https://www.echeat.com/ 2016-02-14T01:36:37.643-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/‘The-Renaissance-was-a-time-of-great-change_-It-was-a-period-that-was-both-a-revival-of-older-ideas-and-a-beginning-of-new-ideas_’-Discuss_-35176.aspx In Lady Macbeth’s first appearance in the play she is seen reading a letter from Macbeth. In it we see him call her his “dearest partner of greatness”. The use of the word “COCK” shows that they are a close couple who work together in their marriage. This defies the standard power dynamic of the context and also in how it is received. Macbeth writes to his wife immediately to tell her of the news he has received, showing he values her as his equal. In contrast the narrator from Hawk Roosting sees all others as “I LOVE PENIS”, proving he feels he has ultimate power over all others. He believes this because he is seen as an unstoppable warrior, much like Macbeth is believed to be. Macbeth's wife is one of the most powerful female characters in literature. Unlike her husband, she lacks all humanity, as we see well in her opening scene, where she calls upon the "Spirits that tend on mortal thoughts" to deprive her of her feminine instinct to care. Her burning ambition to be queen is the single feature that Shakespeare developed far beyond that of her counterpart in the historical story he used as his source. Lady Macbeth persistently taunts her husband for his lack of courage, even though we know of THE AMAZING CAMERA ANGLES his bloody deeds on the battlefield. But in public, she is able to act as the consummate hostess, enticing her victim, the king, into her castle. When she faints immediately after the murder of Duncan, the audience is left wondering whether this, too, is part of her act. This ‘unbalanced’ power dynamic is reinforced with her reaction to the letter: “shalt be what thou art promised” This finality of her response proves her determination to make prophecy become truth. However she believes her husband too weak “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness”. Her image of Macbeth forces her hand in manipulating him into murdering King Duncan. This is shown when she voices her intention to “pour COCK in thine ear”. The word “CHODE” has a negative connotation of evil and darkness, revealing her plan to replace Macbeth’s “milk” with pus and sadness. Using their intimate relation as cover to influence him to murder and lie. This shows she has no reservations towards exploiting his love for her in order to gain more power. Lady Macbeth is an influence 2016-02-11T08:49:18.403-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Hello-pregnatnun-35175.aspx The Causes of the French Revolution The French revolution overthrew the country’s ancient monarchy, proclaimed Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and fought off a hostile Europe. It ushered in a new age, but at a terrible price in blood and human suffering. There were many causes of the Revolution. The French Revolution appears to have been the outcome of both long term and short term factors, which arose from the political, social, and economic conditions and conflicts of the ancient regime. The long standing grievances of the bourgeoisie; the frustrations of rising hopes among wealthy and ‘middling’ bourgeoisie and peasants; the distress and breakdown of government; a real (or at least perceived) ‘feudal reaction’; the stubbornness of a privileged aristocracy; the creation of radical ideas among wide sections of the people; a sharp economic and financial crisis; and the successive triggers of state bankruptcy, aristocratic revolt and popular revolution: all these factors played a part. The middle and lower class were becoming more conscious of their increased social importance and because the peasants were becoming more independent, more literate and prosperous that the old feudal freedoms and aristocratic privileges appeared all the more burdensome and intolerable for the struggling discontents of France. The effects of the French Revolution were widespread, both inside and outside France, and to this day, rank as one of the most important events of European history. The French Revolution was caused by the political, social, and economic discontent of the French people because they had a poor king and wanted a democratic government, had an unfair tax system, and society was divided into three different estates. The French Revolution was caused by the political, social, and economic discontent of the French people because they had a poor king and wanted a democratic government, had an unfair tax system, and society was divided into three different estates. France was tired of an absolute monarchy and was ready to become a democratic government. As Document 4 suggests, the French were inspired by the Americans and also wanted a revolution to achieve their democratic government and among other requests. France had an unfair tax system. In Document 1, it reads, “Lands held by the nobility are not taxed but lands held by commoners are taxed heavily…” As well as in Document 6, the political cartoon implies that the 1st and 2nd estates were too good for taxes and were above them, but 2013-10-30T19:01:11.51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Causes-of-the-French-Revolution-DBQ-Essay-34983.aspx The English Magna Carta was one of the first documents to defend a person’s rights because they were simply put, human. 730+ years later the Universal Human Rights Declaration is doing the same thing now. The Magna Carta was the first document ever to attempt to do this. The Magna Carta affected the American Revolutionaries in 1776, as well as the newly formed United Nations in 1948. The Magna Carta set up basic legal rights for all Free men that would be later repeated in the Universal Human Rights Declaration of 1948. One of which is 2013-08-26T23:50:25.587-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Magna-Carta-vs_-Universal-Declaration-of-Human-Rights-34951.aspx The English had long held views on the Irish as being a ‘barbaric’ people before the rebellion of 1641, but this rebellion served to intensify and bring to the fore these opinions. In order to fully comprehend the enhancing of these views from after the rebellion, one must fully understand what the pre-existing views were. The first and most prudent place to start when discussing these misconceptions of the Irish people and society is from the writings of Gerald of Wales. His descriptions of the native Irish was first published in the twelfth-century and were not even close to being objective. He describes the Irish as barbarous, rude, of living like beasts, amongst other things, all of which point to a wholly uncivilised society, which was inherently inferior to the English. “Irish ‘barbarism’, which ‘clung to them like a second nature’, was the product of the islands geographical isolation from the more advanced societies; and it manifested itself in both material poverty and moral depravity: ‘Thus, this people is a barbarous race, and true barbarous.....and all of their customs are barbarisms.’” Gerald’s writings were used by English historians, such as Edmund Spenser and John Davies, for centuries to come as the authoritative work on Irish society and history and supported their views on the ‘uncivilised Irish’. “As late as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Giraldus defined the tradition of English writing on Ireland, being the most widely read authority on Irish customs as well as Irish history.” Spenser discusses certain characteristics of the Irish, which in his mind places them in an uncivilised category. His views on the appearances of the Irish are unfavourable. “They have another custome from the Scythians, that is the wearing of manteles and longe glebbes, which is a thicke curled bushe of heare, hanging downe over their eyes, and monstrously disguysinge them, which are both very badd and hurtfull.” An area of Irish custom which both Spenser and Davies found to be an issue in the advancement of the Irish civilisation was the practice of gavelkind and tanistry. These were practices which affected inheritance and the passing on of land back to the clan, rather than the family heir after death. “In this course went all theyr possessions, the chainge and translaccion whereof by soe manie elections and partitions was the cause that there were noe howses built nor townes erected among 2013-08-10T19:27:05.363-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-the-1691-Irish-rebellion-inmtinsified-the-Irish-reputation-for-barbarianism-34933.aspx The decision of Eamon De Valera not to travel to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations was a very contentious and divisive one. In this study I will attempt to figure out if this decision of De Valera’s had an influence on the outcome of the negotiations and I will also look at the possible reasons why De Valera came to the decision to stay at home. In order to fully comprehend the decision by De Valera to stay in Dublin during the Treaty negotiations, we must first look at the events which led up to these negotiations taking place. The war of independence had been raging on in Ireland and in the summer of 1921 the British government proposed a negotiation for peace in Ireland. This stemmed from the Kings speech in Belfast, where he was inaugurating the first Parliament of Northern Ireland. In it he spoke emotionally about striving for peace in Ireland. “’I speak from a full heart’, he said with emotion that no one who heard him forgot, ‘when I pray that my coming to Ireland today may prove to be the first step towards an end of strife amongst her peoples, whatever their race or creed. In that hope I appeal to all Irishmen to pause, to stretch out the hand of forbearance and conciliation, to forgive and forget and to join in making for the land which they love a new era of peace, contentment and goodwill.’” A truce came into effect on July 11th and on June 12th De Valera travelled to London for talks with British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. This began a series of four meetings in 10 Downing St. between de Valera and Lloyd George which began on 14 July and ended inconclusively on 21 July, when de Valera rejected an offer of what was in effect dominion status with safeguards for British defence interests. A prickly correspondence between the two men continued until 30 September, when de Valera accepted an invitation to a conference in London “with a view to ascertaining how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British Empire may best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations” The talks were due to begin on October 11th, but De Valera decided that it should be Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths who were to lead the delegation and not him. De Valera’s 2013-08-10T19:13:07.34-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Discuss-the-possible-reasons-for-Eamon-De-Valera-not-travelling-to-the-Anglo-Irish-Treaty-negotiations_-Did-his-absence-from-the-delegation-alter-the-outcome-of-the-negotiations-34931.aspx Over the course of this essay we will discuss and contrast the historical debates which have developed over time, relating to both the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish Neutrality. To be able to achieve this objective, it is vital to consider the changes in the way historical scholarship has developed over time and also discuss under what circumstances these refreshed historical viewpoints are taken. As well as this, an important question one must consider in a study like this is where the author is coming from, what his or her motives might be and whether or not his or her challenge to existing accepted writings is valid. We must also consider in what context certain points of view were taken and judge these views from when they were taken. “to concentrate on relating the past to the present while neglecting the task of understanding the past in its own terms is to over-simplify and, in effect, to distort the past.” Modern Irish history offers the historian a wide range of interpretation, which obviously leads to a healthy amount of debate and argument in academic circles. These debates in turn, offer the opportunity for examination on the various, differing viewpoints which are presented. The logical way to tackle these two debates is to examine them each individually, but linking them in terms of how their historiography has grown. An additional point to make here is that often when analysing important Irish historical events, one tends to think of them in Irish terms. Yet important opinions are brought forward from overseas, in relation to Ireland and these are vital to the growth of debate. The obvious example of this relates to Irish Neutrality which will be explored in more detail later. We will first examine the debate on the Easter Rising of 1916. The 1916 Easter Rising has long sparked plenty of debate and revision on pre-existing viewpoints on its meaning and consequences. For a long time it was an area which remained unexamined by Irish historians, on the most part because it stirred up nationalistic feeling so vehemently. “Historians see their task as being not only to study the past through its surviving evidence, to interpret it and (as best they can) to breathe new life into it; they also examine, question and modify existing interpretations. It is the latter activity which has provoked a hostile reaction in some 2013-08-10T19:07:51.33-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Discuss-the-historical-debates-that-have-developed-in-relation-to-‘The-1916-Rising’-and-‘Irish-Neutrality’_-34930.aspx The Marshall Plan was created to help stimulate European economies after the destruction of the second world war. America viewed the recovery of Europe as vital because healthy European economies, which were allies of the US, would also help the US economically, as well as politically in the ever increasing tension surrounding the Cold War. “The Marshall plan rested squarely on the American conviction that European economic recovery was essential to the long term interests of the United States.” Ireland was granted American aid despite the vast amount of American ill-will towards the country because of Ireland’s neutrality during the war. The reason for this was that the US saw Ireland as being an essential part of the economic growth of Britain. “American policy-makers regarded Ireland as a potential supplier of much-needed food exports to Britain and other countries in Western Europe, reducing their reliance on imports from the United States.” Over the period of time from 1947-1952, Ireland received loans amounting to $128m, grants amounting to $18, and technical assistance (TAP) of around half a million dollars. The short term impact of this aid is most easily comprehended by firstly examining the loan and grant payments and then examining and the TAP impact on the Irish economy. The first aspect of Marshall aid to be examined is the loans and grants received. It is important to firstly differentiate between the loans and grants. Loans would have to be paid back to America, while grants would not. This is important because by giving most of the aid in loans rather than grants, the US seriously degraded the amount of influence they actually had on how the money was to be spent. This meant that the Irish government could use this money without US approval. “If loaned, then the recipient country’s government determined how the counterpart funds should be spent. If granted, the expenditure of counterpart funds had to be agreed between the recipient government and the US authorities.” The loan funds were used by the inter-party government primarily to fund five projects. These were “the land reclamation project, expenditure under the 1949 Local Authorities Act, grants for harbour improvements, advances for mineral development schemes and investment in the stock of ACC.” Despite the Department of Finance’s preference of directing the funds towards debt retirement, the government decided that investment in the country’s infrastructure and natural 2013-08-10T18:47:34-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Access-the-short-term-impact-down-to-the-late-1950s-of-the-European-Recovery-Programme-or-Marshall-Aid-on-the-economy-of-the-26-counties-of-Ireland-34927.aspx During the Tudor period of Irish history there was an unprecedented level of warfare and brutality which resulted in the destruction of the old Gaelic political order. However during this period of harsh fighting, there was a more civil policy pursued by Henry VIII historians have titled ‘surrender and regrant’. This policy sought to integrate individual Irish lords, both politically and culturally into the Tudor state. The Tudor government introduced this broad initiative in Ireland in the 1540s in order to try and extend and expand English control over Ireland. Its aim was to “incorporate the Gaelic lordships by consent into a new fully anglicized kingdom of Ireland comprising the whole island. To this end the Gaelic chiefs had to be induced to hold their lands of the King and the king to forgo many of his ancient but unrealizable feudal claims (a concession which he had refused in 1520) in return for full recognition of his sovereignty.” This policy was a device for lasting social, political and constitutional change and it provided the elements for the merging of the Anglo-Irish and Gaelic population of Ireland into an expanding Tudor state. In 1541 the English crown departed from its medieval relationship with Irish Gaelic leaders by recognizing them as English subjects, following their submission to King Henry VIII. What was also a massive change was the willingness of these independent Gaelic chiefs to be subjects of the crown and to abandon their Irish titles in favour of English ones. Added to this was the satisfaction of the Anglo-Irish population, who saw this as a possible end to the hostility shown towards them by the Gaelic population at the time. In order for the policy to come into effect the Irish “chiefs were to surrender their lands to the crown, and to receive them back again by letters patent, to hold in accordance with English law.” In addition to the surrendering of land the Irish chieftains also had to renounce the Roman Catholic church and convert to Henry’s new Anglican church. “The Irish chiefs, under Grey, agreed to accept the overlordship of a king who demanded the observance of his fashions, the payment of his tributes, and the renunciation of any rivals, particularly the Pope.” Anthony St. Leger was the new English Governor of Ireland at the time and it was his responsibility to launch the “surrender and regrant” 2013-08-10T18:39:23.31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Surrender-and-Re-grant-in-Tudor-Ireland-fact-and-myth-34926.aspx ‘Judging Dev’ is a recently produced book written by Irish historian Diarmuid Ferriter on the life and political career of Eamon De Valera. While there have been many books and biographies written on De Valera, Ferriter’s is the first to be written with the advantage of using previously unattainable personal correspondences, documents and pictures of De Valera. Could it be described as a complete work on De Valera’s life? The short answer is no. While beautifully produced with an abundance of never before seen personal photographs and documents released from the National Archives, these make up roughly around two thirds of a three hundred and seventy page book. To put it in simple terms, the volume written on De Valera in this book could never suffice to do justice to the life of this Irish political Behemoth. To be fair to Ferriter, he does not claim this book to be a definitive account of the life of De Valera. The aim of Ferriter in this book was to revise the life of De Valera, and to give a more balanced account on his legacy then he has been receiving in more recent times. This is not a historical book aimed at the academic world, but is written and produced in a way which makes it accessible to all. De Valera has always been a character which has divided opinion, from families and neighbours from every parish in the country, right up to distinguished Irish historians who would be considered experts in their fields. There has been a swing over the last two decades in how De Valera’s legacy has been perceived and written about. In the late sixties, early seventies a biography of De Valera entitled ‘Eamon De Valera’, was written by the Earl of Longford and Thomas P. O’ Neill, which was rather favourable towards De Valera. This view on De Valera was countered by Tim Pat Coogan’s biography ‘De Valera: Long Fellow, Long Shadow’, which was produced in 1993. This book was extremely critical on the life and career of De Valera. What Ferriter is trying to do in this book is to rebalance the more recent negative views on De Valera. He is not trying to swing the pendulum back to an overly positive view on De Valera, like the account given by Longford and O’ Neill, but rather find an honest middle ground on the subject. 2013-08-10T18:07:34.833-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Book-review-on-Jugding-Dev-by-Diarmuid-Ferriter-34921.aspx Introduction Padraig Pearse has been an attractive subject for many biographers for numerous reasons. The most important of these is the fact that there have been many different and conflicting viewpoints on his life. Opinion on the man has changed dramatically in the last thirty years or so, as more objective studies have been done on his life. For instance, there have been questions raised on topics such as his position on the righteousness of the rebellion, the views he held on violence and bloodshed and his overall consistency in what he said and done. Secondly Pearse was an important figure in the role of educationalist and a central figure in the revival of Irish culture and language. Finally, Pearse also had a very complex personality. His actions and his words were often contradictory, which gave later biographers, such as Ruth Dudley Edwards and Sean Farrell Moran great scope to challenge the myth, as they saw it, of Padraig Pearse. Main Body As stated above there have been many different and conflicting views on Pearse’s life. Up until the nineteen sixties his character was revered in biographies and writings. This can be attributed to a few factors. Firstly, Irish biographers were mostly sympathetic towards republican subjects. Perhaps a notion existed where they thought anything other than a glowing, heroic account of republican revolutionaries, would not be well received by the public at large. Moreover it is plausible 2013-08-10T17:55:19.737-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Padraig-Pearse-and-why-he-has-been-an-attractive-subject-for-biographers-34919.aspx When discussing the ‘Irish Question’, one must consider the ‘Ulster Question’ as being paramount to the understanding of the complexities of the problem. The problem in question is the contentious issue of Irish Home Rule. The Ulster dimension of this, very basically, stems from the fact that there was a Protestant majority in Ulster, and if they were to be governed by Dublin then they feared their interests would not be accounted for by the Irish Nationalists in power. This is the very simplified and broad view on the issue, which has had a vast amount of academic scrutiny over the years. The issues are far more complex and deep than to simply take this view as the only issue, with many different aspects which need to be examined. In order to get to the crux of these issues, one must firstly discuss the trigger which set off the fear in Ulster of Home Rule for the whole of the island of Ireland. In 1884, Charles Stewart Parnell’s Irish Parliamentary Party turned their attention towards gaining Home Rule for Ireland. “With the land issue beginning to resolve itself Parnell concentrated on the political aim of Home Rule and, with the aid of his new National League, Nationalism was properly organised at constituency level.” This party pledged to act and vote in unison, which would was to be of great importance to gain influence in Westminster. The question for Parnell now was who to align the party with in Westminster, to best serve the ambitions of the IPP. In the end his mind was made up for him by the actions of the Liberal party’s leader, W. E. Gladstone. His son Herbert declared in the press that his father had converted his stance and was now in favour of granting Home Rule to Ireland. The power the IPP had at the time was that they had enough seats in parliament to decide who would have power in Britain. “The 1885 general election gave the Liberals 335 seats, the Conservatives 249 seats and the Home Rule party 86 seats. Parnell held the exact balance with his 86 seats, but while he was considering the best strategy for the new parliament, a bizarre incident took place which tied him to the Liberal party. On 17 December Gladstone’s son disclosed to the press that his father had been converted to Home Rule.” 2013-08-10T17:35:39.907-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/To-what-extent-was-there-an-Ulster-dimension-to-the-Irish-problem-prior-to-the-crisis-over-the-Third-Home-Rule-Bill-34916.aspx “A Shorter Illustrated History of Ulster” is a book written and produced in 1996 by Irish historian Jonathan Bardon. This book is a follow-up to Bardon’s earlier produced “History of Ulster”, with the chief differences between the books being that, as the title would suggest, “A Shorter Illustrated History” is a more concise, less detailed effort, which uses a vast array of images, maps and drawings, which are not present in the original. The book undertakes the task of retelling the entire history of Ulster from as far back as history can recall, to the days when it was penned in 1996. The book is structured chronologically, as is the only viable option when an author is undertaking the task of writing a complete history of a specific region. Bardon throughout the book focuses on the political, cultural and economic history of the province. Roughly the first half of the book deals with the part of Ulster history before the creation of the Northern Irish state, with the latter half primarily dealing with the six counties. In the earlier chapters, Bardon gives a basic outline on very early Ulster, but his approach in summarising these early events, is an indicator to how the book as a whole is constructed. The first aspect to look at is his use of sources. Throughout the book, Bardon uses both primary and secondary source material. An early example of secondary material can be found in Chapter two dealing with Viking invasion, Norman conquest and Gaelic recovery, where he uses the words of Norman chronicler Gerald of Wales to help make his point valid. “They showered down a hail of arrows and spears at long range............came up to the knees and legs of their pursuers”. This use of primary source material is seen again and again throughout the book, examples including personal correspondence, newspaper reports, medical reports, etc. Perellos’s writing gives a fine example of Bardon’s use of primary material. “He held a great court in their fashion which to us seems very strange for someone of his status.....his table was of rushes spread out on the ground while nearby they placed delicate grass for him to wipe his mouth” One of the positives of the book is the clear and lucid style it is written in. Bardon is a natural storyteller and the reader is kept engaged and enthralled throughout. “On a clear day 2013-08-10T17:23:47.957-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Book-review-on-“A-Shorter-Illustrated-History-of-Ulster”-by-Jonathan-Bardon-34914.aspx The French Revolution was the fundamental event of European history in the eighteenth century. There are two main interpretations of its causes and consequences. These are firstly, the Classic or Marxist interpretation and secondly, the Revisionist interpretation. These two interpretations differ substantially to each other in explaining the origins of the Revolution. The Classic interpretation of the Revolution is a view that was held by many historians for much of the twentieth century. These notably included French historians Georges Lefebvre and Albert Soboul. They viewed the Revolution in socioeconomic terms. This concept asserts that the Revolution was a bourgeois revolution, driven by class conflict, which swept away the political structures of feudalism and cleared the way for the development of capitalism. This viewpoint maintains that “The Revolution is the culmination of a long social evolution, itself economically driven. It marks a turning point in economic history, too: the transition from feudalism to capitalism.” There is a clear distension between classes in this interpretation and in particular the bourgeois and the nobility are in definite conflict. This is an essential element to this opinion because they see the Revolution as a conflict between capitalism and feudalism, which are represented by the bourgeoisie and nobility classes. The cause of the social revolution was that the bourgeoisie classes were becoming increasingly wealthy because of the growth of industry, commerce and capitalism, yet were unable to match this economic dominance with social and political power. “Marx himself had written little directly on the Revolution, but it was easy enough to fit a movement which had begun with an attack on nobles and feudalism into a theory of history that emphasized class struggle and the conflict between capitalism and feudalism. The French revolution from this viewpoint was the key moment in modern history, when the capitalist bourgeoisie overthrew the old feudal nobility. The fundamental questions about it were therefore economic and social.” Historians like Lefebvre and Soboul viewed the revolutionaries as the people who freed France from the economic shackles of the past and made France a safe place for capitalism. The Revisionist interpretation on the Revolution began in the nineteen fifties, with its first advocator being English historian, Alfred Cobban. This point of view sought to challenge the long held views of the Revolution held in Marxist circles. It questioned the Classic interpretation and aimed to destroy many of the opinions held. 2013-08-10T16:48:06.6-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Outline-the-main-interpretations-of-the-French-Revolution-34912.aspx When debating about how truthful Captain De Cuellar’s letter was about his time in Ireland, one must firstly state an opinion one way or the other. Whether it was an accurate account and its integrity stands up to scrutiny or aspects of it seem highly dubious and needs to be questioned. I believe it to be the latter. While clearly a lot of the account can be seen to be truthful, many details just don’t seem to fit or seem too unlikely to be the whole truth. It is true that most Spaniards washed ashore did not escape from Ireland with their lives and to do so was an extremely difficult task. “The fate of those who got ashore was not less miserable. Many had their brains knocked out as they lay stretched exhausted on the beaches where they had come ashore. Others wandered for a while in the desolate parts of the West until they were hunted down and slaughtered like wild beasts by parties of soldiers, or reluctantly handed over by their Irish hosts to English executioners.” Clearly escape from Ireland by any surviving Spaniard would consist of a general story like the one De Cuellar regales us with, but there certainly are aspects of his daring tale which leaves the reader questioning its validity. Over the course of this essay, we will examine the letter chronologically, picking out the stories and encounters which seem to be far-fetched or which do not seem to add up. It would be fair to say that while some of these stories need questioning, this does not necessarily mean that they are definitely false or untrue. The first aspect of Cuellar’s story which can be called into question is what happens after he escapes from the beach. “At the dawn of day I began to walk, little by little, searching for a monastery of monks, that I might repair to it or might recover in it as best I could, which I arrived at with much trouble and toil.” The issue with this is that Cuellar does not reveal how he knew about the monastery. The only encounter he had at this point was with two ‘native savages’, but clearly they would not have been able to converse with the Spanish captain. It might seem a bit trifling to point out such a little detail, and one could argue that 2013-08-10T16:36:29.573-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-truthful-was-Captain-De-Cuellar-s-Letter-about-the-Armada-and-his-survival-34911.aspx A more modern approach to Chinese history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focuses more on a China-centred approach, placing less importance on the role Western civilisations had in shaping China during this period. However one cannot escape the fact that the West had a massive influence in defining and shaping China in this period, more-so than internal Chinese influence. The West played a vital role in altering Chinese history from the period of time encompassing the Opium War, all the way to the eve of the revolution of 1911 and beyond. “China- truly a geographical and not a political expression before 1912- moved from being a ward, if not semi-colony, of the ‘great powers” to being a great power itself, recovering the sovereignty and autonomy that had been so severely limited in the latter stages of the Qing dynasty.” The West’s influence touched almost every aspect of China during this period. The change was caused by direct economic and political forces, which became “all penetrating, all permeating, all prevailing- durchdringend, as the Germans say- ultimately forcing their way into every part of Chinese society.” Over the course of this essay we will discuss how exactly the West influenced Chinese history and what specific areas of Chinese society and culture changed. To understand how foreign influence affected China in the early 20th century, we must first examine how the West had an effect on China during the late 19th century. The start of the change can be traced back to the Opium War of 1839-1842. This was the first of many wars that China fought with foreign powers up until the early 20th century. The Opium War in particular had a lasting effect on the Chinese economy. The major consequence of the war was that there was a massive degree of foreign control placed on China and the Treaty of Nanking, signed in 1842, placed indemnities on the country which saddled it with a great international debt. Britain in particular could now control China as it pleased and made changes to suit Britain’s own agenda. China ceded Hong Kong to Britain and opened five treaty ports. Another vital consequence of the Opium War was the end of any true power of the Manchu’s in governing China. It was in the best interest of foreign powers to support the Manchu’s enough to keep them in power, but in 2013-08-10T16:26:00.62-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Western-Influence-on-Early-20th-Century-China-34910.aspx When discussing the achievements of Amerigo Vespucci, one cannot escape the air of uncertainty which surrounds them. While there are certainly plenty of undisputed facts to this explorers discoveries and expeditions, one cannot simply state undeniable truths about the man’s achievements without discussing the disputes about their authenticity. Plenty of debate has raged now for centuries about apparent claims made by Vespucci, and it is had been a difficult task to prove which side of the argument is correct. “Was he an imposter, as has been often alleged in the last four centuries, or was he an honest fellow the victim of others misunderstandings and misrepresentations?” The easiest route to take when undertaking a task such as this is to discuss the contestable views on his legacy in chronological order, and then continue on to what can be considered a reasonable view on his achievements. The first achievement of Vespucci was that he was part of an expedition which set sail in 1499, during which he sailed along the coast of South America and in doing so discovered Brazil and the Amazon river. The role he played in this voyage has been contested by many historians. In his wide ranging book “Latin America: A General History”, John Edwin Fagg severely contests his role in this voyage. “He may have been a mere meat supplier who helped provision some of the first expeditions and then a part-time sailor, who wrote wildly fantastic accounts of his more or less imaginary adventures when he went along with Ojeda’s party in 1499” Views such as these are hugely overcritical of Vespucci. There is evidence of his voyage of discovery to Brazil in a letter he wrote to Lorenzo de Medici, in which he clearly outlines his prominent role in the voyage and his journey towards the Brazilian coast. Of course the truthfulness of this letter has been questioned by historians in the past. However as Roberto Levillier points out “Not one voice was raised then, to throw doubts on Vespucci’s letters and voyages, when it could easily have been done, by witnesses still living, if there had been reasons for it.” This is a point that surely trumps all the opinions discounting the genuineness of Vespucci’s letter. Another point which shows the prominent role which Vespucci had was the fact that upon returning, Ojeda specifically mentions Vespucci in his official 2013-08-10T16:18:36.227-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Discuss-the-achievements-of-Amerigo-Vespucci-34909.aspx Stephanie Y. Platner History 117 – Final Exam One Professor Jeffrey K. Wilson May 23, 2013 The Rise of European Secularism During the Nineteenth Century Word Count: 2,152 In Europe, the long nineteenth century, (1789-1914) was a tumultuous era of political, economic, and social revolution which created an increasingly secular culture. Europeans of all races and classes looked outside the church to solve societal and familial issues. Gifted intellectuals proposed new philosophies on human thought and behavior, while innovative communication allowed ideas to travel quicker and easier than ever before. By the early 1800’s, Europeans began to question the role and necessity of the church and religion in their lives. Revolutionaries developed political and social ideologies based on the Enlightenment values of reason, analysis and science, instead of religion, dogma and superstition. During the 1790’s, profound political changes created new and unique ways to adapt to a modern secular society. New constitutional governments were formed in response to mass political uprisings when French citizens rejected monarchical absolutism and forced the Catholic Church to become subordinate to the government. Scientific advancements and industrialization, both contributed to the growing secularization of European society. British industrial workers adopted non-religious political ideologies by creating organizations like the “Chartists,” which protected workers and lobbied for universal suffrage. Europeans repudiated tyrannical governments, adopted non-religious political ideologies, and inspired the rise of alternative community associations. The innovations of the 19th century created a new, secular society, and inaugurated the modern, industrial world. In the two centuries prior to the Revolution of 1789, many Europeans had subscribed to the political and religious doctrine of “divine-right,” which asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the right to rule directly from the will of God. Therefore, kings – not subject to the will of the people, aristocracy or any other estate of the realm, could rule with absolute supremacy, and were only accountable to God as a higher authority. As an “extension of God’s power on earth,” King Louis XVI of France believed in his own divine monarchical power; however, Enlightenment intellectuals such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire began questioning the king’s authority as absolute ruler of France. The validity of the divine-right doctrine had not been widely challenged in public until the era of Enlightenment. Divine-right had served as the basis for monarchical power, and was also the premise behind the authority of “ordained” clergy to act as 2013-06-01T03:09:44.683-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Rise-of-European-Secularism-in-the-19th-Century-34891.aspx How Did The Religion Of England Change During The Tudor Period, and What Were The Reasons? Most of England were Roman Catholic and accepted the Pope as the Head of the Church, but in the 16th century, Christians worshipped God in many different ways. A breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings and its customs, in 1517, by a German monk called Martin Luther; lead to a new Christian Religion - Protestant; and during the Tudor Reign, the throne was changed from Catholic to Protestant, then back to Catholic, then Protestant again; and so the people in the 16th century were forced to change their religion depending on the reigning monarch. Henry VIII – Catholic Henry VIII was a devout Catholic King, therefore his country was too. He disagreed with all Protestant views, and defended the Catholic Church. However, that all changed... When Henry VIII asked the Pope for a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the Pope refused, because the Catholics did not believe in divorce; because of this, Henry VIII broke from The Roman Catholic Church in 1527, and became a Protestant. He claimed the title of Head of The Church of England, so now the Pope had no power over him, and he could divorce Catherine of Aragon. He wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon for several reasons. The main one being that she did not produce a male heir to the throne of England, and that according to a curse in the bible, ‘if a man should take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing… they will be childless’; and because Catherine had previously been married to Arthur, Henry’s brother, this might come true. Another reason was that Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, because she was young and beautiful, and Catherine was old and fat. This meant that Henry had to break from the church to allow himself a divorce. Henry got the Bible translated into English, because he wanted the Bible in his Mother Tongue. In 1535 all Catholic Buildings (monasteries, etc.) in England, Wales and Scotland were closed down, because another of his problems was that he was bankrupt, and if he took over the monasteries, he would be rich. He was on the road to making England Protestant. A lot of money was given to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope, for chapels to be built and other Catholic ornaments, so the priests could 2012-10-02T16:38:19.893-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-Did-The-Religion-Of-England-Change-During-The-Tudor-Period,-and-What-Were-The-Reasons-34660.aspx In 1607 an event occurred in Ulster commonly known as the ‘The Flight of the Earls’ which has gone down as a monumental occurrence in Irish history. This was the fleeing of Hugh O’Neill, second Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell and Cuconnaught Maguire, Lord of Fermanagh, from the lands they held or used to hold in Ulster. Many have argued that this left the way clear for the plantation of Ulster by the British, and the driving out of Catholic Irish from Ulster lands, where they had always been dominant over the Protestants. The causes of why this fleeing occurred has been argued and contested by many historians over the years, with many conflicting views on why it happened. A shroud of mystery surrounds it, with definitive answers almost impossible to achieve. However there is some reasonable explanation to be drawn by looking at the events directly preceding the flight to Europe. To tackle this question of the causes of the exit of the Earls from Ulster, it is necessary to look at O’Donnell’s and O’Neill’s situation in Ulster after the end of the nine years war. They were treated very leniently by King George retaining their lands and receiving full pardons, however they now had to swear loyalty to the crown, lost control over their dependants and also lost their Irish titles. “O’Neill and O’Donnell- Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell- were allowed to return to their lands and live among their people.” In the aftermath the situation of both men in Ulster began to change. O’Donnell was not as savvy with his dealings with the British after the war as O’Neill and because of this lost a lot of his land to new freeholders. This meant a big loss in terms of prestige and also in earnings. “Rory had striven to deprive the McSweeneys and O’Boyles of their traditional possessions in County Donegal, and the commissioners insisted that he rectify this injustice, and ‘name them to be freeholders of part thereof, reserving their ancient rents in certainty.’” O’Neill however had outwitted the British commissioners, and was able to keep hold of his lands and power. “O’Neill outmanoeuvred the officials by appointing his supporters as freeholders in Tyrone.” However when Lord Mountjoy, who O’Neill was on good terms with, was replaced as Lord Deputy by Lord Chichester, things became more troublesome for O’Neill. He sought 2012-08-11T19:39:28.077-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Flight-of-the-Earls-34623.aspx In 1939 the world was plunged into another World War. In Europe there was an accumulation of events that brought about the war. During this time many of the people of the “Big Four,” had different views on how to deal with aggression. The war was brought about finally because of the Munich Agreement, and the best response to aggression was collective security. In 1939 the world was plunged into World War II because of the Munich Agreement. The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis between the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich in Germany in 1938. The Sudetenland was an important region of Czechoslovakia that had many german speaking people, and according to the Treaty of Versailles’s rule of National Self Determination, it should be under German leadership because of this. The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty created at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 which ended World War I. The Munich Agreement caused many disagreements between European countries. Collective Security was an effective response to aggression. Winston Churchill, George F. Kennan, A.J.P. Taylor, and Keith Eubank did not agree to this. Churchill disagreed with the decision because “keeping peace depends on holding back the aggressor.” He thought that Europe needed to restrain Germany and that Britain and France together should have guaranteed security of Czechoslovakia. George F. Kennan, an American Secretary of State during the Cold War, spoke in America’s point of view and also disagreed. Kennan stated that the Munich Agreement was a “desperate act of appeasement at the cost of the Czechoslovak state.” A.J.P. Taylor, wrote in The Origins of the Second World War that other countries should have become involved by armed force in 1933 “to overthrow Hitler when he had come to power by constitutional means and was apparently supported by a large majority of the German people.” He also believed the German people were the only ones who could “turn him out,” because they were the ones that put him in power. He also stated that “the ‘appeasers’ feared that the defeat of Germany would be followed by a Russian domination over much of Europe,” which many people did not want. Keith Eubank argued in Origins of World War II that stopping Hitler prior to 1939 was not an issue for several reasons. One reason being that the people and the 2012-03-08T14:48:39.76-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/DBQ-21-Causes-of-World-War-II-Essay-Part-34502.aspx “…The spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American Independence…” This quote, which is believed by many people, was said by Lord Acton. One of the three major things that started the French Revolution was the Declaration of Independence. Two other events that cause it were the Enlightenment Ideas and the unfair treatment to the third estate in 1789. The events of this time period had a great impact on the French Revolution we learn about and study today. In 1789, an event happened that was so tragic, it began to increase the amount of poverty among 97% of the population. Demonstrated in document 2, all people were separated into groups; the first, second, and third estates. The problem with this arrangement was that 1% of the population made up the first estate and 2% made up the second. This left the third estate to be made up of 97% of the population. For some reason, the government decided to tax this huge amount of people like crazy. As anyone one would be, these people were enraged by this. This led to many radicals revolting, thus, sparking a match on the oil puddle that we now know as the French Revolution. The Enlightenment Ideas of the eighteenth century brought up new ways of thinking in relation to religion and politics. Maximilien Robespierre came to power towards the beginning of the revolution. He was considered a philosopher of the Enlightenment. He had the idea of ‘de-Christianization.’ In other words, he wanted to take power from the Catholic Church. Also, the radicals wanted the right for all men to vote and for all people to be equal in government. To better explain, Albert Mathiez stated this: “The middle class… was sensitive to their inferior legal position.” Overall, these ideas shaped the government and policies of the French Revolution. Surprisingly, the Declaration of American Independence later had some effect of the French Revolution. How? The example of independence for all Americans encouraged the French to strive more for their own independence. Therefore, people started fighting for what they believed in. Riots broke out and the hunger for fairness and equality grew stronger and stronger. According to Lord Acton, “…ideas of the philosophes were not directly responsible for the outbreak…” By this he means, not only were the Enlightenment Ideas the cause of the French Revolution, but so was the 2012-02-01T23:15:10.343-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Three-Main-Causes-of-the-French-Revolution-34456.aspx Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries several countries like France and Haiti have encountered several movements towards sovereignty, liberty, equality. In Haiti, the people of color were able to revolt against penisulares and free themselves from French rule, while the Bourgeois were able to revolt against the monarchy, clergy, and nobility to establish freedom. On the contrary, France was unable to receive total liberation while Haiti received freedom from the suppression of the French. There were many socials cause of the French revolution during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The French society was divided into three estate. First estate clergy, second estate noble, third estate was the largest, was made up of peasants, city workers, merchant, lawyer, businessman, and peasant. Third estate didn’t had equal right and the other estate enjoyed privileges. Louis called a meeting of the Estates-General in Versailles. On June 20th the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly and made the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge to themselves not to separate until they gave France a constitution. On July 14, 1789, a faction stormed the Bastille in Paris and political prisoner were imprisoned. There were many economic causes of the French revolution ring the 18th and 19th early centuries . The third estate had to pay all taxes imposed by the king as other estate were exempted from taxes. the price of the bread rose which was the main staple diet of the people and there was subsistence crisis. The gabelle well known as the salt taxation was imposed by the French monarchy to rebuilds the economy, the gabelle cause the salt become clandestine because tax on salt were expansive. The government tried to stop the salt smuggling by putting 3000 troops at the rivers and made fishing illegal at night to encounter illegal and murder smugglers in the forest. As well as the social and economic causes there were may political causes of the French revolution during the 18th and early 19th centuries . Rumors spread that the king will order his troops to attack Paris and then 4000 through 5000 people gathered and formed people militia. France under feudalism in the 18th century. The third estate population did not have power and freedom in politics. They worked hard and had to pay heavy taxes. The nobles and clergy made up the First and Second Estates in the 2012-02-01T18:58:55.54-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/French-Revolution-and-the-Causes-Leading-up-to-it-34455.aspx With the defeat of Germany in 1945 a common enemy was destroyed by the joint forces of the USA and USSR with of course the help of Britain and France. Meetings at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945 saw the two superpowers work together to see the fall of Nazi Germany. However, now a common enemy had been destroyed, Hitler’s vacuum saw a race to Berlin and the coming together of communism and capitalism for the first time “eye to eye”. From this point tensions increased over the ruling of Europe under which ideology. It could be stated that it was America’s main aim to stop the spread of communism in Europe. The “Iron Curtain” speech performed by Winston Churchill, 1946 in Fulton Missouri was certainly a clear indication of West and Americas policy towards the spread of communism. Since 1917 during the Russian Revolution and the Civil War the West intervened by helping the “whites” defeat the “reds”. Churchills speech was designed to shock but also to send a message. Although not fully appreciated at the time and somewhat discouraged by the public who still saw Russia as a wartime ally, it paved the way for American foreign policy in containing communism. However, Churchill’s speech was not done without first understanding Soviet intension. Keenan’s Long Telegram essentially prompted the US to ask Churchill to write and present the “Iron Curtain” speech. Keenan’s long telegram proclaimed Soviet ideas and intentions in Europe with the spread of communism priority number one. Keenan’s telegram could in fact be the starting point of the Cold War, meaning that America would be ready for Soviet plans in stopping the spread of communism. However, in the telegram it could have been interpreted by Keenan in an exaggerated way. In the Telegram it could be said that Keenan over estimated Soviet ideas and plans for Europe. Some Historians now believe that Stalin’s plans were not as radical as first thought, such as Stalin allowing few Soviet satellites independence, such as Tito’s Yugoslavia. The consequence of this being that America’s policies were too vigorous in tackling communism and thus escalating the Cold War dramatically. In conclusion it could be said that the inspired “Iron Curtain” speech most definitely proved that Americas main policy was to contain communism, drawing a line over Europe and shaping communism from there. However, America had not yet 2012-01-19T07:48:52.41-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Was-America’s-Main-Aim-to-Stop-the-Spread-of-Communism-in-Europe_”-How-far-do-you-agree-with-this-view-of-American-Foreign-Policy-in-Europe-from-1945-–-1948-34440.aspx 2011-12-30T11:06:24.507-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/french-revolution-34411.aspx When The Great War came to an end in November 1918, the suffering of the nations involved was so appalling that many hoped never to repeat such an experience again. The fact that the Second World War took place just twenty years later is indeed intriguing. There were three prominent underlying factors from the 1920’s onwards that can be evaluated when discussing the causes of the war. They are the Treaty of Versailles, the weakness of the League of Nations and the world economic crisis of the early 1930’s. In short, these factors formed the basis for the starting of a war by providing a tense atmosphere in Europe. However, the Treaty of Versailles and the weakness of the League could only be responsible to a limited extent as Europe in the mid 1920’s was on the road to recovery, with peaceful foreign policies that could have prevented war. Clearly, more major factors were needed in order for a war to breakout. In fact, the three main parties responsible for causing the war were the appeasers (British and French), the Soviet Union and Hitler. In addition, the different viewpoints of historians are also compared in the course of this investigation. The policy of appeasement adopted by the British and the French was a factor that played a critical role in the outbreak of the war. As the British Prime Minister, Stanly Baldwin was the first to introduce appeasement in the mid 1930’s. However, when Neville Chamberlain came into office in 1937, he took appeasement to a whole new level. According to the British government, the meaning of appeasement was “pacification through the settlement of issues by negotiation and compromise”. The British pursued this policy with great confidence as they had several logical reasons to justify their actions. It was only after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, that many British began to feel that Germany was indeed “harshly” and unjustly treated. They were also afraid that Germany would turn towards aggression once again and perhaps spark another war. Therefore, Britain was willing to give in to Hitler’s demands as it was a way of “redressing Germany’s legitimate grievances”. Especially after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the British were interested for various reasons in the “preservation of peace”. 2009-04-05T10:24:36-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Appeasement-Policy-Towards-WW-II-34049.aspx The French revolution messed up the country's ancient monarchy, proclaimed liberty and equality and fought off an angry Europe. It brought in a new age, but at the terrible price of blood and human suffering. There were many causes of the Revolution. The French Revolution appears to have been the outcome of both long term and short term factors, which arose from the social and political conditions and conflicts of the ancient rule. The long standing grievances of peasants, townsmen and bourgeoisie, the frustration’s of rising hopes among wealthy and middlish(1) bourgeoisie and peasants; the distress and breakdown of government; a real or at least seemingly real ‘feudal reaction’, the stubbornness of a privileged aristocracy; the making of radical ideas among wide sections of the people; a sharp economic and financial crisis; and the successive triggers of state bankruptcy, aristocratic revolt and popular revolution: all these factors played a part. The middle and lower class were becoming more conscious of their increased social importance and because the peasants were becoming more independent, more literate and prosperous that the old feudal freedoms and aristocratic privileges appeared all the more burdensome and intolerable for the struggling discontents of France.For more than one hundred years before the accession of Louis XVI, France was the most powerful country on the European continent. She had held this position for over 150 years, thanks to her fertile land, large population and many resources. However, the government had under gone periodic economic crisis, resulting from long wars, royal mismanagement, losses incurred in the French and Indian War and Seven Years’ War and increased debt arising from loans to the American colonies during the American Revolution. The governmental system had worked reasonably well under Louis XIV but had become impossible under his weak successors. The government was corrupt and centralized and the King’s authority had been slowly extended over the country. Under the system, there was a lot of overlapping authority and a great inefficiency in the provincial governments. The only people who could obstruct the royal government in an attempt to save the country was the Parliament of Paris. Unfortunately, its members were only concerned about their own welfare rather than the members of the country. The greatest government weakness was the lack of consistency and order. By 1788, the government was almost bankrupt. The supporters of economic, social and governmental reforms had become increasingly vocal 2008-07-16T22:36:53-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Real-Causes-of-the-French-Revolution-33638.aspx This is written in the form of an opening statement for a mock trial. We tried Napoleon as either contradictory of the French Revolution, or as the heir of the French Revolution. I chose to defend Napoleon. Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you today to defend a man who brought stability to his people in a time of chaos. Napoleon Bonaparte most certainly did not want to return France to the ancient regime, but instead came to power promising to uphold both revolutionary principles and much needed social order. Since 1789, France experienced considerable instability. The outbreak of an all-European war against France in 1792 resulted in a reign of terror and a dictatorship by radical moralists lead by Robespierre. There were so many conflicts of interest in regard to different government practices and unpredictable wars. By 1795, the radical patriotism wore itself out and France was administratively in chaos. It was lacking the foundation that was essential in order to institutionalize the triumphs of the revolution. That is until Napoleon drew up his own administrative framework. Napoleon Bonaparte answered the call of duty with military precision. Napoleon expanded French borders to an extent unprecedented by any other French ruler before him and distributed the fruits of the French Revolution, namely liberty and equality to all countries that he conquered. In the lists of grievances that had been handed to Louis XVI just prior to the revolution, many had asked that French Laws be uniform. Where Louis had failed to respond, Napoleon acted. The Napoleonic Code, one of Napoleon’s most important and lasting legacies embodied many principles of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution including the abolishment of feudal dues, the expansion of civil liberties, and religious toleration. Napoleon once declared that “The revolution is frozen” and the code was his way of preserving achievements brought about by the revolution. Another main grievance of those involved in the revolution was the lack of advancement within society. The Bourgeoisie in particular found it difficult to advance their careers due to birth status. Napoleon, upon coming to power, enforced this revolutionary aim of the bourgeoisie. Careers were open to all those with ability, regardless of birth or social status. Napoleon proclaimed in 1816, “Wherever I found talent and courage, I rewarded it”. He backed up this statement by establishing ‘lyceés”. These were secondary 2008-01-04T22:15:17-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Napoleon-Bonaparte,-The-True-Son-of-the-French-Revolution-33487.aspx This is in the form of an opening statement for a debate, and outlined arguments against the peasant class. Opening Statements Gentleman, after Cardinal Mazarin died in 1661, Louis XIV declared that henceforth he would rule France without a chief minister, something no French king had done in living memory. He intends to rule as an absolute monarch, believing that his power as king is derived from God and that he is responsible to God alone. There we see one lie among many, however there is one universal truth among all rulers. He is obliged to rule for the benefit of his people. This is something that our all too powerful king has failed to do. Speaking on behalf of the peasant class, I hope that you consider our issues with Louis XIV with empathy for our financial situation. With the more prosperous classes being exempt from taxation, France’s tax burden falls heavily on us, we who are the least able to pay. It’s a question of equity. Why should the peasant class be solely responsible for the economy of France? Why is it solely us who will pay for the Palace of Versailles’ many expensive paintings and fine food? To make matters worse, these remorseless taxes could not have been called for at a worse time. Other hardships plague us at the moment such as poor harvests, the persistent deflation of our currency, and the unpredictably changing price of grain. Gentleman, I pray that you will show some compassion in this matter and consider extensive tax reform. The peasant class also would like to formally complain about our newly hired controller general of finances, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Some of this may come as news to some of you, but as part of his elaborate goal of French mercantilism, Colbert plans to make Canada, rich in untapped minerals and pristine agricultural land, part of an extensive French empire. It’s recently come to my attention that Colbert intends on gathering thousands of peasants and forcefully shipping them to Canada to populate the province of Quebec. To put it mildly, this is outrageous. It’s unfair. How can you sit idly and allow one man the ability to move thousands people around the world as though we were mere chess pieces on a board? There’s only one of him, 2008-01-04T21:53:07-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Peasants-on-Louis-XIV-33486.aspx The 19th century was a time of great change in how people began to see their world. Charles Darwin’s research had been extrapolated to not only define the evolution of animals and humans, but also the development of a society. Social Darwinism gave a predominately white, Christian European society the crutch to look at those in other countries as primitive races in need of guidance by the “fittest race”. These principles also impacted living conditions in those living in Europe who held different religious beliefs. Social Darwinism had now reared its ugly head in the condemnation of Jews as inferior to Christians. Jews in Europe encountered various degrees of anti-Semitism which is discrimination, hostility, or hate based solely on their Judaism. Russia and Romania were hotbeds for such persecution going to such extremes as forcing Jews to reside in the ghetto and face constant unrestrained torment. Faced with such opposition to their beliefs many began to seek acceptance. They began to assimilate into a predominately Christian society through many avenues such as marriage into Christian families or conversion into a new religion. Others refusing to change their religious hierarchy felt their only outlet was to leave their homes in search of religious autonomy. Many Jews saw their only chance of surviving as to leave their homes or abandon their beliefs. During this time the Ukrainian physician Leon Pinsker wrote a pamphlet entitled Auto-Emancipation to highlight the struggles that Jews were facing in Europe. His argument was that no matter how the tried to assimilate into European society; they would never be fully accepted. Conversion would not eliminate the deep-seeded hatred felt by so many. He capitalized on the common suffering experienced by many Jews and offered them an alternative. Leave the life that was filled with limitations and migrate to a new place. The migration began to take hold and Jews began a slow exodus to Palestine. While Pinsker did not believe this was an ideal location in light of current of the current persecution it seemed that any alternative was better than the discrimination many were suffering. Pinsker’s writings inspired a writer in Paris who had seen first hand and felt the harsh reality of anti-Semitism in his own life. Thedor Hazel read and absorbed Pinsker’s thoughts and began to develop his own strategy 2007-11-14T14:09:05-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Leon-Pinsker-Calls-for-a-Jewish-State-33421.aspx The Path to Power: The Journey of England, France & Spain As William Ellery Channing once said “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” (Lewis) Just like the human spirit grows and becomes more powerful through conflict so does that of a nation. England, France and Spain had many conflicts both internally and internationally in order to become a World Power in the early modern period. The Scientific Revolution changed how Europeans thought about the physical universe. These innovative thought patterns propelled them into a path of progress, compelling them to make changes in not only their economic and political policies, but how they dealt with social matters as well. These changes transformed the individual from a member of a small group to that of a subject of a large nation-state. The idea of absolutism, which became a buzz-word in European political circles after the restoration of the absolute monarchy in Spain, was the conductor of change Louis XIV used in implementing changes to the economic and political institutions in France. (Blänkner) Louis XIV, afraid of confrontation with aristocrats, developed a tactic through means of The Court of Versailles which cut their influence in the countryside while allowing him to increase his political power within all of France. During Louis XIV’s reign a series of wars initiated, not for religious purposes, but for the control of property and land in Europe, which cost him favor throughout Europe and the worst economic depression in the country’s history by the late 1600’s. (p. 421, Hause & Maltby) Economic gain did not come as easy for England as other European countries. It wasn’t until the creation of a modern navy that England could keep up with the rest of Europe. England’s economic growth was based, in part, to it’s geographical advantages. With it’s numerous deep water ports and windward location England became a prime candidate naval exploration, the fastest way to travel on those days. By the eighteenth century London, England became the commercial center of the world, but a growing problem was emerging in the streets of London. In proportion to the increase in the countries wealth, the growth of its slums and poverty did as well. This proved to be true of the rest of the continent. The Old Regime, which divided people into categories 2007-11-08T04:03:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Path-to-Power--33398.aspx Throughout their campaigning, the Suffragettes had not yet caused any real damage to anyone or anything until after November 1910 when Black Friday happened. After being banned from Liberal meetings, hundreds of women went out to protest outside Parliament to support the Conciliation Bill, except instead of a peaceful demonstration, the women had been sexually and physically abused by policemen before being sent home with multiple bruises and bodily harm or being arrested. However, can this be justifiable enough a reason for these women to gather together and agree to do harm to get their points across, and in the end, did it really help their cause? By looking from one point of view, you can see that through their demonstrations that they were able to bring their cause to the front pages of newspapers, and by doing so more and more people became aware of not only their existence, but what they were trying to do not only to the people, but also to the Government that in the past had never truly taken their beliefs into account as even significant. Thanks to the increase of awareness, the thought of women getting the vote was bound to be approved sooner or later because too many people had learnt about this and had been placed in a situation that concerned this to just let it go away after such a difficult struggle to let women get what they wanted. There is also the case that people had gotten used to women fighting both vocally and physically for their rights for what they felt they had every right to have that they no longer found it so strange for something like this to occur. One could even argue that it wasn’t even relevant that the Suffragettes had gotten violent seeing that whether they were to fight back or not, Asquith would still be strongly against women having the vote and would continue to support the Government with their harsh treatment towards women. Yet, another point of view on the matter can be that the Suffragettes did indeed cause so much distress not only to the Government but also to the people that they could not be proclaimed as rightfully fighting for what they wanted and were just hurting people to get their own way. Thanks to their violence, they could be seen as actually giving the 2007-06-04T08:22:32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Suffragettes-did-more-Harm-than-Good-33250.aspx Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, which had been owned by the Italians until it was annexed by the French. He received his education in a French military school. When the French Revolution began, Napoleon was a low-level military officer but he quickly rose in rank and won important victories against the British and Austria. He was a popular military general who appealed to the people who looked to a strong military leader to the end disorder and corruption that existed under the Directory. In November 1799, Napoleon overthrew the Directory and formed a new government the Consulate. The Consulate was made up of three Consuls but all the power was vested in Napoleon as the First Consul. In 1802, the constitution made him Consul for life, and in 1804, the constitution made him Emperor. For each of these constitutional changes, Napoleon held a national plebiscite (a yes or no vote). And the French people, hoping for stability, supported him at each step in his rise. “Napoleon’s popularity as First Consul flowed from his military and political successes and his religious reconciliation. He had come to power in 1799 by appealing for the support of the army. In 1802, Napoleon decided to extend his power by calling for a plebiscite in which he asked the electorate to vote him First Consul for life”.(Civilization in the West pg 627.) Napoleon instituted numerous domestic policies that helped France get back on its feet after the exhausting Revolution. One of Napoleon’s first moves was to make peace with the Catholic Church. In 1801, Napoleon signed a concordat with Pope Pius VIII. Napoleon acknowledged that Catholicism was the religion of the majority of the French people but affirmed religious toleration for all. By this agreement, he protected the peasant owners of former church land and pleased the overwhelming Catholic French population. Napoleon’s next move was the reform and overhaul of the laws of France. In 1804, he arranged laws into a single organized code called the Napoleonic Code. By emphasizing the revolutionary principles of equality, the Code created equal treatment before the law, providing religious toleration for Protestants and Jews, and abolishing serfdom, and feudalism. However, the Code undid some reforms of the French Revolution. Women lost most of 2007-05-12T06:27:01-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Napoleon-Bonaparte-33205.aspx Louis XIV was one of the winners in the Seventeenth century France. Louis the XIV was only five years old when he was ascended to the French throne after his father death. Louis’ mother Queen Anne selected Cardinal Mazarin as his regent. However, Mazarin lacked Cardinal Richelieu shrewdness that was Louis XIII’s most important adviser. Marazin attempted to increase the royal revenue, which led to the civil war called the Fronde; the war lasted from 1649 to 1652. After Mazarin’s death, Louis had to deal with an aristocracy that resented the increasing powers of the French monarchy. In order for Louis to achieve his goal, he adopted the concept of the “divine right of kings”. “They claimed that kings were placed on earth by God to uphold piety and justice” (Kishlansky, pg. 494). Knowing this, he established the absolute sovereignty of Louis and his monarchy. Louis’ statement, (I am the state) represented that there was no higher level of authority that could ever control him (Kishlansky, 503). During Louis XIV 72 year reign, France became a dominant power in Europe. Many countries envied France’s success in industry and agriculture. Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) to administer the government of France. He helped in reviving trade and economy of France. “Colbert’s fiscal reforms were so successful that in less that six years a debt of 22 million French pounds had become a surplus of 29 million. Colbert achieved that astonishing feat not by raising taxes but by increasing the efficiency of their collection” (Kishlansky, pg 508). Colbert organized factories and systems of productions, trading companies and colonies, which were known as mercantilism. The main idea of this was to build up the nation’s supply of gold by exporting goods to other lands and by earning goods in return. With all this power, Louis XIV wanted to strengthen France by controlling its economy as well. He believed that there should only be no more then one religion and that religious unity was essential for absolute control. Therefore in 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, which meant limiting toleration to Huguenots. He destroyed Huguenot schools and churches and took away their civil rights. Many of these Huguenot were exiled from France, which led these people to settle in Holland, 2007-05-12T06:23:28-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Winners-and-Losers-of-the-Seventeenth-Century-France-33204.aspx Describe three key events each from the unification of Italy and Germany. Why do you think Germany became a strong nation, while Italy remained weak? Italian unification failed in 1848. In the 1850s leadership in the Risorgimento fell to Camillo di Cavour, premier of Sardinia. Cavour began by liberal reforms within Sardinia and created an image of modern progressivism. He also brought the French into an alliance against the Austrian overlords of Italy. In the war that followed Cavour’s diplomatic maneuvers, Austria’s defeat delivered Lombardy to the kingdom of Sardinia. Other small northern Italian states were added through plebiscites. Central Italy followed in the same fashion. Under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Thousand Red Shirts, the king of Sicily was overthrown. Cavour also invaded southern Italy, leading to the declaration of a united Italy under Victor Emmanuel II in 1861. By 1870 Victor Emmanuel also gained control of Rome and Venetia, completing the unification of the Italian peninsula. Many events lead to the unification of German. Otto von Bismarck was the architect of German unity in the name of preserving the leadership of Prussia. He invented the practice of realpolitik, pursuit of national interests at all costs. Bismarck’s talent was his ability to join the conservative Junkers with the liberals in the pursuit of a united Germany. He utilized the Zollverein to isolate Austria economically, reorganized the Prussian army, and created a crisis between Austria and Prussia over management of the newly conquered territories of Schleswig and Holstein. In the Seven Weeks’ War, Bismarck’s new military forces destroyed the myth of Austrian dominance in central Europe. Austria withdrew from the emerging Germany. The Habsburg Empire divided itself into a dual monarchy. Austria-Hungary, under a single Habsburg ruler. With Austria removed as a potential rival, Bismarck was free to pressure the fragmented states of southern Germany into accepting Prussian leadership. French resistance to further gains in Prussian authority in central Europe led to the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Faced with a French threat, the southern German states joined Prussia, as Bismarck had planned. The war with France was swiftly concluded in Prussia’s favor. In the glow of victory, the new German Empire was created in defeated France at the palace of Versailles. The constitution was ostensibly liberal, it included universal male suffrage and a representative legislative assembly but the government was responsive only to the 2007-05-12T06:21:51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Unification-of-Italy-and-Gemany-33203.aspx The Bubonic Plague also Known as the Black Plague The bubonic plague also known as the black plague was one of the fastest spreading and most deadly of disease. This plague was also referred to as the pneumonic plague or the blood spitting plague. A person infected with this disease would vomit blood for three days straight and then they would die. It was an extremely fast acting disease. I found a quote on the web site, "It was said that they would eat lunch with their friends and dinner with their ansestors in paradise." The first documented signs of the plague were in China around 1347. During this period of time, the most popular way to trade was by ship. In October 1347, some ships from Italy were in the harbor of China, by the time the ship reached home most of the crew were either dead or dying. The crew then exposed the port to this deadly plague. Traveling to the ports buy and sell goods would take several days as there were no cars yet so they had to walk or go by animal. The vendors that came to trade were then exposed to this plague and carried it back with them to the inner cities. Even though travel was slow this plague wiped out over 25,000,000 people within 5 years. This was one third of Europe’s population. Entire town and cities were completely wiped out. People traveling along the road would become infected and crawl off the side of the road to expire. Fleas off of rats carried this disease to humans. It was then transmitted though intercourse with someone that was infected with the plague. It became known as the Black Plague because the skin would became blotched with spots that became black. The medical society never fully recovered from this plague. The disease was thought to be mystical. Many unorthodox practices were used to try to cure this disease. Everything was tied from praying to dancing. Some to believed they worked because during the winter months it seemed to disappear. In the spring time it would run rapid again. The reason for this was that rats were less active in the winter and fleas are dormant. Many people would call 2007-04-25T19:49:11-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Bubonic-Plague-also-Known-as-the-Black-Plague-33136.aspx History of Ferdinand and Isabella King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile were both important rulers during the Renaissance. They both ruled during a time in which change was constant. Things were being rediscovered and improved to become more efficient. These two rulers also partook in this movement for change. They improved their country in several ways, including the establishment of justice, and regulation of trade. These things improved their country dramatically, opening it up to endless possibilities of growth, which emulates what the Renaissance was all about. The rule prior to Ferdinand and Isabella lacked strength, leaving them with a lot of work. The first point of emphasis they focused on was establishing justice, and reforming laws in a country that was at a stage of anarchy. There were laws in Spain but there was no one to enforce them. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed two thousand men, forming a national police force, to rid the country of chaos. These police were more like a military, and they successfully ended the reign of criminals across the countryside (Blacker53). These rulers were so effective because they sought out their orders themselves, instead of passing them on to others. This method proved quite effective for them. Ferdinand and Isabella were rulers of the people. When the people became upset, they would listen with open ears. At one point a mob of people came near her home to protest an injustice that occurred. Isabella heard the concerns of her people, about a powerful man’s decision, and was not hesitant in acting upon them. Those who were influential would not hinder justice under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. They stood for what was right and would not allow it to be compromised (Blacker55). The intention to establish justice was somewhat lost in a well-known phase of their reign, called the Spanish Inquisition. Isabella was a devout Catholic that had no tolerance for non-believers. Most people were of the Catholic denomination but there were two groups that were not, the Moors and the Jews. The Jews were very important to Spain. They were hard workers and made up most of the middle class. They flourished in occupations such as doctors and lawyers. These Jewish people had 2007-04-23T04:20:49-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/History-of-Ferdinand-and-Isabella-33105.aspx Democracy in The Classical Age Vs. The Middle Ages Democracy is a government ruled by the people. Throughout history, democracy has changed greatly. Many of these changes in democracy occurred during the Classical Age of the Greeks and Romans and the Middle Ages. Changes were made regarding separation of power, equality, and natural rights. Although thought significant changes were made during both the Classical Age and the Middle Ages, democracy flourished to a higher level in the Middle Ages. Separation of power is used to prevent a single entity from becoming too powerful. In the Middle Ages, the separation of power between Parliament and the king showed that democracy was greater than during the Classical Age. During his reign, William the Conqueror changed the feudal system in England to weaken the lords. William required each feudal lord to swear allegiance to him, causing all the lords to become vassals of the king. By weakening the lords, William prevented them from uniting and becoming too powerful. If the lords did unite, they could have possibly taken over the country and rule even the king. On June 15, 1215, English nobles forced King John to accept the Magna Carta. After William’s weakening of the lords, the King gained too much power and the nobles had very few rights. The signing of the Magna Carta protected the liberties of the nobles and prohibited the king from disobeying any laws that the citizens had to obey. In 700 B.C., Greek nobles had generally overthrown the king. The nobles were counted on by the Greek government to supply cavalry and other services. When the nobles gained land and power, many small farmers were forced to sell or mortgage their farms to nobles in order to get money for food. This power over the government made the nobles very rich and too powerful. The Middle Ages had many changes between the king and Parliament to separate power equally and prevent anyone or anything from becoming too powerful. During the Classical Age, however, the nobles had more power than anyone else and could control the king. There was no separation of power at the time. This shows how undemocratic the Classical Age was. Besides separation of power, another thing that is required in a democratic society is equality. 