Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History (review)

In spite of the obvious impacts French, American, Haitian, and Spanish-American revolutions had on each other and the relatively narrow period in which they occurred (approximately 1770–1824), it would appear that no one before this new work by Wim Klooster has attempted to compare the four in a single volume. This "Age of Atlantic Revolutions" has produced a huge body of secondary literature on each revolution; it is understandable why many would shy away from such an ambitious undertaking as a comparison of the four.

The organization of this work and its overall presentation are models of clarity. After a brief introduction, Klooster takes the reader through four chapters (one each on the four revolutions) and then ends with a succinct comparative conclusion. The work is very readable, and Klooster is to be commended for distilling some very complex series of events into a readable synopsis that is both engaging and easy to follow.

After his discussion of each revolution, in his conclusion Klooster notes that these revolutions share four features:

1. 1. They must be understood in an international context;

2. 2. "The revolts were not foreordained" (p. 158);

3. 3. "Warfare often meant civil war, pitting countrymen against each other" (p. 162); and

4. 4. "None of the revolutions aimed at creating a democratic society" (p. 165).

This work very nicely traces the main events and people connected to each revolution. It is much more demanding to outline the impact one revolution may have had on another. Klooster makes great strides in that direction, noting that Lafayette asked the U.S. Ambassador in France (Thomas Jefferson) for advice and that the French National Assembly discussed the differing social conditions in France and the newly established United States (pp. 57–58). Later in the text, we learn that, regardless of attempts to control and manage news of the French Revolution, word of it leaked out in Haiti (pp. 93–94). The Haitians, in turn, supported any number of men fighting the Spanish, most notably Simoón Bolivar (p. 140).

Klooster is equally good in providing the international as well as internal context for each of the revolutions. His treatment of the Spanish case, for example, is one of the clearest and shortest accounts that this reviewer has seen. Now that Klooster has brought all four revolutions to the table for comparison, future work will be able to begin with his conclusions and move toward more detailed comparisons and analysis. In particular, this work invites more comparisons, not necessarily among all four.

This work would be an appropriate text for an undergraduate or possibly a graduate survey of Atlantic History. While the work does include four maps (one opening each of the four chapters on revolutions) and a scattering of visual images, this reviewer would have liked to see these expanded. Given the probable audience of undergraduates or the general public, much more detail included on the various maps and a greater number of images would add to the appreciation and understanding of the text. Revolutions in the Atlantic World has extensive citations and endnotes. Again, in light of the work's audience, a short bibliographic essay would have been a helpful aid. I strongly suspect this little book will be adopted for use in many a survey class; a second edition could easily include these suggested modifications.

However, these are minor points about a work that should be celebrated. Klooster's synthesis is no small achievement; he is to be congratulated for an important and sweeping new contribution to the history of the Atlantic World.