Our History: History Notes For Grade 8, 2017
Our History: History Notes For Grade 8, 2017
2017
Authored by:
Salomo Ndeyamunye yaNdeshimona
Page 0 of 30
Editors: Johannes K. Matias, Samuel S. Ndeshimona, Hileni Nghiteeka, Andreas Amutoko, Ashikoto Benjamin and Aune Natanael
Introduction to History
What is History?
What is history?
History is the story of people and the past, what they have done, why they did
it and what the results/consequences were.
History is also about time. The past can be anything from yesterday to
thousands of years ago.
History teaches us the mistakes that were made and the good things that
happened in the past.
When we study history, we try to make sense of all previous events in order to
learn from them and not make the same mistakes again.
There are six questions that every Historian should answer as to help them find out
about the past:
1. What happened?
2. When did it happen?
3. Where did it happen?
4. Why did it happen?
5. Who did it?
6. How did it happen?
We study history to find out more about ourselves, our people and our country.
We study history to see how things have changed over time.
We study history to avoid past mistakes, and be able to plan for the future.
We study history to be able to make right decisions in the present.
Explain why primary sources are more useful/reliable than secondary sources.
Time in history
Explain AD and BC
AD = Anno Domini-the years after the birth of Christ, also known as the year of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
BC = Before Christ-the years before the birth of Christ.
A biased source may be useful to a historian. But biased source is not reliable or
trustworthy.
What is Heritage?
The word heritage comes from inherit, which refers to personal possession or
money you may receive from your parents or other relatives after they have
passes away.
In history heritage includes things of great value to the country, such as
traditional culture, historical buildings, paintings a tourism, sculptures site or
even documents that have been passed down the generations.
Heritage is therefore defined as places, people, objects and memories of days
gone by that are protected for future generations.
Heritage is something from the past or from our ancestors that is worth
preserving and protecting.
Describe the basic type of political organization of the major groups in south-central
Namibia
The Ovaherero
They lived in groups called clans. Each clan had one headman or chief. The headman
and his brothers made important decisions that affected the whole clan. After the
defeat of the Nama in 1863, a single paramount chief emerged. Herero clans met to
choose this overall leader. They today have a paramount chief as well as chiefs for
the different clans.
Owambo
The large groups of Owambo people were ruled by kings. A king‟s power was passed
down from father to son. A king‟s power controlled a large area. Ordinary people paid
tribute to the king. This meant they gave him food and gifts. The king was assisted
by a number of headmen.
The Nama
They lived in groups. Some groups were small and others contained thousands of
people. The Nama did not believe that people should own land. Certain families
within the groups become more powerful. People from these families become the
leaders of the group. One leader was chosen to lead the whole group. This person
was the chief ad later, after joining with Oorlam, he was called the kaptein.
The Oorlam
The Oorlam wanted to control large areas of Namibia so that they could control the
large cattle herds and other resources, such as copper. They used riffles and force to
establish their power.
Because various groups often fought against each other. Stronger groups often take
over weaker group‟s land, properties, such as cattle and wealth and sometimes even
people will be taken by the victor.
Some groups like the Herero realized that it was better to be on the same side
as the Oorlam than to be their enemies. Constant fighting was weakening all
communities and causing poverty. Chiefs wanted to give concessions to mining
companies in order to allow mining. Some leaders cooperated in order to
stand against Jan Jonker Afrikaner who was more powerful at the time and
he was said to have more control over mining concessions.
Different groups attacked each other because: (why different groups attacked each
other?)
Some groups were big/ their society is large so they needed to be controlled by
a king.
Other groups had no kings because: The groups were too small and some were
always on the move E.g. San and Herero
Some areas had kings because they were wealthy, and other did have kings, as
their wealth was limited.
Economic power: to control the land, labor, enforce laws and production of food
Military power: they recruited strong men, organized raids on neighboring
kingdoms.
Judicial power: solving problems by holding court, judged crime and punish law
breakers.
Some of the laws were:
Murder was not allowed and would be punished by paying a large
compensation to the family of the victim.
Rape and adultery were serious offence.
No grown-up girls were allowed to leave their kingdoms and no girls were
allowed to get pregnant before initiation. Punishment for this could be exile or
death.
