Political Ideas In France And Haiti During The Enlightenment

A major cause of revolutionary eagerness throughout America, France, and Haiti was the impact of political ideas from the Enlightenment. Although most Enlightenment writers are cautious about political reform, their confidence in reason and progress inspired a new generation to fight for greater freedom from oppressive governments. The contradiction between slavery and the Enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality was all too evident to the enslaved and the free people of color. The two most important Enlightenment references for late-eighteenth-century liberals were John Locke and the baron de Montesquieu. Locke maintained that England’s long political tradition rested on “the rights of Englishmen” and on representative government through Parliament.
This allowed realistic reforms to occur. The high cost of the Seven Years’ War doubled the British national debt. Anticipating further expenses to defend the half a billion acres in new territory granted by the Treaty of Paris, the government in London imposed bold new administrative measures. Financial crisis struck a monarchy that had lost much of its mantle of royal authority. Louis XV scandalized the country with a series of mistresses of low social origins. To make things worse, he refused to take communion because his adultery placed him in a state of sin. France had no central bank and no paper currency. Therefore, when a depressed economy and a lack of public confidence made it increasingly difficult for the government to obtain new loans, the government could not respond simply by printing more money. It had no alternative but to try increasing taxes. Because France’s tax system was unfair and out-of-date, increased revenues were possible only through fundamental reforms. Such reforms, which would affect all groups in France’s complex and fragmented society, were guaranteed to create social and political