Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for History

WW1:

1. Causes: Militarism: Build-up of armed forces to prepare for war. Alliance: Agreement between countries to defend or fight together. Imperialism: Belief of a country in building up an empire and controlling less powerful countries. Nationalism: Pride in a country with people wanting to govern themselves or defend themselves.

2. Main Events:

-1914 28 June → Archduke’s Assassination (TRIGGER EVENT)

-1914 29 July → Russia mobilizes its troops to defend Serbia

-Germany declares war on Russia (1st August)

-France declares war on Germany to help Russia (2nd August)

-Germany declares war on France (3rd August)

19th January 1915: Germany begins an aerial campaign against Britain

15th September 1916: The first use of tanks. Used by the British.

6th

The French Revolution: A Timeline of Key Events

The French Revolution began in 1789 when the Estates General was called to address increasing taxes and social and political problems.

The National Assembly

The Third Estate demanded a new voting system based on individual votes and formed the National Assembly.

When the King locked them out of the Estates General, they met at a tennis court and vowed to remain until France had a constitution.

The Constituent Assembly

The King eventually conceded, and the Constituent Assembly was formed to write a constitution. This marked a triumph for the bourgeoisie, as the monarchy's power was no longer absolute.

In 1791, the Assembly approved the constitution, which established:

• Constitutional Monarchy: The monarch'

Causes of World War II and Hitler's Ambitions

The aims of Adolf Hitler when he reached power in 1933 were to:

• Disobey the Treaty of Versailles;
• Create a Greater Germany;
• Obtain Lebensraum (living space) for Germany;
• The first step toward war was leaving the League of Nations;
• Hitler wanted the union of all German-speaking people under Germany;
• Hitler wanted to annex Austria to reunite with his homeland;
• Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazis to create havoc in Austria;
• After the attempted coup, Austria tried to protect itself by being collaborative with Germany and signing treaties with other countries to protect the border;
• After years of political movement, Hitler gained power over Austria thanks to Austrian Nazis;
• In 1936, Germany and Italy signed the Rome-

The Augustan Age in English Literature

As the term Classical Age is too dignified for writers of the eighteenth century in England, who imitated only the outward trappings of the ancient classical writers and could not capture their inner spirit, this age is preferably called the Augustan Age. This term was chosen by the writers of the eighteenth century, who saw in Pope, Addison, Swift, Johnson, and Burke the modern parallels to Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and other brilliant writers who made Roman literature famous during the reign of Emperor Augustus.

The Age of Reason and Enlightenment

The eighteenth century is also called the Age of Reason or the Age of Good Sense because people thought they could stand on their own two feet and be guided in... Continue reading "The Augustan Age in English Literature: Reason, Enlightenment, and Neoclassicism" »

Key European Union Institutions

• European Council

  Composed of the heads of state or government of EU member states. It identifies priorities and decides the general EU's political agenda.

• Council of the EU

  Made up of ministers from each EU country, corresponding to the matters being dealt with (e.g., environment, health). It passes European laws and budgets and coordinates economic and security policy.

• European Parliament

  Composed of representatives elected by the citizens from each EU country.

• European Commission

  Composed of a President and 28 Commissioners.

• Court of Justice of the EU

  Ensures EU law is applied the same way in every EU country.

• European Central Bank

  Manages the euro and EU monetary policy and keeps prices stable.

• European Court of Auditors

  Checks

Legislative Assembly (1791–1792)

Political Parties

• Girondins
• Jacobins
• Sans-culottes

Opposition to New Government

• The royal family.
• Nobles who fled the revolution lived abroad as émigrés.
• Church officials wanted church lands, rights, and privileges restored.
• European monarchs feared the revolution would spread to their own countries.

Growing Radicalism

Reasons:

• Unsatisfied expectations.
• Outbreak of war (France was invaded by Austrian and Prussian troops).

Results:

• Popular insurrection.
• The Commune took control of Paris.
• Voters began electing representatives for a new Convention which would write a republican constitution for France.

Convention (1792–1795)

Actions and Conflicts

• Established the Republic.
• Abolished the monarchy and executed the King.
• Faced domestic

Fascism in Italy

The causes of the birth of Fascism in Italy were largely due to:

• Dissatisfaction with the peace agreements established after the First World War.
• The post-war situation, plagued by an economic crisis, unemployment, inflation, and social unrest.
• Revolutionary movements that frightened the most conservative sectors of society.

Fascism was the creation of journalist Benito Mussolini, who founded the National Fascist Party in 1921. He used paramilitary groups—the Italian Combat Squads (or Blackshirts)—to quash the workers’ movement. Mussolini gained support from large landowners, the small bourgeoisie, the Church, and King Victor Emmanuel III.

In 1922, the successful intervention of the Italian Combat Squads against trade unions... Continue reading "Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany: Origins and Rise to Power" »

TYPE OF TXT: Primary source

As regards the form, it's a law-legal text/terms for economic text

AUTHOR: Libe progre Governmnt, at the proposal of ministry of development+approved by Cortes+Isa2 (queen)

ADDRESSEE: All the Spaniards, so it is a public text

Introduction

OBJECTIVE: Attract foreign capital to boost the construction of the railway in Spain

LOCA+DATE: Aranju, published in "", located in process of "Vicalvarada" to Progre Biennium 1854-56

Main idea: Boost the construction of the railway in Spain and the need to attract foreign capital

Introduction: The law approved in Cortes is ratified by Isabel II, Queen of Spain

Articles:

Their object is to regulate the general service of the rail network.

4,6: Explains to whom corresponds construction of general... Continue reading "Boosting Railway Construction in Spain: A Primary Source Law Text" »

The new Bourbonic Monarchy: The decrees of the new plant. Reforms. (Cádiz)

Government and Administration Reform.
The reorganization of the State (Felipe V, Fernando VI, and Carlos III) established a strong, centralized, and unified absolute monarchy, following the French model.
The Councils are relegated (except for Castilla) by the Secretaries of Dispatch.
The Decrees of New Plant: they suppressed the fueros and institutions of Aragon, being respected Navarrese and Basque.
The Courts were unique, keeping Navarre.
State intervention in the economy. Unique tax in Castilla.
The State created real manufactures.

-Church:
Control of the Church – applied the regalism and obtained the universal patronage.
Regalism: Doctrine that defends the primacy of real... Continue reading "Reforms of the Borbonic Monarchy: Cadiz Decrees and Modernization" »

The Fall of the German Democratic Republic

The swift and unexpected downfall of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was triggered by the decay of other communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

The Breach of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was, in effect, breached in the summer of 1989 when a reformist Hungarian government began allowing East Germans to escape to Austria. By the fall, thousands of East Germans had followed this route, while thousands of others immigrated to West Germany.

In an effort to halt the deterioration of its position, the SED Politburo deposed Honecker in mid-October and replaced him with another hard-line communist, Egon Krenz. Under Krenz, the Politburo sought to eliminate the embarrassment occasioned... Continue reading "German Reunification: The Fall of the Berlin Wall" »