Monday, November 17, 2008
Louis XIV - commoner
I disagree with Louis XIV and the way he rules his monarchy. He is a selfish leader, believing that his ideas of a divine right monarchy should benefit himself and his court, not caring enough about the social classes. I feel as if he takes advantage as being a ruler and does not put his great power to good work. He has no sympathy for us, knowing that we are the lower class in society and are not near as fortunate as others. He realizes that he has all authority and is in complete control. This reflects on his decisions, only caring for himself and the overall government, and forgetting about us who only become poorer and poorer. The economy is making us townspeople suffer and it puts us in danger everyday- due to his poor, unjust decisions that affect all people.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was of of the most influential conflicts of early European History, consisting of a series of declared and undeclared wars in Europe from 1618-1648. Overall, it was a religious war among Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists. To begin the conflict, The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 had brought a temporary truce of religion in Germany- recognizing only Lutherans and Roman Catholics. As a result, the Calvinists demanded recognition of their rights as well and the war began. The conflict then became a wider European war, fought mainly over political issues, along with religious issues. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the war, expanding the Peace of Augsburg to include Calvinists, as well as Catholics and Lutherans. Also, it ended the Holy Roman emperor's hope of restoring his own power and the Catholic faith throughout the empire. The Treaty of the Pyrenees awarded France part of the Spanish Netherlands and some territory in northern Spain. Together, the Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of the Pyrenees established France as the predominant power on the European continent.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Reformation - John Calvin
John Calvin played a siginificant role in introducing new ideas and beliefs to the Protestant religion, Calvinism. In his earlier years he was a lawyer until he had the opportunity to build a new Reformed church, radically changing the face of Protestantism and spreading his on beliefs of Christianity. He organized the church governance, as well as the social organization of the church and the city. The core of Calvinism is based on the literal reading of the Bible and based on some views and/or beliefs that compared, yet also contrasted with the Catholic Church. Calvin strongly believed that not only should all religious belief be founded on the literal reading of Scriptures, but church organization, political organization, and society should be founded on the literal reading of the Bible. He then began to divide the church organization into pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons where each member obtained a particular role and responsibility in the church. Modern Protestant churches today still use such groups to organize their church, teach their church members, and help the church to grow- still following in the original ideas of John Calvin during the Reformation.
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