Land and Freedom 10

Land and Freedom 9

Land and Freedom 8

Land and Freedom 7

Land and Freedom 6

Land and Freedom 5

Land and Freedom 4

Land and Freedom 3

Land and Freedom 2

Land and Freedom 1

PDF about the feudal system

Due to technical problems it has been completely impossible to upload the pdf about feudalism from my computer as I promised to 2nd CD. I am trying again tomorrow in the school. I hope that you will have this file available for this weekend.

User Manual: The Wall of the Blog

From now on the wall of this blog  is only for special materials and messages. All pdfs we work in class with as well as activities, tasks, projects, etc are going to be found below the corresponding sections on the right bar.

The 13th Warrior

After the introductory powerpoint you will see the USA film "The Thirteenh Warrior" , which is based on Michael Crichton's pseudo-historical novel Eaters of the Dead. In order to revise the different topics you have learned about in class for the last weeks you are asked to answer the following questions while watching the film.

-Where and when is the action set?

-Can you see any social hierarchy in the groups depicted in this film?

-Compare the Arab and the Viking government system.

-Which evidence have you found in the film to prove that Vikings were superstitious?

-How does Ahmed learn the language spoken by the Norsemen? Which language is this?

 -Can the Norsemen in this film read or write? Why do you know?

-Which enemy does the group of Vikings have to fight against?

-Do you think that this film is entirely historical? Why?

Voluntary task.

Do a portfolio about the historical background and the legend of Beowulf to hand in on the last day before Easter holiday.

Romantics turned into nationalists: Verdi and the claim for freedom

Many of Verdi's operas can be interpreted as allegories for the Italian struggle against the Austrians and other foreign oppressors. The most famous is Nabucco (1842), about the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. Its chorus of the Hebrew slaves, 'Va Pensiero', became virtually the anthem of the national movement.

Exercises about the Italian and the German Unifications

Italian Unification

-Which Italian kingdom played a leading role in the unification process?

-When did the Italian unification process finish? (year)

-How many phases in this process would you establish after looking at the map?

-Which European nation had a pre-eminent position in the Italian peninsula at the beginning of the 19^th century?

-Were other nations involved in this process? Which and how?

-Which Italian characters participated in the unification in one way or another? If possible, would you be able to say where they came from?

-Was there any other non Italian character's participation in these events? Who?

-Were there any revolutions in the Italian peninsula in 1848-9? Where? Did they have any success?

-Why did the French army intervene in Rome in 1849?

-When and how did the Italians add the kingdom of Lombardy?

-Who were responsible for the “conquest” of territories in 1860? How?

-Who was declared the king of Italy?

-When and how did the Italian side obtain Venetia?

-What was the last territory to be added to the Italian Kingdom? When was it incorporated? How?

-Look for information about the ideological differences between Garibaldi, Cavour, Mazzini and Victor Emmanuel II. Would you be able to classify these four characters into two main government options for the newborn Italian nation?

German Unification

-Who was Metternich?

-Which territories did Prussia control in 1815, after the Congress of Vienna?

-Was there any freedom of expression in the German states? Why?

-What was the Zollverein? Did it have any precedent? Why do you think that Austria wasn't allowed to participate by Prussia?

-Which consequences did Metternich's resignation have in 1848?

-What did the Frankfurt Parliament consist of? Did it have any success? Why?

-What was the main aim of the Erfurt Union? Did it have any success?

-What happened in Prussia during 1860-62?

-Were Schleswig and Holstein important in the relationship between Prussia and Austria? Why?

-Which nation added these Danish duchies finally? When were these territories incorporated? (look at the map)

-In 1867 the German states were divided into tho main areas of influence. Which?

-Read the information about the Hohenzollern crisis. Do you think that Bismark acted in a cunning way with regard to this issue? Why?

-If I say that Bismark promoted the nationalist feeling in 1870... what do you understand?

-Which were the last territories to be incorporated to the German Empire (Second Reich) led by Prussia? When were these added?

-When was the Franco-Prussian war fought? How did it end? Which territories were given to the winner?

The revolutionary 19th century

Revolutionary Europe (1820-1848)

The Congress System broke up because France and Britain were in total disagreement with Russia, Austria and Prussia. After 1815 the great powers never met again.

