European History Essay Paper - Past Question Plans Essay Example for Free

European History experiment Paper Past Question Plans EssayThis is an condone type question so its asking you to do just that, merely alike a little more. Merely describing the measures Ferdinand and Isabella took to cope with various problems will hold some marks, but more marks will be gained if you weigh up the outcomes of these policies, and register how winning they were. For example, you may say in the raise that Ferdinand and Isabella faced economical problems, and you may go on to explain what form _or_ system of government(ies) they introduced to solve the problem. This would be explaining how they fuckt with the problem, but you depose go further and say how well they dealt with it comp bed to other issues, and so on Also, refer to historians and what they express about how they dealt with problems. Al behaviors link back to the question.So you musta) Show what the problems wereb) What measures they took to deal with themc) How successful these measures were, evaluating against other issues, historiographical interpretations, short-term/long-term instances.The samplePARA 1 WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMSi) Civil War in Aragon decline of Barcelona, civilized disorder, social unrest.ii) Lack of Grandee support for Isabella.iii) Lack of T suffer support for Isabella.iv) Foreign menaces.v) spectral issues Jews, Muslims, Reconquista.PARA 2 HOW THEY DEALT WITH THEMi) Civil War in Aragon well, fag John of Aragon was very much in favour of a marriage alliance of Ferdinand with Isabella. John saw this as a way of engineering science territorial security in area like Catalonia, keeping the French at bay. He also saw the possibility of better economic ties that would help halt the decline of Barcelona and peasant unrest. Thus, Chroniclers depicted Ferdinand King in January 1479 as the founder of a new Age, a Messiah. The real problems in Aragon, however, like that of town control oer financial policy, were not even attempted to be sorted out until later on 1479 when Ferdinand had been King for a few years. However, between 1469 and 1479, we can see the ideal behind Johns plan to draw Ferdinand and Isabella, as it was meant to give Ferdinand a better chance to reviving Aragons fortunes something, in the long-term, which slowly starts to happen, for example with the increase of town consulados, etc.ii) Lack of Grandee support for Isabella Isabella had some Grandee support but she motivatinged more in order to win her succession. The succession crisis was the biggest issue, and within that, the lack of Grandee support an important problem that needed to be addressed. So, she had to make deals to get support. She needed t heritor support as Grandees had land, money, power and men they could make or open a monarch. So, she bought them off Cardinal Mendoza was promised a Chancellorship, his brother was created Duke of Infantado Enriquez was made Admiral of Castile Velasco made Constable of Castile. Isabella said support me and Ill reward you, and this is how she changed the potentially dangerous situation of only a minority of Nobles encouraging her, to a majority in favour of her.iii) Lack of town support Most towns were in confusion many bandos fought for their own control of the towns and cities, depriving Ferdinand and Isabella of an important power base. Isabella used a variety of techniques to overcome the problem, demonstrating her governmental aptitude and ability to work out antithetical answers to varying situations. Thus, Burgos was promised Royal protection from liberty-threatening nobles after Burgoss citizens highlighted this as a major hindrance in their supporting of Isabella. Toledo was offered extensive privileges if they submitted Seville was threatened with financial and commercial penalties if Isabellas chastise as Queen was refused there. Rodrigo declared in favour of Isabella-How important was religion in influencing the policies of Ferdinand and Isabella?The on ly way to avoid narrative is to structure an essay properly and to focus on explaining and arguing, rather than telling the story. It takes a certain amount of courage to accept, but a shorter, focused, analytical answer is much better than a long, narrative one If you can, use short, snappy quotations to support your analysis, rather than long factual descriptions.Clearly you picture that religion was important and since this is the factor given in the essay title, you need to deal with this in the great depth. A brief accounting entry stressing the piety of Ferdinand and (especially) Isabella (eg ref the Catholic monarchs, the fact that their tomb in Granada cathedral records only their achievements in religion) should be an followed by an explanation of how the conquest of Granada, the establishment of unearthly uniformity, the reform of the Spanish church service and even the sponsorship of Columbus were motivated by religious aims.In the context of this essay, the policy of religious uniformity requires particular attention, as the implementation of this policy was governmentally difficult (eg opposition to the Inquisition, especially in the Aragonese kingdoms and the revolt of the