Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for History for Baccalaureate

The Rise of Christianity and the Division of the Roman Empire

From Roman Religion to Christian Hegemony

Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and prohibited other cults. This institutionalized the Church, giving it heritage and hierarchy. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the East and West took different political paths. The East maintained centralized power under Byzantine leadership, which aligned with the new Christian religion.

The Rise of the Papacy in the West

In the West, after the fall of Rome, every military leader became a power center. It was the West that managed to emerge as the center of Christendom. The two universal powers were the Empire and the Papacy, each supporting the other while...

The Monarchy

With the restoration of the Bourbons, Canovas del Castillo aimed to establish a stable political system. Inspired by the need to regain the prestige of the monarchy, he firmly established it as the form of state. To achieve this, Canovas was inspired by the British parliamentary system, as well as the principles of doctrinaire liberalism, which gave the king relevant power in the political system.

From the British system, Canovas transplanted to Spain the party system and the role of alternating parties. This would give the appearance of a constitutional monarchy. For Canovas, the monarchy was inseparable from the history of Spain and had to be firmly seated as the form of state.

The king would have a significant role in political...

Labor Unrest and Social Conflicts During the Second Spanish Republic

The CNT and the Rise of Anarchism

Within the **Confederación Nacional del Trabajo** (CNT), unions faced two opposing factions. The first, more moderate, advocated for a purely trade unionist approach and showed some support for the Republic. The second, more radical, was characterized by an insurrectionist and revolutionary ideology. This faction saw the CNT in the Republic as an ideal opportunity for revolution and instigated labor conflicts through general strikes, peasant uprisings, and the establishment of libertarian communism. Strikes and land occupations progressively increased.

The Casas Viejas Uprising (1933)

Anarchists led a significant peasant uprising in Andalusia...

The Reign of Amadeo I of Spain (1870-1873)

In 1869, a new form of government was established in Spain: a constitutional monarchy. One inherent difficulty in this regime change was finding a suitable king, as Spain at that time was impoverished and troubled. The search focused on a Catholic and democratic candidate. Eventually, they found their monarch in the person of the Duke of Aosta, Amadeo de Savoie, son of the King of Italy. Amadeo possessed the desired qualities: he hailed from an ancient dynasty linked to Spain, was a progressive Catholic, and even a Freemason, with the Pope's secret license reconciling religion and Freemasonry. Amadeo was the first King of Spain elected by a Parliament, which seemed, not without historical reason, a...

Social and Cultural Roots of the Mafia

The rise of the Mafia in Italy can be attributed to a complex interplay of social and cultural factors, particularly in the southern regions. Historical conditions, such as agrarian conflicts and feudal systems, created a fertile ground for the emergence of organized crime. The Mafia's emphasis on honor, loyalty, and family values shaped its internal dynamics and interactions with society.

Values and Underdevelopment in Southern Italy

The Mafia's values, while seemingly positive, often hindered modernization efforts and contributed to the economic lag in southern Italy. Loyalty to family often superseded loyalty to societal institutions, leading to a distrust of the state and a reluctance to cooperate with...

1. Blitzkrieg: The Era of Swift Action (1939–1940)

The first phase of the war was characterized by the uninterrupted advance of the German armies, employing a tactic known as Blitzkrieg (swift action). This strategy relied on the use of highly mobile units aimed at breaking the enemy's front and destroying the main points of defense. This tactic was successfully utilized in four major offensives:

• September 1939: Invasion of Poland
• April 1940: Occupation of Norway and Denmark
• May 1940: Invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• June 1940: Start of the invasion of France

The invasion of Poland was not complete because the Russians quickly invaded the east, necessitating a German-Russian agreement to divide the Polish territory. The Russians...

Imperialism is a political doctrine that seeks to subjugate other states. Some of its causes were: the rise of large European powers, the establishment of major overseas empires, the emergence of new colonial powers (Germany, Belgium, USA, and Japan), the pursuit of European economic expansion, the needs of financial capitalism, an adventurous spirit (journalists), and technological superiority. Its consequences include an armed peace, a war setting fueled by radical nationalism, and the emergence of intense rivalries after the Berlin Conference.

Colonialism is the domination of one country by another, more powerful one, violently through military invasion. There are three phases:

• Conquest:

  This phase emphasizes military occupation, the importance

Economic Changes in Spain (1833-1875)

The Spanish population increased due to a decline in mortality and sustained high fertility rates. Most of the population remained rural, with 80% living in rural areas.

Agricultural Reform

Agriculture underwent significant reform, including the abolition of the feudal regime, the abolition of primogeniture, and the confiscation of lands by Mendizábal and Madoz. Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, Minister of Finance, initiated the confiscation of church property and land in 1836, dissolving religious orders. This confiscation involved the expropriation and nationalization of disentailed properties, followed by public auctions.

Secularization had three main objectives: to pay off financial debt, to expand the political...

The text reproduced here discusses the document that King Alfonso XIII gave to the president of the last Council of Ministers of the monarchy, Captain General Juan Bautista Aznar. This paper was published on the front page of the monarchist newspaper ABC on April 17, 1931, three days after the Second Republic (1931-1936) had been proclaimed in Spain. The delay in publication was due to doubts of the Republican interim government about the desirability of making public the statement of the king, who was already in exile, through the press. Admiral Aznar had been appointed in January 1931 by Alfonso XIII to replace General Dámaso Berenguer, at the end of the soft dictatorship (as the short period following the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera...