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Volume III covers the Iberian Empires and the important ethnic dimension of the Ibero-American independence movements, revealing the contrasting dynamics created by the Spanish imperial crisis at home and in the colonies. It bears out the experimental nature of political changes, the shared experiences and contrasts across different areas, and the connections to the revolutionary French Caribbean. The special nature of the emancipatory processes launched in the European metropoles of Spain and Portugal is explored, as are the connections between Spanish America and Brazil, as well as between Brazil and Portuguese Africa. It ends with an assessment of Brazil and how the survival of slavery is shown to have been essential to the new monarchy, although simultaneously, enslaved people began pressing their own demands, just like the indigenous population.

Volume I offers an introduction to the Enlightenment, which served as the shared background for virtually all revolutionary turmoil, and the American Revolution, which inaugurated the Age of Revolutions. Beginning with a thorough introduction, the volume covers international rivalry, the importance of slavery, and the reformist mind-set that prevailed on the eve of the revolutionary era. It addresses the traditional argument on whether the Enlightenment truly caused revolutions, concluding that the reverse is more apt: revolutions helped create the Enlightenment as a body of thought. The volume continues with a regional and thematic assessment of the American Revolution, revealing how numerous groups in British America - including Black and indigenous people - pursued their own agendas and faced interests at odds with the principles of the revolution.

Volume II delves into the revolutions of France, Europe, and Haiti, with particular focus on the French Revolution and the changes it wrought. The demarcation between property and power, and the changes in family life, religious practices, and socio-economic relations are explored, as well as the preoccupation with violence and terror, both of which were conspicuous aspects of the revolution. Simultaneous movements in England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, and Poland-Lithuania are also discussed. The volume ends with the Haitian Revolution and its impact on neighboring countries, revealing how the revolution was comprised of several smaller revolutions, and how, once the independent black State of Haiti was established, an effort was made to fulfill the promises of freedom and equality.