Revolutions: How they changed history and what they mean today

Revolutions hold a distinct place in the popular imagination. This may be because their rhetoric, such as ‘liberty, fraternity, equality’, articulates aspirations with which we identify; or because we are shocked by the destructive forces unleashed when social conventions break down. Yet each revolution is unique – a product of its time, its society, its people – and the outcomes vary dramatically, from liberal reform to cruel dictatorship.

Twenty-four leading historians, each writing about their country of origin, consider revolutions from England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the Arab Spring of 2011, reflecting not only on their causes, crises and outcomes, but also their long-term legacies and their changing, sometimes contested, meanings today. They reflect on key questions, such as: What were the reasons for the revolution? What were the main events and dominant ideologies, and who were the leading protagonists? How is it considered today and what is its ideological legacy?

Whether as inspiration or warning, the legacies of these revolutions are not only important to those interested in protest, political change and the power of the people but also impact on virtually every one of us today.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Peter Furtado

The English Revolution 1642–89: Simon Jenkins
The American Revolution 1776–88: Ray Raphael
The French Revolution 1789–99: Sophie Wahnich
The Haitian Revolution 1791–1804: Bayyinah Bello
The Year of Revolutions 1848: Axel Körner
Japan: The Meiji Restoration 1867: Shin Kawashima
The Young Turk Revolution 1908: Mehmed Sükrü Hanioglu
The Mexican Revolution 1910–17: Javier Garciadiego

The Irish Revolution 1913–23: Diarmaid Ferriter
Russia: The Bolshevik Revolution 1917: Dina Khapaeva
The Indian Revolution 1919–47: Mihir Bose
The Vietnamese Revolution 1945: Stein Tønnesson
China’s Communist Revolution 1949–76: Mobo Gao
The Cuban Revolution 1959–2000: Luis Martinez Fernandez
The Student Revolution 1968: Stephen Barnes
Portugal: The Carnation Revolution 1974: Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses
Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge Revolution 1975–79: Sorpong Peou
The Iranian Revolution 1979: Homa Katouzian
Nicaragua: The Sandinista Revolution 1979–1990: Mateo Jarquin
Poland: The Solidarity Revolution 1981–89: Anita Prazmowska
Eastern Europe 1989: Vladimir Tismaneanu and Andres Garcia
South Africa: The End of Apartheid 1990–1994: Thula Simpson
Ukraine: The Orange Revolution 2004: Yaroslav Hrytsak
Egypt: The Arab Spring 2011: Yasser Thabet

Peter Furtado is the former editor of History Today. His publications include the Sunday Times bestselling Histories of Nations and Great Cities Through Travellers' Eyes, both published by Thames & Hudson.