Thursday 16th of June

Good afternoon everybody!! Yesterday I forgot to write the journal so I'm going to write it now.

As always we have spoken. But first Paqui has given us our notebooks, and she has writen in my notebook that it is very good and good luck for the future. She has wished all of us "good luck for the future".

We have been studying P.E. because we have had an exam in the next period, our last exam. And while most of the people were studying, Paqui has been speaking with Marta and Stefa about WW2 and the Civil War. This lesson has been very good because we have been doing what we have wanted. But Paqui has told us that we are going to continue with Nazi Germany the next days.

So, the most important thing is that, in the end, we have finished our exams!!! :)

Thursday, 30th April, 2015

Hello everybody!!
Today in Social Sciences we have learnt a lot. Our today's lesson has been at the first period.
When I have arrived the class, Paqui and Alfredo were talking about a photography competition that Alfredo has won, so congratulations!!! Then, when all the people have arrived, the lesson has started.
First we have done a scheme of the Conference of Paris. We have written the participants (32 States), the features (the defeated countries were not allowed to attend. USA president Wilson's Fourteen Point Plan was the basic document to decide, but it wasn't implemented in the same way in Europe and in the Ottoman Empire. And the winners took revenge on the defeated countries) and the main decisions (that included the Treaty of Versailles, other treaties and the creation of the League of Nations).
While we were copying the scheme, Paqui has told us other treaties:
- Saint Germain: with Austria.
- Neuilly: with Bulgaria.
- Sèvres: with Turkey.
Then, Paqui has continued explaining the Treaty of Versailles. And Paqui has explained the losses of Germany. Here you can see the map in which are reflected the losses of Germany and also the free cities (Danzig and Memel).

The losses of Germany were a big cause of the World War 2.

Then the teacher has talked us about the Mandates of the League of Nations (1st map) and about Europe after the World War 1 (2nd map).

Paqui has explained us the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (that gave birth to the creation of the States of Austria and Hungary) and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (that was respected by Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in order to avoid the extension of the Russian Revolution).

Then she has explained the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire:

At first, all these territories belonged to the Ottoman Empire, but later, Turkey was declared as a country and then it was declared as a republic, the Republic of Turkey. The rest of the territories were organized in this way:

- Lebanon and Syria: were mandates of France.

- Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq: were mandates of Great Britain.

The words we have copied today in our glossary are:

- Vanquished/loser: perdedor

- To attend: asistir

- To implement: llevar a cabo

- League of Nations: Sociedad de Naciones

- Unanimous decision: decisiones por unanimidad

- Blue Helmets: cascos azules (UN)

- To disband: desmantelar

- Latvia: Letonia

I hope you have a good long-weekend, enjoy it, bye!!

Sources of the photos: presentation.

Monday, 16th of March, 2015

Hello everybody!!!
Today our Social Sciences lesson has been as always.
Today we have arrived faster. When all the people have been prepared, the lesson has started.
At first Paqui has remembered us the contents of the last week:
- Monroe doctrine
- Manifest destiny
- Roosevelt Corollary
The teacher has done a drawing of North America on the blackboard to explain us the westward expansion. She has told us the purchases of Florida, Alaska and Louisiana:
- Florida: its seller was Spain.
- Alaska: its seller was Russia.
- Louisiana: its seller was France.
The USA continued to conquering more territories, so they seized many territories to Mexico. Paqui has done a scheme in order to summarize the Westward expansion similar to this:
Westward expansion:
- Territories bought: Florida, Louisiana and Alaska.
- Territories conquered: territories conquered to Mexico and territories seired to native America.
Fran has asked why we say USA and EEUU, Paqui has explained that USA is used to speak in English and EEUU in Spanish. Sara has given us other example: SSMMRRMM.
The teacher has said that in the American imperialism there were two doctrines:
- Monroe doctrine ("America for the Americans").
- Roosevelt Corollary (USA can intervene in the Latin American business).
Then we have spoken about the Spanish American war in 1898. After this war Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines became territories under the control of the USA:
- Cuba: protectorate.
- Puerto Rico: annexed to the USA.
- Philippines: controlled militarily.
Paqui has asked if we know something about Guantánamo, and Silvia has explained what she knew. It is a USA military in Cuba where they have a jail and where they keep prissoners, who are suffering tortures and abuses for their alleged crimes.
Marta has spoken about a torture technique called "el submarino" (waterboarding) in which it seems that you are suffocated. Paqui has showed us some photos of the prisioners of Guantánamo.
Then a classmate has asked Paqui about how to say: Isabella or Elizabeth. She has told us that the correct way is to say Isabella. We have started to speak about queens and kings.
Phlip II was married with his niece nephew and then with his nephew.
The head of State of New Zealand, Canada and Australia is the queen of the United Kingom.
The Duke of Edinburg is the cousin of the queen Sofía, and the husband of the queen of the United Kingdom. Then we have seen some photos of William and Henry (the UK monarch's son).
Then we have seen some photos on the slides about the imperialism of the USA. The teacher has spoken us about the bald eagle which was the symbol of imperialism in the USA.
Then we have started to speak about imperialism in Japan:
- Commodore Perry: he obliged Japan to open their ports to western trade.
- Miji revolution: modernization of Japan and beginning of their expansion to the Asian continent in search of new materials.
The Japanese conquered Korea and their interests crashed with Russia in the North of China, in this way, the Russian-Japanese War appeared (1905).
Today we have copied three words for our glossaries:
- Jail: cárcel
- To release: liberar
- Bald eagle: águila calva
Our homework for today is to look for the positive and negative consequences of colonialism.