Witchcraft and magic were forbidden.
Religious and spiritual power: supervising initiation rites for young people into
adulthood. They decided when to start ploughing, sowing and harvesting. They
decided on the time to fetch salt from the salt pans and when cattle should move to
and from different grazing areas. They were also responsible for the traditional rain
making ceremonies.
When people move to an area, they take with them objects, their language, religion
and beliefs and also the way of doing or making things. Interaction is similar to
communication between or joint activity involving two or more people.
Political
Economic Social
Political interaction
People started to Kings arranged
mostly started with
trade with one marriages for their
war. Different
another. The area children with the
groups/countries
where one group lived children of other kings.
attacked one another
may provide them This means that
and afterwards
with something that different groups would
concluded peace
others did not have. start to meet with one
agreements. Both war
They might want to another in an informal
and peace treaties can
exchange that in way. This includes
be seen as political
return for something different types of
interaction.
that the other wanted. celebrations such as
funerals or weddings.
Trade
Trade is an exchange of goods, with goods (barter) or with money. People use to trade
with various commodities/goods, such as:
Salt
Cattle
Sheep
Ivory/tusk
Pots
Iron materials
Minerals Etc.
Economic reasons
They came in Namibia to exploit the Namibians and the country‟s natural
resources.
To look for new sources of raw materials and markets in which to sell their
goods.
Namibia had lots of natural and human resources.
Some missionaries helped the Germans in their plans to control our communities.
Settlers
The Industrial Revolution caused a rapid population growth, and land became
scarce in Europe.
They settled in large areas of uninhabited land.
They built towns with roads.
The locals began to learn their languages, customs and religions.
Hunters obtained cattle and variety of skins in exchange for beads, weapons and
ammunition. Traders exploited the natural riches and resources of our country.
Portuguese traders obtained Ivory and Cattle from the Owamboland in exchange for
glass beads, jewelry, tobacco and alcohol. Over-exploitation of big games led to the
depletion of some of the big games such as elephants, rhinos and ostrich birds and
trade on their by-products declined.
How did German colonization affect different Namibian groups and their various
rights?
Some Namibian leaders lost their political autonomy
Namibians lost their land
Namibians lost their cattle
Many Namibians were beaten, killed and raped
Namibians were forced to do hard work on contract
The local populations were expected to protect the lives and Properties of the
settlers
The local leaders were not allowed to give away the land without the knowledge
of the German authorities.
They had to give the settlers the rights and freedoms to carry out unrestricted
trade on the territory.
What is resistance?
1893 The first resistance wars took place under the leadership of Hendrik
Witbooi
1894 Resistance of the Mbanderu under Maharero
1896 Chiefs Nikodemus Kambahahiza and Kahimemua Nguvauva resisted at
Gobabis
1903 Bondelswarts uprising took place
1905 Jakob Marenga (alternative spelling: Marengo) continued the rebellion
after the death of Hendrik Witbooi
The German governor, Curt Von Francois failed to protect the land and cattle
of the Hereros as promised.
The Rhennish missionary Society supported German colonial authority.
The Chief Maharero realized that the German‟s interests were only the land,
wild games and livestock.
The Germans failed to honor their agreements as promised.
Discuss the reasons that led Hendrik Witbooi to refuse German protection
Discuss the various ways in which the German administration tried to convince
Hendrik Witbooi to accept German authority
Discuss the reasons for the uprising of the Mbanderu and Khauas people against
the German rule (1896)
Explain how Leutwein tried to convince the Nama and Herero leaders to accept
German rule
The policy was effective at the beginning since it caused conflict between Nama
and the Herero
He brought many indigenous groups under German control.
It brought misunderstandings and confusion between Namibian communities
which made it easy for the Germans to control Namibians
On the other hand the policy was ineffective since Namibians realized that they
were facing a common enemy.
Loss of Herero cattle, Herero lost their cattle due to rinderpest, due to the
credit ordnance, confiscation by the white people, and lack of good grazing
land.
Loss of Herero land, through railways construction, where a radius of 20km
was set each side of the rail. Through, signing protection treaties, and direct
confiscation, and they were forced to live in reserves.
