Thirty Years War Essays - Anti-Catholicism, , Term Papers

Thirty Years War The causes of the Thirty Years War can be traced as far back as the renaissance period. It was during the renaissance that such ideals as secularism, humanism, individualism, rationalism and above all else secularism were first apparent in main stream society. These ideas led to the protestant reformation, which is an even more direct cause of the war. The split of the Catholic Church, as a result of the protestant reformation left Europe in a state of religious turmoil and chaos. The gradual increase in intolerance and religious sectionalism that coincided with the addition of new religions and even more diversity has been marked as the main cause of the Thirty Years War. The effects of the war would prove to be devastating to most of Europe, evidenced by the sharp drop in population, but it was especially devastating to Germany. However, there were some countries and bodies of people that emerged from the conflict improved such as France, Sweden, and the religion of Calvinism. There were many territorial and dynastic issues that figured in the outbreak and conduct of the war as well, but it is believed that these factors did not become important until the middle stages of the war. The territorial and dynastic causes, which go hand in hand, did however, cause the war to continue longer than it most likely would have if religion had been the only motive. The extent of religious motives therefor is debated, but cannot be dismissed. The immediate causes of the war began with the resistance and eventual revolt of Protestant nobles in Bohemia, due to the religious intolerance mentioned before, which was under Hapsburg domination, against the Catholic king Ferdinand. The reasons and causes for its spread throughout Europe include the constitutional frailty of the Holy Roman Empire, the inability of the German states to act in concert, and the ambitions of other European powers. These were the causes that would eventually be responsible for the war lasting as long as it did. The political motives became more and more prevalent when Sweden entered the war to help the Protestant cause. Sweden did not enter the war for religious reasons at all; they were looking to gain land. Finally it seemed that religion was completely forgotten and abandoned as a cause when Catholic France and Protestant Sweden joined forces against the Catholic Hapsburgs. France was worried that the Hapsburgs were becoming too powerful so they decided to assert their influence into the war. The results and effects of the war and the two peace treaties were highly significant. France replaced Spain as the greatest power in Europe. With Sweden, France had blocked the Habsburg efforts to strengthen their authority in the Empire. At Westphalia, the right of the individual states within the Empire to make war and conclude alliances was recognized. In theory as well as in fact, the most important of these states became virtually autonomous, and German unity was postponed for more than two centuries. The Empire was further dismembered by the recognition of the independence of Switzerland and the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands. Two new powers emerged in northern Germany. France received most of Alsace by the Treaty of Westphalia, and by the Treaty of Pyrenees parts of Flanders and Artois in the Spanish Netherlands and lands in the Pyrenees. The religious settlement at Westphalia confirmed the predominance of Catholicism in southern Germany and of Protestantism in northern Germany. The principle accepted by the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 that Catholic and Lutheran princes could determine the religion practiced in their territory was maintained, and this privilege was extended to include the Calvinists as well. The Austrian Habsburgs had failed in their efforts to increase their authority in the Empire and to eradicate Protestantism, but they emerged from the war stronger than before. In Bohemia, they had stamped out Protestantism, broken the power of the old nobility, and declared the crown hereditary in the male line of their family. With Bohemia now firmly in their grasp and with their large group of adjoining territories, they were ready to expand to the east in the Balkans, to the south in Italy, or to interfere once more in the

