GOYA'S PAINTING

LA GUERRA DE INDEPENDENCIA

1. ¿Qué supuso el Tratado de Fontainebleau (1807)?

El fin del antiguo régimen en España estuvo precedido por una serie de sucesos que marcarían el devenir de España a lo largo del siglo XIX tanto en el ámbito político como en el económico. El tratado de Fontainebleau, un acuerdo entre Francia y España para invadir el reino de Portugal, el cual se había aliado con Inglaterra, afectando gravemente al equilibrio de poder impuesto por Napoleón Bonaparte.

El 21 de octubre de 1805 se producía la batalla de Trafalgar donde las escuadras francesas y españolas se enfrentaron al poderío naval de Inglaterra; el resultado fue la victoria de Inglaterra. A partir de ese momento, Gran Bretaña pasaba a ser la nación con la más poderosa escuadra naval, mientras que España se sumía en una profunda crisis. Por su parte, Francia, era derrotada en mar, aunque no en tierra, por lo cual, se dispuso a realizar un bloqueo continental a Inglaterra para destrozarla económicamente. Portugal, tradicional aliada de Inglaterra, se niega a acatarlo y Napoleón decide su invasión. Para ello necesita transportar allí sus tropas terrestres. El 27 de octubre de 1807, Manuel Godoy, valido de Carlos IV, representado por su plenipotenciario, el Consejero de Estado y Guerra Eugenio Izquierdo, firma con Gérard Duroc, representante de Napoleón, el Tratado de Fontainebleau, en el que se estipula la invasión militar conjunta franco-española de Portugal, para lo que se permite el paso de tropas francesas por territorio español.

El tratado de Fontainebleau consistió en una serie de puntos satisfactorios para ambos reinos. En primer lugar, España se comprometía a dejar pasar a las tropas napoleónicas por suelo español. Estas se dirigirían por el norte peninsular para entrar a Portugal desde el norte mientras que las tropas españolas deberían entrar desde el sur, creando una pinza que acabara rápidamente con su enemigo común.

En una segunda instancia, se produciría el reparto territorial, el cual dividía el territorio en tres partes bien definidas:

2.       ¿Qué bandos se enfrentaron en la Guerra de la Independencia (1808-1814)?

Afrancesados: Son aquellos que acatan el gobierno de José I en el que ven la plasmación de las ideas de la Ilustración y de la Revolución Francesa. Casi todos los ilustrados supervivientes de las generaciones anteriores son afrancesados, pero no algunos como Floridablanca, ni Jovellanos.

Patriotas: Están a favor del nacionalismo españolista, se unen al pueblo, que es de ideas tradicionales:  el nacionalismo liberal se basa en la doctrina del Pueblo Soberano, que pone la Nación por encima de todo como un ente divinizado, monolítico, centralista, sin fueros ni autonomía de sus regiones,  a diferencia del patriotismo tradicional.

3.       ¿Qué dos grupos integraban el bando "patriota"? ¿Qué los caracteriza?

Podemos encontrar dos grupos dentro de los patriotas: los absolutistas y los liberales. Los absolutistas, encuadrados en el partido conservador, defendían el origen divino del poder del monarca y ligaban la existencia del Estado en función del Monarca. Su programa durante la guerra fue fundamentalmente restaurador y de defensa de los intereses de los sectores privilegiados. Los liberales eran opuestos a los absolutistas. Su base ideológica era la defensa a ultranza del individualismo y de los principios de libertad, igualdad y propiedad. Defendían la soberanía nacional y el sistema constitucional parlamentario como única representación de dicha soberanía.

4.       ¿Qué significa la expresión "Viva Fernando y vamos robando"? ¿Qué eran las guerrillas?

Refrán acuñado en tiempos de Fernando VII, expresa festivamente el caos sociopolítico que reinaba en aquella época. Actualmente se dice en alusión a toda circunstancia donde cada cual actúa fuera de las normas.

Guerrillas: Grupos armados irregulares (partidas) que atacaban por sorpresa al enemigo y se retiraban, amparándose en el control del territorio. Estas partidas estaban formadas por guerrilleros con edades entre 16 y 25 años

5.       ¿Cuál fue el coste de la ayuda de Gran Bretaña?

Durante la Guerra de Independencia española (1808-1814), dos enemigos históricos e irreconciliables como España y Gran Bretaña se vieron obligados a combatir juntos contra

Napoleón. Fue una alianza difícil, tensa y plagada de riesgos, sobre todo para los españoles, por los excesos cometidos por las tropas británicas en suelo español.

El resultado final de aquella guerra, con la victoria sobre Napoleón y los franceses, ha acabado enmudeciendo el relato de los terribles actos que llevaron a cabo los soldados de Wellington: el saqueo de Badajoz, el pillaje de Ciudad Rodrigo, el incendio y destrucción de San Sebastián, los bombardeos injustificados sobre Béjar… 

Los ingleses no ofrecieron una ayuda (5.000 bajas sobre unos 30.000 hombres, 155 piezas de artillería, 200.000 mosquetes y 90.000 uniformes) desinteresada a España, ellos querían hacer desaparecer la industria textil española.

