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• UNIT1 CONTRIBUTION OF THE MAIN ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 1 MODERN SOCIETY

  Key Unit competence:
  

  The student-teacher should be able to explore the contribution of the main
  

  ancient civilisations of the world to the development of the modern society.

  Introductory activity
  

  The world history has described different civilisations which were developed
  

  from the antiquity to modern times. Among these civilisations include the
  

  Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Hebrew, Greek, Roman civilisations and others.
  

  Each of these civilisations influenced the way of life in the world. Using
  

  a range of written materials and internet, research on the location and
  

  expansion of Greek and Roman civilisations and describe the elements and
  

  contributions of both the Greek and Roman civilisations to the development
  

  of the modern society.

  1.1 Location and expansion of Greek and Roman
  civilisations
  Use various books and internet and describe the location and expansion of
  Greek and Roman civilisations.
  

  Activity 1.1
  

  Use various books and internet and describe the location and expansion of
  Greek and Roman civilisations.
  

  The word “civilisation” comes from the Latin word ‘civis’ which means a city.
  

  Therefore, civilisation is a way of a group of people that entails their various way
  

  of life such as culture, dressing and food.

  The word “civilisation” comes from the Latin word ‘civis’ which means a city.
  Therefore, civilisation is a way of a group of people that entails their various way
  of life such as culture, dressing and food.
  Civilisation: Refers to an advanced and organized way of human development.
  It is also the advanced stage of human life in which people have cities and
  organized governments. People have also various specialties and occupations,
  

  such as farming, pottery, merchant, teachers and others.

  Most of civilisations have also included the construction of big structures, such
  as temples, palaces, city walls etc. The civilisation also includes literature,
  mathematics, architecture, calendar and arts of various types.
  The civilisation is a kind of human living characterized by great advance in human
  culture where people began to farm, form governments, use metals, live in cities
  and use writing.
  To reach to that stage, for many years, man wondered from place to place in
  search of food with no permanent settlement. He lived a life of animals feeding
  on wild fruits and insects. After many centuries of wondering, man felt a need
  to settle down in one settlement and grow crops instead of picking wild fruit.
  Therefore; man became food producer instead of food gatherer.
  The earliest civilisations began along great river valleys in the third millennium
  BC and they were developed around the great rivers: Egyptian civilisation began
  around Nile River, Mesopotamian civilisation around Tigris and Euphrates, Indian
  civilisation around Indus River and Chinese civilisation around Huang River
  (Yellow River). In the second millennium other civilisations appeared around
  

  Mediterranean Sea. They include Roman, Greek civilisation and others.

  A number of factors explain why the first man settled along river valleys rather
  

  than any other place.

  • The presence of fertile soils in river valleys. This was due to the silt
     deposited during seasonal flooding of the river. This encouraged
     farmers to settle there.
  • The availability of water which could be used for both domestic and
     irrigation purposes.
  • The presence of a wild game. There was much kind of small animals
     and birds along river valleys that attracted man for survival.
  • The climate along the river valleys. These river valleys had suitable
     temperatures and well distributed rainfall which played a big role in the
     civilisation process.
  • The attractive scenery along river valleys characterized by many kinds
     of colourful flowers like water lilies.
  • River valleys provided fishing grounds which attracted people to settle
     and specialize in fishing.
  • The river favored communication and exchange of ideas. Trade was
     developed, boats were built and helped in the civilisation process.
  • The presence of resources along river valleys such as clay and papyrus
  

     which helped in making pots and mats.

  a. Location and expansion of Greek civilisations
  

  Map 1: Ancient Greece

  
  

  Greece is a country in southeastern Europe with thousands of islands throughout
  the Aegean and Ionian seas. Among the different islands of Greece, Crete is
  the biggest. Influential in ancient times, it’s often called the cradle of Western
  civilisation. Athens, its capital, retains landmarks including the 5th-century
  B.C. Acropolis citadel with the Parthenon temple. Greece is also known for its
  beaches, from the black sands of Santorini to the party resorts of Mykonos. This
  country is located near Africa and Asia. It is separated by these two continents
  by waters of Mediterranean Sea.
  
  From Greece mainland, there is a piece of land that forms a peninsula. This is
  the Peloponnesus peninsula. The great city of Peloponnesus is Sparta. The
  great city of Attic is Athens and the great city of Boeotia is Thebes.
  
  Greece is bordered by Macedonia in north, Mediterranean Sea in south, and
  Aegean Sea in East. Generally, Greece is a mountainous country. Therefore,
  road transport is difficult but water transport is easy because of many islands
  and there are well located ports that help people from the coastal region to
  communicate. In Greece, there is a Mediterranean climate, dry and hot mainly in
  

  spring and summer. The main economic activity is trade.

  The Greek culture originated from island of Crete. This island served as a link
  for trade between Europe, Africa and Asia. As a result of this strategic location,
  Crete became a place where many people from different cultural backgrounds
  went and exchanged ideas. The civilisation that developed on Crete city
  became known as Minoan, named after a great King of Crete called Minos. The
  Greek culture copied a lot from Minoan civilisation. The Minoan civilisation was
  replaced by Mycenaean civilisation about 1400 BC. The Dorians then came
  

  around 1200 BC and pushed the Greeks to Aegean Island (Ionia).

  The Greeks stayed for 200 years on the Aegean Island a period known as
  “dark period”. The Greeks mixed with different people and this gave birth to
  the Hellenes people who shared the common language, customs and beliefs.
  What emerged from this mixture was the Greek civilisation. According to F.
  Kenneth Cox, Greek civilisation developed out of a combination of two earlier
  civilisations, Minoan and Mycenaean. The Minoans, who were known as Cretans,
  were a seafaring people. Their civilisation arose around 2800 B.C on Crete,
  an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Little by little the people of Athens mixed
  with other cities in religions and games. These activities led to Olympic Games
  which united the Greeks even further. The Greeks called themselves Hellenes,
  

  after Hellas a town in northern Greece.

  Note that with Dorian invasion, the Mycenaean fled in the plateau of Arcadia,
  Boeotia and in Attic or in the Aegean Islands. They also moved to the coast of
  Minor Asia. This invasion makes all Greek speaking people to be scattered in
  the whole basin of the Aegean Sea (Present Greece +Islands+ costs of Asia)
  

  hence spreading the Greek culture.

  The Roman civilizations

  
  

  b. Location and expansion of Roman civilisations
  

  
  

  Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images
  

  Rome is the capital city of Italy and of Lazio (Latium) Region and Rome Province,
  on the Tiber River, in the central part of the country near the Tyrrhenian Sea.
  The geography of the Italian Peninsular made possible the rise of Rome. The
  peninsular extends about 750 miles from north to south with a width of about
  120 miles. It is centrally located in the Mediterranean. The city of Rome is in the
  center of Italy. This central location made Rome to expand, first in Italy, and later
  in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
  
  Italy’s location made it easier to unify than Greece. The Peninsular is not broken
  up into small, isolated valleys. The Apennine Mountains formed a ridge from
  north to south and divides the country into west and east. Italy was equally
  blessed by having broad, fertile plains, both in the north under the shadow of
  the Alps, and in the west, where the Romans settled. The fertile lands supported
  her growing population.
  
  According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753bc on one of the Seven Hills:
  

  Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Palatine.

  
  

             Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Rome#/media/File:Seven_Hills_of_
  

                                                                                        Rome.svg

  The Roman civilisation grew along the Tiber river in central Italy. It was mainly
  first concentrated in the city of Rome. This was after the Romans conquered the
  

  Greeks in 146 BC that they founded the city in 753 BC.

  Romans have a legend about the founding of their city.
  After the fall of Troy the gods ordered a Trojan prince called Aeneas to lead his
  people to a promised land in the west. When Aeneas reached Italy they joined
  forces with a people known as Latin. About 800 BC a Latin princess gave birth
  to twin sons fathered by the god Mars. The princess had taken an oath never
  

  to have children. Because she broke her word, she was punished. Her sons,

  Romulus and Remus were taken from her and left to die on the bank of flooding

  Tiber. Romulus and Remus were found by a she-wolf, which fed and cared for
  them. One day a shepherd killed the she-wolf and discovered babies. He took
  them to his home. There the shepherd and his wife raised them as their sons.
  When the boys grew older, they decided to build a city. The sign from gods
  showed Palatine. Romulus and Remus wanted to be the king, therefore they
  fought and Remus was killed. Romulus became king of the city which he named
  

  Rome (753 BC) in the plain of Latium.

  
                       Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_of_Rome#/media/
  

                        File:Kapitolinische_W%C3%B6lfin_Museum_Capitolini.jpg

  
  Sculpture of the

  she-wolf feeding
  

  the twins Romulus
  

  and Remus, the
  

  most famous image
  

  associated with the
  

  founding of Rome.

  Rome also managed to take control of the powerful North African city of
  Carthage hence uniting the entire Mediterranean region. She also controlled
  the Mediterranean Sea. At the peak of its powers, her empire covered Egypt,
  Greece, Asia Minor and Syria – all to her East. To her west were Tunisia, Algeria,
  

  Morocco and Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Belgium and England.

  Rome’s development was greatly influenced by the geography of the Italian
  peninsular. The area had excellent marble and small quantities of lead, tin,
  copper, iron (on the island of Elba) and silver in its extensive coastline. There
  were few good harbours, most of which faced the west away from Greece and
  the Near East. Ancient Italy, nonetheless, was well endowed with large forests.
  It had more fertile land than ancient Greece. However, it was more exposed
  to invasion. Invaders entered it easily, as the Alps posed no effective barrier to
  invaders from central Europe. To make matters worse, Italian low lying coastline
  opened it to invaders from the sea. All these made the Romans, from an early
  time in their settlements, to be absorbed in military pursuits to defend their own
  conquests against the invaders.
  

  Rome wanted to expand its borders. In order to do so, it had to fight against
  many neighboring countries such as Carthage, Spain, Parts of Italy, Asia, and
  

  Macedonia.

  a. Conquest of Italy

  Firstly, Rome had been attacked by the Etruscans. Later, the territory was
  invaded by other group: Celts in 390 and they settled in the valley of Po. But
  these people didn’t occupy the territory, they only looted and left. From refuge,
  the Romans organized many attacks and they start conquering central Italy
  against the Etruscan cities because they feared that these people could try to
  regain control of Rome.
  
  After conquering the whole Italy, they went in Greece. As they become the
  master of Italy the Romans tried to conquer other neighboring territories or
  made alliances with them in order to protect their boundaries. After this, they
  constructed many roads from Rome to the whole Italy and neighboring countries
  

  conquered.

  b. The war against Carthage
  

  By 264 BC, the Romans had conquered some Greek City-states in the southern
  

  Italy. This brought them into contact with the Phoenician city of Carthage.
  

  Carthage controlled all of North Africa, most of what is now Spain and some of
  

  islands of the coast of Italy. It also ruled the western half of Sicily, a large island
  

  at the toe of the Italian foot. Between 264 and 146 BC Carthage fought three
  

  wars against Romans and these wars came to be known as Punic wars.

  Different factors helped the spread of civilisations to other parts of the world:
  • Through trade, ideas and products moved from one region to another
  

      and from one civilisation to another thereby enabling civilisation to
      spread.
  

  • Wars and military expeditions also helped civilisation to spread. When
  

     civilised people conquered a less civilised people, the conquered
  

      people often absorbed the ideas of their conquerors, thereby spreading
      their civilisation.
  • Through intermarriage between different groups civilisation could
      spread also from one area to another.
  • Migration movements helped also the spread of civilisation to other
      parts of the world. Migrating people carried their ways of life to new
      lands where they settled. They could also exchange their skills with
      people they encountered.
  

  • Through education ancient civilisations spread to other places. For
  

     instance, when Greek teachers went to teach in Roman Empire, they
      spread Greek culture among the Romans.
  • Through colonization also the civilisation spread to other parts of the
     world. The strong countries which dominated small ones, they imposed
     their culture on the population they dominated.
  • Religious conversion also helped to spread the civilisations to other
     regions. The converted people had to adopt a set of beliefs identified
  

     with one particular religious denomination.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation

  Application activity 1.1

  1. Locate Greek and Roman civilisation in the time and space.
  2. Identify the factors that helped the spread of civilisations to other
  

  parts of the world.

  1.2. Elements/ Achievements of Greek and Roman
          civilisations
  

  1.2.1. Elements of Greek civilisations

  The Greek Civilisation permeated virtually every aspect of the human life. It
  marked a complete refinement of its predecessors, which are Egyptian and
  

  Mesopotamian civilisations. Some of its elements were:

  Greek medicine
  “The father of medicine”, the Physician Hippocrates believed that the disease
  had natural, not supernatural cause and that the body could heal itself. He was
  the first doctor to view medicine as science. Basing his work in the late 400s
  BC on observation, he diagnosed and treated illness all over Greece. According,
  to tradition, Hippocrates drafted a code for ethical medical conduct that has
  guided the practice of medicine for more than 2,000 Years. Many doctors today
  recite the Hippocratic Oath when they receive their medical degree.
  A common language
  All the Greece islands spoke an identical language known as Greek. They were
  thus able to communicate easily with one another. The common language also
  brought feelings of togetherness among the islands’ inhabitants. Greek was
  

  spoken and written.

  Technology

  Since Greek coastal cities were sandwiched between the ocean and the sea,
  they developed an awesome navy for trading and fighting. All cities need fresh
  water. This is a Greek aqueduct, basically a brick water pipe. The first aqueduct
  

  was Assyrian, but most ancient societies had them.

  
  

  Greek Military
  

  The Greeks invented many military weapons such as catapults, one could throw
  

  300 pound stones at walls and buildings. Other weapons invented include
  

  Flamethrower, a phalanx. Soldiers get in a tight box. They each have a large
  

  shield and a 9 foot long spear. Some of the weapons were used by Greek
  

  infantry soldiers called hoplite. Hoplites were middle-class freemen who had to
  

  pay for their own weapon and shield.

  

  Settlement in cities
  City states were a major feature of the Greek Civilisation. Greeks lived in cities
  which were all independent of each other. Each city and the farms around
  it formed a separate state called a polis. By the 8th and 7th Centuries BC,
  cities were built almost everywhere throughout Greece. All these cities were
  independent. The city-states forged alliances with one another.
  
  The city-states governed themselves differently. Sometimes they had kings for
  example at Sparta. Other cities were led by a self-imposed strong man who
  ruled the way they wanted. Such a leader is known as a tyrant. Sometimes the
  nobleman ruled, and this was called an aristocracy. Sometimes all the citizens
  took part in the government. This was called a democracy. It was practiced in
  Athens. All adult male assembled together to discuss issues of interest to their
  polis. Other forms of government in the city states were: monarchy, oligarchy
  

  and aristocracy.

  Ancient Greek city of Athens
  

  In city states were found the asty (city itself) with its watchtower, the agora
  (public square/market place) and surrounding rural- agricultural lands referred
  to as the chora. The asty was the business, political, religious and social centre
  of the entire community while the Chora provided the food to both the villages
  and to the city.
  
  The ancient Greeks believed that each city-state had one or two gods keeping
  a special eye on that city-state. The god in charge of Athens was Athena,
  goddess of wisdom. The city of Athens was named after their special goddess.
  
  Education was very important in Athens. From their mothers, girls learned how
  to cook and sew and run a home, and how to be a good wife and mother.
  Boys went to school. They memorized poetry and learned to play a musical
  instrument, usually the lyre. They studied public speaking and drama and reading
  and writing. Sons of nobles went to high school - four more years of learning
  

  about the sciences and the arts and politics and government.

  For about 100 years, ancient Athens was ruled by direct democracy! It didn’t
  last long, but the invention of democracy is one of the most important gifts we
  received from the ancient Greeks.
  
  Citizens of Athens had many rights, including the right to stand trial and the right
  (when Athens was a direct democracy) to vote. But not all people in ancient
  Athens were citizens. Originally, a free male would be a citizen if his father was
  a citizen. But Pericles changed that rule in 450 BCE. The new law stated that
  

  both father and mother be Athenians for a child to be an Athenian. Out of the

  Athenians, only men had full citizenship. Women had partial citizenship, which
  basically meant they had few if any rights. Pericles changed this rule to give
  Athenian women more status. It worked. Even though Athenian women had
  no power of their own, their status as an Athenian made them more likely to
  

  contract a good marriage.

  Participation in games

  In Ancient Greek, there was a strong belief that athletic competitions were a way
  to please the gods and honour the dead heroes. Greeks therefore participated
  in the Olympic Games from 776 BC. During the games, fighting city-states
  even suspended wars between them to allow the competitions to go on. The
  games were held after every four years. They attracted some 40,000 Greeks
  into the stadium built in Olympia. The games were dedicated to the god Zeus,
  

  father of the gods. The games lasted for more than five days.

  Games events included foot races, wrestling, boxing, jumping, and
  javelin, discus throwing and chariot-riding. Athletes were proud of their
  bodies and emphasized physical fitness. The most celebrated event during the
  Olympic Games was known as the pentathlon. It was considered the supreme
  contest of athletic skill. Winners were crowned with a wreath of olive leaves,
  a coveted Olympic prize. The wreath of olives awarded the candidate was
  

  considered sacred to Zeus.

  The Greeks took the Olympic Games quite seriously. Nearly all the ancient
  Greek cities sent teams to participate in the ancient Greek Olympics. If two or
  more Greek city-states happen to be at war with each other when the game
  

  date arrived, war was halted for the duration of the games.

  Women were not allowed to attend the games because men did not wear
  clothes when they competed in the events.
  
  The Greek Olympic Games came to an end in 393 AD. They were banned by a
  Christian Roman Emperor. He saw them as pagan practices. But fifteen hundred
  years later, the games were revived through the efforts of a French baron, Pierre
  de Coubertin, who was inspired by the ideals of the Ancient Greeks. In 1896,
  the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Since then, the
  

  games have been a major event in the history of sports in the world.

  

  Belief in gods and goddesses
  Ancient Greeks were very religious. They believed in gods and goddesses.
  They had a common religion based on twelve chief gods and goddesses. These
  deities were thought to live on Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.
  The gods and goddesses include the following:
  • Zeus – the chief god and father of the gods.
  • Athena – goddess of wisdom and craft.
  • Apollo – god of the sun and poetry.
  • Aphrodite – goddess of love and beauty.
  • Poseidon – brother of Zeus and god of the seas and earthquakes.
  • Hades – the god of the underworld – where the spirits of the dead went.
  • Nemesis – god of vengeance.
  • Nike – goddess of victory.
  • Apollo - god of archery, music, poetry, prophecy, medicine and later on
  

                      god of the sun.

  

  Although the twelve gods and goddesses were common to all Greeks, each
  city-state usually singled out one of the twelve Olympian gods as its guardian
  for example, Athena was the patron goddess of Athens. Each polis also had its
  

  own local gods. These local gods remained vital to the community as a whole.

  Important elements in the Greek religion were rituals and festivals. The Greeks
  

  wanted the gods and goddesses to look favorably upon their lives and activities.

  Artistic heritage

  The Greeks loved all arts. Painting, sculpture and mosaics decorated the
  buildings and almost everything they owned. It might be as simple as a geometric
  

  pattern or as elaborate a scene from a battle or myth.

  The Greeks attached a lot of importance to artistic expressions. Their arts have
  

  greatly influenced the standards taken by those of other European groups.

  Greek art was shown in their unique architecture and sculptures. Here, they
  went to great lengths to show their expression of beauty. Some of these works
  still stand today. On architecture, their artistry was visible in the temples they
  built for their gods and goddesses. An example was the famous building built
  in the fifth century BC, the Parthenon. This temple was built between 447 and
  432 BC under the supervision of Ictinus and Callicrates as the master builders.
  The temple covered 23,000 square feet. It was dedicated to Athena, the patron
  

  goddess of Athens.

  The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with
  their own distinctive proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are: Doric,
  

  Ionic, and Corinthian.

  

  They also made sculptures and statues. Their sculptors, showed relaxed
  attitudes. Most of their faces were self-assured; their bodies flexible and smooth
  muscled. Greek art and sculpture has had a profound effect throughout the
  ages. The Greeks used many different types of materials in their sculptures
  including stone, marble and limestone as these were abundant in Greece.
  Other materials such as clay were also used but due to their brittle nature very
  few have survived. Greek sculptures are very important as the vast majority of
  them tell us a story about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures and Greek
  

  culture in general.

  

  Source: https://www.slideshare.net/abiemason/greek-civilisation-10452091

  Love of philosophy
  

  In the Greek society, there were thinkers who challenged the belief that
  

  events were caused by the whims of gods. Instead, these thinkers, used
  

  reason and observation to establish the causes of things. They were known as
  

  philosophers or lovers of wisdom. The philosophers explored many subjects
  

  from mathematics and music to logic (rational thinking). Some were interested
  

  in ethics and morality. Through reason and observation, the thinkers believed
  

  that, they could discover laws that governed the universe. Philosophers focused
  

  on personal behavior, especially the question of how to achieve peace in mind.
  

  Three systems of thoughts attracted most of Hellenistic intellectuals: Cynicism,
  

  Epicureanism and stoicism. The best known cynic was Diogenes. He
  

  criticized materialism and asserted that people would be happy if they gave up
  

  luxuries and lived simply, in accord with nature. The scholar Epicurus started
  

  the philosophy of Epicureanism He argue that people should avoid both joy
  

  and pain by accepting the world as it was, ignoring politics and living simply and
  

  quietly with a few close friends. Zeno founded Stoicism. The name stoicism
  

  comes from the Stoa Poikileor “painted Porch” in which Zeno lectured.
  

  The stoics believed that what happened to people was governed by natural
  

  laws. Accordingly, people could gain happiness by ignoring their emotions, and
  

  instead following their reason. In this way, they were able to accept even the
  

  most difficult circumstances of life and do their duty. Stoicism later affected
  

  both Roman intellectuals and early Christian thinkers. The Greece’s greatest
  

  philosophers included Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. Socrates developed a
  

  teaching technique known as the Socratic Method. He encouraged the young
  

  to clear away mistaken ides and discover the truth. Plato is known with his
  

  earliest book of political science “The republic”. In this book he presented a
  

  plan for what he considered would be the ideal society and government. The
  

  third greatest philosopher of ancient Greece was Aristotle who wrote more than
  

  200 books on different topics. He influenced later philosophers with his work on
  

  logic. He developed syllogism.

  
  

  Literature and drama
  

  Athens led the other Greek city states in literature and drama. The latter was
  

  made up of both tragedy and comedy. Epic and lyric were other literary forms
  

  in the Greek world of literature. Drama is said to have developed out of the
  

  choruses that chanted lyrical poems also known as Odes, to the god Dionysius.
  

  A group of citizens judged the plays and awarded the winner a simple prize: a
  

  wreath of ivy. The plays were partly acted and partly chanted. Action was limited
  

  as emphasis was on the story and its meaning. Greek literature began with
  

  the epics of Homer, whose stirring tales inspired later writers. The drama was
  

  closely tied to the political and religious life of the state, which sponsored it.

  In the drama, staging remained simple. There were two or three characters
  (all male) wearing masks, with a chorus of twelve to fifteen members chanting
  commentary on the action. The purpose of tragedy was to inspire pity and fear
  

  in the audience. While comedy intended to amuse people by inducing laughter.

  Prose was another literary genre that emerged in Ancient Greek. The people,
  from the fifth century, began to express philosophical and political ideas through
  

  prose.

  
  

                                                                                    The Greek theatre of Epidaurus
  

  Writing of History
  We owe the discipline of History to the Ancient Greeks. At first, History was
  part of literature until Herodotus campaigned for its separation from literature.
  The Greeks applied observation, reason, and logic in understanding the human
  past. Herodotus was the pioneer in this hence he is often referred to as the
  

  Father of History.

  According to Thucydides, history was to be written in an accurate, factual and
  impartial way. He also vouched for the use of eye witness accounts in writing in
  this discipline.
  Trade
  Ancient Greeks were also traders. They traded with the neighbouring lands in a
  variety of goods. The Greek city states also traded with each other. Trade made
  the city states to be rich and prosperous.
  
  The Greeks were united by geographic region, language, religion, economics
  and common customary practices. However, they remained divided politically
  into the scores of the independent city states. Loyalty was first and foremost to
  

  the city state before it extended to the more remote ideal of Hellas.

  1.2.2 Elements of Roman civilisation
  1. Architecture
  Like other ancient communities, the Romans paid attention to architecture.
  Their architecture borrowed a lot from the Greek and Etruscans ones. They also
  introduced new designs and materials in their works. The Romans, for example,
  pioneered the use of concrete in construction. Roman architectural works were
  hence an improvement over the earlier Greek ones.
  
  Roman civil engineering and building construction technology became developed
  and refined. Some of what they built have remained to date for example, the
  Pantheon (with one of the largest single span domes in the world), a building
  still found in the business district of the present city of Rome. There was also
  the Colossium, a theatre which could accommodate 50,000 spectators. The
  pantheon was a temple of all Roman gods.
  
  The architectural works were visible in palaces, stadiums, temples, private
  dwellings, villas, public buildings and hydraulics. Roman architectural works
  emphasized grandeur.
  
  Romans are known to have experimented with the dome and pioneered in the
  building of amphi theatres, public baths, and race courses. In the empire, public
  

  buildings were of massive proportions and solid construction.

  Roman architecture made use of rows and columns and rectangular buildings.
  They also used curvilinear forms (forms based on curved lines): the arch, vault,
  

  and dome.

  

  2. Law
  The early Roman republic had a written code of law which was heavily based
  on custom. It was known as the ‘Twelve Tables or tablets’. They were written to
  make the interpretation of the law objective. Work of writing the law begun in
  451 B.C. It involved a group of ten officials. Upon finishing the work, the laws
  were carved on twelve tablets or tables and hung in the Forum (market place).
  These laws became the basis for future Roman law. They were based on the
  spirit of equality of all citizens to the law. Every individual had thus a duty to
  

  protect the law.

  Through the universal laws, they were able to establish standards of justice that
  

  applied to all people. An individual was regarded innocent until proved guilty.
  

  Every suspect was allowed to face his or her accuser and themselves before
  

  a judge who was expected to weigh the evidence carefully before making a
  verdict. The Roman law was based on the following principles:
                         • All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law.
                         • A person was considered innocent until proven guilty.
                         • The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the accused.
                         • A person should be punished only for actions, not thoughts.
  

                         • Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside.

  3. Government
  From the earliest times, the Romans had distrust of Kingship and of a sole ruler.
  This was due to the lessons they learned from their experience with Etruscans.
  

  As a result, the Romans devised a complicated system of government.

  In the Roman republic, the chief executive officers were the consuls and
  praetors. Two consuls, chosen every year, ran the government and led the
  Roman army into battle. In 366 BC, a new office, that of praetor was created.
  The occupant was in charge of civil law. A consul’s term was only one year, and
  once elected, he could not be elected again for ten years. One consul could
  

  also overrule or veto the others’ decision.

  The senate was made up of a select group of about 300 land owning men who
  served for life. It begun by serving as an advisory body to government officials.
  Senators each year, elected from the patrician class two consuls. The power
  of the consuls was thus checked by the senate. Consuls’ power was further
  checked by limitation of terms. They could only serve for one term. Membership
  

  to the senate was for life.

  There were also a number of assemblies in the Roman republic. It was
  organized by classes based on wealth. This assembly was fixed in such a way
  that the wealthiest citizens always had a majority. It elected the chief officials
  

  and passed laws.

  The senate was allowed during war, to elect a dictator, or a ruler who enjoyed
  complete control over government. The consuls chose him before the senate
  elected. Each Roman dictator was granted power to rule for six months. After
  the expiry of the time, the dictator had to give up power and go back to his former
  duties. When Rome became an empire, from the reign of Octavian, Senate gave
  him the honorific title of emperor. He became known as Emperor Augustus.
  This marked the beginning of the Roman Empire. From the date, Roman rulers
  adopted the name of emperor. But like before, they exercised the very powers
  

  as during the period of consulship.

  4. Social organization
  The family held a central place in the Roman society. By law and custom, power
  at the household was vested exclusively in the eldest man, known as the ‘pater
  familias’ or the father of the family. This individual had absolute authority over the
  family. He controlled all family properly. He could sell a member of his household
  into slavery or even kill any member of the family without penalty. The father was
  equally the individual who protected the family, spoke on behalf of the family in
  

  public assemblies or in law courts. He also acted as the family’s chief priest.

  Roman women were in charge of the day to day management of their families.
  

  Generally in Rome, women enjoyed more freedom than in the Greek society.
  

  They had right to own property and testify in court. They also often provided
  advice to their husbands on business and politics. All members of the family
  and by extension the clans, were supposed to uphold the principles of their
  

  ancestors.

  The Roman society was divided into classes. At the top was a group of families
  which claimed that their ancestors had been “fathers” who had founded the city
  of Rome. These families were privileged and belonged to a class known as the
  patrician. They claimed that due to their ancestry, they had the right to make
  

  laws for Rome and its people.

  The other class which brought together common farmers, artisans and merchants
  formed the plebeians. They were citizens with a number of rights, including the
  right to vote. However, they were considered to be below the patricians. In the
  Roman society thus, birth and not merit or wealth, was the sole determinant of
  

  an individual’s social and political status.

  Voting when the Republic was founded in 509 BC was exercised by the
  

  patricians and plebeians. Slaves, women and children were not allowed to vote.

  On food, the Romans observed very simple dietary practices. They usually ate
  the first meal of the day at around 11 O’clock. It consisted of bread, salad,
  olives, cheese, fruits, nuts and cold meat which had been left over from the
  

  previous night’s meal. They also had other meals such as breakfast and dinner.

  5. Education
  The formal schooling begun around 200 BC. In most of the Roman Empire,
  pupils began to learn at around age six and spent the next six to seven years in
  school. They learnt basics of reading, writing and counting. By age twelve, they
  were introduced to learning Latin, Greek grammar and literature after which,
  they undertook training for public speaking. Romans highly valued oratory. Good
  orators commanded respect from the rest of the society. It was for this reason,
  that one of the objectives of education and learning was becoming an astute
  

  orator.

  6. Language
  The Romans’ native language was Latin. This was a form of Italic language in the
  Indo-European family. There were several forms of Latin spoken in the empire.
  Silver Age Latin was the most popular. The language’s alphabet originally came
  from the Greek one. Greek was spoken by the well-educated elite. Most of the
  literature studied by Romans was in Greek. Latin in this area was mostly used
  by the Roman administrators and soldiers. Eventually, Greek replaced Latin as
  both the official written and spoken language of the eastern empire. The western
  empire used Latin. Later Latin was to spread in various dialects to Western
  Europe as a distinct Romance language hence giving birth to Portuguese,
  

  Romania, French, Italian and Spanish.

  7. Literature
  Roman literature, like, its religion, was greatly inspired by the Greeks’. The
  earliest were historical epics which told the early history of Rome e.g. Augustus
  sponsored the historian, Livy, to document the history of Rome from its founding
  to the rule of Augustus. He did this in 142 Roman style books. Generally, Latin
  

  literature took many forms.

  The expansion of the empire culminated to expansion in the type of literally
  works. Writers began to produce poetry, comedy, history and tragedy. Some of
  these works have survived in today e.g. “Histories” of Tacitus, Julius Ceasers’
  

  “Gallic wars” and Livy’s “History of Rome”.

  

                                                                                           A piece of ancient Roman art

  During the reign of Augustus, the literature of the time is generally referred to as
  

  works of the Golden Epic.

  Most literature of the “Golden Age” was vigorous, affirmative and uplifting. It
  mainly served political and propaganda ends. Whereas that of the silver age was
  characteristically less calm and balanced. Its effects are said, to have derived
  more often from self-conscious artifice. Most were intended to entertain than to
  

  instruct or uplift the mood of the reader.

  8. Visual art
  

  Roman art was greatly influenced by Etruscans – especially in portrayal of political
  

  issues. Greek art also influenced Roman art from the 3rd BCE. It surpassed the
  

  influence the Etruscans had exerted on the Romans. Many Roman homes were
  

  decorated with landscapes by Greek artists.

  With time the Romans came up with their own styles. Some remarkable ones
  were: “Incrustation” in which the interior walls of houses were painted to
  resemble coloured marble. A second style involved painting interiors as open
  landscapes, with highly detailed scenes of plants, animals and buildings.
  The Romans learned the art of sculpture from the Greeks. From the knowledge,
  they were able to create realistic portraits in stone. Much of the Roman art was
  

  practical in purpose. It was intended for public education.

  The Roman artists were especially good in creating mosaics. These were
  pictures or designs made by setting small pieces of stone, glass, or tile onto a
  surface. Most villas, the country houses of the wealthy, had at least one coloured
  mosaic. Romans also made good works of painting. Most of the wealthy people
  

  had bright, large murals, called frescoes, painted directly on their walls.

  9. Music
  The society in Rome recognized and appreciated the vital role played by
  music in life. There was music during nightly dining and in military parades and
  maneuvers. Romans used a variety of musical instruments in their songs. Some
  of the main ones included tuba, cornu, flute, panpipes, lyre, lute, cithara, timpani,
  

  drums, hydraulis and the sistrum.

  

                                                                                      Some Roman musical instruments

  10. Economy
  In Imperial Rome, agriculture was the main economic activity. About 90% of
  the population engaged in farming. Most people survived on produce from their
  farms. Additional food stuffs (when needed) and luxury items for the rich were
  

  obtained through trade.

  From the time of Augustus reign, a silver coin called a denarius was used as
  a medium of exchange. Existence of a common currency made commercial
  transactions throughout the empire. The coins often carried the likeness of
  the emperor or depicted a Roman achievement. A standard system of coinage
  

  developed in 269 BCE.

  Transportation when carrying out trade was made easy by the existence of
  the Mediterranean Sea. Ships from the east travelled along the sea under the
  protection of the Roman’s navy. Trade made cities on the eastern Coast of
  the Mediterranean to expand and become rich. Examples of these cities were:
  

  Corinth, Ephesus and Antioch.

  A part from water transport, the empire had a good network of roads. Roads
  linked various places in the empire. The roads were originally built by the Roman
  army for military purposes. The most important were the silk roads, named for
  

  the overland routes on which silk from China reached the Romans.

  11. Religion
  The earliest Romans worshipped powerful spirits or divine forces, called Mumina.
  These spirits were thought to reside in everything around them. Closely related
  

  to these spirits were the Lares, for each family.

  Interactions with the Greeks and Etruscans, made the Romans begin to associate
  the spirits with human like forms and individual personalities. The spirits now got
  Roman names and were honoured through rituals. People expected the gods
  

  and goddesses to give them favor and protect them from misfortunes.

  In the empire, the state and religion were linked. The deities were symbols of
  the state. Individuals were expected to honour them in private rituals and in their
  

  homes. Priests also conducted public worship ceremonies in temples.

  Polytheism or belief in more than one god, thrived in the Roman Empire. Among
  the most important gods and goddesses were Jupiter (father of the gods), Juno
  (Jupiter’s wife who supposedly watched over women), Minerva (goddess a
  wisdom and of the arts and crafts) and Vesta (goddess of home). Emperor
  worship also came with the creation of the institution. It became part and parcel
  

  of the state religion of Rome. Priests were appointed to work for the governor.

  Their religion depended on knowledge and the correct practice of prayer,
  ritual and sacrifice. They also never placed great emphasis on rewards and
  punishments after death. But unlike the Greeks, the Romans revered their
  ancestors, their “household gods” included deceased members of a lineage
  who were worshipped in order to ensure a family’s continued prosperity. Each
  home had a household shrine at which prayers and libations were offered to the
  

  family deity.

  There was religious toleration in the Roman Empire. This witnessed varied
  religious traditions. People were expected to honour Roman gods and
  acknowledge the divine spirit of the empire and upon meeting these conditions;
  

  they had freedom to observe their other religious practices as they pleased.

  12. Sports
  In the ancient city of Rome, there was a place called the campus. Here, Roman
  soldiers conducted military exercises. Later the campus became Rome’s track
  and field playground. Other urban centres in the empire copied the campus in
  

  their centres and military settlements.

  The youth in the urban centres, assembled in the campus to play, exercise and
  perform inappropriate acts. These acts included: jumping, wrestling, boxing
  and racing, riding, throwing and swimming. In the rural areas, people also
  participated in fishing and hunting. Women were prohibited from partaking of
  

  these activities.

  There were several ball games which could be found in Ancient Rome. These
  included: dice (Tesserae or tali) Roman Chess (Latrunculi) Roman Checkers
  

  (Calculi), tic-tac-toe (Terni Lapilli) and Ludus duodeeim Scriptorum and Tabula.

  13. Philosophy
  Roman philosophy heavily borrowed from its Greek predecessor. Two major
  philosophical schools – Cynism and stoicism – derived from Greek religion and
  philosophy became prominent in the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd Century
  AD. These two philosophies were fairly merged in the early years of the Roman
  Empire.
  
  The two philosophies expressed negative views on civilisation, something which
  was reflected in their adherent way of life. Cynicism upheld that civilisation
  was corrupt and people needed to break away from it and its trappings while
  stoicism, on the other hand, taught that one must surrender all earthly things
  

  and assist others.

  Apart from the philosophical schools we have mentioned above, there was
  also Epicureanism. The most renowned of its Roman exponents was Lucretius
  (98- 35B C). He expresses the view that everything is a product of mechanical
  evolution, including human beings and their habits and beliefs. He however
  admitted the existence of the gods but saw them as living in eternal peace,
  

  neither creating nor governing the universe.

  Cicero wrote in a rich and elegant Latin prose style that has never been
  surpassed. His prose became a standard for composition and has been up to
  

  today.

  

  14. Militarization
  

  The Roman society was highly militarized. Citizenship for provincials could be
  

  obtained after 25 years of military service. The army doubled as an army corps of
  

  engineers. They built roads and other forms of infrastructure such as aqueducts.

  Rome fought mercilessly with its neighbours. It had most of its male population
  pass through military service. This made it a highly militarized state. Even leaders
  had to have passed through the military to be accepted to lead. Political career
  

  of an individual could only commence after ten years of service in the military.

  The Roman Civilisation spread to all the lands they controlled. This happened
  through trade and conquest. Its location along the Mediterranean region enabled
  people to pursue their commercial interests, while their military nature allowed
  them to register victories in their enemies’ camps. Once they had brought an
  area to their fold, the Roman administrators helped to spread their civilisation in
  

  the areas.

  Application activity 1.2

  Examine the elements of the Greek and Roman civilisations as they have
  

  been described by history authors.

  1.3 Contributions of the Greek and Roman Civilisation
  

  Activity 1.3
  

  Use the Internet, the encyclopedia and History textbook to find out the
  contribution of the Greek and Roman civilisations with special focus on the
  

  Rwandan context.

  1.3.1 Contributions of the Greek Civilisation
  

  1. Sports: In sports we owe to the Greeks the Olympic Games which are
       held after every four years. The games are today a global event which
       attracts teams from various nations in different parts the World, Rwanda
       included.
  2. Literature: Greeks pioneered drama as a form of entertainment. They
       performed plays which explored the struggles made by individuals to free
       themselves from the imperfections in their characters. The playwrights
      balanced their tragedies with comedies. They are famous for their love
       and appreciation of literature especially poems and plays. The world today
      has borrowed heavily from their rules and habits for writing, reaching and
      theatre arts performance. Some of their plays are still being performed in
      different parts of the World today.
  3. History: The Ancient Greeks are credited with developing history as a
      distinct discipline of study. Prior to this, history was considered to be
      part of literature. Herodotus, father of history, constructed a narrative of
      the Persians wars using critical methods and interpretative framework.
      Later, Thucydides (460 – 400 B .C) used scientific methods in writing
      the History of the Peloponnesian war. He used the analytic methods
      borrowed from science and philosophy in writing the history so as to
      produce ‘an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of
  

     the future.’ The Greeks were the first people to develop history.

  4. Philosophy: Philosophy is the study of nature and meaning of the
        universe and of human life. The Greeks believed in rational explanation
        for the existence of the universe or wise people. The philosophers tried
        to understand humanity’s relationship to nature, the gods, individual to
        another and between the individual and the groups of human society.
        Some of the most famous philosophers of ancient Greece are Socrates,
        Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurious.
  

  5. Science and Mathematics: Greeks made most pronounced legacy
  

        in science and mathematics. Various personalities made numerous
  

       contributions. A few examples include:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  6. Architecture
  Ancient Greeks excelled in great architectural works. Most of the formulas they
  invented as early as the 6th Century B.C have informed the world of architecture
  for the past two millennia. They built temples, theatre and stadiums which are
  still the envy of the present world. We owe today our theatres and stadium
  designs to this Ancient civilisation. Greek architecture still influences many
  people today. The US Supreme Court design, for example, was influenced by
  the Parthenon, the Greek temple to the goddess Athena.
  

  

                                                          Part of the United States of America Supreme Court showing Greek
  

                                                                                                              architecture

  7. Government and Law
  

  Greeks are credited for introducing and practicing democracy, the system of
  

  checks and balances in government, equality before the law and active citizen
  

  participation in the civic functions of the state. They also brought the issue of
  

  political and civil rights which were limited to citizens of a city state. Athens was
  

  the first Greek city to set up a democratic government. Today, the principles of
  

  democracy spread all over in the world.
  

  8. Art, music and dance
  

  Greek art, music and dance have exercised an enormous influence on the culture
  

  of the present world. In art they made sculptures and statues of stones marble,
  

  limestone and clay. On music and dance, Greek folk music and the balladlike
  

  reciting of epic poetry. The Greeks civilisations as can be seen from these
  

  contributions left a rich legacy to the modern world. However, it equally had
  

  weaknesses. Women and slaves had no political rights. Foreigners were also
  

  prohibited from owning land. These made the Greek system to be discriminative
  

  by today’s standards.

  9. Religion
  The Greeks shared a common religion and belief system. They believed in many
  gods and goddesses. Their belief system was also made up of heroes and
  

  myths.

  Greek gods and goddesses had human appearance. They also bore human
  characteristics and attributes. The deities participated directly in human affairs
  according to Greek beliefs. In addition, the Greeks believed in oracles to tell the
  

  future and to give prophesies.

  Today, religion is common to humanity. It is based on a system of beliefs just
  as during the Ancient Greek period. Belief in oracles is still practiced in games
  and sports and many other fields of human endeavor. The belief in existence
  of gods (or god), life after death, provision of sacrifices and offerings to god,
  command of divine powers over human life and observance of festivals and
  rituals in religious life, were evident in the Greek Civilisation. We owe these
  

  partly to the Greek Civilisation.

  10. Belief in military power of a country
  Sparta was renowned for her military power. She built an army which proved
  fatal to other Greek city – states and beyond. War was glorified and every effort
  was made to train boys to serve in the military. Today, all world states have
  developed their military along almost similar lines. A might of a nation is partly
  

  seen through its military capability.

  1.3.2 Contributions of the Roman Civilisation
  The Romans made countless contributions to us in virtually all the fields. Today,
  

  we use some of their inventions and innovations. The main ones include:

  1. Christianity: The romans have promoted Christian religion. Rome allowed
      Christianity to spread and flourish in her empire. Today, Christianity is one
  

      of the major world religions.

  2. Government: Representative democracy was reflected in the Roman
      republican system. Senators represented groups of people thus bringing
      an element of democracy. Power was distributed and not concentrated in
      one office. This form of government has been emulated by governments
      in the world today. In a way too, the Roman division of their republic into
      three branches: The Consuls (who served as judges and army leaders)
      the Senators (who acted as political advisers) and the Assembly (made
      up of army members whose role was to approve or reject laws) mirrors
      the separation of powers found in democratic governments today. Like
      modern democracies, the Romans through their “Twelve Tablets” had
  

      something similar to a written constitution.

  3. Architecture: Architecture is one field in which the Romans made great
      strides in. Their knowledge and skills have been acquired in the modern
      world. Their architectural styles were evident in use of improved arches
      and columns of the Greeks; the rounded domes, sculptures, frescos and
      mosaics. They also used concrete, mortar and cement. This enabled
      them to develop some structures which have withstood the test of time
  

      such as the pantheon and the colosseum.

  

                                                                                                       The Roman colosseum

  Roman engineering skills were also evident in the construction of aqueducts.
  These structures were made across rivers, and included large networks of
  

  underground channels which supplied water to cities and valleys.

  Today all the innovations of Romans have made our life easy. Buildings, bridges
  and harbours and pipeline transport for water are in use in virtually every part of
  the world. The Roman architectural styles have also been copied in many parts
  of the world e.g. the US capital building, the Lincoln memorial and most state
  

  capitals in the USA.

  

                                                                                                       Roman aqueduct

  4. Entertainment: Our idea for mass entertainment came from the
      Romans. People were entertained in the forum and in the colosseum,
      Rome’s amphitheater which had a capacity of accommodating 60,000
      persons. Games were played, sports were held, musical and theatrical
      performances, public executions and gladiatorial combat performed.
      Today mass entertainment is a feature of modern humanity.
  5. Romans introduced the idea of urban planning: The romans were
     the first people to introduce the idea of city planning. Roman Empire had
     well planned towns linked by a good road network, portions of which
     exist up today. The cities were very well planned with very well street,
     avenues and quarters. Modern man used this knowledge to improve and
     come up with advanced modern urban planning.
  6. Roads: Roman roads have greatly influenced our modern road
      construction. Some of these roads are still in use today. Their highways
      were straight, plane and resistant to damage. Like today’s highways,
      these roads use the most direct route to connect cities.
  7. Calendar: The Julian calendar (named after its inventor, Galus Julius
       “Ceasar”) gave a lot to the modern calendar which was reformed by
        Pope Gregory 1600 years later. The calendar is still being used the way
        it was in many Greek Orthodox churches. Our modern calendar has
        retained the names of the months as they were in the Julian calendar.
        All the months’ names are derived from Latin e.g. January (from “Janus”,
  

        god of the beginning of times) February (from “Februa” a Roman festival),

       March (from “Mars” the god of war), April (from “aspire” meaning “open”,
       referring to the blossoming of plants in spring), May (from “maia,” goddess
       of fertility), June (from “Juno”, goddess of women and marriage, hence
       the expression “June bride”), July (from Julius Ceasar himself), August
       (from emperor Augustus), September (7th” as March was the first month
       at the time), and, October (8th), November (9th) and December (10th
  

       month). The use of calendar has remained in today’s society.

  8. Law: The modern world has also borrowed a lot from the Roman law. To
      maintain law and order, Romans were law- making people. Roman legal
      principles are still used in France, Italy, and Latin America.
  9. Literature, philosophy and history: Romans were good writers of
      stories, poems, literature; painting walls, Poetry and use of satire in verse
      in literature were popular in the Ancient Roman Empire. The Romans
      respected philosophy’s contribution to society. They were guided by Greek
      philosophical schools. The Romans spread ideas of these philosophies
      to the areas they controlled. Today, the world owes a lot in these three
      fields to the Romans. Even some of the books they wrote in literature,
      philosophy and history have been interpreted in other languages and are
      still being used today.
  10. Art: Art was another area where the Romans have left an indelible mark.
      Uses of realism, idealism and revealing of an individual’s character in a
      piece of art have their origin in Ancient Rome. Today, art is dominated
      with these qualities. We can also not forget the idea of beautifying homes
      with works of art in the modern society. This was also popularized by the
      Romans. Uses of frescoes and mosaic have also their roots in ancient
      Rome.
  11. The Latin language. It became the intellectual language in Europe.
       Today the Roman alphabet is still widely used in the whole world. For
        instance, Latin was the official language of business, education, law,
       government and arts and in the contemporary world Romance languages
       include Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian. Latin has
       influenced the English language widely to the extent that Latin is a source
       of many English words like audio, face, graduate, homicide, labour etc.
  12. Currency and trade: Throughout their reign, the Romans maintained a
      stable currency and a prosperous international trade. Stability of currency
      and promotion of international trade, are today still vital economic issues.
  

  13. Romans are remembered for roman numerals I, II, III, IV, V, X, L,
  

      C, D, M, Roman calendar of AD (Latin for Anno Domino or After Birth of
  

      Christ; also After Common Era) and BC (Before the birth of Christ; also
      Before Common Era).
  

  14. Romans are remembered of their military organization in sections,
          companies and platoons.
  

  15. Engineering: Roman builders had invented many construction
  

         techniques like building of roads with many layers of stones which are
  

         still used today.

  Greek and roman civilisation left a good number of legacies to the modern world.
  These contributions include mathematics, engineering, medicine, Olympic
  Games, Literature, philosophy, history Government and Law, architecture
  Art, music and dance, Religion, urban planning, Christianity, Government,
  Latin language, roman numerals, engineering and many others. All these
  contributions are applied to Rwanda. Let’s consider few examples to prove
  this truth to Rwanda. The Latin language which is a roman contribution is today
  taught in seminary schools in Rwanda. The Latin language is also the mother
  of Romances languages which are the Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese
  

  among others. French is an official language in Rwanda.

  Latin has influenced the English language widely to the extent that Latin is a
  source of many English words like audio, face, graduate, homicide, labour etc.
  This English is also used in Rwanda as an official language. In sports we owe
  to the Greeks the Olympic Games which are held after every four years. The
  games are today a global event which attracts teams from various nations in
  different parts the World and Rwanda included because Rwandans participated
  

  in Olympic Games for many times.

  Application activity 1.3

  Identify the legacies of Greek and Romans civilisations visible in Rwanda to
  

  date.

  Skills Lab
  

  With reference to various contributions of the ancient civilisations to
  

  Rwanda, imitate either Greeks or Romans to create one feature of your
  

  choice and present it to the class.

  End unit assessment 1
  

  1) What is civilisation?
  

  2) Using maps, locate Greece and Italy where Greek and Roman
  

       civilisation developed respectively.
  

  3) What achievements is the Greek philosopher Pythagoras credited
  

      with?
  

  4) Explain the elements of Greek and Roman civilisations.
  

  5) Discuss the contributions of Greek and Roman civilisations to
  

      Rwanda.

  
  

  
  

• UNIT 2 POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MEDIEVAL AND MODERN TIMES.

  Key Unit competence:
  

  The student-teacher should be able to examine the political, economic and
  

  intellectual progresses in the medieval and modern times.

  Introductory activity
  

  The medieval times also known as Middle Ages was the period between
  

  300AD to 1500AD. The medieval period saw two major world religions
  

  such as Christianity and Islam and they attracted many followers in different
  

  parts of the world. Middle ages was also marked by European early
  

  explorations. The impacts of these religions and explorations were further
  

  to be witnessed in the modern times. The period begun from 1500AD up
  

  to date. Modern time also witnessed enlightenment era known as the age
  

  of reason that took place between 1720 and 1790.Use internet, textbooks,
  

  maps, photographs and media to answer the questions below:
  

  1. Describe the origin, spread and effects of Christianity and Islam.
  

  2. Show the relationship between Islam and Christianity in the middle
  

      and modern times.
  

  3. Analyse the causes and effects of the early exploration.
  

  4. Examine the ideas of Philosophers.
  

  5. Discuss the impacts of the ideas of the era of enlightenment.

  2.1. Origin, spread and effects of Christianity and Islam in
  

           Europe and the rest of the World

  2.1.1. Christianity

  Learning activity 2.1.1
  

  
  

  Observe the photos above and use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs
  and media to research on origin, spread and effects of Christianity in Europe
  and the rest of the world and answer the following question:
  

  Discuss the origin, spread and effects of Christianity.

  Origin of Christianity
  Christianity emerged from a Jewish background. Christianity was founded by
  Jesus Christ of Nazareth over 2,000 years ago. Jesus was a Jew who was born
  in Bethlehem. Upon attaining 30 years of age, he began his public life which
  involved preaching about the way God wanted human beings to act towards
  

  one another. He made many followers who believed in his teachings and actions.

  He was the Son of God but born through Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born at
  about 4 BC at almost the same time Rome took over the Jewish Kingdom. He
  was thus both a Jew and a Roman subject. He was born during the reign of
  Emperor Augustus. Information on him is found in the four Gospel books in the
  

  Bible, which are; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

  According to the gospels, Jesus grew up in the village of Nazareth in northern
  Palestine. It is said that each year he went with his parents, Joseph and Mary,
  to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This is a Jewish ceremony which
  commemorated the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. During the visits,
  Jesus displayed an amazing knowledge of religious matters which impressed
  

  Jewish scholars of the time. Jesus began to attract large crowds through his
  teachings, especially when word went round that he performed miracles of
  healing. This made his followers to equate him with the legendary Messiah or
  anointed King sent by God to lead the Jewish people to freedom. They even
  said that before conception, an angel called Gabriel told Jesus’ mother that she
  would give birth to the Messiah. “He will be great,” said the Angel, “and will be
  called the Son of the Most High God.” Mary’s pregnancy was believed to have
  

  been supernatural. She did not conceive with Joseph because she was a virgin.

  Paul of Tarsus, a Jew and a Roman citizen did much to spread Christianity in the
  Roman Empire. He travelled extensively in Eastern Mediterranean spreading
  the faith. The letters he wrote constitute the earliest Christian writings. His
  interpretation of Christ’s teachings, which divorced it from following the Jewish
  traditions, enabled it to spread widely in the non-Jewish communities. He
  

  argued that Christ had brought the one detailed in the Hebrew Bible.

  Christianity was further supported by Emperor Constantine’s conversion to
  the faith. The emperor made efforts to see the faith embedded in the Roman
  Empire for example through the Edict of Milan, all forms of religious worship
  were legalized in the empire. Constantine reached the decision with his coruler,
  Licinius. The Edict made the faith to be granted imperial recognition in
  the Roman world. Many Roman emperors took to Christianity after the end of
  Constantine’s reign. The faith thus received official support, and spread in most
  

  parts of the empire – Europe included.

  Christianity survived the fall of Rome and Grew to be one of the major influences
  

  on Western civilisations.

  

  Spread of Christianity in Europe and the rest of the world

  Factors that facilitated the spread of Christianity in Roman Empire
  

  From Palestine, Christianity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire and
  

  beyond. There are many reasons which have been advanced for the spread
  

  and success of Christianity in the Roman Empire and they include the
  

  following:

  – Christianity had changed people’s behavior to leave the traditional
      customs and religions.
  – Christianity spread the idea of a unique God.
  – The belief in life after death taught by Christianity attracted many
       non-believers.
  – Stability and peace in Rome also helped in the spread of Christianity.
  – In 312AD, Emperor Constantine I authorized the Romans to convert
      to Christianity and heal lowed the use of government money to
      support Christianity in Rome and Jerusalem.
  – The good communication network in the Roman Empire enabled in
      the guide and spread of Christianity. E.g. good roads.
  – The good examples shown by the Christian community also helped in
      the spread of Christianity, where pagans admired believers.
  – The good examples shown by the Christian community also helped in
      the spread of Christianity where pagans admired behavior.
  – People wanted the love, kindness and security that Christianity
      offered.
  – In 392, Emperor The odosius made Christianity the official religion of
  

      the Roman Empire and outlawed all other religions.

  Spread of Christianity
  The support Christianity got from the Roman emperors greatly contributed to its
  spread in areas under Roman Ruler. Most of these lands were in Europe and to
  some extent Asia and parts of Africa. Christianity with the political backing from
  the Roman rulers grew rapidly with time. It was the religion of choice of people
  in various parts of the world.
  Expansion (30-65 AD)
  This period witnessed the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to other parts
  of the world starting with Rome. They took a threefold approach at this time:
  Kerygma (proclamation of gospel message), did ache (further teaching and
  explanation of Christianity to new converts who had accepted the Kerygma)
  and finally, the worship and liturgical activity of the early communities gathered
  

  together especially to celebrate the supper of the Lord.

  Persecution (AD 65 -90)
  The first period of expansion ended in 65 AD. By 70 AD persecution of Christians
  commenced. This persecution was spearheaded by Emperor Nero. Life for
  Jews and Christians alike become unbearable in the Roman Empire. Inspite of
  this, Christians were happy and believed in Christ. They soldiered on. A host
  of Roman emperors led in Persecution of Christians. It began with Emperor
  Nero (54 -68 AD) then came Decius (250 -251 AD), Galerius (who was in
  charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor
  Diocletian (284- 305 AD). There were equally those emperors who supported
  Christianity. The most notable one was Constantine (312 -337 AD). Others
  were Valerian (251-260 AD) Diocletian (284 -305 AD) and lastly Theodosius
  I. The emperors who supported Christianity greatly contributed to its spread in
  

  the Roman Empire, Europe and some parts of Asia and Africa.

  During the period of persecution, the Christians were outlawed and hunted
  down like criminals. Many were killed due to their faith. Many Christians were
  undeterred by the persecutions and they remained steadfast in their spread of
  the faith. They produced written gospel literature during this time. The presence
  of eyewitnesses and the excellent uncluttered memories of those times
  were sufficient enough. The recording of the teachings of Christ was partly
  necessitated by the disappearance of the eyewitnesses due to persecution of
  Christians thus making them disappear at an alarming rate. Peter and Paul, who
  were some of the disciples of Jesus Christ, were killed in Rome for their faith
  and another disciple by the name of James was killed in Jerusalem. Apart from
  the killing, Christianity was also under the threat from new ideas and heresies.
  All this made recording of the story and teachings of Christ very important.
  It would provide a fixed, written definitive account, which would be available
  for the increasing number of converts. The Gospel of Mark opened the floor
  to others. Mark was the disciple and interpreter of Peter. He thus recorded
  Peter’s preaching. Luke was also to do the same for Paul. The Gospel of Luke
  and Mathew were written towards the end of A.D 96. Mathew had a Jewish
  audience in mind while Mark, had a Roman one. Luke on the other hand had
  a Gentile world in mind. He sought to put straight on Christianity amidst the
  

  hostility, false accusations and misunderstanding which Christians aroused.

  Effects of Christianity in Europe and the rest of the world
  • Emergence of monotheism: Previously communities were
      polytheists. It was Christianity which brought the belief in one supreme
      God. It preached against the existence of many gods and goddesses.
      The Christian God was all-powerful and was believed to have been the
  

      creator of everything in the universe and beyond.

  • Belief in salvation: Christianity brought individualism in humanity’s
      relationship with God. An individual was required to receive salvation
      in order to enter the heavenly kingdom. This was to be seen in ones’
      behaviour both to God and secondly to fellow human beings. Good
      behaviour thus became a practice in society.
  • Promotion of justice in society: The pillar of Christ’s teachings
      was justice. All Christians were expected to be just in all their dealings.
      As a result, Christians developed a just society where the interests of
      all were respected.
  • Promotion of equality in society: Christians did not tolerate
     discrimination. Discrimination of women slaves, non-Jews and later
     racism, was not encouraged. People were treated as equals in spite of
     their differences.
  • Promotion of social services: Christians strongly believed in
      serving others. From an early time, Christian monks and nuns traversed
      different parts of the world spreading spiritual, physiological and mental
      food. They spearheaded provision of medical, educational and other
      social services in lands where they spread their faith. In Africa and
      many parts of Asia, it was the missionaries who opened up services. In
      both the Middle Ages and later, education became a path for upward
      mobility and employment. This was first done by Cathedral schools
      which later developed into universities e.g. University of Paris.
  • Development of infrastructure: Roads and buildings were
      constructed in different parts of the world courtesy of the missionaries.
      Christians travelled to remote areas which were lacking infrastructure.
      They helped stimulate the making of such areas accessible.
  • Promotion of Western culture: Originally, Christianity was Jewish
       in cultural orientation. This however changed when most of Europe
       embraced the faith. The western world gave Christianity some aspects
      of its culture. These came to be part and parcel of the faith. Today,
      most of these cultural practices have been adopted by Christians in
      different parts of the world. Christianity equally evolved its unique
      culture, e.g., it came up with the Eucharist – these involved converts
      taking the blessed bread and wine. It was a symbol of God’s sacrifice
      for unity with his people.
  • Encouragement of trade and urbanization: During the crusades,
      Christians evolved commercial relations with the Muslim states they
      waged the war against. Mostly, the crusades stimulated the demand
      for luxury goods. Population of towns increased thus leading to rapid
      urbanization.
  • Adoption of new ideas: The interaction between the Christians and
       Muslim groups during the crusades enabled Muslim ideas to find their
  

       way in Europe. In an equal measure, western ideas found their way in
  

       the areas traversed by the Christian traders, e.g. new translations of
  

       texts by Aristotle, texts on astronomy, numerals and paper, made their
  

       way across the trade routes.

  • Loss of lives and destruction of property: Christians organized
     crusades against the non-adherents to the faith. This involved waging
     wars which brought untold suffering, loss of lives and destruction of
     property to the victims. The crusades took place in the 11th and 12th
     centuries. They were holy wars sponsored by the Pope to recover
     holy land from the Muslims. These crusades grew partially out of long
     conflicts between Muslims and Christians in Spain. The crusaders
     believed they would receive spiritual merit and earn a place in paradise.
  • Discrimination in society: Even though Christianity taught on equality
      of persons, the Christians discriminated the non-Christians in various
      ways. Many non-Christians were excluded from certain privileges. This
  

     in itself was discriminative hence encouraging inequality in the society.

  Application activity 2.1.1
  

  1) Explain the origin of Christianity.
  

  2) Describe the spread of Christianity.
  

  3) Discuss the effects of Christianity to the world.

  2.1.2. Islam
  

  Learning activity 2.1.2
  

  
  

  Observe the photos above and use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs
  and media to research on the origin, spread and effects of Islam in Europe
  and the rest of the world and answer the following question:
  

  Describe the origin, spread and effects of Islam.

  Origin of Islam
  The word Islam means submission to Allah (Arabic word for God). The followers
  of Islam are known as Muslims (ones who submit). The Islamic religion was
  founded by Arab merchant named Mohammed. He came to be known as
  the prophet of Allah or God. In the 7^thc, Islam originated from Mecca and
  Medina. The Koran is the holy book of Islam and it contains the teachings
  

  of Prophet Mohammed that were revealed to him by Allah.

  

  The birth of Muhammad
  Muhammad was born in Mecca around AD. 570. In his youth, he worked as a
  shepherd among the Bedouin Arabs. Later, he led caravans across the desert
  and became a successful merchant at the age of 25. He married Khadija, a
  wealthy widow who ran a prosperous caravan business. Islam developed in two
  

  cities – Mecca and Yathrib (Medina).

  Muhammad received a series of spiritual revelations from God. These were to
  form the religious basis of Islam. He met with opposition to the new faith but
  

  managed to place it upon firm foundations. The prophet was very religious.

  He often went to a cave outside Mecca to quietly contemplate spiritual matters.
  At about the age of 40, he had a spiritual vision. While meditating in the cave,
  an angel spoke to him. Angel Gabriel was communicating with him. This
  happened from time to time and Muhammad discussed it with his wife Khadija
  and close friends. These people accepted the seriousness and truthfulness of
  the revelations. They were later written and are today what are contained in the
  Quran, the Muslim holy book. Muhammad started to convey the content of some
  of his revelations to a wider public around AD 613. Some people found the
  message appealing, particularly that a single God was the source of all power
  and goodness in the world. The message was especially attractive to the poor
  nd those who were not in power. It was attractive because it transcended tribal
  

  groupings hence a challenge to the tribal leaders.

  Spread of Islam
  Islamic expansion was carried out through Jihads, Trade and Education.
  
  At first, the teaching of Muhammad did not change Mecca’s people from their
  old way of praying idols and human sacrifices. He escaped to Medina. In
  Medina, he preached by the use of force or Jihad (holy war). Muhammad and
  his followers spread the faith by conquest and persuasion. Those
  who tried to oppose Islam, were killed. Sword was the main instrument of
  conversion for example if you died in the act of killing disbelievers, they would
  go straight to heaven and see the presence of God. By 8thc, Islam expanded
  

  to Egypt, Perce, Berber, Spain, Turkey, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.

  Factors that led to the rapid spread of Islam
  • Prophet Muhammad’s military expeditions: The prophet was a
     good military organizer. He led his army from Medina to many successful
     excursions in Mecca and other areas.
  • Role of merchants: Muslim merchants spread their religion during
     their commercial activities in other areas. Islam thus easily spread along
     the busy trade routes of western Arabia.
  • The Hajj ceremonies: Every Muslim, as we have already learnt, was
     expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. This
     ceremony brought Muslims from various places together. It bound them
     and made them to put all efforts at spreading the faith.
  • Decline of the Eastern Roman and Persian empires: The fall of
     the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) and Persian Empire created a
     power vacuum which was easily filled by Islam.
  • Teachings of the Quran: Arabs were passionate in their new faith.
     This was strengthened by the teachings of the Quran which held that
     wars fought for God were just. A warrior killed in a jihad or holy war,
     was promised immediate entry into paradise.
  • Use of a mixture of force and diplomacy to win converts:
      Muslims used jihads and diplomacy to spread the faith. Force which
      involved using jihads was employed on large un-cooperative groups. The
      Muslim traders used diplomacy to spread Islam. The merchants spread
  

      Islam to West and East Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

  The teachings of Islam
  Islam is based on two basic truths in what is called the Islamic creed. The creed
  of Islam is La ilaha il’Allah, Muhammadan Rasoulu Allaha simple statement
  in two parts translated as “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is
  the messenger of Allah.”This is the shahada (witness) and expresses the
  very heart of the Islamic creed.
  1. The first part of the creed means that: ‘there is no God but Allah the
       Almighty’.
  2. The second part of the creed is that ‘Muhammad is the messenger
       of God’.
  Muslims accept these two basic statements in the heart, that there really is
  one God, supreme and unique, and that the revelation given through Prophet
  Muhammad by Allah is genuine, final and complete, and super cedes all
  

  revelations that came before it.

  The teachings of Islam are based on the revelations Prophet Muhammad received
  from God. They were first memorised by the prophet before they were written in
  the Quran. Muslims believe that the original books from where these revelations
  were got are in heaven with God. To Muslims, God will not reveal anything else
  beyond the Quran. They regard Muhammad as the medium through which
  

  God’s revelations reach humanity.

  Muslims believe that the Quran is the direct word of God. It contains 114
  

  chapters, or suras. The chapters are divided into verses called Ayah.

  Adherents of Islam have five principal duties which they are obliged to fulfill as
  part of the faith. These are usually termed the five pillars. They constitute the
  

  main teachings of the Quran. The five pillars are discussed below.

  1. Profession of faith/creed (Shahadah): All Muslims are expected
  to utter the following statement: “There is no god but Allah and
  Muhammad is the messenger of the God.” This statement is to
  be uttered by new converts and is also the principal means by which
  an individual asserts his or her adherence to Islam. It stresses that for
  Muslims, there is only one God and the belief in one God (monotheism)
  

  is central to the Islamic faith.

  2. Ritual prayer (Salah): It requires that Muslims who may pray to God at
  any time of the day to pray five times a day, using certain words while
  facing Mecca. The prayers are also accompanied by certain forms of
  kneeling and bowing (prostrations). This form of prayer is known as Salah
  and should be preceded by ritual washing to create a sense of spiritual
  cleanliness prior to prayers in what is known as wudu. Where there is no
  

  mosque, a clean and peaceful place is used and a prayer mat is placed
  

  on the ground as a symbol of spiritual cleanliness. The ritual prayers
  

  take place on five occasions during the day: at daybreak, midday, the
  

  middle of the afternoon, at sunset and during the evening. The main
  

  prayer time of the week is at noon on Fridays. These prayers are said
  

  by the Imam, who also gives a sermon based on a few verses from the
  

  Quran.

  Islamic prayer

  
  

  3. Giving of alms (Zakat): Zakat is regarded as a requirement in Islam.
        It does not stop Muslims from giving money or goods to charity at any
        time. The alms usually consist of giving two and a half percent of one’s
        income, and perhaps other assets to charity or deserving causes. There
        are however, variations in the income and goods which form its basis,
        how it should be donated and how it should be collected. Communities
        may differ on who is required to give the alms. The zakat collected is often
        used not only to support those in financial need, but also to help with
  

        passing the message of Islam onto others.

  4. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan (Swam): Ramadhan
        is usually marked in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The fast is
       observed from sunrise to sunset for a total of 30 days. All Muslim adults
       are prohibited from taking food or drink during the day. This occasion is
       a period which Muslims demonstrate great discipline, both in a physical
       sense and in a spiritual sense. They also contemplate God and the religious
       life. At sunset each day during Ramadhan, Muslims eat a light meal to
        break the fast. Later in the evening, there is a much more substantial
        meal taken together with family members. People visit the mosque in the
        evening for prayers and to take part in the special events marked during
        the holy month. After a night’s sleep, people wake up early to take a
        light meal which they will survive on up to evening. Towards the end of
        Ramadhan there are special celebrations. One important celebration is
        celebration symbolises the first night during which Prophet Muhammad
        received revelation from God. The conclusion of the fast of Ramadhan
        is usually graced by great celebration, when family members gather and
  

        offer each other presents. This festival is known as Eid-Ul-Fitr.

  5. Making of pilgrimage to Mecca: This is also known as hajj. A Muslim
        is expected, where possible, to make the pilgrimage at least once during
        one’s lifetime. The event is held every year at approximately the same time.
        This date is usually between certain specific days on the 12th month of
        the Islamic calendar. Prophet Muhammad made a hajj in AD 632. Most of
        the tradition and celebratory features of the hajj are based on this visit.
        During the pilgrimage, people visit Mecca, the neighbouring towns and
        sites of religious significance in the history of Islam. There is a particular
       dress code for men and women. The first place to be visited is the Kaaba
       (a large cube-shaped building covered in black cloth at the time of the
       Hajj). In one corner of it, there is a black stone which was said to have
        been given to Ibrahim (Abraham) by Angel Jibril (Gabriel). The Kaaba is
        situated in the grand mosque in Mecca. Pilgrims walk around it seven
        times, moving in an anti-clockwise direction. All Muslims are expected to
       “fight” to further the faith and to defend it against any acts that might seek
  

        to undermine Islam. Jihad may at times involve a physical struggle.

  

  The Five Pillars

  
  

  Effects of Islam in Europe and the rest of the world
  

  Islam had both positive and negative consequences in Europe and the rest of
  

  the world.

  Arab scientists called alchemists tried to turn base metals, such as tin, iron
  and lead, into gold and silver. Arabs are considered the founder of modern
  

  chemistry.

  Astronomy and Geography
  Arab astronomers studied the heaven and gave many stars the names they still
  have today. They determined the size and circumference of the earth. From
  their studies they concluded that the earth might be round. Additionally, the
  Astronomer geographers created the first accurate map of the World. They
  accurately described the eclipses of the Sun and proved that the Moon affects
  

  the oceans.

  Mathematics
  Arab mathematicians invented algebra and introduced it to Europeans. Arab
  mathematicians also borrow the zero and the numerals 1-9, from Hindu
  

  mathematicians in India and passed them on to Europeans.

  Medicine
  Arab doctors had to pass an exam before they could practice medicine. The
  Arabs established the World’s first School of pharmacy and opened the
  World’s first drug stores. They organized medical clinics that travelled through
  the empire proving drugs and care for the sick. Arab doctors were the first to
  discover that blood circulates or is carried to and from the heart. They were also
  the first to diagnose certain diseases, that Tuberculosis is contagious. They also
  discovered that one way to prevent illness from spreading is to keep the sick
  

  people apart from those who are not infected.

  Arabs also made many contributions in arts
  

  One of the best known writings is The Arabian Nights, a collection of tales put
  

  together from Persian stories. They designed swords, books, Mosques, etc.

  

                                                                                     Islamic Mosque

  • History
  At first Arab historians wrote about events one year at a time. Then they
  began to organize events around rules and peoples, which is what most
  historians do today.
  • In literature
  Arabic language influenced English. E.g. tariff, traffic magazine, alcohol,
  Muslim, sugar, algebra, etc.
  • Trade
  Muslims penetrated Asia, China, Africa, India and Europe for trading
  reasons.
  • Chemistry
  They discovered different chemical processes like distillation, filtration and
  sublimation.
  • Belief in monotheism
  Muslims believed in only one God-Allah and his prophet was (is) Muhammad.
  People reached Allah through prayers. Islam also brought an end to
  paganism in areas it controlled.
  • Loss of life and destruction of property
  This issued from the Jihads. It involved waging a physical struggle against
  nonbelievers who threatened Islam. The wars led to massive loss of lives
  and destruction of property.
  • Division of Muslims
  At first Islam had uniform adherents. But due to interpretation of the faith visà-
  vis leadership, divisions occurred. This led to the emergence of the Sunni
  and Shi’a. Each has interpreted the teachings of the prophet differently.
  • Change in dietary habits
  Islam brought some dietary regulations on its adherents. Acceptable foods
  were (and are) called ‘Halal’ while forbidden ones are called “Haraam”.
  

  Muslims have since stuck to these dietary regulations.

  Application activity 2.1.2
  

  1. Examine the origin of Islam.
  

  2. Describe the spread of Islam.
  

  3. Discuss the effects Islam to the world.

  2.2. Relationships between Islam and Christianity in the
  

  middle and modern times.

  Learning activity 2.3
  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on
  the causes and effects of crusades and jihads to answer to the following
  questions:
  1) Examine the causes of crusades.
  2) Identify the effects of crusades.
  

  3) Explain the causes and effects of jihad movements in West Africa.

  2.2.1. The christian crusades (1097-1271)
  

  Crusades were religious military holy wars or expeditions carried out by the
  Christians of Western Europe under the leadership of pope Urban II against the
  Muslim Turks of Eastern Europe in order to liberate the holy land of Jerusalem.
  These Christian holy wars involved a series of military campaigns where pope
  Urban II appealed to Christian soldiers to carry the cross in a struggle to purify
  

  Christianity and stop the spread of Islam.

  In 1095 at Clermont in southern France while addressing churchmen and
  nobles, Pope Urban II made one of the most moving speeches in history. “…
  Jerusalem a land fruitful above all others, a paradise of delights, the royal city,
  situated at the centre of the Earth, implores you to come to her aid. Undertake
  the journey eagerly for the remission of your sins, and be assured of the reward
  of imperishable glory in the kingdom of Heaven.” As the pope concluded his
  speech, a feeling of intense excitement swept through the crowd, with many
  

  believers chanting, “God wills it, God wills it.”

  During the medieval times, Christians thought of Palestine, and all other places
  connected with the life and works of Jesus, as the Holy land and as early as
  

  200 AD, Christians from Europe had begun making pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

  However, in the 7^th century AD, the Muslim conquered Palestine. Despite the
  Arab conquest, Christians were tolerated by the Arabs, and they continued
  visiting the holy sites. The situation changed in 1071 when Seljuk Turks (an
  extremist Arab tribe) captured Palestine and started mistreating Christian
  pilgrims, charging them large sums of money to access Jerusalem. The Seljuk
  Turks had recently stormed Baghdad, taken Jerusalem, and conquered all Asia
  Minor from the Byzantine Greeks. This prompted pope Urban II to appeal to the
  Christians to join the crusades to liberate Jerusalem. The first crusade in 1097
  

  was followed by seven additional ones. However, only the first was successful.

  Causes of crusades
  

  • The desire to liberate Jerusalem: Christian desired to liberate Jerusalem
  

     (Christian holy land) from Turkish Muslim domination led to Crusades.
  

     Begun in about 1071 and followed by killing and heavy taxation of
  

     Christian pilgrims. The Muslims had also destroyed the holy places,
  

      sacred to Christians but of no religious significance to Muslims.
  

  • The crusades were also intended to re-unite the Christians in the
  

     west (Roman Catholics) with those in the East (Orthodox Christians).
  

     In 1054, the Christian church experienced a schism, a heresy which
  

     split the Christian faith in two, because the Byzantine Christians had
  

     denied the supremacy of the pope as head of the church, causing a rift
  

     between the two. Pope Urban hoped to settle the differences between
  

     the Byzantine and the roman Christians through a successful crusade
  

     against a common enemy, “the accursed Muslims”, as the pope called
  

     to them.
  

  • Crusades were organized also to completely eliminate Islam from the
  

     face of the earth. The crusades could therefore help to purify Christianity
  

     and stop the spread of the Islam especially in Europe.
  

  • Some Christians joined the crusades because they wanted to go to
  

     heaven. These were inspired by the religious zeal. It was believed that
  

     if one died in a crusade (Holy war), his/her sins would be forgiven and
  

     it was a sign of spiritual fulfillment. This therefore forced many to join
  

     the crusades hoping that if they died in action, paradise awaited them.
  

  • Some Christians hoped that through the crusades, they would conquer
  

     and loot great wealth from the Arab world and become rich men.
  

  • Some crusaders especially merchants, joined the crusades in order to
  

     protect their monopoly over the Mediterranean Sea trade, threatened by
  

     the possibility that their trade routes would be lost if Muslims expanded
  

     to Spain and Italy. By means of a crusade, the western merchants would
  

     defeat and drive the Muslim back and thereby also take control of the
  

     important trading centers of Antioch, Damascus and Jerusalem, which
  

     Muslims had controlled for centuries.
  

  • Many Christians joined the crusades as a sign of obedience to Pope
  

     Urban II. The pope had unquestionable powers and therefore given
  

     orders from him, all Christians felt obliged to join the crusades.
  

  • The pope was also motivated to launch a holy war with an army of
  

     crusaders, knights from all over Europe’s kingdoms to display his power
  

     as the leader of all Christians.
  

  • Some joined Crusades as a sign of obedience to the Pope.
  

  • Love for adventure made people to join Crusades. Many Christians
  

      joined Crusades in order to know what was happening beyond their
      home land.

  Effects of crusades
  

  • The Crusades led to loss of lives: just like any armed conflict, the
  

     crusades were destructive as many crusaders and civilians lost their
  

     lives. In the first crusade, about 80% of the crusaders died. Thousands
  

     of Muslims were slaughtered in Jerusalem including those who took
  

     cover in Solomon’s Temple.
  

  • Crusades led to destruction of properties: like houses, the crusaders
  

      re-sacked Constantinople and the looters set fire that burned much
  

     of the city including libraries priceless ancient documents and
  

     artefacts.
  

  • Crusades increased (widened) the enmity between Moslems and
  

      Christianity up today.
  

  • The Crusades brought humiliation and disrespect to the Church
  

      leaders especially the pope who preached and assured victory, but
  

      at the end, the Crusaders were defeated.
  

  • Crusades helped to create unity among Christians from different
  

      parts of Europe. That is to say Christians from Western Europe and
  

      Eastern Europe.
  

  • Crusades to some extent, stopped the spread of Islam, in some
  

     parts of Europe, and this is the reason as to why Islam is not widely
  

     spread in Europe.
  

  • The Crusades helped spread of civilisation: where Christians from the
  

      West adopted the culture of Eastern Europe which quite civilised.
  

  • Crusades led to complete collapse of Christian influence in holy
  

      places.
  

  • Crusades led to disruption of economic activities: in Eastern Europe,
  

      during the fighting, there was insecurity which disorganized trade
  

      and commerce.
  

  • The Christians of Western Europe learnt about gunpowder from
  

      Moslems, who had also learnt it from Chinese.
  

  

  2.2.2. Jihad movements in west Africa
  A jihad is an Islamic religious movement or a holy war that is fought by fanatic
  Muslims against those who do not believe in their faith. It aims at spreading,
  

  purifying and strengthening Islam.

  The 18th and 19th centuries saw a wave of jihads or Islamic movements in
  northern Sudan. Although, the causes were religious, they had a mixture of
  

  political, economic and intellectual causes.

  The first jihads in West Africa took place in Guinea in Futa Jallon in 1720s. They
  were led by Ibrahim Musa. In the 1770s there was yet another jihad in Senegal
  in Futa Toro led by Sulayman Bal. In 1808, Uthman Dan Fadio started holy wars
  in the Hausa states (Daura, Kano, Katsina, Zaria, Rano, Gobir and Hiram). Other
  West African jihadists were Seku Ahmadu of Macina, Al Hajj Umar of Tukolor
  

  and Ahmed Bello.

  Causes of Jihads in West Africa
  • Need to purify Islam: After the decline of Mali and Songhai, there
     was a decline in Islam in western Sudan. Islam was mixed with pagan
      practices. Therefore, there was a need to revive Islam.
  • To stop unfair judgments in courts of law: There was a lot of
      corruption and bribery in the courts which were against the teaching
      of Islam.
  • Local political competition: The Fulani were discriminated. The
     Fulani leaders of the jihads aimed at overthrowing the government of
     the Hausa people and to establish a government favourable to their
      people.
  • Widespread belief in the Mahdi (Savior): According to the
     Muslims, a Mahdi was supposed to emerge during the 13th century of
      the Islamic calendar. This started from 1785 to 1882.
  • Nee to overthrow pagan governments: The jihadists wanted to
      establish governments based on Islamic rule. Strict Muslims in West
      Africa could not tolerate rule by pagans. Muslims were also forced to go
      to war against fellow Muslims which was contrary to Islamic practice.
  • To spread Islam: This was aimed at the people who had resisted
      conversion to Islam. Thus they would be forced to join Islam.
  • Desire to spread Islamic education: Through the conversion of
      pagans who were against Islamic education, the jihadists hoped to
      build an ideal Islamic society through education.
  

  • Over taxation: Governments in western Sudan imposed heavy taxes
  

      on the Fulani town merchants while the Fulani pastoralists or nomads
      were opposed to the heavy taxation.
  

  • Methods used to collect taxes: The tax collectors were harsh. They
  

      whipped and imprisoned the people who failed to pay. Some of the
  

      property was confiscated. This is why the people welcomed Islam.
  

  • Defence of African independence: The West Africans joined jihads
  

      in order to protect their independence and fight against slave trade. This
  

      was because according to Sharia, no Muslim is supposed to enslave
  

      or sell another Muslim. Therefore, the time was right for a revolution
  

      that only needed someone to start it. This was provided by the arrival of
  

       men filled with religious zeal and reformist ideas and with the ability to
  

       lead and organise. For example, Uthman Dan Fodio, Al Hajji Umar, Seku
  

      Ahmadu among others.
  

  • The belief that the end of the world was going to come soon:
  

      The belief that the world was going to come soon made people to
  

      Jihads.
  

  • Most of the Hausa rulers were corrupt. The need to overthrow
  

       corrupt Hausa rulers who were corrupt caused the Jihad wars in West
  

       Africa. They embezzled government resources and the taxes corrected
  

       remained in the hands of the few. This forced the Fulani Jihads to rebel
  

      hence the Jihad wars.
  

  Example of the Jihad leader

  
  

  Uthman Dan Fodio and his caliphate. (Source: Google.rw/image)
  

  Uthman Dan Fodio
  The first jihad in western Sudan took place in Hausa land in 1804. This jihad
  was led by Uthman Dan Fodio. He was a Fulani and a scholar. He was born in
  1754 at Martha in Gobir.
  He received Islamic education from various teachers but finally he ended up
  in Agades under the famous Islamic teacher Jibril Ibn Umar. At the age of 20,
  

  he started his career as a writer and teacher in Senegal. From here, he started

  missionary tours in Hausa land, especially Zamfara, Kebbi and Daura in his
  preaching and writing, he attacked all unreligious tendencies. He condemned
  corrupt and unjust governments, and illegal taxation. He insisted on complete
  acceptance of the spiritual and moral values of Islam.
  He soon mobilised a large number of followers. Most of these believed that he
  was the Mahdi or the saviour. His fame attracted the administration of Sultan
  Bawa, the leader of Gobir. He was employed as the tutor of the Sultan’s son. All
  these increased Fodio’s influence.
  Because of this influence, he successfully negotiated with Sultan Bawa of Gobir
  to release all Muslim prisoners. He also requested the king to grant freedom of
  worship and also exempt Muslims from un-Islamic taxes.
  Unfortunately, Bawa was succeeded by Sultan Nafata and later Yunfa who did
  not support Uthman Dan Fodio. Because of Uthman’s growing influence, Yunfa
  arranged the assassination of Fodio but he managed to escape.
  Along with his brother Abdullah and son Mohammed Bello, Fodio escaped to
  Gudu outside Gobir. At Gudu, many Fulani tribesmen joined him and he was
  elected commander of the faithful, Amir Al Munimin. He then, declared a jihad
  on the non-believers in 1804 and confronted Yunfa’s army.
  After a prolonged fight, Yunfa’s army was defeated and he was killed at Akolawa.
  Serious resistance against Fodio’s army collapsed in 1809. Immediately, Fodio
  declared the Sokoto Caliphate and he became the undisputed caliph.
  Once the conquest period was over, Fodio returned to his work of writing books
  since he was basically an Islamic scholar.
  He divided the empire between his son and his brother. Mohammed Bello his
  son was in charge of the eastern region and Abdullah his brother the western
  region. Fodio died in 1817 and his son Mohammed Bello was recognised as the
  

  caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate.

  Consequences of Jihads in West Africa
  • The jihads led to closer contacts with the outside world. This was true
  with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. In fact a pilgrimage made by Al
  Hajji Umar to Mecca in 1825 further exposed the Sudan to the outside
  

  world.

  

                                                                                                                    Al Hajji Umar

  • They led to the spread and revival of Islamic culture for example the way
     of dressing with items such as the veil, the turban and the daily prayers
     and the hijja.
  • Literate Muslim officials were employed by kings and emperors as
      clerks, secretaries, judges, auditors, inspectors and teachers. This
     strengthened Islamic way of life.
  • Large and powerful Islamic states were formed under Muslim rulers
     like Uthman Dan Fodio of Sokoto, Muhammad Bello of Sokoto, Seku
     Ahmad of Macina, Al Hajji Umar of Tokolar and Al Kanemi of Dinguiray.
  • They caused clashes and conflicts between the pagans and the Muslims.
     For example there was enslavement of non-Muslims as permitted by
     the Koran. This led to tribal wars and antagonism.
  • Strong states emerged to resist European infiltration. Jihads united the
     masses and their leaders against French colonialists.
  • A Centralised system of administration was introduced and managed
     according to the Koran.
  • There was the stabilisation and efficient management of the economy
     in the Islamic states.
  • They abolished unlawful taxes and levied taxes as stipulated in the holy
     Koran.
  • They led to the decline of the African traditional religions. This is because
     leaders of traditional religion and people who refused to change to
     Islam were executed.
  • The jihads checked the spread of Christianity in West Africa. This is
     because the Christian Missionaries were not allowed to enter Muslim
  

     lands.

  Application activity 2.3
  

  1) Explain the term crusades.
  

  2) Discus the causes of crusades.
  

  3) Identify the effects of crusades.
  

  4) Discuss the effects of jihad movements in West Africa.

  2.3. Causes and the effects of the early explorations.
  

  Learning activity 2.3
  

  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on the
  causes and effects of early explorations and answer the questions below:
                         1) Identify the causes of early exploration.
  

                         2) Explain the effects of early exploration.

  To explore refers to search for the purpose of, or obtaining information or
  resources. Europe led the rest of the world in early explorations. Various
  countries made voyages of exploration to distant lands away from Europe.
  Europeans sailed and explored the rest of the world. They were mainly searching
  for material wealth. Explorers came mainly from Portugal, Spain, Netherlands,
  

  Britain, and later, France.

  Map showing early exploration routes

  

  Early exploration is also known as the age of discovery was a time characterised
  by the explosive overseas expansion of European civilisation. The European
  nation states of Western Europe, led by Portugal, embarked on a series of
  explorations and colonisation whose impact was felt in virtually every part of
  the world. This development represents the first and earliest manifestation of
  

  globalisation.

  Causes for early explorations
  The early explorations were caused by many factors. The main ones were:
  i) The explorations were made possible by advances in science
  The main advances in science and technology that had been occasioned by
  discoveries during the renaissance period were:
  • Widespread dissemination of newly rediscovered geographical
    knowledge about the earth; especially the realisation that it was round
     and not flat.
  • Much improved and detailed maps, sea charts and star charts used for
     navigation.
  • The application of an improved compass for establishing direction.
  • Effective use of the astrolabe used in determining latitude.
  • The development of the ship’s rudder and geared steering system.
  • Improvements in cannon fabrication and use aboard ships; used for
      offensive and defensive purposes.
  • Basic education and marine training instituted for ship’s officers and
  

     sailors.

  ii) Commerce
  There existed a profitable commerce between European states and the regions
  of Asia. Europeans had a high appetite for goods from the Asian countries.
  However, the trade was dominated by traders and merchants from Asia, the
  Near East and Italians. These people grew rich and powerful by selling a variety
  of goods to Europe. Spices were the most valued goods at the time. The
  European powers wanted to equally benefit from this trade from the 15th Century.
  Spain and Portugal wanted to break the monopoly enjoyed by the Asiatic states
  and the Italian traders. To achieve this, they financed voyages to try and find sea
  route to the Far East and therefore, to completely bypass the overland route
  through the middle East to Asia. Apart from the goods from Asia, cloves from
  the coastal regions of East Africa, pepper, curry, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and
  other spices added new and very popular elements to the food consumed by
  

  the Europeans who could afford such luxury items.

  iii) Curiosity to understand the nations and civilisations of Asia
  Europeans are said to have become increasingly curious and interested about
  the nations and civilisations of the orient. They wanted to get more information
  about the regions especially in India and China. Many Europeans were eager to
  get information about the “strange” and unknown worlds beyond the boundaries
  of Europe. The thirst and quest for knowledge about people, civilisations,
  continents and other dimensions, greatly encouraged the spirit of overseas
  travel and exploration.
  iv) Desire for colonies
  Monarchs in Europe desired to get colonies in other parts of the world so as to
  shore up trade and wealth. They were also aware of the capacity of the colonies
  to provide their states with prestige. This made the rulers to go out of their way
  to support the voyages of exploration. Rulers took great risks to channel capital
  

  investment and manpower necessary to make the missions successful.

  v) Desire to spread christianity
  The Europeans also expected to spread Christianity to other parts of the world.
  Many Portuguese and Spaniard traders remotely intended to convert those they
  came into contact with during their commercial excursion.
  vi) National prestige and power
  Exploration was also influenced by power politics. European states were led
  by desire for prestige and power. This made the search of Gold and Glory be
  

  intertwined in the countries’ quest for knowledge and wealth.

  Example of some early explorers

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Effects of early explorations
  The early explorations had long lasting effects on the history of the world. These
  were both positive and negative. The main ones included:
            • Expansion of empire
  All the European powers which participated in the explorations built themselves
  large empires. For example, Portugal acquired Brazil in the New world and had
  numerous territories in Africa and Asia. Portugal controlled most of the African
  Atlantic and Indian seaboards, India and other parts of Asia.
  Spain took most of the territories in the New world. She had settlements in the
  West Indies, Mexico, Central America, Florida, the south west areas of what
  later became the USA and California. Her riches in these areas made her the
  

  envy of rival powers.

             • Spread of war in the colonies
  As the quest for colonies intensified in the new lands and areas outside Europe,
  colonial rivalries and economic competitions forced the major European powers
  into many conflicts. More often than not, these led to wars between the 16th
  to the 18th centuries due to overseas hostilities. Each power built its army
  and navy to safeguard or expand its colonial acquisition. England, for instance,
  fought bitter wars with Holland, France and Spain. By 1763, England, now
  

  called Great Britain, had emerged as the world’s first modern super power.

             • Introduction of new products in Europe
  Expanded global trade brought many new products into European markets,
  commerce expanded as the quantity and type of imports increased. Some of
  the new food products were: maize, tobacco, chocolate, tea, quinine, tomatoes,
  peppers, indigo, sugar, rice and the king of them all. There were also products
  that the Europeans could not get enough of. Examples were: Chinese porcelain,
  silk and Indian cotton or calico cloth. These items were in addition to what had
  become known as “the spice trade” of the East Indies. These goods, coming in
  

  large numbers, improved the standard of living in Europe.

              • Slave trade
  Although slaves were considered goods, it is vital to treat it independent of
  the new products. At first a few slaves were captured by the explorers, but
  later armies and navies got involved. This saw large Africans being captured
  and sold as slaves to go and supply labour in the New world. The New world’s
  appetite seemed insatiable in the demands for slave labour in sugar, rice, indigo,
  tobacco and cotton plantations now dotting various parts of the continents. The
  demands for European markets and the lust for profits superseded any ethical
  or moral considerations when it came to slavery. Even the so called Christians
  turned a blind eye to the practice. It didn’t prick their conscience at all from
  the 15th Century when the Atlantic slave trade begun in earnest. Africans were
  exposed to the horrors of the “middle passage” the pain and suffering slaves
  underwent as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. This only stopped in the 19th
  Century. Slavery had grave consequences on the victim population.
           • Cultural exchange
  Exploration led to cultural exchange. People exchanged ideas, products,
  languages, and many other aspects of culture between Europe and the other
  civilisations. This is what has been referred to as the ‘Columbian Exchange”.
  Subsequent world history remains essentially the story of the results of the
  Columbian Exchange. Today, this is what underlies globalization. During the
  early exploration, both the European and the new communities were not spared
  the vagaries of cultural exchange. Each borrowed from one another.
           • Mineral exploitation
  The new world and areas outside Europe which were of interest to the explorers,
  had large deposits of minerals. When the European countries realized this, they
  embarked on a serious exercise of mineral exploitation in the New World. This
  was done by slave labour while in other areas, the indigenous communities
  were engaged forcefully. As a result, large quantities of minerals were shipped
  to Europe. Such minerals include: gold, silver, tin, copper and diamond. Gold
  

  and silver were minted into coins and used as currency.

          • Invention of the concept of insurance
  Governments and merchants tried to reduce and control their risks and losses
  due to overseas ventures by contributing a restricted amount to help in case
  of loss due to inflation or theft or accident. The amount paid into the fund was
  termed the insurance premium. This was the genesis of the insurance industry
  as we have it today. Investors thus received compensation from loss due to
  piracy, war, fire, storm, etc. The most famous of these insurance companies has
  survived to today. This is Lloyd’s of London, founded in the 17th Century.
          • Shift of economic power base
  Commercial activities and trade networks shifted from the Mediterranean Sea
  and its bordering countries to the Atlantic Coastal nation-states. The Ottoman
  Empire, the Italian city states and the countries of North Africa entered a period
  of economic decline in economic and therefore, political in significance. Trade
  fell sharply across the Sahara Desert, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and even
  in the Baltic Sea. This made all these areas to witness both economic and
  political decline. This was in sharp contrast to developments in the Atlantic
  Coast. Here, there was an increase in power, wealth and importance. In fact,
  new nation-states emerged. These were mostly based upon powerful absolute
  monarchies a feature which was to be dominant in western civilisation from the
  16th to the 18th centuries.
          • Increased population
  Early explorations also occasioned widespread demographic and social
  changes. There was increased migration while due to education, abundance of
  food and security, people’s standard of living greatly increased. All these factors
  contributed to increased population. Job opportunities equally expanded the
  middle class. People moved to secure employment. With time, distinctions
  between classes: middle class, nobility and lower class, and even slaves became
  blurred. This was to be with time, lead to an end to distinctions of population
  along classes. All races found home in the New world. Some in favoured status
  while others, like Africans, as slaves. Nonetheless, all contributed to the rise in
  population.
          • Development of mercantilism
  The governments of European states developed a doctrine of economics called
  mercantilism. This was geared towards obtaining wealth from the new lands.
  The benefits would be felt by the ordinary citizens and rulers. This doctrine was
  pursued by virtually all the European powers. It was based on certain interrelated
  elements. They were:
  

  • Nations must adopt economic policies that attract the most amounts of
      gold and silver.
  • A nation should arrange its trading matters so that it exports more than
      it imports.
  • A nation could increase its exports most advantageously if it subsidized
      and supported domestic manufacturing.
  • Tariff levied on imported goods.
  • To obtain as many colonies as practically possible.
  • Limit or forbid the rise of colonial industries and the production of
        manufactured goods in the colonies.
  • Prohibit colonies to trade with any other rival power except the mother
        country and ensure that any raw material from the colony is supplied by
        vessels from the mother country.
  

  • Require the colonies to pay taxes to the mother country.

  Colonies lived to satisfy the economic needs of the mother country. Mercantilism
  preceded the emergence of capitalism by about 200 years but it bore all the
  hallmarks of the latter. A free market economy was encouraged with strict
  government control. Business persons paid large fees to the government to
  enable it control monopolies over a particular product in even an entire subcontinent.
  

  Trade was thus undertaken by joint-stock companies.

           • Emergence of the banking industry
  

  The early explorations directly led to the accumulation of capital which
  

  necessitated the development of the banking industry. Banks sprung up to
  

  support business enterprises. They provided the services that were required
  

  to accommodate the increased supplies of gold and silver to the nation-states.
  

  Lending money to reliable customers in return for interest charges and bank
  

  services commenced. Banks also gave loans to governments to run their
  

  services, examples of outstanding banks were The Medici family of Florence
  

  in Italy and the German family of the Fuggers. These were family-ran banks.
  

  They were very successful. To reduce the challenges of the use of gold and
  

  silver, banks adopted innovative systems of exchange. This included the use
  

  of new ideas as bills of exchange (used in international trade) and adoption of
  

  bank notes (a kind of paper money printed by the primary bank involved in the
  

  transaction). Later banks also came up with cheque system. Cheques were
  

  mainly used in national, regional and local business transactions. Their use
  

  then, has not changed much as we have them today.

            • Emergence of the factory system
  Production moved from the guild system to factories. Large manufacturing
  industries were shifted to factories. Here products were produced in large
  quantities to satisfy the demands of the nation-states. These factories were the
  precursors of the factory system of the industrial revolution of the 18^th and 19th
  centuries. Apart from the factory system, the guild system was also bypassed
  by the use of the cottage industry. This involved people producing the goods
  in the comfort of their homes. The raw materials were brought by the rich
  business persons to the homes of the workers from where the latter made them
  into various products in exchange for payment for his or her labour.
            • Discovery of bio-diversity
  Early exploration led to the discovery of various animals and plants. New animal
  and plant species were now studied thus contributing to the field of scientific
  knowledge.
           • Spread of christianity
  The explorers were partly driven with the motive of spreading Christianity. This
  was true of the Portuguese in East and Central African Coast. However, the
  Portuguese made little mark in as far as the spread of Christianity was concerned.
  They were more driven by the trade motive. Nonetheless, there were some areas
  away from the Portuguese dominated coastal regions of East and Central Africa
  where Christianity made a foothold. It became a dominant religion in the new
  

  worlds and in Goa and India.

  Application activity 2.3

  1) Examine the contribution of science and technology to early
       exploration.
  

  2) Discuss the consequences of early exploration.

  2.4. Ideas of philosophers/ Age of Enlightenment
  

  Learning activity 2.4
  

  Use internet, textbooks, photographs and media to research on
  

  Enlightenment era and answer the following questions.
  

  1) Describe the ideas of philosophers.
  

  2) Discuss the impact of the ideas of the Enlightenment era.

  Concepts of enlightenment
  The enlightenment was a sprawling intellectual, philosophical, cultural, and social
  movement that spread throughout England, France, Germany, and other parts
  of Europe during the 1700s. It was an intellectual and philosophical movement
  that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, and later in
  North America. It is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and
  cultural life centred upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated
  

  for as the primary source and legitimacy for authority.

  The Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason was a period in Europe during
  the 17^th and 18^th centuries when many individuals refused to acknowledge
  the authority of the Scripture and instead exalted their own reason to a place
  of extreme authority. It was a period in which people rejected traditional
  ideas and supported a belief in human reason. Thus from 1650 to 1800, the
  European philosophers began rethinking old ideas about government, religion
  and economics. This movement was spearheaded by philosophers like Jean
  Jacques Rousseau, Baron Charles-Louis Montesquieu and Denis Diderot. They
  criticized different ideas, condemned prejudice and mistakes of the past. Based
  on reason, these philosophers criticized the religion, (They were against the
  religion of the state), the absolute monarchy and the society in general. They
  

  had a Slogan: liberty (freedom), equality and fraternity.

  A philosopher is a person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment; a scholar or
  

  a thinker.

  During this period, the use of reason in shaping people’s ideas about the society
  and politics defined a period called the Enlightenment. People began to put
  great importance to reason, or logical thought. They used reason to try and
  solve problems such as poverty and war. It was believed that the use of reason
  

  could achieve three great goals: knowledge, freedom and happiness.

  The occurrence of the Age of Enlightenment was due to political, scholarly and
  

  religious causes.

  Politically
  • People believed and wanted economic improvement and political
        reforms and believed that both were possible.
  • Rulers who believed in enlightened absolutism wanted to centralise
       their authority to reform their countries.
  • They put the well-being of their country above anything else; including
       religion.
  • Need for administrative reform in France after the wars of Louis XIV.
  • The wars of Louis XIV left a huge debt and lots of commotion.
  • Philosophers started to write topics that related to the government,
      politics and rights.
  • People began thinking differently about these subjects and coming
      up with their own opinions; which, according to Kant, happens when
  

      someone is enlightened.

  Scholarly
  • Growth of the print culture that made ideas circulate faster through
        books, journals, newspapers, and pamphlets.
  • Isaac Newton and John Locke’s ideas were the basis for the
       Enlightenment.
  • Newton’s tabula rasa (blank page) and other fundamental ideas were
       brought to the public.
  • Newton’s discoveries in science allowed people to question things
       more.
  • People began to think the universe is understandable through science,
     not religion.
  • Inspiration came from the Scientific Revolution.
  • The discovery that the earth was not at the centre of the universe and
      the discovery that God had not created everything led to a new way of
  

      thought where the Church’s validity was questioned.

  Religiously
  • Deism believed that rational and religion can be combined.
  • Philosophers wanted to transform religion into an encouraging force to
        improve living.
  • People started to think for themselves and disregarded the idea of
       following God’s laws by following their “own” laws and thinking for
       themselves.
  Characteristics of Enlightenment era
  

  • The Enlightenment or The Age of Reason was marked by the glorification
  

       of man’s ability to reason.
  

  • Science and development served as the backbone for the popularity of
  

       law and reason.
  

  • Stability and peace were regarded as the symbols of this period.
  

  • Greater cultural development took place but with the social desire
  

       of everyone remaining within the hierarchical order for stability to be
       established.
  

  • At the same time, it should be borne in mind that due to the agrarian
  

      society evolving into an industrial economy, there was a great flux in the
  

      value system and the cultural background of England.
  

  • Its participants thought that they were illuminating human intellect and
  

      culture after the ‘dark’ middle Ages.
  

  • Characteristics of the Enlightenment include the rise of concepts such
  

      as reason, liberty and the scientific method. Enlightenment philosophy
  

      was sceptical of religion, especially the powerful Catholic Church.
  

  • Independent thought was embraced, scepticism ran freely through
  

      work, and new values, including an emphasis on science, became
  

      quite common among the educated classes. Not surprisingly, this
  

      Enlightenment found its way to the literary world as well.
  

  • This era was dominated by the Declaration of Independence and the
  

      thoughts of thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton
  

      and James Madison, who laid the founding stones of the modern free
  

      world that we enjoy today.

  Ideas of philosophers

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Impact of the ideas of the era of Enlightenment
  We have already discussed at length the contributions of selected personalities
  during the age of reason to the modern world. Below is a summary of the
  contributions of Enlightenment to the modern world.
  1. Emergence of modern European feminism: campaign for women’s
  rights, including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to
  earn fair wages, equal pay and eliminate the gender pay gap, to own
  property, to receive education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights
  within marriage, and to have maternity leave.
  2. Promotion of individual rights.
  3. Separation between the Church and the State.
  

  4. Promotion of democracy in the governance process

  5. Promotion of the capitalist ideology (Adam Smith and Marquis de
        Mirabeau). It encouraged individual ownership of wealth.
  6. Separation of power of the three arms of government for efficiency in the
       governance process.
  7. Provision of equal educational opportunities for both boys and girls.
  8. Creation of an enabling environment for the child (learner).
  9. Role of education in liberation.
  10. Broadening of historiography (writing of history) so as to cover political,
         social and cultural aspects of humanity’s life. They advocated for total
         history.
  11. Promotion of aesthetics: This was marked by treatises and debates
        over abstract questions such as the nature of taste, beauty, the sublime,
        imagination and creativity, and by speculation on the relations between
        the arts.
  12. Morality: The problem of moral values was central to the Enlightenment
        period. Revelation and traditional Christian doctrine were rejected. The
        demand for happiness and pleasure set the standards for morality. The
       Enlightenment period marked a turning point in human development. It
       made people to be rational. It had both moral and intellectual significance
       to humanity. This period was revolutionary. It destroyed myths by which
       people lived and proposed new myths of its own; many of which were
       later to be challenged in the second half of the 20th Century.
  Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned
  the traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be
  improved through rational change.
  The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment
  ideals and respectively marked the peak of its influence and the beginning of its
  

  decline. The Enlightenment ultimately gave way to the 19^th-century Romanticism.

  Romanticism was the attitude or intellectual orientation that
  characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture,
  criticism, and historiography in Western civilisation era from the late
  

  18thto the mid-19^th century.

  The first effect of the Age of Enlightenment was a general rebel against the
  teachings of the Church. Earlier, the Church used to profess that God was the
  absolute power and the reason behind every occurrence. People used to believe
  

  in miracles. But with the age in discussion, all those were being questioned.

  People deduced that there was scientific logic and reasons behind every
  happening around the World and not simply God’s wish. Thus everybody
  began to stop believing the Church blindly and put their own reasoning behind
  

  everything. For this, that period is also called the Age of Reason.

  The most apparent effect that followed the Age of Enlightenment was the
  development of new ideas in every field. Everybody also began to be intolerant
  to all the dictations made by their earlier faith. Economically, the Industrial
  Revolution happened, changing the very face of the then society in Europe as it
  

  gave rise to a new group of independent, wealthy and educated class of men.

  A whole new political scene emerged with the formation of nations and state,
  led by independent kings and parliaments. Earlier the Church was the supreme
  power, but after the enlightenment, it began to lose its position. All these paved
  

  way to the social and political scene that we know today.

  The Enlightenment developed through a snowball effect, that is to say small
  advances triggered larger ones, and before Europe and the world knew it,
  

  almost two centuries of philosophizing and innovation had ensued.

  During this period, people like John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), the father
  of modern education, fostered the belief that education should “follow the
  natural order of things”. Children’s development follows a timetable of its
  own and their education should reflect that fact. They should be allowed to learn
  

  at their own pace and learn by doing.

  John Amos Comenius was an innovator who first introduced pictorial textbooks
  written in native language instead of Latin. He applied effective teaching based
  on the natural gradual growth from simple to more comprehensive concepts. He
  supported lifelong learning and development of logical thinking by moving from
  dull memorization. Three most important contributions that he made are: books
  with illustrations, education with the senses, social reform-educate the poor as
  

  well as the rich.

  During the Age of Enlightenment, there were many discoveries in the fields of
  earth science and astronomy, as notables such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo
  Galilei took the old, beloved ‘‘truths” of Aristotle and disproved them. Thinkers
  such as René Descartes and Francis Bacon revised the scientific method,
  

  setting the stage for Isaac Newton and his landmark discoveries in Physics.

  

  

  From these discoveries there emerged a system for observing the world and
  making testable hypotheses based on those observations. At the same time,
  however, scientists faced ever-increasing contempt and scepticism (doubt
  as to the truth of something) from people in the religious community, who felt
  

  threatened by science and its attempts to explain matters of faith.

  Scepticism is generally any questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more
  items of putative knowledge or belief. It is often directed at domains, such as the
  

  supernatural, morality, religion, or knowledge.

  a. Summary of the unit
  

  This unit examines with the political, economic and intellectual developments
  

  in medieval and modern times. The medieval time is estimated to be the
  

  period between AD 300 to AD 1500 and it recognized the influence of
  

  two strong religions. Christianity is believed to have been founded by Jesus
  

  Christ of Nazareth over 2,000 years ago. Early Christians shared a common
  

  faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The word Islam means submission to
  

  Allah (Arabic for God). Muslims believed in Allah and Muhammad was the
  

  messenger and the prophet of Allah (God). Every Muslim was/is expected
  

  to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. The modern period
  

  refers to the historical era that started with the end of Renaissance in 16thC.
  

  It was marked with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
  

  There were great discoveries in science, religious reformation and the
  

  beginning of capitalism. In politics, there were centralized states and the
  

  rise of democratic practices. This was also the beginning of globalization
  

  where world became interconnected through trade, spread of new ideas,
  

  improved agricultural production, etc. The Age of Enlightenment known as
  

  ages of reason was a period in European history in the mid-18th Century
  

  when scholars believed in the use of reason and in the scientific methods.
  

  The scholars in the Age of Enlightenment applied the methods of new
  

  science which had been developed during the scientific revolution to study
  

  human behaviour and provide solutions to political and economic problems
  

  facing them. All of these features that marked enlightenment greatly shaped
  

  contemporary history.

  Application activity 2.4
  1) Explain the term enlightenment era.
  2) Analyse the ideas of John Locke and Voltaire.
  

  3) To what extent did the age of reason shape today’s world?

  Skills Lab
  Move around your school/college and observe the social, economic,
  political and intellectual activities carried out in your sector to examine the
  legacies of the medieval and modern times to contemporary era. Make a
  

  report and present your findings to the plenary.

  End unit assessment
  

  1. Discuss the contribution of Christianity to the world.
  2. Why do we say that Mohammed was the founder of Islam?
  3. In 1095 at Clermont in southern France while addressing churchmen
       and nobles, Pope Urban II made one of the most moving speeches
       in history. “… Jerusalem a land fruitful above all others, a paradise of
       delights, the royal city, situated at centre of the earth, implores you
        to come to her aid. Undertake the journey eagerly for the remission
       of your sins, and be assured of the reward of imperishable glory in
       the kingdom of Heaven.”
  4. To what extent was this statement responsible for the outbreak of
       the crusades?
  5. Use a sketch map of the world to show the main routes of early
        explorers.
  

  6. Identify the ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau.

  
  

• UNIT 3 THE GREAT REVOLUTIONS OF 18TH TO 19TH CENTURY

  Key Unit competence:

  The learner should be able to evaluate the major events that happened
  

  between 18th to 19^th centuries.

  Introductory activity
  The period between 18^th and 19^th century witnessed Great Revolutions and
  world wars. Among these revolutions include industrial revolution, American
  and French revolutions. Read relevant materials and use internet to answer
  the following questions and make presentation in class.
  

  1. Explain the reasons that led to the industrial revolution in Britain and
       identify its effects.
  

  2. Examine the causes and consequences of American and French
       revolutions.
  

  3. Discuss the factors responsible for the rise and downfall of Napoleon
  

       Bonaparte.

  3.1. Causes and consequences of industrial revolution

  Learning activity 3.1
  

  Use the internet and history textbook to explain the factors that led to the
  industrial revolution and its effects.
  
  The term ‘Industrial Revolution’ was first used by the historian Arnold Toynbee,
  to describe the economic development in England, from 1760 to 1840. Charles
  Beard gives a good description of the Industrial Revolution, which he calls a great
  transformation brought about by discoveries and inventions that changed the
  

  methods of production and distribution of the means of life and of the economic

  functions of society. During the 18th century, Britain and Europe witnessed this
  transformation caused by the mass production of consumer goods with the help
  

  of the newly invented machines.

  The Industrial Revolution thus refers to the transformation in the method of
  production, from man-made, to machine made goods. Being mechanical
  in nature, the Industrial Revolution was peaceful. However, it proved to be
  

  destructive as well as constructive, and indeed very noisy.

  Industrial Revolution was also defined as a widespread replacement of manual
  labor by machines that began in Britain in the 18th century and is still continuing
  in some parts of the world. It is a series of dramatic changes in the way the work
  was done. Human labour was replaced by machines. The Industrial Revolution
  thus refers to the transformation in the method of production, from man-made,
  

  to machine made goods.

  

                                         Map of England showing major industrial areas in the 18^th Century

  3.1.1. The Causes or origin of industrial revolution.

  The Industrial Revolution first started in England from where it rapidly spread to
  the U.S.A. and later to Europe. Several factors were responsible for the advent
  

  of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and not elsewhere in the world.

  England had sufficient money (capital) to finance new industries. Overseas
  

  trade, commerce and industry were encouraged by England’s naval supremacy.

  There was political and social stability in England, so people could invest
  their savings in new enterprises. With this political stability, Britain’s political
  development during this period was fairly stable, with no major internal upheavals
  occurring. Although Britain took part in many wars during the 1700s, none
  of them took place on British soil, and its citizens did not seriously question
  the government’s authority. By 1750 Parliament’s power far exceeded that of
  the king, and its members passed laws that protected business and helped
  

  expansion.

  An Agricultural Revolution: The Industrial Revolution would not have been
  possible without a series of improvements in agriculture in England. Beginning
  in the early1700s, wealthy landowners began to enlarge their farms through
  enclosure, or fencing or hedging large blocks of land for experiments with new
  techniques of farming. These scientific farmers improved crop rotation methods,
  which carefully controlled nutrients in the soil. They bred better livestock, and
  invented new machines, such as Jethro Tull’s seed drill that more effectively
  planted seeds. The larger the farms and the better the production the fewer
  farmers were needed. Farmers pushed out of their jobs by enclosure either
  became tenant farmers or they moved to cities. Better nutrition boosted England’s
  population, creating the first necessary component for the Industrial Revolution:
  

  labor.

  England began to manufacture practical and inexpensive articles, which
  could be exported if they were produced on a large scale. Hence England
  

  invented new techniques and machines to produce such articles.

  Many agriculturists, who became unemployed owing to the Agriculture
  Revolution, were available as laborers in mills, factories and workshops. These
  laborers were able to move freely from place to place for jobs in factories. Coal,
  a cheap fuel, was available in large quantities for running factories, mills and
  

  workshops.

  Napoleon’s Continental System of preventing the import of English goods
  into Europe enabled England to blockade the continental ports. Thus England
  bought raw materials at low rates and supplied finished products at high
  

  prices to her colonies.

  England had a large man power or labor force due many skilled immigrants.
  Many Spanish and French artisans, who were persecuted owing to their religion,
  

  went and settled down in England, thus giving an impetus to English industries.

  The English colonies were ruthlessly exploited for raw materials and as
  

  markets for finished products.

  Scientific discoveries were encouraged by the Royal Society of London. The
  inventive genius of the English, as seen in scientists like Sir Humphry Davy,
  George Stephenson, Dr. Edmund Cartwright and James Watt, favored the
  

  Industrial Revolution.

  

                                                                                              Source: Encarta premium 2019

  New inventions and new methods of production went hand in hand, giving
  

  rise to many factories over a span of a hundred years in Britain’s countryside.

  Improvement in transport and communication. This included roads,
  railways and water transport which were much developed. Canals were
  constructed linking existing rivers and lakes. During the second half of the 18^th
  century, roads and railways were constructed to link industrial centres. They
  were to transport raw materials and finished products to their destinations as
  well. It eased connectivity in terms of sources of raw materials, transportation of
  

  workers, industrial centres and markets.

  
  

  Favorable geographical location of Britain and good harbors favored
  industrialization. As an island, Britain has good harbors and direct links to almost
  all parts of the world. This encouraged overseas trade which allowed Britain
  access to raw materials and markets in Africa, America and India.
  The good banking and insurance systems in Britain also encouraged
  industrial revolution. Banks promoted savings and gave people loans for
  businessmen that encouraged them to invest in better machinery, build new
  factories and expand their operations.
  Technological leadership: Britain took the leading role in technological
  innovations and inventions. Machines such as water wheel, spinning jenny,
  spinning mill and steam engine were first invented in Britain. This was a great
  

  step towards industrial development.

  Natural resources - Britain had large and accessible supplies of coal and
  iron - two of the most important raw materials used to produce the goods for
  the early Industrial Revolution. Also available was water power to fuel the new
  machines, harbors for its merchant ships, and rivers for inland transportation.
  

  Britain could also get these resources from her overseas colonies.

  Key inventions during the industrial revolution
  Textile Industry
  The Industrial Revolution first started in the textile industry in England and started
  

  with the techniques of ’spinning’ as well as ’weaving’.

  • Hargreaves’ Spinning Jenny, 1764: Spinning was an extremely slow
  process, with the spinner spinning only one thread at a time, with the
  help of the spinning wheel. In 1764, James Hargreaves invented
  a machine called the ’Spinning Jenny.’ It enabled a spinner to spin
  as many as eight to ten threads at a time, on his new machine. This
  increased the production of yarn (wool, fiber).
  • Arkwright’s Water-Frame, 1769: In 1769, Richard Arkwright
      invented a machine run by waterpower instead of manpower. Hence
      it came to be called the ’Water-Frame’. This second machine could
      produce stronger and finer yarn than the Spinning Jenny. It increased
      the production of threads to a very great degree, as it worked on water
      force.
  • Crompton’s Spinning Mule, 1778: Samuel Crompton removed the
      defects of the Spinning Jenny and Water Frame, with his machine known
      as ’Spinning Mule’. A spinner could now spin threads of stronger and
      better quality on this machine.
  • Cartwright’s Automatic Loom, 1785: In 1733, John Kay had invented
      a device called the ’Flying Shuttle’, which speeded up the weaving
      of cloth. It helped the weaver to do the work of two or three people at
      a time. In 1785, Dr. Edmund Cartwright invented the Automatic or
  Power Loom. It could do the work of many people at a time, since it
      worked on waterpower.
  • Whitney’s Cotton Gin, 1793: Eli Whitney invented a machine called
     the ’Cotton Gin.’ It separated the seeds from the fibers of raw cotton.
      So cotton could be produced in large quantities for spinning and
      weaving of cloth.
  Eventually, inventions were made involving new techniques and processes for
  

  bleaching, dyeing and printing fabrics.

  Basic Industrial Materials
  • Coal: Wood was used in large quantities as a fuel in Great Britain,
      before the Industrial Revolution. However, as the supply of timber
      diminished, and since wood was not able to withstand the strain of
      new techniques and processes, coal and steel was brought into use by
      industrialists. Thus coal mining became an important industry.
  • Davy’s Safety Lamp, 1816: In 1816, Sir Humphry Davy invented a
        machine called Davy’s Safety Lamp.’ It could save the lives of the
        miners by giving them a warning, in case of any danger in the mines.
  • Steel: Large Quantities of iron and steel were required to make new
       machines. This led to the establishment of smelting plants and foundries
       in Great Britain. In 1856, Henry Bessemer discovered a process by
  

       which impurities could be removed from iron. This purified refined iron
  

       came to be known as ’steel’, which helped in making more accurate
  

       tools, implements, weapons and machines.

  Transport and Communication
  • McAdam’s Roads (1756-1836): John Loudon McAdam found
      out a new process of road building. Heavy stones were placed at the
      bottom of the roadbed and smaller stones at the top, with a mud-binder
      between them, in order to produce a hard surface. Later, tar was used
      in place of mud binder. These Macadamized roads became popular in
     Great Britain, and also in the U.S.A, Canada and France.
  • Trevithick’s Locomotive (1801): Since roads were not sufficient to
      meet the needs of transportation, railroads became necessary. Therefore,
      in 1801, Richard Trevithick invented the first steam locomotive.
  • Stephenson’s Rocket (1814): George Stephenson is regarded as ’the
      father of the railway locomotive’, because he made great improvements
      on Trevithick’s locomotive in his ’Rocket’ in 1814. It moved at a speed
      of twenty-nine miles an hour.
  • Canals: John Smeaton (1724-1792) built the Forth and Clyde
      canals, while Charles Telford constructed the Ellesmere canal and the
      Caledonian Canal.
  • Fulton’s Clermont (1807): In 1807, Robert Fulton invented the
      steamboat called the ’Clermont’. It completed the one hundred and
      fifty-five-mile trip on the River Hudson from New York to Albany, in
  

      thirty-two hours, at a speed of about five miles an hour.

  Motive Force
  

  • Steam Power: Initially manpower and river water was used as the
  

      motive force in order to run all kinds of machines. However, this proved
  

      to be inadequate, when the new machines were invented. Further water
  

      and wind-power proved to be limited resources. Hence, a new motive
  

      force was sought and discovered in the form of steam power.
  

  • Steam Engine (1705): Thomas Newcomen invented the first steam
  

      engine in 1705, in order to pump water out of the mines.
  

  • Watt’s Beelzebub (1769): In 1769, James Watt invented a better
  

       steam engine called the ’Beelzebub.’ This engine was also used to shift
  

       spinning and weaving machines in the textile industries.
  

  • Electricity: In 1800, Giuseppe Count Alexandro Volta invented
  

      the Voltaic Cell and Michael Faraday invented the Dynamo. These
  

      inventions led to the production of electric power, which was widely
  

      used in industries.

  Agriculture
  • Tull’s seed Drill: Jethro Tull (1674-1740) experimented with farming
      on a scientific basis. He invented a Seed Drill that would distribute the
      seeds evenly in rows, over a large piece of land.
  • Townsend’s Crop Rotation: The discovery of a new method of
      ’Crop Rotation’, was made by Viscount Townsend (1674-1738). This
       enabled one to keep land always under cultivation, without letting it lie
       idle for a season. This helped to double the yield per acre.
  • Scientific Breeding of Animals: Robert Bakewell (1725-1795)
     introduced scientific breeding of farm animals. He found through
     experiments, that by selective breeding of farm animals, he could
  

     improve the quality of cattle, horses and sheep.

  3.1.2. The consequences of industrial revolution
  

  The Industrial Revolution revolutionized art, architecture, literature and science,
  as also the social, economic, political and cultural life of the people.
  • New machines which were used led to unemployment of many people.
  • There was expansion of international trade as countries produced
      different goods.
  • The Industrial Revolution encouraged Colonialism and imperialism.
       Industrialization led to the need of market and raw materials from
        Africa and subsequent colonisation of Africa. They needed colonies
        for securing raw materials at low prices for their industries. They also
        used the colonies as markets for setting their finished products at high
        prices.
  • It led to the development of modern transport and communication
        systems. Many roads, railway lines, bridges and canals were constructed
        during this period.
  • It led to increased utilisation of idle natural resources that were not in
        use before.
  • Industrial revolution led to urbanisation, that is, urban centres developed
        due industrial activities and rural-urban migration.
  • Industrial revolution increased the demand for services provided by
         lodges, hotels, banks, insurance companies and schools.
  • Industrial revolution led to the rise of socialism. People advocated for
         state ownership of property to replace private ownership and income
         inequality.
  

  • It increased the number of middle class for these owned factories and
         mines. Some started sending their children to upper class schools.
  • It led to rural-urban migration leading to overcrowding and
       accommodation in towns.
  • The fumes from industrial centres led to environmental degradation.
        The industries produced bad smell leading to air pollution.
  • It led to the increase in population in Europe. Population in many
       European countries tripled due to better living conditions. There was
       good shelter as well as improved medical care that reduced diseases
       that previously killed people.
  • Industrial revolution led to exploitation of workers by industrial owners.
       People worked for long hours with low wages. Many factories or mills
       had no sanitation facilities. They did not even have safety guards on
       machines which led to frequent accidents. There were no provisions
       for the care of the injured and the sick. There were cases of unfair
       dismissals which contributed to the formation of trade unions. The
       trade unions bargained for better working conditions.
  • Under the Factory system there was large-scale production. This
       resulted in a low cost of production per unit. There was also uniformity
       and a high quality in production
  • It led to the development of capitalism, since the capitalists owned
       the means of production like wealth, land and machinery. Hence the
       capitalists became the supreme masters of industry. Two classes, the
       capitalist and the laboring classes were created by the Revolution. The
       capitalists were the masters of industries, the managers of mills and the
       proprietors of workshops, who amassed great wealth, owing to a high
       profit margin. The laboring class, was a mere tool in the factories. Thus,
       the gap between the rich and the poor went on widening.
  • England grew very wealthy on account of industrialization. It became a
       leading country, in the field of industry, trade, commerce and finance.
  • The cities were overcrowded, owing to migration from villages and also
       because of high birth rates. The housing shortage in the city forced
       people to live in dull and dingy rooms. It also led to the creation of
       slums, which caused various diseases and premature deaths.
  • It also led to the creation of slums, which caused various diseases and
       premature deaths.
  • The factories produced large amounts of air pollution from the burning
       of coal. Coal was easily the most used fuel during the Industrial
       Revolution, since it was needed to power the newly developed steam
       engines.
  • Finally, the comforts and luxuries in people’s lives increased, owing to
      the inventions in the various fields. The new means of transport and
      communications and the new methods of production served to be a
  

       boon to mankind in an important way

  The spread of industrial revolution was aided by the following factors:

  • The development of international trade.
  • Education because many students went to study in Britain went back
      to their home countries with the knowledge of industries.
  • Migration of engineers and craftsmen from Britain to other parts of the
      World helped the industrial revolution to spread.
  • The improvement of transport and communication in the other parts of
  

      the world also enabled the industrial revolution to spread.

  As a conclusion, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and then
  spread across the United States and the rest of the world. The revolution in
  Britain is often called the first Industrial Revolution while the later worldwide
  revolution is referred to as the Second Industrial Revolution. There is a debate
  among historians about the precise dates of the beginning and end of the first
  Industrial Revolution. It is generally believed to have taken place in the time
  between 1760 and 1840 in Britain primarily due to innovations in machine
  technologies that led to higher productivity. The Industrial Revolution marks a
  major turning point in history as it hugely impacted the way societies in the
  world would function in the years to come.
  Many factors contributed in the development of industrial revolution in Great
  Britain but the most prominent comprise political and economic competition in
  Europe which led to the rising colonial powers, scientific revolution in Europe,
  agricultural revolution in Britain which was characterized by unprecedented rise in
  agricultural production in Britain from the 17th to mid-19th century. Government
  policies which were characterized by long time of political stability, availability
  of coal and iron, financial innovations – capitalism and entrepreneurship (Britain
  had financial institutions in place since the early 18th century; such as a central
  bank, county banks and a stock exchange to finance new ventures and well
  developed), transport system well developed in Britain, innovation and new
  technology were obviously the key factor to explain the reasons why industrial
  

  revolution started in Great Britain.

  Application activity 3.1
  

  1. Examine the factors that led to industrial revolution in Britain.
  

  2. Discuss the consequences of industrial revolution.

  3.2. Causes and consequences of the American Revolution
  

  Learning activity 3.2
  

  Read relevant materials and use internet to explain the causes and impact
  

  of American Revolution and make a presentation in class.

  American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war or conflict between 13 British
  colonies in North America and Great Britain. Thirteen American colonies rejected
  the British monarchy and dictatorship. They overthrew the authority of Great
  Britain and founded the United States of America. The American Revolution is
  

  also known as the American war of independence.

  The thirteen former British American colonies were Virginia, New York,
  Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
  Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
  

  Georgia.

  These American colonies had been under British control for a long period of
  

  time. They wanted to be independent.

  American Revolution was made up of two related events: The American War of
  Independence (1775-1783) and the formation of the American government as
  laid out by the Constitution of the United States in 1787. first, the war achieved
  independence from Great Britain. Second, the newly created United States of
  America established a republican form of government, in which power resided
  

  with the people.

  

                                                                               The map of 13 colonies of America

  3.2.1. Causes of the American Revolution
  

  • The colonies were populated by hard-working, freedom-loving,
  

      intelligent farmers, adventurous sailors and enterprising
  

      producers. Since they could think and act for themselves in every field
  

      they did not feel there was any need for them to be guided by the
  

      mother country. Their desire to be free from England grew stronger
      with time.
  

  • A spirit of self-reliance and enterprise was shown by the
  

      English colonies, which had established their own political institutions.
  

       However, George III and the British Parliament did not give any political
  

       rights to the colonies which in turn felt like slaves in the political field.
  

       Each colony had a legislative assembly and a governor appointed by
  

       England. They gained great political experience by running their political
  

       institutions. Thus they resented the political control of England and had
  

       a strong desire for self-government. They did not consider it necessary
       to be under the control of England, their mother country.
  

  • The rise and growth of nationalism among the Americans and
  

       need for independence: This was promoted by nationalists such as
  

       Samuel Adams, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas
  

       Jefferson. They argued that if the British governed themselves, why not
  

       Americans? This awakened the need for self-rule among the Americans
        hence leading to the revolution.
  

  • The effects of Anglo-French war of 1756-63: During this war,
  

      France was fighting with Britain over profitable colony of Canada.
  

      The war ended with the defeat of France by Britain, and taking over
  

      Canada. The effect of this was that it weakened Britain financially and
  

      encouraged the Americans to revolt against her. Britain also raised
  

      taxes to solve financial crisis at home. Americans protested against the
      tax increment.
  

  • The passing of intolerable acts: These included the Stamp Act
  

      whereby revenue stamps were put on printed materials and commercial
  

      documents like newspapers. It was replaced by Townshend Act whereby
  

      the British chancellor levied taxes on lead paper, paint, glasses and
  

       tea. These were received with negativity by Americans making them to
       begin a war of independence.
  

  • The character of King George III of England: He came to power
  

       in 1760. Unlike the former kings, he wanted to bring American colonies
  

       to closer control. In order to achieve this, he introduced a number of
  

       harsh laws. He was also so rigid that he refused to change the taxation
       system.
  

  • The oppressive rule of the British government: The British
  

      leaders such as Greenville, Townshend and Rocking were harsh to the
  

      Americans. They did not allow freedoms such as of speech, press and
  

      worship. There were no fair trials in courts of law. All these annoyed the
      Americans.
  

  • The Boston massacres of 1770: After the Townshend Act, the
  

      Americans started shouting and throwing snow and ice to the English
  

      troops. The troops responded by firing and killing them at Boston.
  

      This is what came to be known as the Boston massacres. It drove the
       Americans into a war of independence against the British.

  • Undemocratic nature of the British leadership: The Americans
      were not given chance to participate in the politics of their country.
      This made them inferior. Only the rich were elected to the colonial
      assemblies as opposed to the poor. This was opposed by the majority
      hence leading to the revolution.
  • Inter-colonial congress at Philadelphia: In 1774, representatives
      from all colonies met at Philadelphia. It was there where they started
      preparing for war. They chose George Washington as the leader of
      the revolution. They trained soldiers known as minutemen and started
      seeking for assistance from other countries.
  • Unfair judicial system of Britain and the restriction for colonies to occupy
       new lands of Ohio and Louisiana.
  • Poor economic policy of the British: The Americans were not
      allowed to set up their own industries in America. This was intended to
       force them to continue buying expensive British manufactured goods.
      This was viewed as a move to subject them to endless poverty. They
      opposed the policy.
  • The Boston Tea Party in 1773: This was when the Americans
      dropped boxes of tea from Britain into water at Port Boston at night.
      This made the British government furious. The government decided to
      close the Boston harbour. It also punished Americans so as to pay
  

      back the tea. This also led to American Revolution.

  

                                                                            Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor

  • Trade monopoly by the British: In America, trade was exclusively
     done by the British. All European goods imported to the colonies
     had to pass through England for taxation. The British benefitted while
     the Americans did not. On top of that, the imports were expensive
     compared to exports. This exploitation made the Americans to revolt for
      their independence.
  • The unfair taxation system: In North America, Britain raised taxes in
      order to meet her debt expenses and to solve financial crisis at home.
      Both direct and indirect taxes such as like stamp tax and sugar tax were
      introduced.
  • The role of political philosophers: These were intellectuals and
     great thinkers who exposed the wrongs of the British government to
     the Americans. Philosophers such as Thomas Penn and Patrick Henry
      inspired and awakened Americans to fight for their independence. They
      used newspapers such as New York gazette, American Mercury and
      The Boston News-Letter.
  • Foreign support: The Americans got foreign support from other
      countries such as France, Germany and Spain. These countries gave
      Americans military, moral and financial support. This increased the
      determination of Americans to fight for their independence.
  • Religious intolerance and the domination of the Anglican
  Church: There were religious differences between the Americans and
      the British. Americans had many religions which were different from the
      British Anglicans. The British forced Americans to adopt their religion
      against their will. The protestant religions practiced by the Americans
      included Lutherans, Puritans, Huguenots and Presbyterians. Americans
      strongly opposed it thus leading to the revolution.
  • Lack of the colonists ’political representation in the British
  parliament also infuriated them. No American was elected to
      represent the interests of his fellow Americans in parliament.
  • Distance between England and America was also an obstacle to
      king Georges III of England to send more soldiers to stop American
  

       Revolution.

  American Revolution time line (Main events in the course of American
  

  Revolution)

  • 1763: The French and Indian War ends. The British defeat France
      and acquire the French empire in North America.
  • 1765: Britain passes the Stamp Act to directly tax the colonists. The
        act requires that revenue stamps be put on all legal documents, deeds,
  

       newspapers, pamphlets, dice, and playing cards.

  • 1773: During the Boston Tea Party, colonists disguised as Native
     Americans throw tea from British ships into the ocean to protest the
     Tea Act (December). The act was passed to allow the British East India
     Company to sell tea to the colonists, but the tea included a British tax.
  • 1774: Intolerable Acts are passed. They close the port of
      Boston,
  • 1775: American militias defeat British troops in the battles of Lexington
      and Concord, the first battles of the war (April). 1775 American troops
      capture Fort Ticonderoga, beginning the war in New York (May).
  • 1775: The British defeat the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
       The Continental Congress commissions George Washington to lead
        the Continental Army
  • 1776: The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of
         Independence (July).
  • 1776: The British defeat American troops at the Battle of Long Island,
        seizing the city of New York (August). 1776 Washington and his troops
        cross the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack; they defeat the
  British at the battles of Trenton and Princeton (December).
  • 1777: British troops capture Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of
         the Continental Congress (September). 1777 British troops are
         defeated at Saratoga, New York, failing to cut New England off from
         the rest of the colonies (October).
  • 1778: The Continental Congress enters a formal alliance with
          France, which provides money, weapons, and soldiers (February).
  • 1778: The British capture Savannah, Georgia, in an effort to
         implement their Southern strategy, an attempt to capture Southern
         colonies with support of Southern Loyalists (December).
  • 1779: Colonial troops seize a British fort at Vincennes, taking
         control of the war in the west (February).
  • 1779: The colonial vessel, Bonhomme Richard, forces the surrender
         of the British warship, Serapis (September).
  • 1780: British forces capture Charleston, South Carolina, as part of
         the Southern strategy (May). 1781: The British are defeated at Guilford
         Courthouse, North Carolina and realize that their Southern strategy is
          unlikely to succeed (March).
  • 1781: The British surrender at Yorktown, ending most of the
          fighting in North America (October).
  

  • 1783: The Treaty of Paris is signed, recognizing the independence
          of the United States (September).
  • 1787: The Constitution of the United States is signed by the
          delegates of the Constitutional Convention (September).
  

  • 1789 The Constitution becomes effective.

  

                                                                       Declaration of independence of 13 Colonies

  3.2.2. The consequences of the American Revolution
  The American Revolution had a great impact on today’s world political, social
  

  and economic systems. The following are the consequences of American Revolution.

  • It gave birth to a new nation, that is, the United States of America. Under
     the Treaty of Paris (1783) England acknowledged the independence of
     her American colonies.
  • France regained two small colonies, Tobago in the West Indies and
      Senegal in West Africa. Spain recovered Minorca and Florida.
  • England lost her colonies in America and her national debt increased to
      a great extent. However, England could defeat and destroy the Spanish
      and French fleets, and thus retain her naval supremacy.
  • The revolution led to loss of lives. Many people including soldiers,
       civilians, Americans, the French and the British died in the war.
  • It led to destruction of property such as buildings, roads, bridges and
      communication lines.
  • It led to the inclusion of blacks into Americans citizenship, a privilege
  

      which had earlier been denied to them by the British.

  • The monopoly of the protestant church was removed and after the
     revolution. There was freedom of worship among the Americans. It
      increased religious freedom in all states of America. The citizens were
      no longer forced to join Protestantism. Many churches came up. Other
      Americans became Muslims.
  • It led to French Revolution due to the effects it had on the French
      government. France lost heavily during the American Revolution.
      Owing to her heavy naval and military expenditures the royal treasury
      in France grew bankrupt. Further bankruptcy soon led to the fall of the
      French monarchy, since the Frenchmen had helped the Americans in
      their revolt against a King. They were now prepared to revolt against
      their own king. Apart from financial crisis in France, there was also
      the spread of revolutionary ideas by the ex-soldiers of the American
      Revolution such as General Lafayette.
  • It led to the granting of independence to the American colonies. At Paris
      treaty of 1783, the British king recognised the colonies of America to
      be free, sovereign and independent. The 13 states were now free to
      join together and become the United States of America.
  • There was liberalization of trade after the American Revolution. The
      Americans were free to carry out trade without the British monopoly.
      The British limitations on American trade were removed, allowing the
      marine merchants to trade freely.
  • It created good diplomatic relationship between France and America.
      This was due to the assistance rendered by the French to the Americans
      against the British imperialists. France provided Americans with arms
       and a combat army to serve under George Washington. They also
       sent a navy that prevented the second British army from escaping from
       Yorktown in 1871.
  • It increased the status of women and subsequent women emancipation.
      Women now took control of the families and catered for school going
      children. Men were away fighting for independence. The revolutionary
       war affected women by placing them in non-traditional roles. As men
       went off to war, women were left to fill jobs typically fulfilled by men.
  • American Revolution increased the status of George Washington for
       his role in gearing the struggle for independence. During the American
       Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and
       became a national hero. Its success was attributed to him. He later
  

       became the first president of America.

  Reasons for the defeat of the British army in the American war of
  independence
  

  • The British fought in foreign country not well known.
  

  • Availability of forest in America which helped warriors to hide themselves.
  

  • The determination of American fighters.
  

  • The rebellion in oppressed Ireland caused the British to lose the war.
  

      The British were sent to stop Irish rebellion which weakened them in
  

       America, hence the defeat.
  

  • The French support with army and machinery to Americans contributed
  

       to the British defeat. This support boosted American resources and the
  

       balance of the war.
  

  • Low morale of the British who were fighting their American cousins.
  

       Notes that the British were fighting British migrants.
  

  • The long distance from home led to the British defeat. The source of
  

       orders, provision and supply, Britain, was very far from America.
  

  • The support of the African Americans for the colonists impaired the
  

        British ability in the war. The African Americans gave the colonists
  

        numerical advantage over the British.
  

  • Good leadership and military command of the American fighters
  

       surpassed that of the British. The American leaders like General
  

      George Washington were distinguished by their foresight, courage and
  

      determination.
  

  • The American enjoyed the moral advantage that came from the
  

       conviction that they were fighting a just war.

  To conclude, The American Revolution was a time when the British colonists
  in America rebelled against the rule of Great Britain. There were many battles
  fought and the colonies gained their freedom and became the independent
  country of the United States. The American Revolutionary War lasted from
  1775 until 1783. Before the American Revolution, there were several British
  Colonies in the Americas. Not all of them participated in the revolution. There
  were 13 colonies which ended up rebelling. These were Delaware, Virginia,
  Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland,
  North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island.
  One of the main reasons that the colonists rebelled against Great Britain is
  that they felt they were not represented in the British government. The British
  government was making new laws and taxes on the colonies, but the colonies
  had no say. They wanted to have some say in the British government if they
  were going to pay high taxes and have to live by British law. War didn’t happen
  right away. first there were protests and arguments. Then some small skirmishes
  between the colonists and the local British army. Things just got worse and
  worse over the course of years until the colonies and Great Britain were at war.
  Each colony had its own local government. In 1774 they each elected officials
  to represent them at the first Continental Congress. This was the first effort
  of the colonies to unite and make a single government. In 1776 the Second
  Continental Congress declared the independence of the United States from
  Great Britain. The new government of the United States was different than the
  government of the colonist’s homeland, Great Britain. They decided that they
  didn’t want to be ruled by a king anymore. They wanted a government that was
  ruled by the people. The new government would be a democratic government
  with leaders elected by the people and balances of power to make sure that no
  

  one could become king.

  Application activity 3.2

  1. Account for the outbreak of the American revolution.
  2. Assess the effects of the American war of independence on the
  

      Americans.

  3.3. Causes and consequences of the French Revolution
  

  Learning activity 3.3
  Read textbooks, internet and other materials to get the information about
  the causes and consequences of the French Revolution and make a
  

  presentation in class.

  A revolution is a fundamental change that takes place in the society’s social,
  political and economic set up of a given society. It takes place not because
  people are interested in change but rather, because of unbearable conditions
  of living in that given society.
  Before the outbreak of the French revolution of 1789, France was ruled by the
  Bourbon Monarchy. The Bourbon Monarchy had ruled France for a period of
  over 400 years, beginning from the administration of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and
  Louis XVI. The French had a glorious foreign policy, the French language was
  used in many countries. The Catholic religion was a religion of the majority. But
  surprisingly enough, by 1789 France experienced a revolution. This revolution
  transformed the lives of the French men.
  Thus, the French Revolution of 1789 refers to social, economic, political
  and religious changes that took place in France. The changes included the
  

  overthrow of the ancient regime and the establishment of a new social order

  that was based on liberty, (freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom
  of expression and other fundamental freedoms of man) equality, (having equal
  rights by all citizens) and fraternity (meaning brotherhood, that is to say seeing a
  person as your relative). The effects of the French revolution were widespread,
  both inside and outside of France, and the revolution ranks as one of the most
  

  important events in the history of Europe.

  The conditions of Europe on the eve of French revolution
  Politically, many states, except Britain, were ruled by despotic king or
  monarchs, who based their authority on the principle of divine rights, i.e. they
  were answerable to God rather than the people they ruled.
  i) England was ruled by George II and William Pitt as prime minister. She
     was the most peaceful, stable government in 17th century in Europe.
     England was considered as the super power of the time and had a
     constitutional monarchy. George III allowed freedom of worship.
  ii) Austria was under the Hapsburg family and was ruled by Maria Theresa
     (1740-178). She was later succeeded by her son Joseph II (1780-1790).
     Austria lacked constitutional democracy and parliamentary leadership;
     there was religious intolerance where Catholics was state religion. Austria
     was a class society with aristocrats (nobles) who enjoyed high privileges
     in government, the Middle class and the serfs.
  iii) Prussia was ruled by the hotentollem ruling family. She was ruled by
     Frederic the Great from 1770-1786. Later he was succeeded by
     Frederic William. Prussia had class division of Nobles, bourgeoisie, and
     Feudal Lords, it had no proper constitution, no parliamentary democracy
     and Prussia had no religious freedom. There was protestant monopoly
     government.
  iv) Russia: On the eve of French revolution Russia was ruled by Catherine
     II who succeeded Peter the Great in 1762. There was no freedom of
     religion worship in Russia (orthodox). Selfdom also existed. Russia was
     an imperialist country that had acquired Azov, Ukraine ad Crimea as her
     colonies. There was also a class society: aristocrats, merchants, serfs and
     squatters.
  v) Turkey (Ottoman Empire) was the largest empire in Europe. It extended
      to parts of east Europe, Western Europe, the Balkans region, Asia Minor,
      the Mediterranean region, North Africa and the Red Sea cost. On the eve
  

      of French revolution, the Ottoman Empire was under sultan Mahmoud
  

      II. However, turkey was multiracial, multilingual, multi-religious, and
      multicultural empire.
  

  vi) France was under Bourbon rulers who had ruled France for over 400
  

      years. By 1789, France was ruled by King Louis XVI (1774-1793). During
  

      his rule France had no constitution, no functional parliament and no
  

      uniform laws. Louis XVI was despotic and absolutists.

  Socially many states in Europe had social classes. Each state basically had
  three classes:
  a. The clergy, who included bishops, cardinals and priests. They had plenty
       of land, they were exempted from taxes and they monopolized the political,
       military and civil service offices.
  b. The nobles (the nobility), there were ruling classes in many states. Their
       privileges were higher than those of clergy.
  c. The peasantry was the third class. It was a group of people without a
       political influence. Under this class there were many other small classes
       like bourgeoisie for the sake of France, workers, serfs or tenants.
  Each state had a state religion. For example, in France, and Austria, Catholicism
  was the state religion; in England and Prussia, Protestantism was the official
  religion while Russia had the orthodox faith. For the Ottoman Empire Islam was
  

  the empire religion. Therefore, religious persecution existed in many states.

  Economically, most of European state mainly depended on agriculture;
  industrialization had not yet taken place. However, Britain was the richest state.
  Having workshop and crafts, Britain was regarded as a workshop of Europe.
  Trade was also at low level. Land ownership i.e. in all states, land was owned by
  the nobles and the clergy (the church) while peasants were a landless group.
  Peasants only rented land from absentee landlords.
  Taxation was another burden to the peasants. In France there were many types
  of taxes: land taxes, corvee, salt tax, capitation etc. about 80% of the peasant’s
  

  annual income went to the taxes.

  3.0 Conditions of france on the eve of french revolution
  A summary of the political conditions
  

  i) France was under the despotic rule of King Louis XVI who practiced
  

       nepotism, arbitrary imprisonment or imprisonment without trial (lettres
  

       de cachet).
  

  ii) France had no functional parliament. Therefore, Frenchmen lacked
  

        where to address their problems
  

  iii) France had no uniform codes of law. There were about 360 feudal codes
        that contradicted each other. Each region had its own laws.
  

  iv) In the army, promotions were unfair, only sons of the nobles were
  

      promoted. There was low pay, poor feeding, poor dressing and poor
  

      accommodation and mistreatment of junior guards or soldiers.
  

  v) France had no constitution that could guarantee the freedom, right and
  

      liberties of the people. The king was the law and the law was himself as
  

      Louis XVI said “I am the state and the state is me something is
  

      legal because I wish it”.
  

  vi) The administration only favoured the nobles and the clergy who
  

      dominated administrative posts in the army, police, education, etc., at
  

      the expense of the middle class and peasants who had no role in the
  

      administration of their society.
  

  vii) The palace was extravagant: a lot of money was wasted on parties,
  

      functions, luxury and senseless wars. The king and the queen had a
  

      large number of slaves and servants, camels and donkeys all of which
  

       required a lot of cash for maintenance.

  1. Condition of French people
  

  1.1 Peasants

  i) This was the largest section of French population. They were about 23
     million people out of 25 million, the total population of France. About 1
     million peasants were slaves. They could be sold or bought with land.
  ii) Another section of peasants were tenants. They had rented plots of land
      from landlords.
  

  iii) There were also peasants who completely lacked land.

  Burdens or the problems of the peasants.
  1. Direct taxes
  a) Taille: This form of tax was charged on land but in some district it was
      charged on a person’s estimated income.
  b) Capitation tax: this was charged on all adult males.
  c) Property tax (vingtième): The peasants also paid this tax.
  2. Indirect taxes
  a) Salt tax: In order to pay this tax everybody above 7 years of age was
       forced to buy 4 kg of salt annually. (Gabelle).
  b) Peasants were also forced to pay feudal dues for using the mills and wine
       press machine of their landlords.
  

  c) Corvee (forced labour), a tax for road maintenance. It could be paid in
       exchange for one’s labour.
  d) Tolls: these were other feudal dues which peasants paid for using local
       roads and bridges.
  e) There were also taxes on inherited property.
  f) There was tithe (church tax) which was not actually 1/10 as the name
      suggests but 15/100.
  g) Peasants also paid taxes, which allowed them to take their cattle or sheep
        through the estates of their landlords.
  

  3. The problem of taxation was worsened by the way taxes were
       collected
  1) The tax farmers or tax collectors were given authority to enter the houses
       of peasants or tax defaulters at any time (day and night).
  2) The tax collectors were also harsh, brutal and cruel and aggressive
       in treating tax defaulters or to those who denied them access to their
       houses to value their property. For example, one day a tax collector cut off
       a hand of a woman who refused to surrender her cooking utensils which
       he was trying to confiscate for tax evasion.
  3) In 1783, there were 11 arrests for peasants who had not paid the salt
       tax: about 6,600 of those arrested were children.
  4) About 30000 peasants were hanged each year for evading taxes.
  5) Peasants were not allowed to use seawater, to feed their cattle in salt
      marshes and salty springs but they had to buy salt.
  6) The conditions in the army were harsh due to poor payment, lack of
  

       promotion and lack of descent accommodation.

  1.2. Bourgeoisie
  The bourgeoisie was a section of the peasantry class. However, they were an
  educated and a professionally trained group of people. They included: traders,
  bankers, doctors, teachers, industrialists, moneylenders, lawyers and controllers
  of government corporations in towns.
  The grievances of bourgeoisie were
  a) They were excluded from top government office like army, diplomatic
       missions, etc.
  b) The merchants complained of lack of good policies for their trade. For
      example: Louis XVI allowed free trade with Britain.
  c) Bourgeoisie complained of the way government finances were being
      misused through extravagant spending.
  

  d) They also complained of lack of promotion in the army for themselves or
      their children.
  e) They were not allowed to criticize the government openly.
  f) From 1776-1783, they lent their money to the government during the
      American war of independence but the government failed to pay back that
      money.
  g) They were forced to be Catholics.
  1.3. The Nobility
  The Nobility was divided into three groups:
           – The great nobility.
           – The lesser nobility.
  

