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

Napoleon Bonaparte: French Emperor, Statesman, Military Leader

Napoleon Bonaparte, an influential emperor, statesman, and military leader, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, then a territory of France. He was the son of lawyer Charles Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino, both descendants of noble families, though without significant wealth or influence. Young Napoleon studied at the Military School in Brienne, Aube, and later at the École Militaire in Paris, where he earned the rank of second lieutenant of artillery.

Rise of the Napoleonic Empire

In 1804, a Senate-approved plebiscite, ratified by a popular referendum, entrusted the government of the Republic to a hereditary emperor. In the same year, Napoleon further consolidated his power by replacing...

Key Terms of World War I

• Triple Entente

  A diplomatic agreement formed in 1907 between Britain, France, and Russia.

• Triple Alliance

  An alliance signed in 1882 between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary, serving as a cornerstone of international policy until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

• Algeciras Conference

  A conference held in 1906 to resolve the conflict between France and Germany over Morocco. This conference thwarted German aspirations to establish a protectorate, instead establishing Morocco as a Franco-Spanish protectorate.

• Treaty of Versailles

  The peace treaty signed by the victorious Allied Powers and Germany in 1919. It was widely considered harsh and unfair to Germany.

• War Reparations

  Payments Germany was required to make to the Allied

Development Causes Totalitarianism: Liberal System Failure

Several factors contributed to the rise of totalitarian regimes in the early 20th century, highlighting a perceived failure of liberal systems:

• Policy: Government instability resulting from the struggle between parties.
• Economic: The economic collapse of European countries following the U.S. crisis led to a dramatic rise in unemployment.
• Social: Ex-combatants returning from the war and the unemployed found work, swelling the ranks of paramilitary organizations.
• Nationalism: Nationalists never ceased ethnic and border conflicts. These conflicts led many countries to question the liberal system and implement autocratic systems.

Fascist Italy

Despite being on the winning side of World War I,...

Porguerra Ecnomus: The Situation: There were heavy losses and spending; the only exception was the U.S., which became the great industrial power. They had to resort to inflation, state intervention, and other measures that contradicted the principles of economic liberalism. The post-war unrest in Europe attempted to recover the normal pre-war economy.

Crisis of 1929: The U.S. was the best reflection of confidence in the future, experiencing a significant economic expansion. The population contracted credits and speculated on the New York Stock Exchange, aiming for profits. October 24, 1929, was Black Thursday on Wall Street. That year, several warnings generated suspicion among speculators, leading to a massive sell-off as everyone wanted to...

Factors Behind Totalitarianism's Rise

Several critical factors contributed to the emergence and expansion of totalitarian regimes during the interwar period:

• Economic Crisis: A widespread economic crisis gripped Europe after World War I, severely worsening following the Crash of 1929. This led to mass unemployment, ruined businesses, and devastated the middle classes across many countries.
• Fear of Socialist Revolution: The success of the Socialist Revolution in the USSR threatened European leaders. They feared the spread of revolutionary desires among the continent's working class and felt pressured by the demands of the proletariat.
• Weak Democracies: From the 1920s, totalitarian regimes were established in countries with nascent or fragile democratic

Economic Crisis and Social Consensus

The transition coincided with the start of an international economic crisis caused by a large rise in oil prices. Rising oil prices led to an inflationary process that reached rates of 20% per annum. Between 1973 and 1974, the trade deficit doubled, while the balance of payments moved from a surplus of $500 million to a deficit of over $3 billion. This economic crisis led to a deep industrial crisis, which caused unemployment to increase to a very high annual rate, reaching 10% in 1979. In parallel, the annual per capita income grew by just under 1% between 1975 and 1985.

The Moncloa Pacts and Economic Reform

The main parties signed the Moncloa Pacts (October 1977), which contained a series of agreements to...

Transition Characteristics (1975-1982)

The transition (1975-1982) was the process of dismantling Franco's dictatorship and evolving towards a democratic rule, as expressed in the 1978 Constitution. People wanted to restore civil liberties without diminishing the achieved socioeconomic status. Juan Carlos I and his opening speech marked the first steps towards this goal.

Social Demands: Political and labor groups promoted demonstrations and strikes, demanding freedom, amnesty, and Statutes of Autonomy (specifically for Catalonia and the Basque Country). These actions were met with harsh police repression. ETA attacks provoked a reaction from the extreme right, who demanded a tougher government response. The army, showing its opposition to political...

The Catholic Church in Francoist Spain

The Army was the essential support of the regime in its infancy, but no less decisive was the support of the Catholic Church. This alliance allowed what we could qualify as the "New Spain" to become the last theocratic state in Europe. From the beginning, the Catholic Church placed itself alongside the nationalist side and promoted anti-red propaganda. This support allowed Francisco Franco to behave as an absolute monarch, where he was seen as appointed by God; in fact, Franco assumed responsibility for his actions only before God and history.

National Catholicism and Social Control

Since the early years, the Catholic Church played a vital role in the construction of the Franco regime. They retrieved the...

Introduction to Internationalism (1868 to 1874)

The Arrival of the International in Spain

After the triumph of the September Revolution of 1868, Giuseppe Fanelli was sent to Spain to create the first nucleus of members for the International Workingmen's Association (the International). He traveled to Madrid and Barcelona, where he engaged trade union leaders such as Anselmo Lorenzo and Ramón Pellicer Forge.

Fanelli was a member of an anarchist organization founded by Bakunin in 1868. He spread anarchist ideals widely. The first Spaniards to affiliate believed the program of the Aliança was based on the general principles of the First International, a fact that contributed to the expansion and rooting of anarchism among the Catalan proletariat...

The First Months of War (July–December 1936)

The primary objective of the military rebels was the capture of Madrid. Columns led by Mola were dispatched from Pamplona. Meanwhile, the Army of Africa crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with the assistance of Mussolini. Upon reaching the peninsula, Franco advanced toward Cordoba and Granada from Seville, then moved through Extremadura toward Madrid, securing territory despite fierce Republican resistance in Badajoz. However, upon reaching the outskirts of Madrid, the capital's efficient defense halted the advance. The Republican government relocated to Valencia for safety.

In October 1936, Catalan militias were directed toward the Aragon front. The disorganization and lack of preparation of these...