Jail of Guatánamo

http://www.urgente24.com/234723-4-afganos-repatriados-desde-guantanamo-quedan-132









Elizabeth II


http://vidasfamosas.com/2010/03/12/isabel-ii-reina-de-inglaterra/

Thursday, 29th of January

Good afternoon everybody!

Today in Social Sciences we have been less students because most of them are in Rome or in Berlin. So it has been a more relaxed lesson.

At first, Paqui has asked us about our homework. Then she has asked for a voluntary to crrect the first one and María has corrected it. During the correction of this exercise (number 4 on page 31) Paqui has told us an interesting piece of information. She has told us that Adam Smith was the father of liberalism. Paqui has explained us the factors that influenced prices too ans she has said that the States constantly intervened in economy. Then we have corrected the next exercise (number 5 on page 31). Azahara has been the voluntary student to correct it. And during the correction of this exercise, Paqui has told us that Caixa and the Bank of Catalonia have invested much money in La Vanguardia. 

After finishing the exercises' correction, the teacher has asked us about the Public Limited Companies, but we didn't know what to say about them. So she has given us some examples to explain it: the first one is about football teams, concretely, Real Madrid. And during the explanation she has looked for the translation of "socio" (partner). The other one was about Telefónica and she has looked for the capital of this company, that is: 4,657,204,330. And she has said that in this type of companies, people receive at the end of the year a payment influenced by the company's benefit. If the company has losses, nothing happens to you, because you only have invested money.

Then she has talked about capitalism, in which there is always benefit.

After all of these things, we have started the 3rd point: 2nd Industrial Revolution.

At first the teacher has said that when this revolution started, Great Britain lost importance. With this revolution:

- New sources of energy appeared: electricity and oil.

- There was a wave of inventions: the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the telephone and the first electric generator.

Paqui has told us that Graham Bell stole the patent to Antonio Meucci. 

- The industries that developed most were: metalworking industry and chemical industry.

- There were also new ways of organizing work: the taylorism or production line and the mass production or standardization.

Related to the new ways of organizing work, Paqui has showed us a short film by Charles Chaplin called Modern Times that makes jokes about this. But we only have seen a little part with a short duration, about 5 minutes, and then another about 4 minutes, because it's long. 

In the first one, the capitalist ordered all the time to increase the speed of the factory's machines. And in the second one they buy a machine to feed the workers in five minutes, in this way they could work more. But finally, this invention is a disaster.

To end the lesson, Paqui has given us an exercise to do at home. It is exercise number 8 on page 31.

The glossary we have copied today is:

- The Wealth of Nations: la riqueza de las Naciones.

- Advertising: publicidad.

- Public Limited Company: Sociedad Anónima.

- Partner: socio.

- Share/Stock: acción.

- Shareholder/Stockholder: accionista.

- Wins and losses: ganancias y pérdidas.

- Incandescent light bulb: bombilla.

