Dr. Schmoll/History 102/Final Exam Study Guide
I. Book Essay: (20%) 1 question
How drastically has Europe changed from 1750 to 1945? Consider the great books and other documents of this course in your answer.
II. Identifications—3 of 5 (30%)
Study the following Key Terms:
SA
SS
Kristallnacht
Goebbels
Mein Kampf
Lebensraum
Anshcluss
Neville Chamberlin
Winston Churchill
Battle of Britain
Operation Sealion
Guernica
NSDAP (National Socialism)
D-Day
Nuremburg Laws
Reinhard Heydrich
Lend-Lease Act
Marshall Plan
De-Nazification
Berlin Airlift
“Be young and Shut Up”
Vaclav Havel
III. Cumulative Essay: 1 of 2 (50%)
The two questions will come from the following areas:
1. Defining “Great” Leaders: Louis XIV, Napoleon, Bismarck, Wilhelm II, Nicholas II, Lenin, Stalin, Churchill, Hitler;
2. Absolutism versus Totalitarianism: Define the two systems and discuss how they are historically situated
3. History and War: Is history mostly about war? Why does war figure so prominently in the study of the past?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
WW Two Outline
The Rise of Fascism and World War II in Europe
I. World Fascism
Mussolini, Franco, Salazar, Vargas
II. Fall of Weimar/Rise of HitlerIII. Hitler as Chancellor
--Nazi Goals--
A. Economic RecoveryB. RearmamentC. Lebensraum
IV. Hitler’s Foreign Policy
A. Anschluss
B. Czechoslovakia, Chamberlin, and Appeasement
C. Poland
V. War
A. Fall of France
B. Battle of Britain
C. Invasion of Soviet Union
D. U.S. Enters War--D-Day
VI. Holocaust
A. Hitler’s View of Race
B. Phases in Evolution of Nazi Policy
1933-1935:
Ø Boycotts
Ø Work Discrimination
Ø Individual Action
1935-1938:
Ø Nuremburg Laws
Ø "German blood and honor"
Ø Reich Citizenship Laws
1938-1941: Escalation
Ø Kristallnacht
Ø Ghettoization
Ø "Final Solution" (Lebensunwertes Leben)
C. Reinhard Heydrich: The Wansee Conference
D. Lessons?
I. World Fascism
Mussolini, Franco, Salazar, Vargas
II. Fall of Weimar/Rise of HitlerIII. Hitler as Chancellor
--Nazi Goals--
A. Economic RecoveryB. RearmamentC. Lebensraum
IV. Hitler’s Foreign Policy
A. Anschluss
B. Czechoslovakia, Chamberlin, and Appeasement
C. Poland
V. War
A. Fall of France
B. Battle of Britain
C. Invasion of Soviet Union
D. U.S. Enters War--D-Day
VI. Holocaust
A. Hitler’s View of Race
B. Phases in Evolution of Nazi Policy
1933-1935:
Ø Boycotts
Ø Work Discrimination
Ø Individual Action
1935-1938:
Ø Nuremburg Laws
Ø "German blood and honor"
Ø Reich Citizenship Laws
1938-1941: Escalation
Ø Kristallnacht
Ø Ghettoization
Ø "Final Solution" (Lebensunwertes Leben)
C. Reinhard Heydrich: The Wansee Conference
D. Lessons?
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Purges
Modern History Sourcebook: Stalin's Purges, 1935 History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): Short Course (Moscow,1948),pp.324-327,329
In 1936, Stalin began to attack his political opponents in a series of" purges" aimed at destroying the vestiges of political opposition to him. What follows is the official explanation from textbooks published before Stalin's excesses were repudiated by his successors.
The achievements of Socialism in our country were a cause of rejoicing not only to the Party, and not only to the workers and collective farmers, but also to our Soviet intelligentsia, and to all honest citizens of the Soviet Union.
But they were no cause of rejoicing to the remnants of the defeated exploiting classes; on the contrary, they only enraged them the more as time went on.
They infuriated the lickspittles of the defeated classes - the puny remnants of the following of Bukharin and Trotsky.
These gentry were guided in their evaluation of the achievements of the workers and collective farmers not by the interests of the people, who applauded every such achievement, but by the interests of their own wretched and putrid faction, which had lost all contact with the realities of life. Since the achievements of Socialism in our country meant the victory of the policy of the Party and the utter bankruptcy of their own policy, these gentry, instead of admitting the obvious facts and joining the common cause, began to revenge themselves on the Party and the people for their own failure, for their own bankruptcy; they began to resort to foul play and sabotage against the cause of the workers and collective farmers, to blow up pits, set fire to factories, and commit acts of wrecking in collective and state farms, with the object of undoing the achievements of the workers and collective farmers and evoking popular discontent against the Soviet Government. And in order, while doing so, to shield their puny group from exposure and destruction, they simulated loyalty to the Party, fawned upon it, eulogized it, cringed before it more and more, while in reality continuing their underhand. subversive activities against the workers and peasants.
At the Seventeenth Party Congress, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky made repentant speeches, praising the Party and extolling its achievements to the skies. But the congress detected a ring of insincerity and duplicity in their speeches; for what the Party expects from its members is not eulogies and rhapsodies over its achievements, but conscientious work on the Socialist front. And this was what the Bukharinites had showed no signs of for a long time. The Party saw that the hollow speeches of these gentry were in reality meant for their supporters outside the congress, to serve as a lesson to them in duplicity, and a call to them not to lay down their arms.
Speeches were also made at the Seventeenth Congress by the Trotskyites, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who lashed themselves extravagantly for their mistakes, and eulogized the Party no less extravagantly for its achievements. But the congress could not help seeing that both their nauseating self-castigation and their fulsome praise of the party were only meant to hide an uneasy and unclean conscience. However, the Party did not yet know or suspect that while these gentry were making their cloying speeches at the congress they were hatching a villainous plot against the life of S. M. Kirov.
On December 1, 1934, S. M. Kirov was foully murdered in the Smolny, in Leningrad, by a shot from a revolver.
The assassin was caught red-handed and turned out to be a member of a secret counter-revolutionary group made up of members of an anti-Soviet group of Zinovievites in Leningrad.
S. M. Kirov was loved by the Party and the working class, and his murder stirred the people profoundly, sending a wave of wrath and deep sorrow through the country.
The investigation established that in 1933 and 1934 an underground counter-revolutionary terrorist group had been formed in Leningrad consisting of former members of the Zinoviev opposition and headed by a so-called "Leningrad Centre." The purpose of this group was to murder leaders of the Communist Party. S. M. Kirov was chosen as the first victim. The testimony of the members of this counter-revolutionary group showed that they were connected with representatives of foreign capitalist states and were receiving funds from them.
The exposed members of this organization were sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. to the supreme penalty - to be shot.
Soon afterwards the existence of an underground counter-revolutionary organization called the "Moscow Centre" was discovered. The preliminary investigation and the trial revealed the villainous part played by Zinoviev, Kamenev, Yevdokimo and other leaders of this organization in cultivating the terrorist mentality among their followers, and in plotting the murder of members of the Party Central Committee and of the Soviet Government.
To such depths of duplicity and villainy had these people sunk that Zinoviev, who was one of the organizers and instigators of the assassination of S. M. Kirov, and who had urged the murderer to hasten the crime, wrote an obituary of Kirov speaking of him in terms of eulogy, and demanded that it be published.
The Zinovievites simulated remorse in court; but they persisted in their duplicity even in the dock. They concealed their connection with Trotsky. They concealed the fact that together with the Trotskyites they had sold themselves to fascist espionage services. They concealed their spying and wrecking activities. They concealed from the court their connections with the Bukharinites, and the existence of a united Trotsky-Bukharin gang of fascist hirelings.
As it later transpired, the murder of Comrade Kirov was the work of this united Trotsky-Bukharin gang....
The chief instigator and ringleader of this gang of assassins and spies was Judas Trotsky. Trotsky's assistants and agents in carrying out his counter-revolutionary instructions were Zinoviev, Kamenev and their Trotskyite underlings. They were preparing to bring about the defeat of the U.S.S.R. in the event of attack by imperialist countries; they had become defeatists with regard to the workers' and peasants' state; they had become despicable tools and agents of the German and Japanese fascists.
The main lesson which the Party organizations had to draw from the trials of the persons implicated in the foul murder of S. M. Kirov was that they must put an end to their own political blindness and political heedlessness, and must increase their vigilance and the vigilance of all Party members....
Purging and consolidating its ranks, destroying the enemies of the Party and relentlessly combating distortions of the Party line, the Bolshevik Party rallied closer than ever around its Central Committee, under whose leadership the Party and the Soviet land now passed to a new stage - the completion of the construction of a classless, Socialist society.
In 1936, Stalin began to attack his political opponents in a series of" purges" aimed at destroying the vestiges of political opposition to him. What follows is the official explanation from textbooks published before Stalin's excesses were repudiated by his successors.
The achievements of Socialism in our country were a cause of rejoicing not only to the Party, and not only to the workers and collective farmers, but also to our Soviet intelligentsia, and to all honest citizens of the Soviet Union.
But they were no cause of rejoicing to the remnants of the defeated exploiting classes; on the contrary, they only enraged them the more as time went on.
They infuriated the lickspittles of the defeated classes - the puny remnants of the following of Bukharin and Trotsky.
These gentry were guided in their evaluation of the achievements of the workers and collective farmers not by the interests of the people, who applauded every such achievement, but by the interests of their own wretched and putrid faction, which had lost all contact with the realities of life. Since the achievements of Socialism in our country meant the victory of the policy of the Party and the utter bankruptcy of their own policy, these gentry, instead of admitting the obvious facts and joining the common cause, began to revenge themselves on the Party and the people for their own failure, for their own bankruptcy; they began to resort to foul play and sabotage against the cause of the workers and collective farmers, to blow up pits, set fire to factories, and commit acts of wrecking in collective and state farms, with the object of undoing the achievements of the workers and collective farmers and evoking popular discontent against the Soviet Government. And in order, while doing so, to shield their puny group from exposure and destruction, they simulated loyalty to the Party, fawned upon it, eulogized it, cringed before it more and more, while in reality continuing their underhand. subversive activities against the workers and peasants.
At the Seventeenth Party Congress, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky made repentant speeches, praising the Party and extolling its achievements to the skies. But the congress detected a ring of insincerity and duplicity in their speeches; for what the Party expects from its members is not eulogies and rhapsodies over its achievements, but conscientious work on the Socialist front. And this was what the Bukharinites had showed no signs of for a long time. The Party saw that the hollow speeches of these gentry were in reality meant for their supporters outside the congress, to serve as a lesson to them in duplicity, and a call to them not to lay down their arms.
Speeches were also made at the Seventeenth Congress by the Trotskyites, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who lashed themselves extravagantly for their mistakes, and eulogized the Party no less extravagantly for its achievements. But the congress could not help seeing that both their nauseating self-castigation and their fulsome praise of the party were only meant to hide an uneasy and unclean conscience. However, the Party did not yet know or suspect that while these gentry were making their cloying speeches at the congress they were hatching a villainous plot against the life of S. M. Kirov.
On December 1, 1934, S. M. Kirov was foully murdered in the Smolny, in Leningrad, by a shot from a revolver.
The assassin was caught red-handed and turned out to be a member of a secret counter-revolutionary group made up of members of an anti-Soviet group of Zinovievites in Leningrad.
S. M. Kirov was loved by the Party and the working class, and his murder stirred the people profoundly, sending a wave of wrath and deep sorrow through the country.
The investigation established that in 1933 and 1934 an underground counter-revolutionary terrorist group had been formed in Leningrad consisting of former members of the Zinoviev opposition and headed by a so-called "Leningrad Centre." The purpose of this group was to murder leaders of the Communist Party. S. M. Kirov was chosen as the first victim. The testimony of the members of this counter-revolutionary group showed that they were connected with representatives of foreign capitalist states and were receiving funds from them.
The exposed members of this organization were sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. to the supreme penalty - to be shot.
Soon afterwards the existence of an underground counter-revolutionary organization called the "Moscow Centre" was discovered. The preliminary investigation and the trial revealed the villainous part played by Zinoviev, Kamenev, Yevdokimo and other leaders of this organization in cultivating the terrorist mentality among their followers, and in plotting the murder of members of the Party Central Committee and of the Soviet Government.
To such depths of duplicity and villainy had these people sunk that Zinoviev, who was one of the organizers and instigators of the assassination of S. M. Kirov, and who had urged the murderer to hasten the crime, wrote an obituary of Kirov speaking of him in terms of eulogy, and demanded that it be published.
The Zinovievites simulated remorse in court; but they persisted in their duplicity even in the dock. They concealed their connection with Trotsky. They concealed the fact that together with the Trotskyites they had sold themselves to fascist espionage services. They concealed their spying and wrecking activities. They concealed from the court their connections with the Bukharinites, and the existence of a united Trotsky-Bukharin gang of fascist hirelings.
As it later transpired, the murder of Comrade Kirov was the work of this united Trotsky-Bukharin gang....