6. ¿Qué medidas fueron aprobadas por las Cortes de Cádiz de 1810? 

•      Es una constitución democrática, que afirma la soberanía nacional; era también monárquica y confesional (la religión católica es la religión oficial del Estado).

•      Derechos individuales: igualdad jurídica, inviolabilidad del domicilio, libertad de imprenta para los libros no religiosos, sufragio, propiedad, igualdad ante la ley, etc.

•      La estructura del Estado corresponde a la de una monarquía limitada, basada en una división estricta de poderes.

•      El poder legislativo reside en las Cortes con el Rey, el ejecutivo en el rey y sus ministros y el judicial en los tribunales de justicia.

•      El sufragio es universal masculino e indirecto del que quedaban excluidos “los criados y los negros”. Para ser diputado es necesario disponer de un determinado nivel de renta.

7.       ¿Qué batallas provocaron el final de la ocupación francesa en España?

Tras sufrir derrotas tan importantes como la de Arapiles y viendo cómo perdía cada vez más terreno en Europa, Napoleón firmó en 1813 el tratado de Valençay, que recibe el nombre del castillo donde Fernando VII había permanecido retenido durante la guerra de la

Independencia junto con su hermano y su tío. En este tratado, se devolvía la corona española a Fernando VII y Napoleón se comprometía a retirar todas las tropas que le quedaban en territorio español. Fernando VII volvió así a España como rey, habiéndose considerado como total la derrota de Napoleón. Todos los órganos vinculados a la lucha española contra las tropas españolas, incluyendo la Junta Central, habían actuado en nombre de Fernando VII e incluso la Constitución de 1812 reconocía su autoridad como monarca, aunque se esperaba que reconociera y jurara la Constitución acordada.

8.       ¿Qué consecuencias tuvo la guerra para España?

La guerra de independencia fue una guerra muy costosa: dejo a la hacienda quebrada, antiguamente se ingresaba hasta 1500 millones de reales, mientras que ese año bajaron hasta los 650 millones. 

La guerra no sólo afecto económicamente al país, sino que también lo sumió en una gran pobreza demográfica.

A parte de todo esto, según expertos se estima una pérdida de más de medio millón de muertos, más otro medio millón por epidemias y enfermedades.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

The declaration of Independence was the public act by which the Second Continental Congress, on July 4th, 1776, declared the Colonies to be free and independent of England. I agree with Bernard Bailyn because he agrees with the founding fathers, and they believed that they had the right to be free and have liberty as well as the pursuit of happiness and becoming a mighty country. So, I believe that the declaration of independence was written following ideological principles.

 According to the thoughts of Bernard Bailyn, by severing their rights the colonists thought that the King of England was conspiring against them. Moreover, Bailyn abets principles such as “live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” following enlightened principles in the Declaration of Independence. The leaders of the colonists truly believed that America was the nation that was appointed by God to defend this principles and rights, because according to what John Locke said "all men are created equal, with certain rights that included the right to defend them against a tiranic government".

Although Howard Zinn argues that the Declaration of Independence was written by an upper-class that wanted to achieve more priviledges, we can claim that no other social group was prepared to lead the revolution but the wealthy and educated bourgeoisie of the colonies that have access to the enlightened ideas that came from Europe.

To sum up, we can state that America was chosen by God to spread liberty and freedom and become a mighty country. By the same token, analyzing Zinn´s ideas, we can argue with him about the way he explained that the upper classes wanted to favor themselves from the ones in the Third Estate.

AMISTAD

1. What is the movie about? Summarize the plot of the film mentioning the main

characters.

In 1839 a boat is carrying a group of Africans who have been sold as slaves. While the ship is

crossing the Ocean to the U.S.A., Cinqué, the leader of the African slave’s rebels with other

slaves against the Spaniards. They continue to sail, with the hope of finding help, but in the

contrary they find an American ship and they are taken to the United States, they are

imprisoned as runaway slaves. When they arrive at the court a young lawyer with lots of effort

take the case for him. After having the case already won, the case finally gets to the Supreme

Court, where John Quincy Adams makes an impassioned and convincing appeal for their

release.

The main characters are:

• Matthew McCaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin

• Djimon Hounsou as Sengbe Pieh/José Cinqué

• Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams

• Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson

• Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren

2. What was the Triangular Trade? What nations benefited from it?

The slave trade began with Portuguese, and some Spanish, traders taking African slaves to the

American colonies they had conquered in the 15th century. British sailors became involved in

the trade in the 16th century, and the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) gave them the right to sell

slaves in the Spanish Empire.

In the 18th century, perhaps 6 million Africans were taken to the Americas as slaves, at least a

third of them in British ships.

For the British slave traders, it was a three-legged journey, called the 'triangular trade':

• Taking trade goods, such as guns and brandy, to Africa to exchange for slaves.

• Then taking the slaves on the 'Middle Passage' across the Atlantic to sell in the West

Indies and North America.

• Finally, taking a cargo of rum and sugar back to sell in England.

Conditions on the Middle Passage were terrible, and many slaves died.

