Good news:
this is last topic of History... after it, we will study Geography (the topics
about climates that we did not have time to study last year). But let’s go step
by step.
The Norman invasion of England in 1066 led to
the defeat and replacement of the Anglo-Saxon elite with Norman and French
nobles and their supporters. William the Conqueror killed
Saxon king Harold in the Battle of Hastings, battle which was later narrated in
the famous Bayeaux tapestry. In the following link you can watch a wonderful animated video of
Bayeaux tapestry (4 minutes). But this battle was important not only
for England, but for many other territories and people. Watch
the following video How the Normans changed the history of Europe,
by Mark Robinson (5 minutes, in English).
William’s
son, Henry II, spread his kingdom across Western Europe thanks to his marriage
with Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was one of the wealthiest and most powerful
women in Europe during the High Middle Ages. Actually, she was also queen
of France... She is one of the most interesting characters of Europe during
Medieval Times, so watch now this short and funny video Life of
Eleanor of Aquitaine, by Tooky History (3’40 minutos, in English). Pay
attention, because one of the activities of the monthly work is precisely about
her!
Under the
rule of Henry II and Eleanor, their territory was named the Angevin Empire
(in French also called: L'Empire Plantagenêt):
Nevertheless,
their sucessors were not always so successfull. For example, one of Eleanor’s
grandsons had to deal with the arrival of Black Death, which killed at least
30% of the population in England, and the Hundred Years' War againts France.
How did
that war end? With the defeat of King John of England (from now on called John
“Lack land”) in the Battle of Bouvines. That defeat meaned not only the
lost of all his continental possessions, but also set a change in the British
rule and opened the door for the social and policitical revolts, including
the Peasants' Revolt (video
by History Hub, 3 minutes in English) that broke out across the south of
England in 1381 and a sequence of bloody civil wars and economic crisis, until
he accepted the Magna Carta (video
by British Libray, 3’30 minutes in English), which can be considered a
precedent of a modern constitution. Not bad, isn’t it? In the folowwing image, king John Lackland sealing the document of the magna carta in 1215:
After
several problems, which included a forced abdication, the English throne was
given to a cousin, starting the rule of Tudor dynasty. The most famous and
controversial king of that dynasty was, by far, Henry VIII. Married to Catalina
de Aragón (aunt of our friend king Charles I of Spain, a.k.a. “carlitos”),
Henry wanted the divorce but, as Pope refused, Henry created his own religion
to become Pope himself and married his lover, Anne Boleyn (who was executed
later!). And that was just the beginning... was Henry VIII a charismatic reformer who freed his
subjects from a corrupt establishment or a bullying tyrant who used Parliament
for his own personal gain? Mark Robinson and Alex Gendler put this
controversial figure on trial in the video History vs. Henry VIII
(5’20 minutes, in English).
P.S. Do you like gossiping? Who
do you think was Henry VIII's true love? :) Check in that link
what happened with each of his six wives.
Royal family disputes were never solved. Even more,
after Henry’s death his oldest daughter Mary (from wife nº1,
Catalina de Aragón) become queen. She was called “bloody Mary” although years
later her half-sister Elizabeth (from Henry’s wife nº2, Anne Bolyen) become
equally cruel and litigator (eg. kidnapping, imprisioning and finally killing her
cousin queen Mary of Scotland). What a chaos of a family, eh? Once crowned
queen, Elizabeth started a war against Spain and protected a complete fleet of
corsaires (“legal pirates”), such as Francis Drake, to attacked Spanish
vessels. The picture shows the moment in which Elizabeth entitled Drake as
“sir” (member of aristrocrazy) as a reward of his piracy:
How to
evaluate this topic? Very easy: by its monthly
work (nº6). It have been modified (shorted) to work only about this
specifical topic. As usual, the value of a monthly work is 10% of your final
score. Send your answer by email to blogeducativo08@gmail.com
(Last day: Monday, 4 May).
Cheer up!
We’re a bit closer to the end of the lockdown... just keep calm and stay safe
:)
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