Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for History for University

Institutional Features of the Modern State

Renaissance Kingdoms, specifically France, Spain, and England (the strongest), created a new institutional structure in the service of war. The king stood at its head with a patrimonial nature, leading a structure composed of the monarch's servers. This character eventually diluted its equity, taking on a more national and public character.

The Military Revolution and Fiscal Pressure

The army became the primary necessity for European monarchs during this period, growing increasingly permanent. While the nobles remained in charge, they no longer constituted the bulk of the forces. Private warriors were replaced by soldiers of the king in a royal army financed by the monarch himself, following a unified...

The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

One of these liberal coups, headed by Colonel Riego, succeeded in taking power. Ferdinand VII was forced to reinstate the Constitution of 1812 and the liberal legislation.

The Ominous Decade (1823-1833)

Ferdinand asked for help from the Holy Alliance, which sent an army, the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis, to restore the absolute monarchy in Spain. The King faced many problems in this period:

• Independence of the Spanish American colonies
• State bankruptcy, due to the high level of debt during the War of Independence and the lack of income.
• The succession problem owing to a lack of a male descendant. Ferdinand issued the Pragmatic Sanction that repealed the Salic Law, by which women were not allowed to reign.

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Q.1 American Revolution & Locke's Influence

• John Locke Two Treatises of Government

According to John Locke, the British King did not have the divine right of kings to rule; rather, the ruled were to receive "Life, liberty, and property" in a social contract between the subjects and the King.

If he broke the contract, the ruled had the right to revolt.

• Founding Fathers of American Revolution borrowed from Locke "Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" and the right to revolt from the British King

Q.2 The Politics of Signing of the US Constitution

• Philadelphia Convention

The formal signing of the Constitution took place on September 17, 1787, almost 109 days after the Philadelphia Convention first met.

Meeting on September 13, 1788, the Articles...

The Regency of Maria Christina of Austria and the Shift of Parties

The Regency of Maria Christina (1885-1902) continued the political system established by Canovas. It also saw the granting of universal male suffrage in 1890. The loss of the colonies in 1898 caused a crisis that raised the need to revise the political system and rebuild the country.

Development

In 1885, Canovas and Sagasta signed the Pact of Pardo and agreed to continue the party shift. This system, until then, had shown apparent stability but had also created opposition. This stability was achieved by the "cacique" (local political boss), who blackmailed people to obtain the desired election results. These traps were made by the "encasillado" system, where political forces negotiated...

Albert Einstein: A Brief Biography

Albert Einstein (German: [ˈalbɛɐ̯t ˈaɪnʃtaɪn]; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known in popular culture for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc² (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "services to theoretical physics", in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.

Groundbreaking Scientific Contributions

Near...

Key Historical Terms of 20th-Century Conflict

Refugee

A person who has fled their country as a result of war, revolution, political persecution, or similar circumstances.

Common Grave

An anonymous burial site, often used during wartime for executed prisoners or victims of conflict.

Children of War (Spain)

Children who left Spain during the Civil War for other countries to escape the conflict's suffering. More than 80,000 children were involved.

Reprisals

Acts committed by enemies causing harm or damage equal to or greater than that previously received (retaliation).

Paseo (The Ride)

A common type of retaliation, particularly during the Spanish Civil War, where an armed group forcibly removed a person from their residence, transported them away from...

The Eastern Front

Germany initiated the invasion of the Soviet Union, a maneuver Hitler intended to seize Soviet oil, grains, and minerals, known as Operation Barbarossa. German forces conquered Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and much of Ukraine, but were contained at Leningrad and later at Moscow. The German army was unprepared for the harsh Russian winter and suspended attacks until the following spring.

In August 1942, Germany planned the conquest of Stalingrad. By January 1943, the Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat and was forced to surrender. From that moment, the Soviets took the initiative and began a slow but inexorable offensive toward the West.

The War in Asia and the Pacific

Japan took advantage of the defeat of the Netherlands...

The Economic and Political Impact of Perestroika

Decentralization intended to shift control away from Moscow, yet it failed to prevent economic fragmentation and did not boost the economy; instead, it inadvertently fueled the black market. From the standpoint of economic perestroika, the attempt to stimulate growth was burdened by systemic issues and failed to yield the expected results, leading to widespread social discontent. However, in other aspects, the policy generated high expectations and achieved significant progress.

Diplomacy and Social Reform

Perestroika fostered the "new thinking" on peace and security, which led to the signing of critical disarmament treaties, effectively paving the way for the end of the Cold War. Furthermore, the...

Sigmund Freud: Exile, Illness, and Death

In 1938, after the annexation of Austria by the German Nazis, Freud, who was Jewish, and his family escaped to England with financial help from his patient and friend, Marie Bonaparte. At the border crossing, Freud was required to sign a statement claiming he had been treated with respect by the Nazi regime, despite having suffered house arrest.

Freud was suffering from oral cancer and had undergone 33 surgeries since 1923. The first operation in 1923 involved a biopsy to address a papillary proliferative leukoplakia in the right anterior palatal arch.

Freud died in 1939 from a morphine overdose injected by a friend at Freud's own request. He could no longer bear the pain caused by the cancer in his mouth....

The Peasants' Revolt

Peasants were not a homogeneous mass. The level of rents depended to some degree on the type of lord, the local economy, and the ability of the peasant class to resist the various demands of lordship.

The Black Death, the plague that struck Britain from 1348, killed almost half the population. Those agricultural workers who survived found their wages rising. Consequently, there were three poll taxes and legislation stating that wages could not rise above pre-plague levels.

The peasants were not just protesting against the government; since the Black Death, the poor had become increasingly angry that they were still serfs. They demanded:

• That all men should be free and equal
• Less harsh laws
• Fairer distribution of wealth

The Lord...