Thursday, 9 of February.

Today in Social Sciences Cristina has been with us. Ángel has started has give us the map about Colonial Empires in 1910.

Then Cristina has asked some things to Paqui about the map and meanwhile we have been doing the exercises 8, 9 and 10 and we have to read the pages 35-36 about the big Colonial Empires, the Berlin conference and the consequences of colonialism.

In the last decades of the 19th century the big European powers started conquering territories. In 1885 an international conference sponsored by Otto Von Bismarck was celebrated in Berlin to establish some rules, organize colonization and avoid problems between the European countries.

At the end of the class we have started to talk about the PAEG and the language school. Some of the classmates doesn't know who want to study and maybe we go to talk with some teacher to guide us.

I'm sorry for the delay, but I couldn't write before.

Kisses.

Wednesday 8th February

Today in Social Sciences we have been with Cristina because Paqui hasn't come yet.
We have started speaking about changing the date the exam but there were people who didn't want won, so the exam has not been changed,Then Cristina has shown us the power point to check the exercises.
The first exercise was about the Italian unification, the second was about the German unification and the third was about the consequences.

Sorry but I don't have the first exercise so I put the second and third.

2.GERMAN UNIFICATION

 the German Confederation was formed by 38 states and the most important were: Prussia and Austria. In 1818 Prussia created a custom union, the Zollverein and explain the three wars that caused the German unification.

Bismarck knew that he neede a common cuase to unite all the Germana States and he looked for a cause billi against France, the traditional enemy of the Germans.
He manipulated a dispatch that explained the result of a conversation between Kaiser Wilhem I and The French ambossador at Erms Spa. The conversation (about the possible condidancy of Leopold Hohenzollerm to the throne of Spain) had been friendly but Bismarck manipulated the dispatch, sherpening the language and presenting the French ambassador's words as unacceptable.
France had no other option than cleclering war to Prussia.
All the German States united against France.

3.CONSEQUENCES OF THE GERMAN UNIFICATION FOR FRANCE.
-The 2nd Empire disappeared and 3rd Republic was proclaimed in France.
-France lost Alsace and Lorraina
-All the German States become united and the 2nd German Empire (Reich) was proclaime.
The French resentment against Germany remained for many years and the consequences of this war were
ONE OF THE CAUSES OF I WORLD WAR
That's all kisses ;)

Spain, the Ems Dispatch and the unification of Germany

Ems Dispatch, Bismarck´s edited version, 13th July 1870

Source: http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1392

What did a telegram have to do with the beginning of the French- Prussian War? What was the role of Spain on that affair? This is the curious story behind the scenes of the process of German unification:

In September 1868 there was a revolution in Spain against Isabella II´s monarchy. This was the so called Glorious Revolution. Politicians and military men from different parties (progressives, democrats and members of the Liberal Union) conspired against Isabella II, there was a military uprising in Cádiz and some days later Isabella II exiled in France. A period of six years of democratic government started (Democratic Sexenio). The leaders of the revolution formed a Provisional Government and called Constituent Cortes. The Cortes wrote a new Constitution in 1869 and they decided that Spain would go on being a monarchy. The Provisional Government commissioned General Juan Prim to look for a new king for Spain. This search for a new king was not only a Spanish affair, because all the European powers wanted to have their say. The main European powers had their favourite candidate and refused the candidates they didn´t like. Here you have  three cartoons about the monarch´s search: 

Isabella II, her son Alphonse, her brother-in-law, the Duke of Montpensier and a carlist

observing in Paris an advertisement about the search for a king in Spain.

Revista La Flaca, 10th July 1869

Source: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0JnOscyFpspMTRiMWZlMzAtYjYxYy00ODAzLTk5NGEtNzVmMTU3MTM5Njcz&hl=en_US

Prim, Topete and Serrano selling the Spanish crown at auction

Revista La Flaca,  27th March 1869

Source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Prim,_Serrano_%26_Topete_Subasta_Corona,_La_Flaca_(1869).JPG 

Espartero and Montpensier trying to occupy the Spanish throne.

Revista La Flaca, 12th June 1870

Source: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0JnOscyFpspZDJjNGFlMGItODllMS00MTU2LTk5OWMtNjQwN2YxNmZlMWFk&hl=en_US

These were the main candidates to the Spanish throne:

- Anthony of Orleans, Duke of Montpensier, a French candidate. He was Louis Philippe of Orleans´s son and was married to Luisa Fernanda, Isabella II´s sister. The Germans refused this candidate. He was involved on a duel in 1870, where he killed infant Enrique of Bourbon, and the Cortes rejected his candidacy. 

- Ferdinand of Coburg: he was married to Mary II, queen of Portugal. His candidacy was refused by all those who didn´t want an Iberian Union and he refused to be the king of Spain.

- General Baldomero Espartero, Duke of the Victory: he had had an important role in the 1st Carlist War, he had been regent between 1840 and 1843, the president of the governmet during the Progressive Biennium  and was one of the most respected figures of the Progressive Party. Espartero refused to become the king of Spain. 

- Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen: he was the Prussian candidate. The French didn´t like this option.

This last candidacy and the way the French opinion was communicated led to the war that completed the unification of Germany. This is what happened: 

Kaiser Wilhem of Prussia was spending some time at Ems Spa and he received the visit of the Count of Benedetti, French ambassador. The French ambassador politely communicated to Kaiser Wilhem that France wouldn´t like that Leopold of Hohenzollern became the king of Spain. Kaiser Wilhem I accepted this decision and sent a dispatch to Bismarck explaining the conversation. But Bismarck decided to manipulate the content of the dispatch and he changed the tone of the French ambassador´s words, sharpening the language and presenting the French position as unacceptable. The Ems Dispatch provoked an increase of tension between France and Prussia and France had no other option than declaring war to Prussia.

Kaiser Wilhem I of Prussia and the Count of Benedetti, walking at Bad Ems, 13th July 1870

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WilhelmIBenedetti.jpg

All the German States united to fight against France. The French were defeated in the Battle of Sedan, Napoleon III was captured, the 2nd Empire disappeared and the 3rd Republic was proclaimed in France. France lost Alsace and Lorraine and the 2nd German Empire (Reich) was proclaimed in 1871 in the Hall of the Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles. Wilhem I became Emperor of Germany. 

And who became king of Spain in the end? Amadeus of Savoy. He was Victor Emmanuel II´s third son. His candidacy didn´t bother any important European country. On the 16th November 1870 the Cortes voted to elect the new king of Spain and Amadeus of Savoy got 191 votes. 60 deputies voted for a Federal Republic, 27 for the Duke of Montpensier, 8 for Espartero, 2 for Alphonse of Bourbon (Isabella II´s son), 2 for a Unitarian Republic, 1 for the Republic, 1 for the Duchess of Montpensier and there were 19 spoiled votes. 

PowerPoint presentation for Unit 5

Here you have the new PowerPoint presentation to study the new unit. It includes all the information for points 1 and 2: the unifications of Italy and Germany, the Age of Empires and colonialism.

Classwork and homework for next week

 Otto Von Bismarck offering slices of Africa to the European powers at the Berlin Conference

 Source: http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/06/chapter-40-history-of-caricatures.html

The Rhodes Colossus, depicting colonialist Cecil Rhodes 

as a giant standing over Africa and representing the Scramble for Africa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Colonialism/Selected_picture

Here you have what you will have to do during next week´s lessons: 

MONDAY, 6th 

- Student in charge of the journal: Daniel Pintado

- Copy the outline of the new unit on your notebook. It corresponds to Unit 4 on the book (pages 33-43):

UNIT 5: EUROPE IN THE 2ND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY.THE AGE OF EMPIRES

1. The unifications of Italy and Germany.

2. The Age of Empires

   A) Definition, causes and justification of colonialism

   B) Attitudes towards colonialism

   C) Conquest, organization and exploitation of the colonies

   D) The big colonial empires and Berlin Conference

   E) Consequences of colonialism

3. Spain in the 2nd half of the 19th century

  A) Isabella II´s reign

     a) The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856)

     b) Alternation between the moderates and the Liberal Union (1856-1868)

  B) The Glorious Revolution and the Democratic Sexenio (1868-1874)

     a) The Provisional Government (1868-1870)

     b) Amadeus I of Savoy´s reign (1871-1873)

     c) The 1st Republic (1873-1874)

  C) The Restoration (1875-1931)

- Read point 1 of the unit on page 33 and do exercises 1, 2 and 3 of page 41. 