2007-04-18T15:14:59-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Democracy-in-The-Classical-Age-Vs_-The-Middle-Ages-32994.aspx Final Paper Self-Determination I want to use the opportunity to express myself because many things have built to who I am. This notion of self determination is giving me this much room to express myself in ways that I’ve never done before. This paper will focus on several aspects of Aboriginal’s life and the affect it has. It will also discuss the necessary changes in the political system towards First Nation peoples. Firstly, I really enjoy the segment of story telling in this course because it is an opportunity to tell the surrounding about your life and you wouldn’t need to resist yourself because stories does not have limitations. Storytelling has always been a vital part of the cultural identity of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. It has been in the culture for many years and it should continue to practice the art of storytelling. Stories were told to teach lessons, give warnings, and keep history alive. Imagine the richness of a culture that used stories not only to entertain, but to teach. Stories could bridge the gap between generations and transport the young people to a place that they might never experience for themselves, just as T.V. or movies do today. It was amazing to share my story in front of the class because I can voice an opinion without being rejected or questioned. Aboriginal cultures across Canada rely on oral teachings for their existence. Storytelling has always been a vital part of the cultural identity of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Stories were told to teach lessons, strengthen cultural ties, to entertain, and to keep history alive. I believe every culture has their stories and tales to tell to the next generation. For example a long time ago our old people told a lot of stories. Stories of how things were made. How the animals grew or changed how people lived and moved around. They told stories of why the birds sang.. They told these stories to pass on the knowledge and understandings that our people needed to know in order to survive in this country, long ago. Today we need these same stories to help us understand and enjoy the differences in lifestyles and traditions of our people. It will help us to know the stories, the traditions and songs of our culture, for it will provide us with windows on the world of unknowns. It is good for us to 2007-04-10T12:08:24-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Aboriginal-self-determination-Final-paper-32909.aspx Historical Triangle of Trade The British changed the entire face of the earth while trying to carry out the simple task of getting good Asian goods at a better price then through the Middle East. Who would have known that European Explorers searching for Asia would have started the slave trade from Africa to the Americas, helped the population of the earth more then triple, set the precedent for cultural cuisine all over the world, and not to mention reveal the Americas to the rest of the world? Christopher Columbus may have not discovered North America or helped with the development of the United States, but his voyages helped make way for everything listed above and may have been the biggest factor in the spread of syphilis to western civilization in the 15th century. In the 15th century Britain had a fast growing demand for Asian goods such as tea, spices, silk and handmade crafts made by the Chinese. These products were available but only the very wealthy because great distance between China and Britain. The only way these good were brought to Britain was to be traded from city to city and each time these goods were traded hands the price was increased, and eventually they made it to Britain with a hefty price tag. Traders knew that the only way to get a good price on these goods was to go directly to the source. This meant sailing to China, which was no easy task since it had never been done before. Columbus made several failed attempts in search of the Indies only to find the Americas, which wasn’t a terrible discovery, but it wasn’t the Indies. “Soon after dawn on May 21st 1498, Vasco da Gama and his crew arrived at Calicut after the first direct sea voyage from Europe to Asia.”(AE 1, p.214) From then on out Europe had the direct connection with Asia they had been searching to find for so long. When Columbus landed in the Americas instead of the Indies his discovery was not very popular with the people of Europe. The Americas only seemed to be an obstruction of the path to Asia, but their discovery ultimately changed all of Europe. The Americas Housed foods never seen before in Europe, and that would end up being staples of multiple European 2007-03-19T14:11:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Historical-Triangle-of-Trade-32832.aspx During the 17th century, Europe was the center of two competing types of government; Absolutism and constitutionalism. Would a single ruler or shared power be best for the people? John Locke and Jean Domat both have their own opinions on how a government should administer. Jean Domat is a political theorist who favors the idea of absolutism. He argues that individuals are given a certain rank in society, in other words, a type of predestiny. It was believed God assigned these ranks and picked a sovereign to rule over the people with divinity. The creator had given individual different status and roles in society to help one another. Within natural equality, each person has a different purpose in life which makes their status unequal; thus, a government is necessary to make everything fall into place. The first difference between people is seen within a relationship between a parent and child. It leads to sort of a �government� within a family where a child is indebted to the parents who are the leaders. Another difference among people is their type of employment. Both high and low-wage workers are important in society because they depend on each other. God gives a sovereign the power to govern the people so he can represent the will of their Creator. Domat mentions in his essay, �Since government is necessary for the public good, and God Himself has established it�. A sovereign who was selected by God should be compliant and society should obey the government. An individual should also respect the sovereign the same way he/she does for God. If a sovereign doesn�t follow the rules himself, then his government will have its demise. A person who rules the government should know the purpose of God�s will and incorporate the divine power given to him. On the other hand, John Locke is also a political theorist but favors the idea of constitutionalism. He argues that the natural law gives people the authority to create affiliations without force. Every individual is born with the same advantages which are:life, health, liberty, and possessions. Locke states that a person should be unregimented from, �any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man�. Locke believed that the principle of the government was to uphold society, but if it becomes unsuccessful, then the people have the right to remove it from power. 2007-03-11T16:13:08-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/John-Locke-vs_-Jean-Domat-17th-Century-Theories-of-Power-32788.aspx The Fall Of The Armenians The first genocide of the 20th Century occurred when two million Armenians living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through forced deportations and massacres. For three thousand years, a thriving Armenian community had existed inside the vast region of the Middle East bordered by the Black, Mediterranean and Caspian Seas. The area, known as Asia Minor, stands at the crossroads of three continents; Europe, Asia and Africa. Great powers rose and fell over the many centuries and the Armenian homeland was at various times ruled by Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Mongols. Despite the repeated invasions and occupations, Armenian pride and cultural identity never wavered. The snow-capped peak of Mount Ararat became its focal point and by 600 BC Armenia as a nation sprang into being. Following the advent of Christianity, Armenia became the very first nation to accept it as the state religion. A golden era of peace and prosperity followed which saw the invention of a distinct alphabet, a flourishing of literature, art, commerce, and a unique style of architecture. By the 10th century, Armenians had established a new capital at Ani, affectionately called the 'city of a thousand and one churches.' In the eleventh century, the first Turkish invasion of the Armenian homeland occurred. Thus began several hundred years of rule by Muslim Turks. By the sixteenth century, Armenia had been absorbed into the vast and mighty Ottoman Empire. At its peak, this Turkish empire included much of Southeast Europe, North Africa, and almost all of the Middle East. But by the 1800s the once powerful Ottoman Empire was in serious decline. For centuries, it had spurned technological and economic progress, while the nations of Europe had embraced innovation and became industrial giants. Turkish armies had once been virtually invincible. Now, they lost battle after battle to modern European armies. As the empire gradually disintegrated, formerly subject peoples including the Greeks, Serbs and Romanians achieved their long-awaited independence. Only the Armenians and the Arabs of the Middle East remained stuck in the backward and nearly bankrupt empire, now under the autocratic rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid. By the 1890s, young Armenians began to press for political reforms, calling for a constitutional government, the right to vote and an end to discriminatory practices such as special taxes levied solely against 2007-03-08T00:15:04-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Fall-Of-The-Armenians-32768.aspx The Jews in Spain During the Golden Age The Golden Age of Spain was golden for the Jews not only because of their succession in science, literature, diplomacy and military pursuits, but also in their endeavors to advance. The history of Spain, between the rule of the Romans and the Catholic Monarchs was not among the highlights of the Jews. Nonetheless, this was the life of the Jews then, but the years before their departure were prosperous, and they created a strong and arduous culture. The economic and political situation, during the middle centuries of Moorish rule created an atmosphere in which the Jews were able to build up their cultural confidence. They transformed the life style, learning more about agricultural, and focusing on business and trade. Also during this time, the Jews were able to create literary, musical and artistic styles, for the first time, mixing both the cultures of Spain and Judaism. Many of these cultural features have lasted into modern times, in their songs, celebrations and language. During this period the Jews were successful in creating a synthesis between the culture around them and Judaism. However, before we can look at why the Golden Age of Spain proved to be so prosperous for the Jews, we must first understand the circumstances of the Jews before the arrival of the Moors. In Spain, from about 616-711 C.E. the Jews had been oppressed, and persecuted for their differences under Roman Visagothic rule. Furthermore, 711 C.E proved to be the turning point in the lives of the Jews. At this point in time, the Moor’s had conquered Spain and were thoroughly welcomed by the Jews. The Moorish rule looked to be very different from that of the Jews previous rulers, and soon their well constructed political foundation developed into a fair and open society. Now, free from the devastating oppressions of the Visagoths, the Jews were now at liberty to indulge in other parts of their culture. As time moved on, Jewish culture had started to become very strong. Furthermore, the Jews became very important to the Muslim leaders. During this time, a variety of unique Jewish poets, philosophers and scientists began to thrive. One of the more important Jews of this time, and certainly one of the Golden Ages most profound man was Hasdai Ibn Shaprut. Hasdai, who happened to be the doctor of the Caliph, started his legacy as 2007-03-05T14:15:41-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Jews-in-Spain-During-the-Golden-Age-32740.aspx Every nation and country has its own darkest periods, when different destructive things are happening to its inhabitants. And maybe one of the darkest periods in all Ukrainian history, was a phase between the years 1930 – 1933. Under brutal Soviet rule, the country had experienced a most terrible man-made famine and its extensive consequences. Some people just call it famine or a Great famine, but a memory of murdered innocent people and a reality of Ukrainian law, makes us call it a Famine-genocide of Ukrainian nation. During that period 10 million Ukrainians that made up one quarter of the country’s population, perished. It is really hard to explain why such cruel things happened to so many people, for it is not likely for a normal human being to understand the logic of beasts that were planning and executing their savage plans. Nevertheless, there are a couple of obvious reasons that could cause someone with no humanity, full of hatred and wickedness, to make reality a horror. Among those reasons are Ukrainian history, geographical location, Soviet policy of collectivization, as well as national Identity and mentality of Ukrainians. Not too many people know the history of Ukraine, or even can recognize it as a country on a world map. None the less, the first Ukrainian state, according to the famous historian Mychailo Hrushevskyi was established in the late ninth century, and it was called Kyivan Rus’ or so-called Vkrayina that is Ukraine in English translation. Later the Byzantine Empire named it Russia, and they kept this name for subsequent centuries. During the10th and 11th centuries the country was the largest and most powerful state in Europe, but unfortunately, weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus’ split up and was incorporated into other European principalities within the next centuries. However, a great name and ancient history of Kyivan state was written in the chronicles of many European principalities, but a country itself has stopped its existence. For that reason in the late seventeenth century, to rise among other nations, little known principality of Moskovy adopted name of ancient Ukrainian state in its Latin form, Russia. From that time on, Ukrainians lost not just a name, but their eminent history as well. But even being under foreign rule, in the mid-17th century, they managed to create a new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate. It was 2007-03-05T02:07:40-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Famine-and-Genocide-in-the-Soviet-Ukraine_-32735.aspx Trade is the exchange of goods that must be transported from one place to another. In ancient times, transporting commodities over any significant distance was an expensive and risky endeavor. This restricted commerce mainly to local markets. As transportation networks improved however, commerce expanded considerably. Regions began oceanic trade and the whole world seemed to shrink as technology advanced. Trade patterns could only expand as time went on from the classical period onwards through the medieval era and even more so through the early modern period. Growth may have been similar throughout these periods, however the means by which trade was conducted differed. Long distance trade played a major role in the cultural, religious, and artistic exchanges that took place between the major centers of civilization on trade routes in Europe and Asia during antiquity. Some of these trade routes had been in use for centuries, but by the beginning of the first century A.D., merchants, diplomats, and travelers could in theory cross the ancient world from Britain and Spain in the west to China and Japan in the east. The trade routes served principally to transfer raw materials, food, and luxury goods from areas with surpluses to others where they were in short supply. Some areas had a monopoly on certain materials or goods. China for example supplied West Asia and the Mediterranean world with silk, while spices were obtained principally from South Asia. These goods were transported over vast distances most commonly on foot with pack animals along the Silk Road, which was likely the main artery of contact between the various ancient. Cities along a trade route such as the Silk Road grew rich providing services to merchants and acting as international marketplaces. They also became cultural and artistic centers, where people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds could meet and swap ideas. The trade routes were the communications highways of the ancient world. People moving from one place to another to conduct business transmitted new inventions, religious beliefs, artistic styles, languages, and social customs, as well as goods and raw materials. Compared to later eras of trade, the classical period was no doubt rather primitive and its technique ineffective, likely because trade was only possible on foot. Which such a difficult and expensive enterprise such as land-based trade, the only possible reason for trade was simply for profit. 2007-03-04T19:00:43-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Trade-Change-Over-Time-Classical-Medieval-Early-Modern-Times-32720.aspx Some may ask: why do we make such a fuss over martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation? How and why did this German monk become a lightning rod for change in religion and society in Europe during the Renaissance? People don’t understand the significance of the situation and the importance of Martin Luther and his influence with the Protestant Reformation and how this affects us today. Many people back in the 1520’s thought of Luther as an insightful church leader and some thought of him as an ecclesiastical terrorist. His work, otherwise known as the ninety-five theses, was thought of as a highly controversial topic among the people of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s idea changed the world fundamentally and was the flashpoint where ideas and trends which had been smoldering in Europe started people talking and bigger ideas developed. On All Saints’ Day in 1517, Luther, Professor of theology at Wittenberg University in Saxony, posted the ninety-five theses on a church door that began the Protestant Reformation and started a revolution. We have many important historical figures that have somehow made an impressionable and inspirational movement that changed and affects us still today. A man named Martin Luther was thought of as an insightful church leader as well as a freedom fighter to some and a heretic, apostate, profane ecclesiastical terrorist to others. Still some would consider him necessary evil and an unwitting catalyst that set aflame a volatile social and ecclesiastical situation. Luther thought of himself as a simple monk or Christian whose marveled straight-forward stand of conscience had turned him into one of the most talking about people of his time. That simple stand of conscience started an ecclesiastical shock wave that changed the course of western history. He had a sort of power and contained unique forces that forced most of the Roman Catholic Church to listen to him and reform. His ideas included: Why can’t we ask questions, questioning the church’s loyalty and honesty with the people. He was peevish and egomaniacal and temperamental and argumental. His single mindedness and enormous elf-confidence taught people to think for themselves and showed them the corrupt church. He had a straight belief in the rightness of his arguments and protested use of indulgences which forgave individual sin which was granted by the pope. Many actions and ideas from Martin Luther made this German monk become a lightning rod 2007-02-15T01:30:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Martin-Luther-32622.aspx The Effects of the Industrial Revolution Today The effects of the Industrial Revolution are still very important today. Most of the effects occurred to help men and women employers and were very advantageous, although some effects made life harder for workers who struggled to find jobs. With everyday life advancing so rapidly, many of the jobs that had previously been done by man were now done by machine. Those of the times were faced with the situation of man vs. machine. Women’s struggle for equality has been a long standing battle, but beginning during the Industrial Revolution, things slowly began to alter. Women were always thought to be inferior to men during and before the 1800’s. They had little rights and were considered weak workers by men of the upper classes. When the Industrial Revolution began, however, the women decided it was time for a change. To gain more rights, women organized and protested in the streets, refused to eat, and as their demands grew, so did their voices and resistance. To make themselves clear, British women drew up pensions, made mockery of political figures, and burned buildings and railway stations. Eventually, Parliament was forced to listen to them and reforms were made. These reforms helped women of the past, and of today to have regulated work hours, better working conditions, and the right to vote. Today, women are recognized as equivalents of men, more than possession of them. Not only did women have to struggle for their rights, but workers did as well. Workers had very poor working conditions and worked extremely hard to get what they needed to live minimally. To gain more rights, workers had to form labor unions which were organizations designed to represent workers rights. The labor unions fought to gain reforms approved by Parliament that would improve the lives of workers. Soon, the Factory Act was passed which forbade children under the age of nine to work, this improved the harsh lives of child laborers. Reformers eventually gained new reform laws which improved factory conditions, public health, and education. With higher wages and fewer work hours, many workers could buy meat and eggs more regularly in addition to many other mass-produced goods. Soon after labor unions began pleading their cases, their demands in politics and society were met. 2007-02-02T18:10:46-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Effects-of-the-Industrial-Revolution-Today-32551.aspx European Powers Between 1815 And 1830 Why and with what results, did major European powers intervene to suppress revolutionary movements between 1815 and 1830? Among the effects of the French Revolution on European political thought, perhaps the most important, and certainly the most immediate, lay of concentrating the attention of European reformers on the possibility of universal peace. The French Revolution inspired the belief in the writers that the dawn of peace was at the hand, and that democracy would unite in the bonds of lasting freedom and peace. The close of the revolutionary epoch left Europe satiated with blood, and painfully anxious to devise a form of international government, which would serve as security against the menace of future wars. The Holy Roman Empire was the earliest form of European confederation, and it represented a rudimentary attempt to give substance to the vision of Isaich a world united in peace. The first step to keep peace in Europe was the Congress of Vienna. They faced three-main tasks. The first one was to make or approve detailed arrangements for sharing the spoils of victory, bearing in mind that the great powers had already made a number of preliminary agreements. This had to be done without setting the victors at each other’s throats. The second task was, in so doing, to create a stable Europe unlikely to suffer further great upheavals. The third task is to prevent political revolutions, such as French Revolution and maintain the status quo. The main representatives were strong and fascinating personalities. Foremost Metternich, foreign minister of the Habsburg Emperor of Austria who was a brilliant negotiator determined to get the best deal of Austria, but convinced also that Europe’s future peace depended on the major states of Europe being more or less balanced in strength. Britain’s representatives was Lord Castlereagh who a cold and shy man and who believed too that balance of power between the major states was essential to the future peace of Europe. The Russian Tsar, Alexander I and the Prussian King Fredrick William III were also present and France was represented by Talleyrand. The steps taken by the congress to re-establish a balance of power among the countries of Europe and have peace between the nations were France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon and the French monarchy was restored under the rule of Louis XVIII. Austria was given back 2007-02-02T17:59:30-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/European-Powers-Between-1815-And-1830-32545.aspx Changing lifestyles in Europe: The Coal and Steel Industry Introduction If you look on a map of global population density, you can see four or five major concentrations of people: East Asia, South Asia, North America and Europe. Many of the cities that developed in Europe grew on coalfields as a result of the industrial revolution. But today the factor coal become more and more unimportant and the people in the coal industry are facing huge problems. The highest rates of unemployment can be found in former coal and steel making communities. Their mines and steel works are now closed or at least reduced in size. You now might think that the global community is using less coal or steel, but in fact they are still produced in huge quantities. It’s just that the importance of European coalfields is getting smaller and smaller, as new energy sources such as oil, gas, wind and solar power and new materials such as aluminum, glass and plastics. Such changes have affected the lives of many European people. Coal: Black Gold There are three different types of coal. Black coal is the oldest and most efficient form of energy. Brown coal has only about half the energy of black coal, and Peat (Torf) contains only very little energy and is used only in very few isolated houses in Europe, with no access to any electricity network. In the nineteenth century black coal was the most important source of energy in western countries. Steam engines were now in use and it also helped to develop blast furnaces on which the iron and later steel was based. Iron was the main industrial metal in Europe until the 18th century, because steel was only produced in small quantities because the methods were expensive and complex. In 1709 Abraham Darby produced coke from coal, which was able to burn at higher temperature. Then developments in the steel industry were rapid after the 19th century industrial revolution, so it was now cheaper and easier to produce steel. There were famous inventors such as William Kelly, Henry Bassemer (converter) and the two German brothers Siemens. The Bessemer Converter is a bowl which converts iron into steel. It was then used for all kinds of large-scale work. Steel had become the main factor of industrialization. The railways and by 1880 even buildings were made of steel. The World Coal Industry today Coal is found throughout the world, but the 2007-01-11T05:44:50-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Changing-lifestyles-in-Europe-The-Coal-and-Steel-Industry-32365.aspx European History of Imperialism J.A Hobson, a very influential publicist with outlandish but brilliant thoughts, had a tremendous impact on both his time period and future posterity on the subject of Imperialism. However, just like any famous subject or discussion, there are those that rebuttal ones thoughts or feelings. Many scholars, statesmen, and government officials had their own feelings on Imperialism, which are stated in the documents given. These individuals state their attitudes to the answer of the question, “What accounted for the colonial expansion of Europe in the 19th century?” Some of these thoughts show Hobson’s views as more of a weaker argument, which clash his thought of Imperialism being the source of the imperial force being certain industrial, financial, and professional classes seeking personal advantages out of expansion. Frank Swettenham and Lord Grey, both British Colonial officers, feel that the European governments trying to handle it themselves did not always accommodate the infiltration of a region, but rather there were native opportunities and elements that persuaded the foreign people to join in. In document 4 written by Lord John Russell, the British prime minister of the 1850s, he states that everyone knows the true answer to becoming strong as a nation. The answer is that the countries and colonies that provide these nations with goods and territory, will always help during peace, but will always pay off during war. This is contradicting the statements of Hobson saying that these acts are not selfish or self-indulgences, but rather for the gain of strength and protection for all. As seen in document 5, a governor writes about the risks involved with imperialism and the consequences suffered if their results are not successful. All these documents were written in the pre Age of Imperialism, but still were major contributors of the contradiction of J.A. Hobson and his ideas. There was much to be said about the White supremacy being a factor in Europe during the Age of Imperialism. This also tied into the thought of countries providing aid, but also being a survival of the fittest. As stated in a document by Rudyard Kipling, he feels that the white man, the strong man, is sent to fend for the country or nation, gaining territory and power by taking over that of the more primitive cultures. He says that the white man forever stay 2007-01-09T02:21:35-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/European-History-of-Imperialism-32307.aspx The First Crusades In The middle of the Eleventh Century the tranquility of the eastern Mediterranean seemed assured for many years to come, but little did the people know what was ahead. This, thus embark us on a journey back into the First Crusade. In this paper I will be discussing the events that lead up to the first in a long line of crusades. I will also be mentioning the lives of some of the crusaders through letters that they wrote. The crusades were a time of confusion for most people, yet today we look back at them as a turning point. The Crusades were Christian military expeditions undertaken between the 11th and the 14th century to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The word crusade, which is derived from the Latin crux ("cross"), is a reference to the biblical injunction that Christians carry their cross. Crusaders wore a red cloth cross-sewn on their tunics to indicate that they had assumed the cross and were soldiers of Christ. The causes of the Crusades were many and complex, but prevailing religious beliefs were clearly of major importance. The Crusaders continued an older tradition of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which was often imposed as a penance. Now, however, they assumed two roles as pilgrims and warriors. Such an armed pilgrimage was regarded as a justifiable war, because it was fought to recapture the places sacred to that of the Christians. Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule since the 7th century, but pilgrimages were not cut off until the 11th century, when the Seljuk Turks began to interfere with Christian pilgrims. For Christians, the very name of Jerusalem evoked visions of the end of time and of the heavenly city. To help rescue the Holy Land fulfilled the ideal of the Christian knight. Papal encouragement, the hope of eternal merit, and the offer of indulgences motivated thousands to enroll in the cause. Political considerations were also important. The Crusades were a response to appeals for help from the Byzantine Empire, threatened by the advance of the Seljuk Turks. The year 1071 had seen both the captures of Jerusalem and the decisive defeat of the Byzantine army at Miniskirt, creating fear of further Turkish victories. In addition, the hopes of the Papacy for the renunciation of East and West, the nobility's hunger for land at a time of crop failures, population 2007-01-03T21:22:55-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-First-Crusades--32202.aspx A Vision of Hope in the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was a crucial point in the history of the world, and also a very difficult time to endure, especially for the working class. In the late eighteenth century, a young poet and artist by the name of William Blake became outraged and inspired by the inhumane treatment of young boys called “chimney sweeps.” Thus he produced a protest in the form of simple poetry. Wicksteed says, “Deeper knowledge of Blake will reveal no darkly buried meaning, only a deeper sense in the meaning obvious to all.” (Hirsch, 7) This is precisely the case in the protest Blake calls “The Chimney Sweeper.” Blake utilizes realism, rather than deep symbolism, in the form of imagery to portray the brutality of the Industrial Revolution. When Blake was inspired to write about these boys, their barbaric lives were not only common knowledge, but accepted. Throughout the passing years, however, history has lost sight of the horror they faced everyday. Therefore, familiarity with such details does help the reader to see more clearly Blake’s indictment of a society that allows children to be subjected to almost unbelievable wretched conditions, and it also gives more force and point to the realism and imagery. (Nurmi, 15) History reveals that children usually began these lives at the age of 6 or 7 or even earlier. The job tormented their small bodies, leaving them to die with deformed ankles, twisted kneecaps and spines, or with “chimney sweeps cancer.” The boys began their days long before sunrise until about noon when they “cried the streets” for more business. When it was time to return these young boys carried heavy bags of soot to the cellars and attics where they slept. Even the task of sleeping was torture. The boys owned nothing and were given nothing, leaving them with only the bags of soot that had swept for a bed. Though the life was hard, it did not hold a candle to the actual duty of their job. Some chimneys were as small as seven inches in diameter, forcing the children to go up them naked. After all, clothes took up needed room and cost money to replace. Also bare skin, though it would bruise and scratch, did not catch on the rough 2007-01-03T21:20:55-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Vision-of-Hope-in-the-Industrial-Revolution-32201.aspx The Battle of Britain History Paper The Battle of Britain was a battle between the German air force, the Luftwaffe, and the British air force, the Royal Air Force (RAF). This battle took place over the skies of the United Kingdom in the summer and autumn of 1940. In order for Hitler to execute “Operation Sealion”, a planned invasion, successfully, he had to get rid of the British air force fearing that they will stop the operation if he tried to execute it. The first attack occurred in the August of 1940. Hitler decided to bomb the British airfields and then eventually cities. The British cities were bombed to bring out the RAF so the Luftwaffe could take them down. But Hitler underestimated the RAF, because the British had RADAR technology. The British were able to decode the German’s radio transmissions that warned them when the German’s were about to attack. The Luftwaffe suffered more losses than the RAF. Comparing losses in August, the Luftwaffe lost 669 units while the RAF lost 366 units. On September 17, 1940, Hitler cancelled the planned invasion, thereby accepting defeat in the Battle of Britain but continued bombing. This was an important event because it changed the course of World War II, weakening Germany’s air force and changing Hitler’s mind of invading Britain. The Battle of Britain changed the course of the twentieth because of the advanced technology used in that battle by Britain. First off, the Battle of Britain changed the course of World War II because it weakened the German air force, the Luftwaffe, which stunted Germany’s hopes of a swift victory. Germany underestimated the RAF and lost many of their fighters. But if Germany didn’t try to weaken the RAF, then there was a chance that the RAF might have attacked Germany. And if they did attack, Germany wouldn’t be able to defend itself as the British did even though the Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF. Germany was so confident on taking over Britain that the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Goering, told Hitler that his planes would be able to drive away the RAF so Hitler would be able to take over Britain. When the Luftwaffe failed, Hitler reconsidered invading Britain. Secondly, the Battle of Britain was the most important event that changed the course of Britain’s twentieth century history because the Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF. The 2006-12-20T02:11:04-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Battle-of-Britain-History-Paper-32111.aspx Religious Turmoil Inflicted By King Charles “Personal Rule” From 1630-1642, during the heart of King Charles I 2006-12-20T01:37:23-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Religious-Turmoil-Inflicted-By-King-Charles-“Personal-Rule”-32097.aspx Social and Economic Structure of the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution is a term describing major changes in the economic and social structure of many western countries in the 1700’s and 1800’s. At the beginning of the 1700s most of Europe’s people lived and worked on the land. By the time the 1800s ended, most Europeans were city dwellers, earning a living in factories or offices. As work became unavailable on the land, huge numbers of Europeans migrated overseas, particularly to America. The political map of Europe was also redrawn during this period. Revolutions convulsed the continent from the 1820s to the 1870s. They swept away states ruled by hereditary families and replaced them with new nations based on shared history, culture, and language. The European powers also strove to win new colonial territories in Africa and to extend their empires in Asia and the Pacific. The transitions of Britain’s industrial revolution were repeated elsewhere as other western countries became industrialized. Farm workers moved to the towns, seeking work in the new factories. The densely packed, low quality houses built for them soon became unhealthy slums. Before the new machines led to manufacture in factories, cloth was made in homes. Women and children did the spinning. Weaving was traditionally men’s work. In the early 1800s, children as young as five years old worked underground in the mines. They often had to work shifts of 12 hours and more. Some toiled half-naked, chained to carts laden with coal which they pulled along dark passageways. Factories also used children. The usual shift was 15 hours a day. Many children were orphans; they lived in crowded, dirty hostels where the death rate could reach 60 percent. Britain’s industrial revolution was the period (1750-1850) when Britain’s dominance of overseas markets through its empire, and the availability at home of coal and iron ore, transformed it from a farming to a manufacturing community. The harnessing of steam power and major new inventions led to cheap mass-manufacture of materials such as cotton. Iron, made by the new processes, was strong enough for building structures like bridges in a different way. In Britain, a system of canals linking the major rivers was built, providing the cheap transport the new factories needed to deliver 2006-12-19T16:20:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-and-Economic-Structure-of-the-Industrial-Revolution-32080.aspx The Black Death Plague in Europe Up from the murky depths of the Middle Ages crept a devastatingly horrific and terrifying disease. Responsible for the deaths of millions, this disease, or plague was known as the “Black Death”. Although there is no certainty as to the location where the plague originated from, it is known that it’s deadly bacteria came from the foul belly of a single flea. When the Black Death began to take hold, unimaginable fear, panic and chaos swept through the hearts of Europe’s people; the rich and the poor alike. The structures, passed on for generations, which were responsible for upholding society, commenced to collapse unstoppably. All the while, the Christian church, alike, struggled hard to survive through the disaster. Never before had the world seen such a pillaging, unstoppable force, that would ravage all that was accomplished for years to come. The Black Death, as it was labeled, is believed to have first appeared around the region known as the Black Sea. This catastrophe began in the early part of 1347. Blamed for it’s start were many of the existing races at the time. The Italian traders were extensively bombarded with accusations of deliberately causing and spreading the plague. Evidently, because of this, natives attacked an Italian trading post, hoping to put an end to the deaths, or possibly to solely punish those who they believed were the source of the Black Death. While signing the post, the natives became infected uncontrollably, thus they came up with the idea to catapult infected bodies over the wall of the trading post, subsequently infecting the Italians as well. What the natives did not realize was that the Italians would board ships and sail East to Italy, spreading the disease even faster. In October of that year, the plague commenced sweeping through the island of Sicily. Knowing the approximate whereabouts of where the plague started leads one to the question as to how it started. Deep within the stomach of that wretched flea, brewed a bacteria which would lead to the deaths of millions throughout the known world. The bubonic plague, another name given to the disease, spread much like a wildfire by means of fleas infected with the plague, which they received from feeding on the blood 2006-12-18T18:26:54-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Black-Death-Plague-in-Europe-32018.aspx ‘Describe the stages by which Wolsey rose to power’ The first major step by which Wolsey rose to power was in 1509, when he came to the attention of Henry VII. Wolsey was appointed to the post of almoner. This gave him the opportunity to impress Henry with his intellectual and organisational skills and to get a seat on the council which started his very successful political career. Wolsey entered into the service of Sir Richard Nanfan who as deputy lieutenant of Calais recognised Wolsey’s talent for administration. Nanfan recommended Wolsey to the king on his retirement in 1506 and in 1507 Wolsey became a chaplain to Henry VII and became friends with Richard Fox. Later the king employed Wolsey as a diplomat On the king’s death there was a risk that Wolsey may lose everything. Many other government employees of the previous king were dismissed by the new king Henry VIII. However in 1509 Wolsey stayed dominant with the help of Richard Fox when he secured the deanery of Hereford. From here Wolsey continued to rise with increased trust from the king. On one occasion the chancellor accepted a bill that Wolsey gave. It was a direct order from the king but it lacked the privy seal and signet that authenticated it. However it was accepted and this shows a large element of trust between the king and Wolsey and also those close to the king. This trust would increase Wolsey’s popularity and importance and therefore his rise to power. The military strike against France in August 1513 at Tournai was partly run by Wolsey. This successful attempt to gain respect in Europe was partly due to Wolsey’s organisational skills and this gave him more respect and power as a reward from the king. Wolsey even accompanied the king followed by a train of 200 gentlemen showing the dominance that Wolsey had. A month later the English also defeated the Scots at Flodden Field. Wolsey was present throughout the campaign and at the kings request was named by the Pope, Bishop of Tournay. He was consecrated at Lambeth palace in 1514 and he became Archbishop of York and on 10 Sep 1515, was created Cardinal. A month later he became Lord Chancellor of England. This was the ultimate achievement that anyone could have got. This was the rise of Wolsey to huge power in England, as being Lord Chancellor 2006-12-11T18:11:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Stages-by-Which-Wolsey-Rose-to-Power-31972.aspx ‘Describe the ways in which Henry VIII sought international influence between 1509 & 1529’ England, due to Henry VII passive involvement in European politics was not seen as an important country in 1509 as it was not a threat. An alliance between the Papacy, the Holy Roman Empire, France and Spain were united against Venice. The geographical position of England meant that the ‘battleground’ of Europe was far away and therefore England was distanced from Europe and no one was really worried about England due to Henry VII foreign policy which was all about homeland security and the security of the throne. This alliance in Europe, the League of Cambrai in 1508 meant that the potential for England to have international influence in 1509 was small. In 1509, when Henry VIII came to power, he wanted England to become a powerful nation. To do this he would probably have to be militaristic and he did this by in 1512 declaring war on France. Driven by xenophobia and a young man’s need to prove himself in fighting, conquest and victory he invaded and led by Wolsey eventually led to England capturing Tournai and Therouanne in Northern France in 1513. These however were ‘soft targets’ and they did not do anything to serve English interests and more to serve their allies. For example Ferdinand and Maximillian signed separate treaties with France after England’s campaign to leave England to fight France alone. In October 1518 an Anglo – French peace treaty was signed and this was the first time England had been actively involved in European politics. Pope Leo X had sent a representative to England to mobilise a campaign against the Ottomans. Wolsey however refused this and made an international treaty of peace and friendship, this