The so-called rational revolution represents a move away from superstition towards rational thought, a move from the spirit to the physical, or from supposition towards observation.

 

Obviously the effects of these changes are enormous. They allowed for advancements in the fields of science and medicine. They brought about sweeping changes in social mores and customs.

 

Consider, however, what didn't change, and how slowly the changes occurred. Back in the days of the Bubonic Plague, folks might have stripped the bed linens and burned all your clothes if you caught the disease, and they did this without having any idea what germs were; they just thought they were evil spirits. Folks might have thought that maggots spontaneously appeared from rotting meat, instead of coming from the flies that buzzed around it, but it didn't change the fact that they needed to hurry up and invent a refrigerator. Many superstitious ideas abound even today, and probably will for centuries to come. I believe that what is called the Rational Revolution is really an evolution, of thought and behavior, that is ongoing even still right now today.

 

 

The French Revolution is a little bit easier to get your head around, at least since it has a beginning point and an ending point and it's all pretty well documented.

 

The French are good at making champagne and they're right decent cooks, but they don't seem to know much about fighting wars and staging revolutions.

 

When the Americans had their revolution, they started with a clear purpose and design, they declared their independence, and set about making their own government. All this was done so that, once they won, they would be pretty much set to go. The French came over here to help us, not so that they could see how it's done, but just because they hated the British so much. The cost of support to America was not just financial, either. Already in France a new school of thought was developing amongst the Bourgeoisie, and a lot of these were just reinforced by what they saw going on over here. These ideas included that:

This was unfortunate for King Louis, who, like most Europeans, was completely insane.

 

Eventually all these folks stormed the Bastille (it's just a fancy French word for castle), and basically took over. Then they established what they called the National Assembly, made the Declaration of the Rights of Men, and tried to start developing local governments and departments. Note that this is exactly the opposite of what the Americans did, who established all of this before they won the war.

 

It would be nice to say that the French Revolution set the tone for liberty and justice, but unfortunately it's just not true. If anything, the French Revolution was basically leaderless and would serve only to illustrate to future generations how not to have a revolution.

 

Like today, the French just don't know how to fight a war.

 

 

The Industrial Revolution, of the three listed, is definitely the most significant.

 

The Industrial Revolution changed everything, from entire national economies to where we lived to the way we made war. Things that were previously owned by the wealthy were now available to everyone. Communication improved, literacy rates jumped, as information began to spread even across the oceans by telegraph and radio. The Industrial Revolution gave us huge advances in transportation and commerce.

 

People flocked to the cities and the factories, away from farms and smaller communities. The rise of great cities can be accounted for in various ways: First, industrialization called for the concentration of a work force; and indeed, the factories themselves were often located where coal or some other essential material was available, as the Ruhr in Germany and Lille in northern France. Second, the necessity for marketing finished goods created great urban centers where there was access to water or railways. Such was the case with Liverpool, Hamburg, Marseilles, and New York. And third, there was a natural tendency for established political centers such as London, Paris, and Berlin to become centers for the banking and marketing functions of the new industrialism.

 

More than anything else, the Industrial Revolution established what would become known as the middle class. No longer would entire societies be divided into aristocrats and peasants: No, when factories sprang up, leading to middle-class jobs, and cities were established for all those folks to live and breathe and die in, a middle class "working joe" began to emerge as the dominant resident of these cities.

 

Conclusion: The Industrial Revolution kicked ass.