Free Essays on Lost Generation

Lost Generation A group of U.S. writers who came of age during World War I and established their reputations in the 1920s; are called the â€Å"Lost Generation Writers†. The term was coined by Gertrude Stein in a remark to Ernest Hemingway. The writers considered themselves "lost" because their inherited values could not operate in the postwar world and they felt spiritually alienated from a country they considered hopelessly average and emotionally lacking. The term embraces Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, and Hart Crane, among others. I found Ernest Hemingway writing fascinating. Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Ill., he began work as a journalist after high school. He was wounded while serving as an ambulance driver in World War I. He later became part of a famous group of expatriate writers in Paris, and soon embarked on a life of travel, skiing, fishing, and hunting that would be reflected in his work. His story collection, In Our Time, 1925 was followed by the novel The Sun Also Rises 1926. Later novels included A Farewell to Arms 1929 and To Have and Have Not 1937. His lifelong love for Spain including a fascination with bullfighting led to his working as a correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, which resulted in the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940. Other short-story collections include Men Without Women 1927, Winner Take Nothing 1933, and The Fifth Column 1938. He lived primarily in Cuba from 1940, the locale of his novella, The Old Man and the Sea 1952, which won him a Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954. He left Cuba s hortly after its 1959 revolution; a year later, depressed and ill, he shot himself. The succinct and concentrated prose style of his early works strongly influenced many British and American writers for decades. The specific novel I read by him was The Old Man & The Sea it was a fascinating novel. Everything about The Ol... Free Essays on Lost Generation Free Essays on Lost Generation Lost Generation A group of U.S. writers who came of age during World War I and established their reputations in the 1920s; are called the â€Å"Lost Generation Writers†. The term was coined by Gertrude Stein in a remark to Ernest Hemingway. The writers considered themselves "lost" because their inherited values could not operate in the postwar world and they felt spiritually alienated from a country they considered hopelessly average and emotionally lacking. The term embraces Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, and Hart Crane, among others. I found Ernest Hemingway writing fascinating. Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Ill., he began work as a journalist after high school. He was wounded while serving as an ambulance driver in World War I. He later became part of a famous group of expatriate writers in Paris, and soon embarked on a life of travel, skiing, fishing, and hunting that would be reflected in his work. His story collection, In Our Time, 1925 was followed by the novel The Sun Also Rises 1926. Later novels included A Farewell to Arms 1929 and To Have and Have Not 1937. His lifelong love for Spain including a fascination with bullfighting led to his working as a correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, which resulted in the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940. Other short-story collections include Men Without Women 1927, Winner Take Nothing 1933, and The Fifth Column 1938. He lived primarily in Cuba from 1940, the locale of his novella, The Old Man and the Sea 1952, which won him a Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954. He left Cuba s hortly after its 1959 revolution; a year later, depressed and ill, he shot himself. The succinct and concentrated prose style of his early works strongly influenced many British and American writers for decades. The specific novel I read by him was The Old Man & The Sea it was a fascinating novel. Everything about The Ol...

Women of the Gilded Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women of the Gilded Age - Essay Example They had achieved the right to own property and had been employed outside the home for several decades, mostly in textile mills and garment shops. The first woman Mayor had been elected in 1887 (Moya 3). Higher education had opened its doors to women with the recent edition of women's colleges. By 1900 one-third of college and university students were women (Women in History). Most were trained in nursing or other female dominated fields, but the prized occupations of doctor and lawyer were still almost exclusively male. Traditionally, in the American culture girls learned the homemaking skills of cooking and cleaning that would be expected of her as she became an adult (Women in History). The right to vote was still 20 years away. During this period women experienced social growth but had yet to show much real progress. They had learned to organize through labor activities and social reform movements. The concept of women as a unique social group was taking hold, as women's suffrage had become an issue. However, the concepts of masculine and feminine were deeply divided. A late 19th century play titled Marriage portrayed the woman's place as, "A wise marriage is one...in which a man binds himself to a pretty little woman...in short assist him to hold that social position so essential to progress in business affairs" (qtd.

Pyramids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pyramids - Essay Example Egypt is one of the countries that witnessed civilization in the early period. The pyramid in Egypt demonstrated progress in science, mathematics, and technology in the past. At this period, human society was considered to have little or no progress. The construction of the pyramids is not well documented, but it is believed to have taken many years to complete (Morris 97). It is also believed that the Hebrews did the initial work. The largest of these pyramids, the great pyramid contains more than 2 million limestone blocks put together to form an iconic structure. The pyramid rises from a rectangular base and is the size of nearly eight football fields and slopes at an uniform angle of 51 degrees to meet at a peak more than 4500 feet above the base. The technology that assisted this construction remains a great mystery. The most marveling thing was the calculation and ability to construct a structure that weighed more than six tones (Allen 313). The precursors of the pyramids are believed to be the mastabas, flat-roofed structures carved from rock that were used as royal tombs. These tombs were developed to keep the embalmed bodies of kings and rulers of the empire (Allen 313). With time, the mastabas were improved with mud bricks and raised to become shrines for the communities. What followed was the replacement of the mud bricks with curved limestone layers, and a height of 204 feet was first achieved. Architect Imhotep, who was also priest and healer, is accredited with the idea and calculations involved in the construction (Watson 245). Pyramids are also said to have been built as tombs for the kings and pharaohs. The size of the pyramids depended on how the leaders were revered in the society. It is said that construction begun upon accent of leader in power and continued to be built in the reign of the leader. Therefore, the size of the pyramid depended on the number of years one stayed in

