Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for History for Other courses

The Parliament of Cádiz

Local governments (juntas) were created in many areas to organize resistance. Later, the Junta Central Suprema was formed. In 1810, the Junta Central called a constituent parliament, which met in Cádiz, the only city not occupied by French troops.

• Liberal deputies: The majority.
• Absolutist deputies: The minority.
• Deputies of the Americas: Concerned with the problems of the territories.

The Parliament of Cádiz produced the Constitution of 1812, the first Spanish constitution. It established that all people were equal before the law and marked the end of the Old Regime.

Principles of the 1812 Constitution

• National Sovereignty: Power belonged to the nation and was exercised by representatives.
• Parliamentary Monarchy.
• Separation

The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, significantly increasing the nation's global prominence and influence. This acquisition opened the interior of the continent to settlement.

• Constitutional Concerns: President Thomas Jefferson exercised executive powers not explicitly granted by the Constitution.
• The Transaction: Napoleon Bonaparte of France sold the territory for $15 million.
• French Motivation: Napoleon sought funds for European conflicts and lost interest in the port after the loss of Haiti.
• Expedition: Lewis and Clark were commissioned to survey the new territory.

The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail served as the primary route for pioneers traveling west during the 1840s, beginning in Missouri and...

The Transcontinental Railroad

The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads collaborated to complete the first Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869. The Union Pacific began construction in Omaha, Nebraska, while the Central Pacific started in Sacramento, California. The two organizations met in Promontory, Utah, in 1869 for the completion of the railroad and the historic Golden Spike Ceremony.

The project aimed to:

• Connect the nation
• Facilitate easier shipping
• Improve the national economy
• Generate significant profit

The Transcontinental Railroad remains significant for successfully tying the nation together, transforming the economic and political landscape, and enabling the United States to emerge as a global power.

Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist

The Crisis of the Monarchy

In 1930, to restructure the political parties, new groups were created in favor of the Republic. The main opposition groups met in San Sebastian and negotiated for a revolutionary movement to topple the monarchy, proclaim the republic, accept the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, and draft a new constitution (Pact of San Sebastian). They created a revolutionary committee which managed the movement, whose members were later imprisoned. Alfonso XIII replaced the government after General Berenguer with the opposition led by Admiral Aznar. The new head of government received the mandate to convene municipal elections. The elections were considered administrative, a return to the liberal parliamentary system. The opposition...

Global Conflict's Aftermath: Economic and Social Shifts

Economic Repercussions of War

The cost of war damage and destruction across Europe was immense, particularly in areas most affected by fighting, such as Northern France, Belgium, Eastern European border regions, and the area between Italy and Austria. While Germany, considered the principal cause of the war, underwent a process of industrial recovery and reconversion, a new international economic landscape emerged. The circumstances of the war had encouraged the consolidation of industrial non-European countries. The adaptation of European economies to this new situation was slow; no European country fully recovered its pre-war economic rate until 1923. However, after the war, the United...

Decolonization and the Third World

Item 12: Decolonization and the Third World

Decolonization

After World War II, most European colonies achieved independence, primarily between 1945 and 1965. While there were common causes, the paths to independence varied, with some being peaceful and others violent.

Causes of Decolonization

• The Weakening of the Metropolis: After the war, European powers experienced a loss of legitimacy, and a growing segment of their intelligentsia and society opposed colonial rule. The United Nations Charter also promoted the "right of self-determination." Furthermore, the major powers (the USA and the USSR) opposed colonialism, particularly the USSR, which saw these new nations as potential partners.

• The Formation of Anti-Colonialism:

Gorbachev's Arrival and the End of the Cold War

The arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev to the Kremlin was the key element that triggered a rapid process that ended the Cold War. To implement the reforms of Perestroika, Gorbachev needed a new foreign policy to end the arms race marked under President Reagan. This new attitude in Moscow meant the end of the tensions of the previous period. However, it was the failure of Gorbachev's reforms in his country and the democratic revolutions of 1989 that led to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the end of the USSR. The Cold War ended by the implosion of one of its contestants.

"New Thinking" Political Philosophy

Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the CPSU on 11 March 1985.

Situation Upon Taking Power

The...

Colonial Panamanian Society and Economy

Ethnic Groups in Colonial Panama

The social structure was principally based on ethnic groups: Whites (Peninsular and Creole), Indigenous peoples, and Black people.

Whites (Peninsular and Creole)

Whites, originating from Spain, came to America during the colonial era to make fortunes. They controlled economic activities and the colonial government.

Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples lived in reducciones (settlements) or on parcels of land, grouped under the control of the white elite, often in places populated by them.

Black Population

Black people were brought from Africa. Because they were drawn from different tribes, they often had no common language.

The Cimarronaje: Maroon Communities

The Cimarronaje refers...

Vocalism in Roussillon

In Roussillon, the vowel system can be open or locked, or closed with a neutral u. The neutral vowel in the final position disappears in proparoxytone words (words stressed on the antepenultimate syllable). The neutral vowel can also occur with a and e.

Consonantism in Roussillon

• The -rr sound can infiltrate other sounds.
• Latin groups -NRLR- do not produce an intervocalic -d-.
• The sound /f/ at the end of a word is dropped.
• The sound /e/ in certain positions can be lost.
• There is a very high tendency for assimilation between consonants.

Morphology in Roussillon

• The definite article is the same as in Central Catalan, but you can also hear it and them.
• The personal pronoun article is also similar to Central Catalan.
• Among the pronouns,