           – The nobility of the robe.

  i) The great nobility: they were composed of 1000 families. They owned
      the largest amount of land; they were the wealthiest people in France,
      the most privileged group of people in French politic. They dominated
      top jobs in the army, navy and government. They were exempted from
      taxation, they were absentee landlords, and they lived in luxury cities.
      However, they were very corrupt.
  ii) The lesser nobility: There also exempted from taxation and they too
      owned large plots of land. However, they had little political powers, they
      always complained due to unequal privileges with the great nobility.
  iii) The nobility of the Robe: this group became noble due to their
      services to the state. They became nobles as a merit. However, they did
  

      not enjoy the privileges which the greater and lesser nobility enjoyed.

  1.4 The clergy and the church
  The clergy were divided into two sections: the upper and lower clergy:
  i) The upper clergy: consisted of bishops, cardinals, etc. they had plenty
      of land and earned the highest pay from the government. However, they
      did a little work. They were also exempted from taxation and they shared
      the 500 million francs, which the church received from the government
      annually. They also advised the king on many political and religious
      issues. However, their advice was poisonous, because they encouraged
      religious intolerance in France.
  ii) Lower clergy: they were composed of the parish priests; and they did a
      lot of work in the church and schools. They were paid less and had little
      or no land at all. This forced them to join the peasant to start a revolution
  

      by 1789.

  1.5 The French thinkers or philosophers
  These were intellectuals and great thinkers. They included people like Voltaire,
  Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau and encyclopedists like Diderot Denis
  and D’Alembert. The philosophers wrote books and circulate them across
  Europe. In their writings, they criticized despotic rule, unfair land distribution,
  unfair taxes, lack of political liberties, letters de cachet (warrants of arrest), the
  power of the church, lack of religious freedom as well as lack of a constitution
  

  and functional parliament in France.

  3.3.1. The Causes of the French Revolution
  The French revolution had both long term and short-term causes. Its origins are
  said to have stretched back into the 17th and 18th Centuries. The outstanding
  causes were as follows.
  Unfair political system of ancient regime: The ancient regime in France
  was led by despotic kings. The administration was characterised by dictatorship,
  nepotism and abuse of human rights. The King’s powers were absolute and could
  not be questioned. He was the law and the law was himself, and that is why he
  once boasted “the thing is legal because I wish it to be”, “the state is myself!”
  There was no written constitution, no democracy, and no fair representation in
  the parliament. Even the King’s ministers had unlimited powers through “lettrede-
  cachet” (arrest warrant with imprisonment without trial), which caused a
  lot of suffering to the French people, forcing them to think of change and work
  

  towards it.

  
  

  Religious intolerance: In France, Protestants and Muslims were not allowed
  freedom of worship and were always subjected to intimidation, torture and
  imprisonment and the need for freedom of worship made the French to join the
  

  revolution. Catholicism was the state religion and had owned 1/5 (fifth) of all

  land in France, controlled education, church forced peasants to pay tithe and
  

  promoted class discrimination.

  Social class struggle: French society was divided into three social classes or
  Estates. Those were clergy, the nobles and middle class with the peasants. The
  clergy and nobles enjoyed a lot of privileges. They owned large tracts of land,
  dominated the key government posts, and were exempted from taxes. They
  could collect tributes from the peasants; they had the right to get pensions; the
  right to enjoy all forms of freedom; to stay in the King’s palace and the right to
  

  move with weapons in public.

  The peasants and the middle class were 23 million out of 25 million, but were
  denied all sorts of freedom, subjected to forced labour, to unfair taxation,
  were imprisoned without trial, were denied promotion in the army and higher
  education.
  
  The middle class (bourgeoisie) was composed of teachers, lawyers, doctors,
  scientists and industrialists. Despite their education, they were excluded from
  top posts in the government and in the army. They also had to end money to
  the government and were not sure of recovering that money. By 1789, they
  had read and interpreted the work of philosophers, which opened the eyes of
  

  French people and forced them to fight against the ancient regime.

  Role of the French philosophers: Philosophers were great thinkers who
  were highly educated in world affairs, who put their ideas in writing condemning
  the social, political, and economic situations in France, creating more awareness,
  sharpening minds of the French and created in them a revolutionary spirit.
  Philosophers revolutionized the thinking of the members of the Third Estate
  with their new ideas and revolutionary solutions.
  a) Voltaire: His original names were François-Marie Arouet, later changed
  to Voltaire (historian, poet). He exposed the weaknesses and abuse of
  power of the ancient regime and he said “I had rather be ruled by one
  lion than a hundred rats” meaning that he preferred to be ruled by one
  enlightened king than many ambitious schemers.
  b) Charles Montesquieu (1689 - 1775), a lawyer and student of
  constitutional government summed up his ideas in his book L’ Esprit
  Des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws). Here he puts forward the theory of
  the separation of powers. According to this theory, the legislature, the
  executive and the judiciary should be separate and independent of each
  other. If not, there would be dictatorship and tyranny. Through his writings,
  Montesquieu exposed grand monarchy in France, in its true colors and
  

  deeply influenced the minds of the people.

  c) Jean Jacques Rousseau: He was a poet and musician; he wrote
      his ideas in the book called “the social contract”. He explained that
     a government is a social contract between rulers and ruled, but if the
     government fails to protect the rights of its people, then the people have
     the right to overthrow the government. Here he made people aware of
     their rights. This was the case of bourbon monarchy.
  d) The encyclopedists: They condemned the unfair system of taxation and
     recommended the abolition of all taxes except land tax which was to be
  

     paid by all.

  Unfair land ownership: The land was unfairly distributed among the nobles
  and the clergy at the expense of the majority peasants. The Church also owned
  20 per cent of the land that it rented to the peasants. The peasants lived as
  tenants on the estates of landlords who also exploited them. This is why they
  

  demanded for reforms in the revolution of 1789.

  Unfair taxation system: Before 1789, the taxation system of France was
  unfair. The clergymen and noblemen owned about three-fifths of the entire land.
  However, they paid less than one-fifth of the total direct taxes in the country.
  On the other hand, a member of the Third Estate paid 152 francs as income
  tax, whereas he should have paid only 14 francs, if the distribution were equal.
  Further the nobles and clergy were totally exempted from direct taxes levied on
  personal property and land. While the rich nobles and the clergy were exempted
  from taxation, the poor peasants were forced to pay a lot of taxes like salt tax,
  property tax, road tax, tithe and customs duty. The peasants were tired of this
  

  unfair taxation system and rose up against the regime of the time.

  Bankruptcy of the ancient regime: By 1788, the French treasury was
  alarmingly empty. This financial crisis was caused by the luxurious lifestyle of
  the kings and members of the royal family, the exemption of the nobility, higher
  clergy and the church from taxation, corruption, and embezzlement of funds. The
  financial crisis forced the government to borrow money from the middle class
  and at the end they failed to pay back. In an attempt to recover their money, the
  middle class advocated for the overthrow of the government. This financial crisis
  

  led to the French revolution in the following ways:

  People lost confidence in the government and wished that it could be removed.
  When the government failed to pay back the money to the middle class, the
  people decided to remove the government. That crisis led to inflation and
  unemployment which forced people into the revolution. It forced the King to call
  

  the Estates General meeting in which the revolution started.

  Dismissal of the financial reformers: Capable financial controllers, Turgot
  

  and Necker, were dismissed. This worsened the financial crisis in France. They

  had suggested reforms such as taxing the wealth of the nobles and the clergy,
  but the Queen advised the King to expel them because they criticized the
  financial mismanagement at the royal palace. This led to the revolution against
  

  Louis XIV in 1789.

  The financial crisis was also caused by involvement in endless wars, notably
  the American war of independence and the 7 years’ war (1756-1763) over the
  

  colonies of India and Canada between Britain and France.

  Character of Louis XVI: He was the last King who ruled France from 1774 to
  1793. He contributed to the occurrence of the French revolution in the following
  

  ways:

  Louis was responsible for the financial crisis that hit France due to corruption,
  embezzlement and extravagance that characterized his reign. This created a
  

  revolutionary mood among the masses.

  He confined himself in the royal palace, which made him unpopular and he was
  

  always asleep or hunting during crucial meetings.

  He married a beautiful but less intelligent, arrogant and proud Marie Antoinette
  from Austria, a traditional enemy of France. Besides, she poorly advised the
  

  King hence committing blunders that resulted in the French revolution.

  He signed a free trade treaty with Britain to allow her to sell her goods in France
  untaxed. This led to the collapse of local industries and generated a lot of hatred
  

  from the middle class who also joined the revolution against him.

  He lacked firmness and often shed tears during hot debates. He was inconsistent
  and that is why he was ill-advised by the Queen. To Frenchmen, Louis XVI was
  

  king in name but not in character.

  He involved France in the American War of Independence which led to the
  bankruptcy of his regime and he failed to pay back the money borrowed from
  

  the middle class.

  Louis XVI (August 23, 1754–January 21, 1793) (Source: Google) Louis XVI of
  France was the grandson of King Louis XV and was married to Marie- Antoinette.
  Louis was considered a well-intentioned but weak king. A heavy tax burden and
  court extravagance led eventually to a popular revolt against him and paved the
  way for the French revolution. Louis was guillotined by the revolutionary regime
  

  in 1793.

  Influence of Marie Antoinette: Marie Antoinette was a daughter of an
  Austrian Empress called Marie II Thérèse. She was hated by Frenchmen, more
  

  especially among the middle class, because she represented Austria which had

  supported Britain in the “Seven Years War” which led to the loss of French
  

  colonies in Canada and India.

  She was very insensitive to the problems of the French and that was why she,
  at one time, arrogantly told the peasants that: “let them eat cakes if bread is
  

  expensive” which angered the peasants during the French revolution.

  She was also busy wasting taxpayer’s money on luxurious parties, giving a lot of
  gifts, employing about 500 servants and buying four pairs of shoes per week.
  

  This contributed to the financial crisis and led to the outbreak of the revolution.

  Marie Antoine (November 2, 1755–October 16, 1793) Marie Antoinette was the
  Queen of France who died on the guillotine in 1793 during the French revolution.
  Her lavish life-style made her unpopular. Paying no attention to her country’s financial
  crisis, she refused to make any concessions to hungry mobs who marched
  on the palace in Versailles. Instead, she called out troops.
  
  Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Marie_Antoinette
  
  Influence of England: England provided an example to French society. By
  1750, she had modernized and had the best parliament, a good constitution and
  an independent judiciary as well as freedom of religion. In addition to a better
  political environment, England became a reference for political philosophers
  who based their arguments on Britain. Many Frenchmen desired the life of
  

  England and this fueled the 1789 French revolution.

  Effects of American Revolution: France participated in the American War
  of Independence to revenge against Britain. The French government, therefore,
  sent troops to America to fight the British. In 1776, the Americans defeated
  Britain. However, the war worsened the already alarming financial crisis in France
  and also provided a practical example to the French that “if success could be
  

  obtained by the Americans, it could be obtained by the French as well”.

  Politically, the French soldiers who fought on the side of America came back
  with new revolutionary ideas and they were shocked to find out that the very
  conditions that America was fighting were present in France. General Marquis
  de Lafayette who was the commander of the French troops in America took the
  

  commanding role in the French revolution.

  Natural calamities: To make matters worse, from 1788 France experienced
  

  natural calamities which led to the untold misery. In 1788 there was famine

  caused by poor harvests, and the poor taxation system which prevented
  easy transportation of food. In early 1789 severe winter hit Europe leading
  to the freezing of many rivers in Europe; hence no fishing, transportation and
  employment. On top of that, in 1786 France had signed a free trade treaty with
  Britain which caused suffocation of French industries as cheap goods from
  Britain flooded the French market. As a solution to the problems faced by the
  

  French, a revolution was looked at as an alternative.

  The estates General meeting of May 5th, 1789: The above factors created
  a fertile environment for the revolution. It only needed an incident to spark off a
  great revolution. King Louis XVI decided to call a meeting for all the three classes
  on Sunday May 5th, 1789 in order to resolve the economic crisis. In attendance
  were 1,224 delegates, including 308 clergy, and 295 nobles. Jacques Necker
  advised the King that the number of the third class members should be double
  because they represented the majority. That was why the third class members
  

  were 621.

  Trouble came when they failed to agree on the voting procedures where the
  King wanted the voting to be on class basis and their opinion was for one man
  one vote. The king being very weak, failed to control the situation and the third
  class members declared themselves the National Assembly. This marked the
  

  beginning of the French revolution.

  The main events in the course of French Revolution
  Calling of estates general meeting (5 May 1789): King Louis XVI called the
  meeting on advice of Necker, his Finance expert. It aimed at solving the financial
  crisis in France and other problems affecting the French society. However,
  King Louis VXI wanted each state to seat and vote alone over the “cahiers”
  (grievances) to be solved. But the representatives of the third states rejected the
  king idea of separate sitting and voting because the first and the second estates
  would outvote the third estate by the ration of 1:2 since they had similar interest.
  In this meeting the nobles were represented by 285 representatives, 308
  represented the clergy, and the third Estate was given double representation,
  

  621 representatives because they represented the majority of population.

  The third estate wanted a joint meeting where every member would vote basing
  on “one man one vote” but the king ruled against this. The third estate was set to
  attain liberty, equality and fraternity. Failure to agree on the sitting arrangement
  and voting procedure, members of the third estate lead by Mirabeau declared
  them a national assembly and invited the members of underprivileged lesser
  

  nobility and the parish priest to join them.

  This marked the beginning of 1789 French revolution. Possibly without calling
  the estate general meeting, the Frenchmen would have kept their grievances at
  a local level and the revolution would not have broken out, it marked the revival
  of the French parliament, peasants began to demand for their rights, it showed
  the weaknesses of the bourbon monarchy for it had no any means of disciplining
  the third class, it marked the beginning of the constitutional rule in France, it
  exposed the weaknesses of the king in that he failed to handle the matter of the
  sitting and voting procedure, it showed the unity and determination of peasants
  against the king, the nobility and the clergy and it lead to the end of absolute
  

  monarchy in France

  The tennis court oath 20th June 1789: Since the third estate had become
  stubborn after the failure of the estate general meeting, the king decided to hold
  a special royal session (meeting) in which he planned to give his last order. But
  the representatives of the third estate were not informed of the royal session.
  So, when the third estate came, they found the hall locked and the soldiers
  told them that the hall had been locked for necessary preparation (a counter
  revolution). So, the third estate moved to a neighbouring indoor tennis court
  where they swore that “they would never dissolve until the constitution
  of the French society is established. In the course of the French
  

  revolution, this event was referred as “tennis court oath”.

  This increased the determination among members of National Assembly and
  marked the beginning of debates about the national constitution of France. The
  members of National Assembly thereafter started debating about the national
  constitution assembly separating it from the first and second estates. This was
  

  their first independent meeting.

  The royal session on 23^rd June 1789: In June 1789 another royal meeting
  was called in which the king announced reforms. But in this meeting the king
  declared the national assembly of the 3^rd estate illegal and unconstitutional.
  He also ordered that the 3^rd estates should always meet separately. After the
  meeting, the king and other two estates left the hall. The third estate remained
  seated in the hall. The king’s master of ceremony ordered them to quit the hall
  and the soldiers were seen at the gate coming to drive them out of the hall.
  Mirabeau reacted by replying the M.C. that “go and tell your master that we
  are here by the will of people and that, we shall not leave except at the
  

  point of the bayonet”.

  Challenged by the tough stand of the 3^rd estates, Louis XVI ordered 1^st and
  2^nd to join the third estates in the National Assembly. This was marked as a
  victory of the 3^rd estate (class). This assembly of 3 estates became known as
  

  the “constituent assembly”.

  This event showed that violence would be used during the revolution (bayonet)
  and It showed the future victory of the third estate. It showed the weakness of
  

  the clergy and nobility some of whom joined the 3^rd estate.

  The storming of the Bastille on 14^th July, 1789: The Bastille was a royal
  state prison of the ancient regime. Many innocent French peasants and some of
  the members of the middle class were detained here without trial. This became
  to be known as the “lettre de cachet”. Bastille was also where the state arms
  were kept. It marked the birth of freedom, the end of “lettre de cachet” and
  the fall of despotism, it marked the release of prisoners who actively joined
  the revolution, the fall of Bastille (14^th july1789) is still cerebrated as a public
  holiday in France. The revolutionaries got fire arms and brought violence in
  the revolution. It led to the introduction of tricolour flag (revolutionary flag) and
  withdrawal of white flag (monarchy flag). The tricolour flag was made of: red,
  

  white, blue which symbolized a revolution.

  The session of 4^th august 1789: This meeting was called after the storming
  of Bastille. It was called because the peasants had rowdy destroying properties
  and residences of the clergy and the nobles. By August, the National Assembly
  had expanded following the joining of nobles and clergy who had remained in
  France realizes that the only way to save their lives was to painfully surrender
  their privileges and therefore on the day when the National Assembly was in
  a night session the nobles, one after the other announced the surrender of
  their privileges. Two members of the nobility proposed equality in taxation, the
  bishop proposed the sharing of the church land, and an archbishop proposed
  abolition of salt tax. The assembly also destroyed class discrimination and made
  promotion to public offices to be based on merit. This event forced therefore
  many nobles and clergy into exile. The meeting marked the removal of some
  

  problems of the third class and It destroyed the order of the ancient regime.

  The declaration of rights of man and citizenship 26^th August 1789:
  The national assembly changed its name to the Constituent Assembly
  because it had the role of making constitution for France. Therefore, in August
  the Constituent Assembly met to discuss the rights of the people. The French
  constitution was formulated on the model of USA. At the end of the meeting, the
  rights of self-rule and equality freedom of speech, press, worship, association
  and protection, right to vote and elect their leaders were declared.
  
  But they made a mistake of leaving the king with too much power to veto which
  he used to refuse to sign the declaration of the rights of man and the decree
  (official order of decision) of 4^th August 1789 which led to the march of women.
  The rights of the French became the foundation of the human rights for all men.
  

  USA and UNO copied them and they have become the basis of the right of the

  man today. It lead to the destruction of all forms of class discrimination in France
  

  and hence equality of people.

  The march of women on 5^th October 1789: The march of women referred to
  the demonstration in which woman (6500), children and men dressed in women
  clothes moved from Paris to Versailles. The march of women was caused by the
  king’s refusal to sign the decree of 4^th August 1789 and declaration of rights
  of man, increased price of bread and the mobilization of troops from Germany
  

  against revolutionaries.

  On 5^th October 1789, a huge group of woman followed by men dressed as
  women began their move from Paris to Versailles aiming at the king reducing the
  prices of bread. And when the king was called from his daily game (hunting), he
  was surprised and promised special food for the people of Paris and agreed to
  sign the declaration of rights of man as well as the decree of 4^th August 1789.
  Note that the people wanted to bring the king to Paris so as to separate him
  

  from the influence of the Nobles who used to ill-advise him.

  This had a great significance as it showed the contribution of women in the
  French revolution, the king agreed to sign the declarations of rights of man
  and the decree of 4^th August 1789 and it was a great humiliation to the royal
  family as they were moved from Versailles to Paris the following day (6^th October
  

  1789).

  The civil constitution of the clergy July 1790: The Assembly went on in its
  determination to change the position of the church in France. The Pope in Rome
  was not to have any power in church affairs in France. All bishops and priests
  became servants of the state, and salaries of the higher clergy were reduced,
  while those of lower clergy were increased. This ended the privileges of the
  church, reduced the powers of the pope in France, abolished the church tax, the
  nationalization of the church land which was later sold to the peasants at lower
  prices, the salaries of lower clergy were increased while those of upper clergy
  were to be reduced, the beginning of the freedom of worship in France, it forced
  

  the king to plan an escape to exile and others.

  The abortive (failed) flight (escape) of the king from Paris to Varennes
  

  22 June 1791

  Louis XVI having been forced to sign the civil constitution of the clergy
  became humiliated. So, the pope, some nobles and his wife advised him to
  escape to Austria, join the émigrés and raise an army to come back and fight
  the revolutionaries. So, at right, Louis XVI, his wife and their children escaped
  heading to Varennes. Unfortunately, he was seen and arrested at the borders of
  

  France and Austria. He was brought back to France in a very a shaming manner.

  This showed that the king had become an enemy of the revolution because he
  was planning to destroy it using foreign troops, it proved the weaknesses of
  Louis XVI (he accepted wrong advice of escaping).This event disgraced the
  royal family of France and It appointed the death of the French monarchy. One
  historian said “at Varennes the monarchy had died, a year later Paris had
  burry it. It increased the demand for a republican government. This demand
  was led by Robespierre and Danton and in 1792 the first republic was called
  “Conventional Government” and it led to formation of political clubs in France.
  

  Some wanted republic while others wanted a constitutional monarchy.

  The new constitution of September 1791: The national assembly finished
  writing the constitution of France in September 1791. The constitutions had the
  

  following provisions:

  France was to be governed by a constitution with a king having executive
  

  powers.

  The king was given the suspensive veto for six years.

  The chamber was to have 745 deputies.

  The chamber was to be elected by only tax-payers. (Tax equivalent to a threeday
  

  work pay.

  Members of the former constituent assembly were excluded from the new
  parliament. However, this constitution was rejected by the republicans who
  

  formed a number of political clubs demanding for a republican government.

  The formation of political clubs: After the establishment of the September
  constitution, many republicans rejected it. As a result, they formed many political
  clubs (parties) demanding for a republican government. For ex: Montagnards,
  the Jacobins, the Girondins, Cordeliers and Feuillants. These groups competed
  for political leadership in France and as a result they created violence and the
  

  reign of terror.

  The reign of terror 1792 and the guillotine of the king (21st Sunday,
  January 1793)
  

  The reign of terror was the second stage of the French revolution. It was
  

  characterized by notorious violence. During this stage the republicans resorted
  

  to war. Under the Jacobins’ republican government of Robespierre, violence
  

  increased at this stage due to the formation of the committee of public safety
  

  and the committee of general security whose work was to arrest suspects for
  

  guillotine.

  On the 2^nd and the 6^th September 1792 these committees led to the guillotine of
  1200 Frenchmen in Paris alone, an event known as the September massacres.
  Majority of the people killed were royalists who were suspected to be supporters
  of the king. On Sunday 21^st January 1793 Louis XVI was guillotined or hanged
  

  (executed).

  3.3.2. Consequences of the French Revolution
  

  The French Revolution had many permanent results, which proved to be of great
  

  value. This Revolution affected not only the people of France, but also changed
  

  the course of human history.

  Effects of French revolution on France
  • The revolution led to the loss of lives: Many lives were lost in the
     confusion that characterized the revolution. At first it targeted the
     privileged sections of the society. Mobs killed those they felt had in one
      way or another been responsible for their suffering during the ancient
      regime. With time, the introduction of the guillotine saw many perceived
      to be against the revolution being killed. The guillotine even consumed
      some of the revolutionaries as rivalry and suspicion hit their camp.
  • The revolution destroyed Bourbon Monarchy in France: There was
      a complete collapse of the ancient regime. The French Revolution
      abolished all elements of feudalism including serfdom. The privileges of
      the clergy and the nobility also came to an end.
  • The revolution forced many Nobles and Clergy to Austria as émigrés
      on exiles.
  • The revolution brought conflicts between France and European powers.
  • The revolution led to the destruction of property in France.
  • It weakened the French economy. Unemployment problem was high
      especially among the people in towns since the lost their jobs and
      businesses stopped.
  • It damaged the diplomatic relations between France and her neighbors
     like Prussia, Austria, Russia and Britain due to the mistreatment of
     Louis XVI.
  • It led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizenship on
     August 27th, 1789. The document abolished the social class divisionism
     which had existed in France during the Bourbon monarchy (ancient
     regime). This led to equality among French citizens, as it declared that
     all men were equal before the law.
  

  • The revolution encouraged multiparty democracy in France and this led
  

     to the rise of the Directory government. New men were appointed into
     high offices basing on their ability to perform.
  • It revived the French parliament (National Assembly or General meeting
     on May 5th, 1789) which had last sat 175 years before in 1614.
  • The revolution led to the outbreak of the reign of terror in France. This
     was characterised by bloodshed hence increasing the number of
     refugee problem.
  • The revolution ended feudalism and selfdom in France: The French
       revolution ended feudal privileges on August 4th, 1789 in the assembly
      at Versailles. Land that belonged to the Catholic Church and the nobles
      was nationalized and given to the landless peasants at cheaper prices.
  • The revolution improved the education sector: The revolutionaries
      introduced reforms in the education system. Polytechnic schools were
      built to train and produce skilled labour; secondary schools were built
     and old ones rehabilitated. This promoted efficiency in the education
  

     sector.

  Effects of French revolution on the Catholic Church
  1. It abolished church control over land; land was nationalized and sold to
      the peasant citizens.
  2. It abolished church’s control over education and Pope had no influence
       in French affairs. The clergy had to be elected and paid by the state. This
      spoiled the relationship between France and the rest of the world.
  3. It abolished the church tax (tithe) which was seen as a sign of feudalism
      and exploitation.
  4. It reduced salaries of upper clergy and increased those of the lower
       clergy.
  5. Privileges of the church were abolished: The revolution denied the
      Catholic Church of its privileges in France. The church clergy had to
      pay taxes and the clergy were turned into ordinary men and the church
      became a poor institution.
  6. It abolished religious intolerance and freedom of worship declared. The
      civil constitution of the clergy brought freedom of worship by making
      Catholic Church merely one of the religions in France.
  7. Abolition of Catholicism and replace it by the religion of reason, abolish
      Christian calendar, remove names of saints from calendar, Sundays
      become working day.
  8. It divided the clergy into two groups. The juror priests and the non-juror
      priests (refractory).
  

  9. In French history, non-jurors or Refractory clergy were clergy members
      who refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the state under the Civil
  

  Constitution of the Clergy; also known as refractory clergy, priests and
  

  bishops.
  

  10. It spoilt relationship between France and other catholic countries (Spain,
  

  Sardinia, Austria).

  Effects of French revolution on Europe
  

  • Rise of revolutionary political parties: The rise of political clubs in
  

     France influenced radical reformers to organize similar political parties
  

     to pressurize the existing government for reforms. By 1792 political
     clubs were established in England and Scotland.
  • It led to the 1820, 1830 and 1848 revolutions: in America, Italy,
     Germany, Greece, due to the spread of French revolutionary ideas
     which inspired them.
  • It spoilt the relationship between France and other catholic powers in
     Europe.
  • It led the abolition of feudalism in other parts of Europe, for example
     Prussia, Hungary, Italian; land was nationalized and sold to peasants.
     This ended monopolization of land by the church and the nobles.
  • It increased constitutionalism in Europe. Revolutionary ideas led to
     the rise of constitutionalism as a check and a balance to despotism
     in Europe. Indeed, the UN charter on Human rights and American
     constitution has borrowed from the declaration of the right of man and
     citizen in France.
  • Abolition of social classes system: The French revolution also
     influenced the abolition of the discriminative social class system that
     existed in Europe. The ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity influenced
     conservative states like Russia, Spain, and Prussia to abandon social
     class division and grant equality between the nobles, clergy, middle
     class and peasants.
  • The rise of nationalism in Europe and the world. The French revolution
     led to the rise of new forces of change. I.e. Liberalism, nationalism and
     socialism in Europe. The revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and
     fraternity undermined the old order of Europe that was characterized
     by conservatism and despotism. Nationalism influences the world
     up today while socialism brought antagonism and tension that led to
     cold war in the 20th century. Socialism dominated Eastern Europe and
     Western Europe was dominated by capitalism.
  

  • The French revolution influenced the rise of new States men in Politics
  

     of Europe. The destruction of segregative social classes system and
  

     revolutionary ideas of equality offered opportunity for talented men like
  

     Napoleon in France, Mazzini and Cavour in Italian states and Bismarck
     in German States to rise to positions of importance in their states.
  

  • Unification of Italy and Germany: The French revolution contributed
  

       to the unification of Italy and Germany. France conquered and
  

      re-organized the Italian and Germany states in 1796 and 1807
  

      respectively. The French soldiers who liberated Italians and Germans
  

      preached the revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity and
  

      nationalism. This inspired Italians and Germans with a high spirit of
  

      unity and independence against foreign domination. This foundation
  

      was combined with other factors which led to the unification of Italy in
  

      1870 and Germany in 1871.
  

  • French revolution increased the enmity between Catholic Church and
  

      the states because of the civil constitution of the clergy which nullified
  

      the privileges and influence of Pope and Catholic Church in France.
  

      This contributed to the outbreak of war between France and other
  

      catholic States in Europe e.g. Austria, Prussia, Russia etc.
  

  • Diplomatic alliances: The French revolution initiated the idea of
  

      diplomatic cooperation in handling world affairs. The alliances
  

      against Revolutionary France that started in 1793 inspired the rise of
  

      international organizations like congress system, the League of Nations
  

      and the UNO.

  Application activity 3.3

  1. Examine the causes of the 1789 French Revolution.
  

  2. Assess the consequences of the 1789 French Revolution.

  3.4. Factors for the rise, performance and downfall of
  

  Napoleon I.

  Learning activity 34
  Read textbooks, internet and other history documents to discuss about the
  

  rise and the decline of Napoleon and make a presentation in class.

  
  

                                                                                                           Napoleon Bonaparte
  

  Napoleon was born at Ajaccio in the Italian Island of Corsica in the province of
  Genoa. He was born on 15 august 1769. His father was Charles Bonaparte
  and the mother was Letizia Romalino Bonaparte. A year before his birth, Corsica
  Island was annexed by France. Napoleon I was born in a very poor family. He
  was one of eight children out of 13 who survived early childhood death. He got
  his education at Breinne military academy in Paris from May 1779 to October
  1784. At 16 years he had graduated as artillery officer with the rank of 2^nd
  Lieutenant.
  Napoleon in 1795 saved the directory government from Royalists uprising,
  where he was rewarded Josephine Beauharnais, the daughter of Barras who
  was the first director of the directory government which earned him a rank
  of general. After a two-day honeymoon with Josephine, Napoleon led an illequipped
  army in Italian campaign of 1796 when he defeated Austria in Italy
  and signed Compo Formio treaty with Austria which agreed to withdraw from
  the coalition against France and northern part of Italy was taken by France.
  
  By1797, the Directory Government was threatened by Napoleon’s popularity yet
  they had Britain as another external enemy and they sent Napoleon in Egyptian
  campaign such that he may die there, but as he was defeated by the British in
  Egypt, he learnt from the British newspapers that: The directory government
  was about to collapse, the Campo-Formio treaty had been rejected by Austria
  

  and the wife Josephine had become unfaithful.

  And Napoleon escaped for Paris and organized a successful coup d’état against
  the directory government with the assistance of Abbey Sieyes, Pierre Roger
  Ducos and Barras he became the leader of France on 9^th November 1799. In
  1804 he confirmed himself the life emperor of France. However, Napoleon
  was defeated by the troops of wellington (British general) and Marshall Blucher
  (Prussia) in the battle of Waterloo. Then on 17/061815, he was forced to
  exile to Saint Helena, a rocky Island of South Atlantic Ocean where he died in
  

  1821 in a miserable life.

  

                                                                            Napoleon Bonaparte at St. Helena Island
                              Source: https://www.google.com/search?biw=1365&bih=690&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACYBGNS
  

                                                                                          NNWwbPycm5YKsf-4y4

  3.4.1. Factors for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to power
  The French revolution helped him to rise to power: There is a common
  agreement that Napoleon was a product of the French revolution without which
  he would have died a common man. This remains a historical fact because
  Napoleon’s rise to power was greatly due to the changes and progressive
  events of the French revolution. He exploited the opportunities provided by the
  revolution to rise from a poor Corsica to an emperor of France. This is why he is
  called the child of French revolution. The role of French revolution in Napoleon’s
  rise to power was as follows:
  • The revolution abolished classes and this helped peasants to rise to
     positions of leadership.
  

  • The French revolution also led to the exile and death of senior army
  

     officers and politicians which created scarcity of senior army officers
     and Napoleon was called in army in 1792.
  • It is a French revolution that gave chance to Napoleon to display and
     advertise his abilities which helped him to be quickly promoted.
  • The need to export the French revolution generated foreign wars which
     gave Napoleon more opportunities to display himself.
  • Napoleon used revolutionary ideas within and outside France: this
     made him popular.
  • The revolution brought many wars in which Napoleon got involved.
     These provided Napoleon with a platform to display his military talents
     which helped him to be recognized. It made him popular and this helped
  

     him to win the support of the people.

  The weakness of directory government helped Napoleon to rise to
  power: By 1799, the directory government was unpopular and the French
  people longed for good French leadership. The government was bankrupt,
  officials were corrupt, there was insecurity, inflation, unemployment and there
  was intrigue among directors. The second coalition was had been organized
  against France and Austria had taken back the territories she had surrendered
  to France by the treaty of Campo Formio. These desperate conditions made the
  Frenchmen to be in high mood of change. This explains why Napoleon’s coup
  received a blessing rather than opposition from the Frenchmen.
  Luck helped Bonaparte to rise to power in France. Napoleon became
  Frenchman by luck because Corsica was annexed to France one year before
  his birth, by luck he survived the reign of terror because he was a friend of
  

  Robespierre.

  • It was also luck, that the coup d’état of 1799 was successful.
  • It was luck that Napoleon survived death in campaigns, especially in
     Egyptian and Italian campaign.
  • He was lucky to be the only son-in-law of Barras. Therefore, Barras
     supported his rise to power.
  • He was dismissed from service for over delaying on leave but he was
     so lucky to be called back due to shortage of artillery officers.
  • He was also lucky to join the military academy of Brienne and Paris.
  • He was lucky to survive early childhood diseases.
  • He was lucky that he survived revolutionary event like the Reign of
  

     Terror in France.

  Napoleon character’s greatly contributed to his rise to power. He was
  courageous man, brave and skillful. He was military genius and intelligent soldier
  France had ever seen. Such character helped him to capture the attention of
  

  people and rose to power.

  Napoleon’s power of foresight: Napoleon had the abilities to assess
  situations and know how he could manipulate them to his advantage. After the
  French revolution, he abandoned the ambition to liberate Corsica and became
  a loyal French citizen. He did this because he had rightly foreseen that the
  revolution had come with opportunities that he would use to rise to power.
  He also refused to command the Paris forces when he was commissioned by
  Robespierre during the reign of terror. He refused to offer because he was
  

  aware that Paris was not secured and anybody could be guillotined any time.

  Napoleon’s family background and ambition also helped him to rise to
  power. Napoleon was born from a poor family and this gave him a determination
  to always work hard. He was an Italian by descent and he always longed to set
  his mother land free from French occupation and this is why he tried to liberate
  it three times but he failed. This ambition forced Napoleon to risk fighting Great
  powers like Austria and England with a disorganized army which helped him
  to capture the attention of the masses who supported him to rise to power in
  

  France.

  Education was yet another factor which helped Napoleon 1 to rise to
  power. The education Napoleon acquired gave him merit to get appointments
  in the army. It also helped him to be able to read revolutionary literature and the
  work of political philosophers and to be aware of political events. The knowledge
  from the military academies helped him to be a great and successful soldier.
  

  These skills made him popular and helped him to rise to power.

  Napoleon close association with great people and his marriage to
  Josephine also helped him to rise to power. He associated with men like
  Robespierre who was the leader of the Jacobins and Barras one of the Directors
  of the Directory government. This helped him to gain political experience and
  

  influence which eased to rise to power.

  Napoleon’s early military success and operations helped him to rise to
  power. In 1793 he successfully expelled the British from Toulon which earned
  him the rank of Brigadier, in 1795 he crushed a Paris insurrection, and after his
  Italian campaign, he was promoted to the rank of general. These victories made
  

  him popular to the masses and supported him to rise to power.

  Annexation of Corsica Island from Genoa (Italy) to France in 1768
  helped Napoleon to rise to power. The annexation of Corsica Island to
  France in 1768 was a blessing in disguise for Napoleon. It made him to be
  born a French man who was eligible to hold any public office in France. If it had
  not been so, he would have born Italian and would not have benefited from the
  military academies of Brienne and Paris. He would not have risen to power in
  

  France since he would have been a foreigner (Italian).

