Assess the political, social and cultural significance of Versailles in the reign of Louis XIV

Assess the political, social and cultural significance of Versailles in the reign of Louis XIV The Palace of Versailles, a brainchild of Louis XIV, best exemplifies the great opulence during the reign of France's greatest monarch. Built with this end in mind, the significance of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV is unquestionable. It became a place for Louis to practise the art of government by spectacle and through ritual. Unprecedently grand, Versailles came to embody a form of court and government that would be widely admired and copied. One might wonder why Louis needed such a palace in an insignificant little town like Versailles when he had the splendid Palais Royale in Paris and other magnificent palaces elsewhere in France. The simple answer is the Frondes. As a child the Frondes had a profound impact on Louis. Louis witnessed his mother being humiliated by members of the noblesse d'epee and Mazarin being chased out of the country. This left two major effects on him. Firstly, Louis became determined not to allow the aristocracy to revolt in such a way ever again and secondly in order to do so, he required a new place splendid enough to represent him adequately. Versailles became a place for Louis to establish himself as the sole ruler of France and to erect his absolutist regime. Versailles had to perform one task in order for Louis to succeed: the fusion of

  • Word count: 1635
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The main reason for the failure of the second crusade was the lack of a clear and unified command structure. How far do you agree with this statement?

The main reason for the failure of the second crusade was the lack of a clear and unified command structure. How far do you agree with this statement? It is without question that the Second Crusade suffered from a lack of a clear and unified command structure as the two main leaders, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, were unable to cooperate in a cohesive manner. However, it was not the only reason for the failure of the crusade as there were a myriad of other factors such as the lack of clear aims and the problems associated with the method of travel chosen by the crusaders. Arguably, the lack of a clear and unified command structure was inevitable from the inception of the crusade as Bernard of Clairvaux's success in Germany meant that there were to be two separate armies marching on the Holy Land- a situation which is both logistically demanding and likely to breed a lack of focus. An important element in the success of the First Crusade was the fact that there were no monarchs involved-the vast majority of the crusaders were humble people fuelled by religious fervour and the promise of the afterlife. Furthermore, the armies of the second crusade were collectively much larger than the army of the first crusade, a fact which made it much harder to organise and command- as evidenced by the decision taken by Louis VII and Conrad III to take separate routes to

  • Word count: 996
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Why Did The Wartime Alliance Break Down?

Why Did The Wartime Alliance Break Down? By the end of the Second World War, there were three main victors, Britain, The United States Of America and the Soviet Union. At the start of the Second World War, this, "Big Three", had one united goal; to bring down Germany, as it was threatening both the Capitalist West and Communist East. However, even though all three leaders; Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin were allies in their goal, it does not mean that their relationship was a happy one, but they had to work together to defeat the Nazi Germany regime. After Germany was defeated, The Big Three met up on several occasions to deal with the aftermath of the war. At this time, their true motives came to be shown. Even during the war, there was already underlying tensions between the East and West countries, but they were forced to cooperate in an, "Marriage of Convenience". As soon as their mutual enemy was defeated, tensions rose. When examining the reasons in why the Alliance broke down, there were a number of long term and short term causes. The East and West had two completely different ideologies, which would present itself as a issue. The West supported Capitalism, based on free elections and the freedom of speech. In contrast, the East supported Communism. This comprised of a dictatorship, led by Joseph Stalin, lack of freedom of speech and essentially the government

  • Word count: 1659
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The cult of Stalin and the purges of the 1930(TM)s were two aspects of Stalin(TM)s determination to retain supreme power. How far do you agree with this opinion?