Colonial oppression and bad treatment of the indigenous communities, Herero
women were raped by Germans, beaten and tortured.
When the war started, Samuel Maharero ordered that no German missionaries,
women and children were to be hurt, the Herero were to fight men only, it‟s against
the Herero code of war to harm women and children when fighting, it‟s also a sign of
humanity and a safe guard against the loss of innocent lives.
Herero‟s were at the advantage because they were familiar with the environment,
they knew where the trenches of the battle field were and all water wells were under
their control.
General Lothar von Trotha decided on a policy of genocide aimed at totally killing all
Herero‟s with no age limits, including soldiers, armed and un armed, men , women
and children and driving them out of the Namibia and trapping them in the Omaheke
desert. Germans troops were winning the war; they had gained control of water holes
and large herds of cattle.
The development
The Nama, led by Hendrik Witbooi, fought a guerrilla war against the German forces.
Hendrik Witbooi had gained experience of guerrilla warfare during the numerous
clashes with the Herero and the Germans. In the vast expanses of southern Namibia
he and his men were able to attack isolated German outposts and make off with
weapons and supplies long before any help could arrive. Witbooi had between 800
and 900 men and he made over 30 rains on the German positions between October
1904 and October 1905.
Explain the effects the war had on the Namibian people with reference to:
Many survivors were taken as prisoners of the war to Shark Island prison in
Lüderitz. Samuel Maharero and other groups of soldiers crossed the desert to
Bechuanaland (Botswana) were they were granted asylum on the condition that they
would stop fighting the Germans on British soil. Those who did not manage to escape
into Botswana were taken to build railway lines as contract laborers to get food and
wages.
Tribal unity
After the war, the different tribal groups had to live elsewhere where life was
affordable, they had lost their identity, the old customs and traditions was completely
lost, survivors escaped to Bechuanaland where they learnt new customs and ways of
life.
Namibians lost their land and they also lost their cattle, As the number of white
settlers increased , much of the land was also confiscated and given to white settlers,
cattle confiscation became common in the South and Central Namibian the areas
that were previously owned by Herero‟s
Migrant Laborers
Many migrant laborers came from South Africa to help build the railways.
Others came from Northern Namibia, mainly Owamboland
The chief in the North were allowed to rule undisturbed and in turn send large
numbers of migrant workers to work in the South.
Germans put half of Namibia under their direct administration, this area was called
the police zone, the area outside the police zone was for natives and it was called
reserves. The border line between the police zone and the reserves was called the red
line. The following areas were inside the Police zone, but were not controlled by
Germans, such as Rehoboth and Berseba.
The following are some of the laws which were set up under German rule
No African should own land or cattle without permission from the German
government
All Africans under 8 years of age had to carry an identity pass and show it to
any white man or police
All Africans under over 14 years had to carry a contract book.
They started a settlement programme on the land within the police zone.
White settlers acquired land more easily, directly from the colonial government
More white came to settle in Namibia as they saw a chance to get rich in
Namibia
White settlers received financial help from the authorities to:
Build houses, wells and dams
To buy breeding stock
To replace stock lost to disease
Inoculate their livestock against disease
Namibians were forced to work for whites in farms as contract laborers which
affected them badly because:
The German colonial authority took all possessions of the Herero and the Nama
people including cattle, land and goats.
In 1907 passed a Native regulation Act which forbade Africans to own land, cattle
and horses, this affected many Namibians badly.
Explain why German South West Africa (SWA) was conquered by South Africa
During WWI (1914-1918) South Africa was part of the British Empire, Britain asked
for South Africa to fight German soldiers in SWA.
Germans were defeated and surrendered to the South African army and SWA was
ruled by South Africa from 1915 onward. Dr. Seitz the last German governor in
Namibia surrendered to South African troops under General Louis Botha at Otavi
Mountains. They signed a peace treaty of Khorab on 09th July 1915.
SWA becomes a mandated territory of South Africa
When WWI ended in 1919, Germany was forced to give up all its overseas colonies
including SWA.
At the treaty of Versailles, a world body known as the League of Nations was formed.