Nationalism, liberalism and socialism became the major influences which help us to understand the revolutionary processes along the period which started in 1820.

Liberal and nationalist revolutions of 1820

In 1820 the first liberal revolution broke out in Spain. The liberals rebelled, under the initiative of a general called Rafael Riego, and managed to force the absolute king, Fernando VII, who had rejected the liberal constitution which had been previously passed in 1812, to accept the popular sovereignty which was represented by this former legal document. For three years the liberals governed Spain, until French troops intervened militarly in 1823 making the revolution to fail. 

                                               Rafael Riego, a liberal general

Shortly after the Spanish revolution, a liberal revolution in Portugal succeeded and a constitutional government was created. This wouldn't have been possible without an army the British sent in order to make sure that the revolt had success.
In Latin America the subjects of the kings of Spain and Portugal rebelled in order to obtain their independence. Spanish colonies were lost in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The members of the Holy Alliance tried to intervene but they met the hostility by the British and the USA president, James Monroe, who declared, in his famous Doctrine of 1823, that any interference by European powers in the affairs of the American continent would be regarded "as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to the United States"; in other words, an act of war.     

The last revolution of the decade was the Greek. These people rebelled against the Ottoman Turks. For several years the Greeks had been fighting for their independence from the Ottoman Empire, and finally they obtained it in 1827, thanks to the support of different nations: France, Britain and Russia. In 1832 the European major nations recognized Greece as an independent sovereign state.

                                                                   Siege of the city Messolonghi, symbol of the Greek resistance

Revolutions of 1830

In France the population revolted against the absolute Bourbon monarch, Charles X who had published four ordinances dissolving the Chamber of Deputies, suspended freedom of the press, modified the electoral laws so that three-fourths of the electorate lost their votes, and called for new elections to the Chamber in September. Strikes and protests were followed by armed confrontations. The royal forces were unable to contain the insurrection and, after three days of fighting (July 27–29) Charles X was replaced by another king, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, who had fought for the French Republic in 1792.

The French example was followed in many parts of Europe in the same year but most liberals throughout Europe were disappointed in their expectations of a radical, social change since the other revolts were supressed harshly.

In Poland, people revolted against the Russian Tsar, but their revolt was cruelly suppressed and Poland was incorporated into the Russian Empire.

Belgium declared its independence from the Netherlands, and it was recognized in 1831 as an independent nation.

The Italian and German nationalist and liberal revolts were cruelly ended.

Revolutions of 1848

This year was known as the Spring of Nations or the Year of the Revolution.

The period of unrest began in France and then, further propelled by the French Revolution of 1848, soon spread to the rest of Europe.

In Paris middle class elements demanding the vote were joined by workers demanding an end to their explotation. King Louis Philippe fled into the exile and his constitutional monarchy was substituted by the French Second Republic. This government was headed by Louis-Napoleon who, after only four years, returned France to a monarchy with the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852.

The French was the only revolution in 1848 which was successful.

                                                      Le Cri du Peuple (comic by French artist Tardi about this revolution)

Other revolutions: 

a) Liberal (Vienna)

b) Nationalist (Hungary, Bohemia, North of Italy, German states)

The years 1815 to 1848 have often been called "the years of Metternich". Klemens von Metternich was the Austrian chancellor at this period and he was, without doubt, the greatest statesman in Europe. His ambition had been to destroy all traces of revolutionary change in Europe introduced since 1789. He was the arch-conservative who was violently opposed to any kind of reform and who succeeded in imposing his ideas on the rest of Europe, helped by the Holy Alliance.

He realised that if the liberal and nationalist demands were met, and the people of Europe were given the chance to freely choose the country in which they lived and the type of government that ruled them, then the Austrian Empire was finished. Until 1848, he had largely succeeded, but, in that year, when Hungary had risen in revolt and Austrian students had demonstrated in the streets of Vienna demanding "Down with Metternich!", the emperor dismissed him.

Activities:

1) Why do you think that France crushed the first Spanish liberal revolution in 1823?

2) Comment on the following quote by the USA President, James Monroe:

“The American continents ... are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers”.

3) Comment on the following quote by Von Metternich:

“ Italy is only a geographical expression”

4) Why did the French, who already had a constitutional monarchy, rebel, in 1848, against their monarch, who, besides, had defended the revolutionary principles actively in 1792?