The chief instigator and ringleader of this gang of assassins and spies was Judas Trotsky. Trotsky's assistants and agents in carrying out his counter-revolutionary instructions were Zinoviev, Kamenev and their Trotskyite underlings. They were preparing to bring about the defeat of the U.S.S.R. in the event of attack by imperialist countries; they had become defeatists with regard to the workers' and peasants' state; they had become despicable tools and agents of the German and Japanese fascists.
The main lesson which the Party organizations had to draw from the trials of the persons implicated in the foul murder of S. M. Kirov was that they must put an end to their own political blindness and political heedlessness, and must increase their vigilance and the vigilance of all Party members....
Purging and consolidating its ranks, destroying the enemies of the Party and relentlessly combating distortions of the Party line, the Bolshevik Party rallied closer than ever around its Central Committee, under whose leadership the Party and the Soviet land now passed to a new stage - the completion of the construction of a classless, Socialist society.
Friday, February 20, 2009
PRIMO LEVI ASSIGNMENT
Dr. Schmoll Primo Levi Essay Assignment
Reading Due: Monday 3/2 Essay Due: Monday 3/9
WARNING!!! This is not intended to be a re-telling of the book. I have read it many times, so instead of describing “what” happened, analyze the meaning of what happened.
In a well crafted 3 page essay (typed, double-spaced) you must answer one of the following questions. For each question, you may want to consult some sources other than Levi and class notes. You should feel free to read scholarly journals, other books, magazines, or even movie interpretations of this time period.
1. Look at other experiences of the Holocaust. Considering these other experience, is Levi’s account typical?
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/survivors.php
http://www.adl.org/children_holocaust/children_main1.asp
http://www.tellingstories.org/
2. Is Survival in Auschwitz an optimistic or pessimistic book?
3. Look at other experiences of genocide in the 20th century. What are the common elements that define genocide?
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/index.html http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Genocide/genocide_massacre.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/reports/dsetexhe.html
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/64283/first-genocide-of-the-20th-century-herero-and-nama-genocide.html
4. Watch at least three films on the Holocaust and discuss which issues have been most important in the film interpretation of this time period. After reading Levi, how do you feel that Levi would respond to such film depictions of something like the Holocaust? (Europa, Europa, Life is Beautiful, Schindler’s List, The Pianist)
5. Why study the holocaust? Use Levi as a central source for this question.
(beware, warning, take cover, ahhh)
6. Holocaust survivor and renowned psychologist Victor Frankl said, "We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way."
Considering the experiences of Primo Levi, evaluate the validity of Frankl's statement. Would Levi agree or disagree that certain shreds of human dignity might remain even in something like the Holocaust?
7. CREATIVE OUTLET: Choose one of the non-Jewish Germans in Survival in Auschwitz and imagine a post-war conversation between that person and Levi. Your entire essay for this option will be the text of that conversation.
TURNITIN.COM
ü A paper copy of your paper is due at the beginning of class.
ü An electronic copy of your essay is due at turnitin by midnight on the due date.
ü You do not need to print out anything at all from turnitin.
ü Remember, whatever outside sources you use MUST BE CORRECTLY
ATTRIBUTED in your essay. You may use any citation format.
ü Also, remember, there are many Levi essays on the web and floating around campus. Don’t be lured in by such stupidity. If nothing else, be original.BEWARE!!!!! This option is dangerous!!!
Reading Due: Monday 3/2 Essay Due: Monday 3/9
WARNING!!! This is not intended to be a re-telling of the book. I have read it many times, so instead of describing “what” happened, analyze the meaning of what happened.
In a well crafted 3 page essay (typed, double-spaced) you must answer one of the following questions. For each question, you may want to consult some sources other than Levi and class notes. You should feel free to read scholarly journals, other books, magazines, or even movie interpretations of this time period.
1. Look at other experiences of the Holocaust. Considering these other experience, is Levi’s account typical?
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/survivors.php
http://www.adl.org/children_holocaust/children_main1.asp
http://www.tellingstories.org/
2. Is Survival in Auschwitz an optimistic or pessimistic book?
3. Look at other experiences of genocide in the 20th century. What are the common elements that define genocide?
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/index.html http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Genocide/genocide_massacre.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/reports/dsetexhe.html
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/64283/first-genocide-of-the-20th-century-herero-and-nama-genocide.html
4. Watch at least three films on the Holocaust and discuss which issues have been most important in the film interpretation of this time period. After reading Levi, how do you feel that Levi would respond to such film depictions of something like the Holocaust? (Europa, Europa, Life is Beautiful, Schindler’s List, The Pianist)
5. Why study the holocaust? Use Levi as a central source for this question.
(beware, warning, take cover, ahhh)
6. Holocaust survivor and renowned psychologist Victor Frankl said, "We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way."
Considering the experiences of Primo Levi, evaluate the validity of Frankl's statement. Would Levi agree or disagree that certain shreds of human dignity might remain even in something like the Holocaust?
7. CREATIVE OUTLET: Choose one of the non-Jewish Germans in Survival in Auschwitz and imagine a post-war conversation between that person and Levi. Your entire essay for this option will be the text of that conversation.
TURNITIN.COM
ü A paper copy of your paper is due at the beginning of class.
ü An electronic copy of your essay is due at turnitin by midnight on the due date.
ü You do not need to print out anything at all from turnitin.
ü Remember, whatever outside sources you use MUST BE CORRECTLY
ATTRIBUTED in your essay. You may use any citation format.
ü Also, remember, there are many Levi essays on the web and floating around campus. Don’t be lured in by such stupidity. If nothing else, be original.BEWARE!!!!! This option is dangerous!!!
Russian Revolution
Post War World Chaos
Russian Revolution:
I. Tsarist Failure
II. February Revolution
III. October Revolution
IV. Rise of Stalin
O great Stalin, O leader of the peoples,
Thou who broughtest man to birth.
Thou who fructifies the earth,
Thou who restorest to centuries,
Thou who makest bloom the spring,
Thou who makest vibrate the musical chords...
Thou, splendour of my spring, O thou,
Sun reflected by millions of hearts.
(A. O. Avdienko)
Russian Revolution:
I. Tsarist Failure
II. February Revolution
III. October Revolution
IV. Rise of Stalin
O great Stalin, O leader of the peoples,
Thou who broughtest man to birth.
Thou who fructifies the earth,
Thou who restorest to centuries,
Thou who makest bloom the spring,
Thou who makest vibrate the musical chords...
Thou, splendour of my spring, O thou,
Sun reflected by millions of hearts.
(A. O. Avdienko)
Friday, February 13, 2009
READING GUIDE FOR STORM OF STEEL
What is your favorite time that Junger is injured?
What weapons are used in this book?
Find somewhere in the book when Junger describes nature.
What is the most compelling description of combat? Is this surprising?
Where do you see Junger drinking?
Is this book sad?
Does the author take a stance for or against war?
Does this book have a political perspective?
How does the book end?
What weapons are used in this book?
Find somewhere in the book when Junger describes nature.
What is the most compelling description of combat? Is this surprising?
Where do you see Junger drinking?
Is this book sad?
Does the author take a stance for or against war?
Does this book have a political perspective?
How does the book end?
World War One Outline
The Great War
I. Origins of War:
A. Nationalist Conflict
B. The Alliance System
C. Assassination
D. Mobilization
E. Romantic Nationalism
II. Outbreak of War
A. Western Front
B. Eastern Front
C. World War
1. Gallipoli
2. Genocide
3. Total war
III. Ending the War:
A. The War at Sea (and how it backfired)
B. Enter the U.S.
C. Germany’s 1918 Offensive
D. Treaty of Versailles
I. Origins of War:
A. Nationalist Conflict
B. The Alliance System
C. Assassination
D. Mobilization
E. Romantic Nationalism
II. Outbreak of War
A. Western Front
B. Eastern Front
C. World War
1. Gallipoli
2. Genocide
3. Total war
III. Ending the War:
A. The War at Sea (and how it backfired)
B. Enter the U.S.
C. Germany’s 1918 Offensive
D. Treaty of Versailles
Scramble for Africa Documents
The Boer War
The Boer War of 1899 was a dirty little conflict which involved all the Boer Republics and the British empire. It started a result of cultural resentment between the Boers (Dutch settlers) and immigrating British. It began as an uprising of British immigrants against the Boer government. The British Empire, seeing their subjects misteated, decided to get involved. At first the war was fought with the honor typically associated with the British, but, in the end, it turned nasty.
Problems began with the discovery of gold in the Transvaal. Thousands of British miners flooded into the Boer culture, almost overnight. This disruption caused the Boers to resent the new immigrants. They decided to make the British second-class citizens; paying high taxes and not getting the right to vote. The British miners understandably unhappy with this situation. They decided to follow the example set by the French and Americans, they revolted. If it had stopped there, the Boer War would have been nothing but an obscure trivia question, but it didn't; the British empire chose to get involved. British troops began building up on the Transvaal borders. A threat was made, a threat was ignored, and a war began.
At first, the war went well for the Boers. These Dutch farmers handily beat the famous British army in several encounters, yet their success would not last. The better trained British army captured the capital of the Orange Free State, Johannesburg and Pretoria. The British had claimed yet another victory for the crown. The Boers though, refused to admit defeat.
Upon their devastating defeats at the hands of the British, the Boers realized that a new strategy had be developed if they were to have a prayer of defeating the British. The Dutch farmers couldn't win in a stand up fight against the better trained British soldiers. Taking a queue from the American Revolutionaries, the Boers began successfully using guerrilla tactics against the British. The British soon realized that harsh means would have to be used in order to crush the motivated Boers.
In a despicable move, the British began imprisoning Boer women and children in concentration camps. Over 26,000 of these innocent civilians died in the British concentration camps. The Boers were broken.
A treaty was signed at Vereeniging. The defeated Boers had no choice but to submit to the British demands. The Treaty of Vereeniging made the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into British colonies. The Boers have never forgotten the British cruelty, and until recently the Boers had almost totally isolated themselves from other cultures. The British victory was a bitter pill for the Boers to swallow.
SUEZ CANAL
In 1859, Egyptian workers started working on the construction of the Canal in conditions described by historians as slave labor, and the project was completed around 1867. On November 17, 1869, the Canal was officially inaugurated by Khedive Ismail in an extravagant and lavish ceremony. French, British, Russian, and other Royalty were invited for the inauguration which coincided with the re-planning of Cairo. A highway was constructed linking Cairo to the new city of Ismailia, an Opera House was built, and Verdi was commissioned to compose his famous opera, "Aida" for the opening ceremony. Ironically, Verdi did not complete the work in time and "Aida" premiered at the Cairo Opera a year later.
The following is from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/suezcanal.htm:
The total original cost of building the canal was about $100 million, about twice its original estimated coast. However, about three times that sum was spent on later repairs and improvements.
The completion of the Suez Canal was a cause for considerable celebration. In Port Said, the extravaganza began with fireworks and a ball attended by six thousand people. They included many heads of state, including the Empress Eugenie, the Emperor of Austria, the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Prussia and the Prince of the Netherlands. Two convoys of ships entered the canal from its southern and northern points and met at Ismailia. Parties continued for weeks, and the celebration also marked the opening of Ismail's old Opera House in Cairo, which is now gone.
The canal had a dramatic effect on world trade almost from the time it was opened, and even on world politics. Now, it was much easier for European nations to penetrate and colonize Africa.
Because of external debts, the British government purchased the shares owned by Egyptian interests, namely those of Said Pasha, in 1875, for some 400,000 pounds sterling. Yet France continued to have a majority interest. Under the terms of an international convention signed in 1888 (The Convention of Constantinople), the canal was opened to vessels of all nations without discrimination, in peace and war. Nevertheless, Britain considered the canal vital to the maintenance of its maritime power and colonial interests.
The White Man's Burden
Some colonists really thought they were having a civilizing effect on Africa and Asia, bringing not only the benefits of ports and railways, but also a justice system and the Christian religion. It is less likely that economic factors played a large part in the "Scramble for Africa".
It is true that the African colonies supplied raw materials (metals, food stuffs, timber etc.), but they never became the markets for manufactured goods that some had hoped for. The colonies were expensive to administer and expensive to defend. They never really made any money. As a famous English historian, A.J.P. Taylor, wrote after the Second World War:
"Tot up the national balance sheet of any imperial country over the last fifty years and you will find the community is staggeringly out of profit."
Interestingly, some of the biggest overseas profits were made in countries which were not colonized. China, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil and Argentina, for example, offered some of the best sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods, without Europeans having to pay the costs of colonization.
“Take up the White Man's burden The savage wars of peace Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch Sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hope to naught ....”
“Take up the White Man's burden Ye dare not stoop to less Nor call too loud on Freedom To cloak your weariness; By all ye cry or whisper, By all ye leave or do, The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your Gods, and you.”
“Take up the White Man's burden Have done with childish days The lightly proffered laurel, The easy, ungrudged praise. Come now, to search your manhood Through all the thankless years, Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgment of your peers!”
From 'The Five Nations' Rudyard Kipling
Belgium
An important factor in the "Scramble for Africa" was the sense of "grabbing" territory, even if it was impenetrable jungle or waterless desert, simply to prevent a neighbour in Europe from putting up his flag on the same land. It was King Leopold of Belgium, and his claim to the huge Congo Basin, who contributed most to this sense of urgency. He was prepared to pay from his own pocket for a colony bigger than his own country. Caught in the frenzy, Portugal felt obliged to extend its old claims, going back to the 16th century, to enormous parts of Angola and Mozambique.
The Congo provides the most curious and the most bloody example of European colonisation in Africa.
Belgium had only become independent in 1830 and was obliged by law to be a neutral country. Consequently, it could not engage in any adventures in Europe alongside the big powers. Although the Belgian people and government were not particularly enthusiastic, the king, Leopold, was desperate to give the country an Empire. "There are no small nations .... only small minds", he is quoted as saying.
Creating an "Association Internationale Aticaine", he had, by 1875, laid claim to a huge territory, eighty times the size of his own country, in the Congo basin. It was the king's own property, paid for entirely out of his own pocket. By the 1880's, however, his finances were in difficulty and, by a series of royal ordinances, the colonial tax-collectors were authorised to go into villages and extract quotas of rubber from the villagers as taxation.
The British Consul in the "Congo Independent State", Roger Casement, produced a famous report in 1903, in which he revealed how Congolese natives were being systematically mutilated (hands, ears, noses cut oft), ',whipped and executed for not 'producing enough wild rubber for their (taxes. The scandals grew so great that ithe Belgian parliament demanded that their king relinquish his private colony and hand it over to the Belgian state (1908). The Congo had become the most notorious of all European colonies in Africa.
The Fashoda Crisis (1898)
The Berlin Conference set the rules for the division of Africa, but it also made the colonial powers even more aggressive in their pursuit of unclaimed territory. A pattern was emerging between the two greatest colonial countries.
France was clearly expanding in a west to east direction, from French West Africa to French Somaliland, while Britain had expanded in a north-south direction, from Egypt to the Cape. The point where the two axes crossed was the Sudan. Here a small French expedition, under Major Marchand, reached Fashoda, on the Upper Nile, in 1898. This was followed, only two months later, by a much bigger British force under Lord Kitchener. The two leaders did not know whether to sit down and have a drink together or fight. Both claimed Fashoda and the Sudan for their own countries.
In London and Paris, for the last time in their histories, there was talk of war between Britain and France. However, the diplomats knew it was absurd for their countries to go to war over a distant African village. Quietly, an agreement was reached. France would recognise the British presence in Egypt and Sudan and Britain would recognise France's presence in Morocco. With colonial differences settled, the two countries could concentrate on a far more pressing subject; coming together in an Entente Cordiale to face a common danger -Germany.
http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/uni/uk/18/ffashoda1898.htm
Hoping to cut off the British Cape to Cairo route, the French Government signed orders on February 24, 1896 instructing Captain Marchand to lead an expedition to the Upper Nile and occupy Fashoda. The Marchand Mission, seven French officers and a force of 120 Senegalese tirailleurs, landed at Fashoda on July 10, 1898 and raised the French flag.
On September 2, 1898, British General Kitchener opened the Sudan by defeating the Mahdists at the battle of Omderman. Having learned of the occupation of Fashoda from a captured band of Mahdists, Kitchener set out with five steamers carrying British and Sudanese soldiers. On September 19, Kitchener and his troops landed at Fashoda, where he met Captain Marchand. Kitchener protested the French occupation, claiming Fashoda for Britain by right of conquest (i.e., the victory at Omdurman), while Marchand maintained that the area belonged to France by virtue of the presence of French troops. When Marchand refused to leave, Kitchener raised the Egyptian flag alongside the French in keeping with Britain's "two flags" policy.
France expressed a desire to negotiate spheres of influence in Africa, but Britain refused to enter into negotiations until Marchand and his troops had evacuated Fashoda. On October 17, both the French and the British began shows of strength in strategic areas.
Eventually realizing the hopelessness of the situation, France agreed to remove her troops, and, on December 4, 1898, ordered the evacuation of Fashoda. On March 21, 1899 a convention was signed with France renouncing all claims to Fashoda.
GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE AGE
Rene Caillie (1799-1838), a Frenchman, was the first European to visit Timbuktu and survive to tell the tale. Imagine his disappointment when he discovered that the city wasn't made of gold, as legend said, but of mud. His journey started in West Africa in March 1827, headed towards Timbuktu where he stayed for two weeks. He then crossed the Sahara (the first European to do so) in a caravan of 1,200 animals, then the Atlas Mountains to reach Tangier in 1828, from where he sailed home to France.
Richard Burton (1821-1890) was not only a great explorer but also a great scholar (he produced the first unabridged translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night). His most famous exploit is probably his dressing as an Arab and visiting the holy city of Mecca (in 1853) which non-Muslims are forbidden to enter. In 1857 he and Speke set off from the east coast of Africa (Tanzania) to find the source of the Nile. At Lake Tanganyika Burton fell seriously ill, leaving Speke to travel on alone.
John Hanning Speke (1827-1864) spent 10 years with the Indian Army before starting his travels with Burton in Africa. Speke discovered Lake Victoria in August 1858 which he initially believed to be the source of the Nile. Burton didn't believe him and in 1860 Speke set out again, this time with James Grant. In July 1862 he found the source of the Nile, the Ripon Falls north of Lake Victoria.
David Livingstone (1813-1873) arrived in Southern Africa as a missionary with the aim of improving the life of Africans through European knowledge and trade. A qualified doctor and minister, he had worked in a cotton mill near Glasgow, Scotland, as a boy. Between 1853 and 1856 he crossed Africa from west to east, from Luanda (in Angola) to Quelimane (in Mozambique), following the Zambezi River to the sea. Between 1858 and 1864 he explored the Shire and Ruvuma river valleys and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi). In 1865 he set off to find the source of the River Nile.
Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist sent by the New York Herald to find Livingstone who had been presumed dead for four years as no-one in Europe had heard from him. Stanley found him at Uiji on the edge of Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa on 13 November 1871. Stanley's words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" have gone down in the history as one of the greatest understatements ever. Dr Livingstone is said to have replied, "You have brought me new life." Livingstone had missed the Franco-Prussian War, the opening of the Suez Canal, and the inauguration of the transatlantic telegraph. Livingstone refused to return to Europe with Stanley and continued on his journey to find the source of the Nile. He died in May 1873 in the swamps around Lake Bangweulu. His heart and viscera were buried, then his body was carried to Zanzibar, from where it was shipped to Britain. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in London.
Unlike Livingstone, Stanley was motivated by fame and fortune. He travelled in large, well-armed expeditions -- he had 200 porters on his expedition to find Livingstone, who often travelled with only a few bearers. Stanley's second expedition set off from Zanzibar towards Lake Victoria (which he sailed around in his boat, the Lady Alice), then headed into Central Africa towards Nyangwe and the Congo (Zaire) River, which he followed for some 3,220 kilometres from its tributaries to the sea, reaching Boma in August 1877. He then set off back into Central Africa to find Emin Pasha, a German explorer believed to be in danger from warring cannibals.
Mary Kingsley’s (1862-1900) father spent most of his life accompanying noblemen around the world, keeping diaries and notes which he hoped to publish. Educated at home, she learned the rudiments of natural history from him and his library. He employed a tutor to teach his daughter German so she could help him translate scientific papers. His comparative study of sacrificial rites around the world was his major passion and it was Mary's desire to complete this which took her to West Africa after her parents' deaths in 1892 (within six weeks of each other). Her two journeys weren't remarkable for their geological exploration, but were remarkable for being undertaken, alone, by a sheltered, middle-class, Victorian spinster in her thirties without any knowledge of African languages or French, or much money (she arrived in West Africa with only £300). Kingsley did collect specimens for science, including a new fish which was named after her. She died nursing prisoners of war in Simon's Town (Cape Town) during the Anglo-Boer War.
NAMIBIA—HERERO GENOCIDE
The German Emperor replaced Major Leutwein with another commander, this time a man notorious for brutality who had already fiercely suppressed African resistance to German colonisation in East Africa. Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha said, 'I wipe out rebellious tribes with streams of blood and streams of money. Only following this cleansing can something new emerge'. Von Trotha brought with him to German South West Africa 10,000 heavily-armed men and a plan for war.Under his command, the German troops slowly drove the Herero warriors to a position where they could be hemmed in by attack on three sides. The fourth side offered escape; but only into the killing wastes of the Kalahari desert. The German soldiers were paid well to pursue the Herero into this treacherous wilderness. They were also ordered to poison the few water-holes there. Others set up guard posts along a 150-mile border: any Herero trying to get back was killed.On October 2, 1904, von Trotha issued his order to exterminate the Herero from the region. 'All the Herero must leave the land. If they refuse, then I will force them to do it with the big guns. Any Herero found within German borders, with or without a gun, will be shot. No prisoners will be taken. This is my decision for the Herero people'.After the Herero uprising had been systematically put down, by shooting or enforced slow death in the desert from starvation, thirst and disease (the fate of many women and children), those who still lived were rounded up, banned from owning land or cattle, and sent into labour camps to be the slaves of German settlers. Many more Herero died in the camps, of overwork, starvation and disease. By 1907, in the face of criticism both at home and abroad, von Trotha's orders had been cancelled and he himself recalled, but it was too late for the crushed Herero. Before the uprising, the tribe numbered 80,000; after it, only 15,000 remained.During the period of colonisation and oppression, many women were used as sex slaves. (This had not been von Trotha's intention. 'To receive women and children, most of them ill, is a serious danger to the German troops. And to feed them is an impossibility. I find it appropriate that the nation perishes instead of infecting our soldiers.') In the Herero work camps there were numerous children born to these abused women, and a man called Eugen Fischer, who was interested in genetics, came to the camps to study them; he carried out medical experiments on them as well. He decided that each mixed-race child was physically and mentally inferior to its German father (a conclusion for which there was and is no respectable scientific foundation whatever) and wrote a book promoting his ideas: 'The Principles of Human Heredity and Race Hygiene'. Adolf Hitler read it while he was in prison in 1923, and cited it in his own infamous pursuit of 'racial purity'.
The Berlin Conference: General Act of Feb. 26, 1885
It was not until after the mid-nineteenth century that the imperialist great powers of Europe showed renewed interest in the continent of Africa, particularly in the hitherto unexplored central regions comprising modern-day Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This interest was heightened by the expected opportunities for raw materials and investment that these territories could provide for Europe's continuing industrialization. There was competition, of course, among the powers as they eyed the opportunities and set the stage for intrusion. Much interest was concentrated on the Congo region (modern Zaire) upon which King Leopold II of Belgium had set his sights (it later turned out to be a lucrative source of rubber). However, the old colonial nation of Portugal, with African interests in Angola and Mozambique extending back over three centuries, also saw the Congo region as its historical sphere of influence. International rivalry and diplomatic infighting such as developed out of this competition for influence prompted France and Germany to suggest the notion of a European conference to resolve contending claims and provide for a more orderly ‘carving up’ of the continent. The Conference met at Berlin from November 1884 through Februart 1885 and resulted in the following agreement--The Berlin Act of 1885. It was attended by representatives of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Russia, U.S.A., Portugal, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Turkey.
The Act allotted "spheres of influence" to the relevant powers and established the Congo basin as the Congo Free State under the sovereignty of Leopold II in his personal capacity as head (and chief financial backer) of the private International Congo Association. Some of the main provisions of the Act are as follows; note in particular the doctrine of "effective occupation" as prescribed in Art. XXXV.
Chap. I [relating to the Congo River Basin and adjacent territories]
I. The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete freedom
II. All flags, without distinction of nationality, shall have free access to the whole of the coast-line of the territories . . .
III. Goods of whatever origin, imported into these regions, under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, or overland, shall be subject to no other taxes than such as may be levied as fair compensation for expenditure in the interests of trade . . .
IV. Merchandise imported into these regions shall remain free from import and transit duties [subject to review after 20 years]
V. No power which exercises or shall exercise sovereign rights in the . . regions shall be allowed to grant therein a monopoly or favor of any kind in matters of trade...
VI. All the powers exercising sovereign rights or influence in the aforesaid territories bind themselves to watch over the preservation of the native tribes, and to care for the improvement of the conditions of their moral and material well-being and to help in suppressing slavery, and especially the Slave TradeChristian missionaries, scientists, and explorers, with their followers, property, and collections, shall likewise be the objects of especial protection.Freedom of conscience and religious toleration are expressly guaranteed to the natives, no less than to subjects and to foreigners . . .
Chap. II Documents relative to the Slave Trade
IX. ............the Powers which do or shall exercise sovereign rights or influence in the territories forming the .. basin of the Congo declare that these territories may not serve as a market or means of transit for the trade in slaves, of whatever race they may be. Each of the Powers binds itself to employ all the means at its disposal for putting an end to this trade and for punishing those who engage in it.
The Scramble for Africa: Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to Divide Africa
Meeting at the Berlin residence of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1884, the foreign ministers of fourteen European powers and the United States established ground rules for the future exploitation of the "dark continent." Africans were not invited or made privy to their decisions.
