2ºBritish: G.O.S.T.- Stage 4: León and Castilla

The relationship between those two territories was not always easy, specially after Castilla (firstly a vassal territory) achieved the independence from León and turned into a kingdom itself… As an example, León refuse to participate among Castilla into the “Crusade” of 1212, year of the famous Battle of Navas de Tolosa, where an international Christian coalition defeated the muslim troops:

There are two interesting videos about that complex evolution, until reaching the Battle of Navas de Tolosa. A good and complete revisión from Kings & Generals (13 minutes) and the Real Crusade History (22 minutes). Although probably the clearest version is the summary by ACADEMIAPLAY (14 minutes).

Another key figure in this stage was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as “El Cid”. He was a Castillian knight with such a quite adventorous life that was turned into an epic poem. In 1961 a Hollywood superproduction was filmed in Spain about him.

And do not forget the importance of the Pilgrimade to Santiago de Compostela in the medieval life:

By the way! The Iberian península also suffered the Black Death pandemia. Be careful because in any moment you can suffer an unpleasant surprise… ;)

2º British: G.O.S.T - Stage 3: Navarra, Aragón, Cataluña and Portugal

The explanation provided at class will help you to study the complex and comvulsive history of those territories during the Middle ages.

PS. Do you know what is the meaning of “portolan chart”? It would be quite important when talking about King “Henry the navigator” of Portugal... And what can you remember about the meaning of medieval heraldry?

By the way, for the first activity of this stage's mission you would need to download the well-known archive with free free power point templates.

3º British: From cocoa to chocolate

As a complementary revision of the primary sector, here you have this educational video from Barry Callebaut, explaining all the steps necessary, from cocoa tree to chocolate bars.

And if you are into statistics, here you have some numers about the world production:

4º British: THE GREAT WAR - WEEK BY WEEK 100 YEARS LATER

Studying World War I? Here you have a terrific colecction of videos, conducted by Indiana Neidell for British Pathé. It was an ambitious project, covering week by week the evolution of the war on its centenary. Here you have the link to the first video: The outbreak of WWI.

Learn & enjoy!

2º British: G.O.S.T - Stage 2: Al Andalus

Good news: this section will be shorter, easier and funnier as you are travelling to Córdoba very soon! J 

Meanwhile, watch carefully the following videos about the Rise of Muslim Spain (10 minutes, in English) or the one from AcademiaPlay (17 minutes, in Spanish). It includes a good revision of both the origin of Islam and the Visigoth kingdom of Toledo. 

Al Andalus was a very important stage in the History of the Iberian Peninsula. There are many now a days inventions that have a muslim origin, as they were clever scientists and investigators. Let's watch this video: library of knowledge (11 minutes).

And, of course, their aportations to music (video moaxaja), art (ArteHistoria, 10 minutes in Spanish) and gastronomy!

After watching those videos, we will discuss them at class and I will release your new mission...

4º British: History of Modern Feminism on Twitter

You are about to start the 6^th edition of your favourite historical activity... twitter in class! 

This year it will be all about feminism; you must create a special twitter account as you were one of the leaders of Female vindications (choose your character from this file). With this “historical account” you become follower of @auladeadriana

The application period will start THIS FRIDAY (11^th January), at 16:30. Just send me an email with your chosen character and I will answer you back with the confirmation. Once that you have it, you can start making your character back to life J You will have a couple of days for creating the twitter account; the more “realistic” that you do it (portrait, biographic info, etc.), the better for your final mark.

The debate will start Monday 14^th and finish Monday 28^th.  You have to create a minimum of 20 tweets (12 of them base on real primary sources: texts, photos...) in the name of your chosen character. Try not to be independent, but “talk” with the others.

I would also recommend you to use the hastag #HistoryatVasco in your tweets, to facilitate its reading.

The previous years, this experiment was a total success and your partners really did good performances, so you will have to work hard for leading them...

This work is individual and mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date, or just copy&paste from a webpage, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

Be creative and enjoy it! 

Vanguardia de las mujeres en marcha a Versailles 1789

2º British: G.O.S.T - Stage 1: Asturias

Watch carefully the following video about the Battle of Covadonga, the leadership of charismatic Pelagius (Pelayo) and the origin of the Kingdom of Asturias. After watching the video, we will have a special class about Prerromanesque art, a very special art style linked to the political issues of Asturias kingdom, awared as UNESCO World heritage.

Finally, I will release your first mission... Are you prepared for learning and having fun? J

PS. Do you have good diplomatic skills? Because you will need them when talking about King "Alfonso II el Casto" and his mail connection with Charlemagne...