  3.4.2. Napoleon’s performance/reforms/achievements
  a) Military success: Leading the French army to military success against
  the foreign armies: He led the French army in battles against the foreign
  troops. He drove British forces out of the French port of Toulon, he won
  several victories against Austrians, he captured most of northern Italy, he
  forced the Hapsburg emperor to sue for peace, and he led an expedition
  to Egypt in 1798 in the hope of disrupting British trade with India and
  

  others.

  b) Establishment of the Consulate in 1799: His military success
  encouraged him to assume political responsibilities in 1799. He overthrew
  the weak directory and set up a three-man governing board known as
  The Consul. This body was now to lead the revolution. Napoleon was its
  leader. He took up the title of first Consul. The Consulate drew a new
  

  constitution.

  c) Effected economic reforms: Napoleon developed economic reforms
  to address the deteriorating economic conditions that faced France. He
  controlled prices, encouraged industrialization, established the first bank
  of France in 1801 and built roads and canals to improve transportation.
  He even sold France’s vast Louisiana land territory across the Atlantic to
  the American government in 1803. This action doubled the size of the
  

  USA and ushered in an age of American expansion.

  d) Strengthening of the central government: Under Napoleon, power
  was consolidated in an effort to strengthen the central government in which
  he was the supreme power. Through these measures, ‘order, security and
  efficiency’ replaced ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ as the slogan of the new
  

  regime.

  e) Establishment of schools to train military officials: The revolution
  was characterized by ill-trained military personnel. This affected the
  operations of the army. Napoleon addressed the problem by setting up a
  system of public schools under strict government control. The military was
  trained in these schools. Members of the public also benefitted from good
  

  education.

  f) Restoration of relations with the church: He made peace with the
  Catholic Church in the Concordant of 1801. This law kept the church
  under state control but recognized religious freedom for Catholics. It was
  welcomed by Catholics but opposed by revolutionaries. Other religions
  

  were also recognized.

  g) Appeasing all classes in the society: Napoleon took measures to
  appease all sections of the society. He encouraged Emigres to return so
  long as they took an oath of loyalty. Emigres were members of the nobility
  who had fled the country during the revolution. Peasant’s right to land
  

  ownership was also made. He also made jobs open to all talent.

  h) Development of a new law code (the Napoleonic code): He wrote
  the French laws leading to the civil code of 1804. The code embodied
  Enlightenment principles such as the equality of all citizens before the law,
  religious toleration and advancement based on merit. It touched on rights
  and duties, marriage, divorce, parentage, inheritance and property, and a
  statement of the general legal principles concerning them. However, the
  code was weak in certain respects. Male heads of household were given
  

  complete authority over their wives and children.

  i) Spread of the revolution to other parts of Europe: By 1810, his
  empire had expanded greatly in Europe. As the empire grew, it took the
  ideas of the revolution to the new territories. The areas he conquered
  included the Netherlands, Belgium and parts of Italy and Germany. All
  these became part of the grand French empire. He also abolished the
  Holy Roman Empire and created a 38-member confederation of the Rhine
  

  under French protection.

  j) Forceful diplomacy: Napoleon had another tactic. He used forceful
  diplomacy to install his relatives to power in various European countries.
  For example, after removing the Spanish king; he placed his own brother
  Joseph Bonaparte, to the throne. He also forced alliances on European
  powers from Madrid to Moscow. At various times, the rulers of Austria,
  Prussia and Russia reluctantly signed treaties with Napoleon. He came
  up with the Continental System which brought the whole of European
  mainland into an alliance headed by France. He tried to use the alliance to
  bring Britain to its knees but did not succeed. The French army spread the
  

  ideas of the revolution and helped to install code Napoleon in the areas.

  k) Boosting the spirit of Nationalism: The successes made by Napoleon
  enhanced the spirit of nationalism in France. Great victory parades filled
  the streets of Paris with cheering crowds. French citizens were proud of
  their king’s successes. They celebrated the glory and success of their
  

  country.

  l) Napoleon 1 also promoted agriculture in Franca. He introduced
  

  new seed varieties from Holland which increased output in France.

  3.4.3. Reasons for the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte I
  By 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte had been denied by nature never to rule France
  again. He was defeated by the European 4^th Coalition at the battle of Waterloo
  and exiled on the rocky Island of St. Helena where he died from in 1821 in
  a miserable life. The following were the factors responsible for Napoleon’s
  

  downfall in 1814.

  • The continental system of 1806 which had many negative effects such
  as inflation, famine, unemployment, hatred between French traders and
  

  Bonaparte also led to the downfall of Napoleon. The Continental system

  were a series of economic measures which Napoleon 1 used in order
  to weaken the British economy. He issued out economic blockades or
  trade embargo on the British goods and stopped all the French allies
  from buying the British goods. This he did in order to bring Britain to his
  knees. But the Continental system turned into a boomerang and was
  

  largely responsible to Napoleon’s down fall in 1814.

  • Napoleon’s imprisonment of the Pope in 1808 who had rejected
  continental system, led to the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte because
  he lost the support of the Catholics. It should be remembered that when
  the Pope refused to obey Napoleon’s Continental system, Napoleon
  ended up imprisoning him in 1808. This made Napoleon to be hated
  by the entire Catholic World and the Catholic French men hence his
  

  downfall.

  • The peninsular war of 1809 or the Spanish war: This was caused by
  the reject of continental system. When Napoleon attacked Spain and
  Portugal, these two joined together and they defeated Napoleon. This
  defeat in the Peninsular encouraged European powers to join together
  and overthrow Napoleon. Note: The Peninsula wars refers to the wars
  which Napoleon fought with the countries of the Western Peninsula
  

  particularly Portugal and Spain.

  • Napoleon’s naval weakness led to his downfall. He had weak naval
      compared to that of Britain. Napoleon was defeated by Britain in the
  

      battle of Trafalgar due to the naval weakness of Bonaparte.

     

  • Napoleon’s overwhelming ambition: His ambition forced him to get
      involved in a very aggressive foreign policy to conquer Europe and the
     whole world. “I know limits of my legs, I know the limits of my eyes
     but I have never known the limits of my work” Napoleon remarked in
  expression of his ambition to conquer Europe. For this he got involved
  

  in endless wars of conquest and bloodshed, this led to his downfall.

  • The negative effects of the Moscow campaign of 1812 contributed to
  Napoleon’s down fall in 1814. Because Tsar Nicolas I of Russia had
  rejected Napoleon’s continental system of 1806, Napoleon ended up
  attacking Russia in 1812 in what Historians call the Moscow campaign
  of 1812. In this campaign, he lost many soldiers, his horses, some
  generals detested him, and the defeat forced some of his colonies to
  

  rebel against him.

  • The growth of European nationalism led to downfall of napoleon because
     he had spread revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. On
  

     which Napoleon’s rule had been oppressive.

  • Desertion by his military generals because they were tired and
    corrupted, and they revealed military secrets to the enemies. Most of
    generals deserted him and joined the enemy side. They revealed his
  

    fighting tactics to his enemies making him to be defeated.

  • Rise of liberation and patriotism in the lands which were under
     Napoleon’s control. For example, the King of Prussia raised national
     feelings in his people by using Napoleon’s own “ideological weapon”
     to arouse national spirit in his country, thus setting his people against
      Napoleon. Nationalism thus heavily played a role in Napoleon’s downfall.
  • Napoleon’s excessive ambition and growing sense of self–importance
      made him to have increasing pride and self-confidence in himself.
      Napoleon wanted to remake Europe as a new Roman Empire. With this
      ambition, he was engaged in endless wars which caused the downfall.
  • Lack of an adequate naval power which could rival the British navy. This
      made any chance of attacking Britain, her great rival, remote.
  • Age in addition to exhaustion as a result of endless wars he fought
      contributed to his downfall. By the time of his downfall, Napoleon 1
      had become exhausted due to many wars he had fought. He could not
      command his soldiers the way he used to do before. This made him to
  

      be defeated in 1814.

  • The formation of the 4^th European Coalition finally hammered the last
     nail on Napoleon’s rule leading to his downfall in 1814. By 1814,
     European countries of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Britain organized a
     coalition (combined force) to defeat Napoleon. Therefore, by 1814, he
      was defeated by a combined force of these countries marking the end
     of his rule.
  • In the final analysis therefore, one can assert/ conclude that many
     factors contributed to Napoleon’s down fall but the Continental system
  

     of 1806 played an important role than other factors.

  To sum up, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) is considered one of the greatest
  military commanders in history. Starting as a second lieutenant in a French
  regiment, he rose to prominence during the French Revolution as a general
  of the Revolutionary government against the Royalist forces. He rapidly rose
  through the ranks through his military genius ultimately becoming the Emperor
  of the French in 1804. The army commanded by him is known as the Grande
  Armée (Great Army) and he led it to a series of historic victories that gave the
  French Empire an unprecedented grip on power over the European continent.
  Hugely popular among the masses, Napoleon also carried out various influential
  reforms including the implementation of Napoleonic Code, a legal code which
  served as a model for many countries across the world. Countries in Europe
  came together against Napoleon forming one coalition after another. He was
  triumphant against them for years but was finally defeated in the War of the
  

  Sixth Coalition. He was able to escape from exile and became an Emperor again
  

  for a brief period but lost the famous Battle of Waterloo, ending his political
  

  and military career. Though many aspects of his life are controversial, Napoleon
  

  Bonaparte remains one of the most celebrated figures in history.

  Application activity 3.4
  

  From a very humble background, Napoleon rose to power and become
  

  one of the most important world politicians and soldiers in the world. He
  

  achieved a lot and finally declined.
  

  1. What were the factors that led to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to
  

       power?
  

  2. Discuss the achievements of Napoleon I.
  

  3. Examine the factors responsible for the downfall of Napoleon I in
  

       1814.

  Skills Lab
  

  Use a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values you have
  

  acquired about great revolutions of 18th to 19th century and describe
  

  the positive legacy of these revolutions to the modern world and make a
  

  presentation.

  End unit assessment
  

  1. Why did industrial revolution start in Britain and not elsewhere in the
  

       world?
  

  2. Examine the effects of industrial revolution which are still visible
  

       today.
  

  3. Explain the causes and effects of American Revolution.
  

  4. To what extent did unfair political system of ancient regime cause
  

       the French revolution of 1789?
  

  5. Describe the factors for the rise and downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

  
  

• UNIT 4 FIRST WORLD WAR AND INTER-WARS

  Key Unit competence:
  The student-teacher should be able to analyze the political, economic and
  social changes in the World between the two World Wars.
  

  Introductory activity
  

  The end of the 19th century was characterized by a period of intense tensions
  

  and these led to the outbreak of the first World War at the beginning of 20th
  

  century. The first World War ended in 1918. This World War led to negative
  

  and positive effects such as Versailles treaty, League of Nations, World
  

  economic depression and the rise of totalitarian regimes in what was called
  

  inter-war period.
  

  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to answer to the
  

  following questions:
  

  1. Explain the causes and effect of the first World War.
  

  2. Examine the aims, achievements and failures of Versailles treaty.
  

  3. Analyse the aims, achievements and failures of League of Nations.
  

  4. Identify the causes and effects of World economic depression.
  

  5. Explain the factors for the rise and downfall of Fascism in Italy and
  

       Nazism in Germany.

  4.1. Causes and consequences of the first World War
  Learning activity 4.1
  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on the
  

  first world war and examine its causes and effects.

  The first World War was one of the most catastrophic conflicts ever fought in the
  history of mankind. World War 1 occurred between July 1914 and November
  11, 1918. It broke out in the Balkan states and spread to other parts of Europe
  and later to the whole world. It was fought by the members of Triple Alliance
  including Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Rumania, and Bulgaria against
  the members of the Triple entente including Britain, France, Russia, Italy, USA,
  

  Serbia, and Belgium.

  The first World War did not only involve the countries above, but the whole
  world where even African countries were involved fighting a long side their
  

  colonial masters.

  The war was fought on land, in the air, on the sea, under and above the sea by
  both soldiers and civilians. The war was not due to one-day factor as Sarajevo
  incident could suggest, but was a result of tension which had mounted over a
  long period of time and made the World War I explosive by 1914. The first World
  War was regarded as a world war because almost all countries of the world
  participated, it either directly or indirectly. It was regarded as World war also
  because the effects of the war were faced worldwide like economic depression
  

  of 1929.

  Causes of the first World War
  i) Long term causes
  Among the long term causes of the first World War include the following:
  Lack of international peace keeping body: because the Congress System
  which would have solved a local affair between Austria and Serbia had died in
  1914.
  Lack of peaceful statesmen in the world: like the Germany chancellor
  Prince Otto von Bismarck who had abandoned his militarism after the German
  reunification. He was replaced by Kaiser William II who was an aggressive
  leader. In his foreign policy, he tried to intervene in each and every activity of
  the world politics to make Germany a big power. He declared; ‘’Nothing must
  go on anywhere in the world in which Germany does not play a part”. He is
  therefore blamed for starting arms race and militarism as well as signing a blank
  cheque to Austria- Hungary that increased Austria- Hungary’s recklessness
  towards Serbia. He also openly promised Austria- Hungary that “(…) be rest
  assured that his majesty will faithfully stand by Austria- Hungary as required by
  

  the obligations of his alliance and by his ancient friendship”.

  Aggressive nationalism also caused tensions:
  Aggressive nationalism also caused tensions nationalism was strong in both
  Germany and France. Germans were proud of their new empire’s military
  power and industrial leadership. The French were bitter about their 1871
  defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and yearned to recover the most lucrative
  border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. In Eastern Europe, Russia sponsored
  a powerful form of nationalism called Pan-Slavism. It emphasized that all
  Slavic peoples shared a common lead which should defend all Slavs. By
  1914, it stood ready to support Serbia, a proud young nation that dreamed of
  creating South Slave state. Germany supported a form of nationalism called
  Pan-Germanism. Pan-Germanism was a Movement whose goal was the
  political unification of all people speaking German or a Germanic language.
  Some of its adherents favoured the unification of only the German-speaking
  people of central and Eastern Europe and the Low Countries or Benelux
  countries in a single nation-state. Benelux countries are coastal region of
  northwestern Europe, consisting of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
  Alliance System: Alliance System initiated by Bismarck in his foreign policy
  in order to isolate France from European politics. This is because he had
  defeated France in the famous Franco- Prussian war of 1870-1871. He started
  the alliances such as Triple Alliance. This made other powers to also form
  the Triple Entente which were formed for defensive purposes but thereafter
  became hostile to each other leading to the first World War in 1914. There were
  a number of smaller alliances between various countries such as the Treaty of
  London (1839) between Britain and Belgium which dealt with Belgian neutrality
  in war, the Dual Alliance (1879) between Germany and Austria which changed
  into the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1982 and the Franco – Russian
  Alliance in 1894 as well as the Entente Cordiale in 1904 between Britain and
  

  France.

  

                                                        The alliance system

  Economic imperialism among European countries: mostly between
  Germany, France and Britain like the Moroccan Crises of 1906 and 1911
  when Germany lost Morocco to France. In 1912, naval competition between
  Germany and Great Britain was very important. The British and the French
  saw Germany turn up as colonial rivals in Africa, Middle East and Far East. In
  addition, Germany had an ambitious project of constructing a railway joining the
  Berlin and Bagdad that Great Britain could not support because it was a threat
  

  to its important colony, India.

  Arms race: The arms race was a competition in the manufacture of deadly
  weapons and ammunitions. Arms race was characterized by the growth of
  militarism between Germany and Britain. Naval Challenge between Britain and
  Germany paved way for the war. Britain, a European island, had a motive for
  having a strong navy. Germany on the other hand was a continental nation with
  little access to the sea and therefore has no need for a strong, extensive navy. In
  1900, Germany began to crate her navy with the intention of making it as strong
  as Britain who had the strongest in the world. This would obviously conjure up
  thoughts on Britain’s part as to what Germany’s motive for this was. Was it for
  status? Was it for rivalry? Or was it to claim Britain’s position and her monopoly
  in trade? They (Britain) were not certain and in a bid to maintain their status
  and protect themselves, they began strengthening their already powerful navy.
  In 1906, Britain launched their HMS Dreadnought (a battleship). Germany
  later launched her version in an effort to topple Britain’s. By 1914, Britain had
  a total of twenty-nine (29) Dreadnoughts while Germany had seventeen (17).
  This competition in the manufacture of weapons made countries to prepare
  

  hence war in 1914.

  

                                                                                        British Warship, the HMS Dreadnought
                                                                                        (L) & the German Warship, the SMS
  

                                                                                                                          Kaiser

  The European public opinion: after the arms race and the alliance system,
  most of the Europeans wanted a war in order to know which camp had
  manufactured strong arms. Even the European powers wanted a war in order to
  test their newly manufactured weapons. Therefore, the European public opinion
  

  caused World War I.

  The role of press/mass media cannot be underrated as a cause of the
  1914-1918 disastrous war. Radio presenters and journalists because of the
  need to amass wealth over exaggerated the suspicion, fear and international
  tension between the big powers. For instance, the London Times poisoned the
  British public opinion against the Germans and radio presenters caused more
  fear and panic after the Sarajevo double murder which created public outcry for
  war. This forced European powers to strengthen alliances and mobilize for war
  

  as Russia did.

  Moroccan Crisis of 1911. In 1911, another crisis over Morocco emerged.
  It occurred at Agadir in Morocco where Germany felt it was unfair that France
  got Morocco and she did not get anything. As a result, she sent a gunboat
  called the Panther to a bay in Agadir. This left the French in a position whereby
  they felt threatened that Germany would annex Morocco just like she annexed
  Alsace – Lorraine in 1871. This also made Britain feel threatened as she felt
  that if in fact Germany annexed Morocco, it could harm her as Germany might
  end up challenging her monopoly in trade. In the end, the Germans however
  removed the gunboat in exchange for two (2) stripes of land in French Congo.
  This however raised more conceptions that Germany would always be a threat
  

  as she came back again into Morocco.

  

                                                                                     The German Gunboat, the Panther

  The Balkan Crisis. This region was a rather unstable one which contained
  a number of different nationalities. It was ruled by Turkey for quite some time
  however in 1908, Turkish power began to decline. Conflict was always occurring
  because the people wanted their independence. Russia as well as well as
  Austria bordered the Balkan region and both nations desired to take control
  of the region. After the 1908 Bosnian Crisis, Russia began to strengthen its
  military. She was confident not to back down again in the future. Between
  

  1912 and 1913, there were many little wars in the Balkans. Serbia, Greece,

  Bulgaria and Montenegro joined forces and created the Balkan League and
  in October 1912 they successfully attacked the Turks (first Balkan War) and
  drove them out resulting in a Peace Settlement were Serbia gained most of the
  territory. In the region, Serbia was a powerful army and they were allied with
  Russia which alarmed Austria. Austria was jealous and always desired to wage
  war on Serbia to crush them but needed a legitimate reason (which came after
  the Murders in Sarajevo).
  
  The Balkan League was short lived though and a Second Balkan War emerged
  as Bulgaria quarreled with Serbia and Greece and later attacked them but was
  

  defeated.

  

  

                                                                                       The Balkan Countries and their Allies

           ii) Immediate cause: The Sarajevo assassination (Sarajevo double
            murder) (June 28, 1914) and the start of the war
  On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of a Serbian terrorist Group,
  killed Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. “The first bullet
  struck the wife of Archduke, the Archduchess Sophia in the abdomen…she
  died instantly. The Second bullet struck the Archduke close to the heart. He
  

  uttered only one word, ‘Sophia’, a call to his stricken wife. Then his head fell
  

  back and he collapsed. He died almost instantly.”

  

  Assassination of Archduke Franz
  Ferdinand
  Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
  Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_
  Ferdinand_of_Austria
  (Assassination illustrated in the Italian
  newspaper Domenica del Corriere,
  

  12 July 1914 by Achille Beltrame).

  The first World War started after the Sarajevo double-murder of Austrian
  Arch Duke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia on June 28, 1914 by Princip
  Gavrilo, a Serbian student of the Black Hand Movement in Sarajevo, the capital
  of Bosnia. This incident was followed by an ultimatum document from Austria-
  Hungary to Belgrade, Serbia. The response to the ultimatum was to be issued
  in a period of 48 hours (July 23, 1914).
  
  The document had three harsh conditions that were supposed to be met or
  satisfied by Serbia. Serbia was to destroy all anti Austrian activities and declare
  that, she was ready to be a good neighbour; to dismiss all anti Austrian officials
  from the Serbian administrative posts; and to allow the Austrians enter Serbia
  to investigate the Serbian guilt in the double -murder at Sarajevo.
  
  However, Serbia accepted the first two and referred the third condition to
  the International Criminal Court at The Hague Tribunal. Austria was forced to
  declare war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. This opened the gates for the outbreak
  of the first World War.
  
  Russia mobilized support for Serbia and Germany demanded that Russia should
  demobilize and when Russia refused, Germany declared war on her. Germany
  again demanded France to declare her neutrality and when France refused,
  Germany declared war on her. Germany troops invaded Belgium, thus violating
  the 1839 London treaty that had granted independence and neutrality to
  Belgium, which forced Britain to enter war against Germany. The same day the
  

  1st world war was at gear.

  As war progressed, USA was annoyed by Germany’s propaganda when Germany
  destroyed the American ship that was carrying passengers and the Germans
  thought that it was carrying weapons to the members of the Triple Entente and
  again USA wanted to support the loans it had given to Triple Entente members
  

  and in 1917, USA declared war on Germany.

  At 11:00 am French time, on 11^th November 1918, a treaty was signed
  between Germany commanders and victorious powers and at the end, the
  

  central powers; that is the Triple alliance members were defeated.

  

                                                                                                              The Balkans 1914

                                         Source:
  

  The course of the first World War
  The first World War was characterised by two main fronts; namely the war in
  

  western front (1914-1917) and the war on the Eastern front.

  War on Western front
  

  
  

                                               Schlieffen Plan and troop movements

                               Source: Frank Robert, History the fronts of 1914 to 1917, 1982, pge 21.

  By using Schlieffen plan, Germany planned to outflank the main French defences
  by moving through Belgium and then through Northern France to encircle
  France within six weeks. However, supply lines proved to be inadequate, and
  communication between the two main armies was not better. In addition, the plan
  ignored British intervention, relying on the likelihood of French immobilization as
  the offensive progressed.
  
  French success on the battle of Marne (September 5 to 12, 1914) ended
  Germany’s hopes of a quick victory, and paved the way for the Trench Warfare
  

  that lasted until spring 1918.

  War on Eastern front
  There was far more movement on the Eastern front than in the West, partly
  because of the much greater distances involved. The Russian army was invariably
  defeated by the forces of Germany and by the end of 1915, Russian had lost
  most of Poland, with more than two million soldiers out of the first World War.
  The Italian front
  

  Italy entered the war in 1915 in an opportunistic manner engineered by its
  

  leaders with the Allies to secure territory at the expense of Austria-Hungary
  

  Front. Much of the fighting occurred in a series of battles close to the river. The
  

  great battle of Caporetto in 1917 almost led to Italian defeat. Italy was more
  

  successful in subsequent fighting but was disappointed by lack of territorial
  

  gains she had expected.

  War in the Balkans
  Serbia survived three invasion attempts in 1914, but succumbed in 1915 to
  an Austro-German offensive supported by Bulgaria, which checked an Anglo-
  French force attempting to support the Serbian army from Salonica. In 1916,
  Bulgaria having successfully contained Allied forces at Salonica, she invaded
  Romania; Bulgarian armies were joined by Austro-German forces that captured
  Bucharest in December 1916. The Bulgarians were now able to defeat several
  Allied offensives in Front of Salonica until September 1918. The withdrawal
  of Russia from the war (1917)
  The first victim of the first World War was the Russian Empire. Indeed, continuous
  defeat by the Germans, lack of arms and supplies, problems of transport and
  communication, and utterly incompetent leadership, caused two revolutions, in
  1917, and the Bolsheviks who took over power in November 1917 were willing
  to make peace.
  The Bolsheviks stood for peace with Germany, partly to win popular favour in
  Russia and partly because they regarded the war as a struggle among capitalist,
  imperialist powers which should be left to exhaust and destroy each other for
  the benefit of socialism. They thus signed with Germany the Treaty of Brest-
  Litovsk on March 1918.
  By this Treaty the Bolsheviks gave to Germany Poland, the Ukraine, and the
  Baltic Provinces (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). As for the Germans, the Treaty
  of Brest-Litovsk represented their maximum territorial expansion during the first
  World War. Not only had they neutralized Russia, they also now dominated
  

  Eastern Europe.

  The entry of USA into the war (April 1917)

  
  

                                                                                                       The Lusitania

                                                                                Source: Ellis, EG. & Esler, A. (2008, p.830).

  The USA entered the war on April 2, 1917 against the Central Powers. Germany
  had waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom due to her naval
  blockade of Germany. As retaliation German submarines were sinking British
  ships. In this perspective the Lusitania, a British ship was sunk by Germans and
  1,198 people including Americans died but 761 people survived. International
  public opinion became hostile to Germany and this incident pushed Americans
  to enter the war. In addition, the USA had discovered that Germany was trying
  to persuade Mexico to declare war on the USA, promising her Texas, New
  

  Mexico and Arizona in return.

  On April 2, 1917 American Congress declared war on Germany. Immediately
  the American government set about mobilizing its military resources, its industry,
  labour and agriculture. The USA thus made an important contribution to the
  Allied victory, by supplying food, merchant ships, credit and military help, and by
  

  mid-1918 over half a million American men were involved in the war.

  The end of the first World War and the defeat of Germany
  After the entry of USA (led by president Woodrow Wilson) on the side of Triple
  Entente, USA declared war on Germany and members of the Triple Alliance on
  6th April, 1917.From June 1918, American troops started engaging Germans on
  the western front.
  In September, with the arrival of more American troops, the Allies launched
  the final offensive which the Germans could not withstand. The German high
  commander told their government that it was not possible for them to win the
  war.
  The German foreign office then asked President Woodrow Wilson to make
  

  arrangements for an armistice and on 11th November 1918 fighting ended.

  Reasons why the central powers lost the war
  • The entry of the USA in April 1917 brought vast resources that led to
     defeat of central powers
  • The Allied political leaders of the time like George Clemenceau in
      France and Lloyd George of Britain were capable leaders than those
      of central powers.
  • Germany was badly let down by her allies who constantly withdrew like
      Italy and Bulgaria.
  • The continuous losses on the side of Germany as the best troops had
     been killed and by 1918, the new troops were young lacked experience
     and were quickly defeated.
  

  • The Germany submarine campaign was a mistake because it brought
     USA in World War I, which led to the defeat of Germany.
  • The Allied sea powers enforced deadly blocking which led to food
      shortage to members of Triple alliance, while the triple entente was fully
      supplied.
  • The Schlieffen plan had failed and German was forced to face war on
      two fronts.
  • The weakness of Germany allies (Bulgaria, hungry, Turkey) military and
      economically.
  • The small number of Germany soldiers especially in the colonies
      compared to those of the Triple entente.
  • The internal conflict which out broke in Germany and the abdication of
  

      Germany emperor Kaiser William II.

  Consequences of the first World War
  The year 1914 witnessed the beginning of the bloodiest war which mankind had
  never experienced before. This war led to profound changes that will continue
  

  to affect directly or indirectly the style of life.

  1. The massive loss of lives: People who perished were estimated at
       about 13 million on the front and about 10 were left disabled. It was
       outrageous, regrettable and condemnable as far as human beings’ lives
       were concerned. The first World War also had a lasting impact on the
       European population structure. Many men died on war fronts which made
       women to become more than men in the population pyramid. It led to the
      rise of new class of people in Europe, that is, the refugees who ran away
      from their homes and became a problem to European countries.
  2. The war led to the destruction of property and infrastructure, like industries,
      mines, hospitals, shops, etc.
  3. The war led to the woman emancipation where women were employed
       in factories, shops and public offices that were formerly for men. In
      Britain, women were allowed to vote. They began putting on trousers
      because they were now performing the duties of men most of whom had
      died in World War I.
  4. There was improvement in education because it was realized that Europe
       needed educated labour force since technology improved after World
       War I.
  5. The war led to the defeat of Germany and her allies, which marked the
       end of the war.
  

  6. It led to the rise of new independent states like Poland, Romania,
       Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.
  7. The war led to territorial readjustment for example France regained her
      territories Alsace and Lorraine.
  8. The war led to the formation of league of the Nations as a new international
      peace keeping body.
  9. World War I led to the rise of dictators like Benito Mussolini in Italy and
      Adolph Hitler in Germany because they used the effects of the war to
      come to power.
  10. The war led to the rise of Japan and USA as super powers since they
      were not much affected by the war.
  11. The war led to the emergency of Weimar republic in Germany and this
      was because Kaiser William II went into exile and a new constitution of
      Germany was made in Weimar town because there was instability and
      bloodshed in Berlin.
  12. World War I led to the rise of a new class of people; that is refugees who
      ran away from their home and became a problem to European countries.
  13. World war led to Russian revolution of 1917 where Tsar Nicholas of
      Russia had been defeated in World War I and the Russians decided to
      fight against this government, hence the Russian revolution.
  14. It led to the outbreak of World War II because of the rise of dictator who
      became aggressive contribution to World War II.
  15. The war led to the decline of European economy.
  16. Germany was deprived of all her colonies in Africa, Middle East and Asia.
     The other defeated powers like Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria all
     lost their colonies to victor powers. These colonies altogether formed the
     mandate territories that were supervised by the victor powers on behalf
     of League of Nations.
  17. The war led to the signing of Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 which
      concluded the first World War. The Triple Entente called the conference
      in which Germany and her allies were forced to end the war by signing
     the treaty which created peace in Europe.
  18. World War I led to the rise of African Nationalism: Africans supported
      their colonial masters on the promise of independence after the war.
     However, after the war they were not given independence, as result they
     formed political parties. The white who were considered as powerful
     people were killed during the war. Therefore, African fighters became
  

     courageous to overthrow colonial rule.

  Application activity 4.1
  

  1. To what extent was the Alliance system responsible for the outbreak
  

  of the 1st WW?
  

  2. Examine the impacts of the 1st World war.

  4.2. Inter-war period

  4.2.1. Versailles peace treaty of 1919

  Learning activity 4.2.1
  

  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on
  

  Versailles peace treaty of 1919 and explain its aims, achievements and
  

  failures.

  However long or violent a war is, eventually the opposing sides must make peace.
  But because war is destructive and leaves a bitter legacy, the peacemaking
  after a long conflict can be the hardest job of all.
  The people who had that role in 1919 had a particularly hard task. The first
  World War involved more countries, using more powerful weapons, causing
  greater casualties and physical destruction, than any war before it. The war had
  bankrupted some countries. It led to revolutions in others. There was bitterness
  and resentment. In this post-war atmosphere almost everyone agreed that part
  of the job of the peacemakers was to avoid another war like it – but no one
  agreed how to do that.
  Any treaty is a balancing act. The peacemakers have to keep the victors happy
  but ensure that the defeated country accepts the terms of the peace.
  World War I ended in November 1918. And in January 1919 the victorious
  powers met at Versailles in Paris from January to June 1919 to find ways of
  maintaining peace and preventing re-occurrence of war. It was signed on June
  28, 1919.
  The Versailles treaty refers to the document containing the particular clauses
  which applied to Germany and which were accepted and signed by Germany at
  Versailles in the Hall of mirrors in June 1919. The big three of the Versailles peace
  settlement were Woodrow Wilson the president of USA, Georges Clemenceau
  prime minister of France and Lloyd Georges prime minister of Britain. Others
  

  who were invited include Emperor Orlando prime minister of Italy.

  

                                                     A cartoon published in 1919 in an Australian newspaper.

                                                    The Fourteen Points of President Woodrow Wilson of USA
  

  At the conference, President Woodrow Wilson suggested 14 points to guide
  the peace makers at Versailles. The Fourteen Points in a summary.
  1. No secret treaties.
  2. Free access to the seas in peacetime or wartime.
  3. Free trade between countries.
  4. All countries to work towards disarmament.
  5. Colonies to have a say in their own future.
  6. German troops to leave Russia.
  7. Independence for Belgium.
  8. France to regain Alsace–Lorraine.
  9. Frontier between Austria and Italy to be adjusted.
  10. Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe (they should rule
         themselves and not be ruled by empires).
  11. Serbia to have access to the sea.
  12. Self-determination for the people in the Turkish Empire.
  13. Poland to become an independent state with access to the sea.
  

  14. League of Nations to be set up.

  What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles?
  French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was a realist, wanted punitive
  peace and compensation, aimed to weaken Germany as much as possible
  and blame them alone, wanted reparations (compensations for infrastructural
  damage - France been invaded twice since 1870), wanted military restrictions,
  Germany broken into smaller confederations, independent Rhineland and
  permanent control of Saarland.
  American President Woodrow Wilson was an idealist, wanted to punish
  Germany but not too harshly, worried about spread of communism if too weak
  and revenge from Germans, wanted to strengthen democracy based on ’14
  points’; disarmament, League of Nations, self- determination. He also wanted
  to build more peaceful world but there were problems with some of the main
  ideas: For example Problems with self-determination: people of Eastern
  Europe scattered across many countries e.g.: 25% of the people who lived
  in Czechoslovakia were not Czechs or Slovaks. 30% of Poland not polish. 3
  million Hungarians being ruled by foreigners. Some people were bound to end
  up being ruled by another group with different customs and language because
  borders were artificially imposed. Problems with LON: ‘toothless’ without military,
  structurally insufficient & confusing, unanimous vote required, ’mandates’ seen
  as colonialist, membership problems: US, Germany, USSR absent, org seemed
  euro- centric and imperialist, supported TOV seen as unfair
  British Prime Minister Lloyd George was a mediator, wanted a punitive
  but just peace, wanted Germany to lose colonies and navy as they threatened
  hegemony of British Empire but did not want Germany to seek revenge under
  pressure to ‘make Germany pay’, wanted to recover as trade partners as it
  created British jobs.
  Terms of the 1919 Versailles Treaty
  None of the Big Three was happy with the eventual terms of the Treaty. After
  months of negotiation, each of them had to compromise on some of their aims,
  otherwise there would never have been a treaty. The main terms can be divided
  into five areas.
  War guilt. This clause was simple but was seen by the Germans as extremely
  harsh. Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war. Article 231
  appointed blame, called ‘diktat’.
  – Reparations. The major powers agreed, without consulting Germany,
     that Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies for the damage
     caused by the war. The exact figure was not agreed until 1921 when
     was set at £6,600 million – an enormous figure. If the terms of the
  

     payments had not later been changed under the Young Plan in 1929.
  

     Germany would not have finished paying this bill until 1984.

  German territories and colonies. Germany’s European borders were
  very extensive, and the section dealing with German territory in Europe was
  a complicated part of the Treaty. In addition to these changes, the Treaty
  also forbade Germany to join together with its former ally Austria Germany’s
  overseas empire was taken away. It had been one of the causes of bad relations
  between Britain and Germany before the war. Former German colonies, such
  as Cameroon, became mandates controlled by the League of Nations, which
  

  effectively meant that France and Britain controlled them.

  Germany’s armed forces. The size and power of the German army was a
  major concern, especially for France. The Treaty therefore restricted German
  armed forces to a level well below what they had been before the war. The
  army was limited to 100,000 men, conscription was banned – soldiers had
  to be volunteers, Germany was not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines
  or aircraft. The navy could have only six battleships, The Rhineland became a
  demilitarised zone. This meant that no German troops were allowed into that
  area. The Rhineland was important because it was the border area between
  

  Germany and France.

  League of Nations. Previous methods of keeping peace had failed and so
  the League of Nations was set up as an international ‘police force’. Germany
  was not invited to join the League until it had shown that it was a peace-loving
  

  country.

  Aims of the Versailles treaty
  

  1. To re-organize Europe for the purpose of maintaining world peace,
  

       security and stability.
  

  2. To redraw the map of Europe and restore balance of power. This was
  

      because Germany aggression had destroyed the balance of power to
  

      her advantage.
  

  3. To map out strategies that would preserve the territorial integrity and
  

      independence of countries in Europe. This was because violation of
  

      territorial integrity and independence of states partly led to the outbreak
  

      of the first World War.
  

  4. To reconcile the warring powers of the world most especially Germany
  

       although her aggression was checked for some time.
  

  5. To free the different races dominated by the central powers (Germany
       and her allies).
  6. To disarm both victor and defeated powers since arms race had partly
       caused the 1914 to 1918 disastrous war.
  7. To recognize the principle of nationality and self-determination by giving
       independence to the oppressed nations. This was partly responsible for
       the outbreak of the first World War.
  8. Victorious powers especially France wanted to permanently weaken
       Germany plus her allies in order to safeguard themselves from Germany
      aggression that caused the Franco-Prussian war and the first World War.
  

  9. To establish a peace keeping body in Europe.

  

                                                     The signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919.
                                 Source: Herbert Peacock, A history of modern Europe 1789-1981, Heinemann
  

                                                            Educational, Seventh Edition, 1982, page 295.

  The achievements of the Versailles treaty
  

  The treaty concluded the first World War and created some peace in Europe. At
  

  Versailles Germany and her allies were forced to denounce the war and accept
  

  defeat. Collective decisions were made on international issues as opposed to
  

  the pre-1914 idea of every nation for itself and God for us all.
  
  

  The neutrality of important water bodies was granted. For instance, Dardanelles
  

  the mouth of the Baltic Sea which was the centre of economic conflicts was
  

  open to all ships of all nations.
  
  The treaty restored balance of power that had favoured Germany and Turkey
  

  before. The size of Germany and Turkey were reduced by giving independence
  

  to some states that were under them.
  
  

  The Versailles settlement made some territorial re-adjustment. France regained
  

  Alsace and Lorraine that had been annexed by Germany. Independence was
  given to some states that were mainly under the Turkish and Austrian empire.
  These included Poland, Kuwait, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
  
  The treaty was fair to some landlocked countries of Serbia and Poland. Serbia
  was given free access to the sea which made her to profitably engage in trade.
  Poland was also given the Polish Corridor through Germany to port Danzig.
  
  The Versailles peace makers adopted Professor Wilson’s 14th point of
  establishing an international body to maintain world peace. This gave rise to the
  League of Nations in 1920.
  
  The settlement made arrangements for exchange of prisoners of war and
  resettlement of displaced persons. Consequently, Germany released the allied
  war prisoners and likewise the super powers.
  
  The Versailles settlement came up with the disarmament policy which although
  

  applied only to the defeated powers, helped in maintaining world peace.

  Failure of Versailles peace treaty of 1919
  

  1. The treaty was too dictatorial, too harsh on Germany in terms of
  

       disarmament, where Germany was not allowed to discuss it. This treaty
  

       was unfair and unrealistic.

