It was a world that was increasingly uncomfortable with kings and queens and the old ways of ruling. Indeed, the atmosphere was laced with the new and exciting notions of liberty, equality, and independence.In America, the Thirteen Colonies were rebelling against British rule. They saw themselves as an independent nation and not a tax source for Britain. When the American Revolution broke out and the first shot was fired at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, it was said to be “the shot heard round the world,” for it seemed to be heard by oppressed people everywhere who were longing for independence. It was most definitely heard by the people of France, who were in fact suffering under the rule of a senseless aristocracy.Not only was the world ready for these new ideas, but it was easy for such notions to be communicated. Ships were faster, and there were better navigation techniques. Indeed, before the middle of the century there was no precise way for ships to determine their longitude and there were many disasters at sea because ships had no way of predicting landfalls.