Photo from the book The Horizon: History of Africa, American Heritage Publishing Co., New York, 1971, page 452.
Result of Colonization:
The European colonial powers shared one objective in their African colonies; exploitation. But in the way they governed their dependencies, they reflected their differences. Some colonial powers were themselves democracies (the United Kingdom and France); others were dictatorships (Portugal, Spain). The British established a system of indirect rule over much of their domain, leaving indigenous power structure in place and making local rulers representatives of the British Crown. This was unthinkable in the Portuguese colonies, where harsh, direct control was the rule. The French sought to create culturally assimilated elites what would represent French ideals in the colonies. In the Belgian Congo, however, King Leopold II, who had financed the expeditions that staked Belgium's claim in Berlin, embarked on a campaign of ruthless exploitation. His enforcers mobilized almost the entire Congolese populations to gather rubber, kill elephants for their ivory, and build public works to improve export routes. For failing to meet production quotes, entire communities were massacred. Killing and maiming became routine in a colony in which horror was the only common denominator. After the impact of the slave trade, King Leopold's reign of terror was Africa's most severe demographic disaster. By the time it ended, after a growing outcry around the world, as many as 10 million Congolese had been murdered. In 1908 the Belgium government administrators, and the Roman Catholic Church each pursued their sometimes competing interest. But no one thought to change the name of the colonial capital: it was Leopoldville until the Belgian Congo achieved independence in 1960.
The following material is from the book Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, by H. J. de Blij, Peter O. Muller, 2003
1884-1885 - Berlin West African Conference carves Africa into spheres of control
In November 1884, the imperial chancellor and architect of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, convened a conference of 14 states (including the United States) to settle the political partitioning of Africa. Bismarck wanted not only to expand German spheres of influence in Africa but also to play off Germany's colonial rivals against one another to the Germans' advantage. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.
The Berlin Conference was Africa's undoing in more ways than one. The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African Continent. By the time Africa regained its independence after the late 1950s, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily. The African politico-geographical map is thus a permanent liability that resulted from the three months of ignorant, greedy acquisitiveness during a period when Europe's search for minerals and markets had become insatiable.
The Boer War of 1899 was a dirty little conflict which involved all the Boer Republics and the British empire. It started a result of cultural resentment between the Boers (Dutch settlers) and immigrating British. It began as an uprising of British immigrants against the Boer government. The British Empire, seeing their subjects misteated, decided to get involved. At first the war was fought with the honor typically associated with the British, but, in the end, it turned nasty.
Problems began with the discovery of gold in the Transvaal. Thousands of British miners flooded into the Boer culture, almost overnight. This disruption caused the Boers to resent the new immigrants. They decided to make the British second-class citizens; paying high taxes and not getting the right to vote. The British miners understandably unhappy with this situation. They decided to follow the example set by the French and Americans, they revolted. If it had stopped there, the Boer War would have been nothing but an obscure trivia question, but it didn't; the British empire chose to get involved. British troops began building up on the Transvaal borders. A threat was made, a threat was ignored, and a war began.
At first, the war went well for the Boers. These Dutch farmers handily beat the famous British army in several encounters, yet their success would not last. The better trained British army captured the capital of the Orange Free State, Johannesburg and Pretoria. The British had claimed yet another victory for the crown. The Boers though, refused to admit defeat.
Upon their devastating defeats at the hands of the British, the Boers realized that a new strategy had be developed if they were to have a prayer of defeating the British. The Dutch farmers couldn't win in a stand up fight against the better trained British soldiers. Taking a queue from the American Revolutionaries, the Boers began successfully using guerrilla tactics against the British. The British soon realized that harsh means would have to be used in order to crush the motivated Boers.
In a despicable move, the British began imprisoning Boer women and children in concentration camps. Over 26,000 of these innocent civilians died in the British concentration camps. The Boers were broken.
A treaty was signed at Vereeniging. The defeated Boers had no choice but to submit to the British demands. The Treaty of Vereeniging made the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into British colonies. The Boers have never forgotten the British cruelty, and until recently the Boers had almost totally isolated themselves from other cultures. The British victory was a bitter pill for the Boers to swallow.
SUEZ CANAL
In 1859, Egyptian workers started working on the construction of the Canal in conditions described by historians as slave labor, and the project was completed around 1867. On November 17, 1869, the Canal was officially inaugurated by Khedive Ismail in an extravagant and lavish ceremony. French, British, Russian, and other Royalty were invited for the inauguration which coincided with the re-planning of Cairo. A highway was constructed linking Cairo to the new city of Ismailia, an Opera House was built, and Verdi was commissioned to compose his famous opera, "Aida" for the opening ceremony. Ironically, Verdi did not complete the work in time and "Aida" premiered at the Cairo Opera a year later.
The following is from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/suezcanal.htm:
The total original cost of building the canal was about $100 million, about twice its original estimated coast. However, about three times that sum was spent on later repairs and improvements.
The completion of the Suez Canal was a cause for considerable celebration. In Port Said, the extravaganza began with fireworks and a ball attended by six thousand people. They included many heads of state, including the Empress Eugenie, the Emperor of Austria, the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Prussia and the Prince of the Netherlands. Two convoys of ships entered the canal from its southern and northern points and met at Ismailia. Parties continued for weeks, and the celebration also marked the opening of Ismail's old Opera House in Cairo, which is now gone.
The canal had a dramatic effect on world trade almost from the time it was opened, and even on world politics. Now, it was much easier for European nations to penetrate and colonize Africa.
Because of external debts, the British government purchased the shares owned by Egyptian interests, namely those of Said Pasha, in 1875, for some 400,000 pounds sterling. Yet France continued to have a majority interest. Under the terms of an international convention signed in 1888 (The Convention of Constantinople), the canal was opened to vessels of all nations without discrimination, in peace and war. Nevertheless, Britain considered the canal vital to the maintenance of its maritime power and colonial interests.
The White Man's Burden
Some colonists really thought they were having a civilizing effect on Africa and Asia, bringing not only the benefits of ports and railways, but also a justice system and the Christian religion. It is less likely that economic factors played a large part in the "Scramble for Africa".
It is true that the African colonies supplied raw materials (metals, food stuffs, timber etc.), but they never became the markets for manufactured goods that some had hoped for. The colonies were expensive to administer and expensive to defend. They never really made any money. As a famous English historian, A.J.P. Taylor, wrote after the Second World War:
"Tot up the national balance sheet of any imperial country over the last fifty years and you will find the community is staggeringly out of profit."
Interestingly, some of the biggest overseas profits were made in countries which were not colonized. China, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil and Argentina, for example, offered some of the best sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods, without Europeans having to pay the costs of colonization.
“Take up the White Man's burden The savage wars of peace Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch Sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hope to naught ....”
“Take up the White Man's burden Ye dare not stoop to less Nor call too loud on Freedom To cloak your weariness; By all ye cry or whisper, By all ye leave or do, The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your Gods, and you.”
“Take up the White Man's burden Have done with childish days The lightly proffered laurel, The easy, ungrudged praise. Come now, to search your manhood Through all the thankless years, Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgment of your peers!”
From 'The Five Nations' Rudyard Kipling
Belgium
An important factor in the "Scramble for Africa" was the sense of "grabbing" territory, even if it was impenetrable jungle or waterless desert, simply to prevent a neighbour in Europe from putting up his flag on the same land. It was King Leopold of Belgium, and his claim to the huge Congo Basin, who contributed most to this sense of urgency. He was prepared to pay from his own pocket for a colony bigger than his own country. Caught in the frenzy, Portugal felt obliged to extend its old claims, going back to the 16th century, to enormous parts of Angola and Mozambique.
The Congo provides the most curious and the most bloody example of European colonisation in Africa.
Belgium had only become independent in 1830 and was obliged by law to be a neutral country. Consequently, it could not engage in any adventures in Europe alongside the big powers. Although the Belgian people and government were not particularly enthusiastic, the king, Leopold, was desperate to give the country an Empire. "There are no small nations .... only small minds", he is quoted as saying.
Creating an "Association Internationale Aticaine", he had, by 1875, laid claim to a huge territory, eighty times the size of his own country, in the Congo basin. It was the king's own property, paid for entirely out of his own pocket. By the 1880's, however, his finances were in difficulty and, by a series of royal ordinances, the colonial tax-collectors were authorised to go into villages and extract quotas of rubber from the villagers as taxation.
The British Consul in the "Congo Independent State", Roger Casement, produced a famous report in 1903, in which he revealed how Congolese natives were being systematically mutilated (hands, ears, noses cut oft), ',whipped and executed for not 'producing enough wild rubber for their (taxes. The scandals grew so great that ithe Belgian parliament demanded that their king relinquish his private colony and hand it over to the Belgian state (1908). The Congo had become the most notorious of all European colonies in Africa.
The Fashoda Crisis (1898)
The Berlin Conference set the rules for the division of Africa, but it also made the colonial powers even more aggressive in their pursuit of unclaimed territory. A pattern was emerging between the two greatest colonial countries.
France was clearly expanding in a west to east direction, from French West Africa to French Somaliland, while Britain had expanded in a north-south direction, from Egypt to the Cape. The point where the two axes crossed was the Sudan. Here a small French expedition, under Major Marchand, reached Fashoda, on the Upper Nile, in 1898. This was followed, only two months later, by a much bigger British force under Lord Kitchener. The two leaders did not know whether to sit down and have a drink together or fight. Both claimed Fashoda and the Sudan for their own countries.
In London and Paris, for the last time in their histories, there was talk of war between Britain and France. However, the diplomats knew it was absurd for their countries to go to war over a distant African village. Quietly, an agreement was reached. France would recognise the British presence in Egypt and Sudan and Britain would recognise France's presence in Morocco. With colonial differences settled, the two countries could concentrate on a far more pressing subject; coming together in an Entente Cordiale to face a common danger -Germany.
http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/uni/uk/18/ffashoda1898.htm
Hoping to cut off the British Cape to Cairo route, the French Government signed orders on February 24, 1896 instructing Captain Marchand to lead an expedition to the Upper Nile and occupy Fashoda. The Marchand Mission, seven French officers and a force of 120 Senegalese tirailleurs, landed at Fashoda on July 10, 1898 and raised the French flag.
On September 2, 1898, British General Kitchener opened the Sudan by defeating the Mahdists at the battle of Omderman. Having learned of the occupation of Fashoda from a captured band of Mahdists, Kitchener set out with five steamers carrying British and Sudanese soldiers. On September 19, Kitchener and his troops landed at Fashoda, where he met Captain Marchand. Kitchener protested the French occupation, claiming Fashoda for Britain by right of conquest (i.e., the victory at Omdurman), while Marchand maintained that the area belonged to France by virtue of the presence of French troops. When Marchand refused to leave, Kitchener raised the Egyptian flag alongside the French in keeping with Britain's "two flags" policy.
France expressed a desire to negotiate spheres of influence in Africa, but Britain refused to enter into negotiations until Marchand and his troops had evacuated Fashoda. On October 17, both the French and the British began shows of strength in strategic areas.
Eventually realizing the hopelessness of the situation, France agreed to remove her troops, and, on December 4, 1898, ordered the evacuation of Fashoda. On March 21, 1899 a convention was signed with France renouncing all claims to Fashoda.
GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE AGE
Rene Caillie (1799-1838), a Frenchman, was the first European to visit Timbuktu and survive to tell the tale. Imagine his disappointment when he discovered that the city wasn't made of gold, as legend said, but of mud. His journey started in West Africa in March 1827, headed towards Timbuktu where he stayed for two weeks. He then crossed the Sahara (the first European to do so) in a caravan of 1,200 animals, then the Atlas Mountains to reach Tangier in 1828, from where he sailed home to France.
Richard Burton (1821-1890) was not only a great explorer but also a great scholar (he produced the first unabridged translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night). His most famous exploit is probably his dressing as an Arab and visiting the holy city of Mecca (in 1853) which non-Muslims are forbidden to enter. In 1857 he and Speke set off from the east coast of Africa (Tanzania) to find the source of the Nile. At Lake Tanganyika Burton fell seriously ill, leaving Speke to travel on alone.
John Hanning Speke (1827-1864) spent 10 years with the Indian Army before starting his travels with Burton in Africa. Speke discovered Lake Victoria in August 1858 which he initially believed to be the source of the Nile. Burton didn't believe him and in 1860 Speke set out again, this time with James Grant. In July 1862 he found the source of the Nile, the Ripon Falls north of Lake Victoria.
David Livingstone (1813-1873) arrived in Southern Africa as a missionary with the aim of improving the life of Africans through European knowledge and trade. A qualified doctor and minister, he had worked in a cotton mill near Glasgow, Scotland, as a boy. Between 1853 and 1856 he crossed Africa from west to east, from Luanda (in Angola) to Quelimane (in Mozambique), following the Zambezi River to the sea. Between 1858 and 1864 he explored the Shire and Ruvuma river valleys and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi). In 1865 he set off to find the source of the River Nile.
Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist sent by the New York Herald to find Livingstone who had been presumed dead for four years as no-one in Europe had heard from him. Stanley found him at Uiji on the edge of Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa on 13 November 1871. Stanley's words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" have gone down in the history as one of the greatest understatements ever. Dr Livingstone is said to have replied, "You have brought me new life." Livingstone had missed the Franco-Prussian War, the opening of the Suez Canal, and the inauguration of the transatlantic telegraph. Livingstone refused to return to Europe with Stanley and continued on his journey to find the source of the Nile. He died in May 1873 in the swamps around Lake Bangweulu. His heart and viscera were buried, then his body was carried to Zanzibar, from where it was shipped to Britain. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in London.
Unlike Livingstone, Stanley was motivated by fame and fortune. He travelled in large, well-armed expeditions -- he had 200 porters on his expedition to find Livingstone, who often travelled with only a few bearers. Stanley's second expedition set off from Zanzibar towards Lake Victoria (which he sailed around in his boat, the Lady Alice), then headed into Central Africa towards Nyangwe and the Congo (Zaire) River, which he followed for some 3,220 kilometres from its tributaries to the sea, reaching Boma in August 1877. He then set off back into Central Africa to find Emin Pasha, a German explorer believed to be in danger from warring cannibals.
Mary Kingsley’s (1862-1900) father spent most of his life accompanying noblemen around the world, keeping diaries and notes which he hoped to publish. Educated at home, she learned the rudiments of natural history from him and his library. He employed a tutor to teach his daughter German so she could help him translate scientific papers. His comparative study of sacrificial rites around the world was his major passion and it was Mary's desire to complete this which took her to West Africa after her parents' deaths in 1892 (within six weeks of each other). Her two journeys weren't remarkable for their geological exploration, but were remarkable for being undertaken, alone, by a sheltered, middle-class, Victorian spinster in her thirties without any knowledge of African languages or French, or much money (she arrived in West Africa with only £300). Kingsley did collect specimens for science, including a new fish which was named after her. She died nursing prisoners of war in Simon's Town (Cape Town) during the Anglo-Boer War.
NAMIBIA—HERERO GENOCIDE
The German Emperor replaced Major Leutwein with another commander, this time a man notorious for brutality who had already fiercely suppressed African resistance to German colonisation in East Africa. Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha said, 'I wipe out rebellious tribes with streams of blood and streams of money. Only following this cleansing can something new emerge'. Von Trotha brought with him to German South West Africa 10,000 heavily-armed men and a plan for war.Under his command, the German troops slowly drove the Herero warriors to a position where they could be hemmed in by attack on three sides. The fourth side offered escape; but only into the killing wastes of the Kalahari desert. The German soldiers were paid well to pursue the Herero into this treacherous wilderness. They were also ordered to poison the few water-holes there. Others set up guard posts along a 150-mile border: any Herero trying to get back was killed.On October 2, 1904, von Trotha issued his order to exterminate the Herero from the region. 'All the Herero must leave the land. If they refuse, then I will force them to do it with the big guns. Any Herero found within German borders, with or without a gun, will be shot. No prisoners will be taken. This is my decision for the Herero people'.After the Herero uprising had been systematically put down, by shooting or enforced slow death in the desert from starvation, thirst and disease (the fate of many women and children), those who still lived were rounded up, banned from owning land or cattle, and sent into labour camps to be the slaves of German settlers. Many more Herero died in the camps, of overwork, starvation and disease. By 1907, in the face of criticism both at home and abroad, von Trotha's orders had been cancelled and he himself recalled, but it was too late for the crushed Herero. Before the uprising, the tribe numbered 80,000; after it, only 15,000 remained.During the period of colonisation and oppression, many women were used as sex slaves. (This had not been von Trotha's intention. 'To receive women and children, most of them ill, is a serious danger to the German troops. And to feed them is an impossibility. I find it appropriate that the nation perishes instead of infecting our soldiers.') In the Herero work camps there were numerous children born to these abused women, and a man called Eugen Fischer, who was interested in genetics, came to the camps to study them; he carried out medical experiments on them as well. He decided that each mixed-race child was physically and mentally inferior to its German father (a conclusion for which there was and is no respectable scientific foundation whatever) and wrote a book promoting his ideas: 'The Principles of Human Heredity and Race Hygiene'. Adolf Hitler read it while he was in prison in 1923, and cited it in his own infamous pursuit of 'racial purity'.
The Berlin Conference: General Act of Feb. 26, 1885
It was not until after the mid-nineteenth century that the imperialist great powers of Europe showed renewed interest in the continent of Africa, particularly in the hitherto unexplored central regions comprising modern-day Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This interest was heightened by the expected opportunities for raw materials and investment that these territories could provide for Europe's continuing industrialization. There was competition, of course, among the powers as they eyed the opportunities and set the stage for intrusion. Much interest was concentrated on the Congo region (modern Zaire) upon which King Leopold II of Belgium had set his sights (it later turned out to be a lucrative source of rubber). However, the old colonial nation of Portugal, with African interests in Angola and Mozambique extending back over three centuries, also saw the Congo region as its historical sphere of influence. International rivalry and diplomatic infighting such as developed out of this competition for influence prompted France and Germany to suggest the notion of a European conference to resolve contending claims and provide for a more orderly ‘carving up’ of the continent. The Conference met at Berlin from November 1884 through Februart 1885 and resulted in the following agreement--The Berlin Act of 1885. It was attended by representatives of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Russia, U.S.A., Portugal, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Turkey.
The Act allotted "spheres of influence" to the relevant powers and established the Congo basin as the Congo Free State under the sovereignty of Leopold II in his personal capacity as head (and chief financial backer) of the private International Congo Association. Some of the main provisions of the Act are as follows; note in particular the doctrine of "effective occupation" as prescribed in Art. XXXV.
Chap. I [relating to the Congo River Basin and adjacent territories]
I. The trade of all nations shall enjoy complete freedom
II. All flags, without distinction of nationality, shall have free access to the whole of the coast-line of the territories . . .
III. Goods of whatever origin, imported into these regions, under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, or overland, shall be subject to no other taxes than such as may be levied as fair compensation for expenditure in the interests of trade . . .
IV. Merchandise imported into these regions shall remain free from import and transit duties [subject to review after 20 years]
V. No power which exercises or shall exercise sovereign rights in the . . regions shall be allowed to grant therein a monopoly or favor of any kind in matters of trade...
VI. All the powers exercising sovereign rights or influence in the aforesaid territories bind themselves to watch over the preservation of the native tribes, and to care for the improvement of the conditions of their moral and material well-being and to help in suppressing slavery, and especially the Slave TradeChristian missionaries, scientists, and explorers, with their followers, property, and collections, shall likewise be the objects of especial protection.Freedom of conscience and religious toleration are expressly guaranteed to the natives, no less than to subjects and to foreigners . . .
Chap. II Documents relative to the Slave Trade
IX. ............the Powers which do or shall exercise sovereign rights or influence in the territories forming the .. basin of the Congo declare that these territories may not serve as a market or means of transit for the trade in slaves, of whatever race they may be. Each of the Powers binds itself to employ all the means at its disposal for putting an end to this trade and for punishing those who engage in it.
The Scramble for Africa: Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to Divide Africa
Meeting at the Berlin residence of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1884, the foreign ministers of fourteen European powers and the United States established ground rules for the future exploitation of the "dark continent." Africans were not invited or made privy to their decisions.
Photo from the book The Horizon: History of Africa, American Heritage Publishing Co., New York, 1971, page 452.
Result of Colonization:
The European colonial powers shared one objective in their African colonies; exploitation. But in the way they governed their dependencies, they reflected their differences. Some colonial powers were themselves democracies (the United Kingdom and France); others were dictatorships (Portugal, Spain). The British established a system of indirect rule over much of their domain, leaving indigenous power structure in place and making local rulers representatives of the British Crown. This was unthinkable in the Portuguese colonies, where harsh, direct control was the rule. The French sought to create culturally assimilated elites what would represent French ideals in the colonies. In the Belgian Congo, however, King Leopold II, who had financed the expeditions that staked Belgium's claim in Berlin, embarked on a campaign of ruthless exploitation. His enforcers mobilized almost the entire Congolese populations to gather rubber, kill elephants for their ivory, and build public works to improve export routes. For failing to meet production quotes, entire communities were massacred. Killing and maiming became routine in a colony in which horror was the only common denominator. After the impact of the slave trade, King Leopold's reign of terror was Africa's most severe demographic disaster. By the time it ended, after a growing outcry around the world, as many as 10 million Congolese had been murdered. In 1908 the Belgium government administrators, and the Roman Catholic Church each pursued their sometimes competing interest. But no one thought to change the name of the colonial capital: it was Leopoldville until the Belgian Congo achieved independence in 1960.
The following material is from the book Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, by H. J. de Blij, Peter O. Muller, 2003
1884-1885 - Berlin West African Conference carves Africa into spheres of control
In November 1884, the imperial chancellor and architect of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, convened a conference of 14 states (including the United States) to settle the political partitioning of Africa. Bismarck wanted not only to expand German spheres of influence in Africa but also to play off Germany's colonial rivals against one another to the Germans' advantage. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.
The Berlin Conference was Africa's undoing in more ways than one. The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African Continent. By the time Africa regained its independence after the late 1950s, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily. The African politico-geographical map is thus a permanent liability that resulted from the three months of ignorant, greedy acquisitiveness during a period when Europe's search for minerals and markets had become insatiable.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Midterm Review
Midterm Examination Study Guide/Dr. Schmoll/History 102
TEST DATE: MONDAY, FEB. 9
YOU MUST BRING A BLUE BOOK FOR THIS TEST!
I. Identifications: 50% (You answer 5 out of 6)
These are terms that are of particular relevance to the historical period
we have covered. You must identify as completely as possible in a single paragraph (who what when where) and give the significance of the term.
KEY TERMS LIST:
Continental System
Napoleonic Code
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon on Elba
Congress of Vienna
Decembrist Revolt
Volk
William Blake
Estates General
The Bastille
Louis XIV (14th)
Louis XVI (16th)
Marie Antoinette
"L'etat C'est Moi”
Representation of the People Act
Otto von Bismarck
Peter the Great
The Sadler Committee
Crystal Palace
Factory Act of 1833
Charles Fourier
Galileo
Sir Isaac Newton
Salon Movement
Franz Anton Mesmer
Oath of the Tennis Court
Max. Robespierre
The Great Fear
Franco-Prussian War
Thermidorean Reaction
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
Reign of Terror
Communist Manifesto
II. Essay: 50% (You answer 1 of 2)
There will be two essay questions. You will choose one and write a thorough and
detailed essay. The essay topics will come from the following areas:
1. Candide: Think about how this book represents the period of the Ancien Regime. Link it, the way we did in discussion, to the historical themes of the time.
2. Origins and outcome of the French Revolution
With this one, focus on the principle material and ideological causes from lecture and readings, the significance of the French Revolution in sculpting Modern Europe.
3. The rise and fall of Napoleon. Did his leadership of France betray the ideals of the French Revolution or fulfill them?
4. Otto von Bismarck and the unification of Germany.
TEST DATE: MONDAY, FEB. 9
YOU MUST BRING A BLUE BOOK FOR THIS TEST!
I. Identifications: 50% (You answer 5 out of 6)
These are terms that are of particular relevance to the historical period
we have covered. You must identify as completely as possible in a single paragraph (who what when where) and give the significance of the term.
KEY TERMS LIST:
Continental System
Napoleonic Code
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon on Elba
Congress of Vienna
Decembrist Revolt
Volk
William Blake
Estates General
The Bastille
Louis XIV (14th)
Louis XVI (16th)
Marie Antoinette
"L'etat C'est Moi”
Representation of the People Act
Otto von Bismarck
Peter the Great
The Sadler Committee
Crystal Palace
Factory Act of 1833
Charles Fourier
Galileo
Sir Isaac Newton
Salon Movement
Franz Anton Mesmer
Oath of the Tennis Court
Max. Robespierre
The Great Fear
Franco-Prussian War
Thermidorean Reaction
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
Reign of Terror
Communist Manifesto
II. Essay: 50% (You answer 1 of 2)
There will be two essay questions. You will choose one and write a thorough and
detailed essay. The essay topics will come from the following areas:
1. Candide: Think about how this book represents the period of the Ancien Regime. Link it, the way we did in discussion, to the historical themes of the time.
2. Origins and outcome of the French Revolution
With this one, focus on the principle material and ideological causes from lecture and readings, the significance of the French Revolution in sculpting Modern Europe.
3. The rise and fall of Napoleon. Did his leadership of France betray the ideals of the French Revolution or fulfill them?
4. Otto von Bismarck and the unification of Germany.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Napoleon and Nationalism Outline
The Taint of Hubris: Napoleon (1769-1821)
"Ambition is never content, even on the summit of greatness."
Hegel’s Great Man Theory:
“They may be called Heroes,” says Hegel, “inasmuch as they have derived their purposes and their vocation, not from the calm, regular course of things, sanctioned by the existing order; but...from that inner Spirit, still hidden beneath the surface, which, impinging on the outer world as on a shell, bursts it in pieces, because it is another kernel than that which belonged to the shell in question.”
