History Essay 6

What was English life like under Oliver Cromwell?

Oliver Cromwell was an extreme Puritan who enforced his laws on all people leaving an unimpressive impression on the English people. Cromwell was extremely conservative, making England conservative and innocent pleasures that you probably wouldn’t think of being bad such as the theatre and holidays like Christmas were banned. Whoever tried to go against what Cromwell said was executed and there were many executions under Cromwell’s reign.

What was the Glorious Revolution? Why is it significant in English history?

King James II of England was a catholic who people believed would try to return Catholicism and make England a Catholic empire. People did not want this happening again, William of Orange and his wife Mary (who happened to be James daughter) came to England to let Protestantism remain and defend them. William and Mary took control of England while James and his family went to France, making this a bloodless fight for the crown.

On what grounds does Locke believe people can establish a claim to property ownership over a previously unowned good?

John Locke was an English philosopher and did not believe in absolutism. Locke did not believe in an absolute monarchy because he says that it goes against our human rights and that every person should own themselves. Locke believed in self ownership but the one thing that he defended the most was the right to own property. Locke believed that the way to own private property was to “mix your labor” into the soil. Locke means that a person should improve the land or homestead on the land in order to make it their own, once they have done that to the land they may do as they wish on their property.

English 3 Essay 6

“Why has this theme remained popular since 1587?”

The book on Doctor Faustus was set up like an autobiography about his life and how Doctor Faustus sold his soul to Satan. It is an interesting topic that intrigues a lot of people giving the book it’s success. Doctor Faustus was born into a Christian home but his parents sent him away to go live with a rich relative to try and give him a better life, education, etc. Doctor Faustus got involved with magic after he had gotten his education and he made a deal with a spirit from Satan, making a blood pact. After the blood pact had run out of time Doctor Faustus would die. Doctor Faustus knew this when he made the contract and at one point tried to turn back to Christianity but could not bring himself to do it, renewing the contract with the demon. Doctor Faustus before he died found an apprentice to carry on his legacy but was very distraught the last month of his life. He was scared of death and was trying to find some way out of it but ultimately he perished.

The story and premise of the book is interesting but for most of the book there is no real point or plot to the stories being told. We find out at the end of the book that it is a warning to Christians to not follow the wrong path. I believe that point should be at the beginning of the book because knowing the point of the story makes readers want to keep reading, if I don’t know why a book exists I have a hard time getting through it. The author did not explore the themes of evil and good, spiritually or physically. Many times when Doctor Faustus is tricking people with his witchcraft and sorcery it is supposed to be funny and does not lead to any negative sanctions. Things happen just for the sake of them happening, there is not a lot of development in his character leaving me asking, “What is the point of this story and how does it help us relate to him?

The concept is interesting, a man selling his soul to Satan. This was original content back in the sixteenth century, not a lot of books were about becoming a sorcerer and having magic. This is why I think that it still such a popular theme today because we are interested in it. A lot of people love horror movies, scary music, dark video games, these things give us the thrill of experiencing them without being in danger. It naturally is something that we want to explore because of our curious nature and our human nature. We are drawn to things like this because our own human nature is to do what we want because we think it will be what is best for ourselves.

History Essay 5

What kinds of ideas were the “eutopians” promoting? Why is it perhaps not a coincidence that this desire to rethink the organization of society emerged in the sixteenth century in particular?

The eutopians were a group of people who believed in a totalitarian government this meant that they believed everyone shared everything, there was no private property and that everyone must work (there were no exceptions) which was how you got money. The eutopians also believed that the people should choose their own rulers. Why did this all happen in the sixteenth century? It has a lot to do with the fact that in the sixteenth century there was the split in the church dividing people even further not just from the politics of the world. New power was also a big shift in the sixteenth century, there were new leaders with different ways of thinking than the previous one, making it understandable why many new groups emerged in the sixteenth century.

What was the key issue that led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War? What religious accommodation was reached by Catholics and Protestants in the Peace of Westphalia?

In the Thirty Years War the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia was Ferdinand. He enforced laws against the protestants and the protestants were not thrilled about this law, so the protestants deposed Ferdinand II who was even more strict than Ferdinand and replaced him with Frederick, who was a protestant. Frederick ordered an attack against the Catholics which resulted in the two groups fighting against each other, which we now call the Thirty Years War.

Who were the Levellers, and what did they believe?