Protestant Ethic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Protestant Ethic - Essay Example He finds those sources in the Protestant reformation, especially in Calvinism. It is Weber's conviction that factual reasonable capitalism increased out of Protestant asceticism. Christian asceticism, at the start escaping from the world into solitude, had currently directed the world which it had renounced from the monastery and through the Church. But it had, on the entire, left the routinely spontaneous feature of every day life in the world untouched. Now it strode into the marketplace of life, banged the doorway of the monastery behind it, and undertook to penetrate just that every day usual of life with its methodicalness, to latest tendency it into a life in the world, but neither of neither for this world. t is only essential to believe of the Rhine homeland and of Calw. In this solely introductory consideration it is pointless to stack up more examples. For these couple of currently all display one thing: that the essence of hard work, of advancement, or anything additional it might may be called, the awakening of which one is inclined to ascribe to Protestantism, should not be appreciated, as there is a inclination to do, as delight of dwelling neither in any other sense as attached with the Enlightenment. The vintage Protestantism of Luther, Calvin, Knox, Voet, had prized little to do with what today is called progress. To entire facets of up to date life which the m ost farthest religionist would not desire to stifle today, it was exactly hostile. If any inward connection between certain signs of the vintage Protestant essence and up to date capitalistic heritage is to be discovered, we should try to find it, for better o r poorer, not in its supposed more or less materialistic or not less than anti-ascetic delight of dwelling, but in its solely devout characteristics. Montesquieu states (Esprit des Lois, Book XX, chap. 7) of the English that they "had progressed the most distant of all p eoples of the world in three significant things: in piety, in business, and in freedom". Is it not likely that their financial superiority and their adaptation to free political organisations are attached in someway with that record of piety which Montes quieu ascribes to them A large number of likely connections, vaguely seen, happen to us when we put the inquiry in this way. It will now be our task to formulate what happens to us confusedly as apparently as is likely, contemplating the inexhaustib le diversity to be discovered in all chronicled material. But in alignment to do this it is essential to depart behind the vague and general notions with which we have administered up to this issue, and try to Penetrate into the peculiar characteristics of and the dissimilaritie s between those large worlds of devout considered which have lived historic in the diverse parts of Christianity. This extract, possibly more than any other, states apparently the essence of The Protestant Ethic. Weber accepts as factual that the ascetic essence of Protestantism is to blame for the development of reasonable capitalism. This ascetic impulse not only motored the early Protestants to a life of hard work, especially work inside a calling, but furthermore eradicated any tendencies to relish life, and therefore, to spend their hard acquired incomes. This extract apparently

