WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2012

Today in social sciences class, at first it was Enrique´s birthday so we have sung the classic Happy Birthday to him, then Paqui has started to explain the unit with a powerpoint. Silvia has gone to the althia room to get her pendrive, but it wasn´t there, so Paqui has explained the eclesiastical confiscations, made by the liberals |Mendizábal (1835-1836)|, in which the properties of the Church were nationalized and sold at auction to get money to finance the Carlist War. Paqui has told us this with an example with people in the class, after she has told us that the lands were bought by the bourgeois because the peasants couldn´t have access to them, because most of them were illiterate, so they couldn´t read the posters in which it was. What the Church did against it was to excommunicate all the people who bought the lands that the bourgeois got.

Other things that the Liberal Revolution changed was the suppression of seigneurial rights and feudalism , guilds and interior customs, Promotion of free trade and industry, and in 1837 a new constitution was written, but it was less advanced than the one of 1812, because it had census suffrage, and the king got the suspensive veto.

General Espartero was proclaimed the regent of Spain in 1840, but his post lasted only three years until 1843, because he was very authoritarian. So in 1843 he resigned and the Cortes decided to give the power to Isabella, who was 13 years old, was of age and she was proclaimed queen.

Isabella II reingned between 1844 and 1868. She always preferred the moderates to rule and she called them to govermment in 1844. This consolidated Spain as a liberal State.

Ana and Javi have performed a scene about it where Ana was Isabella II and Javi was her prime minister, Olózaga, who was progressive and he wanted a constituional monarchy but the bell rang and we haven't had time to explain it well.

Some words that we didn´t understand were:

- Communicate: Comulgar, Excommunicate: Excomulgar.

- Morganatic marriage: Matrimonio monagático.

- Tariffs: Araceles.

So that´s all we have done in the lesson, so see you!

Here you can see Isabel II of Spain. Here you have the link of the image:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/IsabellaII.png

CARLIST WAR AND VERGARA AGREEMENT

Today, it has been a really cold day. We've started the lesson with Paqui who has reminded us the homework which she had given us for homework at Christmas.

We've started talking about Mª Cristina's Regency (1833-1840)

And we've copied a scheme about the regencies divided in Mª Cristina's Regency and Espartero's Regency.

After the scheme, we've checked exercise 22, but later Paqui's said: "Who wants to check?" And Enrique has checked it.

Then, we've reminded that in the Carlist War, Carlists fought against Isabelinos or Cristinos.

Paqui has told us which territories the Carlists occupied and General Gómez tried to spread it to the South of Spain.

The Carlists controlled some rural areas in the Basque Provinces, Navarre, Catalonia, Aragón and Valencia, but they couldn't take any important city or extend the war to the rest of Spain.

The war finished with the Vergara Agreement (1839) signed by Espartero (liberal) and Maroto (carlist).

In 1840 General Cabrera escaped to France from Spain.

Vergara Agreement

-The war finished.

-The Carlists got:

• The fueros of Nagvarre and the Basque Provinces were preserved.
• The Carlists' soldiers could join the liberal army with the same rank.

Then, Yolanda Rubio has checked exercise 23.

After this, Paqui has explained us the differences between moderates and progressives: both of them were liberals.

• Moderates wanted to enlarge moncharchs' powers and reduce citizens' rights. They were always supported by monarchs.
• Progressives wanted to reduce monarchs' powers and enlarge citizens' rights.They always reached power after popular uprisings and military uprisings because they didn't have monarchs' support.

Then Silvia has checked exercise 24 which was about the Liberal Revolution in Spain.

Paqui has explained us the causes of the progressives' uprisings were the same: bad harvests, high prices of food...

Led by the progressive party. They reached power after several popular uprisings in the summer of 1835.

Paqui has reminded us wars and uprisings always started in summer because with the heat, people is more irritable.

Reforms:

• Main goal: End with the Ancien Régime.
• Suppression of:Seigneurial rights

Feudalism

Interior customs

Guilds

Inquisition

Afterwards, Paqui has explained us that if a noble had debts, he had to tie his lands in the future to the people who had lent him the money; but if a bourgeois was in the same situation, the people who had lent the money, confiscated his lands, or part of them. This privilege was abolished during the Liberal Revolution and this was called untying.

• Eclesiastical confiscation of Mendizábal.Government needed money and they confiscated his lands.

Vocabulary:

• It's worth it- vale la pena
• Hug- abrazo
• Camarades in arms- Compañeros de armas
• Untying- Desvinculación
• Tying- Ligar/Unir algo
• To Confiscate- Expropiar/Confiscar
• Eclesiastical confiscation- Desamortización eclesiástica
• Nun- monja

Well, and the bell's rang. So the lesson has finished and the break has started.