On this unit you will have the possibility of doing a project about point 3 of the unit. It will consist of choosing one of the periods of the Spanish history in the 19th century, researching about it and making a comic (2 pages at least) or a video presentation, similar to this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2QVs4tGAWU&feature=related

WEDNESDAY, 8th

- Student in charge of the journal: Yolanda Abad

- Cristina Blanco will be with you. She will use a new ppt presentation to correct the activities you did on Monday.

- Start point 2 of the unit, copy the definition of  Age of Empires from the ppt presentation, read page 34 and do exercises 4, 5, 6 and 7 of page 41. 

THURSDAY, 9th

- Student in charge of writing the journal: Carmen Salido

- Read pages 35 and 36 and do exercises 8, 9 and 10 of page 41.

- Complete the blank map Cristina will give you about the big colonial empires. 

If I can´t come back next week, maybe you should think about doing the exam on a different date.

2011-2012 Challenges. Number 18

This week´s questions will refer to the International Workingmen´s Association and anarchism in Spain:

The first members of the IWA in Madrid

Source: http://platea.pntic.mec.es/~macruz/regenta/XIX.html

QUESTION 1

After the 1868 Glorious Revolution in Spain, the International Workingmen´s Association sent some propagandists to Spain spread the ideas of workers´ union. Who were the Marxist and Anarchist IWA propagandists who came to Spain? Which of them got more success?

QUESTION 2

After the failure of the Commune of Paris, there was a strong repression against the Anarchists and some of them oriented to the so-called "propaganda by the deed" and used terrorism as a way of destroying the institutions that repressed them. In Spain three prime ministers were assassinated by Anarchist gunmen in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. Who were these three prime ministers ? What were the names of their killers?

QUESTION 3

One of the consequences of the Tragic Week of Barcelona in 1909 was the execution of a famous Anarchist pedagogue. There was an international protest campaign against this execution. Who was this man?

Tragic Week of Barcelona, 1909

Source: http://www.fdomingor.jazztel.es/semana%20tragica.html

QUESTION 4

In 1910 an Anarchist union was created in Spain. What was its name? How many members did this union have before the Spanish Civil War?

QUESTION 5

Although the Anarchists declared themselves apolitical, during the Spanish Civil War four Anarchists became members of the government of the 2nd Republic. Who were these four ministers?

2nd of February, 2012

Today in Social Sciences....
At the beginning of the class in the corridor Paco the teacher of physics and chemistry has catched a little dog, because the dog were in the corridors around the high school. He went out with the dog.
Afterwards, Laura Muñoz has asked a question about the questions and answers that we have to do for tomorrow about the oral exam. And Cristina has said that tomorrow we have to give the questions and answers to her and we will do a listening in her class.
Then, we have started the class. Cristina has put the power point presentation and we have started checking the exercise 15 about the main ideas of anarchism that are:
-People are born free, but institutions (school, Church,..) snatch their freedom and limit their possibility of developing their capabilities.
-The only way of recovering freedom is destroying everything that limits people's capabilities and let people decide how to organize their lives: cooperating with other people or staying apart.
-Collective property.
-Trust in the revolutionary capability of both peasants and industrial workers.
Anarchism means "without government".

Source: http://www.anarchism.org/audio/es/

In the middle of the class, some people were throwing balls of paper to Ángel Aranda and they were not listening to Cristina.
Anarcho-Syndicalism, created unions in order to be organized and educated for revolution.
Then, we have checked the exercise 16 about the International Workingmen's Association (IWA):
In 1889, Marx proposed the creation of an International Workingmen's Association in London. Marxists, anarchists and trade unionists of Europe and North America formed the First International. Their slogan was "Workers of the world, unite!".

