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

The Inkhorn Controversy

The Opposition

The wholesale borrowing of words from other languages did not meet with universal favor. The strangeness of the new words was an objection to some people. Some considered the use of learned words mere pedantry and tried to drive them out by ridicule, calling them “inkhorn” terms. Sir Thomas Chaloner is an example.

The strongest objection to the new words was on the score of their obscurity. The great exponent of this view was Thomas Wilson, whose Arte of Rhetorique (1553) was several times reprinted. Of the forty-five such terms he cited, thirty are not found before the 16th century, and the remaining fifteen were of such infrequent occurrence as to be considered by him inkhorn terms. It is notable that...

UNIT 8: THE COLD WAR AND THE PROCESS OF DECOLONISATION

1.1. THE WORLD AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

After World War II, two victorious world powers emerged: the USA and the USSR. They became adversaries because they had different political, economic, and social systems. Each power looked for allies in the rest of the world and attempted to influence foreign governments. Two opposed blocs emerged: USA insisted on the expulsion of the communists from Western Europe, while USSR looked to establish communist governments in Eastern and Central Europe.

1.2. THE CONTROL OF THE BLOCS

In 1947, the American president, Harry S. Truman denounced the imposition of communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe, offered economic and military aid to the countries...

The Cold War

The Cold War was a period of constant tension between the United States and the USSR that lasted from 1948 to 1989. During these years, each superpower aimed to demonstrate and increase its own power, while at the same time limiting or reducing the influence of the other. However, both the Americans and the Soviets wanted to avoid a direct military confrontation, since this could lead to nuclear war.

The Great Depression

At the end of the 1920s, a series of problems in the United States caused a major economic crisis, known as the Great Depression. This crisis lasted until the end of the 1930s and brought an end to the prosperous, consumer lifestyle of the previous decade.

Causes of the Great Depression

The problems that led to the...

A New Nation

Medieval Spanish Society: 8th-14th Centuries

Social Structure

Society was based on estates and had a pyramidal structure. At the top was the king.

• Privileged Estates
  • Nobility:
    • High nobles or ricoshombres (counts, marquises, and dukes) lived from their lands.
    • Low nobility, infanzones: in service of a member of the high nobility.
  • Clergy: Bishops, abbots, and grand masters of military orders.
• Non-privileged Estates
  • Peasants: The largest group. They were either owners or coloni of the land they farmed. Coloni were dependent on a feudal lord.
  • Bourgeoisie: Became more important as the cities grew bigger.

The Coexistence of Three Cultures

In the Christian kingdoms, Christians, Mudejars, and Jews all lived together. There was peaceful coexistence for a large part...

US Civil War

Causes

• Slavery
• Protectionism
• States' rights
• Territorial crisis
• Sectionalism and cotton trade
• Nationalism and honor
• Slave power and free soil
• National elections

Events

Mobilization, prisoners, naval war, Union blockade, Emancipation Proclamation

Consequences

End of slavery

The Great War (World War I)

Causes

• Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
• Militarism
• Imperialism
• Nationalism
• Alliances

Alliances

Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, Britain and France and Belgium, Japan and Britain

Russian Revolution

The first revolution happened in 1905, and the second revolution in 1917.

Causes

Poor living conditions, killing of the workers, bad governments, unemployment, no food, no money, government didn't help.

The Romanovs were the ruling...

The Transition to Democracy in Spain

The phrase “transition” is used to refer to the period between the death of Franco in November 1975 and the establishment and consolidation of liberal democracy in Spain. The most surprising feature of the Transition was that it was done using the institutions Franco had created to perpetuate the Regime.

The Succession

In 1947, Franco issued the Succession Law. Spain was proclaimed a monarchy in which the King, after swearing the Fundamental Laws, could appoint his successor. In 1969, Juan Carlos was appointed. When Franco died in 1975, Juan Carlos was crowned King, and Arias Navarro became Prime Minister.

By 1975, it was clear that the regime couldn't go on unchanged. Spain was the only country in Europe...

Abraham Lincoln: A Legacy of Leadership

Early Life and Political Career

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th president of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He rose from humble beginnings on the Western frontier, largely self-educated, to become a country lawyer, Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives. Despite setbacks in his early political career, including two unsuccessful attempts at a seat in the United States Senate, Lincoln's determination and leadership qualities eventually propelled him to the highest office in the land.

Presidency and the American Civil War

Lincoln's presidency was defined by the American...

1. Blitzkrieg: The Era of Swift Action (1939–1940)

The first phase of the war was characterized by the uninterrupted advance of the German armies, employing a tactic known as Blitzkrieg (swift action). This strategy relied on the use of highly mobile units aimed at breaking the enemy's front and destroying the main points of defense. This tactic was successfully utilized in four major offensives:

• September 1939: Invasion of Poland
• April 1940: Occupation of Norway and Denmark
• May 1940: Invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• June 1940: Start of the invasion of France

The invasion of Poland was not complete because the Russians quickly invaded the east, necessitating a German-Russian agreement to divide the Polish territory. The Russians...