  2. The treaty blamed Germany alone for the outbreak of the war. The
  

       responsibilities of other countries (Serbia, Russia, etc.) were ignored.

  3. The treaty disarmed Germany alone and failed to disarm other powers.

  4. The treaty forced Germany to pay an abnormal and an expensive war
        indemnity for the damages she did not cause alone. 6.5 billion pounds to
  

        be paid by Germany was Unfair.

  5. The treaty initially excluded Germany and defeated powers from the
       League of Nations. It also excluded Russia because she had become
  

       communist state after 1917 Russian revolution.

  6. The treaty was full of revenge policies against Germany. France wanted
       to have Germany destroyed because of the 1871 Franco-Prussian war;
  

       Britain wanted to revenge because of Kaiser William’s character.

  7. The treaty led to rise of dictators in Europe: For example, Hitler of Germany
      and Mussolini of Italy. Hitler came to power with the spirit of revenge
  

      against Allied powers.

  8. The treaty failed to respect the principle of Nationalism. It handed over 10
       million Germans to other countries. This was partly responsible for the
      outbreak of the Second World War
  9. The treaty was unfair because the Triple alliance members were not
       invited.
  10. The confiscation of Germany territories in Africa was seen as a way of
        making victorious powers rich which made Germany aggressive leading
        to World War II.
  11. The treaty led to the formation of League of Nations but it failed to protect
       it because League of Nations had no army to implement its policies.
  12. The chairmanship and place of the conference was unfair. France being
       the host and George Clemenceau who hated Germany made the treaty
  

       unfair.

  Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?
  Why was (any of three leaders) dissatisfied with TOV?
  They all made compromises.
  1. Clemenceau wanted harsh peace: a broken-up Germany and an
  independent Rhineland and disarmed German along with compensation.
  He got limited compensation and military restrictions, a unified Germany
  and demilitarized Rhineland. He felt this was not harsh enough, didn’t get
  independent Rhineland or control of Saarland,
  2. Wilson wanted a just peace based on 14 points: he did not want
  Germany blamed (article 231 & reparations) in TOV but they were. He
  successfully established self- determination in Eastern Europe and
  League of the Nations. Demilitarization was not achieved except by force
  in Germany and TOV/LON ultimately not ratified.
  3. Britain wanted a compromise peace; was happy that German armed
  and naval forces were restricted, Lloyd received hero’s welcome, although
  the spread of communism still worrying him. There were disagreements
  over self-determination & ‘access to sea’ clause, the harshness of the
  treaty and LON (Wilson wanted world parliament, Lloyd wanted to get
  together in emergencies only.) Clemenceau resented Wilson’s generosity,
  wanted strong League with army.
  4. Clemenceau felt that Britain was happy to treat Germany fairly in Europe
  which threatened France yet were less happy to treat them fairly when it
  

  came to concessions of colonies and military which threatened Britain.

  The Other WW 1 Peace Treaties
  While the Treaty of Versailles often receives the most focus in terms of the post-
  WW1 peace treaties, there were another four treaties that dealt with Germany’s
  allies. These changed the shape of Europe and the Middle East, and their effect
  still resonates strongly today.
  
  The Treaty of St Germain in 1919.
  The first of these settlements to be signed was the Treaty of St Germain in 1919.
  Dealing with Austria, the treaty formally broke up the Habsburg Empire and
  dramatically changed the shape of central and Eastern Europe. Partly as a result
  of separating Austria from Hungary, the Treaty of St Germain reduced Austria to
  just 25% of its pre-war land surface and turned it into a land-locked state. The
  wealthy industrial regions of Bohemia and Moravia were lost to the new state
  of Czechoslovakia while Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina were joined to form
  the new Yugoslavia. In the north, Poland gained the region of Galicia while the
  western areas of South Tyrol, Trentino and Istria were ceded to Italy.
  
  In terms of the military, the Austrian armed forces were limited to 30,000 soldiers.
  Union with Germany – Anschluss – was expressly forbidden, and Austria was
  also forced to pay reparations (although in reality no money was ever actually
  

  paid).

  Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria, 1919. Because it was a minor player in the war,
  gained territory from Turkey It was forced to hand its Aegean coastline to Greece,
  while other territory was given to the newly-formed Yugoslavia. Approximately
  300,000 Bulgarians therefore found themselves in new countries. Bulgaria was
  

  also required to reduce its army to 20,000 men and pay reparations.

  Treaty of Trianon with Hungary, 1920
  The following year Austria’s neighbour Hungary also had to recognise the
  independence of the new states of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and
  Hungary in the Treaty of Trianon. Hungary lost Slovakia, Ruthenia and Bratislava to
  Czechoslovakia while Croatia and Slovenia joined the newly-formed Yugoslavia.
  One of the most devastating territorial losses was that of Transylvania, which
  was given to Romania along part of the Banat. Similarly to Austria, Hungary was
  

  forced to pay reparations while its military was reduced to 35,000 men.

  Treaty of Sevres with Ottoman Empire, 1920:
  Arguably the most complicated settlement was the Treaty of Sèvres that was
  signed with Turkey in 1920. Negation on territorial terms led by Mustafa Kemal
  

  which led to war between Greeks and Turks - unsuccessful treaty, Arabs

  were promised Arab state for siding with Britain & France to defeat Germany,
  Palestine problem till date. The Ottoman Empire was already ‘the sick man of
  Europe’, and Britain, France and Italy sought to benefit from its disintegration.
  They each wished to use the treaty to benefit their own national interests in the
  region, but the necessary compromise resulted in a final treaty that was seen
  as both harsh and humiliating. Italy felt justified in demanding Turkish territory
  in return for joining with the Entente powers, while Britain hoped to expand its
  control over the merging oilfields in Iraq and Iran. President Wilson of the USA,
  

  meanwhile, hoped for Armenian independence.

  The final terms of the treaty stated that Turkey was required to abandon all
  its claims all claims to its Arab and North African territory and, although
  Constantinople remained Turkish, it lost control of large areas of its previous
  empire. Greece gained Eastern Thrace and the area around the Dardanelles
  as well as being allowed to occupy and administer Smyrna for five years.
  Armenia and Kurdistan were to become independent states while Palestine,
  Iraq, Transjordan and Cyprus became British mandates. Syria was put under the
  

  control of France. Turkey’s finances, meanwhile, were put under Allied control.

  The Turkish ruler, Sultan Muhammad VI, was ready to accept the treaty but it
  was met with significant opposition by the Turkish people who were offended
  by the loss of the empire to the same foreign forces that were now controlling
  areas their sovereign country. The treaty was also rejected by the emerging
  nationalist movement under Mustapha Kemal Pasha who established a new
  National Assembly at Ankara. The Turkish War of Independence soon followed,
  which saw the nationalists force Greece out of Smyrna and negotiate both a
  French withdrawal from Turkish territory and a compromise agreement with
  

  Britain.

  Rather than becoming an independent state, Armenia opted to join the Soviet
  Union after years of fighting against Turkey. The war in Armenia is a highly
  contentious period of history, with Turkey fiercely rejecting claims by Armenians
  and many historians of forced movement and mass killing that amounted to
  

  genocide.

  An armistice was eventually agreed between Turkey and its enemies in 1922,
  and this was followed by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 which recognised
  Smyrna, Anatolia and Thrace as Turkish territory. This replaced the Treaty of
  

  Sèvres, and essentially established the modern Turkey that we know today.

  Application activity 4.2.1

  Examine the merits and demerits of the Versailles peace treaty of 1919.
  

  4.2.2. League of Nations
  

  Learning activity 4.2.2
  

  Observe the following symbol and use internet, textbooks, and media to
  

  answer the questions that follow:

  
  

  1) What do you understand by the above organisation?
  2) Identify the objectives, achievements and failures of the organisation
  

       shown by the symbol above.

  The League of Nations was an international peace keeping body formed after
  the first World War. It formally came into existence on January 10, 1920. It
  began with 42 member states but the number increased to 55 by 1926 when
  Germany was admitted. The Headquarters of the League of Nations were
  located in Geneva, Switzerland a neutral State. When the League of Nations
  was set up, point No.14 of the Woodrow Wilson statement was carried out, and
  for the first time in human history an international organisation was deliberately
  

  created to maintain peace and security in the world.

  The League of Nations was an integral part of the Treaty of Versailles. It is often
  spoken of as being the brainchild of the US President W. Wilson. However,
  although Wilson was certainly a great supporter of the idea of an international
  organisation for peace, the League was the result of a coming together of similar
  

  suggestions made during the first World War by a number of world statesmen.

  Organs/structures of League of Nations

  
  

  The main organs of the League of Nations were the General Assembly; its
  main function was to decide general policy; the Council, its main task was
  to deal with specific political disputes as they arose; the Permanent Court
  of International Justice; its main task was to deal with legal disputes
  between states; the Secretariat, had to look after all the paperwork, preparing
  agendas, and writing resolutions and reports related to the decisions of the
  League; Commissions and Committees were in charge of dealing with
  specific problems. The main commissions were those which handled the
  

  mandates, military affairs and disarmament.

  Aims of League of Nations
  • Maintain peace through collective security.
  • Encourage international co-operation.
  • Solve economic and social problems.
  • Defend and promote territorial integrity and sovereignty of member
     nations against aggression of any kind.
  • Limit production of the disastrous military weapons.
  • Implement the terms and conditions of the 1919 Versailles Peace
     settlement.
  • Preserve its achievements.
  • Promote diplomacy in settling disputes since the first World War was
      partly caused by lack of international organization and collapse of
      international diplomacy (the congress system).
  • Suppress Sea pirates who were a threat to international trade on big
      waters like the Mediterranean Sea, black sea and the Pacific Ocean.
  • Control drug trafficking and consumption of dangerous drugs like
      marijuana, cocaine and opium.
  • Improve the conditions of workers and stop exploitation of workers by
      employers.
  • Work out a plan for repatriating and resettling refugees or people
      displaced by the first World war.
  
  Achievements of League of Nations
  a) The League of Nations achieved success in dealing with matters of human
        welfare, for example, the international Labour organization (ILO) was
        formed to improve general conditions of workers.
  b) The League of Nations recorded success in looking after refugees.
  c) League of Nations recorded success in health organization which was
       concerned with the control of diseases where it helped in reporting
       epidemic diseases, their spread and finding ways of controlling them. It
       also organized campaigns against Malaria, leprosy, rabies and syphilis.
  d) The League of Nations recorded success in maintaining peace by solving
       political conflicts that involved smaller powers. For example, in 1921, the
       League of Nations solved the conflict between Sweden and Finland about
      an Island and League of Nations ruled that the Island belonged to Finland.
  e) The League of Nations monitored and controlled mandated states by
      sending questionnaires to mandates states asking them how they are
      controlled by the new colonial masters.
  f) The League of Nations made an achievement in disarming Germany which
      helped in reducing Germany’s supremacy.
  g) The League of Nations effectively solved the problem of slavery and Drug
      trafficking by setting up anti-slavery commission.
  h) The financial commission of League of Nations succeeded in negotiating
      for loans for the construction of the economy of Austria after World War I.
  i) The League of Nations solved the international disputes through the
      international court of justice.
  j) It maintained international peace for about 20 years.
  k) It also reconciled defeated Germany with the victorious powers because
      Germany was also admitted in League of Nations in 1926.
  l) It promoted human rights. It advocated for emancipation of women. It
      protected rights of refuges.
  

  Failures of League of Nations
  a) The League of Nations failed to disarm victorious powers which forced
       Hitler to revive Germany’s militarism, thus leading to World War II.
  b) The League of Nations failed to form a joint international army that would
       be used in checking the activities of dictators.
  c) It failed to check and control the activities of Dictators: Adolph Hitler of
       Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy which led to World War II.
  d) It failed to handle conflicts between Japan and China or Italy and Ethiopia.
  e) League of Nations failed to win the membership of USA whose military
       and economic strength would have helped the League of Nations in
       controlling the dictators.
  f) It failed to put in place precautions against membership. Countries were
       free to enter and withdraw without any penalty and in 1935 many countries
  

       had withdrawn, which made the League of Nations very weak.

  Application activity 4.2.2
  

  1. Account for the formation of League of Nations by 1920.
  

  2. Assess the achievements of the League of Nations in the inter-war
  

       period.

  4.2.3. World economic depression
  

  Learning activity 4.2.3
  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on
  world’s great economic depression and explain its causes and effects.
  
  

  The economic depression was a general economic decline in economic
  activities after World War I. It started in 1929-1935. It was characterized by
  unemployment, low income, low aggregate demand (low purchasing power),
  low prices, low investment and low economic activities. Economic depression
  began in the Canadian agriculture sector and by 1929 it had spread to other
  parts of Europe and the world at large.
  
  Economic depression begun on Thursday, 24th October 1929, black Thursday.
  Many people who had saved their money in banks had to go and withdraw their
  savings. This was followed by the closure of many financial institutions leading
  to unemployment, closure of factories, and low demand for available goods. The
  prices fell dramatically.
  

  
  

  The beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market crash of 1929

  

  Source: https:i.pinmg.com/563x/06/2f9ca21d063265aad81cd8do3.jpg.

  The causes of the Great World Economic Depression
  The causes of the great World economic depression of 1929-1933 were many
  and none of them can stand alone in isolation of other factors to explain this
  phenomenon but a combination of many factors as seen below.
  • Negative impacts of the first World war
  – The war destroyed industries, farms, ships, trading centers and factories
      which resulted into a low production.
  – The war also brought the problem of debts in which USA demanded
      high interest rates from European powers.
  – The war led to the collapse of international relations and trade.
  – More to this the war indemnity charged on defeated powers led to
  

      economic.

  All these consequences had a negative effect on production and the ability to
  purchase goods, hence leading to the economic depression.
  • Domestic overproduction
  Because of high profits and mechanization, American industries produced many
  goods which could not be absorbed by domestic markets.
  – Overproduction forced many industries to close down and workers
        were sent out.
  – The problem of unemployment increased.
  – The prices of agricultural and industrial products became low.
  – The producers and manufacturers lacked the finances to produce
  

       goods. All these led to economic depression.

  • The American policy of economic nationalization and isolation
  (trade protection)
  After the World War I, USA closed her markets from other European exporters
  so as to protect her industries. In response, other countries also protected their
  markets from external exporters. This led to the collapse of international trade
  

  and the accumulation of unsold surplus. Hence the world economies collapsed.

  • The negative economic implications of the Versailles treaty
  

  This forced Germany and her allies to pay a heavy war indemnity, which affected
  their economies.
  – Defeated countries lost their colonies
  – Defeated powers were not allowed to trade with victorious powers.
  

  Hence the collapse of international trade and the collapse of economy.

  • The announcement of effects of the economic depression
  The newspapers, radio stations, politicians and opinion leaders had announced
  the economic depression. This forced various businessmen to withdraw their
  

  money from banks and hence the fall of other economic activities.

  • Poor distribution of income
  Poor distribution of income between the employers and the workers, major
  consumers, was reduced at 80% while the profits of industries rose by 72%. This
  led to economic depression because the workers were losing their purchasing
  

  power.

  • The failure of League of Nations to solve problems
  It failed to promote economic cooperation and international trade. It failed to
  suppress protectionism policy. It failed to prevent USA from exploiting her debtors
  by paying debts using gold. It also failed to solve problems of unemployment,
  

  inflation, overproduction which led to economic depression.

  • Reduction in the efficiency of labour
  The first World War reduced the efficiency of labour because most of the
  strongest, experienced and skilled manpower was either killed or disabled by
  

  the war. This led to low production and general collapse of economic activities.

  • The rise of political instability in Europe
  These are revolutions, assassinations, riots, demonstrations and conflicts
  between communism and capitalism, the rise of Nazism and Fascism, etc. Such
  

  instability paralyzed economic activities and led to economic depression.

  • The increasing population with limited welfare services
  The population increased after World War I but the economy remained
  underdeveloped. As result, there was unemployment leading to financial
  shortages and hence the collapse of purchasing power, industries closed
  down which led to economic depression.
  
  • The rise/emergence of weak and young states
  These could not support themselves financially and powerful countries like USA
  spent large sums of money to the new countries like Poland and Yugoslavia. The
  money given to the new countries reduced the production capacity of donor
  countries.
  
  • The general decline in agricultural activities
  After World War I there was a great rural-urban migration (USA and UK) and
  this affected agricultural productivity, thus affecting negatively agro-based
  industries.
  
  • The gold standard system
  This was operating in world economies by 1929 also caused the depression.
  This is because each country was supposed to have a total amount of money in
  circulation equivalent to total value of gold in her reserves. This limited money
  supply for some countries which had little gold which reduced demand leading
  to a depression.
  Measures to overcome the World Economic Depression
  The USA and other European countries set the following strategies to resolve
  the crisis:
  • Germany on her part attempted to solve the economic depression by
  violating the 1919 Versailles Peace treaty terms when she stopped
  paying the war indemnity of around 6.6 billion pounds and also started
  serious industrialization thus solving the economic depression in
  Germany.
  • The USA fought the economic depression by using the New Deal
  Program introduced by the new US President Franklin Delano
  Roosevelt in 1932. By this program, there were new laws regulating
  the stock market and protecting bank depositors’ savings, jobs creation
  programmes for the unemployed like Tennessee Valley Authority
  (TVA), construction of schools, hospitals etc. The USA also set up a
  social security system and depreciated the value of her dollar so as to
  increase the purchasing power of the Americans. The New Deal was
  largely inspired by some economists such as John Maynard Keynes
  who introduced an economic theory popularly known as Keynesian
  theory of unemployment after analysing the causes of the Economic
  

  depression.

  • The gold standard system was stopped since played a role in the
     outbreak of the World Economic Depression from 1929 up to 1935.
  • A World Economic Conference was held at Geneva in 1933 in
      Switzerland and was attended by 66 countries that worked out different
      solutions to end the Economic Depression such as to remove obstacles
      to free trade and implement a uniform tax on imports and exports.
  • World powers attempted to solve the economic depression by using
     aggressive policy where they invaded weak states so as to solve the
     problem of lack of raw materials and markets for their goods. For
     instance, in 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia, in 1936 Germany invaded
     Czechoslovakia and in 1939 invaded Poland.
  • Unemployment relief schemes were adopted by various countries
     which among others included United States of America, Britain and
     France to benefit the unemployed citizens above 18 years.
  • European powers formed regional economic integration for example,
     the European Economic Community (EEC) which promoted interstate
     trade in the region, hence solving the depression.
  • Socio-economic reforms were also used to solve the depression. This
     was through modernization of agriculture and industrialization and
     formation of trade unions which fought for the rights of workers.
  Effects of the World Economic Depression
  The effects of the World Economic Depression are as follows:
  • The economic depression led to widespread unemployment.
  • It led to the closure of industries: factories were producing surplus
      products yet prices and demand were very low. This subjected
      industrialist to heavy losses and consequently they closed down
     factories.
  • The economic depression led to the rise of dictators in Europe like
     Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy and General Franco
     in Spain.
  • It made powerful countries of the World to start attacking weak powers
      as way of solving their economic problems. For example, Japan on
      China and Italy on Ethiopia.
  

  • Economic depression led to formation of European Economic
  

     Community (ECC) as a way of promoting trade among European
     countries.
  

  • It led to the failure of League of Nations member’s states had no money
  

      to finance its activities.
  

  • It led to the breakdown of international relationship where European
  

      countries hated America because of the isolation policy.
  

  • The gold standard system was abandoned up to the present. This is
  

      because this system limited countries with little gold to have enough
  

      money in circulation which had contributed to the economic depression.
  

  • It led to World War II because of the rise of dictators, weakening the
  

       League of Nations and making countries aggressive.

  Application activity 4.2.3
  

  1. Discuss the causes and consequences of the world economic
  

  depression of 1929-1935.

  4.2.4. The totalitarian regimes in Europe
  

  This is a system where the government allows the only one political party of
  

  the government in power and does not allow parties to coexist. This system
  

  also calls for complete obedience. It is basically characterized by autocracy,
  

  despotism and favoritism of those in power like the Fascist Regime in Italy and
  

  Nazism Regime in Germany.

  4.2.4.1. Fascism
  

  Learning activity 4.2.4.1
  

  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on the
  

  rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe and explain the factors for the rise and
  

  downfall of Fascism.

  Background of Fascism and Mussolini
  Fascism: The world fascism is derived from Latin world “fasces” or bundle
  of rods tied around the axe which was the magistrate’s emblem of power in
  

  ancient Rome.

  In Italy, Fascist group presented themselves as the only symbol of authority and
  strength for the purpose of making Italy gain her place and pride in Europe and to
  fight socialism and communism. It was a style of politics that was characterized
  by personal dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, Political intolerance, party rule,
  

  violence and terror.

  Mussolini was born in Romagna in1883. His father Alessandro Mussolini was a blacksmith
  and a socialist, while his mother Rosa Mussolini Maltoni, a devoutly Catholic school teacher. Owing
  to his father’s political leanings, Mussolini was named Benito after Mexican Reformist President
  Benito Juárez, while his middle names Andrea and Amilcare were from Italian socialists Andrea Costa
  and Amilcare Cipriani. Benito was the eldest of his parents’ three children. His siblings Arnaldo and
  

  Edvige followed.

  

      Benito Mussolini

  At the age of 9, Mussolini began his education and graduated as a teacher
  with a diploma in education in 1907. He later abandoned his education career
  and joined journalism as a newspaper editor. Mussolini had fought for Italy
  in the first World War and was wounded during the war, but by its end he
  formed a political movement called the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (Italian
  Combat Leagues or Squard), in March 1919 at Milan City in Italy whose
  members came to be known as the Fascists. It was composed of frustrated
  jobless youth, industrial capitalists and the middle class.
  
  In 1922, Italy witnessed a successful fascist revolution that led to the rise of
  Mussolini, supported by the Black shirts, army and the guards. On October
  28th, 1922 he organised a March to Rome and when King Victor Emmanuel
  II was convinced by the Parliament to suppress the marchers, he refused and
  then, the Cabinet under Prime Minister Luigi Facta resigned without firing a
  shot. The King Victor then handed over power to Mussolini by inviting him to
  form a new government on October 28, 1922 and the Fascist Party got power
  in Italy. Mussolini was supported by the military, the business class, and the
  

  liberal right wing.

  Characteristics (Principles of Fascism)
  • Anti-liberalism: The Fascist members were against the principles
     of French revolution (equality, liberty, human rights). They suggested
     authoritative regime.
  • Anti-communism: Fascists were enemies of communism and
     socialist because these systems promoted equality while for fascists,
     social inequality is a natural fact that nobody can suppress.
  

  • Extreme nationalism: That is an emphasis on rebirth of nation after
  

     a period of decline. They promoted prestige of the country by the war
     and conquest. Hence military regime.
  • One party state: there was no room for democracy.
  • A totalitarian system of government: This was where the fascist
     was to control everything in Italy.
  • Economic self-efficiency: The government needs to direct the
      economy of the nation owning factories and land.
  • Military strength and violence: Mussolini said “peace is absurd
      fascism does not believe in it”. They get power by force and they were
      to use violence to silence opponents.
  • Tireless propaganda (unremitting): fascist slogan “believe, obey,
  

      fight”.

  Factors for the rise of Mussolini (Fascism) to power in Italy by 1922
  Mussolini rose to power on 28^th October 1922 after taking over Victor Emmanuel
  III the legitimate king. He was favored by the following factors.
  • The negative effect of World War I: The impact of the first World
     War aided fascism and Benito Mussolini to power. The war had
     negative consequences like loss of lives over 600,000 Italians both
     civilians and soldiers. Mussolini associated the democratic government
     of Victor Emmanuel III with such losses and Mussolini decampaigned it
     as weak and incompetent of handling the Italian affairs. This paralysed
     the democratic government and undermined its popularity in favour of
     facism and Mussolin. Hence rising up of Mussolini and fascism.
  • Weakness of Victor Emmanuel III’s democratic government:
     The government failed to handle crucial socio-economic problems
     like inflation, unemployment, poverty, high crime rate and bloodshed.
     Victory Emmanuel failed to promote unity and harmony. His government
     ignored violence with false hope that the opposition would crash,
     weaken, and destroy themselves. This gave Mussolini a chance to
     exploit such negligence and violence to weaken other rival political
     groups and undermine democratic government. This led to the rise of
     Fascism.
  • The unfair Versailles treaty on Italy: It cultivated a favourable ground
     for the rise of Mussolini to power. Italy was promised territorial rewards
     which were not fully implemented and Italy was poorly compensated.
  • Role of the fascist terrorist squad: Mussolini used a group of
     hooligans to create chaos in Italy so as to get a reason for blaming
     the government of Victor Emmanuel III. He was therefore supported by
     most Italians.
  

  • His personal talent: Mussolini was a gifted speaker whose speeches
  

     were enjoyed by the Italians. During his public speeches, he spread the
  

     fascist manifesto to the Italians convinced them to support him against
     the government of Victor Emmanuel III.
  

  • Influence of press: Newspapers like Papolo d’Italia campaigned for
  

      Fascist and made Mussolini popular for Italians. It was also used to
  

      spread the Fascist propaganda as well as de-campaigning against the
  

      then government.
  

  • Political and democratic reforms in Italy: From 1900, Italy allowed
  

     different political parties and people to participate in politics. This
  

     opened the gates for Mussolini and Fascism to join political struggles.
  

  • Disunity among political parties: in Italy also provided opportunity
  

     for fascism to rise to power with Benito Mussolini. Such political parties
  

     had different ideologies that facilitated room for a united fascist party
  

     to become popular.
  

  • The July 31st 1922 strikes: The fascist was instrumental in suppressing
  

     the general strikes organized by the socialists. This increased the
  

     popularity of the fascism hence rising to power.
  

  • The weakness of the League of Nations: This failed to check the
  

     rise of the new aggressors like Mussolini.
  

  • The prevailing social and economic problems: for example,
  

     declining industries, inflation, mass unemployment, low wages,
  

     starvation, poverty, foreign debts, and collapse of agriculture. All these
  

     led to his rise because Mussolini also promised to solve these problems.

  How did Mussolini consolidate himself to power?
  • He abolished other political parties and established a single party
     government in Italy. This removed opposition parties from the parliament.
  • He carried out public works. Roads, bridges and health centers were
     established or innovated. Most Italians therefore supported his rule
     because of the hardworking spirit.
  • He made the Catholicism a state religion and declared Vatican an
     independent state under the Pope. He was therefore supported by
     most Catholics. Mussolini achieved this through the Lateran treaty
     which he signed with Pope Pius XI in 1929.
  • Strict censorship of press. His government monitored all newspapers
     before their circulation and opposition journalists were usually forced
     into exile to Lipari Island in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • He strengthened dictatorship by removing constitutional check on his
     rule.
  • He used the Fascist propaganda of extreme nationalism to change
      people’s minds and thinking or opinion against his rule.
  

  • He used economic reforms such as industrialization, modernization of
  

      agriculture, supply of hydro-electric power and modernization of towns
      to win support of the majority Italians.
  • He abolished democratic constitutional of Italy. He dismissed all officials
      who had been elected democratically in Rome like mayors, town clerks
      and town councils.
  • He organized and strengthened the Italian army and police which
  

      ensured peace and fought all those who opposed his rule.

  Different factors that led to Mussolini’s downfall:
  • Mussolini established the Fascist state in Italy based on
     dictatorship and leadership by decree: This inflicted a lot of
     suffering of the Italian masses. He denied Italians their democratic rights.
     Leadership through elections came to an end with his coming to power
     and referendum was introduced in policy making and representative.
  • He made Fascism the supreme and only political system:
     i.e. political pluralism was suffocated and in 1925, party system was
     abolished. This was brought by repressive measures on communist
     supporters many of whom were imprisoned.
  • Mussolini denied the Italian people all sorts of freedom: these
     included the censorship of the press, no freedom of speech, association
     and worship among others. Injustice was widespread and because of
     this the majority of the Italians were living like prisoners in their country;
  • Mussolini failed to control the malpractices within the
     government: there was corruption and embezzlement of government
     funds. By 1930, the Italian economy had deteriorated by all standards;
  • During his period of administration, leadership discrimination was
      rampant in all sectors of the society. Even the social services were not
      extended to the poor Italians in the rural areas;
  • He promoted the feeling of anti–Semitism: the negative attitude,
     hatred and segregation against the Jews. The union between Mussolini
     and Hitler and their ideology were hated throughout Europe and this
     forced European communities to unite and fight against them and
     eradicate their ideologies of Nazism and Fascism.
  • Mussolini followed aggressive policies: when he involved Italians
     in hostilities and military confrontation with other Europeans leading to
     the outbreak of the Second World War. He was therefore responsible
  

     for the disastrous war between 1939 and 1945.

  Application activity 4.2.4.1
  1. Identify the rise of Fascism in Italy.
  2. Examine the factors for the decline of Mussolini’s fascist regime in
  

      Italy

  4.2.4.2. Nazism
  

  Learning activity 4.2.4.2
  

  Use internet, textbooks, maps, photographs and media to research on the
  

  rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe and explain factors for the rise and
  

  downfall of Nazism.

  Adolf Hitler
  

  Adolph Hitler was born on April, 20th 1889 in the Austro-German border town of Brounaal. His father
  

  Alois Hitler was a minor customs oyears but was released after only 6 months. While in prison, Hitler wrote his
  book “Main Kampf” (my struggle) which became the bible of the Nazis. This
  

  new bride, Eva Braun, joined him in suicide.fficial in Austria. In 1902 his father died and in 1907 his mother also
  died. Hitler did not get proper education on account of his obscure background and being a total orphan.
  
  
                         Adolf Hitler
  Hitler got his early education in Linz town academy; however, he failed to get
  a certificate (1907). His ambition was to become a fine artist but this was
  frustrated when he failed to join the Vienna as a sign painter, causal labourer
  of odd jobs and a street beggar. This is what shaped Hitler’s personality of
  poor interpersonal relationship, intolerance and hatred of the bourgeoisie, the
  

  royalists, the socialists, the Republicans and the Jews.

  In May 1913, Hitler went to live in Munich a city in Germany. In 1914, Hitler
  joined the Germany’s army and fought in World War I. at the end of the war;
  he had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal and awarded the “Iron cross” for
  his bravery. Towards the end of the war, Hitler was badly wounded and was
  hospitalized when the armistice was being signed. He was discharged and
  

  returned to Munich where he lived for some time on occasional work.

  Hitler was very disappointed with the defeat and humiliation of German in the
  first World War. His views were that Germany was not defeated due to her
  military weakness but was “stabbed in the back” (betrayed) by its leader Emperor
  Kaiser William II and traitors like Jews, Socialists, Pacifists, Democrats, etc.
  this experience haunted him for long time as he later wrote: ‘the more I tried to
  glean some definite information of the terrible events that happened,
  

  the more my head become a fire with rage and shame.’

  Hitler later joined the National German workers socialist party which was later
  renamed Nazi. He distinguished himself as a true patriot and his oratory and
  demagogic skills earned him the leadership of the party. In 1924, Hitler attempted
  

  a futile coup against the Weimar Republic for which he was imprisoned for five

  years but was released after only 6 months. While in prison, Hitler wrote his
  book “Main Kampf” (my struggle) which became the bible of the Nazis. This
  made him and the party more popular. By 1933, Hitler and Nazism were very
  popular amongst the Germans. In the elections of March 1933 the Nazi won
  288 seats in the parliament. This forced president Hindenburg to appoint Hitler
  as a chancellor that became a platform for his rise to power when Hindenburg
  died in August 1934.once in Power, He eliminated all opposition and launched
  an ambitious program of world domination and elimination of the Jews. His rule
  lasted 12 years and he died a broken and defeated man. Several attempts were
  made on Hitler’s life during the war, but none was successful. As the war defied
  his orders, he killed himself on 30^th April, 1945. His long term mistress and a
  

  new bride, Eva Braun, joined him in suicide.

  

  Dust jacket of 1926–1928 edition Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf

  The factors for the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism to power
  • The first World War led to the rise of Nazism: It left Germany in
     the state of economic decline and dictatorship was looked at as the
     only solution to Germany’s problems. Hence the rise of Hitler to power.
  • Unpopularity of the Weimer republic: It accepted the unrealistic
     Versailles settlement which was against the will of the Germans. This
     made the people of Germany to admire a leader like Hitler who was
     courageous to strongly oppose the unfair terms of the Versailles treaty.
  • His personal character and talent: He was a courageous and
     ambitious leader and above all an eloquent speaker. His speeches
     touched on the hearts of the Germans who felt that Hitler was the
     answer to all their problems. This made him to work for his rise to power.
  • His publication: For example, my struggle (1923-1924) while in
     prison. It contained a 25-year program promising to improve the general
     conditions of German masses.
  • The death of Von Paul Hindenburg (the president of the Weimer
     republic) on 15th august 1934 also created a power vacuum for Hitler
     to rise to power moreover he was the chancellor from 1933.
  • The great economic depression: It created a desperate situation
     of poverty, unemployment and inflation and Hitler was looked at as the
     only liberator.
  • Role of the Nazi storm troopers: The Storm Troopers, also known
     as Sturmabteilung, or “Brown Shirts,” refer the Nazi Party militia that
     helped Adolf Hitler rise to power in Germany. Created in 1922, and
     organised by Hitler’s great follower captain Ernest Roehm. The Storm
     trooper was extremely antisemitic and antidemocratic in its military
     activities. Its members were mainly lower-middle class Germans who
     had lost their jobs due to the country’s economic problems. The Storm
     troopers gave them something to be part of and proud of. They engaged
     in street fights with their political enemies, practiced pseudo-military
     exercises, and terrorized Germany. Ernst Rohm became the Supreme
     Commander of the Storm troopers in 1924. They influenced people to
  

     vote for Hitler.

  

  Source: https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Stormtroopers-Nazis-Brownshirts-1922/
  

                                                                     dp/1848324251

  • Role of the Nazi party: Most Germans believed that the Nazi party
     would solve the problems of the middle class such as unemployment
     and poor working conditions. They therefore supported the Nazi party
     and Hitler.
  • The Germany traditional history of loving dictators: Germany
     was characterized by dictatorial rule since her unification struggle such
     as Bismarck, Von Moltek, Von Roon and Kaiser William influenced
      people to believe that dictators can rule the state.
  • The unrealistic Versailles treaty: Hitler condemned the Versailles
     as unpopular and influenced the Germanys to stop paying the war
     penalty of 6.5 billion pound. He was therefore judged as a true Germany
     nationalist.
  • The growth and spread of communism in Germany: the success
      of 1917 Russian revolution led to the establishment of communist
      government in Russia. The spread of communism threatened the
      property owners in Germany. However, after the formation of Nazi party
  

     in 1920, Hitler promised to fight communism and protect capitalists.

  How did Hitler consolidate himself to power?
  

  Hitler came to power in 1934 after the death of President Hindenburg. When he
  

  came to power, he used the following measures to strengthen himself to power.
  

  • Dictatorship: as a dictator, Hitler: He made law which outlawed other
  

    parties. He only recognized Nazism. He limited the power of parliament.
  

    He outlawed the constitution. He denied the people, the freedom of
  

    association and press.
  

  • He banned all political parties and the Nazi party remained the only
  

    legal party in Germany.
  

  • He used suppressive policies to eliminate his political enemies that are
  

    by setting up special prisons, concentration camps to jail those with
  

    anti-Nazi ideas.
  

  • Hitler suppressed public press broadcasting, literature, drama, music,
  

    painting, public films and publications reflecting Hitler’s tastes. All
  

    books which had anti-Nazi ideas were burnt in huge fire in Berlin in
  

    1935.
  

  • The clergymen were warned to sign an oath promising never to teach
  

    materials that were against Nazi.
  

  • The professional teachers had to sign an oath promising never to teach
  

     materials that were against Nazi party.
  

  • Hitler built a strong army that was used against internal and external
    enemies.
  • Hitler reduced the pre-1933 economic problems which earned him
    more support from Germans and no one would think of opposing
     Adolph Hitler.
  • Hitler modernized agriculture, set new industries, thus solving
     unemployment which attracted support to Adolph Hitler.
  • Hitler captivated Germans youth where parents had to take their
      children to public schools where they had to register and joined Hitler’s
      young group association and were brought up according to Hitler’s
      doctrine and the young generation was completely royal to Nazism.
  • Hitler used Nepotism to consolidate his power, he employed his close
     relatives and friends to carry out administration on his behalf.
  • Hitler used a strict spy network and a secret police to keep him informed
      of the events in his empire (suspects were jailed, killed or exiled).
  • Hitler controlled education to his favour: he did this by encouraging
     the teaching of Nazi principles and ideas in public schools. Hitler also
      rewrote school textbooks to include Nazi ideas.
  • Hitler promoted strict control of the church: he controlled both Catholic
      Church and the protestant. For example, he signed an agreement with
       the pope in which the pope was to appoint bishops after consulting
      Hitler. He also withdrew the church from controlling politics and
      education.
  • Hitler used Racism to maintain his power in Germany. For example, he
      discriminated the Jews and the Slavs. He banned intermarriage between
      Germans, Jews and Slavs. Jews were dismissed from political offices,
      arrested and killed Jews in large numbers: The Jews were accused of
      collaborating with the big powers to defeat Germany in World War I.
  • Hitler introduced the people’s courts to try suspects charged with
      treason.
  • He promoted strict control of workers.
  