"The cult of Stalin and the purges of the 1930's were two aspects of Stalin's determination to retain supreme power". How far do you agree with this opinion? There is little doubt that Joseph Stalin made drastic and continual efforts to retain his supreme power during the 1930's. The two main methods and perhaps the most memorable are 'the great purges' (otherwise known as the 'great terror') and 'the cult of Stalin'. Although Stalin had been triumphant in the 'power struggle' against Leon Trotsky in 1929, rather than alleviating his insecurities, Stalin became increasingly paranoid. It seems that the more power and control he gained over Russia and its people, the more irrational and mistrustful he became. This was more than likely because he had more to lose and this encouraged him to instigate a more brutal and controlling regime. Other examples of his vindictive rule were the purging of kulaks during collectivisation and the excessive demands he made during industrialisation and the five-year plans. He also conducted purges targeted at Bolshevik opposition. He insisted on members reapplying for their membership to the party using excuses like corruption, drunkenness and being politically inactive to dismiss them, thus frightening members into submission. This was because if they lost their party cards they could lose their jobs, which ultimately meant they lost

  • Word count: 3208
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The Death of Mao

The Death of Mao Following the Cultural Revolution * Three main power groups emerged - Lin Biao and the PLA - Jiang Qing and the Shanghai radicals - Zhou Enlai and bureaucracy Lin Biao * Despite being named as Mao's successor he was one of the first casualties after the Cultural Revolution's violent phase ended by 1969. * Marx had taught Mao to be wary of strong military leaders. * Mao wanted to abolish the post of President but Lin disagreed, Mao thought Lin wanted it himself. * In 1970 Mao began to undermine Lin's position in the PLA. Lin Biao * In February 1971 it was clear that Lin no longer carried Mao's favour and he decided to fight back with the help of his son. * However when Mao became aware of the plan they decided to flee to southern China instead. Lin Biao * Zhou Enlai found this out and tried to stop them. The plane was forced to take off before being fully fuelled and so plans were made to go to the USSR instead. * However the plane crashed in outer Mongolia killing all 8 people on board. After Lin Biao * Who would succeed Mao? * Zhou Enlai was too old. * Jiang Qing was Mao's wife, but hated. After Lin Biao * Zhou Enlai - Wanted to increase contact with the west and organised a visit from President Nixon in 1972. - This began a relaxation of cultural policy and western orchestras were allowed to visit. - In 1973 exams were

  • Word count: 776
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How important was the role of the princes in bringing about the success of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany in the years 1525 to 1555?

How important was the role of the princes in bringing about the success of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany in the years 1525 to 1555? The princes played a very important role in bringing about the success of the Reformation with certain princes making a larger impact than others. Philip of Hesse, John and Maurice of Saxony and all that were part of the creation of the League of Schmalkalden all helped the Reformation's success. However Elector Frederick the Wise dies early in 1525 and his contributions with helping Luther's volatile situation after the Diet of Worms and beyond cannot be counted. The actual princes themselves were anyone with sovereign powers so could have been a number of people in power including emperors, one of the electors or even rich noblemen. Also the fact that some princes did very little to prevent the spread and success of Lutheranism was important as this could have hindered their chances significantly. However it was not just the princes that had a hand in the success, as the actual concept of Lutheranism was very pleasing to many of the people and that was the start of the whole conflict along with Luther himself being a great preacher and the help of the printing press to help the ideas spread. Most notable for his actions in the bringing about of the success of the reformation was Philip of Hesse who worked alongside many other

  • Word count: 1496
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Gandhi was instrumental in India achieving its independence. Gandhi was able to procure Indias independence by unifying the people of India, by reforming the Indian National Congress and by staging peaceful protests against the British authority.

Gandhi was a human being subject to all its faults and yet he became known as the Mahatma, the great soul. What Gandhi did for India is unthinkable. It sounds nearly impossible for one man to accomplish what Gandhi did alone and yet Gandhi accomplished it. Many of Gandhi's contemporaries, such as Martin Luther King Jr., took their ideas from Gandhi. Albert Einstein has said about Gandhi that, "It may be that in years to come men will scarce believe that one such as this ever in flesh or blood walked upon this earth (1)." Gandhi was instrumental in India achieving its independence. Gandhi was able to procure India's independence by unifying the people of India, by reforming the Indian National Congress and by staging peaceful protests against the British authority. Gandhi was born on October first 1869. When he was born no one ever expected him to become the man who liberated India. He was a normal child brought up in a conservative family. At the age of nineteen Gandhi sailed to London to obtain a law degree. In 1891 Gandhi with his law degree in hand returned to India to practice law. Within India Gandhi felt boxed in. For this reason Gandhi traveled to South Africa in 1893. In South Africa Gandhi worked as a legal advisor for an Indian firm. Gandhi was appalled by the level of discrimination that he saw. While in South Africa he was once thrown out of a first class train