- Tramway: tranvía.

- Subway: metro.

- Engine: motor.

- Alternate current: corriente alterna.

- Continuous current: corriente continua.

- Dye: tinte.

Antonio Meucci: http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/m/meucci.htm

Graham Bell: http://gaukartifact.com/2013/03/26/alexander-graham-bell-1847-1922-video/

Taylorism: http://profesoraitorakis.blogspot.com.es/2008/10/ii-revolucin-industrial.html

Standardization: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947019,00.html

And this is all for today, see you on Monday, I hope you have a good weekend! :)

Monday, 1st of December

Good afternoon everybody!
Today in Social Sciences we have done a lot of things and we have learnt a lot.
As always, at first, we have started speaking until Paqui has said: Stop talking please!!
Then, the lesson has started. Firstly Paqui has started speaking us about the scheme of the Bourbons and she has remembered us the content about Philip V and Ferdinand VI.
Paqui has remembered us also Philip V's main decisions and his political system:
- Nueva Planta Decrees.
- The Catilian institutions were extended to all the territory.
- Kings were helped by secretaries and councils.
- The division of the territory into provinces.
- The creation of intendants to collect taxes. They were an institution imported from France.
Paqui has said that he was married twice, and we have spoken also about his personal crises. Due to these crises he abdicated and his son Louis I became king, who reigned only for six months because he died of smallpox.

Philip V                                                                                                                          Ferdinand VI

Paqui has explained us what the cadastre was.

- The cadastre: it was a tax imposed in Catalonia related to the properties everybody had. Everybody had to pay for their properties, including the privileged. It had different names inside the Crown of Aragón. For example, in Valencia it was called "equivalente". But the privileged people of Castile didn't want to pay this tax.

There was another type of cadastre:

- The Marquis of Ensenada, Ferdinand VI's minister, wanted to impose this tax also in Castile and he prepared a big survey to know the properties of the population with the purpose of establishing a unique tax in Castile. Finally the tax wasn't imposed due to the protests of the privileged.

After this, we have started to speak about the TV programm Isabel. Paqui has told us that in today's chapter, Isabelle dies. And she has said that the next TV programm is about Charles I.

Later we have started with the Enlightened despotism. Paqui has started saying us that Aranda, Floridablanca were enlightened ministers and Charles III was an enlightened despot. Paqui has also explained us also the Esquilache riots, which appeared at the beginning of Charles III's reign. The privileged instigated the people's revolt using the new hygiene and public order ordinances as as a pretext. 

Charles made some reforms in order to prevent crime and illnesses.

- In order to prevent crime: they ordered to cut brims and cloaks.

- In order to prevent illnesses: they established very strict hygiene rules:

     - Price of wheat had been liberalized damaging speculators.

     - Privileged were afraid of Esquilache's reforms.

Charles III expelled the Jesuits because he accused them of having participated in the riots.

Absolute monarchs didn't like the Jesuits because they didn't obey them. They only obeid the Pope and the Church.

After this, we have started to speak about the reforms of the Enlightened monarchs:

- Educational.

- Administrative.

- Economic.

Finally, Paqui has written a scheme on the blackboard about the second part about the Enlightened despotism scheme.

During our lesson, today we have copied a lot of things in our glossary:

- Navy: armada

- Half brother: hermanastro

- Schillaci: Esquilache

- Wheat: trigo

- Brim: ala del sombrero

- Long cloak: capa larga

- Esquilache riots: motín de Esquilache

- To dimiss/ to fire: echar, despedir

- Jesuits/ Society of Jesus: jesuitas o compañía de Jesús

- To instigate: instigar, empujar a alguien a hacer algo

Pictures' sources:

Philip V 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_V_of_Spain

Ferdinand VI 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_VI_of_Spain

Brims and cloacks

http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com.es/2012_11_01_archive.html

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Caravaggio.