Source: http://redantliberationarmy.wordpress.com/category/homeless/

The First International dissolved in 1876 due to the disagreements between Marxists and Anarchists.
In 1889, the Second International was created. The workers' anthem was created and was established the International Worker's Day. The problems between those who wanted to make revolution and those who wanted to participate in the elections. It was dissolved during the First World War (WWI).
Afterwards, we have seen the differences between Marxisms and anarchism. Cristina has said that anyone are interesting in see the make-up exam, because they didn't ask for it. Then, Cristina has given the crossword and we have done in the class. She has put on the blackboard the days that can be the exam of this unit and we have voted and it will be the 13th of February, on monday.
Later, Cristina has answered the question of Sara about that she will have to study point 4 of the last unit and Cristina has said that if she didn't fail the project she won't have to do it.
The bell has rung and Cristina has said that she will send the answers of the crossword in an email, but Paqui has put on the blog this morning.
I hope you were better Paqui. See you :)

Answers to Unit 4 Crossword

Source: http://wow.joystiq.com/category/wow-crossword/

Here you have the right answers: 


ACROSS
1. PROPAGANDA BY THE DEED
2. MORTALITY
3. FACTORY SYSTEM
4. STEAM MACHINE
5. ANARCHISM
6. LIFE EXPECTANCY
7. KROPOTKIN
8. OWEN
9. UNIONS
10. BAKUNIN
11. TEXTILE
12. IRON AND STEEL
13. SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS
14. PRODUCTION LINE
15. LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND
16. MUTUAL BENEFIT SOCIETIES


DOWN
1. UTOPIAN SOCIALISM
2. IWA
3. MASS PRODUCTION
4. LOCOMOTIVE
5. CAPITALISM
6. WATT
7. BESSEMER
8. TURNIP AND CLOVER
9. STEPHENSON
10. AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
11. COKE
12. CHARTISM
13. MARX AND ENGELS
14. EDISON
15. ADAM SMITH
16. CLASS-BASED
17. ANARCHO-SYNDICALISM

Wednesday, 1st of February

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRu3cjOZtM7nxuKZMkkHG_CemfsmtNyZTsk190eMAG2nNJxdKR5U-taLDYm1VzxSWfd5AClBQmS8YAlOmwbmPsZq2tT7FTKrZv9etjxzWgPBlmk_psxclQZmMJccRkr-0hUfBNQVHSy6Q/s1600/karl-marx.jpg

Yesterday I couldn't write the journal because I was doing a project and I finished at half-past eight. I'm so sorry. I am going to write it now.

Yesterday in social sciences, Cristina was with us. At first, Cristina has started her computer and we started to correct the exercise.

- The exercise number 10 (that was corrected by Manuel) was Explain the first workers' protest. The answer was fine and Cristina complete it with a slide of the powerpoint.
- The exercise number 11 (that was corrected by me) was Define class cousciousness. I have answering with a little more things that there weren't relacionated with the question, but the rest was fine.
- The exercise number 12 (that was corrected by Angel) was Explain the first attempts of organization of workers. Angel gave the answer of the question number 10. After, Cristina asked to Javier and he said the correct answer. In this part of the class, we were talking about the mutual benefit societies and Laura asked Cristina how is the word fee in english, she said that is: "cuota". And Laura also asked to Javier from were he copied his answer, he said that his answer was a summary of the second a third paragrafh of the page 29.
- The exercise number 13 (that was corrected by Bea Antequera) was Explain what utopian socialism was. Bea gave the good answer and Cristina completed it with a slide of the powerpoint here you have the link http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com/2012/01/powerpoint-presentation-for-unit-4.html.
Afterwards, Cristina copied the traduction of the word Luddism in the blackboard (that means ludismo o movimiento mecanoclasta), and a list of antonym and she copied it in the blackboard. Here you have:
- Useful with his antonym useless.
- Painful with his antonym painless.
- Worth with his antonym worthless.

- And at least, the exercise number 14 (that was corrected by Andrea) was Explain the main ideas of Marxism/scientific socialism. She gave the correct answer and Cristina show us a slide of the powerpoint of  a comic for understand the question better (the link of the powerpoint is up)

Then the bell rang. We have outstanding the exercise number 15 for check and Crstina gave us for homework the final exercise the number 16.