Espartero
http://www.terra.es/personal2/juanjeda/asocia_h_3_r.html

Maroto
http://documentacionhistoriabachillerato.blogspot.com/2011/03/imagen-el-general-maroto_13.html

The new government of Spain

Here you have some information about the new Spanish government. After the general elections in November 2011, PP was the winning party. They got more deputies in the Congress and two weeks ago, after the investiture session, Mariano Rajoy was elected president of the government by the majority of representatives chosen by the citizens. Some days later Rajoy announced the number and names of the new ministers. Some of them were ministers of the last PP governments, such as Ana Pastor, Cristóbal Montoro or Miguel Arias Cañete, but the rest are new. Soraya Sáez de Santamaría is the new vice-president and spokeswoman and she accumulates a lot of power in her hands, because she is going to control the intelligence service (CNI) as well. Here you have the new faces:

Source: http://www.efeverde.com/contenidos/mediateca/fototeca/23-diciembre-2011-13-16-00-gobierno-de-mariano-rajoy

And here you have a link to get more information about the new ministries and ministers. You can also read their biographies: 

http://www.cuartopoder.es/laespumadeldia/2011/12/22/rajoy-forma-su-primer-gobierno-en-clave-economica-y-de-amistad-personal/

70,000 visits!

Hello everyone! The first I want to say is happy new year!!

As you can see, we have reached the 70,000 visits. I think we all have done a good work this term. If we continue like this, we're going to reach the 100,000 visits before the summer starts! People from all the world is still visiting our blog, so this can mean that our posts are helpful for them to know and to learn some new things about history. Let's go on like this all the course left. C'mon , we can! And the visits continue rising...

Bye! Happy 2012.

2011-2012 Challenges. Number 14

These are the questions for the last challenge of the year. They are about Spain´s history and the refer to the Regencies´ period and the first stage of Isabella II´s reign:

QUESTION 1

In September 1832 when  Ferdinand VII became ill, several intransigent absolutists put pressure on him in order to change the succession law in favour of Ferdinand´s brother, Carlos María Isidro. When this intrigue was discovered, a violent scene took place in La Granja Palace. One of Ferdinand VII´s sisters-in-law had an important role in this incident. Who was this lady? What happened?

QUESTION 2

Three months after Ferdinand VII´s death, his widow and Regent, Mª Cristina, married in secret a man who worked in the royal palace. Who was this man and what was his job when he met the Regent? What nobility title did he receive when this marriage became public and official ten years later?

QUESTION 3

In 1835, during the First Carlist War, the city of Bilbao was besieged by the carlist troops. According to the legend, a famous dish of the Spanhish cuisine was invented by the carlist general who commanded this siege of Bilbao. Who was this general? What tasty dish did he supposedly invent?

General Espartero´s entrance in Bilbao

Source: http://www.albumsiglo19mendea.net/cas/palabrafichadescriptiva.php?foto=000507&codigo=507&pag=2&texto=espartero

QUESTION 4

The First Carlist War finished with the signature of the Vergara Convention between two generals who had been comrades-in-arms during the independence wars of the Spanish American colonies. Who were these generals?

QUESTION 5

In 1843 Isabella II was declared of age when she was 13 years old. One month later, the proggressive prime minister Olózaga was involved in a strange incident, which led to the return of the moderates to power. What was the so called "Olózaga incident"?

Salustiano Olózaga

Source:http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salustiano_Ol%C3%B3zaga

QUESTION 6

When and why was the Guardia Civil created? What previous public order force was replaced by the Guardia Civil? Who was the first director of the Guardia Civil?

The last presentations for Unit 3

At Mari Luz´s request, here you have the PowerPoint presentations we´ve been using to end Unit 3. They can be useful for you to complete some exercises or schemes. 

P.S: I´ll include a holiday challenge in the following days. You will have until the 8th of  January to solve it. I hope that someone more tan Javi participates this time. 

22.12.11

Today in social sciences we have had a calm lesson.
At the beginning of the lesson Paqui has told our marks with a comment. My comment was that my notebook was a disaster and that i work very few that I copied all the exercises from the blackboard, I don´t participate in the blog at all and my first exam was horrible (but the second was good) in other words, I pass.

About the projects Paqui has said "I want to correct people's projects no machines' projects" because some people have used the translator for their projects.

When Paqui was trying to say all the marks we have received the visit of some Paqui ex-pupils. She has said they were very lovely and after that, some girls of the class have run to hug Paqui. Paqui has liked this visit.