The League of Nations gave Namibia to South Africa as a mandated territory
A mandated territory is a country which is placed under the supervision of another
country to prepare it for self-government and independence
From the beginning it was clear that South Africa wanted to Annex Namibia, to make
it a fifth province of South Africa. It had no intention of giving Namibians self-
government but it only replaced German colonization with its own. South Africa, like
German, imposed different laws on the Namibian people.
1920 The Vagrancy Proclamation Act-this law prevented black people moving
from place to place without permission.
1922 The Pass Law-black people needed a pass to be in a white area overnight.
They had to carry their passes all the time. People who did not have a pass
could be put into prison.
1922 Extensions of the reserves - new areas for black people were established
outside the white areas.
1937 Proclamation No. 32 of 1937- Africans were only allowed to settle in the
reserves and find ways to support themselves on the allocated land; since
blacks were not made for commercial farming therefore they have to leave
their land for the white settlers to occupy.
Land act of 1913: the Native Land act set aside 8% of the land to be occupied by
black Namibians and whites who made up 20% of the population received 90% of the
land. This land act of 1913 made the situation worse because it divided the land that
was given to blacks into reserves according to the ethnic groupings. The best fertile
land was given to whites while blacks received the dry, small, infertile land that could
not produce enough food
Creation of additional reserves for the indigenous groups south of the red line:
Reserves created during the German colonial rule were expanded when South Africa
took control of the territory. These reserves were set up to control the movement of
black Namibians. In 1920, the South African administration passed the Vagrancy
proclamation act that provided for the setting up of Owamboland as a native reserve
for the Ovambo people. They placed a Native commissioner NICKNAMED Shongola,
to watch over the movements of the natives. Chiefs were removed from
The economy of Namibia was based on mining. Two mines were opened at the time,
to mine copper and lead in Tsumeb and another mine was opened in Swakopmund.
These mines were already in operation when South Africa
Took over from German, they continued to use repressive laws to administer the
mining areas. Both workers on the white farms and in mines were getting the same
treatment.
Compare the South African and German policies on the ownership of livestock
by the indigenous people
The South African administration replaced the laws that were used by the German
colonial authority. Many laws and ordinances were passed which deprived the
indigenous people rights to own cattle, goats, horses, and Sheep. Many indigenous
people could only own livestock if they accepted to serve the interests of the white
settlers. The policies of the two colonial administrations concerning the ownership of
livestock were the same. South Africa did not change the laws that were applied by
the Germans.
Mandume
He fought many battles that destroyed many Portuguese forts in Southern Angola; in
1915 the Portuguese decided to launch a full scale attack on Oukwanyama and
about 4000-5000 African were killed. The South African and the Portuguese agreed
to suppress Mandume and his people and forbade him from crossing into Angola to
Ondjiva (his headquarter) and Namacunde (his newly established headquarter at the
time).
Chief Mandume refused to obey the order of the united forces and the South African
forces attacked him demanding that he surrender, but he refused to surrender, the
fighting broke out between the forces and he was wounded in action and he killed
himself in 1917 citing he want to die as a free man.
Bondelswarts
After the war of national resistance the Bondelswarts community took up arms in
1922 against the South African authorities. The reasons for the uprising were the
new tax on hut, poll tax and tax on dogs, to make them poorer and force them
to work for the white farmers. The community became very poor because they
needed dogs for hunting. Many of them could not afford to pay tax so they began to
resist. The colonial government sent planes and bombed up the community and
many of them died together with their chief Jacob Christian.
AFRICAN HISTORY
200 years ago the Zulu were a very small group of farmers who had settled in the
south-east part of Southern Africa. In the early 1800s, present day KwaZulu-Natal
was sparsely populated by farmers and herdsmen. This area consisted of large
grasslands with some forests. Occasionally, there was fighting over grazing but it was
mostly peaceful. This changed when population increased and competition for land
increased. People formed large groups for protection and strength. These larger
groups often clashed over control of land and cattle.
There was intense rivalry between the two of the kingdoms in the area, the
Ndwandwe and Mthethwa. During this period, a military leader emerged. His name
was Shaka.
