A revolution is a drastic change that usually occurs relatively quickly. This may be a change in the social or political institutions over a relatively short period of time, or a major change in its culture or economy. Some revolutions are led by the majority of the populace of a nation, others by a small band of revolutionaries. Compare rebellion.

Etymology

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The word derives from Late Latin revolutio "a revolving," from Latin revolvere "turn, roll back". It entered English, from Old French révolution, in 1390, originally only apllied to celestial bodies. Only c. 1450 it was generalid as any "instance of great change in affairs"; the presently domnant political meaning is first recorded 1600, again following French, and was especially applied to the expulsion of the Stuart king James II of England in 1688 and transfer of sovereignty to William and Mary. Revolutionary as a noun is first attested 1850, from the adjective.

Social and political revolutions

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Political revolutions are often characterized by violence, and vast changes in power structures that can often result in further institutionalized violence, as in the Russian and French revolutions (with the "Purges" and "the Terror", respectively). A political revolution is the forcible replacement of one set of rulers with another (as happened in France and Russia), while a social revolution is the fundamental change in the social structure of a society, such as the Protestant Reformation or the Renaissance. However, blurring the line between these two categories, most political revolutions wish to carry out social revolutions, and they have basic philosophical or social underpinnings which drive them. The most common revolutions with such underpinnings in the modern world have been liberal revolutions and communist revolutions, with the occasional nationalist revolution. In contrast, a coup d'état often seeks to change nothing more than the current ruler.

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