How successful were Ferdinand and Isabella in strengthening the power of the Crown in Spain?
How successful were Ferdinand and Isabella in strengthening the power of the Crown in Spain? Much credit was given to Ferdinand and Isabella for exerting much crown authority and control on Spain. However, this was in particular only true in the case of Castile, one of two kingdoms, which at that stage in the 15th and 16th centuries were not united under the title of Spain. Policies to exert crown control in Aragon, the smaller and weaker of the two countries have failed. Kilsby noted that "it was clear from the start that the two kingdoms were still to be considered as separate from each other." The considerable success of exerting the power of the crown can be seen in various policies implemented by Ferdinand and Isabella in Castile. The first was the co-operation with the powerful nobles, the Grandees, in Castile. These nobles had gained large estates, known as latifundios, for their contributions in the Reconquista, the reconquering of Spanish lands from the Moors, Muslim warriors from the era of rule preceding that of Ferdinand and Isabella. Isabella then, in an effort to reduce noble-power and hence strengthen the crown's position, decreed that the nobles return the lands gained during the Reconquista, but were allowed to keep any land they previously owned before the Reconquista. Important coastal towns under nobility were also returned to the crown and the nobles
Why did the French land in north Pembrokeshire In 1797 and how were they defeated so quickly?
Why did the French land in north Pembrokeshire In 1797 and how were they defeated so quickly? Assignment 1 Near my home town of Fishguard a man called William Tate landed on the North Pembrokeshire coast in Carreg Wasted. This was the last invasion of main land Britain. The invasion did not work the French were defeated quickly. The question we have to ask is why did then land in north Pembrokeshire? And How where they defeated so quickly? In 1797 the French revolution broke out with the battle of Bastille in Paris. Later, in 1793, the revolutionaries captured the monarchs, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, they were both executed. Source a2 shows King Louis XVI getting executed, this is useful as it shows the execution but it is only a sketch so it doesn't show the horror of the actual execution. A new Revolutionary Government now controlled France. The British Government was now worried. After seeing what had happened in France, they believed that their people could do the same and rebel against them. This meant Britain had to take action. In 1793, Britain declared war on France. After this, a military man named Lazare Hoche, he planned a three pronged attack. He planned to attack Ireland in hope that they would rebel against Britain and have their freedom. He planned to send ships to north England to get support for the revolution and to distract British
The French revolution (1789-99) violently transformed France from a monarchical state with a rigid social hierarchy into a modern nation
Jennifer gray The French revolution (1789-99) violently transformed France from a monarchical state with a rigid social hierarchy into a modern nation in which the social structure was loosened and power was passed increasingly into the middle classes. It was more than just a change of government in France, it in fact changed the whole of France politically, economically and socially. As A.J.P Taylor states; "The French were confident that they were preparing a new age and that history would begin again from 19th September 1792, when the revolutionary Convention met".1 The transformation during the revolutionary period was drastic and sweeping and had a massive effect on every part of French society. They included the abolition of a single ruler in exchange for a democratic, supposedly classless society, that now had a fair and just legal system. This was a far cry from conditions pre revolution in which the King believed he had a divine right to the thrown and was accountable to no one, positions in office were bought by the nobility and a man could be sent to prison without trial. The changes that took place in France were so immense that it is difficult to pin point one single explanation. Many Historians would argue that economic factors were in fact the main motivation of the French Revolution which in turn led to the sweeping reforms, however, if society was so
Account for the outbreak of revolutions in any two European countries in 1848 - France & Austria.
Account for the outbreak of revolutions in any two European countries in 1848 France & Austria In 1848 there was a chain reaction of revolutions throughout Europe, much to be accounted for from the Congress of Vienna and the restoration of monarchy, and aristocratic privileges. Other reasons for the outbreak of revolutions were many long term tensions, aggravated by food crisis, and financial crisis. Yet the real point was that these people were being denied liberty, and were having an increase in nationalism. What led these revolutions to the point of mass outbreak though may be accounted for by the anger created from the murder of their own. The French revolution keyed up the Austrian revolution, which then led to the revolutions of other countries. It sin this way these two revolutions outbreaks were very similar. Each group fighting for more or less the same reasons. Before beginning to asses the immediate reasons of outbreak one needs to look at the tensions of Europe during 1815-1848 which catalyzed the revolutions. First was the increase in population. This put strains on the already increasing agricultural. Thus when there was a poor harvest there would not be adequate amounts of food, as happened in the 1840s. There was also an increase in industrialization creating tensions. This caused problems for handicraftsmen, who were being replaced by machines, and
How significant was the Prussian Revolution in Military Affairs?
How significant was the Prussian Revolution in Military Affairs? The Prussian Revolution in Military affairs was one of the defining points in the changing nature of warfare; it led to the change of outlook on armies, on warfare and the balance of power in Europe. The Prussian RMA resulted in the establishment of a new order in the armies of Europe; the Prussians developed a professional army alongside some of the most influential technological developments in the history of warfare. The Prussian RMA also showed some of the most efficient and professional logistics that had ever been seen, despite these apparently revolutionary changes, they had no real long-term effect on warfare, the World Wars show no direct correlation to the two World Wars as can be seen between the two and the US Civil War. Arguably, the Prussian RMA was a most substantial step in the advancement of warfare in Europe; however, it is maybe only the contribution to logistics, which makes this RMA truly significant, as the long-term effects of other aspects are minimal, for only a brief period in the 1860's did Prussia truly change the face of European Warfare. * The Prussians were at the forefront of innovation in terms of weaponry, the most impressive of these was the revolutionary Needle Gun. The needle gun itself was obviously not the central factor in the Prussian Revolution in Military affairs. The
Why did protestant reformation meet so much opposition during the sixteenth cenrury?
