Rebellions

This page is about anti–establishment activists and activities, around the world and throughout history.

The French Revolution

The Estates General meets for the first time since 1614 – marking (according to Wikipedia) the start of the French Revolution		5 May 1789
National Assembly (formed by the Third Estate – the commoners, who invited the first two estates – the clergy and the nobles – to join them) meets for the first time		17 June 1789
Storming of the Bastille		14 July 1789
National Assembly dissolves itself, having passed Robespierre's motion that none of its members would be eligible to the next legislature (the Legislative Assembly)		30 September 1791
Storming of the Tuileries Palace (the Insurrection of ...)		10 August 1792
National Convention established to succeed the Legislative Assembly		20 September 1792
National Convention creates the Committee of Public Safety, and charges it with protecting the new republic against its foreign and domestic enemies		6 April 1793
Reign of Terror begins (according to Wikipedia)		5 September 1793
Reign of Terror ends with the fall of Robespierre in the so–called Thermidorian Reaction		27 July 1794
Five–member Directory established		26 October 1795
The Revolution ends with the Coup of 18 Brumaire, which establishes the Consulate, with Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul		10 November 1799
The First Republic ends as Bonaparte declares himself Emperor		18 May 1804

The Paris Uprising (a.k.a. the June Rebellion) – as featured in Les Misérables – occurred in (year)