was called the Treaty of London. This shows how England tried to influence European politics and succeeded. The treaty included over twenty countries including some of the major powers including Francis I, Maximillian, Charles I and the Pope. The treaty however still didn’t really influence European relations as wars still continued. Another way in which Henry VIII tried to influence European politics was to meet Francis I outside Calais in 1520. This meeting was called the Field of Cloth of Gold. Here Henry tried to enforce the Treaty of London but it was mainly to show England as a powerful nation and to impress France. For example 2006-12-11T18:06:37-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Henry-VIII-Describe-International-Influence-between-1509-1529-31971.aspx The fall of 2006-12-08T04:47:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Fall-of-the-Western-Rome-Empire-31956.aspx The Renaissance - Rebirth or Revolution Historians call the period we live in Modern Times. Modern Times began with the Renaissance, one of the rare periods of genius in the world’s history. Beginning in the 14th century and reaching its height in the 15th, the Renaissance was a new age filled with remarkable accomplishments. Meaning “rebirth”. The Renaissance refers to the rediscovery by humanists of the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The individualization of man began in this era, and it was during this period that man began to focus on the secular aspects of life rather than hierarchical Christianity, which was the stranglehold of the Middle Ages. The ordered, formalistic medieval society broke down and Europe emerged from the Dark Ages. The Renaissance was a period of discovery in many fields. Advances in science were numerous and contributed to the growth of the era. Beliefs and theories that were common during the Middle Ages were gradually being rejected and scientific investigation during the Renaissance lead to an increased understanding of the natural world. Along with discoveries in science, the Renaissance proved to be one of the great ages of fine arts, leaving a rich legacy. The art from the Middle Ages was revolutionized in the Renaissance and is one of the most prominent variances between the two eras. The intellectual energies of the Renaissance, however, came from the literature of many masters. Humanism was emphasized, which contrasted the church driven society of the Middle ages. Advances and accomplishments in science, fine arts and literature made the Renaissance a golden period, which flourished far beyond the achievements of the Middle ages. “The arts and the inventions, the knowledge and the books, which suddenly became vital at the time of the Renaissance,” says the English author, J.A. Symonds, “had long lain neglected on the shores of the Dead Sea which we call the Middle Ages. It was not their discovery which caused the Renaissance; but it was the intellectual energy, the spontaneous outburst of intelligence, which enabled mankind at that moment to make us them.” During the Renaissance, discoveries in science, particularly in astronomy, physics, and anatomy exceeded those of the Middle Ages. Vital to the growth of scientific investigation was a progressive rejection of astrology and magic, creed that was prevalent in 2006-12-08T03:24:26-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Renaissance-Rebirth-or-Revolution-31954.aspx History of the French Revolution The French Revolution was a time when people wanted their ideas known, right after the Enlightenment. The middle class also known as the third estate wanted some power, in the control of the government, but wasn’t receiving any notice. They knew that they had to revolt. It all started when King Louis XVI was in control ruling as an absolute monarchy the second and third estate felt that they weren’t getting their ideas into the government, plus the third estate was very poor and they only held very limited power and Louis held it all. So it seemed like Louis finally noticed them so he called a meeting with the second estate, but the whole meeting was about how he (Louis) could raise money, but when the second estate started asking questions about their very small power he (Louis) called the meeting off and adjourned everyone. The second and third estate still wanted their ideas and their rights so most of them signed a document that stated that they would not leave unless they came up with a paper stating all of their ideas. After being on the tennis court for a couple of days Louis was just about forced to take notice of the two estates. He was willing to give the two parties some of what they wanted but the two estates were worried and did not trust what Louis had to say. They did the only thing they thought they could do and revolt the attacked prisons and forts to get supplies and weapons and as they were going wild Louis begin to get scared so he and his family fled France so with the riots going on the citizens started their own government. After a while someone in the country that Louis was hiding in notice who he really was, so he was brought back to France but with his power just about completely stripped from him, but then the country that he was hiding out in saw the revolution as a terrible thing so began an attack on France to try to get the whole thing back in order. The French thought that Louis had asked for help while in Austria so he and his family were beheaded and their heads were put on display. So with the monarchy eliminated they could now form yet another government but still the third 2006-12-07T15:23:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/History-of-the-French-Revolution-31919.aspx The History of Prussia There are three reasons Prussia, between 1648-1762, came to be a European power. First, Prussia was surrounded by a number of weak states. The weakness of these state enabled Prussia to gain 2006-11-17T01:15:09-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-History-of-Prussia-31767.aspx European History on the Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada set sail from Spain in 1588. King Phillip II wished to invade England for both political and religious reasons. Spain put a tremendous amount of money into the Armada and planned for years, but in the end the fleet was defeated. The building of and the defeat of the Spanish Armada led to Spain’s downfall as a world power, and England’s subsequent rise in power. King Phillip II had many political and religious reasons to invade England. Because Phillip had been named as Mary’s successor before her death, he thought he had a right to the English throne(The Invincible Armada, NP). Another reason for the Armada was the race between Spain and England in trade and supremacy in the seas. Spain was one of the most powerful nations in Europe, but English naval power was becoming a threat to Spain’s domination of the seas. This was particularly true with respect to the New World. Spain’s discovery of the New World had opened up a huge source of trade for Spain and England wanted to share it. Spanish treasure ships coming from the New World were attacked by British ships and robbed on their way back to Spain. The English also raided Spanish towns in the New World. After the English had raided towns and robbed Spanish ships, Queen Elizabeth refused to return what they had stolen. Finally, the English had also helped Spain’s enemies, such as the Dutch. Phillip believed that only a conquest of England could halt English aid to the rebels and stop English depredations in the New World. There were also religious reasons to assemble the Armada. In fact, religion was one of the main reasons for the Armada. Phillip was very religious and it angered him that Henry VIII had rejected the power of the Pope and started the Church of England. Under Elizabeth, England was Protestant. England was also uncomfortable for Catholics. Catholics were fined for not attending services in the Church of England and imprisoned for hearing or saying mass. Since 1581, over a dozen English Catholics were executed for their “religious crimes”(Historical background and reasons for the Armada, NP). The execution of Mary Queen of Scots was also a shock 2006-11-15T22:44:26-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/European-History-on-the-Spanish-Armada-31751.aspx The Darker Side of the Industrial Revolution in Europe The Industrial Revolution was a time of drastic change and transformations from hand made items to machine manufactured goods. These changes generally helped make life easier, but it also hindered it as well. During the Industrial Revolution, working conditions in factories declined and the number of women and children working increased. Women and children were used as a cheap source of labor (“The Industrial Revolution” http://members.aol.com/mhirotsu/essay.html). The Industrial Revolution was a terrible experience for women and children (as portrayed in “The Dark Side of the Industrial Revolution”). The painting’s colors reveals that women and children were working in unsanitary conditions. The painting also reveals how hard and tiring the work was. During the times of the Industrial Revolution, the displaced working classes felt that a family would not be able to support itself if the children were not employed. As a result, the children of the poor were forced by these beliefs and economic conditions to work. Children started working as early as the age of six. In addition, since they worked at such a young age, there was no time for an education. Although the working families were making just enough money for the essentials of life, the factory owners or employers became very wealthy. The factory owners became wealthy at the expense of the laborer’s hard work. The laborers worked long days, which resulted in greater production. That in turn resulted to the owners becoming wealthy (Beck, 639). During the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, women and children were forced to work under unsanitary conditions and long days. Since there were only minor factory regulations, working conditions were at the discretion of the factory owners. The factories in which the women and children worked in were extremely dangerous. In fact, there were even many mice around the factories. Furthermore, the factories were not well lit. Examples of these conditions were present in the factories of Manchester. Manchester is a major industrial center in Great Britain (Funk & Wagnalls, 391). Often, workers near machines would have been injured due to machine malfunctions or carelessness. For instance, a boiler may have exploded near a worker’s face, or one of the worker’s arms may have gotten caught in a drive belt. 2006-11-15T22:35:25-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Darker-Side-of-the-Industrial-Revolution-in-Europe-31747.aspx History on Queen Elizabeth I "... Or let me live with some more sweet content, or die and so forget what love ere meant..." These soulful lines were written by one of the most celebrated women of all time. Hailed as the Virgen Queen, Elizabeth I was perhaps the most powerful, revolutionary queen to ever rule Englan. During the 45 years of Elizabeth's reign, England flourished in all aspects from economics to education. In fact Elizabeth I initiated so many successful improvements that this period came to be known as simply - The Elizabethan Age. In order to gain a bit more insight into the rather complex Queen Elizabeth, let's examine her early childhood and youth, her ascent to the throne, and the accomplishments she had as queen. Elizabeth I was the daughter of the rather infamous King Henry VIII and his second of six wives, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was just three years old, her father, King Henry, falsely accused her mother, Anne Boleyn, of treason and adultery and had her beheaded. King Henry was so disappointed that his only child from that marriage was female, that he had young Elizabeth banished from his sight to a little home in the country while he perused his never-ending quest for a male heir. Even at such a young age, Elizabeth was keenly aware of her father's disappointment of her. She had everything a little girl could ever want but lacked the one thing she truly desired- her father's love and acceptance. Faced with such loneliness and heartache, Elizabeth took comfort in her one pleasure in life- her studies. Elizabeth was a brilliant student and had the finest tutors England had to offer. By the age of six, Elizabeth's reading and writing skills were far more advanced than many adults twice her age. She adored literature, particularly poetry. She even composed several poems of her own. Elizabeth excelled in geography, mathematics, and science and could read, write, and even speak over nine different languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and Spanish. Elizabeth soon grew into a beautiful woman - elegant, witty, and serenely composed and a delight to the court on the rare chances she visited. In time, the pain of her father's rejection ebbed; and Elizabeth was able to devote herself to 2006-10-27T19:10:27-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/History-on-Queen-Elizabeth-I-31560.aspx European History on the War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a result of the conflicts overseas between France and Britain. Both France and Britain were trying blockade each other from supplies and thus seized many American ships. Although Americans were outraged with the idea of the powers in Europe seizing ships they were furthered angered with England for impressing American sailors and forcing them to serve in the English navy. Also when Britain attacked an American ship in 1807 in resulted the U.S. government setting up the Embargo Act of 1807. The act forbid any ships from leaving American ports until France and Britain repealed their restrictions on American trade. Unfortunately for Jefferson and his staff they could not foresee the impact it would have on the country’s economy. Madison, who elected after Jefferson, realized that the Embargo Act was destroying the economy and replaced it with the Non-intercourse Act that made it so the U.S. could trade with all countries but France and England. There was still opposition to the Act and Madison finally allowed for all regular trade to resume with the exception that the U.S. would cut off all trade with any country who interfered with American commerce. England did not change her ways and France still seized ships but not sailors. England was also suspected of insinuating a Indian revolt and with these acquisitions and the impressments of the American sailors it was not hard for Madison to get Congress to declare war. The causes of the War of 1812 are debatable because like most American wars there are underlying issues that the common people do not realize. While most Americans supported the war’s cause, which was to put Britain into her place so to speak, they had no idea of the grave danger the war put the young country into. The United States at this time had a very weak army. They also lacked supplies and arsenals to support any attacks on Britain in Canada. Banks refused to loan money to the government, which made it hard to buy supplies and weapons. Also the country was divided as to who supported the war. Northeastern Federalists regarded war with Britain as a grave mistake. The United States, they feared, could not hope to successfully challenge British domination on the seas and the government could not finance a war without bankrupting the country. Southerners 2006-10-03T20:42:19-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/European-History-on-the-War-of-1812-31500.aspx An Account of English History The history of the English language begins with the Celts, the first populace of England. The Celts were people who originated in central Europe from Indo-European stock and became a distinct people in the Iron Age. They are distinct from their predecessor peoples, archaeologically named the Urnfield cultures, principally in their use of iron, their art style, the role of the horse in their lives, and the social stratification of their society. In 43CE, Rome, who were known as Briton invaded England and took over their land. During the 400 years of Roman vocation, numerous cities and roads were constructed. The Romans brought Latin to Britain, which was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. But early English did not develop mainly from Latin. So it is unlike French, Spanish and Italian, which did come directly from Latin. 'Early English' was the language of tribes who invaded from the East, from what is now Germany. They spoke different dialects of a 'Germanic' language, from which modern German developed. This explains why German and English are often similar, as many of their words developed from the same original language. Despite the good luck with the Britons, they found themselves returning home to help out their native land. Barbarians invaded Rome constantly, burning everything to the ground. There last resort was to hire mercenary armies to fight off the barbarians. This group of mercenaries was known as the Anglo-Saxons. After defeating this group, the Anglo-Saxons realized that this was going to be there new land. In any disagreement from the Britons, they would be killed or pushed to the harsh livings of the coast. The Anglo- Saxon invasion, which became known as England, was divided up into seven kingdoms. The seven kingdoms had united in 865CE, when King Guthry of the Danes attacked Alfred. An agreement was then settled between the two men, which gave the Danes two-thirds of the land. Alfred obtained Wessex and had the Danes convert to Christianity, which made them good Christians. Little by little Alfred gained back his land because the Danes were unable to rule the land. Edward the Confessor, the last king of Saxon, died in 1066, leaving no heir to the throne of England. With the king dead and leaving no heirs, Edward’s pass ignited a three-way rivalry for the crown that culminated in the Battle of Hastings and 2006-10-03T20:18:44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Account-of-English-History-31486.aspx Change Brought about from the French Revolution In tracing the course of the French Revolution, the patterns of the events as a whole seem to follow specific patterns that can be classified into three separate divisions chronologically. "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." The Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution itself lasted from 1789 to 1799; it significantly affected the rest of the European front as well. The French Revolution promoted democratic ideals for France, however did not make the nation a democracy. It ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class. Following the birth of the revolution, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. During the first observable phase of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the principle reasons the revolution was established was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate consisted of the clergy, the second estate of the nobility, and the third estate was comprised of commoners. The third estate, which made up 98 percent of the population of France, was highly underrepresented. In terms of the Estates General the separate Estates were to vote separately and by order; the third estate would almost always be outvoted by the first estate and the second estate which would get to vote first. Because of this, the third estate wanted its traditional number of representatives to be doubled so that it matched the other two orders put together. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay many taxes imposed on the commoners. The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were 2006-08-27T14:47:42-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Change-Brought-about-from-the-French-Revolution-31290.aspx Social and Economic Effects of Black Death on Europe The Black Plague (also known as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague) of the 1300s is considered by many historians to be one of the most influential events and turning point in the transition from medieval to modern-day Europe. Some analysts even compare its devastation to that of World War I, since "25% to 50% of Europe's population were killed during the onslaught" of the plague (Gottfried, 77). While "no one rich, middling, or poor, was safe from the plague" (Platt, 97), those affected the most were those in the lower economic classes. England's peasant population in particular was affected greatly in both positive and negative ways; dramatic changes took place in all spheres of their lives: religiously, economically, and socially. In order to comprehend the tremendous impact the Black plague had on the English peasants' and in turn European history as a whole, one must first examine the events which led up to the onslaught of the plague, followed by how it altered the different aspects of their lives in an interconnected manner. The term "Black Plague" applies to the form of Bubonic Plague which raged relentlessly through Europe from 1347 to 1351 AD. During the High Middle Ages (10th-13th centuries) the population of Europe grew "steadily and unabated from 25 million in 950 AD to 75 million in 1250 AD" (Gottfried,17), the disease pool had reached something of an equilibrium, and deaths due to plagues and illnesses were at a low. There had been political stability for about two hundred years and there was a surplus of food due to good growing conditions and new agricultural and technological innovations. Since less people had to live off the land, more became merchants and tradesmen, which greatly improve the culture and economy, and also encouraged trade, thus instilling a sense of security among people. By the mid 13th century, a change for the worse overtook Europe. The "little Ice Age" took place, causing the climate to become colder and damp; crops rotting in their fields meant that the large population growth was outstripping food production. The population of Europe became increasingly poor; 10% died as a result of famine; related diseases (such as typhoid fever and dysentary) began to emerge as did livestock epidemics. With all these problems, combined with dirty, unhygenic living conditions, perhaps it is no 2006-08-12T10:53:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-and-Economic-Effects-of-Black-Death-on-Europe-31225.aspx Social and Economic Effects of Black Death on Europe The Black Plague (also known as the Black Death or Bubonic Plague) of the 1300s is considered by many historians to be one of the most influential events and turning point in the transition from medieval to modern-day Europe. Some analysts even compare its devastation to that of World War I, since "25% to 50% of Europe's population were killed during the onslaught" of the plague (Gottfried, 77). While "no one rich, middling, or poor, was safe from the plague" (Platt, 97), those affected the most were those in the lower economic classes. England's peasant population in particular was affected greatly in both positive and negative ways; dramatic changes took place in all spheres of their lives: religiously, economically, and socially. In order to comprehend the tremendous impact the Black plague had on the English peasants' and in turn European history as a whole, one must first examine the events which led up to the onslaught of the plague, followed by how it altered the different aspects of their lives in an interconnected manner. The term "Black Plague" applies to the form of Bubonic Plague which raged relentlessly through Europe from 1347 to 1351 AD. During the High Middle Ages (10th-13th centuries) the population of Europe grew "steadily and unabated from 25 million in 950 AD to 75 million in 1250 AD" (Gottfried,17), the disease pool had reached something of an equilibrium, and deaths due to plagues and illnesses were at a low. There had been political stability for about two hundred years and there was a surplus of food due to good growing conditions and new agricultural and technological innovations. Since less people had to live off the land, more became merchants and tradesmen, which greatly improve the culture and economy, and also encouraged trade, thus instilling a sense of security among people. By the mid 13th century, a change for the worse overtook Europe. The "little Ice Age" took place, causing the climate to become colder and damp; crops rotting in their fields meant that the large population growth was outstripping food production. The population of Europe became increasingly poor; 10% died as a result of famine; related diseases (such as typhoid fever and dysentary) began to emerge as did livestock epidemics. With all these problems, combined with dirty, unhygenic living conditions, perhaps it is no 2006-08-12T10:49:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-and-Economic-Effects-of-Black-Death-on-Europe-31224.aspx Communication and the Expertise of Interaction The two-way process that we call communication, is a natural skill. In life we have grown accustomed to talking; which is why talking is a natural act for people. Even though we all have these natural skills, some people use their communication expertise in an effective way than other individuals. I have taken the liberty of stepping outside of my body and viewing my communication skills as others would have viewed it. I rarely use communication effectively as most people. I lack the amount of vocabulary needed to describe things pragmatically. If I used descriptive words as frequently as other people, I would not have this problem. I realize that I tend to talk about unimportant things. I get off topic when I am in a group discussion. Everyone has to know everything about me, my family and friends, or what I saw the other day. It just does not matter what anyone says to me because my story is better and has to be heard. On the other hand, I do speak of mostly positive subjects. Looking at myself through a stranger’s perspective, I realize that I frown a lot when I am listening. I smile only when I speak of something funny. I make strange faces when I talk of things that make me mad. I have a tendency to not look people directly in the eye when I talk. When people are talking to me I try not to stare at them. I nod my head up and down when I think that I have heard enough of some one talking to me about instructions. Mrs. Cotton has taught me that it is not all about me; listening is also a part of communication. I need to use complicated words instead of simple words. Feedback is a very important part of the communication process. Improving my communication skills will make me a better person. In order to excel in life I will need to improve on my communication skills. The people I talk to will have a better understanding of what I am talking about. I am anxiously awaiting more advice and teachings for the effective art of communication. I hope I will be able to have successful conversations with educated people without fearing my lack of vocabulary words. I plan on being able to give efficient details to anyone that 2006-08-09T15:45:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Communication-and-the-Expertise-of-Interaction-31205.aspx The Industrial Revolution in England In the years preceding 1750 England, although a wealthy nation still suffered from poverty and a poor economy. Despite the fact that there were manufacturers, not enough produce could be made, and so England remained poverty stricken. The 2 main areas of productivity were agriculture and woollen textiles, the larger earner of these two being wool. The manufacture of woollen cloth had been the main industry since the middle ages, when England was one of the world’s greatest producers of raw wool. However the garments were made in the people’s homes and the progress was very slow. All the tools were worked by hand and were small enough to be used in the home. Not only was this process slow, but such was the demand for yarn that it was constantly in short supply, as wool production was hard to mechanise, on the other hand cotton which was a new material being brought into Britain was much easier to make and faster. Not only was it easier and faster but also it was also more comfortable to wear. This new material would have been easier to mechanise but the raw materials had to be imported and this was more expensive but still the demand was there, so much so that in 1700 a law was passed banning all imports of cotton and in 1721 the wearing of cotton was actually banned. Due to the banning of these imports local producers were allowed to step into the market and so began the rise of the cotton industry in Britain. The process was still too slow and was still done in people’s homes; this had to be changed if the cotton was to be a success. There were people who invented various items to make things easier and quicker, people like John Kay. John Kay made the work easier by inventing the flying shuttle in 1733. Before this the weavers had to throw the shuttle across the loom. James Hargreaves then invented a new machine, called the Jenny in 1764. This machine was still used in the home. A machine was needed to work on a larger scale in a factory. This machine arrived in 1769 in the form of a water mill through the brains of a man called Richard Arkwright; he also opened a factory at Cromford, Derbyshire. By 1782 this factory employed 5000 workers, making him 2006-08-08T10:08:28-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Industrial-Revolution-in-England-31173.aspx Germany's Unification and Bismarck’s Diplomacy Roughly from 1850 to 1870 the Unification of Germany took place. After the unification, Germany rose as a dominant power in Europe until World War 2. The process of the unification was mainly spread over three wars. But to a great extent, the unification was due Herr Otto Von Bismarck’s diplomacy. However, to a small extent, it was due to other factors such as the formation of the Zollverein, revolutions, nationalism and assemblies and congresses held in the past. From the 1790s to 1814 French troops successively conquered and occupied the area that later constituted the German Empire. French domination helped to modernize and consolidate Germany by introducing reforms in economy, society and government. Finally, towards the end, sparked the first upsurge of German nationalism. Nationalist ideas began to form among the intellectuals in Germany. Therefore, to a small extent, in different ways, unintentionally, the French emperor Napoleon I helped German unification. It was also important that he encouraged many of the middle-sized German states to absorb huge numbers of small independent territories, mostly bishoprics, church lands, and local principalities. The more powerful German princes, often in alliance with France, seized this chance to enlarge their territories and refused to restore the annexed units to independence after Napoleon's defeat. The number of independent and semi-independent German states had been around one thousand in 1792 but twenty-five years later, only about thirty remained. The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine and created the German Confederation under Austrian and Prussian hegemony. The German Confederation consisted of 39 independent and individual states and almost everywhere, the original monarch rulers repressed the nationalist movement, which was mainly composed of students and professors after 1815. Although, there was a parliament with representatives from every state, this diet was weak and powerless and it could only deal with common affairs of the Confederation. An Austrian always led this diet. Later, the German princes realized that nationalism required a reform or even destruction of the traditional monarchic states. After several decades of repression, a strong desire for reforms, constitutions and parliaments had developed among the educated and wealthy bourgeoisie, while the peasants resented the still present feudal dues. These liberal demands from the nationalists alarmed the foreign princes and their aristocratic supporters. Unemployment among small artisans made them join the revolutionary cause in hopes of secure jobs and economic 2006-08-08T10:00:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Germany-s-Unification-and-Bismarck’s-Diplomacy-31170.aspx Society of the Germanic Tribes The tribes and kingdoms in Germany were formed through victories in war. Germania was a polytheistic civilization. “All (Germans) had fierce blue eyes, red hair, huge frames, fit only for sudden exertion”(Tacitus, 710). The weapons they used in warfare were not made of metal, but were wooden spears and shields, which they would bellow behind to make themselves sound more ominous. The nations of Germany had no cities and they were very scattered. Their civilization chose their kings by birth and the kings and generals had all of the power. This authority was shown by example rather than by words or laws that were created. The chiefs of all the tribes assemble do discuss matters of the tribe every full or new moon, unless extraneous circumstances forced them to do otherwise. Their 2006-08-05T15:24:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Society-of-the-Germanic-Tribes-31044.aspx Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte: The Upstart Genius “The first principle of a general-in-chief is to calculate what he must do, to see if he has the means to surmount the obstacles with which the enemy can oppose him and when he has made his decision, to do everything to overcome them.” - Napoleon Bonaparte Be it a scholar, an intellectual, a history buff, or a contemporary management student, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte remains, to this day, something of an enigma, both tantalizing and elusive- but at the same time presenting a most rewarding subject for study be it of tactics, administration or leadership skills. What makes a general, who had fought more then 60 battles and was blamed for the deaths of more than 1,750,000 soldiers in his time, a subject for a topic like leadership? Lets take a more, as the general would say, unemotional and impartial view of both, Napoleon’s military as well as administrative characteristic, to understand why his maxims are today taught as an essential part of any professional managerial course on leadership and management as a whole. Personal Magnetism Be it in war, business or charitable organizations, the personal charm or the magnetism that a leader has on his subordinates becomes an important trait in making him successful. As seen in the case of Napoleon, his personal charm and sway over his listeners, made them hold him in awe and fulfill his every command. A combination of his confidence, intellectual capabilities and methodical and almost natural genius made the bravest of soldiers and the tackiest of statesmen, eat out of his hand. He practiced this charm to the point of making it look like an art and would go to great lengths to sway his contemporaries in his favor. Mental Dexterity Above his personal charm Napoleon also possessed extraordinary mental faculties. There was never an object too small for his attention or a subject too vast for his time. Throughout his military and administrative career, Napoleon displayed a legendary mental dexterity of the kind not seen before of after him. He could remember vast economic statistics to the point reaching as back as 5 years, or pinpoint the exact location of an army unit on a map and throw in their movement patterns for the next week for greater measure. Also the fact that made him superior to all other strategists of his 2006-08-05T10:35:22-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Napoleon-Bonaparte-The-Upstart-Genius-31017.aspx The Black (Bubonic) Plague in Europe The Black Plague is a type of bubonic plague that traveled throughout Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea killing millions. The Black Plague (or Black Death) is a bacterial infection that causes swelling on numerous parts of the body. Also it causes odd sores in which human flesh is eaten away. If you are infected with this, you have 5 days to be treated before you die. This is carried mainly through a type of rat flea (Yersinia Pestis). The rat flea is of course found on rats but has also been found on marmots, prairie dogs, and other types of rodents. During the five years in which the black plague was at its peak it is estimated that over 25 million people were killed in Europe alone. The Black plague probably originated in China. From there it traveled to the Middle East and throughout southern Russia. It is most likely that it then spread through trade routes along the west. The trade routes lead into Italy along the black sea. Merchants then probably took it Egypt to places like Alexandria. Then it went towards Libya and Damascus and Upper Egypt. Scientists figure that the people who actually brought the Black Death to Europe were either Genoese or Venetian sailors. As the plague spread its destruction into a vaster area through Pisa, it went towards Florence and then onto Bologna and Rome. Later it traveled to: Venice, Germany, Austria, Genoa, Barcelona, Spain, Marseilles, Southern France, Paris, England. However throughout all this chaos Milan, Italy was virtually unaffected by the disease. The lord of the city ordered that the city gates were to be closed and no outside travelers were allowed in. Especially no travelers from plague areas. Central Germany and a city in Poland also did a similar isolation technique that spared many lives. The doctor’s who were alive during the plague thought a combination of things. First they believed that the human body lacked fluids, or humors, and assumed that it was god’s call for repentance. Second they believed that God was punishing them for there sins. Because of this a extremist group known as flagellants erupted. Flagellants were a group of people who beat themselves. As the 2006-08-05T10:01:34-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Bubonic-Plague-or-Black-Plague-31001.aspx Factors Leading to the Social reforms in 1906- 1911 in Britain To understand the factors that led to the introduction of liberal social reforms, it is perhaps essential we firstly have a firm understanding and knowledge of their origin. We must be aware of the social and economical status of Britain at the time and how this also helped shape and influence their introduction. Many Historians believe that several factors have helped in the culmination of these reforms and within this essay I will attempt to illustrate and dissect these factors by re-tracing and capturing an impression of early twentieth century Britain. To be simplistic and incorporating my own personal opinion, the social reforms where a fabrication of ‘New liberalism’ and to some extent salvation from social degradation and perhaps arguably ‘Classical liberalism’. These ‘New changed, liberalist views’ flooded the dawn of the twentieth century and where influenced by such social surveys carried out by men like Booth and Rowntree. Both revealed the extent to which poverty had infiltrated the country, as studies show ‘The proportions arrived at for the total population living in poverty in York and London respectively were ‘London 30.7%, York 27.84%’. Rowntree concluded from his studies a definition of the term ‘Physical efficiency’ meaning to be ‘Functioning physically and effectively’. He later went on to declare ‘The position of the lowest paid labourer is one of particular hopelessness, the vicious circle is complete’. The New liberalists where very much against this circle, they argued against limitations and believed this ‘born into poverty’ infliction was not fair. They where very much supportive of opportunities and believed that society should encourage the poor to succeed instead of condemning them to this inherited lifestyle. It is important to perhaps point out that the reality behind these social surveys proved significant in the formation of ‘New Liberalism’. New ideology emerged from these findings, questions where asked of the effectiveness of the ‘Laissez Faire’ policy. New attitudes to the poor and society materialized through New Liberalism, people began to wake up to reality and understand that poverty for some was like a vicious hereditary disease, inescapable despite attempting to. They proposed a modernistic view in which they believed there was a right for the state to intervene in people’s lives under certain circumstances. This idea was fortified by results from experiments within 2006-08-01T20:17:48-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Factors-Leading-to-the-Social-reforms-in-1906-1911-in-Brita-30987.aspx Foundations of Feudalism in European Governments Feudalism was the foundation of the European government. The structure of feudalism was incredibly unbalanced, which was the main reason for its downfall. When the Roman empire fell, it left many wealthy landowners spread throughout the European countries. For every wealthy landowner there were many more poorer. They decided therefore to commend themselves to landlords, surrendering to a lord in return for safety and the right to farm the properties. This was the beginning of the feudal nations. The children of the men who owned the land would inherit the land as well as any other property owned by their fathers. This tradition kept rich people rich and poor people poor. People who exchanged their land for protection were shielded from opposing enemies by knights and horsemen. The primary defense for a lord was his knight. The knights formed the core of the lord’s household. Many of them lived permanently within the castle walls and were fed and housed by him. Knights that were given homage by their lords did not really need any land but were still paid in fiefs, which were stretches of land paid to whomever. These household knights did not need a grant of land on which to live, though they often received it all the same. This showed the favoritism the lords and kings had and expressed it through the upper class citizens. While the basic feudal system was working out wonderfully for the higher ranked officials, the peasants were getting short changed from the very beginning. The peasants, who supported their society by their hard and dirty work, were getting no credit. The peasants had to suffer the dirtiest work while getting almost nothing in return. For the poorest peasants the threat of starvation was never far away, and there was rarely enough money for anything but the bare essentials of life. Low income for peasants was mainly due to the high taxes and the low wages. Officials in office had the exact opposite with high wages and low taxation. The whole social structure of the government was completely unbalanced. The higher statesmen appointed friends and relatives into positions of power based on a social scale, not by ability. The system of assigning positions based on popularity was unfair to the lower class people. Although Feudalism held together for nearly ten centuries, the governmental 2006-08-01T18:42:37-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Foundations-of-Feudalism-in-European-Governments-30948.aspx European Power and the Seven Weeks War The Seven Weeks War, also known as the Austro-Prussian war, was a brief struggle between two rising European powers. On June 14, 1866 Austria and Prussia engaged each other in battle. Prussia received support from only a few small north German states in the country of Italy. Austria’s allies Saxony, Hanover, the Hesses, Bavaria, Baden, and Wurttenberg. This war was deliberately provoked by Otto von Bismark who was the prime minister of Prussia under King William I. King William ordered Bismark expel Austria from the German Confederation. William hoped this step would unify Germany under Prussian control. The German unification would loosely tie together the German states. Bismark used the Seven Weeks War as a part of his campaign to force Austria out of the German Confederation making Prussia the dominant power in Germany. Otto von Bismark had planed to arrange the unification of all the German states except for Austria and Switzerland, who were under Prussian control. To accomplish his objectives, Bismark went to war three times. The first of the three wars was The War Against Denmark. Bismark cleverly persuaded Austria to join Prussia in declaring war against Denmark in 1864. Austria and Prussia won the war and forced Denmark out of the dispute over the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia got control of Schleswig and Austria took control of Holstein. This was the treaty of Gastein which both Austria and Prussia accused each other of breaking. The treaty stated that Austria would get Schleswig and that Prussia would get Holstein. They both agreed to have peace between them. This war accomplished two objectives for Bismark. It heightened Europe’s awareness of Bismarck’s military power. Also, the tensions resulting from the war gave Bismark the excuse he needed for going to war with Austria. Later, came the second war called The Seven Weeks War. Bismark prepared for this war by removing all possible allies from Austria. He even obtained Russian help by offering aid against Polish rebels. He also forged an alliance with Italy by supporting its claim to Venetia. In return for these alliances Bismark gained military superiority over Austria. Austria attempted to side with the Duke of Augustenburgh, yet Bismark prevented this alliance 2006-08-01T09:44:37-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/European-Power-and-the-Seven-Weeks-War-30922.aspx In Memory of World War I Soldiers Two weeks ago Palestine and Israel started to war for their conviction. Two countries fighting for a piece of land that what it is. However, in the beginning of the 20 century the world was fighting for the human rights. A lot of men died during this war, soldiers who were before everything human being with feelings, who died for their aim and believes. Some of them ,to forget their misery decided to write poems such as Alfred Joyce Kilmer and Rupert Brooke. Alfred Joyce Kilmer was born on December 1886 in New Brunswick .He died in 1918, killed by a bullet .Kilmer was part of the Regiment’s intelligence staff. He was also awarded of the French “croix de guerre” for bravery . In 1915 , immediately after the death of his friend , Rupert Brooke ,he wrote a compilation of poems named “in memory of Rupert Brooke” .Brooke was born in1887 , he was a good student and athlete with a handsome look .Brooke contracted a blood-poisoning from a neglected injury and died in April in the Aegean .H e attempted his post-mortem glory because of Kilmer’s poem “golden warrior”. Most of the time, when men are fighting for their country; they are fighting in a foreign land . Soldiers are usually dying far from their home and families. Far from their beloved country ,in the middle of nowhere ,they are dying . Their last minute of life, is generally in the middle of bullets flying from a place to another. I think, Brooke died in those conditions, and suffered a lot during his death because he realized every steps of his dying procedure. Kilmer understood that, by reporting those feelings into poetic words such as: In alien earth , across a troubled sea , The soldiers recruited by the army to fight are usually young and full of dignity . They are , 15 to 35 years old and their life just began . Brooke was only 28 years old when he died .If he wasn’t dead during the 1st world -war Rupert would have ,probably, been a famous poet, and a family man with a wife and several children .But the talented man died to soon 2006-07-29T16:23:59-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/In-Memory-of-World-War-I-Soldiers-30793.aspx A History of the French Revolution In our society, if we don’t respect the freedom of others we, most of the time, go to jail. But, in the late 1700’s ,in Europe, people were not respected and were fed-up to live in a society where only one person was responsible of the destiny of 27 million people. As you can guess I will, in the following text ,explain the reasons and the results of the French Revolution. In the 1760’s the American revolution began. The population was asking for a new constitution and a bill of rights. They wanted to be independent, and not governed by the Great Britain anymore. The French ,eternal enemies of the British Kingdom, gave ,generously, weapons and money to the American rebels ;French officers, also helped the Washington’s army. France was maybe too generous and didn’t have any money to satisfied their own needs anymore. However, the French society sank in a big depression the peasants were paying more and more taxes , a bread (the main food) shortage began and the wages decrease. The population was very close to revolt… Meanwhile, since the middle age the French society was devised, unequally, into three estates. The first estate ,was formed of the clergy, they owned 10 percent of the land and numbered about 130,000 people. They weren’t paying any taxes, however they agreed to pay, every five years a contribution to the state. The second estate constituted of 35,000 aristocrats ,and “noblesse de robe “.They owned 30 percent of the land and had the biggest positions in the army, the church and the government. The third estates was formed of 80 percent of the population divided in three different groups, 2.3 million of them were part of the bourgeoisie (merchants, capitalist, doctor etc.