The Levellers were a group of people who believed in personal rights because each man owns himself and therefore has the right to do with himself whatever he pleases. These rights that the Levellers believed in included private property, religious toleration and free trade.

English 3 Essay 5

“Now that I have finished the section on Montaigne, would I read any more of his essays? Why or why not?”

Montaigne wrote many essay’s and used them to convey his thoughts, to try and understand more about the world. While Montaigne was writing I can see that he is clearly very passionate about his writing and enjoyed it very much. I however would not read more of his essay’s simply because I find them to be long and hard to get through sometimes because Montaigne could have used an editor in some essay’s. Montaigne also deals with a lot of skepticism, which makes it sometimes hard to know what he really believes. Because Montaigne deals with such skepticism he does not believe in what others say and he does not believe even himself sometimes. If you can’t trust others or even yourself how could you believe in anything, if Montaigne is such a great skeptic why believe in the skepticism itself.

Even though I would not read anymore with my own free will I did enjoy a couple of his essay’s and did find them to hold some truth.

Montaigne’s essay “Of Cannibals” I did find interesting because this is not a topic that is widely talked about and I was interested to hear what Montaigne had to say about them. Not to my surprise Montaigne did not believe in cannibalism but he said that we as a progressive western society can learn from them. The cannibals lived simple lives and were in touch with nature enjoying it and respecting it, which is not a very common mindset in the west. How I relate to this is when Montaigne talks about being in touch with nature, I don’t see this sentence as worshiping nature but rather respecting it because God made this world for humans to live on because God made us in charge over the animals and the other forms of life on earth.

Montaigne was widely interested in other cultures and what it meant for us humans as a whole. He explored diversity in mankind and was fascinated by it, Montaigne believed that customs were decided by man’s judgment. Montaigne came to the conclusion that there is no pattern for a cause. Montaigne used death as an example, even though death occurs and it takes thousands of people from us the occurrence of death did not happen just from one outcome. Some died of sickness, war, natural causes, etc. This means that each death is not enter-twined together and that death just happens.

In conclusion I believe that Montaigne really did enjoy and believe in what he was writing, even though this writing was not my cup of tea some of his essay’s are interesting. I respect him for trying to understand mankind and our different cultures and customs and his overall thirst for knowledge.

History Essay 4

What were the causes and consequences of the Spanish revolt that occurred after Charles left to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor?

Charles left to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Charles was also in line to be the King of Spain. The Spanish did not like that their King was someone who was born and raised in low countries and did not speak Spanish so they devised a revolt against Charles but were defeated in the end.

What were the causes of the Dutch revolt? What was the “demonstration effect”?

The Dutch revolt happened because of religious persecution under Phillip II who believed that the King had the absolute power and was in control over the Church as well. Phillip was not tolerant of the Protestant faith and started by persecuting them but later on started persecuting Catholics because they did not agree with what Phillip II was doing to the Protestants. The Catholics and Protestants formed together to rebel against Phillip II and ended up freeing seven of the northern provinces.

The demonstration effect was what people saw in Spain and other countries and took and applied it to their own countries. Rulers saw the peace and happiness that came with religious freedom, private property and other freedoms that did not come with Spain. Spain was a very controlling country who was extremely strict on religious freedom and freedom of speech in general. Others saw the effect it had on those countries and learned from them.

Who were the contenting parties in the French wars of religion? What was the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre? What was the Edict of Nantes?

In the French wars of religion the contending parties were Protestant Huguenots and Catholics. The Catholics did not get along with the Huguenots because they had different beliefs and were disrupting their practices of faith, because of this King Charles IX ordered the Huguenots and other Protestants and their leaders to be murdered after convincing his mother, Catherine de Medici to go along with him. This massacre of thousands of people resulted in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

A while after the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Charles IV saw that this was not working so he ordered religious freedom all over to stop the murder and this resulted in the Edict of Nantes.

Describe the religious policy of Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth I seemed to have no religion because she switched so easily between Protestantism and Catholicism. Elizabeth also believed in the absolute power of the ruler and would not take many people’s advise. Even though Elizabeth liked the Catholic Mass she abolished it and forced everyone to go to the Anglican church. If anyone practiced Catholicism they were punished and their homes were searched, if anyone had Catholic instruments or books they were sent to prison.

English 3 Essay 4

Is the language of Foxe still compelling today?

