UNIT 1. The Age of Power 1. James VI & I, Jenny Wormald, History Today , June 2002 In 1603, centuries of hostility made the English and Scottish dislike each other, but by 1625, they learned to live together. However, the successful, powerful, and flexible kingship of King James VI & I made his Scottish and English subjects united. Jenny Wormald reviews the career of James and his dream to unite the two countries. 2. The 30 Years’ War, Graham Darby, History Review , September 2001 What began as a religious war of the Protestants and Catholics in 1618 in Hungary, developed into a European war, involving the great powers of Europe—Hapsburgs, France, England, Prussia and Sweden.… Graham Darby recounts the religious, social, economic and military aspects of the war. 3. Cossack Pirates of the Black Sea, Ronald B. Sorobey, Military History , June 2003 The raids of the seafaring Cossacks of the seventeeth century challenged the overwhelming might of the Ottoman Empire in the Black Sea. Ronald B. Sorobey details their exploits, which protected the Ukrainians from the Turks, helped in nation-building efforts and set swashbuckling traditions, which still live in the modern Ukrainian navy. 4. The Greatest Royal Minister?, Geoffrey Treasure, History Review , March 2002 Colbert was one of the greatest French ministers of all time, whose management of finances enabled Louis XIV to create his fabled court at Versailles as well as the numerous wars. Geoffrey Treasure says that he was more than an efficient bureaucrat. 5. From Mercantilism to ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Michael Marshall, The World & I , May 1999 Mercantilism was the practice of measuring a country’s wealth by how much gold and silver bullion it could amass. This theory was challenged by Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, who belived that economies worked best when they had the least government interference. 6. 400 Years of the East India Company, Huw V. Bowen, History Today , July 2000 The East India Company proved to be one of the longest commercial enterprises ever undertaken in Britain. It was chartered in 1600 and finally dissolved after 1857. It was charged with the commercial exploitation and defense in a large part of India. What brought about its demise was excessive administrative costs and charges of misrule. 7. How a Man Differs from a Dog, Erika Fudge, History Today , June 2003 How are humans different from animals? Is it the ability to reason, remember the past or have a soul ? Erika Fudge considers what it meant to be described as an animal and what divided us from the rest of the creation. UNIT 2. Rationalism, Enlightenment, and Revolution 8. Descartes the Dreamer, Anthony Grafton, The Wilson Quarterly , Autumn 1996 Descartes advanced, even epitomized, rationalism. Anthony Grafton explains why this seventeenth-century thinker seems modern three and one-half centuries after his death. 9. Declaring an Open Season on the Wisdom of the Ages, Robert Wernick, Smithsonian , May 1997 Although the enemies of the Encylopedists said they were responsible for the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror , and the horrors of the modern world, their friends credited them for the rise of liberty, universal suffrage, freedom of the press and all the progress of the modern world. Robert Wernick recounts the impact Diderot and d’Alembert’s work had on France. 10. The Execution of Louis XVI and the End of the French Monarchy, William Doyle, History Review , March 2000 Why did the French execute King Louis XVI in 1793? Was it because of a conspiracy of malign and nihilistic intellectuals or from the ideas of the Enlightenment authors such as Voltaire and Rousseau who had criticized the despotic nature of the government? William Doyle discusses several interpretations of the downfall of the French Monarch, saying that the notions of a non-sacred monarchy are inadequate to explain what happened. 11. The Passion of Antoine Lavoisier, Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History , June 1989 Many people paid the price for the French Revolution. One was France’s greatest scientist, Antoine Lavoisier. A proponent of some of the Revolution’s early accomplishments, the famous chemist ran afoul of the Committee of Public Safety and its revolutionary tribunals. Stephen Jay Gould cites Lavoisier’s accomplishments and ponders why in revolutionary times even a brilliant scientist was not immune from political extremists. 12. The First Feminist, Shirley Tomkievicz, Horizon , Spring 1972 Mary Wollstonecraft, author of Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), cogently argued that the ideals of the Enlightenment and of the French Revolution should be extended to women. This is her story. 13. The Internet in a Cup, The Economist , December 20, 2003 Coffee houses sprang up across Europe in the 1650’s and functioned as meeting places for writers, businessmen, scientists and politicians. While there were great public debates on government issues in England, in France with newspaper censorship and little freedom of debate, the coffee houses became sources of revolutionary planning . 14. Napoleon the Kingmaker, Philip Mansel, History Today , March 1998 When Napoleon seized power in 1799 and established his empire in 1804, he swept away many ideas of the French Revolution and reverted to the ideas, manners, and costumes of the Old Regime. Philip Mansel contends that most monarchs feared rather than applauded Napoleon as a fellow ruler. UNIT 3. Industry, Ideology, Nationalism, and Imperialism: The Nineteenth Century 15. Arkwright: Cotton King or Spin Doctor?, Karen Fisk, History Today , March 1998 Richard Arkwright (1732–1792), inventor and entrepreneur, is given much of the credit for Britain’s leadership in the Industrial Revolution during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Author Karen Fisk raises questions about his accomplishments. 16. The Emancipation of the Russian Serfs, 1861—A Charter of Freedom or An Act of Betrayal?, Michael Lynch, History Review , December 2003 Author Michael Lynch says when the Russians were defeated in the Crimean War of 1854, Tsar Alexander II decided that it was due to a lack of educated peasants. The Tsar decided that Russia was not working and new reforms were needed. Why these reforms did not succeed is the subject of the article. 17. Bismarck, Prussia, & German Nationalism, Edgar Feuchtwanger, History Review , March 2001 Otto Von Bismarck from 1861 used masterly diplomacy and Prussia