“They attained no calm enjoyment,” Hegel writes, “their whole life was labor and trouble; their whole nature was naught else but their master-passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel.”
HERE’S A QUESTION FROM A PREVIOUS FINAL EXAM:
Is historical change inevitable or the result of leaders imposing their will upon the world? To answer this question, refer to at least FOUR of the following: Louis the 14th, Peter the Great, Robespierre, Napoleon, Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II (WWI), Hitler, and/or Churchill.
I. Introduction and Early Life
II. Political Life in Napoleonic France
“The Revolution is over; I am the Revolution.”
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution"
A. Civic Code
B. Merit in Promotion
C. Continental System
III. Napoleon's True Love:
Napoleon and Josephine
Letter to Josephine Dec. 29, 1795
I awake all filled with you. Your image and the intoxicating pleasures of last night, allow my senses no rest. Sweet and matchless Josephine, how strangely you work upon my heart. Are you angry with me? Are you unhappy? Are you upset? My soul is broken with grief and my love for you forbids repose. But how can I rest any more, when I yield to the feeling that masters my inmost self, when I quaff from your lips and from your heart a scorching flame? Yes! One night has taught me how far your portrait falls short of yourself! You start at midday: in three hours I shall see you again. Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amor! but give me none back for they set my blood on fire.
--and then--
Napoleon and Marie Louise
IV. Napoleon's Real True Love: War
“Retreats cost far more in men and materiel than the most bloody engagements, except that in a battle the enemy loses nearly as much as you, while in retreat the loss is all on your side.”
“In planning a campaign I purposely exaggerate all the dangers and all the calamities that the circumstances make possible.”
A. Major Victories:
Italian Campaign (1796)
Egyptian Campaign (1798)
Napoleonic Wars
B. Defeat:
"Battle" of Moscow: 1812-1814
(banishment to Elba)
Another soldier: “Napoleon has discovered a new way to make war; he makes us use our legs instead of our bayonets.”
Jakob Walter:
On the Grande Armee’s Problems:
“…often still living, the pig would be cut and torn to pieces. Several times I succeeded in cutting off something but I had to chew it and eat it uncooked since my hunger could not wait for the chance to boil the meat.”
“In order to obtain water for drinking and cooking, holes were dug into the swamps three feet deep in which the water was collected. The water was very warm, however, and was reddish-brown with million of little red worms so that it had to be bound in linen and sucked through with the mouth.”
Battle of Waterloo: 1815
Facing the Duke of Wellington
(Arthur Wellesley)
Napoleon on Waterloo:
“Ce sera l’affaire d’un dejeuner.”
(loosely translated, it’ll be over by lunch)
V. Exit Napoleon/Enter a New Europe
A. Congress of Vienna
B. Other Definitions of Europe
J.G. Herder "Das Volk"
Romanticism
Carbonari
"Decembrist Revolt"
Napoleon on, hmmm, life, honor, death…
“Death is nothing, but to live defeated everyday is to die everyday.”
Ernst Arndt
What is the German’s Fatherland?
As far as the German tongue sounds
And God in Heaven sings songs
That is what it should be!
It should all of Germany!
Ernst Arndt: (1769-1860)
Was ist Deutschen Vaterland?
So weit die deutsche Zunge klingt
Und Gott im Himmel Lieder singt
Das sol les sein!
Das ganze Deutschland soll es sein.
Tyger ! Tyger ! (1794) by William Blake ( 1757-1827)
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the nightWhat immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skiesBurnt the fire of thine eyes?On what wings dare he aspire?What the hand dare seize thy fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,Could twist the sinews of thy heart?And why thy heart began to beat,What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?In what furnace was thy brain?What the anvil? what dread graspDare its deadly terrors grasp?
When the stars threw down their spearsAnd water'd heaven with their tears,Did he smile his work to see?Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the night,What immortal hand or eyeDare frame thy fearful symmetry?
"Ambition is never content, even on the summit of greatness."
Hegel’s Great Man Theory:
“They may be called Heroes,” says Hegel, “inasmuch as they have derived their purposes and their vocation, not from the calm, regular course of things, sanctioned by the existing order; but...from that inner Spirit, still hidden beneath the surface, which, impinging on the outer world as on a shell, bursts it in pieces, because it is another kernel than that which belonged to the shell in question.”
“They attained no calm enjoyment,” Hegel writes, “their whole life was labor and trouble; their whole nature was naught else but their master-passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel.”
HERE’S A QUESTION FROM A PREVIOUS FINAL EXAM:
Is historical change inevitable or the result of leaders imposing their will upon the world? To answer this question, refer to at least FOUR of the following: Louis the 14th, Peter the Great, Robespierre, Napoleon, Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II (WWI), Hitler, and/or Churchill.
I. Introduction and Early Life
II. Political Life in Napoleonic France
“The Revolution is over; I am the Revolution.”
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution"
A. Civic Code
B. Merit in Promotion
C. Continental System
III. Napoleon's True Love:
Napoleon and Josephine
Letter to Josephine Dec. 29, 1795
I awake all filled with you. Your image and the intoxicating pleasures of last night, allow my senses no rest. Sweet and matchless Josephine, how strangely you work upon my heart. Are you angry with me? Are you unhappy? Are you upset? My soul is broken with grief and my love for you forbids repose. But how can I rest any more, when I yield to the feeling that masters my inmost self, when I quaff from your lips and from your heart a scorching flame? Yes! One night has taught me how far your portrait falls short of yourself! You start at midday: in three hours I shall see you again. Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amor! but give me none back for they set my blood on fire.
--and then--
Napoleon and Marie Louise
IV. Napoleon's Real True Love: War
“Retreats cost far more in men and materiel than the most bloody engagements, except that in a battle the enemy loses nearly as much as you, while in retreat the loss is all on your side.”
“In planning a campaign I purposely exaggerate all the dangers and all the calamities that the circumstances make possible.”
A. Major Victories:
Italian Campaign (1796)
Egyptian Campaign (1798)
Napoleonic Wars
B. Defeat:
"Battle" of Moscow: 1812-1814
(banishment to Elba)
Another soldier: “Napoleon has discovered a new way to make war; he makes us use our legs instead of our bayonets.”
Jakob Walter:
On the Grande Armee’s Problems:
“…often still living, the pig would be cut and torn to pieces. Several times I succeeded in cutting off something but I had to chew it and eat it uncooked since my hunger could not wait for the chance to boil the meat.”
“In order to obtain water for drinking and cooking, holes were dug into the swamps three feet deep in which the water was collected. The water was very warm, however, and was reddish-brown with million of little red worms so that it had to be bound in linen and sucked through with the mouth.”
Battle of Waterloo: 1815
Facing the Duke of Wellington
(Arthur Wellesley)
Napoleon on Waterloo:
“Ce sera l’affaire d’un dejeuner.”
(loosely translated, it’ll be over by lunch)
V. Exit Napoleon/Enter a New Europe
A. Congress of Vienna
B. Other Definitions of Europe
J.G. Herder "Das Volk"
Romanticism
Carbonari
"Decembrist Revolt"
Napoleon on, hmmm, life, honor, death…
“Death is nothing, but to live defeated everyday is to die everyday.”
Ernst Arndt
What is the German’s Fatherland?
As far as the German tongue sounds
And God in Heaven sings songs
That is what it should be!
It should all of Germany!
Ernst Arndt: (1769-1860)
Was ist Deutschen Vaterland?
So weit die deutsche Zunge klingt
Und Gott im Himmel Lieder singt
Das sol les sein!
Das ganze Deutschland soll es sein.
Tyger ! Tyger ! (1794) by William Blake ( 1757-1827)
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the nightWhat immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skiesBurnt the fire of thine eyes?On what wings dare he aspire?What the hand dare seize thy fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,Could twist the sinews of thy heart?And why thy heart began to beat,What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?In what furnace was thy brain?What the anvil? what dread graspDare its deadly terrors grasp?
When the stars threw down their spearsAnd water'd heaven with their tears,Did he smile his work to see?Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the night,What immortal hand or eyeDare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
COUNTRY STUDY ASSIGNMENT
Dr. Schmoll/History 102/Winter 2009 DUE DATE: 1/30
COUNTRY STUDY
History 102 focuses heavily on certain countries to the exclusion of many others (see below). Hence, as part of History 102 you now have the opportunity to learn about some country other than France, Germany, or England.
Your project should have three parts:
ü Part 1: BASIC HISTORY: briefly discuss the creation of the modern nation and/or your nation’s role in any of the events discussed in this course;
ü Part 2: FASCINATING FACTS: amazing events, people, foods, language, festivals, jokes, movies about, your country;
ü Part 3: ROLE IN THE MODERN WORLD: why is this country important in the modern world? What modern conflicts involve your country? What economic, social, or military issues impact your country?
This will be written as a 2 page, double-spaced essay. That’s not long, so get right to the point. Cite your sources in whatever format you would like to use. Also, feel free to bring me a draft beforehand. I will revise it thoroughly with you. This must be done face to face.
This project is worth 10% of your grade.
You may choose any country from the following list:
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Vatican City
Here are some sources for this study:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
http://www.worldinfozone.com/newslink.php?section=Europe
Here’s another idea: talk to a reference librarian. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Remember, do not steal words that are not your own. When you get information from a source, site it.
TURNITIN.COM Class ID: 2555883
Password: history
1. Printed Essay due in class 1/30.
2. Electronic version due online: midnight of 1/30
You do not need to print out a receipt from turnitin.
COUNTRY STUDY
History 102 focuses heavily on certain countries to the exclusion of many others (see below). Hence, as part of History 102 you now have the opportunity to learn about some country other than France, Germany, or England.
Your project should have three parts:
ü Part 1: BASIC HISTORY: briefly discuss the creation of the modern nation and/or your nation’s role in any of the events discussed in this course;
ü Part 2: FASCINATING FACTS: amazing events, people, foods, language, festivals, jokes, movies about, your country;
ü Part 3: ROLE IN THE MODERN WORLD: why is this country important in the modern world? What modern conflicts involve your country? What economic, social, or military issues impact your country?
This will be written as a 2 page, double-spaced essay. That’s not long, so get right to the point. Cite your sources in whatever format you would like to use. Also, feel free to bring me a draft beforehand. I will revise it thoroughly with you. This must be done face to face.
This project is worth 10% of your grade.
You may choose any country from the following list:
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Vatican City
Here are some sources for this study:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
http://www.worldinfozone.com/newslink.php?section=Europe
Here’s another idea: talk to a reference librarian. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Remember, do not steal words that are not your own. When you get information from a source, site it.
TURNITIN.COM Class ID: 2555883
Password: history
1. Printed Essay due in class 1/30.
2. Electronic version due online: midnight of 1/30
You do not need to print out a receipt from turnitin.
FRENCH REVOLUTION OUTLIN
The French Revolution: 1789-1799
I. Introduction:
II. Origins:
A. Poor Leadership
B. American Revolution
C. Economic Problems
D. Problems with the Three Estates
III. The First Revolution:
A. The Oath of the Tennis Court
B. Storming the Bastille
C. The Great Fear
D. Dec. of Rights of Man
E. Women Respond to Poverty and Revolution
IV. New Government:
Constitutional Monarchy
V. Wars Abroad: 1792-1802
(“levee en masse”=draft)
VI. The Second Revolution Begins (1792)
A. Maximilian Robespierre
B. The Terror
January 21, 1793:
Louis le Dernier
(Louis the Last)
VII. Thermidorean Reaction: 1794-1799
The Directory: 1795-1799
VIII. Significance
I. Introduction:
II. Origins:
A. Poor Leadership
B. American Revolution
C. Economic Problems
D. Problems with the Three Estates
III. The First Revolution:
A. The Oath of the Tennis Court
B. Storming the Bastille
C. The Great Fear
D. Dec. of Rights of Man
E. Women Respond to Poverty and Revolution
IV. New Government:
Constitutional Monarchy
V. Wars Abroad: 1792-1802
(“levee en masse”=draft)
VI. The Second Revolution Begins (1792)
A. Maximilian Robespierre
B. The Terror
January 21, 1793:
Louis le Dernier
(Louis the Last)
VII. Thermidorean Reaction: 1794-1799
The Directory: 1795-1799
VIII. Significance
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Beccaria, 1738-1794
Of Torture.
The torture of a criminal during the course of his trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations. It is used with an intent either to make him confess his crime, or to explain some contradictions into which he had been led during his examination, or discover his accomplices, or for
some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensible purgation of infamy, or, finally, in order to discover other crimes of which he is not accused, but of which he may be guilty.
No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection until it have been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of power, can authorise the punishment of a citizen so long as there remains
any doubt of his guilt? This dilemma is frequent. Either he is guilty, or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary, if he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for, in the eye of the law, every man is innocent whose crime has not been proved. Besides, it is confounding all relations to expect that a man should be both the accuser and accused; and that pain should be the test of truth, as if truth resided in the muscles and fibres of a wretch in torture. By this method the robust will escape, and the feeble be condemned. These are the inconveniences of this pretended test of truth, worthy only of a cannibal, and which the Romans, in many respects barbarous, and whose savage virtue has been too much admired, reserved for the slaves alone.
