There's an old saying that there is "nothing certain but death and
taxes." You can add daily reading quizzes to that list... We're going
true-false today.
Today, we're going to pick out the
topic of religious conflict and focus on that. The period we are
studying is sometimes also known as the "Age of Religious Wars" in
Europe. We will finish up with a look at the impact of the Thirty
Years' War, an event that gave rise to the modern states that we know
see in Europe and elsewhere. Note that, in some cases, we'll actually
be moving back in time a bit from the events of Louis XIV and some
others.
Why were they fighting? Religious
conflict is nothing new to us in our study of world history. However,
both classes have asked versions of the "What was so different between
Catholics and Protestants?" This first activity is designed to give you
a chance to answer that question for yourself. You might recall from
last year that the Catholic Church leadership met at the Council of
Trent during what is called the Catholic Reformation or
Counter-Reformation. (The Council met from 1545 to 1563.) It issued a
clarification of the Church's position on many issues. You'll receive
two handouts. The first states the "Protestant" interpretation of an
issue. You and a partner can use the handout summarizing the Council of
Trent's declarations to try to figure out the Catholic Church's
position on each of these issues. We'll talk about what you find.
Where were they fighting? You've
read bits and pieces about the religious conflicts in Spain and France. Those, along with the Thirty Years' War, were major aspects of this
"age of religious wars." We'll do a jigsaw activity with these three
sets of conflicts. You'll get one of these three handouts:
- France's Religious Wars
- Religious Wars in Spain
- Major Results of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
In
each case, meet with others sharing that reading. Your job is to boil
it down to between five and ten brief points that you can share with
the other groups. Following that, we'll have you meet in groups of
three, with one representative from each group. You'll teach each other
the basic points from your reading. I'd recommend jotting down some
brief notes (or emailing each other) so that you've got something to
review later in the unit.
The Thirty Years' War in Thirty Seconds:
To me, the Thirty Years' War is a very complex and confusing series of
events. You can get lost in the details and miss the point. Let's see
how you do in seeing the "big picture." You can work with up to 3
others. I want you to prepare to tell the story of the Thirty Years'
War to us in thirty seconds or less. (Not by talking fast...) Instead,
think of this along the lines of the identifications we did last year
and focus on what is important and historically significant. If you
want a good source besides your text, The Thirty Years' War has a wealth of information on its site. We'll have you tell your story to the class.
If
you want another challenge, do the Thirty Years' War in thirty words or
fewer.
HOMEWORK for next session - Monday, November 3rd
Please read Chapter 21, Section 4, "Absolute Rulers of Russia." (pp. 608 - 611)
The
"Absolute Monarchs of Europe" matrix should be ready for discussing. (If you don't have the Peter the Great information down,
that's understandable, but the rest should be completed.)
Your
role in the trial should be ready for Tuesday/Wednesday of next week.
Remember that the prosecution witnesses will testify on Tuesday, while
the defense witnesses and the defendants themselves testify on
Wednesday.
