Three great revolutions in the eighteenth century changed Western society: the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. The American Revolution was the first political revolution; it inspired other anti-colonial struggles. The French Revolution of 1789 shook the social foundations of Europe.
1. English Colonies in America
- The Portuguese and the Spanish were the pioneers of exploration and colonies; the English lagged behind.
- England's theoretical claim to North America rested on the voyage of John Cabot (1497) off the coast of Nova Scotia.
- Jamestown (1607) was the first British colony in America.
- The ship Mayflower took Puritans from Plymouth, England, to America in 1620; they called the place New Plymouth. John Winthrop set up the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England; persecuted by the Stuart kings James I and Charles I, many left England.
- Quakers (Society of Friends) rejected outward rites; their founder was George Fox. Pennsylvania was named after the Quaker Penn.
- The Dutch founded New Amsterdam, renamed New York by the English.
- By 1775 the thirteen colonies had nearly 3 million people, a third of Britain's population.