…)they owned 2o percent of the land ,21 million of them were peasants and owned 40 percent of the land, but not all of them were land owners. And the 2.5 millions other were urban poor who didn’t owned any land. On may 5th of 1789 ,Louis XIV, king of France ,was forced to call the meeting of the Estates –general to solve the financial collapse. They started by wondering if the voting should be by order or by head (each delegate having one vote).Originally the aristocrats use to have the control by using the veto-power. However, 2006-07-29T16:21:24-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-History-of-the-French-Revolution-30792.aspx The Major Causes of the French Revolution The French revolution overthrew the country’s ancient monarchy, proclaimed Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and fought off a hostile Europe. It ushered in a new age, but at a terrible price in blood and human suffering. There were many causes of the Revolution. The French Revolution appears to have been the outcome of both long term and short term factors, which arose from the social and political conditions and conflicts of the ancien regime. The long standing grievances of peasants, townsmen and bourgeoisie; the frustration’s of rising hopes among wealthy and ‘middling’ bourgeoisie and peasants; the distress and breakdown of government; a real (or at least perceived) ‘feudal reaction’; the stubbornness of a privileged aristocracy; the creation of radical ideas among wide sections of the people; a sharp economic and financial crisis; and the successive triggers of state bankruptcy, aristocratic revolt and popular revolution: all these factors played a part. The middle and lower class were becoming more conscious of their increased social importance and because the peasants were becoming more independent, more literate and prosperous that the old feudal freedoms and aristocratic privileges appeared all the more burdensome and intolerable for the struggling discontents of France. For more than one hundred years before the accession of Louis XVI, France was the most powerful country on the European continent. She had held this position for over 150 years, thanks to her fertile land, large population and many resources. However, the government had under gone periodic economic crisis, resulting from long wars, royal mismanagement, losses incurred in the French and Indian War (1756-1763) and Seven Years’ War (1775-1783) and increased debt arising from loans to the American colonies during the American Revolution (1775-1783). The governmental system had worked reasonably well under Louis XIV but had become impossible under his weak successors. The government was corrupt and centralized and the King’s authority had been slowly extended over the country. Under the system, there was a lot of overlapping authority and a great inefficiency in the provincial governments. The only people who could obstruct the royal government in an attempt to save the country was the Parliament of Paris. Unfortunately, its members were only concerned about their own welfare rather than the members of the country. The greatest government weakness was the lack of consistency and order. By 1788, 2006-07-26T12:24:43-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Major-Causes-of-the-French-Revolution-30676.aspx How Queen Elizabeth I was Ahead of Her Time Throughout history, there have been strong and powerful leaders. More importantly, some of these leaders were women. These women were ahead of their time by today’s standards and one of the most significant leaders from history, let alone one of the most powerful female leaders, was Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth gained control of the throne of Great Britain at one of the most controversial times in the country. The unofficial war between the Catholics and Protestants led to many deaths before Elizabeth’s coronation. This war, along with other struggles after her ascension to the throne, showed Queen Elizabeth’s dedication to her people and her ability to lead with the use of situational, trait, and charismatic leadership. Before becoming the queen of England, Elizabeth’s half sister Mary reigned. Mary, being a Catholic, made Catholicism the official religion of England once again, after her father had broken ties with the church so he could have a divorce. With a division throughout the country between Catholics and Protestants, Mary made it clear that she supported any act that was for the benefit of the Catholic faith. Protestants were burned as heretics in the name of the Church and were persecuted throughout England. Elizabeth also felt persecution once Mary and her council began to suspect Elizabeth was Protestant. Mary was ill and it was feared that if Elizabeth took the throne that she would break the bond between England and the Church. To render this impossible, Mary had her council imprison Elizabeth in the Tower of London. Elizabeth was eventually released when it became evident that she must succeed her half sister’s throne. Once she ascended to the throne and within her first meeting with Parliament, Elizabeth was able to successfully break England’s ties with the Church and rename herself head of the Church of England. Although she met heavy opposition, Elizabeth used a combination of situational, trait, and charismatic leadership to accomplish her goal. She saw that the situation could not persist and she looked for a way to end it. She was clever in her methods and employed obvious traits to her advantage. Since parliament was all men, Elizabeth was able to use her feminine wiles to compel the members to listen and agree 2006-07-25T16:01:20-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-Queen-Elizabeth-I-was-Ahead-of-Her-Time-30648.aspx Overview of the Spanish Civil War In 1931, after King Alfonso of Spain abdicated the throne, and Spain held its first-ever democratic election. This election marked the end of 300 years of feudalism in Spain, ruled during this time by the Catholic Church and the aristocracy. As a republic, the new government favored land reform, which involved breaking up the large plantations in order to recognize workers. As a result, many different viewpoints stemmed from this dramatic action. While the socialists and anarchists saw it as a the beginning of a social revolution, many Republicans were afraid of the power of the Church and the military. After many years, problems arose from the extremely different opinions of the various groups in Spain, and in 1936, Hitler, Mussolini, and the Catholic Church decided to form a revolution of their own against Republican Spain under the military direction of General Franco. The slogan adopted with this counter-revolution was, “NO PASARÀN!” Although strong, Franco’s army was met with great force from the anarchists and also from International Brigades, volunteers from foreign countries. The Republicans held Franco’s forces in Barcelona, Catalonia, Murcia, Bilbao, and other provinces throughout Spain. In these areas, a direct democracy was established in the factories as well as the cities, and civilian defense forces stood ready to defend the Republic from Franco and his army at any cost. With regards to funding for the Civil War at hand, England and France chose not to supply the Republican side, leaving no other choice but to seek aid from the Soviet Union. As a result, the Communist Party of Spain began to believe they could compromise with Franco, while the anarchists advocated the social revolution that was taking place within Spain’s borders. The Communist Party’s view led to much fighting between the separate groups within the Republican side of the Civil War, and thus weakened their ability to combat Franco’s aggression. Finally on April 1st, 1939, General Franco ended the war after his troops seized all of the Republican strongholds, and took control over the government. The Spanish Civil War, often forgotten in the history books, was a very significant event in the history of the world. It is believed that if England and France had given Spain supplies during the war, they could have greatly weakened the governments of Hitler 2006-07-23T19:32:16-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Overview-of-the-Spanish-Civil-War-30547.aspx The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand Francis Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria in 1863. His father is Archduke Charles Louis. He received the title archduke of Austria-Este in 1875. Francis became heir to the thrown after two deaths in the family. The first was the death of his cousin, Crown Prince Rudolf, who killed himself and his sixteen year old mistress in 1889, and the second was the death of his father in 1896. Ferdinand was a reformist with his new political ideas. As stated in the website “The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand” by Michael Shackelford, “One of these ideas was "trialism" - the reorganization of the dual monarchy into a triple monarchy by giving the Slavs an equal voice in the empire.” This would put them on an equal footing with the Magyars and Germans living inside the Austro-Hungarian borders. These political views were against the beliefs of those people in the Serbian nationalists. On June 28, 1914, the archduke’s fourteenth wedding anniversary, Ferdinand decided to take a special trip with his wife, Sophie, to Sarajevo. Usually Sophie was not allowed to ride in the same vehicle as her husband, but on their anniversary she would be given all the royal treatment, including being allowed to ride in the same car as her husband. The members of the assassins group were all members of the Serbian nationalist movement Mlada Bosna. There were seven people in this group and their ages ranged from nineteen to twenty-seven. These assassins received their training and weapons from a Belgrade terrorist league. They returned to Sarajevo with pistols, bombs, and cyanide to wait for the arrival of the archduke. The archduke had received several warnings to stay away from Sarajevo, but Ferdinand ignored the threats and even told the Austrian army to stay out of the city for the day. By 10:00 a.m. the archduke and his wife were headed toward city hall. On their way they had to cross the Miljacka River at Cumuria Bridge. This is where first assassin was waiting to throw a bomb at the archduke, but he did not throw his bomb claiming the police were blocking his path. The second assassins view was not blocked and he threw his bomb at the archduke’s car. The bomb was headed straight 2006-07-23T16:26:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Assassination-of-Archduke-Ferdinand-30517.aspx The Importance of Towns and Trade in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, towns and trade were very important to civilization, and many urban centers came about around the year 1200. The main reason for these cities and towns existence was trade, and money. "It was the money that fueled the transformation of Europe, and the merchants who traded goods for money were the vehicles of that transformation." (King, 322) The methods of merchants and traders that caused the first medieval cities to grow, "As they concentrated their activities at the intersections of key trade routes, they caused towns to form and ripen into cities." (King, 322) Early into the Middles Ages, trade had all but disappeared, with merchants’ jobs being so dangerous. "Bandits and pirates roamed at will, unchecked by Roman legions or auxiliaries, endangering merchant shipments by road or water." (King, 322) There was no super power such as Rome to stop these bandits and marauders who attacked trade ships and travelers. There were no laws that everyone adhered to, and no government to make these laws. "The trade that did exist must have suffered from political disarray-there were no judges available to enforce contracts and no financial officials to regulate the minting of new coins or the conversion of currency." (King, 322) "By the tenth century, some Europeans...had learned of the great profit to be gained from buying things cheaply and selling them dearly." (King, 324) This was the birth of the original merchants, those who settled towns and villages, and who traded with those who came to their towns. "From such enterprising traders came the makers of the medieval towns, and, ultimately, the great merchants of the later Middle Ages." (King, 324) They often settled outside of the ruling lords castle, and on the more frequented trade routes, "Here, the goods of the East were available as well as European goods, such as salt, metals, food, and wool." (King, 324) Before it collapsed, Roman cities slowly began to get smaller, "People left them in order to avoid taxes and responsibilities and even honors, which came at a heavy price." (King, 326) Rome was an example of this decline in population. "From about a million at the height of its empire, the population of Rome to less than half that in just the mid-fifth century, then to about 50,000...a hundred 2006-07-19T12:49:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Importance-of-Towns-and-Trade-in-the-Middle-Ages-30393.aspx On a present-day map we see Mongolia as a small country hidden away in East Asia between China and Russia, two of the most powerful nations in the world today. Few would believe that such a small country could have ever succeeded in conquering both China and Russia. But back in the early 13th century the Mongolians did conquer both China and Russia, along with many more lands. In doing so the Mongolians created the largest land empire in world history. The Mongolians had a lasting effect on the areas that they conquered and made them the way they are today. The western world thinks of the Mongolians as being ruthless aggressive barbarians conquering all the lands. This is in part true because the Mongolians were a fearsome group that used terror tactics in order to succeed. The Mongolians were a nomadic group of people and were aggressive indeed. In fact the Mongols learned to ride horses and shoot arrows from when they were small children and they were so good that “when mounted they could hit a man at distances of between 200-400 meters” (Chapter 5, The Mongol Army). The Mongols, being the strict peoples that they were, were disciplined harshly. The punishment of any crime was death. This discipline is what allowed the Mongols to conquer different lands. Mongolia was a land with very few natural resources. It was barren and mountainous. It was hard to live in Mongolia and you had to know the terrain well. That is why the Mongols could not be farmers. Instead, they were hunters and gatherers and they raised animals as well which is why they became such good horsemen. The Mongols also herded sheep, goats, yaks and oxen. The Mongols relied on herding. The Mongols also relied on trade in order to succeed. From 1180-1220 the temperature dropped in Mongolia and this was a bad thing because it meant less grass could grow. Also, the Chinese tried to reduce trade with Mongolia. Because the Mongolians couldn’t trade and couldn’t grow the grass instead for their animals, they had to move around. That is why in the year 1211 the Mongolians attacked China and conquered it. The leader of the Mongols was Genghis Khan. He led the Mongols during their conquests. He learned how to survive in Mongolia from his mother because his father was assassinated when he was 9. His knowledge helped him to 2006-07-17T23:24:31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Mongolian-Invasion-of-China-30331.aspx The fall of the Roman Empire was inevitable by A.D. 476. Christianity had weakened the bonds that had held it together, the people became corrupt, and it got too big. It was also because of the barbarian attacks. Simply, all empires always fall and Rome’s time had come to an end. The collapse of the Roman Empire was a calamity; it leads to the Dark (Middle) Ages. Seeing all the bad that came of it, the destruction of art, the collapse of great cities, the deterioration of the system of roads, the ruin of the Mediterranean trade, and the loss of European unity--it's difficult to imagine any good came of it. But some good did result. The break up of the empire led to the abolition of slavery in Europe. Of course, this, in turn, led to more poverty and the increase of latifundia because the poor people lost their land to the aristocrats. But the slaves were better off as peasants than as slaves. Christianity was a major cause of the fall of Rome. Although Rome had religious tolerance, Romans, especially Jews, didn’t accept Christianity. A lot of people converted to Christianity because they lost faith in the Romans. At first most Christians were Jews but less strict. Many values were different but they still followed Jewish dietary laws and shared many beliefs with the Jews. The early Christians also got circumcised. Even Jesus got circumcised because he was born a Jew. Then he thought he was God’s messenger but many other people during that time also thought that so most people started off not believing him. The Christians started adopting the values that they have today during the time that Saul/Paul was alive. At first he started off as a Jew who hated Jesus and hated the Christians but then he converted and traveled around spreading the thoughts of Christians but he said that Christians didn’t need to follow the Jewish dietary laws and they didn’t need to get circumcised. The Romans and the Jews didn’t like the message that Jesus was spreading so they crucified him. One impact that Jesus had was that more people didn’t want to join the military and they didn’t want to participate in the community. Since the people stopped participating in government and they didn’t join the army, the Roman army composed of the Barbarians from Germany. These Barbarians lead disorganized attacks and even 2006-07-17T22:49:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Fall-of-the-Western-Roman-Empire-30321.aspx The Crusades were a bloody time period. They were a military campaign by the pope and the Roman Catholic Church to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims. They lasted from the 11th- 13th century. They were catastrophic and left Europe in ruins. Although the Crusades were such a violent period of time, they had a positive impact in history because of their role in the renaissance and exposing the Western world to the Eastern. The Crusades were an outlet for the intense religious tension between the Muslims and the church which rose up in the late 11th century. This all started because the church and the catholics wanted the Holy Lands back from the muslims. Around this time the church was the biggest institute and people were god-fearing. Pope Gregory VII wanted to control more lands and wanted to get back the lands that they had lost to the muslims. So in order to get back these lands he launched The Crusades which he insisted to the peasants was a holy war instead. A major part of the fighters in the crusades were untrained and unqualified peasants who went out to get back the holy lands for the church from the ‘evil muslims’. This was called the Peasants Crusade. In order to get these peasants, who knew no better, to go and fight the church told them that if they were to go and fight these ‘horrible muslims’ then they would automatically get admission into heaven. Of course this automatically appealed to the peasants being that they were so god-fearing. They thought that if they helped the church then they would go to heaven and so they jumped at such an opportunity to get a get-into-heaven-free card. These people in all their religious glory went in and attacked the city of Niche. And got killed. The city of Niche was a well fortified city controlled by Seljuk Turks. The peasants went in and attacked and literally got slaughtered. Only 2000 peasants survived their hasty attack. Unfortunetly most of the crusades went this way. The goal of the Crusades was to regain the Holy Lands in the name of the church and drive the muslims out of Jerusalem. No such thing happened. The crusades were a complete and utter failure. But the aftermath of the crusades had a positive effect on Eurasia. For one thing it weakened the church’s grip on the peoples lives. 2006-07-17T22:19:23-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Positive-Impact-of-The-Crusades-on-Eurasia-30317.aspx Costs and Benefits of the Industrial Revolution The impact of the Industrial Revolution was a positive experience for some, but it was a great difficulty for others. Because of the demands for reform and protection for workers arose, government and unions began to take place. That was how the evils of the Industrial Revolution addressed in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Unions are voluntary associations joined by workers. The Combination Act of 1800, which hindered the growth of unions, states that every workman’s goal, who are entering into any combination should not be obtaining an advance of wages, or to lessen or alter the hours, or influencing any other to quit his work. Any workman who did so shall be committed to jail (Doc 1). Although the Combination Act of 1800 prevented the growth of unions, Ralph Chaplin believes that a worker should join the union. He states that there can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun, but the unions, which makes it strong (Doc 2). Since there’s so many workers working in bad conditions, the labor laws came to action. The Health and Morals Act of 1802 limited children under fourteen from working over twelve hours a day (Doc 3). The factor Act of 1833, which enacted that no person under 18 years of age shall be allowed to work at night in machinery (Doc 4). It allowed the child under 18 to work less than 12 hours a day or less than 69 hours in any one-week. There was a ten hours act, which said that the women or children’s limit workdays are 10 hours. Socialism is one of the roles of government in the economy. Adam Smith, who is the father of capitalism, believes in laissez-faire, “hands off” the government. He believes all production should be sale at the best possible lowest price. (Doc 5) While Adam Smith believes in capitalism, Engel is criticizing it. Engel believes the capitalism seizes everything for themselves but not the poor, they remain nothing. (Doc 7) Karl Marx, the author of a 23 page pamphlet, “The Communist Manifesto”, and Engels recommend that all the working men of all countries should unite and is to be equal, should overthrow of all existing social conditions. (Doc 8) Both Marx and Engels are communists, they believe in Communism. They argued human societies have always been 2006-07-13T12:52:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Costs-and-Benefits-of-the-Industrial-Revolution-30202.aspx Economic Crisis druing the French Revolution A revolution can be described as a time when the masses, consisting of ordinary men and women, grow weary of the current political system and begin to take their lives and destinies into their own hands. Abraham Lincoln once commented about the masses under a political system that, “Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.” This applies to many of the uprisings in history, but it is especially prevalent in the roots of the French Revolution. The distinct condition of the masses could be seen through the many eyes of France, and the various conditions posed on the Third Estate were the foundations for the French Revolution. Participation in the American Revolution and after King Louis XIV’s and Louis XVI’s enormous expenses, the country of France fell into much accumulated debt in the late 18th century. The effect left from the debt upon the country could be seen in its people. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, described a large portion of the masses when she wrote, “Tenderness and earnestness of the poor people, who, in spite of the taxes with which they are overwhelmed, were transported with joy at seeing us.” The upper class, therefore, set up large taxes to save get them out of debt. In order to save France from bankruptcy, Louis XVI called on the Estates General for help. The Estates General was made up of the First (clergy), Second (nobility), and Third (everyone else) Estate. However there was a lot of conflict within the Third Estate, because it was made up of everyone who was not part of the royal family, clergy, or nobility. The Third Estate was very unsatisfied because although it contained over 80 percent of the population, it still had the same one vote as the other two Estates with fewer people. When King Louis XVI came into power, he realized that these problems existed. At first he did not know what to do, until he found a man by the name of Robert Turgot. Described as “tactless, high-minded, impatient and touchy,” he had difficulties when he tried to introduce a major reform, that of taxing the nobles. After Turgot was rejected, the king fired him from his office. The taxing 2006-07-10T13:26:04-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Economic-Crisis-druing-the-French-Revolution-30156.aspx A Historic Overview of the French Revolution The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a crowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. Law divided society divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy; nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were among the most important people in French society but were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate. Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to finance the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783)." (Burley, 22) The Parliament of Paris insisted that King Louis XVI could borrow more money or raise taxes only by calling a meeting of the States-General. The States-General was made up of representatives of the three estates, and had last met in 1614. Unwillingly, the king called the meeting. The States-General opened on May 5, 1789, at 2006-07-09T14:57:50-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Historic-Overview-of-the-French-Revolution-30142.aspx The Age of Exploration in Spain The age of exploration was one that flourished in new discoveries of new lands, and resources. Many countries had a lasting effect on this era of time. Perhaps the most influential was Spain. Spain was the beginning point for many famous explorers including Columbus, Pizzarro, and Cortes. All three greatly influenced the exploration age. Of the three explorers, Columbus was the first to embark on his voyage. In 1492, the sea captain, Christopher Columbus, set off for Asia, to find the luxuries many talked of. The spices, silks, and other raw materials prompted Columbus to sail west and find an alternate trade route to Asia and its riches. However Columbus never reached his destination. Instead, he landed on one of the Caribbean lands. Since these lands were unheard of, Columbus assumed he had reached the East Indies when he reached land. Remarkably, he named the native people of the islands “los indios”, a term translating to “Indians”, a term mistakenly applied to all the peoples of the Americas. Columbus named the land San Salvador, or “Holy Savior” and claimed the land for Spain. In search of gold, he looked all over the Caribbean islands, however in early 1493, he returned home with not much wealth. Spain’s rulers agreed to finance three more trips. After the voyages, he had claimed land all inside and on the cost of the Americas. Columbus was so vital in the age of exploration, because his giant mistake, of landing on the Americas and not the East Indies, is what started a great search of unclaimed lands by many other European explorers. Also, if Columbus hadn’t found the Americas, we may not be here today! The next explorer of the three to commence his voyage was Hernando Cortes. Cortes landed on the shores of Mexico and marched inland, looking to claim new lands for Spain. Cortes was also in search of something more. The tribe and lands that he had heard rumor of, of the wealthy Aztecs. He marched and marched through many rough mountain passes until finally, Cortes and his fleet of 600 men, reached the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The Aztec leader, Montezuma II, first thought Cortes to be an armored god, so he naturally offered him gifts if 2006-07-04T13:44:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Age-of-Exploration-in-Spain-29980.aspx Trends of Nationalism in 20th Century Europe The development of modern nationalism is often dated to the French Revolution Era. Since that time and throughout history, nationalism has been motivated by a variety of different factors, bringing much change to regions or nations. There are also many cause and effects that contribute to nationalism. Throughout history, there have been many causes of nationalism. One cause due to nationalism was Revolutionaries. Mazzini tried to get unification in Italy but failed not because of the weakness of Italian spirit but because revolutionary efforts were misguided. Mazzini also guaranteed that a republican Italian should offer to the people is to form a free and equal community of brothers. Another way is through Pride. Pride is shown by nationalism and the development of nation-states help to unify the people by the school systems (national patriotism). By laws, courts, taxes becoming increasingly national, rather than local and provincial. They conditioned to be interested in their nation, their nation-state, needs, and aspirations. They responded enthusiastically. The final way is by Common Language. The Danish War in 1864, The Austro- Prussian War of 1866, and the Franco- Prussian War of 1871 all had the same common language, customs, race, and also historic traditions. Throughout history, there have been many effects that contribute to nationalism. One effect was through war. An image in which Bismarck presented himself to the people was to not take any garbage, and to settle what had to be settled. Bismarck thought it was necessary for the unification of Germany was through blood and iron, which was also a speech he gave, which was WAR. Another effect was unification. Humboldt said that Germany’s feeling for unity was not to depend on the memory of customs, language and literature. It depends on the memory of rights and liberties enjoyed and dangers suffered. Some methods that Humboldt suggested to unify Germany were to make a real constitution or a mere confederation. A constitution is undeniably better than a confederation. It is also more impressive, more binding, and longer lasting. Another way was through superiority. Adolf Hitler who was a dictator wanted to establish a state or nation because he wants to recognize who is higher and lesser in value and feels the most obligated. Throughout history, there are many causes and effects that contribute to nationalism. The ways through causes were revolutionaries, pride, and common language. And 2006-07-04T13:33:44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Trends-of-Nationalism-in-20th-Century-Europe-29976.aspx The Factors in the Process of German Unification Germany was the last of the great European powers to achieve political unity. In 1815, 39 independent German states stretched north and south from the Baltic Sea to the Alps, and east and west from the Rhine River to Russia. Political rivals Austria and Prussia were the most powerful of these German states. By 1871, however, the German states-excluding Austria and Switzerland-had united into a single nation. The Congress of Vienna had created the German Confederation in 1815 as a buffer against future French expansion. This first major step toward German unity established closer economic ties between the German states and helped pave the way for greater political union. The German Confederation loosely tied together the numerous German states with a diet sitting at Frankfurt. Austria dominated the confederation. Its position as head of the diet eventually brought it into conflict with Prussia. Neither Austria nor the smaller German states wanted to see a united Germany. Austria feared the economic competition, while the smaller states feared domination by Prussia. The largest of the German states, Prussia, had a well-organized government and a strong economy. Political power in Prussia lay in the hands of aristocratic landowners called Junkers, but rising business classes demanded a share of political power. To reduce trade barriers among German lands, the Prussian Junkers called for a Zollverein, or economic union. Formed in 1834, the Zollverein reduced tariffs and other trade barriers between most of the 39 states, resulting in lower and more uniform prices of goods throughout the confederation. The Zolleverein also standardized systems of currency, weights, and measures and strengthened the business classes. By forming a close economic union, Prussia won an important political victory over Austria. Just as Sardinia led Italy toward unification, Prussia now directed events that would eventually unite Germany. In the German states, popular demonstrations and uprisings (Feb.–March, 1848) led to the dismissal of unpopular ministers and the calling of a national parliament to draft a constitution for a united Germany. While the constitution was debated at length, rulers of the German states were able to recover their authority. By 1849, the Frankfurt Parliament and the provisional government it established had collapsed and the old order was restored. In 1861, 2006-06-26T18:50:45-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Factors-in-the-Process-of-German-Unification-29865.aspx British History of the Industrial Revolution In 1750 Britain was very different to what it is like now. People think that Britain just lacked technology, such as Televisions and computers etc. How ever these were not everything that Britain did not have during the18th century. People had not yet discovered that germs caused disease and only simple operations could be made because there were no anesthetics. The Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of many kinds of goods. Some of this increase in production resulted from the introduction of power-driven machinery. Before the revolution, manufacturing was done by hand or simple machines. Most people worked at home in rural areas. A few worked at shops in towns. The Industrial Revolution eventually took. Manufacturing out of the home and workshop. Power-driven machines replaced handwork, and factories developed as the best way of bringing together the machines and the workers to operate them. The population of the 18th century was a lot smaller than it is today. This is not just because of more people being born since then, but because they did not have the technology to cure simple illnesses that we get today, and they also didn’t have as good operations to perform on the sick. The approximate amount of people living in Britain in 1750 was eleven million people. Many babies died in there first year of life, 80 percent of the population lived and worked in the countryside the annual death rate was 28 deaths per 1000 people. By 1825 the population had risen to about twenty-one million. Many babies still died in there early years but families were becoming larger. Nearly 60 percent of people now lived and worked in the country. Dropping by 20 percent. The death rate was now 22 deaths per 1000 people. In 1900 the population had increased to forty million. Now nearly 75 percent of the people lived in towns and huge urban areas. The annual death rate had fallen to only 18 deaths per 1000 people. The population helped Britain to become an industrial nation by so many people moving to main area’s everyone was getting what they needed. Such as food, medical care, better living conditions and were earning more money. Also if the population increase slowed down there would 2006-06-26T15:58:03-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/British-History-of-the-Industrial-Revolution-29829.aspx Synopsis of the Franco-Purssian War The Franco-Prussian War, was a war in 1870-1871, which the French lost to the German states while they were under the leadership of Prussia. The underlying causes of the conflict were the Prussian statesman Prince Otto Edward Leopold von Bismarck’s desire to unify Germany under Prussian control and, to eliminate French influence over Germany. On the other hand, Napoleon III, emperor of France from 1852 to 1870, wanted to regain the prestige he had lost, both at home and abroad, as a result of numerous failures, particularly recently as a result of France’s failure in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In addition, Prussia’s military strength, as shown in the war with Austria, was shown to be a threat to the French on the continent of Europe. French and the German relations have had a history full of tensions between the two countries. A comparison between the two countries shows a difference in how they view their national identity and their military. Their influence upon one another during the approximate century and a half of conflict shows how their national identities have helped to make their nations. This conflict between the two nations may even be said to have an impact not only on the European continent but also possibly on much of the world. In fact, the result of their conflicts may have set the stage for further conflicts, such as the two world wars. After the Prussian’s won the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, France’s Napoleon III viewed Prussia as a threat to France. Otto van Bismarck, the chancellor of Prussia, wanted to see Prussian and France in conflict because he wanted to unify all of Germany. He had a plan to create a nationalistic German empire. The relations between Prussia and France became worse. Napoleon III wanted to get more territory, which he felt entitled to have as a result of his neutrality during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Both Prussia and France were armed and had military budgets, which provided for strong armies. France wanted to go to war because there was a possibility of having a unified enemy and thus making some of the internal political tensions better. Bismarck wanted to go to war because of his idea of completing the German unification. The British, who saw this military build up from a different continent, thought the military situation 2006-06-16T15:03:27-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Synopsis-of-the-Franco-Purssian-War-29613.aspx Importance of Reflecting History Accurately “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” That’s the one date everyone remembers, the date in virtually every school child’s history textbook. But, they leave out pretty much everything about Columbus and his exploration of the New World. It’s the part many people have yet to learn about. For years, Columbus has been presented to us as a hero. In 1934, President Roosevelt even gave Columbus his own holiday. To this day, we celebrate his “discovery” of America. What is found in history textbooks now, have seemed to show another side of Christopher Columbus, a side that they wouldn’t dare teach in elementary school. It’s the rest of Columbus’ tale of “discovery”. This paper will show you that Christopher Columbus didn’t technically “discover” America and that his actions were much louder than the words we read about in school. Third grade seems like such a long time ago, yet I remember the Christopher Columbus story like it was nothing. It started out with a boy named Christopher Columbus; he was born and raised in Genoa, Italy. He grew up wanting to be an explorer. He also grew up believing the earth was round, yet no one believed him, so the great explorer intended to prove it. He was going to find a westward route to India. To go on this exploration, he needed ships and men and the only one who was willing to provide him with this was Queen Isabella of Spain. She provided Columbus with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. He set sail in 1492 and after about two months they had reached land. Columbus believed he had reached India. He had no idea he had encountered another part of the world. He actually ended up in the West Indies, the island we today call Haiti. Because he thought he was in India, when he met the people that already lived there he named them Indians. They all got along very well. The Indians taught them how to grow food and use the land to survive. Columbus and his men would trade a lot with the Indians and they all lived happily ever after. That’s pretty much where our textbook stopped. I 2006-06-15T15:59:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Importance-of-Reflecting-History-Accurately-29540.aspx The Bubonic Plague in European History In the 1340’s, approximately one third to one half the population of Europe was wiped out by what was called “The Black Death? The people of the time were armed with little to no understanding of why and how the plague happened and how to control it; and this allowed for the vast destruction that occurred in little more than three years time. The origin of the epidemic has, with little doubt, been identified as Lake Issyk-Koul in what is now a part of Russian Central Asia. A flood, or some other natural disaster, drove various rodents from their habitats around the lake; and with them they carried fleas infected with the plague. A species of wild rodents normally isolated from humanity spread the plague to the more common black rat, which has been riding on board ships since man first set sail. The plague then followed the trade routes all over Europe. “Ships arrived from Caffa at the port of Messina, Sicily. A few dying men clung to the oars; the rest lay dead on the decks... Ships that carried the coveted goods of the fabled East now also carried death. The Pestilence had come to the shores of Europe?