Isabel II Reign & Democratic Sexennium: Spain’s 19th Century
General Espartero’s Regency
He gave special attention to the reorganization of the administration, taxation, and finances, and he created the National Militia. He carried out new Ecclesiastical confiscations. He became a dictator, repressing all rebellions with severity. He tried to abolish the Fueros, signing the Law of Pacts in Navarra in 1841, but he wasn’t able to achieve it. And he tried to reduce the Fueros in the Basque territories, but he wasn’t able to achieve it.
Espartero went into
Read MoreWestern Bloc: Political, Economic, and Social Transformations
The Organization of the Western Bloc
Characteristics of the Capitalist Bloc
The capitalist bloc, led by the USA, extended its influence elsewhere in the world.
- Political Level: Democratic systems were introduced in most countries, based on the recognition of individual rights and liberties, and the division of powers.
- Economic Level: A capitalist economy based on private property and a free market prevailed.
- Social Level: A class society based on wealth was established, with a wide expanse of the middle
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia’s Engineering Marvel
Byzantine Architecture: Hagia Sophia
What system did the Hagia Sophia use to create one of the world’s greatest examples of engineering? A system of pendentives, domes, half-domes, and exedrae.
What does the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus utilize to span its central space? Domical Vault. Gracanica Church offers an excellent example of a cross-in-square church.
Dematerializing Space
The major goal of Byzantine architecture was to dematerialize space.
Dematerialization means that the confines of
Read MoreStalinism: Ideology, Politics, and Impact
Stalinism: Ideology and Political Practice
Stalinism is the term used to describe the ideology and political practice of Joseph Stalin. It was characterized by political centralization, the use of force and violence, a cult of personality, a planned economy, and a state that oppressed the people.
The Struggle for Power
The Stalinist Dictatorship was a totalitarian regime, representing a direct attack on rights and freedoms. In 1922, Trotsky and Stalin, representing different conceptions of the revolution
Read MoreAlfonso XIII’s Reign & Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship
Alfonso XIII and the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
The Reign of Alfonso XIII (1902-1931)
Alfonso XIII acceded to the throne in 1902. The political environment was characterized by:
- The crisis of Cánovas del Castillo’s political system.
- The influence of regenerationism.
- The death of Cánovas and Sagasta.
His reign is divided into two stages:
Continued Practice of Party Rotation (1902-1917)
- Until 1917, the two-party rotational system was maintained between the Conservative Party, led by Antonio Maura,
Political Freedom, Nationalism, and Revolution
Political Freedom: A Core Doctrine
Political freedom is a doctrine that advocates for a parliamentary system, national sovereignty, the separation of powers, a constitution as the fundamental law, and elections to an assembly that makes the laws. The ideological bases of political freedom are rationalism and the rights of men and women. This movement was driven by the bourgeoisie and the urban popular classes.
Nationalism and the Nation-State
Nationalism defends the idea of the nation-state.