John Foxe wrote the Acts and Monuments of the Christian Church in 1563 about the Christian martyrs of the time. Foxe wrote specifically about the Protestant church and although he named his book the Acts and Monuments many people know the book as Foxe’s Book of Martyr’s.

The first martyr that Foxe wrote about was Lady Jane Gray who was beheaded during the reign of Queen Mary, who is known as Bloody Mary. The second martyrs were Ridley and Latimer who were burned at the stake by Queen Mary. Queen Mary was a devout Catholic who would not stand for Protestantism overtaking England, (which it did during the reign of Mary’s half sister, Queen Elizabeth). Mary killed many Protestant’s and Foxe’s book is full of many more but these are the one’s that I find most interesting.

Lady Jane Gray was 17 when she was beheaded, her father had pressured her into going and trying to claim the throne but was unsuccessful and was locked up for treason but ultimately killed for having the Protestant faith. Before she died Queen Mary had sent a Catholic to debate her and try to convert her to Catholicism, but Lady Jane Gray would not budge and won in the debate because she caught him several times where the Catholic could not answer and respond. At the end said that they would not meet again, implying that he was going to hell. Lady Jane Gray clearly was full of fire on the topic of religion and was not about to give Protestantism a bad name.

Ridley and Latimer were imprisoned for having the Protestant faith and while they were burned at the stake Ridley was not caught on fire immediately and suffered through being burned alive slowly. These two men saw this as an opportunity to stand strong in their faith and to inspire other Protestant’s to remain strong in their faith.

Is the language of Foxe still compelling today? I believe that because this book was written in the sixteenth century most people would find it hard to read because of the difference in speech, but the words still have impact and meaning. Foxe is talking about some of the bravest people who ever lived, people who were willing to die for what they believe in no matter the cost. This book still impacts people because it gives a spark and lights a fire inside to do something worthwhile, to step out and be brave. While Foxe did draw this book out and could have shortened it where he talks about the martyr’s acknowledging their faith it is very powerful.

In conclusion this book is powerful, and although it is not a perfect piece of literature it is an inspiring book that would shock people hearing about what happened. The slaughter of many people who took a stand for what they believed in and while dying painfully, entering a place full of peace and everlasting hope.

History Essay 3

How was the English Reformation different from the German Reformation?

The German reformation was started by Luther when wrote the 95 Theses to write against the selling of indulgences. Luther was concerned that people would be cheated from getting into heaven and started the German Reformation leaving a split between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church.

The English Reformation started when King Henry VIII annulled his marriage with his wife Catherine of Aragon because she would not bear him a son to be the heir of England.

King Henry VIII fell in love and married Anne Boleyn who gave birth to Elizabeth who would become one of England’s most known rulers. King Henry VIII had six wives while in total while only one gave him a son. Two were executed by having them beheaded, two of his marriages were annulled, one of his wives died in childbirth, and Henry’s last wife Catherine Parr survived.

The English Reformation started because Henry saw personal gain in the Reformation not because he was dedicated to making the right choices.

What do we learn about St. Francis Xavier’s missionary work in the letter you read for lesson 13?

St. Francis was preaching to a group of people called the Comorin’s who were very accepting of the Christian faith, but because St. Francis had a hard time with translating it was a rocky beginning but with the help of the people he was working with and the fact that the Comorin’s were so welcoming made it a lot easier to preach. St. Francis would often baptize entire villages in one day. When St. Francis was finished with a village and thought they were ready to be on their own he would go to the next village.

What kind of impression are you left with by the Spiritual Exercises? Why is Ignatius concerned about careless discussion of faith and good works?

Ignatius was a devout Catholic who was concerned about spreading the Catholic faith so I believe that in order to have more people convert to Catholicism he made it seem more appealing and spiritual than it actually was.

Ignatius was concerned that if people relied on faith they would become lazy and not taking action for their responsibilities and claim that they were waiting on God for something to happen.

English 3 Essay 3

“Was More risking persecution by the church because of this book?”

More wrote Utopia as a satirical form of literature. I do not believe that he thought a society like the one he called Utopia would be considered a great nation. Utopia became a widespread topic that readers would talk about, discussing whether it was to be taken literally or not. I do not believe that More was risking persecution because while the common folk were questioning More, the Pope and philosophers knew not to take it seriously and I believe that they did not see Utopia as a threat against the Church or More threatening the Church.