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter was made by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. It was painted in 1601 in Rome. Its commissioner was Tiberio Cerasi. He commissioned this painting and another one (The Conversion of Saint Paul in the road of Damascus) in 1600, and they were made in 1601. Here you have a portrait of Caravaggio:

In this painting, Caravaggio used the oil on canvas. It is 230 centimetres high and 175 centimetres wide. It represents the crucifixion of Saint Peter, who wanted to be crucified in the opposite way in order not to imitate to Christ. In the painting are other three men, they are Roman henchmen, whose faces are hidden. They are trying to raise the cross, although, according to Roberto Longhi's opinion, they seem to be workers and not to be executioners. This conclusion is due to their positions and their way of raising the cross and their clothes. The painting doesn’t show a bloody crucifixion, but the pain is present. It is a diagonal zig-zag that shows the martyrdom. Caravaggio used colors that contrasted light and shadow.

The subject is religious. The Crucifixion of Saint Peter is a Baroque painting, for this reason Caravaggio used oil on canvas. The chiaroscuro was used too, in which he created contrasts of lights and shadows. Predominance of color over drawing was present. For example, Caravaggio used contrast in the background because he painted it all with/in the same color. And he used also shadows, such as in the legs of the man in the yellow trousers. There are also foreshortened figures. As we can see, in the painting, the man who is on the left side is shortened because we can’t see his complete arm, and the cross too because we can’t see the whole cross. Caravaggio, as the rest of Baroque artists, used a complex composition for her work.

Here you have some photos that explain the characteristics of Baroque related to this painting:

Here you can see better the

contrast between the

background and the people.

We can see in this picture the

shadow of the man's leg.

Here we can see that the

man’s arm is shortened.

With these pictures we can explain what Roberto Longhi 
said. They seem to be workers due to their clothes, in this 
case, this man hasn’t shoes.

In these two next pictures you can see the complex composition they used during the Baroque.

A curious piece of information is that when Velázquez arrived to Rome, he was very influenced by Caravaggio’s paintings. Caravaggio's style had a great influence on Baroque painting.

Sources of the information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_St._Peter_(Caravaggio)

And some other information, I have found in other sites web but very few more. And the influence of Caravaggio’s paintings were explained by Paqui in a lesson.

Sources of the pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-crucifixion-of-st-peter-1601-230cm-x-175cm-caravaggio-6259925.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-crucifixion-of-st-peter-1601-230cm-x-175cm-caravaggio-6259925.html

The picture of the leg men’s shadow has been edited by me.

http://historiadelartecomentarios.blogspot.com.es/2008_05_01_archive.html

http://beatrizolivenza.blogspot.com.es/2014/07/a-los-pies-de-caravaggio.html

https://lh4.ggpht.com/eCxykbBUxIqej6iOYLNMJoJycWX8eLVD3vyHK7m7OoDzj3d0QB2968298oIWljKe2dbF=s85

https://alvarengomez.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/crucifixion-de-san-pedro-caravaggio/

I have used wordreference too to look for the meaning of words I didn’t know. http://www.wordreference.com/

Square and Colonnade of Saint Peter’s basilica, Bernini.

This architectural work is placed at the Vatican City, in Rome, Italy. It is a massive square located in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. At the center of the square there is an Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current place in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the man who designed this marvelous architecture, including the colonnades and a granite fountain. The construction of this architectural work was between 1656 and 1667. It was reformed after the construction of the basilica. It’s part of a religious building and enclosing the square, there is a colonnade that contains 140 statues of saints and martyrs of the catholic history.

The commissioner of this architectural work was the Pope.

The open space placed before the basilica was redesigned by Bernini from 1565 to 1667, he was directed by the Pope Alexander VII. Bernini had worked in the interior of the basilica a lot of time, for decades. It was an urban architecture with religious symbolism.

The square has a trapezoidal and elliptical shape. Bernini did this shape in order to create a heightened perspective, and people always have praised it as a masterpiece of Baroque.

In the middle of the square there is a big Egyptian obelisk of red granite of 25.5 meters tall supported on bronze lions. The obelisk, at first, was originally erected at Heliopolis, an important city of the Ancient Egypt, and it has been successfully moved three times. The Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since ancient Roman times. In the square there were also two fountains, one designed by Bernini and the other one designed by Carlo Maderno. The surface of the square was of 340 x 240 metres.

In his colonnade, Bernini used the Tuscan (form) and the Doric order. The Tuscan colonnades are four deep colonnades. And there were 244 Doric columns. The idea was to show a strict and austere aspect to give more importance to the Basilica’s façade. This will increase the size when you look at it. The materials used to build the colonnade were stones and marble. They are 15 meters tall.