I repeat that I'm so sorry and I want that Paqui come with us as soon as posible . Bye

Eugene Debs

Source: http://www.fishink.us/

Eugene Debs was an important organizer of the workers in the USA in the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. He also ran for president in several elections, but he didn´t get many votes. This is part of his interesting story: 

He started working when he was 14 years old in a railway company. He worked as a locomotive fireman and joined the Broterhood of Locomotive Firemen, a mutual benefit society for the railway workers. He also went to a night school to learn more and became an important figure in the Broterhood. But he thought that broterhoods were only focused on their members and he decided to create a union in 1893: the American Railway Union, which was one of the first industrial unions created in the USA. 

In 1894 the workers of the Pullman Company (the one that made the train cars) decided to go on strike, because the company had reduced their salaries by 28%. Debs considered that the union was not strong enough to go on strike yet, but the strike extended and he finally decided to join the strikers. The USA government got a warrant from the Court to oblige the workers to come back to work, because thay had obstructed the distribution of U.S. mail, and sent the army to end with the strike. Debs was arrested and sent to prison for six months. 

The time he spent in prison was crucial for him. He received thousands of letters and he read books about socialism and became aware of the injustice of the capitalist system. When he went out from prison, more than 100,000 people received him in Chicago. 

After his experience in jail, Debs went on with the organization of workers and contributed to the foundation of the Social Democratic Party in the USA and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an international union. Although he was a prominent and influencial figure, he rejected to be considered as a leader. He though that workers had to decide by themselves and not to follow others´ ideas. He said: "You must use your heads as well as your hands and get yourself out of your present condition". 

Debs ran for the presidence of the USA in 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920, but he didn´t get much support of the workers. His best result was in 1912, when he got 6% of the votes (901,551 votes).

Source: http://www.marxistbooks.com/product.php?productid=17557

In June 1918 he made a speech in Canton, Ohio, against military conscription for World War 1. As many Socialists, he considered that war to be in the interest of capitalists. Here you have part of his speech, read by the actor Marc Ruffalo:

No wonder Sam Johnson declared that “patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” He must have had this Wall Street gentry in mind, or at least their prototypes, for in every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the people.

Every solitary one of these aristocratic conspirators and would-be murderers claims to be an arch-patriot; every one of them insists that the war is being waged to make the world safe for democracy. What humbug! What rot! What false pretense! These autocrats, these tyrants, these red-handed robbers and murderers, the “patriots,” while the men who have the courage to stand face to face with them, speak the truth, and fight for their exploited victims—they are the disloyalists and traitors. If this be true, I want to take my place side by side with the traitors in this fight.

Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder. In the Middle Ages when the feudal lords who inhabited the castles whose towers may still be seen along the Rhine concluded to enlarge their domains, to increase their power, their prestige and their wealth they declared war upon one another. But they themselves did not go to war any more than the modern feudal lords, the barons of Wall Street go to war. The feudal barons of the Middle Ages, the economic predecessors of the capitalists of our day, declared all wars. And their miserable serfs fought all the battles. The poor, ignorant serfs had been taught to revere their masters; to believe that when their masters declared war upon one another, it was their patriotic duty to fall upon one another and to cut one another’s throats for the profit and glory of the lords and barons who held them in contempt. And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose—especially their lives.

They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people.

And here let me emphasize the fact—and it cannot be repeated too often—that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace.

Yours not to reason why;

Yours but to do and die.

That is their motto and we object on the part of the awakening workers of this nation. 

If war is right, let it be declared by the people. You who have your lives to lose, you certainly above all others have the right to decide the momentous issue of war or peace.

This speech was considered to be anti-patriotic and Debs was prosecuted by treason and sentenced to 10 years and disenfranchised (deprived of the right to vote) for life. President Wilson refused to pardon him. In 1921 President Harding commuted his sentence, because Debs was ill, and he was released on the 25th December 1921. A crowd of 50,000 people received him at home. 

Eugene Debs died in 1926. His life was an example of fight for the ideas he believed in and consistency with the defense of his principles. 

Source: http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/04/cameth-hour-eugene-v-debs.html