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

Escalating Tensions Before World War I

Germany's Diplomatic Challenges and the Entente

The First Moroccan Crisis (1905)

The crisis was provoked by the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who encouraged Moroccan independence, challenging France's influence in Morocco.

France had reaffirmed its influence due to agreements with Britain and Spain, formalized by the Entente Cordiale. Germany's provocation was seen as evidence of the Entente Cordiale's growing power. This event highlights the role of Nationalism in pre-war tensions.

The Lapse of the Reinsurance Treaty (1890)

Another factor contributing to escalating tensions was the accession of Wilhelm II to the German throne in 1888.

Wilhelm II refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty—an agreement... Continue reading "Diplomatic Crises and Conflicts Fueling World War I" »

Key Political Terms

Ballot The act of holding a secret vote. As a verb, holding a secret vote. No one knows who you voted for.

Bill A proposed change in the law. When it is still in the planning stage and before it becomes legal, a law is called a bill.

Coalition The time when different political parties agree on something for a reason.

Democracy A system where power is held by the people through elections. One person = one vote.

'The alternatives to Democracy, Communism for example, have largely been failures.'

To Elect (Verb) To choose by voting. 'In November Americans will vote for a new President.'

Election The process of choosing a new government or leader. 'In Britain elections are held every 4 or 5 years.'

Election Campaign The organised effort... Continue reading "Understanding Politics: Key Terms and Concepts" »

The Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was a cultural and intellectual movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century. It was an era in intellectual, scientific, and cultural life where reason was regarded as the primary source of legitimacy and authority.

Philosophers of the Enlightenment

Key figures of the Enlightenment included:

• Voltaire
• Rousseau
• Montesquieu
• Diderot
• D'Alembert

These thinkers built upon the ideas of Descartes, Hobbes, and Locke.

Social Contract, National Sovereignty, and Separation of Powers

Rousseau argued that the social contract is an agreement individuals willingly enter to limit their own freedom for the benefit of society.

Montesquieu, inspired by the English parliamentary system, believed... Continue reading "The Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution" »

Mesopotamia, also known as the Cradle of Civilization, was ruled by 16 different nations.

The Republic of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932. King Faisal ruled until 1979, when Saddam Hussein took power after five different coups.

The Iraq War in 2003, also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, resulted in the capture of Saddam Hussein, who was found hiding in a hole after Operation Red Dawn.

Saddam Hussein was responsible for the deaths of 148 Shia and 180,000 Kurds in the Anfal Campaign, including the infamous Halabja Attack that killed 15,000 people with chemical weapons.

After his death in 2006, it was revealed that Saddam Hussein had killed 205,000 Kurds, leading to the implementation of no-fly zones over Iraq.

The history of Iraq is... Continue reading "History of Iraq: Wars, Conflicts, and International Relations" »

The Primo de Rivera Dictatorship

In 1923, General Primo de Rivera led a military coup against the Spanish government, claiming that only a dictatorship could resolve the problems of Alfonso XIII's reign. With the king's approval, Primo de Rivera became head of government.

Initially, many sectors of society, including the army, church, and business owners, supported the dictatorship, hoping it would restore order. The Patriotic Union became the sole official party.

To maintain order, the government suppressed protests, regionalist movements, and anarchist organizations. More troops were deployed to Morocco, and in 1926, Spain declared victory in the Rif War.

From 1928 onward, opposition grew, with parties demanding the restoration of the Cortes... Continue reading "Spain's Political Upheavals: From Dictatorship to Civil War" »

Totalitarian Regimes

In light of the crisis of democratic regimes in countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany, totalitarian regimes emerged. They shared several features in common:

• Radical nationalism
• Single-party regime
• Single leader or dictator
• Corporate state
• Hostility (to perceived enemies)
• Autarky
• Defense focus
• Antiliberalism
• Anticommunism
• Antifeminism

Hitler and the Nazi State

National Socialism (in German, Nationalsozialismus), exclusively shortened to Nazism, is the ideology of the regime that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945 following the coming to power of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). Hitler instituted a dictatorship, the self-proclaimed Third Reich.

Causes of World War II

Key factors leading to the... Continue reading "Totalitarian Regimes and World War II Context" »

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONQUEST AND COLONISATION:

1. It was a rapid process. In less than 150 years the whole continent had been explored, and the great empires (Incas and Aztecs) defeated.

2. The conquistadors were a mercenary army, many of them members of the low - ranking nobility o Hidalgos (hijos de algo, like Don Quixote or the noble of Lazarillo de Tormes). The conquest of America was the perfect job for pícaros, buscavidas, aventureros.  

3. It was based on CAPITULACIONES. By this system the Crown granted concessions to those with the rank of Captain, giving them permission to form an expedition, which they had to pay for, and to conquer a specific territory. In exchange, the conquerors had to give el Quinto Real to the Crown. In other words,

Decolonisation: The Process and Its Consequences

Decolonisation of Asia and the Middle East

In Asia, the independence of the Philippines was a peaceful process because the United States voluntarily granted this status to the country in 1946. The process was mixed on the Hindustan peninsula, where the British Indian Empire was partitioned in 1947 to form the Indian Union and Pakistan, from which Bangladesh separated in 1971. Independence was achieved through war in the Dutch colony of Indonesia and in French Indo-China, from which Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia emerged.

In the Middle East, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and various countries of the Arabian Peninsula became independent. The UN decided to divide Palestine in 1947 in order to create the... Continue reading "Decolonisation: Process, Consequences, and Impact" »

A More Perfect Union, 2008

Classification

• Political speech, delivered in Philadelphia during the contest for the Democratic party presidential nomination.
• An attempt to address tensions between ideals of equal citizenship and freedom expressed in the Constitution, and America's history of slavery and segregation.

Authorship

• Barack Hussein Obama (1961)
• The first African American to become President of the United States of America.
• Son of a Kenyan man and a woman from Kansas, raised by his grandparents.
• From 1997 to 2004, he was a Democratic Senator for Illinois.
• In 2009, he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Context

• 2008 Primaries for the Democratic Candidacy were held.
• During the former President George W. Bush's administration, he had become increasingly unpopular

Nazi Racial Ideology and Early Persecution

Defining the "Aryan Race" and "Sub-Humans"

Adolf Hitler propagated the belief that the "Aryan race" represented the ideal human form: blond hair, blue eyes, tall, and athletic. Conversely, he declared that Jewish people and Roma (often referred to as "Gypsies") were "sub-human" and undeserving of life.

The 1933 Sterilization Law

The Nazi regime swiftly implemented its discriminatory policies. In 1933, the Sterilization Law was passed, authorizing the forced sterilization of individuals deemed to have hereditary illnesses, such as mental disabilities. This horrific practice also extended to "tramps" and beggars. It is believed that approximately 700,000 people were forcibly sterilized under this law.

Expansion