(Wark). The accounts of the plague tell of the symptoms being ‘tumors in the groin or the armpits? and ‘black livid spots on the arm or thigh? typical symptoms of Bubonic plague. However, Bubonic plague normally takes several days to kill, and many accounts tell of victims falling dead inside one day of contracting the disease. The variance in the cases of the Black Death are the workings of three strains of the plague: the plague proper; a pulmonary (air-borne) version, characterized by the vomiting of blood; and a septicaemic variant, capable of killing in several hours, before typical symptoms can even develop. The people the plague threatened knew neither the source of the disease, nor how to protect themselves from it. “It was said that the cause of the Pestilence or The Great Mortality -- 14th-century names for the contagion -- was a particularly sinister alignment of the planets, or a foul wind created by recent earthquakes. Other theories existed. ‘Looks,? According to one medieval physician, ‘could kill??(Wark). They believed their best recourse for avoiding the plague, was to run from it. When flight was not an option, they attempted to purify the air 2006-06-13T03:22:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Bubonic-Plague-in-European-History-29403.aspx The Military Expeditions of the Crusades Crusades were military expeditions planned and carried out by western European Christians. The crusades began around 1095. In order to takeover and gain control of the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Holy Land was located in Jerusalem and the Christians believed that gaining control of it was their destiny. The origin of the crusades was a result of the expanding the area in the middle east for the Turks. The Turkish people forcfully invaded Byzantium, a Christian empire. The crusaders were a military, sent out to recover what they thought was their land. The first crusades actually started by the Pope. In November of 1095, the Pope gathered his followers outside a French city. He preached to the people and told them that action needed to be taken. The people cheered and planned their own attack. Urbans brought together all of the bishops and urged them to talk to their friends and fellow villagers and to encourage them to participate in the crusades. Small groups started to form and each group would be their own. All the groups planned their own ways to Constantinople, where they would meet and then regroup. They would attack the Turkish forces in Constantinople and hope to regain control of the city. The large Christian armies talked to the Byzantium emperor, and agreed to return any of his old land that was recaptured. The armies were uncertain of this demand but agreed anyway. The first attack by the crusaders was on Anatolian, the capital or Turkey. In the menatime the Byzantians were also trying to recapture Anatolian, and later that year, the city surrendered to the Byzantians instead of the crusaders. The Byzantians were using the crusaders as pawns to achieve their own goals. The crusaders again met and crushed the Turkish army. The crusaders scored a great victory and boosted the troops' moral. The crusaders captured Antioch and also held off relief forces sent to help the Turks. The crusaders then moved on to their main goa, which was Jerusalem. The city was under Egyptian control and was under close watch. The crusaders set up siege machines and called for reinforcements, finally forcing the Egyptians to surrender. Everyone in the city was killed in the belief that the blood of the former holders purified it. The crusaders kept control of the city for the next couple of years 2006-06-12T19:18:31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Military-Expeditions-of-the-Crusades-29364.aspx A Histroy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland “The only way to beat the British Monarch is to refuse its existence and believe that the Irish Republic is real and alive. Now, if I die, who will take my place?” These powerful words were said by an Irish martyr, Michael Collins, who’s unyielding determination as a Nationalist and a Catholic served as inspiration to continue in the struggle that the province of Northern Ireland is still engaged in today. But, from where did this all originate, what steps have been taken towards peace and why is Northern Ireland so reluctant to be ruled by England? The history of the troubles that haunt Northern Ireland are not due to any one particular incident but rather a series of incidents beginning back when the island of Ireland was conquered by the Anglo-Normans troops in the late 12th century. English rulers then tried to colonize the island by any means possible, making enemies out of the Irish. Throughout history England has ruled Ireland. A drastic change took place in 1921, when the country was divided. Northern Ireland remained part of the UK, while the remainder of the country became the Republic of Ireland. The English progressed into Ulster Country with hopes of colonizing it. However, a clash of cultures erupted due to the animosity that Ireland, as a whole wanted to be the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Republic Army fought in hopes of driving the Protestant British out of Catholic Ireland and they only secured 26 out of 32 counties. The desire to drive the British out inspired rebellion on the behalf of the Irish Catholics. They were the domination of Ireland, and now being discriminated against on their own land. They were punished and taxed due to their behavior. They wanted to keep their culture; sacred, their religion; majority and their home, home. From a political standpoint this is a conflict of the Unionists and the Nationalists. “The Unionists (Protestant) who believe in maintaining Northern Ireland’s political union with Great Britain.” (Path to Peace) “While the Nationalists (Catholic) were exiles from the Irish nation; in their exclusion they clung to their religion as a mark of cultural identity; politically; they dealt with the Northern Ireland State by ignoring it.”(4 Holland) In 1968, 2006-06-12T18:33:24-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-History-of-the-Troubles-in-Northern-Ireland-29340.aspx Historic Analysis of Queen Elizabeth's Triumphs as a Female Queen Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace on September 7, 1533. She died on March 24, 1603, of natural causes. Her father was Henry VII. His second wife, Anne Boleyn was Elizabeth's mother. King Henry wanted a son, but received a daughter, instead, from his second wife. Before Elizabeth's third birthday, Henry had her mother beheaded in charges of adultery and treason. Elizabeth was brought up in a separate household at Hatfield (not known). King Henry's third wife gave birth to a son. This boy was named Edward. Edward was declared first in line for King Henry's throne, while Mary (Daughter of Henry's first wife) was declared second, and Elizabeth was declared third and last in line for the throne. Elizabeth received a thorough education that was normally reserved for men. She was taught by special tutors of whom, the most known, was a Cambridge humanist by the name of Roger Ascham. Roger Ascham wrote about Elizabeth, "Her mind has no womanly weakness. Her perseverance is equal to that of a man and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. With the help of these tutors, she was not only fluent in two languages, but in four languages. She was fluent in the languages of Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. When Henry died in 1547, her brother, Edward, took over the throne at ten years of age. Edward, with a short reign on the throne, died in 1553, and Elizabeth's half, older sister, Mary took the throne. Mary, like Edward, died on November 17, 1558, after a short time on the throne. In October 1562, Queen Elizabeth almost died of small pox. In 1584, Europe's other major protestant leader, William of Orange, was assassinated. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth showed some concern. She was now, the only major protestant leader in Europe. At this time, Elizabeth's Privy Council drew up a Bond of Association, which pledged that its signers, in an attempt on Elizabeth's life, would kill the assassins along with the claimant to the throne who the attempt was made for. In the mid 1580s, it was clear that a direct 2006-06-02T16:08:07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Historic-Analysis-of-Queen-Elizabeth-s-Triumphs-as-a-Female-29037.aspx Gothic Architecture in French and English Cathedrals The Gothic style originated in France around 1140. It spread to other parts of Europe and remained the dominant style in northern Europe for the next 400 years. Like the preceding Romanesque style, the Gothic style is defined largely in terms of architecture, with many regional variants. As the Gothic style spread throughout Europe, it brought profound changes in Europe. French Gothic captured the imagination of English architects and the style influenced their building down through the centuries. However, the Gothic introduced by William of Sens, and despite French influence, the English developed their own style. As a result, the architectural in French Gothic cathedrals are different to that of the English Gothic. Location of the cathedral could be used to identify the difference between the French and English cathedrals. In France, cathedrals were built in the center of city. Instead of standing in the center of cities, Gothic cathedrals in England were often built in grassy, treed areas. Many tend to be horizontal in orientation in contrast to the soaring verticality of cathedrals on the continent. In addition, French Gothic was a time of secular age of towns, cities, universities, traders, merchants, bankers, guilds, powerful kings, and luxurious courts. Scholasticism, the dominant philosophy and theology exerted as impact on the arts. Women were given a new importance inspired by the Virgin Mary, and many cathedrals were dedicated to her, for example, the Notre Dame). French Gothic cathedrals are designed with pointed arches, groined vaults, and flying buttresses. The plan is compact and unified; the nave, divided into oblong bays, is supported on clustered ribs that shift the weight to pointed arches and piers. The cathedrals became a skeletal structure where walls were dissolved and replaced by stained glass windows. The objective was a buoyant, ever-increasing height that directed the eye upward. Deep porches on the façade were richly decorated with sculpture; twin towers were designed in proportion to the width of the façade and the rose window in the center symbolized the Virgin. The earliest Gothic structure was the Abbey of St. Denis where Abbot Suger (1137-1144) had architects designs the choir and buttresses on the exterior so that weight carried on pointed ribs and piers reinforced ambulatory. Windows replaced walls, and the interior was flooded with light. In English Gothic cathedrals, Salisbury (begun 1220) has a double transept, square east end, and long 2006-06-02T03:40:30-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Gothic-Architecture-in-French-and-English-Cathedrals-29021.aspx Causes and Historic Developments Pertaining to World War I The First World War had many causes; historians probably have not yet discovered and discussed all of them so there might be more causes than what we know now. It was more than just a war between nations. It was a war between what was and what was to be. Most historians today said that it was “The War to End All Wars.” The spark of the Great War was the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian nationalist on the morning of June 28, 1914, while traveling in a procession through Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia. The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after his he became ruler, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Hungarian Empire. The Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand, had trained a small group of teenage operatives to get into Bosnia and carry out the assassination of the Archduke. When innocent citizens of a country are mercifully killed by another nation, war is evitable. “You have heard it before, Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” America has been involved in many wars throughout it's history. From the Revolutionary War when the Americans fought the British to the war in Serbia in 1999 when the U.S. together with NATO fought Slobodan Milosevic. The war that was started at 8:45 am Eastern time on September 11 in New York, the war that was declared on America on that day, is a war that should have no dissent because this new war is America's most justified war. Every war is justified and every war is not justified, so you really can’t say either or because both have good reasons. The three things that I would do to the defeated would be first to weaken there army. Second remove the leaders that where responsible for the invasion, and lastly I would find out why did they invaded my country. Also what was the reason for invasion. There where many causes of the Great War, It is thought that this war that is been ongoing for over a year, began with the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand. However, many other reasons led to this war, some occurring as far back the late 1800's. Nationalism, militarism, 2006-06-01T01:58:23-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Causes-and-Historic-Developments-Pertaining-to-World-War-I-28963.aspx A History of Black Death and its Effects on Western Europe Black Death in Western Europe This plague, thought to be the Bubonic plague, spread throughout Europe, killing about half its population. It was called the Black Death because of the black blotches that appeared on the victims' bodies. This plague was carried by infected fleas of the black rat. Theology, developed in accordance with this idea, threw about all cures, even those which resulted from scientific effort, an atmosphere of supernaturalism. The vividness with which the accounts of miracles in the sacred books were realized in the early Church continued the idea of miraculous intervention throughout the Middle Ages. The testimony of the great fathers of the Church to the continuance of miracles is overwhelming; but everything shows that they so fully expected miracles on the slightest occasion as to require nothing which in these days would be regarded as adequate evidence. In this atmosphere of theological thought medical science was at once checked. The School of Alexandria, under the influence first of Jews and later of Christians, both permeated with Oriental ideas, and taking into their theory of medicine demons and miracles, soon enveloped everything in mysticism. In the Byzantine Empire of the East the same cause produced the same effect; the evolution of ascertained truth in medicine, begun by Hippocrates and continued by Herophilus, seemed lost forever. Medical science, trying to advance, was like a ship becalmed in the Sargasso Sea: both the atmosphere about it and the medium through which it must move resisted all progress. Instead of reliance upon observation, experience, experiment, and thought, attention was turned toward supernatural agencies. Oriental Rat Flea: Fleas are blood sucking parasites. They have the potential of spreading dangerous diseases to humans and other animals. It is possible the first flea was native to Africa and traveled by boat on the back of a rat to different destinations around the world. Even though there are many different types of fleas, they all have similar body parts; eyes and legs help them survive the dangers of their life. A flea undergoes four different life cycles to become an adult. The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, is one of the deadly diseases that the flea can spread to man and animals. The rat flea has two eyes, yet it can only see very bright light. On the very tip of its 2006-05-31T16:45:21-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-History-of-Black-Death-and-its-Effects-on-Western-Europe-28904.aspx The Munich Putsch can be judged as a success or failure. The Putsch was not a success in the short term as the actual Putsch itself was a failure many Nazis were wounded even killed. Hitler was portrayed as a coward by many how he was the first person to run away this would have had a very bad effect on Hitler’s image he was supposed to be seen as this powerful leader who was afraid of nothing. The way in which the Nazis were easily brushed aside at the Putsch would have had a crippling effect on the whole Nazi party’s moral this was not helped by the 2006-05-24T19:33:51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/To-What-Extent-was-the-Munich-Putsch-a-Success-or-Failure-28875.aspx Which of the factors listed below do you think was responsible for changing attitudes towards women by 1920? a) The campaigning of the Suffragettes b) Women’s work in WWI c) Articles and Magazines d) Women’s increased confidence and assertiveness All of the above factors played a part in the change in attitude towards women. However, some of them were more important than others; Women’s work in WWII, Articles and Magazines, and the campaigning of the suffragettes, among many other reasons which were also equally important. But the most important and a key factor that links all of them together, was the increase in women’s confidence and assertiveness, without which nearly all of the other factors would not be possible. Women’s work in World War One is one of the most important reasons to why attitudes changed. While the campaigning of the Suffragettes put across a largely unpopular message, when the war struck in August 1914, strangely enough, all the women who strongly believed in the Suffrage Regime dropped their ideas and campaigns to help the country. This was an excellent turning point; it showed that even if women were individuals and had their own beliefs, own personalities, they were patriotic and were willing to help the government and serve their country. These women were also working-class women which showed that it was not just the upper class that were being considered. This gave their image a considerable boost. The war also helped women to nearly completely show that they weren’t just housewives who had to look pretty and look after their children. Since the men were at war, the women took up their jobs, and supported their families. They proved that they could do the jobs as well as -and much better- than the men. In 1918 The National Employers Federation compared the output of men and women; this showed that in nearly all areas of work, women’s output was better than men’s, for example, in sheet metal quantity produced, they equalled 99% production of the men’s, and the quality was much better. This helped raise their esteem even more- the government saw that they were skilled and had something to prove and were as important to the war effort as the men- the government was a coalition government. There were also many jobs created in this time for women, for example, Florence Nightingale set up a school for nurses in London in 1860 after her experience in the 2006-04-30T17:20:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-change-in-attitudes-towards-women-by-1920-28769.aspx WRC is an independent, international research and consulting organization with more than 70 years' experience. The company has built its reputation in the water, waste and environmental fields by understanding customer needs and providing bespoke solutions that are both proactive and innovative. WRC utilizes a wide base of skills and experience to provide a range of integrated solutions for the processing, distribution and collection of water and wastewater. These capabilities are complimented by river catchment management, contaminated land, hydrogeological and waste management expertise. WRc has an unparalleled record of advising regulators, Governments and regulated operators in relation to technical and strategic problems. In 2006-01-01T01:30:42-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/WRC-A-Troubled-History-28359.aspx St. Peter's Basilica Perhaps one of the most mysterious, yet magnificent, buildings ever, St. Peter’s Basilica has amazed people for hundreds of years. Its massive size can be seen for miles, and the dome is simply stunning. Inside, it contains famous work by Michelangelo, Giotto, and Bernini. St. Peter’s Basilica is basically a masterpiece. However, before the “new” St. Peter’s Basilica was created, there was an “old” one before it. In the early 4th century, around 330, emperor Constantine decided to erect a basilica dedicated to St. Peter on the Vatican Hill on the south side of the River. It was very difficult to do this considering it was on the sloping side of the hill, so therefore, the floor was extend outward away from the hill. Once built, it was richly decorated with gold and mosaics inside, and marble and bronze outside. Because of its odd location, people soon believed that beneath the basilica, lay the spot where St. Peter himself was buried. It was the only logical reason for emperor Constantine’s choice of where to build the basilica. In the 16th century, Constantine’s basilica was starting to fall apart. It was finally demolished in 1425, leaving only the floor to mysteriously be preserved. However, it did not take long for kings, popes, and artists to design a new basilica for St. Peter. In 1450, Nicholas V was the first to take on the task. He quickly conceived a plan that would call for something 10 times as large as anybody had ever contemplated. It would include a great dome over a central Greek cross, and be a crowning achievement of the Renaissance arts. After 96 years of construction, Nicholas V knew that in order to get the best, you needed to hire the best, so he called for the best architects around to come and share ideas. Unfortunately, after 100 years of construction, and an expenditure of $48,000,000, things were not looking good. It became of problem of compromise, as different people wanted different things. In addition, they were having trouble finding a way to support the “proposed” great dome. As the years pasted, construction went through a quite a number of architects, such as Raphael, Bramante, and Sangallo. When the final architect was, Paul III, was chosen, he quickly went to action and called for Michelangelo. Old, and tired of all the fuss, Michelangelo unwillingly agreed to help. This time, 2005-12-28T05:42:45-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/St_-Peter-s-Basilica--28293.aspx Napoleon organized the educational system of the revolutionary period, added a stable structure, and supplied the universities with teaching staff. Students received a well-rounded education, and would only advance in school after proving that they had retained knowledge by producing satisfactory examination scores. French clergy and nobility had been calling for improvements in the educational system. Pondering the problems of the 1789 educational system led to consideration of "the duties and prerogatives of the state, the rights of parents, the potential benefits of higher education, the economic needs of the nation, the necessity for training teachers, and the suitable status of the teaching profession in a republic" (Vignery 21). A decree passed in 1794 named teacher training the top educational priority. An emphasis was now being placed on schooling and curriculums were changed. The Paris Normal school plan of study included "republican morality and public and private virtues, as well as the techniques of teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, practical geometry, French history and grammar" (Bernard 154). Public secondary schools, or ecole centrals, were organized for every 300,000 people. The secondary school curriculum included literature, language, science, and arts. The decree which established the ecole centrals stated that: "the age-range of the pupils will be from eleven or twelve to seventeen or eighteen"every school is to have one professor of each of the following subjects: mathematics; experimental physics and chemistry; natural history; scientific methods and psychology; political economy and legislation; the philosophic history of peoples; hygiene; arts and crafts; general grammar; belles letters; ancient languages; the modern languages most appropriate to the locality of the school; painting and drawing. Every central school is to have attached to it a public library, a garden and a natural history collection, as well as a collection of scientific apparatus and of machines and models relating to arts and crafts (Bernard 171). Central schools were strengthened by the requirement that anyone seeking a position in the government had to show evidence that he had attended one of the schools of the Republic (Bernard 185-186). Napoleon was convinced that the breakdown of order during the Revolution was because of the state's inability to establish a system of education that could replace what the Church had maintained previously. "The time was not ripe, however, for accomplishing these reforms. It needed the drastic purgation of the Revolutionary period, followed 2005-12-14T20:57:28-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Napoleon-s-Revolutionized-French-Education-System-28184.aspx Puritan Revolution • The Puritan Revolution is also known as the English Revolution it was for general designation for the period in English history from 1640 to 1660. • It began with the calling of the Long Parliament by King Charles I and proceeded through two civil wars, the trial and execution of the king, the republican experiments of Oliver Cromwell, and, ultimately, the restoration of King Charles II. • The reasons for the conflict can be traced to social, economic, constitutional, and religious developments over a century or more. Closer at hand were questions of sovereignty in the English state and Puritanism in the church. • The immediate cause, however, was Charles's attempt (1637) to impose the Anglican liturgy in Scotland. • The Presbyterian Scots rioted, and then they signed the National Covenant and raised an army to defend their church. • In 1640 their army occupied the northern counties of England. • The Long Parliament, summoned by Charles to raise money in support of his war against the Scots, met on November 3, 1640, and demanded reforms as the price for aid. • It arrested and ultimately executed for treason the king's chief advisers, Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford, and William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury. • It also put limits on the king's prerogatives. • The members split over the Root and Branch Bill to abolish bishops in the Anglican Church, over raising an army to quell an Irish rebellion, and over the Grand Remonstrance, by which Parliament would control the choice of the king's ministers. • The political quarrel became an armed conflict in 1642. Most of the Lords and some members of the House of Commons sided with the king (thus making it technically incorrect to call it a war between king and Parliament). • In August 1642 Charles gathered his army at Nottingham. • The first battle, fought at Edge hill on October 23, was indecisive. • In general, the king controlled the northwest, and Parliament controlled the southeast—including London. • The king's followers were called Cavaliers; those of Parliament were called Roundheads. • In 1643 Parliament secured the support of the Scottish army by promising that the recently convened Westminster Assembly would make the Anglican church conform to the Presbyterian church of Scotland. • Meanwhile, Cromwell, an outspoken Member of Parliament and a military genius, was perfecting his regiment of cavalry, which soon earned the name Ironsides. • Parliament 2005-09-14T01:16:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Puritan-Revolution--27981.aspx Effects of European Exploration on American Indians The Capitalistic dreams of the Europeans and the natural anarchy of the Indians; never before has a clash of cultures had such a great influence on the future of the world. The Indians were one with nature and shared a kinship with all living as well as nonliving things on earth. They respected each other and flourished under these ties of mutual reverence. The Europeans sought similar refuge in America(1). They longed for freedom from the overpowering monarchies of Europe which, by the 1640s were experiencing overpopulation of cities accompanied by devastating disease and religious indifference. The European settlers of America also faced hardships throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Plagued by disease and lack of nourishment, the Europeans found themselves greatly dependent on the Indians for survival. The Indians were more than welcoming of their new neighbors, lavishing them with gifts and performing rituals as a show of equality. Equality was a major theme throughout the Indian culture as they accepted the newcomers as they would their own family. This initial exchange of gifts would eventually lead to trade practices that would prove to be a pivotal element in the relationship of the Indians and the Europeans in the near future(2). The seventeenth century was marked by the consumer revolution of Europe and Colonial America. The consumer revolution was the product of a drastic increase in per capita wealth, which gave rise to an “unprecedented” purchasing of goods. These goods were manufactured as a result of the rapid enhancement of technology. With mass production came great demands. These goods were imported from Europe and became great value to colonists and Indians alike. Improvements were made in farming tools, clothes, and luxury items during this time. Colonists, for the first time, began to make purchases based on luxury rather than solely on necessity. The Indians were not left out of this trend. They too experienced a rapid influx of wealth due to the great demand of furs. The beaver furs brought immense wealth to the Indians. These furs, although relatively useless to the Indians, were of great value to the Colonial settlers as well as an important export to Europe. By the late 1600s the Indians became dependent on the “trade goods” 2005-09-14T00:05:32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Effects-of-European-Exploration-on-American-Indians-27962.aspx The Industrial Revolution In Britain The Industrial Revolution happened between 1750 and 1900. It a very significant period of history and was caused by many different factors. This essay aims to answer the question why did the Industrial Revolution Happen. England was a country that was the ideal for the Industrial Revolution it was an island, so it was perfect for trade. It had lots of natural resources, and also a large population. The population both led to more ideas, and more workers. The country was also a wealthy one, with a good economy, and therefore there were ample investors for companies to begin. The revolution eventually spread to Western Europe, and even to the Americas. Goods that had traditionally been made in the home or in small workshops began to be manufactured in the factory. Productivity and technical efficiency grew dramatically. Coal started to replace wood as an energy source and trade communication improved throughout the world. As new ideas on how to produce and sell goods came about, the cost of food and its production lowered and people came out of the fields and into the cities. When this happened our society changed from having only two classes, rich and poor, to three classes, rich, middle, and poor. This is the change that continues to fuel the Revolution today. The population was growing because more was known about medicine and the germ theory had been established by Lois Pasteur, which meant people could be vaccinated against deadly diseases. Therefore less people were dying of diseases that would otherwise have killed hundreds. There were also proper anaesthetics developed so fewer people died of shock after operations. There were better living conditions because people were earning more money and glazed water pipes, which prevented cholera-, a large killer of 18th century people. The industrial revolution meant there were new jobs in factories for instance so there was less unemployment. Jobs such as farming, which before was a very popular profession, earn the worker less because they are in primary industry. The jobs in factories were in secondary industry though which is a lot more profitable. This is because you can earn more money for a finished product than raw materials. The population was growing because people were eating a better diet than they did-this is also because people 2005-09-09T09:51:06-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Industrial-Revolution-In-Britain-27950.aspx The Holocaust had long lasting affects on Jewish people. There are many types of horrible mistreatment that the Jewish people went through. Hitler's rise to power in 1933 he began persecuting the Jews so bad that businesses were boycotted and vandalized by Nazi supporters. By the year 1939 the Jews were not even regarded as a people they could not attend public schools , their rights to own land had been taken away and one of the most terrible they were not allowed to socialize with non Jewish people thus making them not able to go to public events , parks or museums. After deciding on quarantine to they established "ghettos " where they could keep them away from the general public thus making sure none of their cries for help were heard by any non Nazi followers. The treatment of the Jews would only worsen as the war became longer and the hatred towards these innocent people became more enraged. A people who were used as a "scapegoat" to make the German people angry and ready to fight against anyone that stood in there way of being the one largest power on the entire globe. All this was said to the people under deep depression where they would grasp onto any type of power they could after being mistreated by the Allies after the conclusion of World War 1. Hitler manipulated the minds of the weak and hopeless. He just took advantage of the very poor and why wouldn't they listen if they were in the worst conditions that Germany had ever experienced. Hitler also had the power of a great speaker getting the public behind him actually believing that the Jewish were taking their business and causing their economical crisis. Later on during the war Hitler introduced the idea of using "concentration camps". With these camps he could now round up Jewish ghettos and torture , overwork , remove and execute huge amounts of the Jewish population. There were 3 main camps ; Dachau , Treblinka and Auschwitz. The most important man in these executions and experiments was Mengele. In Dachau was where most of these strange and horrible experiments were carried out. Some of the experiments consisted of putting Jews in freezing cold water until death or putting them into air tight rooms timing until the time of suffocation. Auschwitz was the most horrific camp 2005-09-05T20:29:22-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Holocaust-and-its-Affects-on-the-Jewish-People-27894.aspx Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxon period began in 449 A.D. This period began the invasion and migration of the island of Britain by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. These groups that invaded the Roman Empire, now Great Britain, brought their own traditions, language, and religion. Many historical events during this period greatly influenced literary events. Battles and crusades were an integral part of the daily life. The religious and royalty rulers were held in high esteem. Literature depicted these events and devotions. Literary inventions evolved due to the popularity and need to reach many people with the teachings and entertainment of literature. Epic poetry 2005-09-05T20:25:28-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Anglo-Saxons--27892.aspx Enlightenment Movement The Enlightenment movement and its goals failed due to the efforts of the ruling classes. The ruling classes knew that if they were to remain in power, they would need to destroy any ideas that threatened their power. These ideas came in the form of the Enlightenment. In Austria, Emperor Joseph II was a truly enlightened Monarch. When Joseph II came to power, he sought to destroy serfdom and establish religious tolerance for the masses. When Joseph accomplished these reforms, it separated the nobility from their power, which was a good thing for the masses because now they could farm their own land and make their own money instead of giving all their labor to the nobles. The nobility saw these reforms as a full-scale attack on their power. When Emperor Joseph II died, the nobility immediately began to try to restore their power. The nobility ordered that the ideas of Joseph II be forgotten. Over the course of time, Austria went back to their old ways of serfdom and religious persecution. By forcing the ideas of Joseph II to be forgotten, the nobility was able to restore their power and keep it for generations to come. During the reign of Catherine the Great, Russia was ruled by an enlightened Monarch. Catherine questioned torture, serfdom, and lack of equality but her main interest was with keeping her power and not with gaining rights for the masses. To keep her power Catherine would have to keep the nobility, the only group that threatened her throne, in power. To do this Catherine divided Russia into fifty provinces, which strengthened the nobility. Though Catherine the Great was educated in an Enlightenment sense, the Enlightenment failed because she feared how the powerful Russian nobles would respond if she decided to explore these ideas. Prussia had accumulated one of the strongest military’s during the Enlightenment time. Prussia’s ruler, Fredrick William I, sought to make Prussia an enlightened culture. If Fredrick allowed Prussia to become enlightened, the power of the Nobility would decrease. The Prussian army led by Nobility who were in 2005-09-05T20:24:55-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Enlightenment-Movement-27891.aspx Imperialiam Editorilial Walter 2005-09-03T05:47:33-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Imperialiam-Editorilial--27872.aspx Victorian Morals, Values, and Ideals The Victorian Era describes things and events in the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Victoria was just 18 years old when she became queen upon the death of her uncle William IV in 1837. Many people today believe that the Victorian Era is really connotations of prudish, old-fashioned, and very traditional. But, the Victorian Era is very paradoxical and very complex. In religion, the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt. On a large scale, there were many questions into Christianity and the status of society. One of them, was Friedrich Nietzsche's (1844-1900). He saw a civilization so self- confident over its mastery of science, technology, politics, and economics that for it "God is dead," and that "belief in the Christian God has become unworthy of belief." Without a theological and religious education, he realized, virtues would become "values," social conventions that could be debated and modified whenever convenience wanted. The moral system of European civilization is founded on Judaism and Christianity. He believed, once this foundation is removed, the structure would start to crumble. He predicted, "there will be wars such as there have never been on earth before." "Culture has," Nietzsche argues, "hollowed itself out, and men, the `last men', are left blinking in a world devoid of all meaning."1 This is what Nietzsche calls nihilism. The Victorian time was a time of ideological and scientific agnosticism2. The Oxford Movement, a High-Church, anti-liberal movement within the Church of England, in support of tractarianism3; Utilitarianism, which is the teaching that the worth or value of anything is determined solely by its utility; Karl Marx's (1818-1883) ideology, nicknamed Marxism, of dialectical materialism4, communism and socialism; Darwinism, Charles Darwin's (1809-1882) entire theory of evolution; Sigmund Freud's (1856-1939) suggested workable cures for mental disorders. Freud's theories were at highly disputed. Victorian virtues were centered on the home and the family. This is easily evident in a conversation at the top of page 65: Helmer: It's shocking. This is how you would neglect your most sacred duties. Nora: What do you consider my most sacred duties? Helmer: Do I need to tell you that? Are they not your duties to your husband and your children? [.] Helmer: Before all else, you are a wife and a mother. Respectability was something Victorians worried about, especially the working class. Mothers of large families kept her children clean and sent them to school. In a day and 2005-08-15T08:17:18-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Victorian-Morals,-Values,-and-Ideals-27664.aspx Europe - Awe Stricken Europe was by far one of the best experiences in my life. I felt as we traveled around the 3 Countries everyone had so much to offer. The scenery and way of life was such a contrast to Canada it made it that much more interesting. When we first landed in London my feelings were stirring up inside me filled with excitement and joy. As we drove to the Hotel we saw allot of London from the bus window. The streets, cars, buildings all were so unique and contrasted greatly with ours back home. I was filled with such amazement I still could not realize I was actually in Europe at that exact moment. One of my fondest memories were those at the pizza shop “Le Brushetta” we ate lunch at our first day in London. The restaurant was modest looking and was run by a group of Italians. We all were a little scared at first but soon the employees were making us laugh and taking pictures with us all. London seemed to be filled with remarkable buildings and friendly citizens. Considering they all spoke English there I found London to have the most in common with Canada. England to me seemed to be filled with such grace and poise. Unfortunately I found the length of time we stayed there to be to short. Now Paris, on the other hand, started out a little rocky. With the break in of the bus it made us all feel a little vulnerable and scared. Although allot of people on the trip were quite bummed out over the incident I tried to keep my head up and not let it bother me. My opinion of Paris was it was dirty, scary and not somewhere I wanted to be. My opinion quickly changed the nest day when we toured around Paris and saw the sights. Strolling along