sábado, 28 de enero de 2012

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.

miércoles, 18 de enero de 2012

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.
 
 





martes, 10 de enero de 2012

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)