  The factors for the downfall of Nazism and Adolf Hitler
  • Death of his best friend Benito Mussolini on April 28, 1945 and the
      downfall of Fascist Party damaged Hitler’s morale and forced him to
      commit suicide on April 30, 1945.
  • The great decline in the economy of Germany due to bombardment of
      her factories and industries by allied forces of Britain, France and USA
      among others harmed Hitler’s popularity.
  • Dictatorship which was coupled with excessive oppression like banning
     other political parties, harassing and killing of his German opponents
  

     who among others included Hans Ramshorn a member of the Reichstag.

  In 1934, as part of the Night of the Long Knives, Ernst Julius Röhm was
  

  executed on Hitler’s orders as a potential rival among others.

  

                               Ernst Julius Röhm
  

  Source: https://www.fold3.com/page/286091759-night-of-the-long-knives/stories

  • The size and heterogeneous nature of the German Empire by 1939,
     whereby it included the Germans, the Austrians, the Poles, the Dutch
     and the Czechoslovakians and by the time Adolf Hitler failed to manage
     to control this wide size. It was necessary for Hitler to commit suicide
     before the various German senior officers did since they attempted to
    do so several times.
  • Withdraw of Germany from the League of Nations which put Germany
     under isolation from world affairs. This made Germany to be considered
     as an enemy of other European countries which later formed an alliance
     against Germany.
  • Betray of strong supporters of Nazism. For example, Hammira the
     commander of the Schultz Staffel crossed and surrendered to the allies
     on 28^th April 1945. This weakened Hitler since all his war plans were
  

     exposed to the allies hence his downfall

  The formation of the allied powers of Britain, France and Russian against the
  Axis powers of Rome Tokyo-Berlin Axis meant decline of the Nazi party as it
  was the case with World War I, the alliance system played a significant role in
  

  the defeat and downfall of Adolf Hitler by 1945.

  Application activity 4.2.4.2
  

  1. Explain the factors for the rise of Nazism and Adolf Hitler in Germany
  

  2. Account for the downfall of Adolf Hitler in Germany.

  Skills Lab
  

  Use a combination of knowledge, skills, attitude and values acquired
  

  throughout this unit and create a poster against wars and any other form of
  

  conflict in the world. Present your poster to the class.

  End unit assessment
  1. The outbreak of the First World War was inevitable by 1914. Discuss.
  2. Examine the merits and the demerits of the Versailles peace treaty
       of 1919.
  3. Account for the formation of the League of Nations by 1920.
  4. Examine the significance/consequences of the world Economic
      depression of 1929-1935.
  5. To what extent was Mussolini’s ability responsible for the rise of
       Fascism in Italy?
  

  6. Why did Hitler and Nazism collapse in 1945?

  
  

• UNIT 5 THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND ITS EFFECTS

  Key Unit competence

  The student-teacher should be able to examine the causes and the effects
  

  of Second World War.

  Introductory activity
     The Second World War witnessed intensification of military conflicts all
     over the World and left disastrous effects. Do research, using internet and
     reading range of written materials to:
  1. Describe the causes and the effects of the Second World War.
  2. Explain the aims, achievements and failures of United Nations
  

      organization.

  5.1 Causes and consequences of Second World War
  

  Learning activity 5.1
  

  Read textbooks, internet and other history books to find out the causes and
  

  effects of the Second World War.

  The Second World War was the war fought between the axis powers, that is,
  Italy, Germany and Japan (Berlin- Rome-Tokyo axis powers) against the allied
  powers, that is Britain, France, Russia and USA. It was the most destructive
  war that mankind had ever experienced and it started with Germany invasion of
  

  Poland on 1st .09.1939 and ended with the surrender of Japan in August 1945.

  The Second World War period witnessed intensification of military conflicts all
  

  over the World. It also witnessed the use of dangerous weapons and ended
  with weapons of mass destruction such as atomic bombs. Modern technology
  was applied during the war and it was also during this war that the World
  experienced the genocide which claimed the lives of about 6 million Jews killed
  by the Nazis under Adolf Hitler of Germany. A number of factors played a role in
  

  this most destructive war.

  5.1.1 Causes of Second World War
  It has been argued that the Versailles settlement of 1919 sowed seeds for the
  outbreak of the Second World War. It was signed in a vengeful mood on the
  part of the Allied powers against Germany, and it was unfair to Germany. The
  peace treaty was very unrealistic in its attempt to create a lasting peace which
  ploughed ground for the outbreak of war in 1939.This treaty was a kind of
  dictated peace. It was a dictated treaty on Germany which had no chance to
  negotiate.
  

  The following explain how Versailles settlement sowed the seeds of the outbreak
  of WWII:
  • It deprived Germany of every scrap of its colonies in Europe, Asia and
    Africa which caused economic hardships in Germany. This forced Hitler
     to invade Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia, hence the outbreak of
     the World War II.
  • Danzig was cut off from Germany and the country was forced to stand
     totally disarmed.
  • Allied troops were stationed in Germany, in order to enforce the
     provisions of the Treaty.
  • The Versailles treaty forced Germany to pay a heavy war indemnity
     or reparation of 6.5 billion pounds. This amount was too huge that
     Germany became weak. This forced Hitler to revenge on the powers
     that imposed the treaty on Germany. (Article 232).
  • With the article 231 of the settlement, Germany alone was held guilty
     of the war. Thus it caused hatred in the minds of the Germans and
     made Hitler to adopt an aggressive foreign policy which made World
     War II inevitable.
  • The Versailles treaty was imposed on Germany. She was forced to sign,
     she was not allowed to criticize or negotiate, and this creates a spirit of
     revenge, which prepared ground for World War II.
  • The Versailles treaty disarmed Germany unfairly. Germany’s soldiers
     were reduced from 400,000 to 100,000 men, German bases and
     weapons were destroyed yet other countries were busy rearming
     themselves. Such unfairness forced Germany to rearm and prepare for
  

     war.

  The revival of the arms race and failure of the disarmament policy
  also contributed the outbreak of the war. The victorious powers disarmed
  Germany almost to the end and themselves, never did at all. This forced Adolf
  Hitler to rearm Germany to the teeth. As a result, arms race resumed among
  European states especially Britain, Germany, France and Italy. This bred tension,
  mistrust, and fear which eventually resulted into the outbreak of the Second
  

  World War.

  The Appeasement Policy initiated by the British prime minister, Neville
  Chamberlain who argued that another war could be avoided by pleasing
  aggressive powers like Germany. The policy was based on dialogue and
  compromise as opposed to violence as a solution to axis aggression. There was
  a general feeling that the Versailles treaty was unfair. It was due to this policy that
  no military action was taken against Mussolini when invaded Ethiopia (1935)
  and on Japan when she occupied Manchuria (1931) and when Hitler invaded
  the Rhineland (1936), Austria and Czechoslovakia (1938). Britain and France
  took no step against Germany. They instead signed the Munich agreement with
  Germany in recognition of her occupation of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain
  thought that this would serve as a reconciliatory approach between Germany
  and the signatories of the Versailles Settlement. However, these inspired Hitler
  who decided to occupy the whole of Czechoslovakia. On September 1, 1939
  Germany decided to invade Poland culminating into war because Hitler had
  

  refused to withdraw from Poland as He was demanded by France and Britain.

  

                                                      Neville Chamberlain

                       Neville Chamberlain, prime minister of Britain immediately prior to World
                           War II, appeased Adolf Hitler’s aggression in Europe to keep his country
                            out of the war. Chamberlain’s efforts ultimately failed.
  

                                                  Source: Encarta Premium 2009

  Why did France and Britain use the appeasement policy?
  It was a way of avoiding war which was likely to be more devastating.
  
  Britain and France used their appeasement policy because they knew that they
  were unfair to Germany and Italy during the 1919 Versailles settlement.
  
  The League of Nations had become very weak; Chamberlain believed that the
  only way to settle disputes was by personal contact between leaders. Hence
  the use of appeasement.
  
  Economic cooperation between Germany and Britain would be good for both.
  Britain used appeasement policy because they feared that the dictators might
  ally with the communists which would be a threat to France and Britain, because
  they were capitalists.
  
  The weakening of the British economy after World War I made Britain not ready
  to be involved in other wars.
  
  World powers had learned from experience of the World War I because it was
  destructive, causing economic depression, loss of lives and destruction of
  

  industries.

  The weaknesses of the League of Nations: It failed to condemn and
  react against the aggressors of the time, hence resulting in war. The inherent
  weakness of the League of Nations inspired major powers to invade weaker
  states. For instance, Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, Johel in 1933. Japan
  even evacuated the League of Nations but no step was taken against her. Italy
  under Benito Mussolini was also encouraged to invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in
  1935. Germany under Adolf Hitler was inspired to attack Poland on September
  

  1, 1939, all this resulted into a world War between 1939 and 1945.

  The negative effects of the World Economic Depression (1929 –1935)
  forced many powers like USA, Britain and France to resort to the policy of
  protectionism in a bid to protect their domestic markets. This increased suspicion,
  mistrust, fear and tension and destroyed international relations between the
  world powers. Some powers like Germany, Japan and Italy resorted to the use
  of force against weaker as a way of securing raw materials and markets. On the
  other side when other countries were busy handling the problems of caused by
  the economic depression, Germany used the opportunity to rearm herself and
  

  became aggressive and all these generated the World War II.

  The rise of the dictators in different countries: The dictators and
  aggressors undermined world peace and led to the outbreak of the Second
  

  World War. The period between wars saw the rise of dictators such as Benito

  Mussolini in Italy in 1922, General Franco in Spain, Hirohito in Japan, Adolf
  Hitler in Germany in 1933. The dictators formed the Axis Alliance and started an
  aggressive foreign policy. The Allied Democratic Powers waged the war to stop
  the influence of dictators which created fear, panic, and hatred that exploded
  

  into war in the aftermath of German invasion of Poland.

  

                                        Benito Mussolini (left) and Adolf Hitler (middle) (Source: Google) , Hirohito
  

                                                                                        ( Right)

  The role of the press also contributed to the outbreak of World War
  II. The press exaggerated the military capacities of different powers especially
  Germany against the allied powers. This created a war atmosphere leading to
  

  World War II.

  The 1931–1939, Spanish Civil wars were also antecedents to the Second
  World War. In 1939, with the support of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini,
  General Franco overthrew the republican regime which was supported by Britain,
  Russia and France. General Franco decided to establish a fascist regime of
  Italian type. The war created enmity between allied and Axis powers, increased
  prestige for Italy and Germany and they gained full confidence that winning any
  war was obvious. This caused Hitler to attack Poland which immediately led to
  

  World War II.

  The presence of the ideological differences (Communist phobia):
  After the success of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution under Lenin and Joseph
  Stalin. Russia spread communism in Western Europe. This fear of communism
  contributed to the rise of dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, who
  promised to eradicate communism in their respective countries and were war
  

  mongers that eventually made World War II inevitable.

  The formation of the Rome-Tokyo- Berlin Axis (Military alliance) by
  1939: The aggressive alliance started with Italy and Germany in 1938, inspired
  Japan under Hirohito to join and the alliance became Rome - Tokyo - Berlin
  Axis. This conditioned the formation of the counter alliances. These alliances
  made the weaker states. For instance, Rome-Tokyo-Berlin axis inspired Hitler
  to invade Poland on September 1, 1939 sparking off the Second World War.
  One of causes of alliance systems include “living space but there are other factors
  

  vital related to resentment against western democratic countries.

  a) Germany and Italy: Rome-Berlin axis/ Mussolini said that the axis was a
     line drawn between Rome and Berlin, around which “all Europeans states
     that desire peace can revolve.
  b) Anti-comintern Pact: This pact was concluded between Germany and
      Japan and consisted of mutual support. To this pact many fascist countries
      joined: Italy, Hungary, and Spain.
  c) Pact of Steel (May1939): this alliance was signed by Mussolini (Italy)
     and Germany (Hitler). These countries decided:
  – To carry out permanent consultation for any case involving common
     interest and take measures to maintain their interests.
  – To promise full military support if any war outbreak.
  d) The Nazi-soviet pact: this was alliance secretly arranged by Germany
  

       and Russia a few weeks before Germany entered eastern Poland.

  

      Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis

  In 1940, during World War II, the military alliance of Italy and Germany—the socalled
  Rome-Berlin Axis—was extended to include Japan and became the Rome-
  Berlin-Tokyo Axis. The three countries and their allies, known collectively as the
  Axis Powers, fought against the Allied Powers in the war. Here, Japanese and
  

  Italian emissaries accompany German dictator Adolf Hitler.

  Source: Encarta premium
  

  

       Leaders of axis Powers
  

  Source: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history
  

  The rise and growth of nationalism also caused the Second World
  War. Germany wanted to regain her lost pride denied by the victor powers
  under the Versailles treaty using unfair terms. This was done through arms race,
  foreign invasion and alliance system. All these caused the war.
  Lastly, the Germany invasion of Poland on 1st.sept.1939 also caused
  the war. This was the immediate cause of World War II where Hitler attacked
  Poland hoping that France and Britain would not intervene because of their
  appeasement policy. Unfortunately, Germany was given an ultimatum of 48
  hours to withdraw its troops from Poland an order which Hitler ignored, hence
  

  causing the Second World War.

  
  

                                                            Source: https://www.google.com/
  

                                       url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjz3O

  Course of World War II
  – Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939.
  – England and France retaliated by declaring war on Germany.
  – Russia began invading neighboring countries.
  – After invading insignificant states like Holland and Denmark, Germany
  invaded and captured France.
  – Britain confronted the Axis powers alone.
  – The Anglo Russian pact was signed against Germany.
  – The U.S.A. entered the war when Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor in
      1941((the USA naval base in the Hawaiian Islands) on 7December
      1941). The U.S.A., Britain and Russia were pitted against Germany,
  

       Italy and Japan.

  – Italy surrendered unconditionally in 1943.
  – Germany did the same after it was defeated by the Allies in 1945, and
       Hitler committed suicide.
  – Japan surrendered after the two atomic bombs were dropped in
  

       Hiroshima and Nagasaki marking the end of the war.

  5.1.2 Consequences of World War II

  World War II produced disastrous consequences that were unparalleled in the
  

  history of mankind.

  • The war caused unprecedented loss of life. It was estimated that
      62 million to 76 million people died, 45 million people were wounded
      and about 21 million people were displaced from their homes.
  • The war caused large scale destruction of property. There was a
      complete destruction of fields and factories, mills and workshops and
      the houses of the civilians. Many people died and many more were
  

      permanently disabled.

  

                                                                                             Hiroshima after atomic bomb

                                Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=hiroshima+after+atomic+bomb+pictures
  

  • During the war, the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler initiated a movement
     that aimed at wiping out the whole race of Jews. This was called the
      holocaust. This movement was part of his plan to conquer the world.
      Millions of Jews were imprisoned into concentration camps and were
      subjected to inhuman torture. The captives were even starved to death.
      Cruel experiments were performed on these helpless victims. The aged,
       the sick and the disabled were poisoned with gas.
  • The war also created an acute scarcity of foodstuff, essential
      commodities and cloth. This led to unprecedented inflation. The
      standard of living fell drastically. Since the prices shot up, life of millions
       became made miserable.
  • The war proved the moral degradation of man, for he killed
  

       his own species in an unparalleled scale. Nazi Germany, Fascist

  Italy and militarist Japan inflicted unimaginable cruelties upon the
  combatants, non-combatants, as well as on innocent men, women and
  children. The dropping of the two atom bombs by the U.S. upon Japan
  in August 1945 demonstrated how man was competent enough to
  

  wipe out the entire human race.

  

       B-29 Superfortress

  The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a long-range bomber used by the United
  States during World-War II (1939-1945) in bombing raids against Japan.
  B-29s were used to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima
  

  and Nagasaki, ending the war in August 1945.

  Source: Encarta premium 2009

  • World War II enhanced the prestige of the communist
     dictatorship of Russia, and enabled it to spread its control all over
     east and central Europe as well as Asia. However, democracy held its
      influence over Western Europe.
  • The World War II divided world countries into two power blocs.
      These are capitalist bloc of Great Britain, the U.S. and their allies and
      the communist bloc of the Soviet Union and her satellites.
  • The British, Dutch, French and Italian Empires were left in a
     disintegrated state. New nations like India, Pakistan, Burma and
     Ceylon were born on their ruins. Israel, Iran, Syria and Lebanon won
      political freedom from their imperialist masters.
  

  • Massive destruction of infrastructure, especially in France and in
     Japan due to heavy bombing of major cities.
  

  • Influx of homeless refugees: Most refugees were in camps of
  

     Western Europe. Many of them were the Jews who were running away
  

     from Adolf Hitler.
  

  • The United Nations Organisation (UNO) was formed to replace
  

      the defunct League of Nations in 1945 at the end of the Second World
  

      War. The League of Nations had become weak and failed to maintain
  

       world peace.
  

  • The production of nuclear weapons which up to the present day
  

      have disorganized World politics.
  

  • The defeat and downfall of dictators in Europe like Adolf Hitler
  

     who committed suicide on April 30th, 1945 and Benito Mussolini who
  

     was killed by his own forces on April 28th, 1945.
  

  • It led to the partition of Germany into two zones till 1989; East
  

     Germany, known as Democratic Republic of Germany was controlled
  

     by Russia; and West Germany, known as Federal Republic of Germany,
  

     controlled by USA, Britain and France.
  

  • The Second World War helped in the rise of African nationalism
  

     which led to the decolonization of Africa. The legacy of African World
  

     War Veterans was evident and important in the winning of independence
  

     in different parts of Africa.
  

  • The Second World War led to economic decline in Europe.
  

     This was due to the destruction of infrastructures, trade, agriculture,
  

     communication and industries. The British and French economies were
  

     shattered and left in shambles. This compelled most of them to rush
  

     to USA for economic aid. On the other side, they were not able to
  

     continue running vast overseas colonies in Africa and Asia. They began
  

      preparing them for self-determination.
  

  • Outbreak of the “Cold War” which was a non-violent confrontation
  

     between the western capitalists led by USA and eastern communists led
  

     by USSR.
  

  • The Second World War contributed to rapid scientific
  

     innovations and technological development. This resulted into
  

     production of sophisticated weapons of mass destruction.
  

  • The rise of Zionism (Jewish nationalism) was also influenced by the
  

     Second World War. Millions of Jews got their own country (Israel) in
  

     1948 with the division of Palestine.

  Reasons why axis powers were defeated (lost the war)
  • Numerical advantage: axis powers were few in number.
  

  • Germany internal weakness that made her to fail to get massive support
      at home because of dictatorship.
  

  • Germany did not get support from countries she had occupied before.
  

  • The economy of axis powers was very weak compared to that of the
     allied powers.
  • The Allied powers were much experienced in fighting on sea than the
     axis powers.
  • Hitler failed to realize the danger of winter and refused to withdraw his
     troops from the Russian territories. That is why he was easily defeated
     and this weakened military capacity of Germany.
  • Lack of foresight: The axis powers ignored the necessity of fighting
     planes. E.g. Japan concentrated on the production of battle ship which
     was defeated by the allied powers. The Germany made a mistake of
     concentrating on production of V-rockets which were defeated by war
     planes of allied powers.
  • Shortage of raw materials: E.g. oil.
  • The allied powers learned from their failure. By 1942, they knew how
     to check Blitzkrieg attacks and appreciated the importance of the air
     support and aircraft carriers. They built up an air and naval superiority
     which won the battles of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
  • Domestic opposition led to the defeat of the axis powers. Hitler faced
     opposition from the communists and liberals. Mussolini was heated in
     Italy until he was arrested and killed.
  • Poor technology compared to that of Allied powers. E.g. Britain used
     radars to detect and to bomb axis targets and planes while USA used
     atomic bombs to weaken Japan.
  • The size of the area to be covered by the axis powers with their small
     size of the population led to their defeat.
  • Determination of allied powers. They were determined to defeat the
     axis powers at all cost. Churchill “we shall fight in the seas and
     oceans, we shall fight in the air, we shall defend our island,
     whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches,
     we shall fight on the ground, we shall fight in the fields and
     streets, hill, valleys… we shall never surrender”.
  • The loss of Hitler’s colonies of Hungary, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia and
     Rumania which contained a lot of resources. E.g. oil.
  • The defeat of axis powers was caused also by the death of Mussolini
     who was killed 28^th April 1945 while on 30^th April 1945 Hitler committed
     suicide.
  • Allied powers had good leaders, clear-minded leaders. E.g. Roosevelt,
  

    Churchill, Stalin.

  • Hitler carried out purge, i.e.; he began killing some of his commanders,
    these commanders attempted also to kill Hitler but they failed. By the
  

     end they betrayed him.

  Application activity 5

  Examine the causes and consequences of Second World War of 1939-
  

  1945.

  5.2. Aims, achievements and failures of United Nations
  

  Organization

  Learning activity 5.2
  

  Using internet, textbooks and other history documents discuss the aims,
  achievements and failures of United Nations Organization and make a class
  

  presentation

  United Nations Organization (U.N.O)
  The World War II resulted in widespread concern for world peace. Hence the
  United Nations Organization was established after the World War II in 1945.
  
  The United Nations organization is an international peace keeping organization
  which was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War (1945) to replace
  the discredited League of Nations.
  
  It was formed to end wars and ensure permanent peace in the world as well
  as to enhance the economic and cultural development of mankind. The UNO
  charter was signed on June 26, 1945 at San Francisco in California. The
  U.N.O. started functioning from 24^th October, 1945 and this is recognized as
  its date of creation. This day is therefore celebrated as the United Nations Day.
  Its headquarters was based at New York. It was formed to replace the League of
  Nations. UNO has 5 permanent members with veto powers i.e. Britain, France,
  

  USA, Russia, and China. UNO started with 51 nations.

  PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES

  Article 1
  The Purposes of the United Nations are:
  1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to
      take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of
      threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or
      other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means,
      and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law,
      adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which
      might lead to a breach of the peace.
  2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
       principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take
       other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.
  3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international
      problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character,
      and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and
      for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
      language, or religion.
  4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment
      of these common ends.
  5. To promote respect for human rights, dignity and freedom.
  6. To promote respect among the member nations for fundamental rights
      and freedoms of mankind by ending the differences of caste and creed.
   Article 2
  The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article
  1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
     1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of
      all its Members.
     2. All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits
         resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations
         assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
  

     3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means
  

         in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are
         not endangered.
  

    4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat
  

       or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence
  

        of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of
        the United Nations.
  

    5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any
  

        action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain
  

        from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is
        taking preventive or enforcement action.
  

    6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the
  

       United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may
       be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
  

    7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United
  

       Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic
  

       jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such
  

       matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall
  

       not prejudice the application of enforcement measures.

  
  

  5.2.1. The aims of the of United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • Preserving peace and eliminate war.
  • Removing the cases of conflict by encouraging economic, social,
      educational, scientific and cultural progress throughout the world,
  

      especially in underdeveloped countries.

  

                                                                 UN security council meeting
  

                                               Source: https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal

  • Safeguarding the rights of all individual human beings, and nations.
  • Stopping the aggression was an issue behind the formation of UNO.
  This was because Kaiser William II and Hitler’s aggression were
     responsible for the outbreak of the first and Second World War
  • Bringing justice to those who committed crimes of war against humanity.
     For example, the Nazi and Fascists who conducted killing of the Jews.
  • Enforcing disarmament and stop arms race that was responsible for the
     two world wars.
  • Promoting political, economic and social co-operation in the world.
  • Facilitating decolonization and democratization of those nationalities
     that were dominated and oppressed.
  • Embark on/check on threats to environment which was potentially
      dangerous to mankind. Weapons of mass destruction like atomic
      bombs were used in the Second World War which destroyed flora and
      fauna.
  • Eliminating the problem of human and drug trafficking. By 1945 the
     consumption of intoxicated drugs had damaged the youth.
  

  • Rehabilitating and resettle prisoners of war and displaced persons
      who were made homeless by the Second World War.
  

  • Checking out the violation of children’s rights. There was gross abuse
  

     of children’s rights like child labour, corporal punishments, child neglect
  

     and defilement.
  

  • Checking out the exploitation of workers by employers especially
  

     capitalists. The capitalists were oppressing workers by poor payments,
  

     over working under poor conditions.
  

  • Improving on world health services and standards. World War II had
  

     destroyed most health centers and made medical services inadequate
  

     during and after the war.
  

  Organs of the United Nations Organizations
  

  There are principal organs of the United Nations: a General Assembly, a
  

  Security Council, an Economic and Social Council, a Trusteeship Council, an
  

  International Court of Justice and a Secretariat.

  

  a) The General Assembly

  It is an important organ of the U.N.O. It is the chief deliberative organ. It is
  regarded as the parliament of the U.N.O. Its regular session is held once a year
  on the third Tuesday in September and continues until the end of December.
  At the start of each session, it elects a new President, 21 Vice-Presidents, and
  Chairmen of its seven main committees. Each country can send five delegates
  but has one vote only. Important decisions need two-thirds majority while
  decisions on ordinary matters are reached by a simple majority. The General
  Assembly’s chief functions are:
  • To discuss matters relating to international peace and security.
  

  • To promote international cooperation in economic, social, educational,
      cultural and health fields.
  • To promote the development and codification of international law.
  • To promote cooperation in the realization of human rights and
      fundamental freedoms for all.
  • To promote friendly relations among nations.
  • To discuss and make recommendations on any question affecting the
      powers and functions of any organ of the U.N.O.
  • To receive and consider reports from Security Council and other organs
      of the U.N.O.
  • To consider and approve the budgets of the U.N.O. and its specialized
     agencies.
  • To perform the functions which are concerned with international
      trusteeship system
  • To elect members of the U.N.O., the Security Council, Economic and
      Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the International Court of
      Justice.
  • To appoint the Secretary General at the recommendation of the Security
      Council.
  b) The Security Council
  The Security Council is the executive body of the U.N.O. It is the most influential
  organ of the U.N.O. The Council has 15 members. The U.S.A., Russia, England,
  France and China are the permanent members. Their support is required for
  every decision. The remaining ten non-permanent members are elected by the
  General Assembly for two years. At any one time, the ten rotating members
  must consist of five countries from Africa and Asia, two from Latin America,
  one from Eastern Europe and two from Western Europe. Each member of the
  Council has one vote. Each President holds the post for a month.
  The functions and powers of the Security Council are:
  • To maintain international peace and security.
  • To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international
     friction
  • To recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or terms of
     settlement.
  • To formulate plans for the regulation of armaments.
  • To determine the existence of a threat to peace or acts of aggression
     and to recommend what action should be taken.
  • To call on the members to apply economic sanctions and other measures
     to prevent or stop aggressions.
  • To take military action against an aggressor.
  • To recommend the admission of new members.
  • To exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations.
  • To elect the judges of the International Court of Justice.
  • To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the
  

     Secretary General.

  c) The International Court of Justice
  It is the chief court of the U.N.O. It has 15 judges that are elected by the General
  Assembly and the Security Council voting separately. The term of the judges is
  restricted to nine years and they may be reelected. The seat of the court is at
  Hague in Netherlands.
  
  It primarily functions to settle mutual disputes among different nations by peaceful
  methods. Other agencies of the U.N.O. also approach it for consultation. It may
  also resolve disputes among nations, arising on legal questions or treaties.
  
  d) The secretariat
  This is the office staff and it consists of 50,000 employees and they look after
  administrative work, prepare meeting, translation and information. It is headed
  by the secretary general who is appointed for a 5 year terms by the general
  assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The secretary
  general acts as the main spokesperson of UNO, and is always at the forefront
  of international affairs trying to solve world problems.
  
  e) The trusteeship council
  This replaced the League of Nations Mandates commission which had originally
  come into existence in 1919 to keep an eye on the territories taken away from
  Germany and Turkey at the end WWI. Some of these mandated territories
  had been handed over to victorious powers and their jobs were to govern the
  territories and prepare them for independence. The trusteeship council did its
  job well and by 1970 most of mandates had gained their independence.
  
  f) The economic and social council (ECOSOC)
  This has 27 members elected by the general assembly. It organizes projects
  concerned with health, education and other social and economic matters. It
  has appointed four regional commissions (Europe, Latin America, Africa,
  Asia, and the Far East) as well as commissions on population problems, drug
  problems, human rights and the status of women.
  
  ECOSOC also coordinates the work of other commission and specialized
  

  agencies around thirty in all. Among the best known are:

  

  Financial and economic agencies

  1. IMF: the international monetary fund. This is designed to foster-
  cooperation
  between nations to encourage the growth of trade and the
  full development of nation’s economic potential. It is headquartered
  in Washington D.C., United States of America.
  2. World Bank: the international Bank of reconstruction and development.
  The World Bank headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., United
  States of America.
  3. GATT: the general agreement on tariffs and Trade (encourage
  international trade by reducing taxes). The headquarters of the World
  Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
  4. UNCTAD: United Nations conference on trade and development.
  

  Encourages the development of industry in third world by pressurizing

  the rich countries into buying countries third world products. UNCTAD is
  a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United
  Nations General Assembly in 1964. Our headquarters are located
  in Geneva, Switzerland, and we have offices in New York and Addis
  

  Ababa. UNCTAD is part of the UN Secretariat.

  Differences between UNO and LON
  • The UN has been more successful than the league.
  • The UN spends much more time and resources on economic and social
      matter. All the specialized agencies, with the exception of ILO (1919)
     were founded in 1945 or later.
  • The UN is committed to safeguarding individual human rights, which
     the LON did not get involved.
  • Changes in the procedures of the general assembly and the Security
      Council (uniting for peace resolution) and the increased power and
      prestige of the secretary general have enabled the UN to take more
      decisive action than the LON.
  • The UN has much wider membership and is therefore a real world
      organization than the league. In 1993 membership had reached 183
      while LON never had more than 50 members.
  • The LON Covenant did not provide the states with, or did not make
     them clear over, their right to self-defense. However, this condition is
     addressed under the Article 51 of the Charter of UN, which specifies
     this right.
  • League’s Unanimity Vs UN’s 2/3rd Majority in decision making
  • The League’s covenant permitted under certain conditions its members
     to withdraw from the general membership. But the UN’s charter says
     nothing for a state opting to quit the platform, whereas a moral obligation
     still exists to continue as a member, for the collective betterment.
  • The League’s Covenant did not emphasize upon the establishment
     of regional arrangements for the maintenance of regional peace and
     security, which then leads to the collective world peace. But on the
     other hand, the UN’s Charter under Article. 52, gives a recognition, and
     even a greater recognition to the regional arrangements, and along with
     that, also directs the members formulating, devising and entering those
     regional arrangements for their regional pacific solutions, to achieve the
     solutions to their regional and local disputes on their own at first, so as
     to avoid knocking the Security Council’s doors at every now and then.
  Similarities between the League of Nations and United Nations
  

  • Both the United Nations and the League of Nations aimed at the pace
     and security- as their basic goals,
  

  • Both were voluntary associations of the sovereign states,
  

  • Both had an assembly with a diverse membership,
  

  • Both provided the states with equal rights to vote,
  

  • Both instituted a council with powerful states as members and both
  

     held a secretariat headed by a Secretary General, and indeed, both
  

     were very formal organizations- basing their structure and functions
  

     on the basic documents envisioning their codes of conduct i.e. the
  

     Covenant and the Charters were there absolutely.

  

  

  

  5.2.2. Achievements of the United Nations Organization
  

  It is probably fair to say that the UN has been more successful than the League
  

  of Nations in its peacekeeping efforts, especially in crises which did not involve
  

  the interests of the Great Powers. On the other hand, it has been just as the
  

  League of Nations in situations where the interests of the Great Powers seemed
  

  to be threatened and where the Great Powers decided to ignore or defy the UN.
  
  

  The UN provides a world assembly where representatives of over 180 nations
  

  can come together and talk to each other. Even the smallest nation has a chance
  

  to make its voice heard in world forum.
  
  

  Although it has not prevented wars, it has been successful in bringing some
  

  wars to an end more quickly. For example, the war between Iran and Iraq (1980-
  

  1988) and the Gulf War in 1991.
  
  

  The UNO has done valuable work in investigating and publicizing human rights
  

  violations under repressive regimes like military government in Chile. In this
  

  way, it has slowly been able to influence governments by bringing international
  

  pressure to bear on them.
  
  

  Economically, the UN has promoted economic co-operation and development
  

  especially in the less developing countries. Trade and industry were developed
  

  and boosted through the UN programs like the I.M.F (International Monetary
  

  Fund) and the World Bank by giving short loans.
  
  

  Discrimination and abuse of women was also addressed by the UNO. The
  

  charter of 1948, emphasized equality between women and men which provided
  

  a basis for women emancipation.

  Similarly, children’s right and welfare were promoted and protected by the
  UNO. This was through funding children’s education especially the girl-child
  education and welfare in many countries of the world.
  
  The welfare and standards of living of workers was improved by the International
  Labour Organization (I.L.O) through its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland.
  This protected workers from exploitation.
  
  The UNO scored great success in settling social and economic problems of
  refugees and victims of natural disasters. By 1945, disasters like earth quakes,
  famine and floods had led to untold suffering and death of thousands of people
  around the world.
  
  Decolonization and democratization was achieved by the UNO through its
  trusteeship council. This facilitated the independence of Libya, Somalia,
  Namibia, Israel, Palestine, etc.
  
  Disarmament was one of the remarkable achievements of UNO towards world
  peace. In 1946, the Security Council set up the atomic energy commission to
  control production of atomic energy.
  
  The establishment of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948 was an achievement for
  the UNO. The congress system had granted the Jews citizenship that had fled
  due to persecution. But still the Jews were persecuted and massacred by the
  Nazi, Fascist and Arabs.
  
  Increased membership since its formation in 1945 is a clear testimony of its
  success. It was formed in 1945, with 51 member states but by 1970 the number
  had increased to 100.
  
  5.2.3. Weaknesses of the UNO
  The loans granted by IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank had
  some negative consequences on the development of the third world countries.
  It had strings attached that promoted political ideologies of Western capitalistic
  powers.
  
  Although drug trafficking was reduced but it was never eliminated completely.
  This was because the UNO did not have an effective and competent force to
  control drug trafficking.
  
  The UNO failed to stop cold war politics and its associated tension in Europe.
  Cold War was led by USA and USSR yet the countries were permanent
  

  members.

  The UNO failed to wipe out culture intolerance and racism. Though the
  UNO embarked on global sensitization campaign against racism and cultural
  

  intolerance but it was not fully successful by 1970.

  The UNO’s policies on disarmament, weapons of mass destruction and space
  exploration were great failures. By 1945, it was only America with the atomic
  

  bomb but nearly all nations by 1970 had such weapons.

  It failed to unite the once united states for example after the cold war politics,
  Germany was left divided between West and East German as well as North
  

  Korea and South Korea.

  In the field of politics, the UNO failed more than it succeeded. This was seen
  

  when veto powers began fighting against the resolution of the UNO.

  The universal declaration of Human rights (UDHR) of 1948, failed totally to
  achieve its objectives by 1970. It was not fully accepted in many states especially
  

  Arab states.

  The rise of neo-colonialism and its associated evils in the third world countries
  exposed the failures of the UNO. After decolonization, European powers
  resorted to neo-colonialism as an indirect means to control, exploit and oppress
  

  the third world.

  The UNO failed to eradicate terrorism in the world. By 1970, the world
  experienced rampart assassinations, hijack of planes, planting of time bomb
  

  and suicide bombing especially in Asia and Middle East.

  Why has UNO failed to achieve its aims and objectives?
  Lack of adequate funds to run the activities of the UNO. The UNO has
  enormous work to do but it entirely relies on annual contributions of member
  

  states which more often fail to pay.

  Lack of UNO permanent army. The UNO rely on the member states to
  provide troops and equipment for peace keeping missions. Members many
  times refuse to send soldiers or do not send enough. This undermines UN
  

  activities.

  The cold war that divided Europe and UNO into two bodies, that is capitalists
  

  and communists weakens also UNO.

  The formation of alliances which were enemies, that is, NATO and Warsaw
  

  Pact divided the World leading to the UNO weakness.

  Remoteness of some parts of the world has led to the failure of UNO. Some
  areas are too remote and underdeveloped with no infrastructure like roads
  

  or very mountainous to facilitate UN humanitarian to work.

  Existence of civil wars in some parts of the world has led to the failure of
  

  UNO. It is difficult to control intertribal differences.

  Ineffectiveness of sanctions of UNO has weakened it.

  Proliferation of arms and existence of weapons of mass destruction

  The rise and growth of world terrorism mostly in the middle east

  Overdependence on individual superpower countries like USA and Britain
  in terms of funds. This has made these powers to interfere with UNO work
  

  and manipulate it for their interest. This also undermines the UN activities.

  Application activity 5

  1. Explain the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organisation.

  2. Examine the weakness of the United Nations Organisation.

  Skills Lab
  Use a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values you have
  acquired about the Second World War and its effects and analyze mistakes
  committed by the politicians of the time and suggest guidance to today’s
  

  leaders and make presentation.

  End unit assessment
  1) What were the causes and consequences of the Second World
       War?
  2) Examine the effects of Second World War.
  3) Why did victorious powers of World War II decide to create UNO
      by 1945?
  4) “Even though the United Nations organization registered many
         achievements, it has repeatedly showed its weaknesses”. Discuss
  

         this statement.

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• Topic 6
• Topic 7
• Topic 8
• Topic 9