Archaeology comes alive at Great Copper Mountain in Falun Sweden
, the legendary site of the first commercial corporation. According to legend, a local shepherd’s goat returned from grazing and its horns were covered with copper rich soil.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday Ground Up: Great Copper Mountain in Falun Sweden
Archaeology comes alive at Great Copper Mountain in Falun Sweden
, the legendary site of the first commercial corporation. According to legend, a local shepherd’s goat returned from grazing and its horns were covered with copper rich soil.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Digging on Carriacou
Archaeology in Carriacou
Away from the big resorts and private villas of other nearby islands, the small island of Carriacou is a sleepy stopover for only the most adventurous of tourists and sailors.It was said to be “the most beautiful of all the little isles”, by French explorer Jean Baptiste du Tertre in 1656, the first European to visit Carriacou. Though he went on to remark that it had many sheltered bays, and could probably sustain a colony, he made no mention of meeting any islanders during his visit. This seemed to be the ultimate desert island, but was this really the case? Did anyone live on this remote island before Europeans arrived? And if so who? And how?
Read More About Caribbean Treasures: Digging forgotten lives on Carriacou
Picture Source
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
How Did America Cope with the Great Depression?
How did America cope with the Depression? Why was the depression in the United States so long-lasting and what effect did it have on Europe? What's your opinion?
After World War I, European states and the United States sought a more liberal market, free from state intervention. However, the war had strengthened cartels and labor unions, therefore some governments felt these organizations were necessary. With the downturn in domestic economies, and the fall of the stock market, an international crisis had begun.
Most of Europe’s prosperity was built upon the bank loans to Germany, so when investors started to pull their money out of Germany after the crash of the stock market, the banks of Germany and other European states were left weakened. In all actuality, the global economy was severely in disarray, so much so that Americans found it difficult to cope with unemployment, the depression lasting longer that it should have, resulting in a huge impact on the European nations.
Most of Europe’s prosperity was built upon the bank loans to Germany, so when investors started to pull their money out of Germany after the crash of the stock market, the banks of Germany and other European states were left weakened. In all actuality, the global economy was severely in disarray, so much so that Americans found it difficult to cope with unemployment, the depression lasting longer that it should have, resulting in a huge impact on the European nations.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday Ground Up: The Revolutions of 1848 and How Russia and Great Britain Managed to Avoid Them
After the Congress of Vienna had successfully maintained order, in 1830 the forces of change started to wreak havoc with the conservatives in Europe. In 1848, the nationalists and the liberals began to push for a new order, and in so doing, sparked the revolutions of 1848. Russia and Britain, however, had overcome revolution previously, thereby establishing new reforms prior to the Revolution of 1848.
Russia avoided the revolution in 1848 because they simply had no stable relationship or the lines of communications open between the revolutionary assemblies. However, in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, uprisings took place in 1830-31 when revolutionaries tried to end Russian control over Poland, only the Polish didn’t receive any support from France or Britain.
Russia avoided the revolution in 1848 because they simply had no stable relationship or the lines of communications open between the revolutionary assemblies. However, in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, uprisings took place in 1830-31 when revolutionaries tried to end Russian control over Poland, only the Polish didn’t receive any support from France or Britain.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday Ground Up: The Congress of Vienna
After the defeat of Napoleon, there was a desire to convert back to the old order to contain revolution and revolutionary forces. This was attempted by a peace settlement in 1814 including four major enemies that used several approaches to eliminate the infighting within the global powers.
In 1814, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria met to ensure peace after the war. The Bourbon monarchy was restored in the way of Louis XVIII and all agreed to meet at the Congress of Vienna in September 14, 1814 to sign the peace settlement.
Prince Klemens von Metternich was the leader of the Congress of Vienna, however he was both arrogant and self assured. He was guided by the principle of legitimacy, which simply preserved the traditional institution by restoring legitimate monarchs. This had been done in France with the Bourbons, however it was ignored else ware. The congress treated Poland in that fashion, in that Prussia and Austria could lay claim to Polish territories. A Polish kingdom was established with the Romanov Dynasty as monarchs. Poland was granted independence and foreign policy was under Russian control. Prussia and Austria also received compensation for their losses.
