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

The 1923 Coup and the End of the Constitutional Regime

The military coup in September 1923 ended the constitutional regime in Spain. This blow had several underlying causes and immediate consequences.

Key Causes Leading to the Military Dictatorship

Several factors contributed to the collapse of the existing government:

• Military Discontent: Several military leaders joined the coup due to the government's refusal to increase war budgets.
• Political Fragmentation: The division of the Liberal and Conservative parties.
• Socialist Alarm: The rise of socialist movements also alarmed the oligarchy and republicans.
• Middle-Class Disillusionment: The middle classes, disillusioned and exasperated by political corruption, pushed for change.
• Instability and the Picasso

Crisis of Parliamentarism (1914-1923)

This period was connected with the postwar economic depression.

Impact of the First World War

The outbreak of the First World War (1914) was followed by Spanish neutrality. This neutrality did not prevent public opinion from being divided into pro-Allies and pro-Germans. The economic consequences were an economic boom fueled by orders from the warring nations. The situation was reflected in foreign trade, and industry and commerce took advantage of the situation.

Crisis of 1917

Political Developments (1913-1917)

Count Romanones replaced Eduardo Dato and tried to continue his program of government but met with opposition from conservatives and resigned in 1913. Alfonso XIII appointed the conservative Eduardo Dato...

Background

The Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh conditions on Germany after World War I, leading to widespread resentment and humiliation. Italy also felt frustrated by the treaty's outcome. The aggressive policies of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini further destabilized Europe. The division between France and Britain over how to deal with these rising powers, coupled with the expansionist policies of Italy, Germany, and Japan, created a volatile international environment. The economic devastation caused by the Great Depression (the crisis of '29) exacerbated these tensions.

Road to War

Germany began expanding its borders by force. In March 1938, the German army entered Austria, and Hitler proclaimed the...

Stalin's Soviet Union: The Rise of a Dictatorship

By 1929, the Soviet Union evolved into a personal dictatorship embodied by Stalin and supported by the Communist Party.

Political Traits

• Personality Cult: The state exalted the leader through propaganda and praise. Stalin was considered the "Great Benefactor" and the sole interpreter of the legacy of Marx and the Revolution.
• Marxism-Leninism: This ideology transformed into a rigid religious doctrine. Dissenters were labeled heretics and faced execution, which prevented ideological debate and depoliticized the population.
• Mass Party: The dictatorship relied on a mass party rooted in Russian nationalism, differing significantly from Lenin's original revolutionary party of minorities. All members became

Consequences of the Soviet Revolution

The Soviet Revolution brought about profound changes across various sectors:

Economic Consequences

• Private ownership of the means of production was abolished and collectivized or socialized.
• The state monopolized and directed the economy.

Social Consequences

• By abolishing private property, the aim was to dismantle the class society model and establish an egalitarian society according to the principles of Marxism.
• In reality, significant social differences persisted.

Political Consequences

• The liberal model of individual and collective freedoms was abolished, leading to a lack of freedom of expression and association.
• Censorship was continuous, and a single-party system was established.
• Culture, like information, was

Spanish Syntax Essentials

1. Predicate: Includes the verb 'to be' or similar verbs with attributes.

2. Direct Object: Replaceable by 'lo', 'la', 'los', 'las'.

3. Indirect Object: Answers 'to whom' or 'for whom', replaceable by 'le' or 'les'.

4. Circumstantial Complement: Indicates time, place, manner, etc.

5. Predicative Complement: Agrees in gender and number with the subject or object.

6. Agent Complement: Introduced by 'por' in passive sentences.

7. Compound Sentences:

• Coordinated: Copulative (e, ni), Disjunctive (o, u), Distributive (o...o, ya...ya), Explanatory (o sea, es decir), Adversative (pero, mas, aunque).
• Juxtaposed: Linked without conjunctions, showing addition, contrast, cause, purpose, consequence, time.

8. Subordinate Clauses:

• Substantive:

The Importance of Historical Study

History is the only science that studies the past to understand the present and anticipate future developments.

Types of Historical Sources

• Oral history
• Graphs
• Documents
• Iconographic records
• Archaeological findings
• Ethnic studies

Feudalism and Its Antecedents

Feudalism was a political and military system in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was characterized by the concession of fiefs—almost always in the form of land and labor—in return for political and military service, a contract sealed by an oath of homage and fidelity.

Barbarian Groups

Key groups included: Huns, Angles, Saxons, Burgundians, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Swabians, Britons, Scots, Alamanni, Goths, Sarmatians, Celts, Scythians, and Celtiberians....

Wilson's 14 Points and Post-WWI Treaties

Wilson's 14 Points: U.S. President Wilson advocated for a peace based on law, respect for nationalities, freedom of trade, disarmament, the dismantling of empires, and the consolidation of democracy. However, European powers prioritized their own interests, with those less affected by the war seeking greater compensation from the most powerful nations.

Key Points of Wilson's Proposal:

• Public and transparent peace treaties.
• Freedom of navigation on the seas outside territorial waters.
• Removal of economic barriers.
• Mutual guarantees to reduce armaments.
• Renunciation of colonial claims and reparations for past injustices.
• Autonomous development for the peoples of Austria-Hungary.
• Establishment of international security

5. The War Overseas
Exploded in Cuba in 1895, a new insurrection that joined the rebellion in the Philippines.
Causes of conflict in Cuba:
Political inequality between Spanish and Cuban
Protectionism of the metropolis that prevents the development of the Cuban economy
Maintenance of slavery in force until 1888.
As we discussed, in 1868, Cuba had exploded in a revolution that lasted until 1878. Cuba was the first war with U.S. support, ending with the Zanjón Peace, negotiated by General Martínez Campos with the rebels, who promised broad autonomy and a series of reforms. However, the delay in implementing the agreement brought about a new conflict against the Spanish presence on the island: the Small War in 1879, which was defeated the...