Alpujarras) and economically damaging (eg the loss of the wealth and commercial skills of the Jewish community especially in Barcelona and the disruption to trade and agriculture in Granada after the exception of the Moors). It therefore shows the importance of religion in the formation and implementation of policy, given that Ferdinand Isabella were willing to accept the consequent semipolitical and economic difficulties.However, to give your essay balance you will need also to explain that these religious policies had other aims too, given the pressing need to restore and strengthen royal authority (particularly in Castile, after the anarchy of Henry IVs reign and the civil war). In particular, the conquest of Granada and the sponsorship of Columbus were motivated by economic aims, while the conquest and reform of the Church also had broader political aims (eg the conquest linkd the nobility behind the new regime and gave it a near outlet for its aggressive instincts, while ecclesiastical reform went some way to establishing royal authority over the Spanish Church).You should conclude that this complex of motives religious, political and economic was inevitable, given the personality of the Catholic monarchs and the context of their reign.I hope all this helps you with your studies. Good luck-How United was Spain by 1516?The main thing with any essay is to be clear in your mind about what you are going to say. Yes, there are different interpretations but the only tear of view your exam marker is really interested in is yours So you must decide right from the beginning what you think the answer is and structure your essay accordingly. If you have time, you can include some discussion of the other views/possibilities in your conclusionIn the case of this essay, there are a number of possible answers ie Ferdinand Isabella united Spain more or less completely they didnt unite it at all or they united it in some ways but not others. viridity sense will tell you that the last approach is probably the best oneHaving decided what your assertion is going to be, you can say so in your introduction (ie Ferdinand Isabella imposed religious uniformity on Spain and created a dynastic union however measure designed to bring about closer economic ties were half-hearted at best and they never united Spain politically) and structure the rest of the essay accordingly.Start off by explaining those areas where unity was achieved, in particular the implementation of policies designed to bring about religious uniformity (conquest of Granada, expulsion of Jews and Moors, Inquisition) and the dynastic union resulting from the marriage of Ferdinand Isabella that also enabled the Catholic Kings to pursue common military and foreign policy aims.However, you should be aware that all of this only went so far. For example, the supposedly Spanish conquest of Granada actually resulted in the expansion of the crown of Castile, while toleration of Moorish practices actually continued in Aragon (especially Valencia). Perhaps near telling was the fact that after Isabellas death, Ferdinand re-married in order to prevent (unsuccessfully) Charles of Burgundy from inheriting Aragon as well as Castile. In other words, Ferdinand did not want the dynastic union created by himself and Isabella to last if it meant that their joint heir would be a Habsburg prince.Consider the economy next unity is suggested by the equalisation of currencies (often referred to as the introduction of a common currency) and the introduction of a rudimentary postal service. However, internal customs barriers and regulations protecting the intimate status of native merchants in towns like Barcelona, Valencia and Seville remained.Finally, explain that Ferd inand Isabella certainly didnt unite Spain in any political sense. Indeed, they probably had no intention of ever doing so (for example they never called themselves the King and Queen of Spain). The serving kingdoms all had their own rights and privileges that made it almost impossible to rule as a single political unit . Indeed, given the potential strength of the crown in Castile (and the weakness of royal authority in Aragon) Ferdinand Isabella wisely concentrated on restoring the authority of the crown there, leaving Aragon more or less to its own devices. Apart from the Inquisition, there were no common political, administrative, legal or military institutions and the rights of the Aragonese kingdoms, Navarre and the Basque Provinces were fully respected (apart from the pain of the Inquisition). Conclude this section of your essay by referring to events after Isabellas death, when Ferdinand was seen as a foreign ruler with no rights in Castile and was consequently excluded f rom the government of the country. It was only the death of Archduke Philip and the madness of Joanna that forced the Castilian administration under Cisneros to liberate (very reluctantly) to Ferdinand for assistance.As noted above, your conclusion might include discussion of other interpretations/points of view but it is better if you end up reinforcing your own argument If you can, find a snappy quotation that supports your point of view to end withI hope this hopes you with your studies. Good luck