Extra, voluntary task:

1) Write a composition (250 words) on the Latin American Revolutions and the role Simon Bolivar adopted in these.

Changes in the blog

As technical problems didn't allow you to download some of the materials I've been uploading up to now I have decided to do it in a different way.

Since now, if you are interested in downloading some of the resources we are using in class, you will have to go to the right side of the blog, below the List of resources section and look for your topic. Once you have found it, double-click on it. You'll be redirected to another page where you can directly download the file as a pdf.

I'm uploading past documents during this week. So if you can't find an old one, please be patient.

If you have any problem let me know.

Let's go back to the past: The European Restoration

I. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15)

After Napoleon's abdication in April 1814, representatives of all the states of Europe met in Vienna in order to decide what to do now that the Napoleonic threat had disappeared.

They had three priorities:

-To reduce the size of France to its frontiers before Napoleon's invasion.

-To ensure that France could never again be a threat to the rest of Europe.

-To recompense those countries that had been “anti-Napoleon” and punish those that had been “pro-Napoleon”.

The attendants to this meeting in Vienna were:

a) Austria, Prussia, Russia and Britain (the most important)

b) France, Spain, Portugal and Sweden

c) Bavaria, Hanover, Denmark and Savoy (minor states)

The map of Europe was modified after the Congress in this way (click on these words to enlarge the map below):

There is another map (in colour and clearer) of the territorial distribution after Congress of Vienna on the following link you can also use.

Major failings of the Congress of Vienna were:

a) The redrawing of the map of Europe took no account of the wishes of the ordinary people, with regard to the nationalist feeling which had appeared during the Napoleonic military campaigns and had been fatal to him. Millions of people in Europe refused to accept the imposition of foreign rulers and, as a result, nationalist revolutions broke out in many regions after 1820.

b) After the dismantling of Napoleon's empire, Russia, Austria and Prussia wanted to reinstall monarchies of the Ancien Régime. This led to more revolts and revolutions since Napoleon had introduced liberal constitutions which made a profound impact on the people who lived in the regions the French Emperor had conquered.

II. The Holly Alliance

It was a coalition of different states which was created in 1815 and whose members were Russia, Austria and Prussia .The monarchs of these three nations wanted to install the Christian values of charity and peace in European political life, but in practice what they were chasing was to band together in order to prevent revolutionary influence (especially from the French Revolution) from entering their territories. Except for Great Britain, the Vatican and the Ottoman Empire, all other European nations joined.

Activities:

1. Which type of government did the founders of the Holly Alliance have? Why didn't Great Britain join forces with these nations?
2. Remember what we have seen in class about liberalism. Describe the political and economical features this term had at the time you are studying. Did the Enlightenment have any influence on liberalism? Why? 
    
3. Compare the 1812 map and the map for the period after the Congress of Vienna. Which changes can you observe? 
    
4. What's the model for the liberal constitutions Napoleon introduced? 
    
5. Comment on the following sentence from a History textbook :
   “The European Restoration meant an ideological conflict whose consequences echoed throughout the nineteenth century (...)”.

           Focus on these concepts: European Restoration, ideological conflict and consequences

Extra sources about Napoleon

Napoleon (2002)

French-German-British mini-series about Napoleon's figure.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Film based on author Patrick O'Brian's series of naval books whose action is set during the Napoleonic Wars, at the beginning of the 19th century. A good adventure film as well as a historical drama which was nominated to 10 Oscars.

War and Peace (1956)

Classical drama film based on Leo Tolstoy famous novel which illustrates the war between the French and the Russian Empires.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Film which tell us about the adventures and misadventures of a member of the minor, landed aristocracy of Ireland who wants to climb the social ladder and reach a higher position by means of enrolling in the British army. Subsequently this fact will lead him to participate in the Napoleonic Wars. 

The film was produced, written and directed by famous director Stanley Kubrick and it is considered one of his finest works.

The Duellists (1977)

Historical drama film which is set during the Napoleonic Wars and whose plot is about two French Hussar officers's feud, whose cause is a misundertanding between both duellists, is  over fifteen(!) years. It was the first film Ridley Scott directed. As an anecdote I'd say that this film contains real fencing scenes, something which is not usual in most later films.