Internet and Books Essay Example for Free

Internet and Books Essay In today’s modern world, technology has a great influence on our life and time. Back in the early 19th century, when electronic devices had not been invented, the population could only use printed word such as books, posters, newspapers or magazines, to gather information. Later, in the mid 20th century, the use of computers, televisions and radios helped people to know about the incidents happening all around the world, more easily. Now, in the 21st century, the creation of internet and other devices to access it has helped us to attain gigabytes of information, just with the click of our mouse. The internet has made it possible for us to acquire answers for almost all of the questions that we ask, and has alleviated the access to information to almost every topic imaginable. Firstly, internet helps to save time and effort. All you need to do is type in your question and click SEARCH. It can give an answer to almost every question type in, and it is usually very quick, speedy and fast. On the other hand, using books or other printed texts can waste time, as you need to find the appropriate book and then search for the information you need from it. For example, while searching for a book in the library, you waste time trying to reach there, and even more time trying to find the book you need. Despite this, time is also lost when you try to find the information that is useful to you from the book. Whereas the internet acts as a filter that sieves out all the data you need, in a span of seconds. However it can be argued that using electronic devices can cause distractions and disturbances. Using the internet can divert your attention to some other unrelated site and will cause you to waste time. For instance, you may login to facebook or twitter, or check your mail instead of researching and using the time well. On the contrary, you cannot be easily distracted in a library where silence is preferred, and is filled with people who want to work. But if the internet is used properly, and if the person has a self control over himself the internet has more advantages comparing to printed texts. So in short internet can be a time-saver only if used wisely. Alternatively, the internet can sometimes provide us with unreliable information. It is like a blank page in which people are allowed to post whatever they want, and sometimes even the wrong information. As exemplified by blogs, in which anyone can post their opinions and views on a topic, the internet can be a source of unreliable and inaccurate information as it contains the judgement of different individuals and not the actual facts. On the contrary, printed texts can be a great source of reliable information. Books are written by experienced authors who have researched well about the topic themselves before publishing it. A library can assure you that the book in your hand is dependable and trustworthy. In spite of being unreliable, internet can provide us with up-to-date data. It offers information on the most recent discoveries and inventions, the latest cars or other products and about the contemporary incidents and happenings all around the world. However once a book is published, any recent findings cannot be added to it. There are always new developments in the field of health, science, technology and politics that the library simply cannot keep up with. Therefore, the internet can provide us with the latest news about our modern day developments and can be dependable only if used properly by checking the sources of a particular website. Thirdly, glaring at a screen for a long period of time can cause various eye and back problems. Computer vision syndromes like eye strain and cataracts are caused by glaring at the computer screen for prolonged periods. Millions develop a condition called ‘dry eye’, resulting in gritty, itchy, inflamed eyes, due to staring at the screen for hours. The light from computer screens can cause drastic problems to your eyes, and sometimes even partial blindness. Unlike computer screens, books can be very easy to read as they are just words printed on paper. However there are many solutions to prevent the damage caused to eyes by computer screens. Screen filters can be bought to reduce the amount of light radiation hitting our eyes. There are also many softwares that can transfer the information audibly or with the help of videos, and do not require data to be read. Regular breaks, and turning away from the screen constantly can also help in avoiding eye and back problems. Usually, there is an option to zoom in, which enables people to read easily. Unlike computers, books cannot be zoomed in, when the letters are too small to be visible, causing eye problems as well. So the problems caused by glaring at computer screens or reading the small printed texts in books, can be reduced by taking regular breaks and exercises, as anything in excess is not good for our health. Moreover, a lot of paper is wasted in the creation of books and magazines. Deforestation, being one of the greatest threats that humans are facing today, is increased by the production of paper in books. A few sheets of paper could be worth one tree. Hence the number of trees is reducing day by day. Obviously, trees are vital for our living as they are the natural producers of food. Deforestation not only causes scarcity of food and other resources, but also results in the rise of the earth’s temperature, causing global warming. In contrast to books, modern technology like mobile phones, computers or tablets does not harm the environment to a very great extent. In the case of computers the energy used is electricity, which is renewable and can be created again and again. The internet is a huge database, and more information can be adjoined into it, very easily. However books are created from sheets of paper, and if the number of books increase, then the level of deforestation can increase correspondingly. To reduce the destruction of the earth’s forests by deforestation, paper should be recycled and not wasted. Instead it is much easier to use the help of modern technology that functions with the help of renewable energy, which does not have a great impact on nature. Therefore modern electronics has made it possible to overcome a huge problem to the environment. In conclusion, modern technology has many positive uses; it has made the world a smaller place by allowing us to contact individuals all around the world, many electronic devices are very cheap making it affordable to all and has also allowed people to find out about the news and incidents happening all around the world. But every good has some bad, and the extensive use of technology can be harmful to our health. I strongly believe that modern technology has been very helpful and useful to the human population. It has eased our access to information in very sustainable manner, and has connected the world together.

The Definition of Literature :: Definition Essays

The Definition of Literature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literature has many meanings but to me when I hear the word literature I think of large tomes of words and stories that have become classics over time however this is only one definition of literature. Literature comes from that Latin word littera, that directly translated means letter, thus supporting the idea that literature is written. This view however leaves out the idea that there can be oral literature as well from which many of our stories and books come from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main form of literature, the book, has had a great impact upon the formation of our society today. Before the 1940’s TV had not come into being yet and there was not much else to do other than read books. Thus books formed my grandparents and to some extent my parents and, although I grew up in the generation of TV, books as literature have indirectly formed me as well. There also can be forms of artistic literature such as poetry or play writing. These also play an important part in literature, I believe, such as Robert frost’s poems or the works of Shakespeare the playwright. These are great authors, whose literature is not in the form of a great story or a moving novel, but in irregular works that have stayed with us for a long time many years. I believe that one very good definition of literature is that literature must have certain qualities such as plot, characters, tone, symbols, conflict, point of view, and many other elements working together in a dynamic relationship to produce a literary work. This pretty much defines the way that most people see literature today. This allows for oral traditional stories as well as for the irregular forms of writing such as plays and poems that can also have plot, characters, tone and the other elements mentioned so that they can be deemed a literary work.