Discuss how the Zulu kingdom developed into the most powerful state in
Southern Africa by 1816.
The Zulu kingdom developed into the most powerful state in Southern Africa because
of Shaka‟s leadership, and military tactics. Shaka became the king of the Zulu
assisted by Dingiswayo in around 1816. He joined Dingiswayo‟s army in 1809, and
soon became a commander. As a commander he helped defeat the Mthethwa and
conquer other smaller chiefdoms around the Zulu kingdom.
Shaka or organized his army using ideas he had learned in the Mthethwa army.
Shaka used the following technique, which he copied and made changes to from the
Mthethwa:
Soldiers used long shields and short-handed stabbing spears, known as iklwa. The
iklwa was used for close, hand-to-hand fighting. Shaka improved the techniques used
by the soldiers when they used the short stabbing spear.
Bare foot soldiers, Shaka believed sandals slowed down soldiers and could cause them
to slip. He made his soldiers fight bare feet.
The chest and horns, or buffalo horns tactic was a tactic used when attacking the
enemies. The main body of the chest would face the enemy; the two separate groups of
impis formed the horns. The horns would run around the enemy and trap them from
behind, once the horns had stopped the enemy from moving back, the chest would
begin to attack.
Shaka kept a permanent army in military camps (regiments). This helped keep the
soldiers fit, encouraged, and well trained, plus they were not allowed to marry as a
way to make them loyal to the army.
His army became more powerful, using various military tactics; this allowed
him to conquer many other clans and chiefdoms.
Shaka did not only use force, he also used diplomacy to grow his kingdom.
The Zulu state was the most powerful state in the area and controlled the trade
routes to Delagoa Bay. This allowed the kingdom to become even more
powerful and wealthy.
However, not everyone accepted Shaka‟s was of ruling, thousands fled to other parts
of southern Africa to get away from the Zulu. In this way the Zulu kingdom
contributed to the time of troubles.
Some people speak well of Shaka‟s rule and other speak bad about his way of ruling.
It can get difficult to evaluate Shaka‟s leadership thus the following may help;
The Zulu kingdom was created after the Mthethwa kingdom broke apart.
European traders came to negotiate with Shaka.
He successfully controlled the trade routes to Portuguese Delagao Bay, this
brought revenue and wealth into the kingdom.
He allowed British traders to stay in the area after 1824.
The powerful Zulu army was built up; his army remained powerful and was a
threat to European colonizers later in the 19 century.
Manny people remember Shaka as the king, who brought pride to the Zulu,
and as an honor he is named after an airport “King Shaka Airport” at Durban
South Africa today, and a statue of him stood there.
Some people remember Shaka as a cruel king, who killed his own men, and
other neighboring tribes through endless wars that lasted more than 10 years.
Some hated Shaka for the time of troubles, which caused many death and
displacements of people from their areas.
Additional information
Shaka was born in 1787, the son of Senzangakhona, king of the Zulu clan. Shaka
was stabbed to death on 22 September 1828 by Dingane and Mhlangana, his half-
brothers, and he was replaced by Dingane as the ruler of Zulu Land.
Understand the motives behind European powers in their decision to take control of
Africa
It refers to the way in which European Countries were rushing to get colonies in
Africa.
1. Economic reasons
Europeans were competing for supplies of raw materials such as palm oil and cotton.
Europeans were competing for markets in which to sell goods they produced in
factories during the industrial revolution.
2. Religious Reasons
European missionaries wanted to spread their religious beliefs.
3. Settlement reasons
Europeans experienced rapid growth from the time of industrial and agricultural
revolutions, so they wanted land to settle.
4. International rivalries
Europeans wanted to possess more colonies in order to have more international
prestige.
5. Strategy
European nations wanted to protect their sea routes and to have control over their
considered strategic lands outside Europe.
The conference took place in German, Berlin in 1884-1885. German chancellor Otto
von Bismarck was the chairman of the conference. About 14 countries attended the
Berlin conference. Some were Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark,
Spain, USA, Britain, Italy, Holland, Norway and Turkey.
Europeans needed raw materials to produce goods in their factories and Africa was
rich in some of these raw materials.
