HISTORY 102: Foundations of Western Civilization II

Study Guide II

[FIRST EXAMINATION]

1. By the end of the 17th century, England and France had two different systems of government with different religious policies. What were the main differences and why did England and France develop as they did?

2. Why did king and Parliament come into conflict in the 1640s in England? What were the most important issues and who bears more responsibility for the civil war?

*3. In the selections in Sowards on Louis XIV, there are three different accounts by Louis, Duc de Saint-Simon, Voltaire, and Pierre Goubert. What are the differences, and do you think the times in which they wrote and their background influenced their views? In what respects was Louis XIV a great king?

4. "The progress of modern science is largely attributable to the accumulation of a growing mass of factual data." Basing your essay upon what you have learned about the "Scientific Revolution" of the 16th and 17th centuries, evaluate the validity of this statement.

5. Discuss the relationship between the "Scientific Revolution" of the 16th and 17th centuries and the political, economic, and social ideas espoused by the "Enlightened" philosophes of the 17th and 18th centuries. Be sure to refer to particular scientists and philosophes in your essay.

6. How and why did Russia emerge as a great power in the span of one century? Discuss the policies of Peter the Great and Catherine II. What were their methods of reform?

*7. Catherine II is considered to have been one of the most important Russian rulers. Based on the readings in Sowards, discuss who Catherine was, what her weaknesses and strengths were as a ruler; and how do Prince Shcherbatov and Isabel de Madariaga differ in their views and why?

8. Some used to say that "Prussia is not a State which possesses an army, but an army which possesses a State." Discuss the validity of this statement in the context of the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia between 1640 and 1786.

9. The Seven Years' War was a major conflict with battles fought around the globe. What were the results of this war? Who emerged in a stronger position and why?

10. Discuss the American Revolution as a European movement. To what extent were the colonists influenced by European ideas and political developments? To what extent did their actions influence Europe in turn?

11. Discuss the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. To what extent can the Enlightenment be considered a cause of the Revolution? Which of the dominant ideas of the Enlightenment were put into practice by the revolutionaries?

12. "The French Revolution began when the people of France rose up to overthrow the absolute monarchy of Louis XVI." Write an essay in which you evaluate the validity of this statement.

A13. Based on the selections in Sowards, write an essay in which you analyze the relationship of Napoleon to the French Revolution. To what extent did he represent a culmination of the Revolution? To what extent did he represent a repudiation of it?

14. Describe the treatment of defeated France by the victors in 1814-1815. Why did this treatment change? In your answer you should look in particular at great power politics and the role of leaders in the decision-making process.

The following names, terms, institutions, etc., are from your reading and the lectures. Be prepared to identify, give historical significance, and place them in the proper chronological context (who, what, when, where, and significance).

Henri IV; Edict of Nantes; Habsburgs; Pragmatic Sanction; Copernicus; Galileo; Newton; Bacon; Hobbes; Cervantes; Charles I; James II; Cromwell; The "Glorious Revolution"; Louis XIV; Richelieu; Mazarin; Versailles; Estates General; Louis XVI; Peter I (the Great); Catherine II (the Great); Pugachev; Joseph II; Frederick William; Frederick II; Enlightenment; John Locke; Voltaire; Montesquieu; Rousseau; Adam Smith; mercantilism; laissez faire; George III; Stamp Act; Committee of Public Safety; Robespierre; Thermidor; Jacobins; Directory; Concordat of 1801; Continental System; Napoleon I; Napoleonic Code; Voltaire; Congress of Vienna; Metternich; Alexander I; Talleyrand.