  • Word count: 2189
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Mao's Hundred Flowers Essay

History Was the 'Hundreds Flowers' campaign a genuine attempt to allow more freedom or a clever ruse to trap critics of Mao? In 1956 Mao Zedong started a campaign to allow more freedom within his communist regime in China. However in a year the campaign had been cancelled, and replaced by a 'anti-rightist campaign'. Was this just a clever trap to allow Mao to see his critics? Or was it a genuine attempt to allow the Chinese people more freedom? Many historians have argued either way. In 1956 Mao thought it was time to allow more freedom, and allow great expression of thoughts. He intended to allow people to constructively criticises how well communist China was advancing. He made a speech saying how he was extremely pleased with China's current state, and hinted he would be allowing intellectuals more freedom. This was very unusual behaviour from Mao, as he was normally against intellectuals. However did he do this for a certain reason? Mao had been so pleased with China's state he had sent all the Russian advisers home, as the contract was costing China heavily in resources. However by losing the Russian advisers he needed to allow the Chinese intellectuals to have some more freedom to inspire them to continue the work the Russians were doing beforehand. Stalin died in 1953, and when Nikita Khrushchev came to power he slammed Stalin, and when Mao saw this he could see

  • Word count: 499
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Was the Great War Responsible for the Downfall of the Romanovs?

Was it the Great War which was essentially responsible for the downfall of the Romanovs in 1917? The first world war was known as the Great War during the time period it was fought as at this time it was not known that there would ever be another war of the same scale. Nicholas the 2nd the former, and last Tsar of Russia was of the Romanov family, a royal family who had presided over Russia. There were many reasons for the downfall of the Romanov family, some of these were as follows; the first world war known at that time as the Great War, strikes such as that of International Women's Day and the refusal of the tsar to compromise or cooperate with the duma. However, I believe the most important factor for the downfall of the Romanovs was Nicholas himself as his character and personality traits were exactly the opposite of what Russia needed most during the time of his reign, a time of great instability and economical and social upheaval. Also, his stubbornness and refusal to listen to reason. One of the most influential reasons for the downfall of the Romanov dynasty is undeniably the Great War. The war caused problems both locally, and on the outskirts of Russia where the war was being fought. Russia's economy suffered greatly, the rouble was taken off of the gold standard and inflation caused the prices for commodities such as food and engine fuel to rise rapidly, a

  • Word count: 998
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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To what extent was the first crusade a success

To what extent was the First Crusade a success? It is difficult to examine weather the First crusade was truly successful, and scholars have been debating over it for centuries. One of the key problems in this question is seeking out what the main objectives of the crusade, this is particularly difficult due to the numerous accounts of the Sermon at Clermont, which obviously contains the incentives and objectives that sparked thousands of people to take up the cross and journey to the east. The second key problem of the crusade is its complexity, there were three waves of attack, and numerous branches broke of these attacks, some successful others defiantly were not. In order to discover then whether the First crusade really was a success, we must first look at its intentions. The primary spark which gave the inspiration to Urban II to call the crusade was the request for support from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus, who requested help from his fellow Christians to fight of the Turks in Asia Minor, particularly after his defeat at Manzikert in 1071. This is obvious as well in the accounts of Urban's sermon: 'For you must hasten to carry aid for your brethren dwelling in the East....they have seized more and more lands from the Christians.' The Crusade certainly did support the Christians in the East and helped the Byzantine Empire to recapture major cities

  • Word count: 1489
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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