To spread their beliefs (Christianity)
In search of land for settlement
Search for market for European products
Secure new sources of raw materials
Improve their social status in the world-the more land a country occupied, the
more important the country was considered to be.
European states Areas they controlled
Belgium Congo DRC
British South Africa, Botswana , Zambia, Zimbabwe, Etc.
French Madagascar, Morocco, Tunisia
Germany Namibia, Tanzania, Togo
Italian Somalia and Eritrea
Portuguese Angola , Mozambique
Spain Western Sahara, Morocco
Indirect rule: it was a British policy to rule Africans through their chiefs. A chief
collects taxes from people and give it to the white governor.
Assimilation: it was a French policy where Africans could become part of a greater
France by getting French citizenship and could get good education.
Association: making Africans subject to French laws although they would not have
rights that French citizens have.
Settler colonialism: these are colonies which had large numbers of white settlers.
Describe the reasons why European powers used different systems in ruling
African people
They used different system to control the lives of Africans by forcing them to pay
taxes through their chiefs, e.g. Britain. Some European countries made Africans part
of their countries e.g. France. Germany made colonies their homes, by resettling
their people there, and then in turn using the natives to help them plunder/exploit
resources for their own benefit.
Explain why Africans rejected these systems and the impact of this rejection on
their environment:
8.1 Trade
List the major European companies and the goods they traded
1. Dutch East India company DEIC from Holland landed at Cape in 1652 and
established the Cape Colony.
2. Cecil John Rhodes established the British South Africa Company in 1899.
3. In 1898, the South Cameroons Company was formed in German-occupied
Cameroon.
4. In 1900, French Equatorial Africa was divided among 40 French Concession
Companies. All of them had a charter of 30 years.
5. King Leopold II of Belgium established Belgium control over the Congo Free
State.
Goods from Europe desired by Africans: Textile like silk, Medicine, Jewelry
including beads, alcohol, ammunition and weapons, mechanical toys etc.
Goods from Africa desired by Europeans: rubber, palm oil, ground nuts, kola nuts,
gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, resin, carving and leather work etc. Some companies
traded in slaves from Africa for many years.
They introduced transportation routes, like rail, roads and water to transport
goods.
The introduced Africa to the world market.
They introduced European goods to African.
9.1 Negritude
Explain the link between negritude and the black consciousness movement
Both negritude and the black consciousness movement strove to make blacks
proud of their blackness.
Both worked together with other movements which fought for the rights of
blacks like pan Africanism.
Both worked together with other leaders of pan Africanism like W.B du bois
and Marcus Garvey.
Kings believed that their powers to rule were given to them by God.
To control their entire areas of Jurisdiction and all institutions within their
territories.
They wanted have bureaucracy in position in order to carry out their work
properly
They wanted total obedience from the people
They wanted to control the lives of their people
They wanted power to make absolute decisions that could affect their subjects
To keep their positions for life.
Devine right of kings: a belief that kings were given rights to rule by God. They believed
that they were God’s representatives on earth therefore no one had the right to
question their decision.
The spread of divine rights of kings was basically due to a great increase in
trade in which monarch rulers were involved.
The share of profits that kings received from trade gave them power and money
to control communities
They recruited strong armies to secure their interests in wars and conflict with
other countries.
They ignored the powers of the feudal kings and took power to rule in their own
hands.
Weaker nations, communities and kings were conquered by monarchs
Explain when, how and how the absolute power of kings declined
Their power declined from 1789 in all countries in Europe when the French
revolution begun. They gained control of major communities in their territories and
claimed total obedience and loyalty from their subjects. In order to keep their power
they used strategies that caused wars that they failed to finance E.g. in Spain. The
drying up of the American wealth destroyed the Spanish economy and social
structure. France: the eagerness of the king to bring many nations under his control
resulted in France having wars with other nations. The wars affected traders and
caused starvation and left France economically weak.
*divine rights is the belief that god had given monarchs unlimited power too rule
their countries and this was practiced in Spain by king Phillip II, England king
James I and France king Louis XIV
10.2 Liberalism
It is the idea that individual freedom is the most important value of human rights.
Liberty means freedom. People who believe in liberty and equality are called Liberals.
