Rethinking the Age of Revolutions : France and the Birth of the Modern World

Much of the historiography on the age of democratic revolutions has seemed to come to a halt until recent years. Historians of this period have tried to develop new explanatory paradigms but there are few that have had a lasting impact. David A. Bell and Yair Mintzker seek to break through the narrow views of this period with research that reaches beyond the traditional geographical and chronological boundaries of the subject. Rethinking the Age of Revolutions brings together some of the most exciting and important research now being done on the French Revolutionary era, by prominent historians from North America and France. Adopting a variety of approaches, and tackling a wide variety of subjects, such as natural rights in the early modern world, the birth of celebrity culture and the phenomenon of modern political charisma, among others, this collection shows the continuing vitality and importance of the field. This is an important book not only for specialists, but for anyone interested in the origins of some of the most important issues in the politics and culture of the modern West. Much of the historiography on the age of democratic revolutions has seemed to come to a halt until recent years. Historians of this period have tried to develop new explanatory paradigms but there are few that have had a lasting impact. David A. Bell and Yair Mintzker seek to break through the narrow views of this period with research that reaches beyond the traditional geographical and chronological boundaries of the subject.0Rethinking the Age of Revolutions brings together some of the most exciting and important research now being done on the French Revolutionary era, by prominent historians from North America and France. Adopting a variety of approaches, and tackling a wide variety of subjects, such as natural rights in the early modern world, the birth of celebrity culture and the phenomenon of modern political charisma, among others, this collection shows the continuing vitality and importance of the field. This is an important book not only for specialists, but for anyone interested in the origins of some of the most important issues in the politics and culture of the modern West Cover 1 Rethinking the Age of Revolutions 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Contributors 10 Introduction 14 1. Nature or Nation? Rights Conflicts in the Age of the French Revolution 34 2. Every Island Is Not Haiti: The French Revolution in the Windward Islands 74 3. The Politics of Popularity: Celebrity Culture and the French Revolution 113 4. Charismatic Authority in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France 137 5. The Fate of Nations Is the Work of Genius: The French Revolution and the Great Man Theory of History 167 6. “New History”: The Radical Pasts of the French Revolution, 1789–​1794 187 7. The Thermidorians’ Terror: Atrocities, Tragedies, Trauma 226 8. Of Revolutions and the Problem of Choice 269 Index 306 Much of the historiography on the age of democratic revolutions has seemed to come to a halt until recent years. Historians of this period have tried to develop new explanatory paradigms but there are few that have had a lasting impact. David A. Bell and Yair Mintzker seek to break through the narrow views of this period with research that reaches beyond the traditional geographical and chronological boundaries of the subject.__Rethinking the Age of Revolutions__