y
Napoleon and the Revolution: The Revolutionary legacy for Napoleon consisted above all in the abolition of the ancient regime’s Napoleon was “modern” in temperament as well as destructively aggressive. But in either guise he was an authoritarian. His concept of reform exaggerated the Revolution’s emphasis on uniformity and centralization. Napoleon also accepted the Revolutionary principles of civil equality and equality of opportunity. Napoleon terminated the Revolution, but at the price of suppressing the electoral process and partisan. France was merely a launching pad for Napoleon’s boundless military and imperial ambition, its prime function being to raise men and money for war. Militarism became the defining quality of the Napoleonic regime. Napoleon’s ambiguous legacy helps explain the dizzying events that shook France in 1814 and 1815. Even before Napoleon’s abdication, the Imperial Senate had begun negotiations with the allies to ensure a transition to a regime that would protect the positions of those who had gained from the Revolution and the Napoleonic period. Louis XVI was allowed to return as King Louis XVIII, but he had to agree to rule under a constitution (called the Charter). Napoleon slipped back to France for a last adventure, while Louis fled the country. Between March and June 1815, a period known as the Hundred Days, Napoleon again ruled France. At the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) British and Prussian forces defeated Napoleon’s army decisively, and he abdicated again a few days later. But in the final analysis Napoleon’s impact on future generations was not nearly as powerful as the legacy of the French Revolution itself.
The Middle East conflicts: After the World War II the Jews wanted to have a land of their own. The circumstances of the moment made it possible. But things have not been, and are not now, easy. 1. MAIN CONFLICTS: 1.1 FIRST ARAB-ISRAELI WAR. The day after the announcement, six Islamic states, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, declared war on Israel and invaded it. The war ended in a few months with the victory of Israel. Three other wars were to follow in 1956, 1967 and 1973. 1.2. THE 1956 SUEZ CRISIS. Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal. The UK, along with France and Israel, decided to retake the canal. In a quick movement, Israeli troops defeated the Egyptians. But Israel had to yield under international pressure so they withdrew from Egypt. The canal was again in Egyptian hands. 1.3. THE SIX-DAY WAR, 1967. In early 1967, Nasser and his Arab allies decided to fight Israel again. He wanted to close the gulf of Aqaba. In six days, the Arab states were defeated. The losses were much greater on the Arab side. Israel took control of the old city of Jerusalem, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank. Palestinians living in Jerusalem were given the choice of being Israeli or Jordanian citizens. The rest of Palestinians living on Israeli-controlled lands just can be Israeli.1.4.THE YOM-KIPPUR WAR 1973The following Egyptian president Anwar Sadat planned a joint attack on Israel. The Israelis were caught by surprise, suffered heavy casualties and lost part of the land they had taken in 1967. Their prime minister launched a counterattack and regained most of the lost territory. A truce was signed after several weeks of fighting. 2. THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION. In 1964 Palestinian officials formed the PLO to push for the formation of a Palestinian state. They claimed that the only way to achieve their goal was through armed struggle. The chairman was Yasir Arafat. They carried out lots of attacks on Israel and got support from some of the neighbouring countries, which allowed the PLO to operate from their lands. 3. EFFORTS AT PEACE. In 1977 president Sadat extended a hand to Israel. None of the Arab countries had ever recognized the right of Israel as a state, but Sadat visited the Israeli Parliament and talked about peace. In 1978 US president Jimmy Carter invited both Sadat and Israeli prime minister to the presidential retreat. After some days, Carter could announce that Egypt recognized Israel as a legitimate state. This is known as the Camp David Accords, signed in 1979. A group of Muslims extremists assassinated Sadat in 1981. The following leader, Hosni Mubarak, continued to work to maintain peace with Israel.
The European Union: The European Union is composed by 28 European countries. Some of the EU’s members are: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom./ The EU was created by the Maastricht Treaty. The treaty means to get better European political and economical integration by creating a single currency, a unified foreign and security, common citizenship rights and by advancing cooperation in immigration, asylum and judicial affairs./ The origins of the EU must be found after WWII./ The EEC (European economic community) created a common market which would eliminated most barriers to the movement of good, services, capital and labour./ Four institution were established: a commission, a Council of Ministers, an assembly and a court./ In 1973 the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland were admitted, in 1981 Greece joined and in 1986 Portugal and Spain became members./ The European Regional Development Fund was a means to encourage the development of economically depressed areas./ The name of EEC was changed into European Community, the main component of the new EU. In 1995 Sweden, Austria and Finland joined the EU. The policies and institutions of the EU were revised in the Treaty of Amsterdam./ In 2004 the EU was joined by ten countries: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Romania joined in the 2007 and Croatia in the 2013.