) is considered the father of India.
O Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was a Chinese communist leader and
the founder of the People’s Republic of China.
O Fidel Castro (1926- ) has been president of Cuba since 1949
and is the world’s longest serving leader.REVOLUTIONARY LEADERSThe Year of Revolution A wave of
unrest spread across many European
countries in 1848. With many starving
and unemployed, the demonstrators
wanted more rights and a greater say
in how their countries were governed.
Although the revolts fizzled out, they
were the sparks for later political reforms.The French Revolution
After the death of Louis XVI,
the country became a republic,
but there was a reign of terror,
with thousands of people executed
at the guillotine. In 1799, the
army eventually gained control
under the dictatorship of its
general, Napoleon Bonaparte.1848
Napoleon
wrote about
33,000 letters.The storming of the Bastille
On July 14, 1789, the starving
people of Paris rioted when they
heard rumors that King Louis
XVI had ordered the army to
suppress the commoners and
wanted to raise taxes. LOUIS XVI
Executed in 1793 NAPOLEONIC
WARS Napoleon
crowned himself
emperor of the First
French Empire in 1804
and led successful
military campaigns
across Europe.“LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY!”
Despite France facing severe food and money
shortages, King Louis XVI and his wife Queen
Marie-Antoinette enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle.“WORKERS OF ALL
LANDS, UNITE!”
In 1848, a German political
writer, Karl Marx, published
his thoughts on communism.HISTORY AND POLITICS