Equality means that all citizens have the same rights and freedom. Liberalism is a
way of thinking about politics and government. Liberals believe that everyone has the
right to make decisions for them as long as they do not hurt anyone else.
It started from the 1700 to 1800, during enlightenment in England and France. The
founding father of Liberalism is John Locke an English philosopher. Other Liberals
are Jean Jacques Rousseau and Baron Charles de Montesquieu.
NB: Teachers should give examples of books written by these Liberals, and
how they made contribution to Liberalism.
Right to life
No one should be allowed to kill another person or to stop people from doing
what they want as long as they do not hurt any one
No one should be allowed to take away people‟s possession without their
permission
Characteristics of liberalism:
Freedom of thought
Rule of law
Limitation of the power of the government
Free and fair elections
The two great liberal thinkers were
John Locke He was an English philosopher who wrote the book titled the
two treaties of government. He set forth important ideas that
people are born with natural rights such as the right to live, the
right to be free and the right to own property.
Governments have a duty to protect these rights and thus
the power of their rule should be limited.
If government abuses its power people have the right to
overthrow it and put up a new one.
He believed that all people are equal and independent and
no one had the right to harm other people‟s lives, health
and property.
Voltaire Wanted to reduce the power of the Church and end religious
intolerance. He also supported the idea of a dictator who had
the best interests of has people at heart.
Montesquieu He was a writer who was impressed by the English political
system. He supported the idea of a limited government with
many systems in a place to check and control the government.
He also suggested a separation of power to prevent one branch
of the government becoming becoming too strong.
Jean Jacques Wrote that the state owed its existence to the people. He did not
Rousseau believe in democracy, preferring the idea of a dictator-but one
with interest of the people at heart.
The They were groups of writers who preached that all wealth comes
Economists from working hard on the land. The believed that workers were
the only really productive people and that government should be
as small as possible. They demanded free trade and education
for all. They also believed that the only tax should be a single
land tax.
1. Economic causes
France fought many wars with many countries in order to protect its interests
in Europe and colonies.
Wars were expensive and France had to borrow money to pay for the cost of
wars.
France was struggling to raise money to finance the needs of the state and pay
back its huge war debts.
The finance minister Turgot was tasked to increase avenue and he decided to
increase tax.
The Clergy and nobles were unwilling to pay more tax on the land to increase
state revenue.
Peasants where than required to more tax but they were not willing to spend
their income.
The control of nobles over the peasants was weakened.
3. Bad harvests
from 1787-1789 there was very poor harvest because of bad weather
there was hunger everywhere because food was unavailable to feed the entire
nation many farmers became unemployed
Peasants in the countryside (rural areas) were starving to death, their
desperation for food and finding jobs led to riots against their unjust
exploitation
King Louis xvi called a meeting to talk about the reform; it was a meeting of
the three estates of the French people (the noble, the clergy and the middle
laborers and peasants
Each class had different intentions and hopes over the meeting.
People could not agree with the kings they proposed a new constitution
which was agreed by the majority of the peasants.
People demonstrated in cities, they destroyed the Bastille, this was a place
where weapons and political prisoners were kept .people saw it as a symbol of
injustice and oppression and they also wanted weapon and gun powder which
was stored there.
Tension between nobles and peasants worsened
During the tension a revolutionary group called the Jacobins under the
leadership of Maximilien Robespierre took control of the constituent assembly
and used terror to rule the French people.
Those who were against the Jacobins were killed and people started to
campaign against the reign of terror, --Robespierre was later removed from
power; captured and executed when Napoleon Bonaparte came to power.
The Napoleonic code was introduced; it set up clear rules that were applied to
the French people.
According to the Napoleonic code:
people were declared equal before the law
religious freedom was guaranteed
Feudalism was ended
the declaration of the rights of men was issued in France
National education was introduced
the ideas of privileged classes were abolished
all people were equal before the law
people have the right to choose their representatives in parliament
The ideas and principles of the revolution were introduced in many countries
Countries started to reform their government systems
The spirit of patriotism grew among the people of Europe
Many governments felt threatened by the events in France and began granting
freedom to their peasants.
The laws and ways of governing countries become just and efficient