September 9, 2014

Homework - Answer the following question using the information from the class notes and the materials below.  You will turn in your answer at the start of next class.

Question - Why did Parliament and the New Model Army have the advantage in the long English Civil War?


Map of the English Civil War - What Geographic advantage did the Parliamentary forces have in the war?

Watch the following video and consider how the outbreak of Civil War the result of Charles and Parliament being unable to resolve a political conflict - or for having a system for resolving conflict.



Watch the following video and consider why the Civil War was an intractable conflict.



Watch the following video and consider how the New Model Army was just that - a new model for how an army should operate.



Read the article "Choosing Sides in the English Civil War" on the BBC History Site and consider the different factors that divided people in the English Civil War.  Did any of those factors matter in the final outcome of the war?

This is the title page for the training manual of the New Model Army - What does it tell you about the types of soldiers in the New Model Army?

This is a training diagram for musketeers in New Model Army - What are the characteristics that would make a good musketeer?

Watch this Animation of musketeer firing line (Flash - may not work on ipad) - Why would musketeers operate in a firing line?

Watch this Animation showing maneuver of a formation musketeers firing.  (Flash - may not work on ipad) - Why would it be important for soldiers to operate together as a unit?

September 2, 2014

Hello and welcome to Modern World History Level Five!

Homework for Tuesday - Read the notes "Europe Prior to the French Revolution" that posted on the class web page up to the section "Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment".  You will have a quiz on this reading.

Question - Louis XIV - Value of the Absolute Monarchs: Historian John Miller described the importance of the absolute monarchs, like Louis XIV, by saying, "Absolute monarchies helped to bring a sense of nationhood to disparate territories, to establish a measure of public order and promote prosperty... we need therefore to jettison the liberal and democratic preconditions of the twentieth century and instead think in terms of an impoverished and precarious existance, of low expetations and submission to the will of God and the king".

Using the infromation from the notes and the materials below, explain why the way Louis XIV ruled France fit the "traditional values"* and why this style of rule would be valued.

*"Traditional Values are collectivism, order, hierarchy, authority and centralization.

Materials

Sun Symbol on gate at the Palace of Versailles

Why would Louis have this symbol presented like this around Versailles?












The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of
Versailles - What impression would this throne room have on people at Versailles?

Video about the construction of Versailles

Louis with his court at Versailles

What does the painting tell you about the importance of ceremony and spectacle at Versailles?












Map showing the location of Louis' wars

Where did Louis fight wars and how successful was he in his wars?


















Colbert Showing Louis a map of the Canal du Midi

What does the image tell you about how Louis ruled?










Map of the Canal du Midi

Why was the canal important to the economy of France?










Video on the building of the Canal du Midi

Chart showing the debt that Louis accumulated over his reign

What does the accumulation of debt over the course of Louis' reign tell you about how he ruled France?

May 7 & 8, 2014

Homework - Finish Reading the Modern Middle East notes.

Content Question # 3 - Palestinian - Israeli Conflict - The Israeli writer Amos Oz wrote, "And in this respect, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a tragedy, a clash between one very powerful, very convincing, very painful claim over this land and another no less powerful, no less convincing claim."  How accurate is this statement?

Content Question # 4 - Arab Spring - The Arab Spring when it first began was often compared to the end of the Cold War in Europe in 1989 when the countries of Eastern Europe moved from communist dictatorships to liberal democracies.  However, since then, as some of the countries have fallen into civil war and others have returned to dictatorship, people have begun to compare them to the Revolts of 1848 in which democratic and nationalist groups only briefly overturned the traditional monarchies of Europe.  Which analogy is better?

May 1, 2014

Homework - In the Modern Middle East Notes read up to the section 'The Palestinian - Israeli Conflict".

Content Question # 2 - The French Revolution, which unleashed the forces of nationalism and democracy that drove conflicts in Europe throughout the nineteenth century, and the Russian Revolution, which unleashed the idea of revolutionary communism that was the cause of global conflict through much of the twentieth century until the end of the Cold War, are considered major "revolutionary' events because of the way they changed the world. Is the Islamic Revolution of similar significance to these other revolutions?  

Important point - In answering this question, you need to cite examples to support your points.  General statements are not sufficient.

   

April 27, 2014

Homework - In the notes "Modern Middle East" read up to "Islamic Revolution".

Content Question # 1 - Golda Meir, a former Israeli prime minister once said, “We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs; we have no place to go.”  What events in the history of the Jewish people and Israel support this statement?

April 9 & 10, 2014

Content Question # 4 (Due  Monday April 14th & 15th) - How was the Cold War in Asia different from the Cold War in Europe?


Content Quesiton # 5 (Due Wednesday April 16th) - During the Cold War both the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to exert the greatest influence over how Asia would develop.  Then how is it that, in the long-run, it seems to be Japan with its model of authoritarian development and global trade that has had the greatest influence on how Asia develops?

March 31, 2014

Content Question # 3 - Japan & Tigers - How is the Authoritarian Development model a form of illiberal capitalism and yet how can it in the long run lead to the formation of a liberal democratic government?