1832

Other

Sunni Islamist terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden		Al–Qaeda
Revolutionary wave of demonstrations, protests, riots and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa, beginning in December 2010 in Tunisia (affecting, in decreasing order of seriousness: Syria, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia). Largely faded by mid–2012, although the civil war in Syria was still ongoing in late 2016		Arab Spring
Chairman of the PLO, from its foundation in 1969 until his death in 2004		Yasser Arafat
Alternative name for the Red Army Faction, founded in West Germany in 1970		Baader–Meinhof Gang
Derbyshire–born gentleman: hanged, drawn and quartered in 1586 for plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I and enthrone Mary, Queen of Scots		Anthony Babington
Led Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela (his own country) to independence from Spain		Simon Bolivar
Popular name for Hitler's attempted coup near Munich, November 1923, which led to his being imprisoned for high treason		Beer Hall Putsch
South African student leader, died while in police custody, 1977		Steve Biko
Steve Biko's pressure group		Black Consciousness
Serbian resistance movement that contrived the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, 1914		Black Hand
USA: revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organization, founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, active until 1982		Black Panthers
Palestinian guerrilla movement, formed 1972, massacred Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (1972)		Black September
Attracted worldwide attention in 2014 when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from their dormitory in the Nigerian town of Chibok		Boko Haram
Chinese peasant uprising, 1899–1901, against foreign influence – led by the Society of Right and Harmonious Fists		Boxer Rebellion
Neapolitan secret societies with Masonic links, major role in the Neapolitan Revolution (1820)		Carbonari
Leader of the Gunpowder Plot		Robert Catesby
1820 plot to assassinate the entire Cabinet, including Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, and instigate a French–style Committee of Public Safety		Cato Street conspiracy
Zulu leader in Zulu Wars (defeated 1879)		Cetewayo
19th century working class movement led by William Lovett – newspaper The Northern Star – founded 1838, last convention 1838		Chartism
Parisian rebels in the aftermath of French defeat in the Franco–Prussian War		Communards
Right–wing guerrilla force that tried to overthrow the democratically elected Somoza government in Nicaragua, 1979–90, with covert US funding (revealed by Col. Oliver North in the "Irangate" trial, 1986–7		Contras
1955–9: EOKA (led by General Giorgios Grivas) opposed British rule in		Cyprus
1825 military revolt or uprising in Russia, in protest at the accession of Nicholas I after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession		Decembrist
17th–century English dissenters, led by Gerrard Winstanley		Diggers
Alleged conspiracy to poison Stalin and other Soviet leaders, 1952		Doctors' Plot
Name given to the unsuccessful armed insurrection in Ireland, April 1916 – aimed at ending British rule		Easter Rising
Nationalist guerrilla organisation that fought for an end to British rule in Cyprus, 1955–9 – led by Georgios Grivas, also known by the nom–de–guerre Digenis		EOKA
Basque separatist movement, founded in 1959 to establish an independent socialist state for the Basque people; now aims to assert the right of the Basque people to self–determination		ETA
Founded in Tanzania in 1962, to fight for independence for Mozambique; now described (by Wikipedia) as "a democratic socialist political party", it has ruled Mozambique since achieving independence in 1975 (last checked September 2024)		FRELIMO
Leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule – including a 240–mile, 24–day march from his house in Ahmedabad to the coast, in 1930, to protest against the salt tax		'Mahatma' Gandhi
Coined the Sanskrit word satyagraha to refer to his form of non–violent protest
Leftist faction of the Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing; assumed power towards the end of the Cultural Revolution (1976), but ousted in a coup in October 1976, one month after Mao's death; subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes; name later used (somewhat ironically) for the four founders of the UK's SDP (1981), as well as other diverse groups		Gang of Four
Populist, grassroots political movement for economic justice, that began in France in 2018: name is French for 'yellow vests', after the high–visibility jackets that protestors wore		Gilets jaunes
The "liberal republican" faction in the French Revolution – rose to power through 1792, but fell to the Jacobins in 1793		Girondists
Riots in protest at Catholic emancipation, London, 1780		Gordon riots
Revealed in a letter to Lord Mounteagle; John Wright, Christopher Wright and Thomas Winter were executed for their parts in		Gunpowder Plot
State formed following a successful slaves' revolt in the French colony of Saint Domingue, begun in 1791 by Dutty Boukman (and others); Toussaint Louverture (L'Ouverture) took up the cause in 1793 and became its best–known leader; independence, declared on 1 January 1804 by Louverture's lieutenant, Jean–Jacques Dessalines, who became its first independent ruler, was recognised in 1825		Haiti
Founded in 1987 with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in Palestine: name is Arabic for "zeal"		Hamas
Anglo–Saxon nobleman who led a revolt against the Norman conquest in 1070, from his base on the Isle of Ely; reputedly the last Saxon leader to hold out against the Normans		Hereward the Wake
Militant Shiite Muslim organization, formed 1982 in reaction to Israel's military presence in Lebanon; name means 'God's Party'		Hezbollah
Started Barrackpore Jan 1857; ended Gwalior June 1858. Started by rumours (denied by the British) that cartridges for the new Enfield rifles, which soldiers had to bite to open, were greased with cow and pig fat		Indian Mutiny
Industrial action by sailors of the British Atlantic Fleet in 1931, in protest against proposed pay cuts: caused a panic on the London Stock Exchange and a run on the pound, bringing Britain's economic troubles to a head and forcing it off the Gold Standard five days later		Invergordon Mutiny
Jewish extremist organisation led by Menachim Begin from 1942		Irgun Zvai Leumi
Radical democrats, led by Robespierre, who overthrew the Girondists and instituted the Reign of Terror (June 1773 to July 1774)		Jacobins
1715 and 1745: the First and Second		Jacobite Rebellions
George Brooke and his brother Lord Cobham hatched a plot against		James I
Argyll's Rising was part of an attempt to overthrow (British king)		James II
Popular name for the intensive 28–day campaign of civil resistance in Tunisia that forced President Zine al–Abidine Ben Ali to step down in January 2011, and inspired the so–called Arab Spring (a wave of similar protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa)		Jasmine Revolution
Founder of the Zambian African National Congress, imprisoned 1958, who became President of Zambia		Kenneth Kaunda
Leader of the Mau Mau (1950s) who became President of Kenya		Jomo Kenyatta