Ideologies in the 18th and 19th centuries (PDF)

If you click on the following link you'll be able to download the pdf we are commenting in class on these days.

Rowing with the Wind (Remando al viento), by Gonzalo Suárez (1987)

Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, John Polidori and, of course, "the Monster", in a dramatic film by Gonzalo Suárez which won seven Goya Awards and is representative of the spirit of Romanticism.

(Sorry but there is no English trailer in Youtube...)

Napoleon, that short loony

Napoleon Bonaparte was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions affected European politics in the early 19th century.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in 1769. He was the son of a noble. In 1785, at the age of 16, Napoleon became second lieutenant in the artillery.

Napoleon became sympathetic to the Revolution in 1789. In the Battle of Toulon in 1793, Napoleon led a victorious attack on a Royalist fort and was then promoted to Brigadier General. Napoleon gained more attention in 1795 when he put down a pro- royalist coup in Paris. He was promoted to Major General.

In 1796 he was put in charge of the French army fighting the Austrians, who, being pro-absolute monarchy, were anti-revolutionaries, in Italy. Napoleon and his army won several great victories over the Austrians and Italians. Between 1798 and 1799 Napoleon’s plans to attack the British went badly wrong. His army was ravaged by plague and sickness, and Nelson’s British Navy destroyed many of Napoleon’s own ships. Still, Napoleon seized Malta and had several victories in Egypt during the expedition.

Napoleon returned to Paris in August 1799, after hearing of the military crisis facing France and on November 11th 1799, Napoleon seized control of France in the ‘coup d’état’ (or Coup de Brumaire). Following the Coup, a new constitution was introduced, and Napoleon was made First Consul of France. Then, on December 2nd, 1804, in the presence of the Pope, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor.

Napoleon and his influence over Europe

Napoleon conquered most of continental Europe. As he conquered other European nations, he helped to spread some of the French Revolution ideas and put his relatives in control. Napoleon named himself king of Italy while his brothers became kings in Spain (Joseph Bonaparte), Holland and Westphalia (now part of Germany).

Unfortunately for him, his invasion of Spain was a disaster, which persuaded the Austrians to start a new war against the French. In 1812, his campaign against the Russians had the same result. Finally, the allied nations of Europe defeated Napoleon in 1813 and in 1815 (Waterloo). He was forced to exile to an island called St. Helena, where he died in 1821.

Thanks to this character, the revolutionary, liberal ideas whose origin is French, spread across Europe where they mixed with another new concept, nationalism.

Napoleon and his work in France

Napoleon became Emperor of France, and could not be removed from power. There were two National Assemblies, with members chosen by Napoleon from candidates elected by the people. All men could vote, but after 1804, there were no elections. All laws were made by the Assemblies.

France under Napoleon sometimes seemed similar to France under King Louis. The Prison and Courts system was ‘officially’ different, in that you could no longer be put in prison without charge and everyone was equal in the courts, nobles did not have special rights anymore, but even in

Napoleon’s rule there were restrictions. He had a secret police force, which from 1810 could arrest people without trial. Napoleon, like King Louis, and unlike the Revolution, tried to censor and control the newspapers, and free speech was not allowed in France or the French Empire.

During the Revolution, the land owned by the Catholic Church was sold off and any religion was permitted (only Catholicism was practised in the ‘Ancien Regime’). In 1802, Napoleon made an agreement with the Pope called the Concordat in which the Pope agreed that the Church would not get its land back and in return, Catholicism was accepted as the religion of the majority. As well as this, it was agreed that Bishops were to be chosen by Napoleon, and agreed by the Pope. This meant that the government now had greater control over the Church.

In 1804 the Napoleonic Code was introduced. It had a set of clear laws, applicable to all members of French Society. The Code was also introduced into other parts of Europe conquered by Napoleon, like Italy, Spain and some parts of Germany.

The Code Napoleon (1804) The Code stated that: • All people were declared equal before the law. There were no longer any special privileges for Nobles, Churchmen or rich people • Feudal rights were ended. • Trial by Jury was guaranteed. • Religious Freedom was guaranteed. • Wives were not allowed to sell or give away property. • A wife could only own property with her husband’s consent in writing.