Of the Intent of Punishments.
From the foregoing considerations it is evident that the intent of punishments is not to torment a sensible being, nor to undo a crime already committed. Is it possible that torments and useless cruelty, the instrument of furious fanaticism or the impotency of tyrants, can be authorised by a political body, which, so far from being influenced by passion, should be the cool moderator of the passions of individuals? Can the groans of a tortured wretch recall the time past, or reverse the crime he has committed? The end of punishment, therefore, is no other than to prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society, and to prevent others from committing the like offence. Such punishments, therefore, and such a mode of inflicting them, ought to be chosen, as will make the strongest and most lasting impressions on the minds of others, with the least torment to the body of the criminal.
Of the Punishment of Death.
The useless profusion of punishments, which has never made men better induces me to inquire, whether the punishment of death be really just or useful in a well governed state? What right, I ask, have men to cut the throats of their fellow-creatures? Certainly not that on which the sovereignty and laws are founded. The laws, as I have said before, are only the sum of the smallest portions of the private liberty of each individual, and represent the general will, which is the aggregate of that of each individual. Did any one ever give to others the right of taking away his life? Is it possible that, in the smallest portions of the liberty of each, sacrificed to the good of the public, can be contained the greatest of all good, life? If it were so, how shall it be reconciled to the maxim which tells us, that a man has no right to kill himself, which he certainly must have, if he could give it away to another?
But the punishment of death is not authorised by any right; for I have demonstrated that no such right exists. It is therefore a war of a whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider as necessary or useful to the general good. But if I can further demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor useful, I shall have gained the cause of humanity. The death of a citizen cannot be necessary but in one case: when, though deprived of his liberty, he has such power and connections as may endanger the security of the nation; when his existence may produce a dangerous revolution in the established form of government.
Of Torture.
The torture of a criminal during the course of his trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations. It is used with an intent either to make him confess his crime, or to explain some contradictions into which he had been led during his examination, or discover his accomplices, or for
some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensible purgation of infamy, or, finally, in order to discover other crimes of which he is not accused, but of which he may be guilty.
No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection until it have been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of power, can authorise the punishment of a citizen so long as there remains
any doubt of his guilt? This dilemma is frequent. Either he is guilty, or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary, if he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for, in the eye of the law, every man is innocent whose crime has not been proved. Besides, it is confounding all relations to expect that a man should be both the accuser and accused; and that pain should be the test of truth, as if truth resided in the muscles and fibres of a wretch in torture. By this method the robust will escape, and the feeble be condemned. These are the inconveniences of this pretended test of truth, worthy only of a cannibal, and which the Romans, in many respects barbarous, and whose savage virtue has been too much admired, reserved for the slaves alone.
Of the Intent of Punishments.
From the foregoing considerations it is evident that the intent of punishments is not to torment a sensible being, nor to undo a crime already committed. Is it possible that torments and useless cruelty, the instrument of furious fanaticism or the impotency of tyrants, can be authorised by a political body, which, so far from being influenced by passion, should be the cool moderator of the passions of individuals? Can the groans of a tortured wretch recall the time past, or reverse the crime he has committed? The end of punishment, therefore, is no other than to prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society, and to prevent others from committing the like offence. Such punishments, therefore, and such a mode of inflicting them, ought to be chosen, as will make the strongest and most lasting impressions on the minds of others, with the least torment to the body of the criminal.
Of the Punishment of Death.
The useless profusion of punishments, which has never made men better induces me to inquire, whether the punishment of death be really just or useful in a well governed state? What right, I ask, have men to cut the throats of their fellow-creatures? Certainly not that on which the sovereignty and laws are founded. The laws, as I have said before, are only the sum of the smallest portions of the private liberty of each individual, and represent the general will, which is the aggregate of that of each individual. Did any one ever give to others the right of taking away his life? Is it possible that, in the smallest portions of the liberty of each, sacrificed to the good of the public, can be contained the greatest of all good, life? If it were so, how shall it be reconciled to the maxim which tells us, that a man has no right to kill himself, which he certainly must have, if he could give it away to another?
But the punishment of death is not authorised by any right; for I have demonstrated that no such right exists. It is therefore a war of a whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider as necessary or useful to the general good. But if I can further demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor useful, I shall have gained the cause of humanity. The death of a citizen cannot be necessary but in one case: when, though deprived of his liberty, he has such power and connections as may endanger the security of the nation; when his existence may produce a dangerous revolution in the established form of government.
Monday, January 12, 2009
CANDIDE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Dr. Schmoll History 102
Candide Discussion Questions
HOW TO READ CANDIDE:
Ø For fun…you will not be tested on the specifics from this book. It will appear on the midterm, but the question will be driven by the themes we discuss in class.
Ø Look for signs of historical worth(such as in question 2 below);
Ø Finally, keep an eye out for answers to the following questions:
1. Describe the philosophy of Pangloss?
2. Why is Candide kicked out of the castle? What point do you think Voltaire
is trying to make here?
3. Describe the land of Eldorado. What do you think it represented for
Voltaire?
4. Why are there so many different settings in the novel? Describe the ones
that stand out most to you.
5. What are Candide's living conditions at the conclusion of the story? Has his
philosophy changed?
6. Based on this story, how happy and contented a place was Europe in the
18th century?
7. What do the "noble savages" of the new world represent?
8. Voltaire’s Candide ends in the following way: "we must cultivate our
garden." Interpret this statement. How do the many events in this book—both good and bad—support or refute the concept of cultivating one’s garden?
Candide Discussion Questions
HOW TO READ CANDIDE:
Ø For fun…you will not be tested on the specifics from this book. It will appear on the midterm, but the question will be driven by the themes we discuss in class.
Ø Look for signs of historical worth(such as in question 2 below);
Ø Finally, keep an eye out for answers to the following questions:
1. Describe the philosophy of Pangloss?
2. Why is Candide kicked out of the castle? What point do you think Voltaire
is trying to make here?
3. Describe the land of Eldorado. What do you think it represented for
Voltaire?
4. Why are there so many different settings in the novel? Describe the ones
that stand out most to you.
5. What are Candide's living conditions at the conclusion of the story? Has his
philosophy changed?
6. Based on this story, how happy and contented a place was Europe in the
18th century?
7. What do the "noble savages" of the new world represent?
8. Voltaire’s Candide ends in the following way: "we must cultivate our
garden." Interpret this statement. How do the many events in this book—both good and bad—support or refute the concept of cultivating one’s garden?
Sci Rev and Enlightenment Outline
The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
I. Defining the Scientific Rev:
II. Discovering the World:
A. Galileo
B. Isaac Newton
III. Disseminating the Info:
A. The Salon Movement
B. Baloon Men: Montgolfier
B. Franz Anton Mesmer (an anti-example)
IV. Defining the Enlightenment:
A. Main Principles:
1. reason
2. Sci. Method
3. Utilitarianism
4. Education
5. Legal reform (Beccaria)
6. Constitutionalism
B. Philosophes
(Locke, Smith, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu)
1. Progress
2. Deism
3. Optimism
C. Age of Faith over Reason?
D. Enlightened Absolutism
Ø Frederick the Great (Frederick II) of Prussia (ruled 1740-1785).
Ø Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (ruled 1740-1780)
Ø Emperor Joseph II of Austria (ruled 1765-1790)
Ø Catherine the Great of Russia (ruled 1762-1796)
V. Results?
I. Defining the Scientific Rev:
II. Discovering the World:
A. Galileo
B. Isaac Newton
III. Disseminating the Info:
A. The Salon Movement
B. Baloon Men: Montgolfier
B. Franz Anton Mesmer (an anti-example)
IV. Defining the Enlightenment:
A. Main Principles:
1. reason
2. Sci. Method
3. Utilitarianism
4. Education
5. Legal reform (Beccaria)
6. Constitutionalism
B. Philosophes
(Locke, Smith, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu)
1. Progress
2. Deism
3. Optimism
C. Age of Faith over Reason?
D. Enlightened Absolutism
Ø Frederick the Great (Frederick II) of Prussia (ruled 1740-1785).
Ø Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (ruled 1740-1780)
Ø Emperor Joseph II of Austria (ruled 1765-1790)
Ø Catherine the Great of Russia (ruled 1762-1796)
V. Results?
Are these quotes ENLIGHTENED?
Galileo Galilei
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means given us knowledge which we can attain by them."
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Sir Isaac Newton
"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."
Rene Descartes
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
"Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one
thinks he needs more of it than he already has."
Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!"
"I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about."
Ben Franklin
"He was so intelligent, that he could name a horse in nine Languages. So ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on."
"He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas."
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means given us knowledge which we can attain by them."
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Sir Isaac Newton
"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."
Rene Descartes
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
"Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one
thinks he needs more of it than he already has."
Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!"
"I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about."
Ben Franklin
"He was so intelligent, that he could name a horse in nine Languages. So ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on."
"He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas."
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
READING ONE: Two Accounts of a Witchcraft Trial
A Trial at Bamberg Court Transcripts:
On Wednesday, June 28, 1628, was examined without torture Johannes Junius, Burgomaster at Bamberg, on the charge of witchcraft: how and in what fashion he had fallen into that vice. Is fifty-five years old, and was born at Niederwaysich in the Wetterau. Says he is wholly innocent, knows nothing of the crime, has never in his life renounced God; says that he is wronged before God and the world, would like to hear of a single human being who has seen him at such gatherings [as the witch-sabbaths].
Confrontation of Dr. Georg Adam Haan. Tells him to his face he will stake his life on it, that he saw him, Junius, a year and a half ago at a witch-gathering in the electoral council-room, where they ate and drank. Accused denies the same wholly.
Confronted with Hopffens Elsse. Tells him likewise that he was on Haupts-moor at a witch-dance; but first the holy wafer was desecrated. Junius denies. Hereupon he was told that his accomplices had confessed against him and was given time for thought.
On Friday, June 30, 1628, the aforesaid Junius was again without torture exhorted to confess, but again confessed nothing, whereupon, . . . since he would confess nothing, he was put to the torture, and first the Thumb screws were applied. Says he has never denied God his Saviour nor suffered himself to be otherwise baptized; will again stake his life on it, feels no pain with the thumb-screws.
Leg-screws. Will confess absolutely nothing; knows nothing about it. He has never renounced God; will never do such a thing; has never been guilty of this vice; feels likewise no pain.Is stripped and examined; on his right side is found a bluish mark, like a clover leaf, is thrice pricked therein, but feels no pain and no blood flows out.
He has never renounced God; God will not forsake him; if he were such a wretch he would not let himself be so tortured; God must show some token of his innocence. He knows nothing about witchcraft. . . .
On July 5, the above Junius is without torture, but with urgent persuasions; exhorted to confess, and at last begins and confesses:
When in the year 1624 his law-suit at Tothweil cost him some six hundred florins, he had gone out, in the month of August, into his orchard at Friedrichsbronnen; and, as he sat there in thought, there had come to him a woman like a grass-maid, who had asked him why he sat there so sorrowful; he had anwered that he was not despondent, but she had led him by seductive speeches to yield him to her will. . . . And thereafter this wench had changed into the form of a goat, which bleated and said, "Now you see with whom you have had to do. You must be mine or I will forthwith break your neck." Thereupon he had been frightened, and tembled all over for fear. Then the transformed spirit had seized him by the throat and demanded that he should renounce God Almighty, whereupon Junius said, "God forbid," and thereupon the spirit vanished through the power of these words. Yet it came straightway back, brought more people with it, and persistently demanded of him that he renounce God in Heaven and all the heavenly host, by which terrible threatening he was obliged to speak this formula: "I renounce God in Heaven and his host, and will henceforward recognize the Devil as my God."
After the renunciation he was so far persuaded by those present and by the evil spirit that he suffered himself to be otherwise baptized in the evil spirit's name. The Morhauptin had given him a ducat as dower-gold, which afterward became only a potsherd.
He was then named Krix. His paramour he had to call Vixen. Those present had congratulated him in Beelzebub's name and said that they were now all alike. At this baptism of his there were among others the aforesaid Christiana Morhauptin, the young Geiserlin, Paul Glasers, [and others]. After this they had dispersed.
At this time his paramour had promised to provide him with money, and from time to time to take him to other witch-gatherings. . . .
Whenever he wished to ride forth [to the witch-sabbath] a black dog had come before his bed, which said to him that he must go with him, whereupon he had seated himself upon the dog and the dog had raised himself in the Devil's name and so had fared forth.
About two years ago he was taken to the electoral council-room, at the left hand as one goes in. Above at a table were seated the Chancellor, the Burgomaster Neydekher, Dr. Georg Haan, [and many others]. Since his eyes were not good, he could not recognize more persons.
More time for consideration was now given him. On July 7, the aforesaid Junius was again examined, to know what further had occurred to him to confess. He confesses that about two months ago, on the day after an execution was held, he was at a witch-dance at the Black Cross, where Beelzebub had shown himself to them all and said expressly to their faces that they must all be burned together on this spot, and had ridiculed and taunted those present. . . .
