lunes, 27 de abril de 2020

2º British: England, from middle ages to modern times



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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