Quentin R.Sloper Coal, Culture and Community: Society in North-East England 1500-1800 WHY DID PROTESTANT REFORMATION MEET SO MUCH OPPOSITION DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY? Word Count: 1994 The process of Reformation saw a break from Roman obedience, an assertion of secular control and the imposition of the Protestant religion by the suppression of Catholic institutions and worship. The 'first official doctrinal formula of the Church of England'1 was the Ten Articles, introduced by Henry VIII in 1536. Protestantism finally became Law in 1559 with the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, enforced by Elizabeth I. However, irrespective of such enforcements, many failed to become Protestant and effectively rebelled against the Crown. This act of 'recusancy', as it became known, was often conducted in secret. Others were more open by continuing to participate in traditional pilgrimages or by using violence to defend their beliefs, this was the case in the Northern Rising of 1590. The most obvious reason why there was such fierce opposition to Reformation was the fact that people actually believed in Catholicism and thought that it was the only way to ensure eternal salvation. They believed that excommunication; the exclusion from the Catholic Church, 'condemned the
Louis the XIV
I. Introduction II. Body III. Conclusion IV. Reference Louis the XIV was a man who possessed the qualities of a great king. He was born on 1638 to Louis the XIII, King of France, and Anne of Austria. At a mere four years and eight months, Louis XIV, become the third king of the Bourbon dynasty. Louis XIV proved to be a great success as an absolute monarch. He managed to reconstruct France's political, social, economic and cultural status during his reign. Louis XIV's kingdom consisted of France and Navarre whose population was 19 million. Since he inherited the crown at such a tender age, his mother acted as his regent. Louis was still extremely loyal and thankful to his mother. Louis was not well educated for his mother believed that kings make history not learn it. At thirteen, the French considered this to be the age at which a king no longer needed a regent. However, Louis still did not have total control as king as Cardinal Jules Mazarin, who was also Louis's Godfather, acted as France's First Minister. As much as Louis disliked the Cardinal, he knew that he needed his support and knowledge. Before Mazarin died he gave Louis wise words of advice. He told Louis to keep the church a top priority, yet keep a close eye on its members, treat the nobility with trust and kindness, convince the monarchs that there was one sole ruler of France, not allow
Examine the Great Elector's Contribution to the Rise of Prussia.
Essay Course: MO3013 18/11/03 Tutor: Professor H M Scott Examine the Great Elector's Contribution to the Rise of Prussia. By: Hubertus Nasserite Early modern Prussia consisted of a patchwork of dotted territories stretching from the Rhineland to East Prussia. Accumulated by marriage and dynastic fortitude, the Hohenzollern heritage was a difficult one to manage. Territorial disunity was and always would be a dominating attribute of Prussian history. Yet Frederick William's achievement of having put Brandenburg-Prussia back on her feet is all the more impressive when considering the devastations of the Thirty Years War and the Swedish-Polish War and the absence of electoral authority in his dominions. By the time the 'Great Elector' died in 1688 his successor, the future king Frederick I, was left with a firmly centralised administration and a capital at Berlin-Cölln, sound finances and a respectably sized army of some 30,000 men. Frederick William established Brandenburg-Prussia as a major diplomatic player in North-East Europe. Having led his principality out of the abyss of the Thirty Years War, the Great Elector forged a solid basis upon which his successors could build Europe's administratively most efficient and militarily most disciplined state. When Frederick William acceded
Was Louis XIV at the height of his power in 1685?
Question: Was Louis XIV at the height of his power in 1685? Introduction: Louis XIV began his personal rule in 1661 and it ended it 1715 when he died. Louis XIV had reigned for 54 years and had seen many changes in Europe. He had seen countries come and go, witnessed many wars and had out lived many of his rivals. Louis had achieved many successes in his earlier part of his reign but unfortunately, he witnessed many of his achievements unwind towards the end. Many historians believe that 1685 was Louis' most successful year of his reign but, by studying in depth the earlier parts and later parts of his reign we can establish whether Louis was at the height of his power in 1685. Main Body: From when Louis XIV started his career, Jean Baptiste Colbert was in control of France's finances. Colbert for many kept the lid on many of France's economical problems and made the king a lot of money during his reign. Colbert was a very hard working man and often worked ten hour days, trying to find ways to fund the King's palace in Versailles and the many wars France went to. About 1670, France had the biggest army and navy in Europe and it's size alone made many countries feel threatened and inferior to Louis. Everything was looking good for Louis Louis' foreign situation was also positive. France was on good terms with England because it's King, Charles II was Louis XIV cousin and
How far did the reigns of William III and Mary resolve the tensions evident in the revolutions of 1688-1689?
How far did the reigns of William III and Mary resolve the tensions evident in the revolutions of 1688-1689? There were fundamentally four tensions evident before, during and after the revolutions of 1688-9. These were firstly a backlash against James II's attempted reversion to Catholicism which seemingly combined all non-catholic elements of society against him. Secondly was the Whig-Tory rivalry and tension which had been developing since the exclusion crisis1 and was in a sense the font or conclusion of the majority of political conflict and tension in the period. Thirdly was the Court-Country tensions which had strong links with the Whig-Tory rivalry and argument but were more individual and were thus not wholly dependant on party inclination. Fourthly was the Jacobitism which was far more dominant in the latter stages of the revolutions and afterwards. This essay will attempt to argue that the reigns of William III and Mary served to only eliminate the catholic threat whilst at best leaving the others intact, at worst exacerbating them through the increasing importance and dominance of Parliament. James II's Catholicism caused serious tensions within the contemporary Protestant society. Indeed Craig Rose has estimated that in 1688 only two percent of the country was sympathetic to Catholicism2. James's belief therefore that there was no need to impose Catholicism on