In the colonnades there is an important characteristic of Baroque art: Bernini tries to represent movement with the ovato tondo’s long axis, that was parallel to the basilica's façade. The colonnades form the square, also known as “piazza”. This colonnades define the space and mask a large selection of Vatican structures.

The paving is composed of radiating lines in travertine marble to relieve what might otherwise be a sea of cobblestones. In 1817 circular stones were used to mark the noon with this circulars stones’ shadows. For this reason, we can deduce that the obelisk is a giant sun clock.

In general, the theme of this work was religious, such as in the Baroque works of art.

A curious piece of information about this, is that the Palace of the Concorde was made by copying the square of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and the obelisk and the fountains of this palace are placed exactly in the same place that the obelisk and the fountains of the square of this basilica.

And here you have a photo of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Sources of the information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Square

From this site web, I have read some things but I have not included anything: 

http://es.slideshare.net/claracan/plaza-y-baslica-de-san-pedro-4041134

http://www.disfrutaroma.com/plaza-san-pedro

Sources of the pictures:

http://www.loquehayqueverenitalia.es/la-plaza-de-san-pedro-en-el-vaticano/

http://de.yoyowall.com/wallpaper/piazza-san-pietro.html

http://www.venamimundo.com/GrandesPersonajes/Bernini.html

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/b/bernini.htm

I have used wordreference too to look for the meaning of words I didn’t know. 

http://www.wordreference.com/

Monday, 20th October, 2014

Good afternoon!

Today in Social Sciences lesson, as every day, we have done a lot of things.
First of all, Paqui has asked Silvia about his ankle, and Paqui has also asked about Sara, because she wasn't in the class. For this reason we have copied the two firsts words of our today's glossary:

- Sprain ankle: esguince en el tobillo.
- ID card: DNI.

Then, Paqui has reviewed our schemes, to see if we had done them. When she has finished, we have started to correct them. 
We have talked a little about the Man in the Iron Mask.
Paqui has explained us the definition of:

Hegemony: it is the first position in something. For example, in Asia is China, in Europe is Germany, in America are the United States...

We have seen a picture of the percentage of population loss in the Empire during the Thirty Years' War. 

We have spoken also about one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years' War:

Capture of Breda: in which Pihlip IV's troops conquered the city of Breda in 1634, but they were defeated at Rocroi in 1643.
We have also seen a photo of the decapitation of Charles I during the 1648 English revolutions, but this decapitation was in 1649.

Decapitation of Charles I

http://www.thegloriousrevolution.org/document.asp?doc=charles1

And we have copied a new word:

- Executioner: verdugo.

Then we have spoken about Oliver Cromwell. In the 1648 English revolutions he was declared Protector Lord, but he was a tyrant. Monarchy was restablished in 1660. But deputies limited the powers of the king with a new concept we have learnt:

HABEAS CORPUS: it was a right people had to defend himself when you were arrested. 

For example, if you were arrested, you could use the habeas corpues right to defend yourself, to ask why had you been arrested and prepare your defense (like a lawyer of the present). And in this way, the king couldn't arrest pepople arbitrarily. So it was an advance.

We have spoken about William of Orange too, who accepted the proposition of some English nobles to dethrone James II and become the king of England. In 1689 he swore the Bill of the rights, which limited the king's power and make decisions without the control of the Parliament.

William of Orange (1650-1702)

http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/bruijn/dutch.html

We have also learnt that during the 1688 English revolutions, England became a limited monarchy, and it was the first country to have one.

And finally, to end the lesson, we have spoken about Charles II. He was hermaphrodite. And he was lame and constantly drooling. He had all these problems because his chromosomes were XXY.

Charles II (1630-1685)

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35235/title/Did-Inbreeding-Royals-Evolve-/

We have also copied these words:

- Hegemony: hegemonía

- Capture: captura

- Westphalia: Westfalia

- Signature: firma

- Executioner: verdugo

- To cede: ceder

- HABEAS CORPUS: (Tengas cuerpo): the translation is the same in Spanish, but with an accent: Hábeas Corpus

- To swear: jurar

- Hexed: hechizado

- To heal: curar

And this is all for today, I hope you have a good afternoon.

Bye!!