Unit 4: The XVII th Century

In this link you have a good presentation about the Unit 4 from our book, focused to the XVIIth Century in Europe, the Hispanic Monarchy and the colonies. 

Here you are the final scene of the Spanish movie "Alatriste", based upon the novels of Arturo Pérez Reverte. This scene is placed on the Battle of Rocroi (1,643), the first defeat of the Spanish Tercios. This battle decided the sign of the Thirty Years War (1,618-48), when Spain lost the European hegemony in favour of France.  

2/3 of this presentation, after the main contents in demography, economy and politics, are focused about the History of art, with many examples from the Baroque in architecture, sculpture and painting throughout Spain and Europe.  

On the other hand, the previous presentation ignores the English Revolution (actually, at least two different social and political processes) in the XVII th Century. You can learn something about these facts here and here. As usual, all these materials are simple supports to the contents present in our book and explained in the class. 

  

Work with texts: fragments of the 2nd and 4th Hernán´s Cortés´ "Cartas de Relación"

In this link you will find a primary source for History. It is some fragments of the "Cartas de Relación" (more accurately, some parts of the 2nd and the 4th ones). 

The "Cartas de Relación" were the chronicles that Hernán Cortés himself sent to Charles V, Emperor of the Roman Germanic Holy Empire and also king of the Hispanic Monarchy (with the name of Charles I) at that time. The aim of these documents, thus, it is to summarize and to inform the Spanish crown about the process of conquest, colonization and settlement in Nueva España (Northern and Central America).

Here you can find some key concepts to understand the process of the Spanish conquests, specially in the Aztec Empire. 

Read the text and answer these questions. You have to the monday Novembre, 9th (so, after our exam) to give your exercise to the teacher:

1- Focus: Where and when is written this texts? Who is the author? To whom are these documents adressed? What kind of text do you think it is? (economic, social, politic, religious, laws, managing, historial, literary, a handbook, etc...)

2- Internal analysis: What are the main ideas of this text? What geographic discoveries do the Spaniards in the paragraph #2 (page 3)? How is the treatment from Moctezuma to the conquistadores? What did he think about them? Does he recall any Aztec myth? What is the role of the Cortes´men on it?

On the other hand: How is the description of Tenochtitlán made by Cortés?. Name some of the main characteristics he recognized in that city. In general, do you think his writing is in good or bad terms?

On the 4th Carta, what he is asking to the Emperor? the arrival of whom and for which purpose? What he says about the settlement of Spaniards in new lands? What habits he is complaining about?

3- External commentary: Write half a sheet relating this Cartas from Cortés with the contents in our book.    

Video: The Magellan-Elcano expedition, the first world tour

This video is about the first voyage around the world: the Expedition of Magellan-Elcano in 1,519-22. It is one of the most astonishing adventures in History, and a great epic goal achieved by the Spanish sailors and explorers. 

Video: "Nao Victoria, como se navegaba en la Baja Edad Media y comienzos de la Edad Moderna"

 Here you have a video about the recent reconstruction of the Nao Victoria, the Spanish ship that starred the first voyage around the world, in the Magellan-Elcano´s Expedition (1,519-1,522). This video is focused on the technical aspects of the ship and the Early Modern Age navigation, in addition of some aspects related with the reconstruction.

Unit 9: The Renaissance and the Early Modern Age

Here you can watch some presentations about the Early Modern Ages, from the fall of Constantinople, the end of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire (1,453) to the French Revolution (1,789). 

In order to prepare these five units, you can find interesting these presentations:

1) Presentation nº1: Good general overview about this age. It is actually very managing because to be shorter and very shallow, but it ignorates some fundamental contents, such for instance the great geographical discoveries. It is good for a first general overview, but then to prepare the contents following our book and the presentation nº2

2) Presentation nº 2:   It is very complete. It is takes the main contents from the book and slightly develop them, with many sketches, schemes and cartography. My recommendation is to study these units with it in front of you, if possible.

3) Presentation nº3: Only covers the topic about the great geographical discoveries in the 15-16th Centuries, poorly-displayed in the other two. It is an excellent complement for our Unit 2.

                        

                     

                     

                             

                     

                   

                             

                               

VIDEOS:

1) The Renaissance  

2) Protestant Reformation and Council of Trent

3) Martin Luther (commented scenes from the last film with Joseph Fiennes)

4) Catholic Monarchs

6) The Hispanic Monarchy between the Middle and Early Modern Ages 

7) El Siglo de Oro español

8) The empire of Charles V: forging the Spanish Empire

Unit 8: The Iberian Christian kingdoms (La Reconquista)

In this unit we will study the "Reconquista" from the point of view of the Iberian Christian kingdoms. It was a very long (around 800 years) and complex historical process, that will be decisive for the History of the current Spain and Portugal.  
We will work this unit with the help of these teo presentations:

1) Presentation # 1: Good synthesis, with many maps (an extremely weak point in our book) and some interesting videos. This is the one for our class. 

2) Presentation #2: More extense than the previous one but very well structured anyway. Too long for our class, my recommendation is to watch it at home, because it complete and amplifies some aspects from the previous one.  

Here you have some pictures, helpful for this unit. They are mainly maps, because in our book in this unit the historical cartography is scarse and not very clear.    

Statue to Don Pelayo in Covadonga (Asturias), a memorial for the battle (718-722?) that started the Reconquista

Battle of Alarcos (Ciudad Real) - June 19th 1195 - Castilla (Alfonso VIII) vs. Almohad Empire (Yusuf II), a great triumph for the Muslims 

Battle of the Navas de Tolosa (Jaén) - June 16th 1212 - A Christian International League defeated badly the troops of the Almohad Empire

Surrender of the keys of Granada by the emir Boabdil to the Catholic Monarchs, January 2nd of 1492. Last chapter in the Reconquista.  

Videos about the Middle Ages

1) Video #1: From "The name of the rose"

2) Video #2: From "Kingdom of Heaven"

3) Video #3: About Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press

4) Video #4: About the Black Death