Of crimes. His paramour had immediately after his seduction demanded that he should make away with his younger son Hans Georg, and had given him for this purpose a gray powder; this, however, being too hard for him, he had made away with his horse, a brown, instead.
His paramour had also often spurred him on to kill his daughter, ... and because he would not do this he had been maltreated with blows by the evil spirit.
Once at the suggestion of his paramour he had taken the holy wafer out of his mouth and given it to her. . . .
A week before his arrest as he was going to St. Martin's church the Devil met him on the way, in the form of a goat, and told him that he would soon be imprisoned, but that he should not trouble himself--he would soon set him free. Besides this, by his soul's salvation, he knew nothing further; but what he had spoken was the pure truth; on that he would stake his life. On August 6, 1628, there was read to the aforesaid Junius this his confession, which he then wholly ratified and confirmed, and was willing to stake his life upon it. And afterward he voluntarily confirmed the same before the court.
Johannes Junius’ Account
I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it--God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also--God in highest Heaven have mercy--the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing. . . . Thereafter they first stipped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I though heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terible agony. . . .
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. . . . When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, where it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture you will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another. . . ."
On Wednesday, June 28, 1628, was examined without torture Johannes Junius, Burgomaster at Bamberg, on the charge of witchcraft: how and in what fashion he had fallen into that vice. Is fifty-five years old, and was born at Niederwaysich in the Wetterau. Says he is wholly innocent, knows nothing of the crime, has never in his life renounced God; says that he is wronged before God and the world, would like to hear of a single human being who has seen him at such gatherings [as the witch-sabbaths].
Confrontation of Dr. Georg Adam Haan. Tells him to his face he will stake his life on it, that he saw him, Junius, a year and a half ago at a witch-gathering in the electoral council-room, where they ate and drank. Accused denies the same wholly.
Confronted with Hopffens Elsse. Tells him likewise that he was on Haupts-moor at a witch-dance; but first the holy wafer was desecrated. Junius denies. Hereupon he was told that his accomplices had confessed against him and was given time for thought.
On Friday, June 30, 1628, the aforesaid Junius was again without torture exhorted to confess, but again confessed nothing, whereupon, . . . since he would confess nothing, he was put to the torture, and first the Thumb screws were applied. Says he has never denied God his Saviour nor suffered himself to be otherwise baptized; will again stake his life on it, feels no pain with the thumb-screws.
Leg-screws. Will confess absolutely nothing; knows nothing about it. He has never renounced God; will never do such a thing; has never been guilty of this vice; feels likewise no pain.Is stripped and examined; on his right side is found a bluish mark, like a clover leaf, is thrice pricked therein, but feels no pain and no blood flows out.
He has never renounced God; God will not forsake him; if he were such a wretch he would not let himself be so tortured; God must show some token of his innocence. He knows nothing about witchcraft. . . .
On July 5, the above Junius is without torture, but with urgent persuasions; exhorted to confess, and at last begins and confesses:
When in the year 1624 his law-suit at Tothweil cost him some six hundred florins, he had gone out, in the month of August, into his orchard at Friedrichsbronnen; and, as he sat there in thought, there had come to him a woman like a grass-maid, who had asked him why he sat there so sorrowful; he had anwered that he was not despondent, but she had led him by seductive speeches to yield him to her will. . . . And thereafter this wench had changed into the form of a goat, which bleated and said, "Now you see with whom you have had to do. You must be mine or I will forthwith break your neck." Thereupon he had been frightened, and tembled all over for fear. Then the transformed spirit had seized him by the throat and demanded that he should renounce God Almighty, whereupon Junius said, "God forbid," and thereupon the spirit vanished through the power of these words. Yet it came straightway back, brought more people with it, and persistently demanded of him that he renounce God in Heaven and all the heavenly host, by which terrible threatening he was obliged to speak this formula: "I renounce God in Heaven and his host, and will henceforward recognize the Devil as my God."
After the renunciation he was so far persuaded by those present and by the evil spirit that he suffered himself to be otherwise baptized in the evil spirit's name. The Morhauptin had given him a ducat as dower-gold, which afterward became only a potsherd.
He was then named Krix. His paramour he had to call Vixen. Those present had congratulated him in Beelzebub's name and said that they were now all alike. At this baptism of his there were among others the aforesaid Christiana Morhauptin, the young Geiserlin, Paul Glasers, [and others]. After this they had dispersed.
At this time his paramour had promised to provide him with money, and from time to time to take him to other witch-gatherings. . . .
Whenever he wished to ride forth [to the witch-sabbath] a black dog had come before his bed, which said to him that he must go with him, whereupon he had seated himself upon the dog and the dog had raised himself in the Devil's name and so had fared forth.
About two years ago he was taken to the electoral council-room, at the left hand as one goes in. Above at a table were seated the Chancellor, the Burgomaster Neydekher, Dr. Georg Haan, [and many others]. Since his eyes were not good, he could not recognize more persons.
More time for consideration was now given him. On July 7, the aforesaid Junius was again examined, to know what further had occurred to him to confess. He confesses that about two months ago, on the day after an execution was held, he was at a witch-dance at the Black Cross, where Beelzebub had shown himself to them all and said expressly to their faces that they must all be burned together on this spot, and had ridiculed and taunted those present. . . .
Of crimes. His paramour had immediately after his seduction demanded that he should make away with his younger son Hans Georg, and had given him for this purpose a gray powder; this, however, being too hard for him, he had made away with his horse, a brown, instead.
His paramour had also often spurred him on to kill his daughter, ... and because he would not do this he had been maltreated with blows by the evil spirit.
Once at the suggestion of his paramour he had taken the holy wafer out of his mouth and given it to her. . . .
A week before his arrest as he was going to St. Martin's church the Devil met him on the way, in the form of a goat, and told him that he would soon be imprisoned, but that he should not trouble himself--he would soon set him free. Besides this, by his soul's salvation, he knew nothing further; but what he had spoken was the pure truth; on that he would stake his life. On August 6, 1628, there was read to the aforesaid Junius this his confession, which he then wholly ratified and confirmed, and was willing to stake his life upon it. And afterward he voluntarily confirmed the same before the court.
Johannes Junius’ Account
I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it--God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also--God in highest Heaven have mercy--the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing. . . . Thereafter they first stipped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I though heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terible agony. . . .
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. . . . When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, where it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture you will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another. . . ."
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
TURNITIN.COM INFO
For the essays in this course, we will use turnitin.com.You need to sign in to this site and have your essay in some electronic format.
Go to turnitin.com and follow the instructions to sign in.
The enrollment code for this class 2555883.
The password is history.
Do you feel we have been "corporatized" by employing turnitin?
As with everything in here, if you have any questions at all, by all means contact me, and we'll solve them together!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Course Syllabus
History 102 (1)
Winter 2009
10:55-12:15 MWF
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Office Phone: 654-6549
Office Hours: MWF
Email: bschmoll@csub.eduMUSIC BUILDING 112
Required Texts:
Voltaire, Candide
Ernst Junger, Storm of Steel
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
Course Description:
The following is from the CSUB History Dept. website: “An introduction to the major historical events in Western culture which contributed to the shaping of the modern world, 1750 to present. Emphasis is placed on the process of modernization in the transformation of Europe, the United States, and the Third World. Pre-requisite: English 100 or its equivalent.”
( http://www.csub.edu/history/westciv.htx)
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmolleuropeanhistory.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Dear Class,
I am so pleased to welcome you to this course. This quarter, we will enjoy numerous experiences together, traveling on countless mental journeys. To start things off, I have constructed a syllabus that will guide the class, hopefully answer many of your questions, and become the official constitution and law of this course.
Why is this syllabus so long, you may ask? As a student, you realize what you must do to succeed in college, right? Some students, rather than doing what is necessary and accepting the consequences of their decisions, would rather abuse the system by searching for loopholes in each professor’s syllabus. One of the best professors to ever teach at this institution never even gave students a syllabus; how would he fare in our overly legalistic climate today? I’ll let you ponder that, but for now, it’s important to say that this ridiculously long syllabus represents my desire to state all rules and regulations and to clarify what this course is all about.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much high literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Grading Scale
Class Participation 10%=100 points
Midterm Exam 30%=250 points
Final Exam 30%=300 points
Country Study 10%=100 points
Primo Levi Essay 20%=250 points
Waiting List Policy:
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class if you come to every class and if you turn in the work while you are there. Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you so desire. If no one drops out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
Course Schedule:
Wed 1/7 Introduction/Europe at 1750
Fri 1/9 Scientific Revolution/Assign Candide Reading Guide
Mon 1/12 Absolutism and the Old Order
Wed 1/14 Absolutism and the Old Order
Fri 1/16 Candide READING DUE
Mon 1/19 French Revolution/Assign Country Study
Wed 1/21 French Revolution
Fri 1/23 Library and Reading Day/No class
Mon 1/26 Napoleon
Wed 1/28 Congress of Vienna
Fri 1/30 Industrialism/Country Study Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Mon 2/2 Industrialism/Midterm Review
Wed 2/4 Industrialism/New Nationalism
Fri 2/6 Midterm
Mon 2/9 European Imperialism: Scramble for Africa
Wed 2/11 World War I
Fri 2/13 World War I
Mon 2/16 STORM OF STEEL READING DUE
Wed 2/18 Russian Revolution and Stalin
Fri 2/20 Influenza, Weimar, and the World Depression
Mon 2/23 Hitler’s Germany
Wed 2/25 WW II
Fri 2/27 The Holocaust
Mon 3/2 Primo Levi Discussion
Wed 3/4 The Cold War
Fri 3/6 Revolutions of 1968
Mon 3/9 E. Europe before the Fall/Levi Essay Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Wed 3/11 Collapse of the Soviet Union
Fri 3/13 The European Union/Review for Final Exam
Mon 3/16 Last Day of Class
Wed 3/18 FINAL EXAM 11-1:30
Winter 2009
10:55-12:15 MWF
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Office Phone: 654-6549
Office Hours: MWF
Email: bschmoll@csub.eduMUSIC BUILDING 112
Required Texts:
Voltaire, Candide
Ernst Junger, Storm of Steel
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
Course Description:
The following is from the CSUB History Dept. website: “An introduction to the major historical events in Western culture which contributed to the shaping of the modern world, 1750 to present. Emphasis is placed on the process of modernization in the transformation of Europe, the United States, and the Third World. Pre-requisite: English 100 or its equivalent.”
( http://www.csub.edu/history/westciv.htx)
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmolleuropeanhistory.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Dear Class,
I am so pleased to welcome you to this course. This quarter, we will enjoy numerous experiences together, traveling on countless mental journeys. To start things off, I have constructed a syllabus that will guide the class, hopefully answer many of your questions, and become the official constitution and law of this course.
Why is this syllabus so long, you may ask? As a student, you realize what you must do to succeed in college, right? Some students, rather than doing what is necessary and accepting the consequences of their decisions, would rather abuse the system by searching for loopholes in each professor’s syllabus. One of the best professors to ever teach at this institution never even gave students a syllabus; how would he fare in our overly legalistic climate today? I’ll let you ponder that, but for now, it’s important to say that this ridiculously long syllabus represents my desire to state all rules and regulations and to clarify what this course is all about.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much high literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Grading Scale
Class Participation 10%=100 points
Midterm Exam 30%=250 points
Final Exam 30%=300 points
Country Study 10%=100 points
Primo Levi Essay 20%=250 points
Waiting List Policy:
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class if you come to every class and if you turn in the work while you are there. Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you so desire. If no one drops out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
Course Schedule:
Wed 1/7 Introduction/Europe at 1750
Fri 1/9 Scientific Revolution/Assign Candide Reading Guide
Mon 1/12 Absolutism and the Old Order
Wed 1/14 Absolutism and the Old Order
Fri 1/16 Candide READING DUE
Mon 1/19 French Revolution/Assign Country Study
Wed 1/21 French Revolution
Fri 1/23 Library and Reading Day/No class
Mon 1/26 Napoleon
Wed 1/28 Congress of Vienna
Fri 1/30 Industrialism/Country Study Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Mon 2/2 Industrialism/Midterm Review
Wed 2/4 Industrialism/New Nationalism
Fri 2/6 Midterm
Mon 2/9 European Imperialism: Scramble for Africa
Wed 2/11 World War I
Fri 2/13 World War I
Mon 2/16 STORM OF STEEL READING DUE
Wed 2/18 Russian Revolution and Stalin
Fri 2/20 Influenza, Weimar, and the World Depression
Mon 2/23 Hitler’s Germany
Wed 2/25 WW II
Fri 2/27 The Holocaust
Mon 3/2 Primo Levi Discussion
Wed 3/4 The Cold War
Fri 3/6 Revolutions of 1968
Mon 3/9 E. Europe before the Fall/Levi Essay Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Wed 3/11 Collapse of the Soviet Union
Fri 3/13 The European Union/Review for Final Exam
Mon 3/16 Last Day of Class
Wed 3/18 FINAL EXAM 11-1:30
OLD WORLD? NEW WORLD?
What about this photo (from Cantalapiedra, Spain) shows signs of being from an older, lost world? What historical changes have resulted in this sort of thing not happening anymore?(and yes, that is me in the back on the right)
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