English Civil War movement led by Richard Overton, William Walwyn, John Lilburne; the leaders were executed by Cromwell in 1649		Levellers
Peasants who destroyed machines in the Industrial Revolution		Luddites
Radical journalist of the French Revolution, particularly noted for editing the newspaper L'Ami du Peuple (the Friend of the People); became an icon to the Jacobins as a revolutionary martyr after he was assassinated by Girondist sympathizer Charlotte Corday, while taking a medicinal bath for his debilitating skin condition, as portrayed in a famous painting by Jacques–Louis David		Jean–Paul Marat
Secret guerrilla movement against British rule in Kenya, 1952–60		Mau Mau
Extreme left–wing group within the British Labour party, named after a newspaper founded in 1964: succeeded in getting a resolution passed at the 1972 party conference, committing the next Labour government to "a socialist plan ... based on public ownership"; five members were expelled from the party in 1982; highly influential in Liverpool City Council 1983–7, leading to 47 councillors being banned; influence ended from 1985 under the leadership of Neil Kinnock		Militant (Tendency)
Toasted as 'the little gentlemen in velvet' by Jacobites, in Queen Anne's reign (held responsible for the death of William III)		Mole
Secret society with origins in the 18th century, opposed evictions in Ireland in the 1840s; also active among Irish–American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania in the 1870s		Molly Maguires
Attempt by James Scott, illegitimate son of Charles II, to overthrow James II (his uncle) – taking its name from his dukedom; ended in defeat at Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685; Scott was hanged for treason, and many of his supporters were tried at the so–called Bloody Assizes		Monmouth Rebellion
Arabic word for those engaged in a holy war: first came to prominence when used by insurgent groups who opposed the Soviet army in the Soviet–Afghan war of 1979–89 (they were supported by several foreign governments, including the USA)		Mujahideen
Russian revolutionary movement, mid–19th century		Nihilists
First stage of Russia's Bolshevik uprising		October Revolution
Series of protests against corruption in the Ukraine elections of 2004 – after the campaign colour of the main opposition candidate, Viktor Yuschenko (who was confirmed as president after the second vote)		Orange Revolution
English uprising of 1380–1 – a.k.a. the Great Uprising; led by Wat Tyler (also Jack Straw and John Ball); prompted by the imposition of a poll tax, it led to the end of serfdom in England		Peasants' Revolt
In 1715, James Francis Edward Stewart, son of James II – the "Old Pretender" – landed at		Peterhead
Catholic rebellion against Henry VIII, 1536–7, originating in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, against the break from Rome, the dissolution of the monasteries and the enclosure of common land; led by Robert Aske		Pilgrimage of Grace
Alleged conspiracy to murder Charles II and re–establish Catholicism, 1678–81, fabricated by the Anglican clergyman Titus Oates. 15 alleged conspirators were executed, including Oliver Plunkett (Archbishop of Armagh) and William Howard (Viscount Stafford – son of the Duke of Norfolk)		Popish Plot
Mozambique: Frelimo opposed colonial rule by		Portugal
Period of reform and liberalisation in Czechoslovakia, led by Alexander Dubcek, that led to an uprising against Soviet rule and eventually to the Soviet invasion of 1968		Prague Spring
Militant left wing group active in Italy from 1970; kidnapped and assassinated prime minister Aldo Moro, 1978		Red Brigades
Youth movement in the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1960s)		Red Guard
June 1793 – July 1794: period of violence following the onset of the French Revolution, characterised by conflicts between the moderate Girondins and the more radical Jacobins; between 16,000 and 40,000 people were executed (mainly by guillotine)		Reign of Terror
1808: New South Wales Corps (of the British army) overthrew William Bligh, Governor of New South Wales, in response to his attempts to stop them trading in the eponymous commodity		Rum Rebellion
Ten Days that Shook the World: title of a 1919 book by John Reed, about the		Russian Revolution
1683 plot to kill Charles II and the Duke of York (later James II) and put the Protestant Duke of Monmouth on the throne		Rye House Plot
Left–wing movement that helped to overthrow Somoza's government in Nicaragua in 1979, but was defeated in 1990 by Violeta Chamorro's US–backed coalition		Sandinista National Liberation Front
Revolt of disaffected samurai against the new Japanese imperial government, in 1877 (nine years into the Meiji Era) – from the 'domain' that had become home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status obsolete		Satsuma Rebellion
Marxist guerrilla group active in Peru, 1980–94		Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path)
Anglicised version of the name (meaning 'Lord Alexander' – presumably in reference to Alexander the Great) given by the Ottoman Turks to the Albanian nobleman George Castriot, who led a rebellion that lasted from 1443 to 1468		Skanderbeg
Thracian slave, led the gladiators' revolt of 73–71 BC		Spartacus
President of South Africa's African National Congress, 1977–91		Oliver Tambo
Separatist guerrilla movement based in northern Sri Lanka		Tamil Tigers
Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in 1685 at		Taunton
Women who sat knitting by the Guillotine in the French Revolution		Tricoteuses
Alternative name for the First Kyrgyz Revolution (2005), which removed Kyrgyzstan's first president, Askar Akayev, from power		Tulip Revolution
Carts that carried condemned prisoners to execution in the French Revolution		Tumbrils
HQ of PLO since being expelled from Beirut (late 80s)		Tunis
Marxist urban guerrilla movement in Uruguay, 1960s and 70s		Tupamaros
Colonel von Stauffenberg's unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler, 1944		20 July Plot (Conspiracy)
Euromaidan (a series of protests in November 2013) and the Revolution of Dignity (in February 2014) led to the overthrow of the Government in (European country)		Ukraine
Jonas Savimbi: founder (1966) and president until his death in 2002 of (Angolan guerrilla movement)		UNITA
Name given to the bloodless revolution of late 1989 that overthrew the Communist government in Czechoslovakia		Velvet Revolution
Resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, defeated by French forces in Vietnam		Viet Minh
Mexican revolutionary general, real name Doroteo Arango Arámbula: raided Columbus, New Mexico in 1916, and subsequently evaded General Pershing's "Punitive Expedition" for over a year; assassinated in 1923 by rival Mexican revolutionaries		Francisco 'Pancho' Villa
Term for a counter–revolutionary, originating in the French Revolution but chiefly associated with the Russian civil wars of 1917–21		White
Popular uprising in England, 1554, against Queen Mary I's plans to marry Philip II of Spain		Wyatt's Rebellion
Leader of the 1910 revolt in Mexico – slogan 'Land and Liberty'; took pride in his impressive moustache, in a style that came to be named after him; killed in 1919, aged 39, in an ambush by Government troops led by General Pablo Gonzales		Emiliano Zapata

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24