 Activities

0) Comment on these Napoleon's quotes:

Frenchmen, without a doubt, you will see in what I did that I am a soldier who supports liberty and am a citizen who is devoted to the Republic.(From a translation of the official version of the coup)

“It is not what is true that counts, but what people think is true.”

1) Read the extract from the Napoleonic Code and answer:

Are the contents of this code original (=new)? Why?

2) Explain this quote by Napoleon:

“The People must have religion, and religion must be in the hands of the government.”

3) Look at the map below and answer the following questions:

a) Why do you think other European nations decided to start a war against France before Napoleon's “coup d'état”?

b) Why did Napoleon decide to continue the war in Europe?

c) Which nations were the most important enemies of France? Why?

d) Why do you think the British and the French fought in Egypt?

e) Is the date for this map relevant?

f) Look for information about the Confederation of the Rhine. How was it founded? Which Baltic nation had interest on this area? Which opinion did this nation have about the French influence in central Europe?

g) Look for information about the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and answer this question: How did Napoleon manage to control this Duchy?

h) The nation we know nowadays as Italy was divided into different states before the Napoleonic era. What did Napoleon do in the Italian peninsula? Which Italian territories belong to France? Over which territories did Napoleon have indirect control? Why do you think the Italians fought the French? (in order to answer this last question you'll have to investigate). 

 

4) Voluntary task: Look for information about Spain at the time. Write a 300 words composition about the Spanish participation in Napoleon's affairs.

Pack of extra resources about the Ancient Age

If you are still curious about the Ancient Age, try some of the following resources: 

Films:

Gladiator

An interesting film which is set during the Empire. It is not considered really 100% accurate in historical terms, but it 's truly exciting.

Agora

The film takes place in Egypt at the end of the Empire and tell us about the conflict among believers of three different religions -Paganism, Christianity and Judaism, as well as its consequences on the scientific work of a woman, Hypatia. It also depicts the destruction of the most famous library of the Ancient Age, which was located in Alexandria. 

Centurion

Adventure film which is set in Caledonia (Roman name for Scotland). Tons of action and light humour for a simple plot about a centurion and some legionaries under his command who have to face the terrible picts (Scots) in order to rescue their general, who is taken prisoner by the locals at the beginning of the film.

Series: 

Rome

HBO series with two seasons. First season has twelve episodes, while the second one has ten. It was cancelled as it resulted to be very expensive. Although it is not really accurate historically you can watch it as an entertaining introduction to Ancient Rome.The whole series is set between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire.

Books:

The Last Legion, by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

A novel whose action is set during the last days of the Western Roman Empire: A band of legionaries are ready to fight against the barbarians in order to rescue young emperor Romulus Augustus. It is also a recent film.

Marco Didio Falco's novels by Lindsey Davis

 

Set of novels whose main character is a private eye (detective) who lives in Ancient Rome.

 

 

Primary sources about socialism and other ideologies which appeared during the Industrial Revolution

“All parties without exception, when they seek for power, are varieties of absolutism” (Proudhon)

"Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite! (...)  Revolutions are the locomotives of history. (...)To my mind, the so-called ‘socialist society’ is not anything immutable. Like all other social formations, it should be conceived in a state of constant change. It’s basic difference from the present order consists naturally in production organized on the basis of common ownership by the nation of all means of production". (K.Marx)

We perform the duties of freemen; we must have the privileges of freemen. 

Consequently, firstly we demand universal suffrage. The suffrage to be exempt from the corruption of the wealthy, and the violence of the powerful, must be secret.This demand should be completed with the ballot.

We also consider that, to public safety as well as public confidence, frequent elections are essential, so that we demand annual parliaments. (Adapted from the People's Charter, 1838)

I know that society may be formed so as to exist without crime, without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness; and the only obstacle we have nowadays to reach this state of society is ignorance. (Robert Owen)

As the Liberty lads o'er the sea
Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood,
So we, boys, we
Will die fighting, or live free,
And down with all kings but King Ludd! (Lord Byron)

“The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!”

(Max Stierner)

“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.”

(K.Marx)

“Religion is the opium of the masses.”

(K. Marx)

“The extension of women's rights is the basic principle of all social progress.”

(Charles Fourier)

“Revolutions are the produce of passion, not of sober and tranquil reason.” (William Godwin)