As this afternoon Yolanda and me have a german exam we have practised the dialogue for all the class and Paqui has corrected all our mistakes. We have discovered Paqui knows German. She knows about everything!

For this Christmas holidays we have somethings for homework: we have to read all the new unit and write all the new words in the glossary. We have to dp exercises 20,22,23,24,25 of page 22.

At the end of the lesson, people who failed the exam have fixed the date of the make up exam. It is on the 16th of January.

Everyone has told merry Christmas to Paqui and a happy new year to her.

With This post we want to say merry Christmas and a happy new year to our readers from all around the world.

Today in Social Science, at the beginning of the lesson, Paqui has reminded us the features of Liberalism, the ones we copied on Monday. Liberalism is a political ideology that defines a political system based on the following ideas: the human beings are born free and have some inalienable rights, citizens’ rights are reflected on a Constitution, the State has to guarantee citizens’ rights (social contract) , national sovereignty in which power belongs to citizens, who exert it through the representatives they choose in the elections, division of powers to avoid abuse and free market economy in which the State doesn’t have to intervene in economy.

We have copied the two types of liberalism from the powerpoint; they are classical liberalism where the main word is only, because in this trend property is the main right, only those who have properties are considered to be citizens and they defended census suffrage; the other one is democratic liberalism where equality before the law is the main right and all citizens are equal and have the right to vote, they defended universal suffrage.



After that, Paqui has explained us Nationalism. People could decide if they wanted to become independent or to belong to a nation. There are two conceptions of nation. The first one is progressive inclusive, members of the nation want to belong to it, like France in the past. The second one is conservative or excluding, members of the nation are those who share some common features. An example of this is the Nazis with race.

Then, we have copied self-determination and self-government from the blackboard. We have spoken about Fichte, a romantic German writer who wrote “Address to the German Nation”.

Ana has said that for her it isn’t right to have to learn Catalan, Euskera and Gallego to work in Catalonia, the Basque Country or Galicia. Paqui has said that we have to open our minds, because we can’t close doors with the problems of the languages. Paqui has also said that if you go to study abroad with Erasmus grant you will understand many languages, because it is a new opportunity in which people know that the most important thing is people and they forget nations and languages, because languages are only the way of communicating. I think that always when you learn a new language, whatever it is, it is good for you, because it is new knowledge.

After that, Paqui has explained us the three revolutionary waves in the 1st half of the 19th century: in 1820, 1830 and 1848. We have copied a scheme about them and we have completed it with the power point.
We also have spoken about the end of the world. Yolanda Abad watched a documental on the computer about it and it said that will be on the 12th of December of the next year and it will be provoked by a particles accelerator.
At the end of the lesson, we have copied that Lord Byron was a British romantic poet. He died fighting for the independence of Greece.

Today we have learnt some words:
-Peoples: pueblos
-Flemish: flamenco
-The Craddle of civilization: cuna de la civilización.
http://blog.apostadigital.com/2011/09/21/las-tres-noches-sevillanas-de-lord-byron/

Farewell, Fernando

Today is a sad day for many people who had the chance to know Fernando Villanueva, one of the best teachers and true colleagues I´ve ever met. Fernando has always been for me an example of hard worker, devoted teacher and tolerant person. We had different opinions on several topics, but we could talk and learn from each other. I think the way he understood teaching  and his tolerance towards the others´ opinions are the best legacy we should keep and preserve. Today the world is a worst place and we all have lost a true teacher and an excellent person. IWe´ll never forget you. 


Lyrics of the song Leaning on  the Everlasting Arms: 


http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Leaning_on_the_Everlasting_Arms/

Time to think

Source: http://rushinspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/mans-search-for-meaning-understanding.html

Here you have some quotes to think about and grow internally. There are two authors with more than one quote. These are Albert Einstein, the famous scientist, and Viktor Frankl, a Jewish doctor who survived to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau from 1942 to 1945. Frankl wrote an inspirational book called Man´s  search for meaning. I hope you like the quotes and reach some conclusions from them. 

What is your favourite quote about making mistakes, learning how to be a better person and moving forward ?

• A stumble may prevent a fall. Thomas Fulller
• The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke
• The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. Friedrich Nietzsche.
• The hardest are the battles that I fight with myself every single day. Napoleon Bonaparte
• He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn, is in great danger. Confucius
• When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Viktor Frankl
• Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he/she learned in school. Albert Einstein.
• The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look and do nothing. Albert Einstein
• Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
• Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. Mark Twain.
• A human being is a deciding being. Viktor Frankl
• Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value. Albert Einstein