Initially, these territorial agreements were meant to create a balance of power so that to prevent one country from dominating Europe. However, according to Metternich Austria and Prussia were defining their military forces, therefore if they united they would present an unconquerable barrier against any prince that may take the throne once again in Russia or France.
On the other hand, the Congress of Vienna didn’t recognize at first the strength of France, as it continued to not be weakened. They proceeded to put up barriers in order to delay any further expansions, thus attempting to weaken France’s ability to disrupt the peace. Additionally, a new kingdom in the Netherlands was established under King William I of the house of Orange, Piedmont was enlarged, and Prussia was given control of the east bank of the Rhine. Also, to replace the previous Napoleonic Confederation, the Congress of Vienna created the Germanic Confederation.
When Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France, it delayed the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna, however it did not change the agreement overall. Although the Congress of Vienna was able to avoid conflict for almost a century in Europe, their attempt to maintain the status quo met with partial success in the short term, but was bound to fail in the long term because it opposed the irresistible forces of historical change resulting from modernization. Those irresistible forces took the form of the dual revolutions of liberalism and nationalism.
As a result of the Congress of Vienna, the Quadruple Alliance and the Holy Alliance initiated a step towards European collaboration. Furthermore, the Concert of Europe , may be credited to the Congress of Vienna, although it did operate less than perfectly at times. In addition, the Congress was able to establish standard rules of diplomacy; however this disregarded any growing social changes that sparked revolution in 1848.
More interesting Articles:
Despite being one of the victors of the Napoleonic Wars the imperial power still faced a number of challenges, the main one being how to balance all the interests of the European powers who were growing in confidence daily. Read more about Castlereagh and Canning - British Foreign Policy 1815-1830
Sources
Picture Vienna
Picture Castlereagh
In 1814, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria met to ensure peace after the war. The Bourbon monarchy was restored in the way of Louis XVIII and all agreed to meet at the Congress of Vienna in September 14, 1814 to sign the peace settlement.Prince Klemens von Metternich was the leader of the Congress of Vienna, however he was both arrogant and self assured. He was guided by the principle of legitimacy, which simply preserved the traditional institution by restoring legitimate monarchs. This had been done in France with the Bourbons, however it was ignored else ware. The congress treated Poland in that fashion, in that Prussia and Austria could lay claim to Polish territories. A Polish kingdom was established with the Romanov Dynasty as monarchs. Poland was granted independence and foreign policy was under Russian control. Prussia and Austria also received compensation for their losses.
Initially, these territorial agreements were meant to create a balance of power so that to prevent one country from dominating Europe. However, according to Metternich Austria and Prussia were defining their military forces, therefore if they united they would present an unconquerable barrier against any prince that may take the throne once again in Russia or France.
On the other hand, the Congress of Vienna didn’t recognize at first the strength of France, as it continued to not be weakened. They proceeded to put up barriers in order to delay any further expansions, thus attempting to weaken France’s ability to disrupt the peace. Additionally, a new kingdom in the Netherlands was established under King William I of the house of Orange, Piedmont was enlarged, and Prussia was given control of the east bank of the Rhine. Also, to replace the previous Napoleonic Confederation, the Congress of Vienna created the Germanic Confederation.
When Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France, it delayed the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna, however it did not change the agreement overall. Although the Congress of Vienna was able to avoid conflict for almost a century in Europe, their attempt to maintain the status quo met with partial success in the short term, but was bound to fail in the long term because it opposed the irresistible forces of historical change resulting from modernization. Those irresistible forces took the form of the dual revolutions of liberalism and nationalism.
As a result of the Congress of Vienna, the Quadruple Alliance and the Holy Alliance initiated a step towards European collaboration. Furthermore, the Concert of Europe , may be credited to the Congress of Vienna, although it did operate less than perfectly at times. In addition, the Congress was able to establish standard rules of diplomacy; however this disregarded any growing social changes that sparked revolution in 1848.
More interesting Articles:
Despite being one of the victors of the Napoleonic Wars the imperial power still faced a number of challenges, the main one being how to balance all the interests of the European powers who were growing in confidence daily. Read more about Castlereagh and Canning - British Foreign Policy 1815-1830Sources
Picture Vienna
Picture Castlereagh