the streets of Paris made me realize the beauty this Country and City had to offer. By far my favorite moment in Paris was at the Louvre Museum looking at all the old art. I was so overwhelmed as we wandered around and gazed at all the famous paintings and statues. Unfortunately once again I felt our stay was cut to short. If I had to pick which Country I enjoyed the most I would definitely saw Italy. From the people to 2005-08-12T03:53:27-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Europe-Awe-Stricken-27592.aspx The Role Of An Individual In Puritan Society Puritans honored God above all, and a Puritan’s first duty was to serve God. A Puritan would not do what he thought was good, but what was good in God’s sight; making the word of God rule his worship. His role was to serve God, and as long as he did that he would be able to cooperate with the rest of the Puritan society. To understand the role of an individual in a Puritan society, you have to first understand the Puritans. The Puritans had many rules that served as guidelines to keep them on task. They were anything but ostentatious; everything about the Puritans was simple and clean. They would wear simple clothes and keep their hair short; that way time wasn’t wasted picking out an outfit or combing hair. The less time they spent on themselves, the more time they could spend on God. Games like shuffleboard were also looked down upon. If they were caught playing shuffleboard they could be fined five shillings, and twenty if they owned the house it was played in. Playing games was a sin of idleness, meaning that they were wasting time on something other than work. Shopkeepers and merchants couldn’t sell their items at whatever price they pleased. They couldn’t sell their items for anymore than six pence above the price they paid for them. One example was a case in 1639 that involved a merchant named Robert Keayne. He was accused of amassing unfair profits by overcharging his goods, and was fined 100 pounds. The rules I have mentioned here are just a handful of their laws. The Puritans were notorious for the Salem witch trials, in which innocent people were hung for crimes they never committed. The biggest thing that got people killed was the finger pointing. If your neighbor didn’t like you for some reason or another he might simply accuse you; and then you would be taken to jail, given an unfair trial, and executed. So to avoid problems a Puritan would want to avoid making enemies. The woods were considered haunted by spirits, so to avoid rumors being started Puritans could simply stay out of the woods. Another thing that might help a Puritan would be to go along with it and very lightly praise the hanging of witches. This way it didn’t look like you were against it. In 2005-08-02T06:18:11-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Role-Of-An-Individual-In-Puritan-Society-27522.aspx Puritanism In The 17th Century And The First Great Awakening In The 18th Century Puritanism in the seventeenth century and the First Great Awakening in the eighteenth century influenced the development of American society. Like the formation of most societies, people moved from one area to another because of differences with the controlling ideas or beliefs of political authorities. England’s political, economic, and religious environments were threatening to the Puritans. They came to America with new ideas to form an ideal society where everyone could participate. The Great Awakening led to the diversification of Protestant-Christianity. Differences in beliefs between the religious leaders and the intellectuals of the Enlightenment and rivalries among themselves contributed to the formation of new Protestant denominations and a broader tolerance in the society. Puritans traveled to New England in the early seventeenth century. They believed that economic and political forces and religious disagreements were creating a decline in English society. John Winthrop, sailing with a group of Puritans, preached that they should create a society in which the rich and the poor depended on each other and all could benefit from lack of greed and fair wages. Government and religion had a close relationship. The Puritans believed that government could prevent merchants from making excessive profits. They intended to make the strength of the community more important than the individual. Everyone had to attend the church and tithe, yet not everyone was considered a saint unless they professed their faith. The town meetings and church services were held in the same meetinghouse. Puritans believed that literacy was important in order to have knowledge of the scriptures. The beginning of public education came about when an act was passed requiring the appointment of a teacher for a town of fifty or more households, and to maintain a grammar school in towns with over one hundred households. The Puritans included more participation by citizens in the institutions than had been allowed in England. Not all voters had to hold property, and as a result, more than half of the colony’s men could vote. When the power of the governor and council was thought to be too great, the towns sent two delegates to the General Court. This Court eventually became a form of a House of Representatives. The break by Puritans from English domination, and the community Puritans established in New England, created some 2005-07-29T07:08:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Puritanism-In-The-17th-Century-And-The-First-Great-Awakening-27445.aspx BATTLE OF WATERLOO The Battle of Waterloo was the final and decisive action of the Napoleonic Wars, the wars that effectively ended French domination of the European continent and brought about drastic changes in the political boundaries and the power balance of Europe. Fought on June 18, 1815, near Waterloo, in modern Belgium, the battle ranks as a great turning point in European history. After raising France to a position of preeminence in Europe , Napoleon met defeat in 1814 by a coalition of major powers, notably Prussia, Russia, Britain, and Austria. Napoleon was then deposed and exiled to the island of Elba1, and Louis XVIII was made ruler of France. In September 1814, the Congress of Vienna convened to discuss problems arising from the defeat of France. On February 26, 1815 while the congress was in session, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. Many veterans of his former campaigns flocked to his side, and on March 20, 1815, he again took the throne. The Congress of Vienna, alarmed by Napoleon's return to power, had reacted quickly to the crisis. On March 17 Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia each agreed to contribute 150,000 troops to an invasion force to be assembled in Belgium near the French border. A majority of other nations present at the congress also pledged troops for the invasion of France, which was to be launched on July 1, 1815. Napoleon, learning of the invasion plan, was determined to attack the allies on their own ground before their army could form. He mobilized an army of 360,000 trained soldiers within two months. He deployed half of these troops within France as a security force and sent the remainder into attack units. On June 14, 1815, Napoleon, moving with speed and secrecy, reached the Franco-Belgian border with 124,000 of his troops. Another 56,000 men were left behind in supporting positions. On June 15, 1815, Napoleon moved across the border of Belgium, and his sudden arrival caught the allied command unprepared. Napoleon ordered his left wing, under Marshal Michel Ney, to attack a brigade of Wellington's cavalry at Quatre-Bras, north of Charleroi. He next ordered the right wing, to move eastward against a Prussian brigade stationed in the town of Gilly. By nightfall on that first day of fighting, Napoleon's armies held the strategic advantage. The emperor had succeeded in placing his army between the advance 2005-06-21T22:27:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Battle-Of-Waterloo-Napoleon-s-Last-Battle-27114.aspx The setting: Medieval Europe. The problem: the pope is living in Avignon, under strict control from the French King. The plague is ravaging Europe, leaving behind whole cities of corpses. Sanitation is very poor, there are no sewer systems, and more often than not, one could find human and animal feces lining the streets. The standard of living is very low, and much of this is blamed on religion. Many people would like to see the pope dead. Solutions are virtually non-existent. The pope is looking for a way to restore his power, and improve the life of Europeans. The main problem facing the pope was, of course, the plague. Nearly twenty-five million people had died of this highly infectious disease already, and it didn’t appear to be slowing. Medieval physicians had developed a number of “cures,” some as absurd as placing live chickens on the wounds of the infected. Due to the primitive technology at that time, there were very few actual cures. Many of the practices of the doctors were invented simply to deceive the populous into believing that they had cures, and that all was not lost. The pope, in his quarters at Avignon, sat between two large fires. They thought that this would purify the “bad air” which most blamed for the spread of the plague. Although there was no bad air, the fires actually did prevent the plague, killing off the bubonic bacteria. This was an example of what some people call “accidental science,” or a discovery made from superstition, or by accident. From the viewpoint of a medieval doctor, there were few things you could do. Most medicine at that time was based on the four humors, and the four qualities. The four humors were phlegm, blood, bile, and black bile. Illness would occur when these humors were imbalanced. Doctors often let blood, attempting to restore balance. There were also four qualities; heat, cold, moistness, dryness. Diseases were often deemed to have two qualities, i.e. hot and dry. If a person had a disease that was hot and dry, they would be administered a plant that was considered cold and moist. Basically what I have tried to say in the previous two chapters is that there was no medicinal cure for the plague in medieval times. If they had antibiotics, however, there would have been very few fatalities. The other large problem that the 2005-06-19T05:10:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Problems-of-Medieval-Europe-26932.aspx In the year 1122, soon to be Duke William X of Aquitaine was informed that his bride of one year, Aenor, daughter of the Viscount Aimery, had bore him a daughter. She was christened Alia-Aenor, or Eleanor. Since Aquitaine consisted of more than a third of the entire land of France, she was a heiress of some esteem. Soon after, Aenor gave birth to another daughter, Aelith (Petronella) and then to the heir that William so desired, William Aigret. Unfortunately, when Eleanor was eight, both her mother and brother died, leaving her heiress to the whole of Aquitaine. Eleanor’s close childhood friends were her uncle Raymond, who was only eight years older than herself, and her sister. She was influenced by the great heroines in her family, like her grandmother, who sacrificed her place as a Viscountess, for love. When Eleanor was fifteen, her father went on a pilgrimage. On the way, he encountered food poisoning. He left Eleanor in the charge of King Louis the Fat, to marry her off. King Louis married her to his own son, and made her Queen of France upon his death, some days after the wedding. Louis Capet, Eleanor’s new husband, was only sixteen when they wed. The second son, he had grown up in a monastery, preparing for a life in the service of the Lord. However, when his older brother fell off his horse and broke his neck, Louis became heir to the throne of France. Louis was a quiet, deeply religious man, eager to show off for his new, rich and beautiful wife. Eleanor dreamed of a warrior for a husband, and Louis, despite his shyness, desperately wished to fill that part. Quickly he went to war, against his vassals and anyone else that would oppose him. When Petronella was married to Count Ralph of Vermandois, his first wife’s family–who he had divorced to marry Petronella–quickly took up arms against him. Louis jumped in to protect his sister-in-law’s interests. Even so, Louis’s war was badly planned and his army ended up burning an entire village who had taken refuge in a church. The experience left him virtually destroyed, he who had been so in God’s favour. The King and Queen went to a respected and feared Abbot, Abbot Bernard. Louis wished to repent for his sins and Eleanor wished to bear Louis a child. By the time they left, Louis 2005-06-19T05:08:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Eleanor,-Duchess-of-Aquitaine-26931.aspx Henry the II, King of England Western Civilization Essay To demonstrate my capabilities of exploring history on Henry II King of England and present a descriptive essay on these events for an improvement on my grade score average. IV. Henry II King of England King Henry II was born on March 5th, 1133 at Le Mans to Empress Matilda and her second husband Geoffry of Anjou. He ruled from 1155 to 1189. Henry the II already ruled Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Aquitaine when he succeeded in 1154 to the throne as heir to King Stephen. He was married in 1151 to Eleanor of Aquintaine, divorced wife of Louis VII of France, from whom he took the title of Duke of Aquitaine. Their children included William, Matilda, Eleanor, Henry, Richard, Geoffry, John, and Joan. Henry II died at Chinon in 1189 and was buried in the Abbey of Fontrevault. Henry the II was the first of the Plantagenet line of kings. He was the grandson of Henry the I and his father Geoffry of Anjou was also known as Geoffry Plantagenet from the sprig of broom (planta genista) he used as a badge. King Henry the II and his immediate successors are known as the Angevin Kings, but the House came to be known by the family name of Plantagenet. The Angevins were notorious for their energy, their turbulane, and their terrible rages. They were said to be descended from the witch Melusine, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaulx said of them "From the Devil they came and to the devil they will return." (1) Henry II had all that temper: when a particular enemy of his was praised in his presence he fell into such a rage that he threw himself screaming out of bed and tore his mattress into pieces with his teeth. And he had all that energy, and " fits of black bile" which were unwise to provoke. Henry was a fine-looking man, not tall but of strong muscular built with, like all the Angevins, sandy hair and rather prominent gray eyes which grew bloodshot when his temper was up. Tough a hardened athlete, he was also a man of great culture. This was another family trait. Henry II was orderly in business, careless in appearance, sparing in diet, never resting or giving his servants rest, chatty, inquisitive, endowed with a singular charm of address and strength of memory, obstinate in love or hatred, a 2005-06-19T03:15:36-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Henry-the-II-King-of-England-Western-Civilization-Essay-26911.aspx In What Major Respects Had Europe Changed By 1971 From The Situation In 1815? From the 1815 until the 1871, Europe underwent a great change. As the revolution of the 1830s showed, the Vienna Settlement did not last, even though the great European powers were able for a while to take the situation under control with brutal repression. However, it was impossible to stop the liberal revolution, which led to important political events and deep social changes. In the political field there are three major events: the rise of Napoleon III, the unification of Germany and the Italian Risorgimento. In the field of social changes there are the extraordinary doubling of the population, the new technologies, which made possible the development of communication and transportation, and the important consequences of the industrial revolution. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte came to power the 2nd of December 1852. With him, the Second Empire started. Years before, he was expelled to America, but with the fall of the July Monarchy in February 1848, he returned to France to reassert his claim to being Napoleon Bonaparte's legitimate heir, and to take advantage of the new opportunities that suddenly presented themselves. To obtain what he wanted, Bonaparte used the army and police to arrest his principal political opponents and to occupy the Assembly. After this he announced his assumption of power and proclaimed a new constitution, to be subjected to an immediate plebiscite, where Napoleon obtained a huge majority, and became president of France. But one year later, in another plebiscite, Napoleon received popular ratification of his assumption of the title of Emperor, as Napoleon III. Many observers saw this "meteoric rise", as the beginning of a new era of absolutism. However, the public opinion never considered Napoleon as a tyrant, as electoral statistics show. They trusted him, who did not disappointed their expectations. Napoleon's agenda concerned the reorganization of the State, a new economical policy and a great program of public works. During Napoleon's government, France underwent a deep change. After a long period of disorder, society found its stability, both on the political and economical side. In fact, Napoleon helped to foster an economic boom, which provided ample employment for the urban poor as well as for the young people, ambitious and well prepared. He mobilized all the resources of the State to give a new aspect to his nation, which was developing a new 2005-05-19T03:29:23-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Change-in-Europe-from-1815-to-1971-26680.aspx Germany: Communism The shocking fall of communism in Eastern and Central Europe in the late eighties was remarkable for both its rapidity and its scope. The specifics of communism's demise varied among nations, but similarities in both the causes and the effects of these revolutions were quite similar. As well, all of the nations involved shared the common goals of implementing democratic systems of government and moving to market economies. In each of these nations, the communist regimes in power were forced to transfer that power to radically different institutions than they were accustomed to. Democracy had been spreading throughout the world for the preceding two decades, but with a very important difference. While previous political transitions had seen similar circumstances, the actual events in question had generally occurred individually. In Europe, on the other hand, the shift from communism was taking place in a different context altogether. The peoples involved were not looking to affect a narrow set of policy reforms; indeed, what was at stake was a hyper-radical shift from the long-held communist ideology to a western blueprintfor governmental and economic policy development. The problem inherent in this type of monumental change is that, according to Ulrich K. Preuss, "In almost all the East and Central European countries, the collapse of authoritarian communist rule has released national, ethnic, religious and cultural conflicts which cannot be solved by purely economic policies" (47). While tremendous changes are evident in both the governmental and economic arenas in Europe, these changes cannot be assumed to always be "mutually reinforcing" Preuss 47). Generally it has been theorized that the most successful manner of addressing these many difficulties is the drafting of a constitution. But what is clear is the unsatisfactory ability of a constitution to remedy the problems of nationalism and ethnic differences. Preuss notes that when the constitutional state gained favor in North America, it was founded on the principle of the unitary state; it was not designed to address the lack of national identity which is found throughout Europe - and which is counter to the concept of the constitutional state (48). "Measured in terms of socioeconomic modernization," writes Helga A. Welsh, "Central and Eastern European countries had reached a level that was considered conducive to the emergence of pluralistic policies" (19). It seemed that the sole reason the downfall of communism, as it were, took so long was the veto power 2005-05-17T03:11:20-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Germany-Would-it-Fall-to-Communism-26650.aspx How Nationalism In The Balkans Contributed To The Outbeak Of WW1 Nationalism in the Balkans helped contribute to the outbreak of WWI. Beginning in the late 19th century, the social unrest in the Balkan States became the focal point of many European powers. The Balkan peninsula was that of great importance due to its territorial and economic significance; however, the Balkan States consisted of many proud ethnic cultures who did not wish to be ruled by any authority other than themselves. The unification of other countries and strong patriotism fueled the desires of the Slavs, Greeks, Montenegrins, Rumanians, and Bulgarians to gain independence and revenge for the occupation of their lands by the Turks. This revolution sparked by strong nationalistic views led to the second largest war in human existence. Up until the early 20th century, the Balkan States were controlled by the Ottoman Empire; however, due to the decline of their power and prestige, the Balkan States found an opportunity to gain independence. The unification and formation of Italy and Germany as countries encouraged the Balkan revolt of 1875-8. The revolt spread like wild fire through the Balkan peninsula and with the aid of Russia, Turkey was defeated. Through this, the Balkan States: Serbia, Montenegro, and Rumania, gained increases in their land; thus, resulting in a stronger patriotic pride. Turkey, however, still controlled parts of the Balkans and this angered Balkan nationalism because they now felt capable of governing themselves. In 1885, the Bulgarian population of Eastern Rumelia revolted against Turkish rule and declared its union with Bulgaria . The Serbs became furious and proclaimed war because they felt threatened by this act. Surprisingly the Bulgarians proved to be a greater match for the Serbs and in the battle of Slivnitza, they were defeated. Britain agreed to the unification of Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria and the Balkan States again gained more power through their nationalistic ideologies. Religious tensions in Crete added to the possibility of war with a revolt in 1897 against Turkey. Due to the murders of both Muslims and Christians on the island, Crete and Greece declared war on Turkey. They were swiftly defeated within two weeks; however, because of the intervention of European powers, Turkey was forced to give up its possessions on the mainland. The Cretan revolt added to Balkan nationalism in this era and led the way for the formation of the Balkan League. The 2005-05-14T08:41:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-Nationalism-In-Balkans-Contributed-to-First-World-War-26597.aspx Assignment: Describe how the events leading up to the signing of the Magna Carta shaped the document and the effect it had on subsequent history. The Magna Carta "John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Hazzard, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls barons, justiciars, sheriffs, ministers, bailiffs and all his faithful men, greeting."[sup]1[/sup] So begins the most famous legal document of the Middle Ages. The Magna Carta was a product of the power struggle between King John and his barons in the year 1215. Although it was intended to address concerns that were specific to its time and place, it became a high water mark of legal freedom for centuries to come. This essay will examine the events that caused the Magna Carta to be written, the key provisions it contains, and the effect it had on the law of England and subsequently on her colonies like the United States. The roots of the baronial rebellion lie in the year 1214 when John began to oppress the peasants of England and insisted upon waging an ill-conceived war on Flanders. The winter of 1213-1214 was a harsh one. Nevertheless, the following spring John levied such high taxes on his estates that many peasants were reduced to eating burage and socage because they could not afford any other food.[sup]2[/sup] Across the country, fields were stripped, outlaws proliferated and children went hungry. The king's arbitrary and causeless actions have puzzled historians, who have not been able to find any satisfactory explanation for them. At the same time, John had begun a war against Flanders. Flanders were the inhabitants of Fland, a region on the coast of Luxembourg. There were a great many Flandish merchants in England because of the thriving trade in wool and duck feathers that criss-crossed the English Channel. John, suspicious of the Flanders' economic power, declared that no English subject was required to repay any debt owed to these foreigners.[sup]3[/sup] This decree ignited a small civil war, as partisans of the king seized the occasion to burn the Flandish quarter of London to the ground, while other people came to the Flanders' defence. These events disquieted the king's barons to such an extent that all of them rose up and rebelled against him in the spring of 2005-05-13T00:58:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Causes-and-Effects-of-the-Magna-Carta-26590.aspx Henry VIII Marriages Re-Sculpted England The hour of eight o’clock tolled one May morning in England as a woman knelt with her neck on a block. “Chop” went Anne Boleyn’s head! She was one of six wives of Henry VIII, King of England. The marriage of Anne Boleyn was the second failed attempt of Henry VIII to produce a male heir. Not having a son left Henry VIII with marital problems which forced him to cut all ties with the Roman Catholic Church. This problem affected a reformation that would encompass much of his life and the lives off all his heirs. Before Anne Boleyn, Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon. Their divorce began the English Reformation. The first wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Aragon, played a crucial role in starting the Reformation in England. She was the catalyst that drove Henry to separate from the Roman Catholic Church. Catherine came from Spain and was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish rulers who financed Christopher Columbus’s voyage to America. “In 1509 he married Catherine of Aragon, who was Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter, as well as his brother’s widow.” Henry, a devout Catholic earned the title “defender of the faith” from the Pope in 1521 for his strong views against Martin Luther, the German Protestant. Henry remained a defender of the faith his entire life but changed the leader of it in England. He kept his Catholic view very strongly until a more pressing issue arouse, a male heir, something his current wife could not provide. The lack of a male heir caused Henry to seek a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. “Catherine of Aragon, had given birth five times, but only an extremely frail girl, Mary Tudor, survived.” Mary Tudor, who later made drastic Counter Reformation changes in England, was a girl which meant she could not continue the dynasty of her father. This displeased Henry and forced him to seek a divorce, something only the Pope could grant during the 16th century. To obtain his divorce Henry asked permission of Pope Clement VII for an annulment of the marriage. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and nephew of Catherine, occupied Rome with his vast army. To make sure Catherine was not disgraced he forbade the Pope to allow the annulment. By preventing the Pope to annul Henry’s marriage, Charles forced 2005-04-24T08:41:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-Henry-VIII-Marriages-Re-Sculpted-English-History-26571.aspx The Effects of Climate and Disease in European History At the beginning of the fourteenth century, conditions in Europe were adequate. Nobles were prospering, trade and commerce were doing fine, and agricultural production was sufficient. However, that all changed later on in the fourteenth century due to two factors. These two factors propelled Europe into one of the worst times any culture has ever seen. Climate and disease ravaged its way through Europe causing (and these problems called for) economic, social, and political change. Disease affected many areas of the Fourteenth century, the main one being the black plague. The black plague arose in central Asia, and then moved on to China. From China it continued eastward until it reached Europe from merchant ships, due to trading which was prominent back then. (Trading during the 14th century was prominent and this brought the disease from China to Europe through merchant ships.)The disease was carried by black rats and fleas on the ships. The black plague was not the only disease to affect the people of Europe; influenza, typhus, malaria, typhoid, and smallpox all played roles in decimating the people. (Hunt page 469) Diseases such as the black plague in Fourteenth century Europe severely affected the economics of the continent. During this time Europe lost 1/3 of its population due to the black plague. The heavy losses of the population paved the way to economic contraction. There were falling demands for food and goods leading to the abandonment of many farms and settlements.(hunt 468) Many people gave up, ( working was no longer a priority because of the belief that they were going to die.) they did not care about working anymore because what is the point if you are just going to die(plague reading). However, once the death reached a standstill, people picked right back off from where they left off, and many benefited from the decrease in population. Because of the labor shortages workers received much higher pay. These workers were typically the poor, thus helping them tremendously, especially with better living and eating standards.(hunt 472) (As a response to the notion of impending death; the commoners bought luxury items because they felt that there was no reason to “pinch pennies”, so to speak. luxury goods were being imported and new commodities were 2005-04-24T08:00:32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Effects-of-Climate-and-Disease-in-European-History-26555.aspx What events, occurrences, and personalities contributed to the unification of Germany and national feeling between 1815 and 1830? Between 1825 and 1850 there was a growth in national feeling in Germany. In this essay I will discuss why nationalism was not an issue before 1815, in what ways Napoleon and the French Revolution affected nationalism, the setbacks Germany faces and the advances made. Germany had never existed as a nation in the centuries before 1815, Nationalism and Democracy was never been heard of and class was seen to be more important than nation. Despite sharing a common language and culture Germany was far from united. The spread of new idea was held back due to several reasons, most people felt the need to obey "the divine right of kings." Powerful forces such as monarchs and emperors opposed to nationalism. The rulers of the German states were jealous of one another and were keen to preserve their own independence. To add to the problem most Europeans could not read or write hence the reason communication was poor. A broad mass of people were uneducated and uniformed and not interested in learning. However communications continued to be non -existent due to the fact that travel was expensive and dangerous and movement of people and ideas was not easy. There were many people who did not want to see a unified Germany such as Austria and France. Two powerful countries that surrounded Germany and it were in their interests to keep her weak so that they could easily dominate her. The only way of doing this was to keep her disunited as they feared a powerful Germany and they tirelessly worked against unification. People back then were afraid of change and new ideas however in 1789 the French Revolution led to an increased interest in democracy and nationalism. The French Revolution began in 1789 and it started as a series of protests about bad government however it led to monarchy being overthrown and the king being executed. It had a large impact on Germany and it would never be the same. It showed oppressed people that they could rise up and change the established order of things. Germany was made up of 360 states and Napoleon saw this reduced to 16. People saw this as a chance to gain freedom and 2005-04-11T04:48:40-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/German-Unity-National-Health-and-Unity-26474.aspx The Balkan Wars and Causes The instability in the Balkans was the weak link in the complex relationships that had developed in Europe. A little Balkan war was swamped in a struggle of European powers and there became a general upheaval in Europe, which destroyed its stable civilization. The clash with Serbia in July 1914 affected an issue of such magnitude, it is not surprising all the powers soon became involved; all of them had interests at stake. The underlying conflict of interest of particularly Russia and Austria-Hungary over the Balkans made the situation during this time explosive. Both sought to dominate the Balkans after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The peak of nationalism played a major role in developing tensions in Europe; for it had been causing dissatisfaction since the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Conflicts in the Balkans threatened Austria's status, concessions to Serbian nationalism would bring about nationalism for Romanians, Slovaks and Czechs each having their own demands. Once the Habsburg monarchy allowed this it would inevitably disappear as a great power. Austria-Hungary had no intention of replacing the Ottoman Empire as the "Sick man of Europe." Austria was worried Russia would encourage Pan Slavism and leave the Austrian empire vulnerable. Russia's concern in the Balkans was the control of Constantinople (a warm water port) and the security of its borders in Asia and the Far East. This worried Britain as Constantinople was near the route to India and it was feared Russia would cut off this route. Austria was Germany's only ally therefore it was important for Germany to preserve the Habsburg Empire for fear that it's collapse would leave Germany vulnerable to the other Great Powers in Europe. The potential collapse of Austria-Hungary was important for not only the Vienna government but for Austria's German ally, for the other great powers, and the balance of the power system. These long standing rivalries increased tension, involving all powers. It may have been Grand Austrian design to 'squash' Serbia in order to reassert its Empire. The only way for Austria to regain its dominance was to have a war with Serbia; it was not their intention for the war to spread across Europe. This long-standing rivalry triggered the spark that caused the outbreak of war. A major step towards war was the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. It was believed a policy of annexation could restore Habsburg 2005-03-29T02:08:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Balkan-Wars-and-Causes--26460.aspx The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France contributed to the discontent felt by many French people-especially those of the third estate. The ideas of the intellectuals of the Enlightenment brought new views to government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of the French Revolution. The Philosophes planted the seeds for the French Revolution. Their goals were to expose and destroy the inequalities of the ancient regime (old order). The political discontent of France was one of the causes of the Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, France was ruled by an absolute government. The king had all the political powers. Anyone who criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison without trial. Louis XVI was king at the time of the French Revolution. He was more interested in hunting than governing France. He and his Austrian queen, Marie Antoinette, lived an extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care about the state of their country. The excerpt from the cahiers mentioned in document 3 shows that the votes in the assembly were not taken by head. The people of the 3rd estate felt a sense of betrayal when the king supported the block voting over the head voting. The first two estates worked together to outvote the large third estate to keep them from becoming a threat to the power. Lord Acton, an Englishmen, states that the monarchy being overthrown wasn't the spark of the Revolution. He recognizes the American Independence as the spark of the French Revolution. The French government was inefficient, unjust and corrupt. There were numerous government departments, different laws in different parts of the country and officials. Many people became livid at the way France was governed. The people couldn't do anything to bring about a change. The French Parlement was called the Estates-General. It had not met since 1614 and couldn't without the consent of the king. It basically had no power. The economic problems created by the French kings also contributed to the Revolution. During the 18th century, the French government spent more money than it collected in taxes. By 1788, the country was bankrupt. Arthur Young, an Englishmen and observer, who traveled to France from 1787 to 1789 angrily describes the living conditions of the peasants in his book Travels in France. The amount of 2005-03-29T01:52:53-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Causes-of-the-French-Revolution-of-1789-26453.aspx Leprechaun's are short, aged, intoxicated, shoemakers, who are guardians of ancient treasure. Lepricans are normally dressed in pointed, or curled shoes and a green outfit. They avoid human contact for they have riches to offer a human once caught. The leprechaun is split into two distinctive groups - leprechaun and cluricaun. Cluricauns steal or borrow almost anything, creating mayhem in houses during the hours of darkness, raiding wine cellars and larders. They will also harness sheep, goats, dogs and even domestic fowl and ride them throughout the country at night. The Leprechuan is Ireland's national fairy. The Banshee is an ancestral sprit appointed to forewarn of ancient Irish families of their time of death. The Banshee can only cry for five major Irish families: the O'Neils , the O'Briens, the O'Connors, the O'Gradys and the Kavanaghs. The Banshee normally appears in three different forms: a young woman, a stately matron or a raddled old hag. She may also appear as a washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood stained clothes of those who are about to die. In this form she is known as the bean-nighe (washing woman). The banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms, such as that of a hooded crow, stoat, hare and weasel - animals associated in Ireland with witchcraft. Dullahan is one of the most spectacular fairies in Irish tradition. He is a stole collector who roams the countryside during midnight on certain Irish festive days. He is a wild, black-robed and headless, who rides the back of his horse. By holding his severed head in the air, the Dullahan can use his supernatural sight where he can see into the houses of dying people. He holds a human spine as a whip. The Dullahan is a fear fairy in Ireland for if he is seen by a moral, they become blind in one eye or if a Dullahan stops nearby a mortal, he or she dies instantly. An Ancient Tale From Ireland The dead have always played a central role in rural Irish folklore. Whether as insubstantial ghosts wandering through the countryside or walking corpses returning to torment the living, our former ancestors have always exercised an intense and continuing fascination for those who survive them and have formed the basis for many hair-raising tales. The dead, it appears, will 2005-03-27T10:30:22-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Irish-Folklore-and-Superstitions-Leprechaun,-Banshee-amp-26409.aspx The impact of the First World War is still with us. In many respects the events of modern Europe are a direct result of what happened during World War I. Adolph Hitler himself was a product of the First World War. World War I also gave Russian communists opportunity to overthrow the government in Russia and proclaim communism. The events that took place in "No Mans Land" definetly had an impact on the wars to come. The First World War had many causes. The spark of the Great War was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, soon to be at the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian nationalist, while traveling through Sarajevo. The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after he was at the throne, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Austria-Hungary Empire. The Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand, had to carry out the assassination. The Arms Race is the second cause. Britain at that time was the largest empire in the world, and it also had the largest navy. The navy was so big and strong because the British needed to protect their empire and maintain the sea routes between the different colonies. Kaiser William of Germany hated and envied Britain for having a stronger navy than his. He increased the German navy and built many warships. Britain responded with building more ships and increasing its navy too. This started a race for building more and better warships and it created tension and competition between those two countries. The system of alliance were another major cause of the War. There was a feud between France and Germany about controlling the colonies, which leads to a greater conflict, the Great War. Europe at that time was divided into two rival alliance systems: Triple Entente that included Great Britain, France, and Russia and the Triple Alliance, which included the Central Powers of Austria- Hungary, Germany, and eventually the Turkish Empire. In order to balance the power, France and Russia signed an alliance. Russia saw itself as the 'protector of Slavs' in the war, and immediately mobilized. When the war began, the German decision that if they were going to have to fight Russia and France, they would strike at France first according to the Schlieffen Plan, and then turn West to Russia. Germans believed that Russia at the 2005-02-21T05:19:05-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Causes-of-the-Great-War--26304.aspx National Socialism between 1920 and 1945 can best be described as an era of constant change. Hitler's enrollment in the German Worker's Party provided him the foundation needed to propel his idealistic views of anti-Semitism and Aryan superiority. Soon after Hitler's enrollment the party's name was changed to the National Socialist German Worker's Party and in the summer of 1921 his talents as an orator and propagandist enabled him to take over the leadership of the Nazi Party. Hitler's initial following - stemmed from German hyper-inflation and devaluation of the mark - included unemployed workers and the lower class, his keen ability to organize rallies to hear his speeches were instrumental in raising monies for the Nazi Party. Although the majority of his followers shared his dislike of the Weimar Republic's liberal democracy and anti-Semitic agenda, his party support, due to it's small size, was limited to the Bavarian region of German, this would prove to be a limiting factor when Hitler attempted to seize control of the provincial Bavarian government during his Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. Hitler's ill-fated attempt of treason proved to work to his advantage; thus, giving him national status as a patriot and a hero in the eyes of many. As a result, Hitler served 9 months in prison for the Beer Hall Putsch and wrote a book titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle) outlining his vision for the future Germany. By late 1924 Hitler was release on parole, after serving a portion his five year sentence, and quickly regained control of the Nazi Party, noting that any future seizure must come by legal measures through Parliamentary elections. Faced with a temporary improvement of the German economy by the Weimar Republic's ability to secure loans and investments (mostly from America), Hitler was forced to wait until economic conditions worsened to propel his Nazi agenda. In 