general conscription by force had never happened before the french revolution. before that, kings and emperors would go town to town `raising men` by giving speeches in the public squares, exhorting the men to join the army by giving arguments in favor of the war. forcing people to fight for you was unheard of before that. think about the implications of that for a while, you'll come to see that the french revolution changed something very important in the fabric of society. something that is not quite material, not quite logical. after the revolution, you are no longer a subject of the state, but part of it - and now you are forced to both take on the responsibilities of statecraft but also the authority of sovereignty; wether you like it or not.
Brazil