Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for History for Secondary education

The Divine Law

The central axis of the political system of the Ancien Régime was absolute monarchy by divine right. The monarch's authority came from God, who was in power. The state was controlled by the monarch, who concentrated all power and had absolute authority. Furthermore, the arbitrariness of the state was the norm. The most significant example of absolutism was the French monarchy of the Bourbons (Louis XIV). It arrived in Spain in 1700 by the hand of Philip V. All power resided in the monarch, and some advisory institutions existed. The main governing body was the Council of State, whose members were appointed by the king and was divided into sections: Board of Finance, Justice, War. It was also customary to designate a Secretary...

Inventions

The first agglomerations appeared (First Chicago Skyline).

• Telegraph (1793, Morse)
• Telephone (1876, Alexander Graham Bell)
• Light Bulb (1879, Edison)
• Electric Iron (1882, Seeley)
• Cinema (1890, Lumiere Brothers)
• Radio (1901, Marconi)
• Automobiles (1886, Carl Benz)

Colonialism

Causes:

• Need to find new markets after the Industrial Revolution.
• Need to sell products to countries beyond their own production.
• Need to buy raw materials at the best price (coal, steel, cotton, etc.).

The main cause of colonialism was economic, but there were also social, political, and military factors:

• Strategic footholds for constructing canals and railways to monitor and exploit trade routes.
• Population increase: Millions of Europeans needed to migrate to other territories.

The End of the Tsars

Russia remained an absolute monarchy, with the Tsar as the monarch and supreme ruler. State power was exercised without limits, supported by the nobility, the Orthodox Church, the army, and the bureaucracy. The Duma (parliament) had limited powers, and political parties like the bourgeois party and the peasants' party (led by Kerensky) grew increasingly distant from the Tsarist forces. The Revolutionary Workers' Party split into Mensheviks (moderate) and Bolsheviks (radical, led by Lenin).

Revolution 1905

The Tsarist army was defeated by Japanese troops in a war motivated by Russian expansion in Asia. On January 9, masses marched to the Tsar's palace to denounce the government and demand political reforms. The government responded...

Italian Fascism in Post-War Italy

The end of the Great War left Italy with serious human and economic consequences: 700,000 men died, many industries were left unused, and high foreign debt had increased inflation. For many Italians, the cost of living was increasing while wages fell, and the number of unemployed never stopped growing. Also, the peace accords were a great disappointment as the Allies agreed to surrender to Italy Trentino, Trieste, and Istria, but not Fiume and Dalmatia, as had been agreed in the Treaty of London (1915). This started to spread the idea that Italy's participation had been a hoax, and that was gaining support for irredentism. This situation led to extreme political instability: the governments of the monarchy did...

Causes of Independence

• Latin American cities grew, becoming disconnected from Spain.
• Middle classes were influenced by liberal ideas from the French and American Revolutions.
• Creoles were excluded from important colonial positions.
• Britain supported independence to access South American markets.

Process of Independence

The process was violent. Fernando VII refused any agreement. In Mexico, social unrest led by Morelos and Hidalgo resulted in an indigenous uprising. Clerics were executed.

In South America, major rebellions occurred in Nueva Granada and Buenos Aires, led by Bolivar and San Martin. They met in Guayaquil, after which San Martin withdrew, ceding to Bolívar.

Their goal of a unified South America failed due to regional differences. The Battle...

Peninsular War and Constitution of 1812

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, signed by Spain and France, French troops entered Spanish territory, ostensibly to invade Portugal. The subsequent Mutiny of Aranjuez was instigated against the unpopular Manuel Godoy, provoking King Charles IV's abdication in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII. Napoleon Bonaparte then forced both to abdicate in Bayonne, installing his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain. This marked the beginning of the War of Independence (Peninsular War).

During the conflict, the Cortes of Cádiz drafted the liberal Constitution of 1812. The Cortes adopted numerous reforms reflecting liberal principles, effectively ending the Ancien Régime.

Ferdinand VII: Absolutism and Liberal

The War of Independence and its Aftermath

Pro-French: Spaniards who recognized Joseph Bonaparte as king.

Fernandina: Spaniards who remained loyal to Ferdinand VII.

Guerrillas: Armed civilians who harassed Napoleon's army and hindered its control of territory.

The War of Independence began on 2 May 1808.

The royal family was not able to organize the fight together, which is why a board was organized to create a supreme central government.

Political Instability and the Reign of Ferdinand VII

Pronunciamiento: A typical military uprising of the nineteenth century aimed at changing a particular political system.

Holy Alliance: An alliance of several European kings to deal with liberal governments.

The reign of Ferdinand VII, after his return to Spain, restored...

The Final Crisis of the Restoration: The Impact of the First World War and the Exhaustion of the Political System

During the last years of the reign of Alfonso XIII, the political and social bases of the Restoration weakened. The deterioration of the political system became more evident. A crisis erupted in 1917. The military, political, and social crisis was controlled by the government, but in the following years, its decomposition was evident, ultimately leading to the 1923 military coup of Primo de Rivera. Before the crisis of 1914, it's important to recall the Crisis of '98 and the Tragic Week in Barcelona in 1909, which also influenced the 1917 crisis.

The Crisis of 1917

The crisis of 1917 was due to the deterioration of political life and...

World War I: A Phased Analysis

First Phase: War of Movement (1914)

The Germans implemented the Schlieffen Plan, which involved invading France through neutral Belgium. Before war was declared between France and Germany, the Germans occupied Luxembourg and invaded Belgium. This plan failed because the Germans had not anticipated Great Britain's entry into the war and Belgian resistance. On the Western Front, the rapid German advance forced the French to retreat to the vicinity of the Marne River. France launched a counteroffensive, initiating the Battle of the Marne. The French surprised the Germans, forcing them to withdraw. This battle marked an unexpected victory for the French army and led to a unique and unusual form of warfare: the war of

February Revolution 1917: The Fall of the Tsarist Regime

Food Shortages and Unrest Spark the Uprising

People came out to protest against the Tsarist regime for the simple reason of lack of food, shortages, and hunger. This was not, of course, the only factor. Among all causes, there was also unhappiness with the participation of the population in the First World War. Since January, there had been several strikes throughout Petrograd (the Russified, German-sounding name of Saint Petersburg, in force from 1914 until 1924). The protests grew in February. During this month, the radical left and the liberals coordinated the uprising, spreading and carrying out various activities.

Escalation of Violence and Military Defection

On February 24th, the protests...