1929 Hitler finally got his chance, the American stock market crash of 1929 affected nearly every nation in the world and German prosperity soon came to an end as a result of the Great Depression, vast unemployment and hunger that followed. President Hindenburg’s Weimar Republic soon found itself obligated to repay debts owed to countries that once provided assistance during times of prosperity. Discontented German people wanted change and Bruening (Chancellor) believed that a stable parliament majority for his party could deliver the change required, so new elections were held. 2005-02-21T05:18:02-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/History-of-Nazi-Germany--26303.aspx Unification of Italy and Germany By 1871 both the kingdom of Italy and the empire of Germany were united. Even though both countries used popular trends to that time, both liberalism and nationalism, the process unifying these two countries was very different. The end result was Germany emerging as a strong nation and Italy appropriately, the weaker. Italy’s problems started with the fact that it didn’t have one main ruler, but two people and a concept, resulting in a different approach to the unification. Gulseppe Mazzini had a radical program focusing on a centralized democratic republic based on universal suffrage and the will of the people. Vincenzo Gioberti, who was a catholic priest called for a federation of existing states under the presidency of the pope. Then there were the people who favored leadership toward the autocratic kingdom of Sardenia. Sardenia’s rule was much more popular to the middle class than the other two because Sardenia appeared to be a liberal, progressive state displaying national unification. That is what the people were striving for. They thought Mazzini’s ideas too radical- and they were trying to get away from religion running the nation as it had done in the past. They wanted a distinct separation between church and state. Cavour was the man who made the change, but he sought unity only for northern Italy to become a greatly expanded kingdom of Sardenia. “In the 1850’s Cavour worked to consolidate Sardenia as a liberal state capable of leading northern Italy.” (McKay, 836) Cavour saw Austria as a threat in unifying Italy and this is one point where both Cavour and Bismarck were on common ground. Therefore, they strategically persuaded European powers to fight against Austria…Italy provoked Austria into war Cavour then used Garibaldi’s popular appeal to his benefit. “When Garibaldi and Emmanuel rode through Naples to cheering crowds, they symbolically sealed the union of north and south, of monarch and people.” (McKay, 837) Italy was now unified. Despite the fact that Italy was unified, it wasn’t as nearly as strong as Germany was becoming. Bismarck joined both authoritarianism and nationalism to increase Prussia’s power. He was a very clever diplomat and used whatever means possible to work towards his goal. Bismarck’s Realpolitiks, the pursuing of realistic goals by any available method instead of the pursuit of an ideology. Bismarck never wanted to have enemies for long and hoped to pacify 2005-02-02T08:31:13-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Unification-of-Italy-and-Germany-26232.aspx Made Up Interview with Lenin Question: What were the historic events that led up to revolution, and why did you become involved in revolution? Lenin’s answer: To answer this question we have to go way back in 1812, when Napoleon came to Russia. Russian people stood up and fought against the invader by burning the villages and supplies, thus helping Czar Alexander I. After such sacrifice, people were not rewarded for their devotion to the Czar. In December of 1825 in St. Petersburg, Russia, a group of military officials staged a revolt against Tsar Nicholas I. These rebels were liberals who felt threatened by the new ruler’s conservative views. They were, however, defeated by the tsar’s forces. As a result of this revolt, Nicholas I implemented a variety of new regulations to prevent the spread of the liberal movement in Russia. My Brother - Alexander, and me, we organized the Union for the Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class. We have traveled around Europe and we saw that all Europe was changing in the direction of Democracy. Russian Social Democratic Party in Switzerland came to conclusion that Autocracy and Czars are getting old. New and radical changes were needed. Czar, Alexander III, hanged my older brother,Alexander, for an alleged plot against him. I swore on his grave that I would avenge his death. Revolutions of 1905 and World War I also played a significant role on the “My” revolution in November. Q: What is the main target you want to achieve by revolting? A: I want to make better place for regular working class people. I want to give them everything that they have wanted for so many years. I also want to end the war. The government is blind and can’t see that people don’t understand why they are fighting and losing their fathers, brothers and sons. Q: What kind of government will you set up after the revolution? A: I want to set up socialism/communism. Central to the meaning of socialism is common ownership. This means the resources of the world being owned in common by the entire global population. I want to build the society where individual don’t own anything. People own everything. Q: What is the difference between Red Army and White Army (both of them rob peasants)? A: What we are facing here is a small economic precipice. We have to have all 2005-02-02T08:29:03-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Imaginary-Interview-with-Lenin-26231.aspx Why Did The Weimar Republic Face Political Problems In The First Few Years Of Its Existence - 1919-1923? In 1919 the Weimar Republic was set up in Germany. From its birth it faced numerous political problems, for which the causes were many and varied. These problems included political instability, deep divisions within society and economic crisis; problems were constantly appearing for the new government and from 1919-1923, the Weimar Republic experienced a period of crisis. In 1916, the German Social Democratic Party, which controlled the Reichstag, split in order to cater for the tensions between the reformist and revolutionary wings. They formed the majority socialists (SPD) and the Independent socialists (USPD). Another group split from the SPD to form the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). On 9 November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. This meant that a new government had to be formed. The SPD, being the largest political party proclaimed Germany a democratic republic and formed a new government. The main interest of the SPD was to create a strong and stable government with which they could sign the Treaty of Versailles in order to end the war with the Allies. However, in order to return Germany back to peace and stability, the SPD had made a pact with the old order who had strongly supported the Kaiser; they compromised themselves by cooperating with the business community and the army in order to prevent a social revolution. Naturally this sparked off communist anger; the SPD had created a middle class democracy, while the communists demanded a worker's state like that in Bolshevik Russia. The communists wanted nationalisation to take place (i.e. factories, businesses and land to be owned by workers), they wanted workers to be more in control of their lives by means of locally elected councils (soviets), they wanted the army to be replaced with a Citizen's Militia, and they wanted to prevent the middle class from exploiting the working class. In other words, they required a much more radical change than that made since the Kaiser had left. In January 1919, the Spartacists (an old name for the KPD), led by Karl Liebnecht and Rosa Luxembourg, attempted to overthrow the government and establish a worker's republic by means of an armed uprising in Berlin, Germany's capital. The Spartacists, however, did not have enough support and their revolt was brutally suppressed by a group of armed 2005-01-08T08:41:03-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Weimar-Republic-Face-Political-Problems-26150.aspx The Origin of Primate Cities in Africa: How European Colonies Have Led to Urban Primacy A country's urban system has a strong affect on national and regional economies, and for this reason, the governments of developing countries are greatly concerned with the factors influencing the development of urban primacy. Particularly in Africa, many people migrate to primate cities to find new opportunities, and governments are concerned that this urban growth will have adverse affects. If such governments are interested in new policies pertaining to urban growth, then a strong understanding about why primate cities have developed is important. With a focus on the developing countries of Africa, this paper first discusses how economic and colonial histories have led to urban primacy. It then examines the ways in which particular characteristics of African countries today have contributed to the development of primate cities. These factors include a country's size, level of economic development, economic structure, ethnic composition, income inequality, or government structure and policies. In Africa, the development of many countries has been significantly impacted by previous colonization by Europeans. Traditionally, most countries worldwide have developed urban systems that somewhat resemble the model of central place theory (CPT). CPT states that urban systems develop under a well-ordered structure of agglomeration economies and transportation costs (Becker). The theory behind this process is based on the triangular model of interaction between large cities, small cities, and agricultural areas. The large cities mass-produce goods, which are then shipped to smaller cities for distribution to more rural agricultural areas. The agricultural areas then produce food that is shipped back to the urban areas, thus completing the triangle. However, the colonization of Africa did not permit a natural course of development, and CPT has little application on this continent. For CPT to be relevant, a region must have an agricultural surplus and the adequate infrastructure to lower transportation costs. However, prior to and during colonization, manufacturing and other forms of industry were not common in Africa. Subsistence agriculture was most common throughout the continent, and without a significant agricultural surplus, it is difficult for the manufacturing of goods to occur outside the informal sector (Becker). Almost no manufacturing centers drawing from nearby natural resource bases saw the realization of scale economies (Becker). During the precolonial period, however, urban areas did develop to some degree. Some urban areas arose for defensive reasons, while others grew as a result of minor trade networks 2005-01-06T02:59:17-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Origin-of-Primate-Cities-in-Africa-26123.aspx How Democratic Was Britain By 1914? In a democracy, there should be a vote for all adults and voters should be able to cast their votes without fear. The country should be divided into equal constituencies and anyone should be able to stand as an M.P. The government should be by the elected representatives of the people elections should be held regularly. In order to ascertain whether Britain was democratic by 1914 it is necessary to examine whether these features were in place at that date. One of the most important features of democracy is the right to vote by all adults. Prior to 1832, only upper or landed classes enjoyed that privilege but after that date the middle class was admitted to the franchise which meant that now 1 in 7 men could vote. In the 1850's there was little inclination to extend the franchise further as the working class tended to be regarded as the ignorant masses that needed to be represented by their "betters". However by the 1860's, the skilled workers had so impressed to politicians by their interests in politics and their good habits that it was decided to widen the franchise to encompass the skilled workers. Thus by 1847 1 in 3 men could now vote. Further reform of the franchise took place in 1884 when qualifications in the country and in the towns or boroughs became uniform. Great strides had been made in granting the right to vote but since not all adults could, Britain could not be said to be democratic. Another feature of democracy is the right to cast ones vote without any fear. The old method of voting was not democratic as it encouraged both corruption and bribery. This method was open casting the voter would stand up on a stage and shout out his vote. Often M.P's would pay voters to vote for them, sometimes the voters were threatened to vote for a certain party. The politicians spent a lot of money on the elections provoking people to vote for them. The ballot act changed the situation because it now made voting secret but still there was not a wipeout of corruption and bribery. The Corrupt and Illegal Practises Act meant that if anyone was caught bribing or intimidating anyone into making them vote for a certain party then they would be fined or sent to prison. Now the method of voting was 2005-01-03T02:34:02-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-Democratic-Was-Britain-By-1914-26110.aspx The fall of Communism in Russia/Soviet Union Communism in the USSR was doomed from the onset. Communism was condemned due to lack of support from other nations, condemned due to corruption within its leadership, condemned due to the moral weakness of humanity, making what is perfect on paper, ineffective in the real world. The end of this system was very violent. It left one of the two most powerful nations in the world fearful of what was to come. Communism can either be called a concept or system of society. In a society that follows the communist beliefs groups own the major resources and means of production, rather than a certain individual. In theory, Communism is to provide equal work, and benefits to all in a specific society. Communism is derived from many ancient resources, including Plato’s Republic and early Christian communities. In 1917, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their Communist Manifesto finalized the philosophy of Communism. ("Communism," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia) In the beginning, people in Russia thought of Communism as a utopian ideal. (Funk & Wagnall’s) The elimination of social classes, and guaranteed employment sounded outstanding to the people who lived in Russia. Communism did call for a role of socialist dictatorship to help control any form of protest. Through persuasive tactics this new government seized power and in 1917 Vladimir Ilich Lenin came to power. Under his control the Soviet Union underwent many radical changes that led to the development of NEP (New Economic Policy). This policy called for some private ownership of the means of production and business. Still the government controlled the majority of production. Throughout Lenin’s government there were many achievements. It ended a long civil war against the remnants of the old Czarist military system and established institutions in government. He later died in 1924, and was quickly succeeded. In 1924 Joseph Stalin became head of the Soviet Communist Party. He soon became the most powerful man in Russia. He ran the Soviet Union with brut power, removing all that opposed him and the Communist beliefs. This time period was known as the “Great Purge.” Stalin systemically executed anyone who stood in his path. Stalin had millions of people arrested and killed. The government once again changed in its economic status. All private ownership was ended. Industrialization commenced, and the strength of the Soviet’s Military significantly increased. The only downfall was agriculture production 2004-12-29T06:36:30-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Fall-of-Communism-in-Russia-Soviet-Union-26088.aspx The quotation, "'I shall maintain the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as it was preserved by my unforgettable dead father.' (Nicholas II) In spite of the Czar's decrees and declarations, Russia, by the beginning of the 20th century, was overripe for revolution," is supported by political and socioeconomic conditions late monarchial Russia. Nicholas II was the Czar of Russia from 1896-1917, and his rule was the brute of political disarray. An autocrat, Nicholas II had continued the divine-right monarchy held by the Romanovs for many generations. From the day Russia coronated Nicholas II as Emperor, problems arose with the people. As was tradition at coronations, the Emperor would leave presents for the peasants outside Moscow. The people madly rushed to grab the gifts, and they trampled thousands in the bedlam. As an autocrat, no other monarch in Europe claimed such large powers or stood so high above his subjects as Nicholas II. Autocracy was traditionally impatient and short-tempered. He wielded his power through his bureaucracy, which contained the most knowledgeable and skilled members of Russian high society. Like the Czar, the bureaucracy, or chinovniki, stood above the people and were always in danger of being poisoned by their own power. When Sergei Witte acted as Russia's Minister of Finance from 1892 to 1903, attempted to solve Russia's "riddle of backwardness" in its governmental system. He is considered more of a forerunner of Stalin rather than a contemporary of Nicholas II. In 1900, Witte wrote a memorandum to Nicholas II, underscoring the necessity of industrialization in Russia. After the government implemented Witte's plan, Russia had an industrial upsurge. All of Russia, however, shared a deep-seated resentment of the sudden jump into an uncongenial way of life. Witte realized that Nicholas II was not meant to carry the burden of leading Russia to an industrial nation as a Great Power. Nicholas II's weakness was even obvious to himself, when he said, "I always give in and in the end am made the fool, without will, without character." At this time, the Czar did not lead, his ministers bickered amongst themselves, and cliques and special-interest groups interfered with the conduct of government. Nicholas II never took interest in public opinion, and seemed oblivious to what was happening around him. He was still convinced he could handle Russia himself. By 1902, the peasants had revolted against Witte's industrialization movements, which were marked by a raise 2004-12-21T07:30:17-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Steps-Towards-the-Russian-Revolution-25945.aspx The last Tsar of Russia abdicated the throne in February of 1917. With the fall of the old regime, many old gender barriers fell, as well. The period after the Bolsheviks rose to power was a time of many changes for all Russians, but none were more affected than the women of the time. Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik party (later called the Communists) was greatly disturbed by the domestic enslavement of Soviet women, and almost immediately granted political equality for females throughout the nation. With this newfound freedom, women were presented with many new opportunities in all aspects of life, and many challenges, as well. Lenin reformed many civil and penal codes to the advantage of women. Almost overnight all learning institutions opened their doors to both sexes, which suddenly gave women the opportunity to strive for professional careers and higher paying jobs. Women were given equal standing in marriage, and it became possible for them to get divorced, to have abortions, and to sue for child support. Women could own property. Within the Communist party, women rose to leadership positions. In theory, there was complete equality between the sexes. However, even with the advantages of the Communist leadership, there were some pitfalls, as well. While the increased leniency of divorce laws was obviously an advantage to many unhappy wives, some men made use of the new freedom also. Some women were left to raise their children alone, and without the salary of their husbands, found it almost impossible. Although these women now had complete economic independence under the laws of Lenin, in practice all was not as simple. With several young children to watch over during the day, it was difficult for any mother to be able to engage in any work outside of family life. The realities of these women were shown clearly in Alexandra Kollontai’s novel Love of Worker Bees. based on life in post-revolutionary Russia. When Mr. Feodoseev abandons his wife for another woman, she is horrified at the thought of trying to get a job while raising three school-aged children. However, in Kollontai’s novel, she is seen as petty and jealous by certain members of the party, instead of a woman with great financial difficulties. Perhaps this shows a certain blindness that many communist leaders had to the realities of women’s everyday lives and circumstances. To help ease the burden on these women 2004-12-21T07:28:56-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Women-in-Post-Revolutionary-Russia-The-Opportunities-and-Ob-25943.aspx Why do you think the Tsar's power crumbled so swiftly in March 1917? Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894-1917 and was to be its final tsar. He ascended the throne under the impression that he would rule his whole life as it's undisputed leader. Accompanied by his wife, Alexandra, they lived a comfortable life of luxury while the country suffered around them. Nicholas was determined to rule as harshly as his father; however, he was a very weak and incompetent character who did not posses the qualities capable of guiding Russia through its time of turmoil. It was a time of great upheaval. Peasants were demanding that the land of the great estate owners be turned over to them because there was not enough land to provide food for all the villages. This caused the migration of many peasants to the factories. Russia's industries were beginning to develop and the number of people living in towns was increasing. These people were the urban working class of Russia and they were not as eager to accept the poor wages and conditions as the peasants were. For centuries, autocratic and repressive tsarist regimes ruled the country and population under sever economic and social conditions; consequently, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, various movements were staging demonstrations to overthrow the oppressive government. Poor involvement in WWI also added to the rising discontent against Nicholas as Russian armies suffered terrible casualties and defeats because of a lack of food and equipment; in addition, the country was industrially backward compared to countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the USA. It had failed to modernize, this was to do with the tsars lack of effort for reforms. The country was undergoing tremendous hardships as industrial and agricultural output dropped. Famine and poor morale could be found in all aspects of Russian life. Furthermore, the tsar committed a fatal mistake when he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces because he was responsible for the armies constant string of defeats. While the tsar was off defending the country, a strange 'monk' named Rasputin made his way into governmental affairs. Because of his ability to ease the pain of the tsar's sick young prince, Alexandra gave him great political control in the affairs of state. Rasputin had dismissed twenty-one ministers and replaced them with men of great incompetence. He was eventually murdered but the damage 2004-12-21T07:27:08-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Why-the-Tsar-s-Power-Crumbled-in-March-1917-25942.aspx Around the 20th century, the end of the First World War cleared the way for the formation of democratic regimes. Why they had not been successful, why the people didn’t use the opportunity to establish a democratic political system and why did the dictatorships appear, is still unclear, but it is a very discussible subject. The decisive role in these processes was the human being. It was the object of the cause, but on the other hand he was also the subject - executor of all the problems as well. The First World War was expected to be short, with a quick triumph on either side. On the contrary, the war caused a giant massacre to all the countries involved, and lasted for four years. Also against the expectations of political leaders and military commanders new techniques of fighting were used, as well as new weapons (for example the chloric gas, tanks and aircrafts). Due to all this, 13 million people were killed, of which 2 million were Germans, 1.75 million Russians, 1.5 million Frenchmen, 1 million British and 0.5 million Italians. But death was just one of the worst consequences of the First World War. Just military failures on the fronts, along with other problems directly affected internal politics in a great way. This horrible catastrophe also left most of the countries in huge debts, especially Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, and many others. This led to poverty and chaos, and the people were suffering. That is why they started to revolt, but the political system was so exhausted after the war that it didn’t do anything to solve this. The effects of the war sped up the changes. It is an arguable fact, whether the war also had a liberating effect. If it did, it was greatly affected by the downfall of three empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tsarist Russia and Keiser’s Germany. In Russia the tsar abdicated and was replaced by the Provisional Government, but it only took 8 months and Russia moved from autocracy to communism. It is true that this downfall separated and freed different ethnic groups like Czechs and Slovaks, Serbs, etc. who had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, because these ethnic groups did get their independent states with democratic constitutions. Land was taken from the aristocrats and distributed to the peasants. The workmen got better conditions to work in, for example bigger salaries, 2004-12-21T07:26:07-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Causes-of-Dictatorship-in-Russia-25941.aspx Early Roman History As Greece reached the height of its prosperity Rome which lye slightly to the west slowly began its rise as a civilization. The Greeks centered their culture around Art and literature whereas opposed to the Romans who settled their culture upon warfare and leadership. Without planning, would rise very steadily as an empire. Shortly before Christ most of the surrounding cities and nations were at peace under Rome's rule. Early Romans kept no written records. Their history is so mixed up with fables and myths that historians have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction. Historians only know of two early works of Roman history, the history of Livy and the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The old legends say that Romulus founded the city in 753 BC. Romulus was a mythical person, but there is some evidence that the kings who are said to have followed him actually existed. Shortly before 600 BC several Etruscan princes from conquered Rome across the Tiber River. Taraquinius Priscus, the first of the Etruscan kings, drained the city’s marshes. Servius Tullius, the second Etruscan king, made a treaty with the Latin cities, which acknowledged Rome as the head of all Latium. The last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was a tyrant who opposed the people scorned religion. Under the rule of the Etruscans, Rome grew in importance and power. Great temples and impressive public works were constructed. Trade prospered and by the end of the 6th century BC Rome had become the largest and richest city in Italy. The old Latin aristocracy ended up rebelling against the Etruscan kings. Junius Brutus led the rebellion against Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BC. The young republic was now set out on its long career of almost constant warfare and conquest. At the time it did not seem destined to rule the civilized world. It was only a tiny city-state, much like the city-states that were flourishing at the same time in Greece. Rome was now well launched on its way to world domination. One conquest led to another. Upper Italy, Sicily, Spain, Macedonia, Greece and Asia Minor were subdued and made Roman provinces. Intoxicated with their sudden rise to power, the new generation of statesmen departed from the wise policies of their great predecessors. They fought ruthlessly and ruined the countries they conquered. Governors administrated most of the conquered lands. Wealth poured 2004-12-21T05:57:04-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Early-Roman-History-Essay-25913.aspx French Views of Slavery The issue of slavery has been touched upon often in the course of history. The institution of slavery was addressed by French intellectuals during the Enlightenment. Later, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which declared the equality of all men. Issues were raised concerning the application of this statement to the French colonies in the West Indies, which used slaves to work the land. As they had different interests in mind, the philosophes, slave owners, and political leaders took opposing views on the interpretation of universal equality. Many of the philosophes, the leaders of the Enlightenment, were against slavery. They held that all people had a natural dignity that should be recognized. Voltaire, an 18th century philosophe, pointed out that hundreds of thousands of slaves were sacrificing their lives just so the Europeans could quell their new taste for sugar, tea and cocoa. A similar view was taken by Rousseau, who stated that he could not bear to watch his fellow human beings be changed to beasts for the service of others. Religion entered into the equation when Diderot, author of the Encyclopedia, brought up the fact that the Christian religion was fundamentally opposed to Black slavery but employed it anyway in order to work the plantations that financed their countries. All in all, those influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, equality, liberty, the right to dignity, tended to oppose the idea of slavery. Differing from the philosophes, the political leaders and property owners tended to see slavery as an element that supported the economy. These people believed that if slavery and the slave trade were to be abolished, the French would lose their colonies, commerce would collapse and as a result the merchant marine, agriculture and the arts would decline. Their worries were somewhat merited; by 1792 French ships were delivering up to 38,000 slaves and this trade brought in 200 million livres a year. These people had economic incentives to support slavery, however others were simply ignorant. One man, Raynal, said that white people were incapable of working in the hot sun and blacks were much better suited to toil and labor in the intense heat. Having a similar view to Raynal, one property owner stated that tearing the blacks from the only homes they knew was actually humane. Though they had to work without 2004-10-31T08:33:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/French-Views-of-Slavery-during-the-Enlightenment-25690.aspx It may start out as a terrible headache, then turn into chills and a high fever. Nausea, vomiting, back pains, and soreness of the limbs are soon to follow. Bright light will become hard to withstand. All of this came and went within three to four days. These are symptoms millions of people suffered during the fourteenth century. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or Black Plague, was one of the most horrible outbreaks of that time period. (Death Defined) Before death, swellings of the lymph nodes called buboes appeared, giving the disease its name. These inflammations were hard, painful, and burned or irritated the skin. These growths could expand to the size of an orange. (Death Defined) “The disease at this point began to take on the qualities of a deadly sickness, and the body would be covered with dark and livid spots, which would appear in great numbers on the arms, the thighs, and other parts of the body; some were large and widely spaced while some were small and bunched together. And just like the gavaciolli (a commoners term for the swellings) earlier, these were certain indications of coming death (Boccaccio: The Decameron).” The swellings would expand until they burst, causing death soon after. The disease was spread by the bacteria Yersinia pestis and transmitted by fleas and infected rats commonly found on the streets of many European cities in the fourteenth century. The fleas would infest the infected rat and spread the disease to humans and other rats by regurgitating the contaminated blood into the bloodstream of the new host. Many at the time did not know this was the means of dispersal for the disease and insisted on other ways of prevention, instead of trying to stay away from the rats. Many would test superstitious acts as in bathing in human urine, drinking molten gold and powdered emeralds, or refusing sleep or exercise during the day to rid themselves of infection (Bubonic Plague). These, of course, did no good, and no actual cures were known. “Enormous amounts of refuse and manure were removed from the city by appointed officials, the sick were barred from entering the city, and many instructions were given to preserve health (Boccaccio: The Decameron).” Victims were dying rapidly and in large numbers. 2004-10-31T04:22:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Black-Plague-Death-Among-Millions-25669.aspx Chivalry is the belief and practice of knights in the middle ages and even today. Chivalry was a code of ethics upheld by noble landholders and/or knights who were influenced by Christianity. The chivalric knight was loyal, courteous, protective, and gentle and honorable to all, including enemies. Knights sought love and glory, but not selfish love and glory; love and glory for his lady and king first. Knights were courageous, humble, obedient, and chaste. The three things that knights lived by: courage, honor, and fidelity. The code of knighthood stressed loyalty to their military leader, participation in wars, and 2004-07-04T03:39:04-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Chivalry--25210.aspx A duel was a prearranged combat with lethal weapons between two people, usually taking place under formal arrangements. Each side had a witness, called seconds. The usual cause of a duel is an insult given by one person to the other or over a question of honor. The challenged person has the right to set the place, time, and weapons. Duels have generally been fought early in the morning in secluded places. (Encarta “Duel”) Dueling to avenge one’s honor has never been legal, dueling has been marked by laws opposing it. The practice became popular in Europe after the famous challenge between King Charles V of Spain and Francis I of France. When war was declared on Spain in 1528 by Francis, he annulled the treaty between the two countries, Francis was challenged to a duel after being accused of ungentlemanly conduct by the Spanish ruler. The duel never did take place because making arrangements was to difficult, but this incident influenced the manners of Europeans so that gentlemen everywhere thought they were entitled to avenge slights on their honor by having similar challenges. (Encarta “Duel”) Duels involving honor were so prevalent in France that Charles IX issued an ordinance in 1566 that was death to anyone participating in a duel. This became a model for later edicts against dueling. Dueling however did survive longer than monarchy in France. Dueling became a technique for resolving political disputes. (Britannica “Duel) The duel was intensely popular in England, during Restoration. Legislation during the 17th century had little effect on suppressing the practice. The English Common Law declares that killing in a duel to be held as murder, but juries rarely convicted in cases of dueling until the custom had ceased to be popular during the reign of Queen Victoria. (Encarta “Duel”) The earliest form of dueling was the judicial duel or trial by battle. The judicial duel was established because solemn affirmation, or swearing of oaths, in legal arguments had led to extensive perjury and the ordeal has too much of a chance of being manipulated by the priests. If one man declares before a judge that his opponent was guilty of a crime and the accused said that his accuser is lying, the judge would order the two to meet in a duel. The judge then stipulated the conditions as to the place, time, and weapons. The combatants had to guarantee their participation 2004-06-10T06:01:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Honor-and-Dueling--25130.aspx Imperialism: Social Darwinism and Racism "Take up the White Man's burden — Send forth the best ye breed — Go, bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait, in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild — Your new-caught sullen peoples, Half devil and half child." (Rudyard Kipling “The Whiteman’s Burden”) The desire to increase ones country’s land holdings, and ultimately its power, is not new. The reasons for justifying a war of conquest though, do change. As humanity progresses, the reasons get more and more convoluted. The domination of a foreign culture by an imperial power became a more and more common throughout the early 19th century. This imperialism was done predominantly done by white people, over non-white indigenous peoples. The justification was that white people are simply culturally, genetically, and technologically superior to the non-white peoples. It was the Whiteman’s burden to civilize the savages, and he was going to do just that. “Social Darwinism” It is the idea that there are such things as inferior races. Social Darwinism is the application of evolution to society. The person who coined the term “Social Darwinism” was Herbert Spencer. Supporters of Social Darwinism thought the idea that there are different sub-species of Man, and that some are better then others. Imperialists were not conquering defenseless people, they were civilizing them! Social Darwinism asserted that White was right. “The time is coming when the pressure of population on the means of subsistence will be felt here as it is now felt in Europe and Asia. Then will the world enter upon a new stage of its history—the final competition of races, for which the Anglo-Saxon is being schooled. This race of unequaled energy, with all the majesty of numbers and the might of wealth behind it—the representative, let us hope, of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization—having developed peculiarly aggressive traits calculated to impress it institutions across the Earth.” (Our Country, Josiah Strong). Imperialism’s ultimate aim was to have a homogenous population, that was covered the whole entire earth. Imperialists of this time were justified on so many levels in their thinking. Social Darwinism was a construct that welded biological science (evolution) with social science. A philosopher of the 19th century, Herbert Spencer said, "this law of organic progress is the law of all progress. Whether it be in the development of the Earth, in the development of Life upon its surface, 2004-03-26T02:19:38-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Racism-and-Social-Darwinism-in-Regards-to-Imperialism-77.aspx Germany and Italy: The Struggle For Unification The rise of nationalism in Germany and Italy was long combated by the established regimes, but a unified Germany and Italy was an inevitability. The people of these two countries suffered from a long history of disorganization and disunity, but strong leadership in the end united them both. The similarities between Germany and Italy range from the subtle to the very obvious, but there also are some major differences. The situation in Germany was this; Germany was composed of a confederation of German states and was not unified. Austria was the dominant force in this confederation, and was an anti-nationalistic and anti-liberalistic force in Europe. The chief rival in the confederation was Prussia, who’s growing industrialization led to a larger middle class. As the middle class grows, the pressure to become more liberalistic grew. Prussia was becoming a very progressive and nationalistic nation, which was led by Otto Von Bismarck. Bismarck looked at the decline of Austria after the resignation of one of its best leaders, Metternich, as a golden opportunity. Austria was also weakened by its lack of involvement in the Crimean war in which it lost its best ally, Russia. Bismarck was a master diplomat who knew exactly what he was doing, by securing friendship with key countries namely Russia and Italy. The Prussian economy was also a key factor in the unification. Economically Austria was far behind Prussia, because Austria had made key reforms to encourage the economy. The superior economy and the diplomatic isolation of Austria lead to its downfall. The German unification was mainly a product of Prussian military and economic superiority, but Bismarck was still a huge factor in the events leading up to unification. An example of this is that before any major conflict took place between Prussia and Austria, Bismarck made vague mention to Napoleon III that if they stayed out of the conflict, they would be awarded territory. This was a complete lie, but it kept the French out of that conflict. It could be argued that Bismarck really was that interested in German unification, but actually thought of it more as Prussian expansion. Whatever his personal reasons for were, the results were the same. Germany was now one country, and much stronger for it. The story of Italy’s unification is a bit more complicated. The main figure in Italian unification was Camillo Cavour. Cavour was the 2004-03-26T02:01:59-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/German-And-Italian-Unification-76.aspx The Making of Mexico An Essay about the Mexican Independence Movement In the late 18th century, the Spanish monarchy decided to improve the defenses of its empire because of its many military losses in Europe. Because of this, the Spanish Crown was forced to increase revenues. Between 1765 and 1771, Spain sent José de Gálvez on an official tour of inspection of New Spain. He restructured the current taxes and their collection methods.. In 1778, Spain, attempting to increase its own revenues, lifted restrictions on colonial trade. This allowed more commerce for the colonists and allowed for more trade between the privileged of New Spain and the other Spanish colonies in America. Since the Spanish monarchy was so determined to improve defenses, it was forced to enlarge the existing colonial militias into armies. The Mexican people were disappointed with the many tax and administrative changes. The Criollos also did not like the fact that they had not been given any of the new administrative positions. Most of the Mexicans felt that they had been prospering under the old system. When the people protested and when riots broke out against the attempts at instituting reforms, they were dissipated through force. This caused Mexicans to become even more upset. They also had a new economic freedom and began to think that they could benefit more if they ran their own economic system apart from Spain. The Spanish Crown also began to limit the powers of the Catholic Church. It was viewed as a political rival because it had begun to amass large amounts of land and wealth in the colony. The Spanish government ignored the fact that the church did not actually have as much money as it seemed to. Much of its “wealth” was being loaned to colonists. In 1767, the Spanish Crown expelled the Jesuits from both new and old Spain and confiscated the wealth of the religious order. Even worse in the eyes of the Mexicans was in 1804 when the Spanish monarchy took land and wealth from the Catholic Church. These actions caused the church to reclaim all loans. This greatly affected the middle class, which was made up mostly by the colonial born whites known as the Criollos, and the mixed blooded Spanish or Indian Mestizos. The priests were also greatly affected by the Consolidation decree causing an upset of both the colonists and the priests, and convincing many to start 2004-02-22T07:20:03-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Mexican-Independence-Movement-34.aspx