3. Do some research and explain the conditions in which slaves were captured and

transported from Africa to the Americas.

Conditions on the Middle Passage were hard. The ship’s hull might hold 100 or 700

slaves. Most of the enslaved Africans did not live by the coast. They had never seen

the sea before, let alone been on a ship. Many would suffer from seasickness. Men

were chained together, to prevent rebellion. Chained, they would find it difficult to

get to the buckets that served as toilets. Usually, all the slaves were taken up on

deck for fresh air and exercise each day. The hull could be cleaned at that time. But

in bad weather, the slaves had to remain in the hold, perhaps for weeks on end.

The conditions they lived in can only be

4. What enlightened ideas appear in the movie?

The movie includes a lot of enlightened ideas, such as a progress, brotherhood, tolerance, constitutional government, and of course LIBERTY.

5. Who was Joseph Cinqué? Did he really exist?

Joseph Cinqué (1814 –1879), also known as Sengbe Pieh, was a West African man of

the Mende people who led a revolt of fellow Africans on the Spanish slave ship, La Amistad.

After the ship was taken into custody by the United States Coast Guard, Cinqué and his fellow

Africans were eventually tried for killing officers on the ship. This reached the US Supreme

Court, where Cinqué and his fellow Africans were found to have rightfully defended

themselves from being enslaved through the illegal Atlantic slave trade and were released with

the help of the ex-president John Quincy Adams. Americans helped raise money for their

return to Africa.

6. What is the role of John Quincy Adams, former US President, in the movie?

John Quincy Adams, byname Old Man Eloquent, was born July 11, 1767, Massachusetts and

died February 23, 1848, Washington D.C.), sixth president of the United States (1825–29) and

eldest son of President John Adams. In his pre-presidential years, he was one of America’s

greatest diplomats (formulating, among other things, what came to be called the Monroe

Doctrine), and in his post presidential years he conducted a consistent and often dramatic fight

against the expansion of slavery.

Anthony Hopkins, winner of one Oscar, one Golden Globe, two BAFTA and two Emmys. In this

movie he plays the role of John Quincy Adams, now a member of the U.S. House of

Representatives from Massachusetts who fights in front of the Supreme Court to abolish slavery.

MLA

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19dTmXeDIeilOrrvD4J6aaaXRlzZa498Z/view?usp=sharing

CONSTITUTIONS

  

                 

           1931                                                           1978

 

The form of government was Democratic Republic.	The form of government was Parliamentary Monarchy.
Popular sovereignty (people): “All the powers of the Republic emanate from the people and in the people resides the power to create laws and in the President of the Republic the personification of the nation.”The sovereignty of the state comes from the people	National sovereignty (nation): “National sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, from whom the powers of the State emanate.”The sovereignty of the state comes from the people, as the same as 1931.
The head of the State: President of the Republic. He is the head of the State and personifies the Nation. The President of the Republic will be elected jointly by the Cortes and a number of delegates equal to that of Deputies.	The Head of State: The King. The symbol of its unity and permanence. He arbitrates the regular functioning of the institutions and assumes the highest representation of the Spanish State in international relations. On the other hand, the President shall direct the Government’s action and coordinate the functions of the other members.
“La Tricolor” is the flag of the Republic. This flag was formed by three horizontal bands of the same width, red, yellow and purple.	It is known as “Rojigualda”.The flag consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red; the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe.
The legislative power resides in the people, who exercise it through the courts or Congress of Deputies.	In the constitution of 1978 the courts are divided in Congress and Senate; they exercise the legislative power of the State, approve their budgets, control the action of the Government.
Spain was a secular State. It didn’t have official religion.	Spain is now a non-denominational State. No confession will have a state character and everyone is free to choosing their ideology, religion or beliefs.
Spanish was the official language of Spain during the Republic.	Spanish is the official language of Spain. Co-official language are recognized in some autonomous communities; Galician, Basque, Catalan and Valencian.
In the Republican constitution the State had the same laws for   all the communities. Only Catalonia’s statute was recognized during the Reformist Biennium due to historical and cultural reasons.	In the constitution of 1978 the courts are divided in Congress and Senate; they exercise the legislative power of the State, approve their budgets, control the action of the Government.Nowadays each community has its own statute apart from the laws from the government.
The territorial organization of Spain changed during the second Republic. The Spanish State of the Republic should be organized starting from the municipalities that were pooled in provinces, which could be organized in autonomous regions.	It recognizes the right to autonomy to the regions and nationalities that make up Spain. Spain is structured in 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities. Each autonomy is divided into several provinces, except the uniprovincial.
Regarding rights and duties: they can not be foundations of legal privilege: nature, filiation, sex, social class, wealth, political ideas or religious beliefs. Everyone has the right to freely express their ideas and opinions, using any means of dissemination, without being subject to prior censorship.	Regarding rights and duties: spaniards are equal before the law, without any discrimination for reasons of birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or social condition or circumstance. The dignity of the person, the inviolable rights which are inherent, the free development of the personality, respect for the law and the rights of others, are the foundation of political order and social peace.

1931:

1978:

ANIMAL FARM