European History Commons^™

A Multi-Causal Approach To The Thirty Years’ War, Ethan Haan

Grand Valley Journal of History

The Thirty Years’ War was arguably the most consequential war of the Wars of Religion and of the wider European conflicts in the 17th century. The historiography on the causes of the war has been present ever since literature on the conflict became available shortly after its cessation. Since 1900, the debate over the underlying motivations has intensified and has become muddied in some areas. This study aims to summarize and clarify the previous positions that historians have taken on what caused the war, from religious urges to socio-economic and political factors. This study also attempts to clearly define where …

Diplomacy Of Pirates: Foreign Relations And Changes In The Legal Treatment Of Piracy Under Henry Viii, Jamie Deanna Sessions

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

“Lessening The Pope’S Greatness” : Bishop Gilbert Burnet’S Seventeenth Century Writing Of The History Of The Reformation In England, Lisa Clark Diller

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Jewish Resistance In World War Ii & Zionism: Making Aliyah In The Death Camps, Cierra Tomaso

Honors College Theses

My thesis examines the contributions of Jewish resistance fighters in Europe during World War II. The sources used are primarily memoirs of resistance fighters, primary documents from resistance groups, and secondary articles related to Zionism during that time period. The resistance movement began because there was a need for dismantling the Third Reich from within the bounds of the ghettos, the death camps, and the killing fields. This thesis will show that Zionism played a key role in the motivations of the Jewish resistance fighters in World War II. Additionally, it will examine how as Jews found that their home …

A Case Study Of The Underlying Causes And Implications Of The 2014 Landmark Gm-Opel Automobile Plant Closure In Bochum, Germany, Jennifer P. Shaffer

Honors College Theses

In December 2014, General Motors closed its flagship Opel plant in Bochum after 52 years of operation amidst years of economic struggles in the industrial Ruhr-valley region of northwestern Germany, marking the first closure of a major German automobile plant since 1945. This study examines the primary underlying causes of the landmark closure, such as the insolvency of GM-Opel and tense employer-employee relations compounded by unsatisfactory trade union negotiations between GM-Opel and IG Metall. Subsequent social and economic reactions to the closure are also examined, including the yearlong “This is not Detroit” campaign launched by local Bochum artists to inspire …

The Wwi Middle East: Western Intervention And Modern-Day Political Conflict, Pauline Park

Global Tides

This paper analyzes three conflicting agreements made by the Allied powers between 1915 and 1917: the Husayn-McMahon correspondence, the Sykes-Picot arrangements, and the Balfour Declaration. It reveals the agreements as demonstrative of deeper patterns of political power and strategy in the Middle East that persist today. This paper moreover compares the Middle East with the European colonization of Rwanda in the 1880s, and how the nation's internal division was caused by external global powers seeking political and economic gain. This analysis seeks to connect global events as part of a wider political agenda propagated by Western powers.

The Gracchi And The Era Of Grain Reform In Ancient Rome, Samuel Aly

Tenor of Our Times

The transition from Republic to Principate represents a significant moment in the history of Roman agriculture. The supply of food had been relatively constant for centuries, but many unprecedented issues caused by the rapidly expanding city needed to be addressed. This transitory period is characterized by many influential politicians, like the memorable Gracchi brothers, and many reforms made by other Roman leaders, ending with the beginning of the Empire under Augustus.The Gracchi and Augustus took great care with the food supply of the common citizens through a critical, turbulent time for both the political and social aspects of Roman life.

Andreas Bodenstein Von Karlstadt And Martin Luther: It's Complicated, Stryder Matthews

Tenor of Our Times

Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt had a significant role in the early days of Wittenberg's Reformation, including significant tumult upon the return of Martin Luther. The divide between these two was primarily a result of Luther’s consistent misunderstanding of Karlstadt and his conservative shift upon his return to Wittenberg in 1522. Though the men disagreed over issues such as the practice of the Eucharist, the method of salvation, the manner in which God works, and a vast number of minor points, none were primarily responsible for their divide. Rather, circumstantial and historical difficulties, particularly the German Peasant’s War, combined with Luther’s …

‘Something A Little Bit Tasty’: Women And The Rise Of Nutrition Science In Interwar British Africa, Lacey Sparks

Theses and Dissertations--History

Widespread malnutrition after the Great Depression called into question the role of the British state in preserving the welfare of both its citizens and its subjects. International organizations such as the League of Nations, empire-wide projects such as nutrition surveys conducted by the Committee for Nutrition in the Colonial Empire (CNCE), sub-imperial networks of medical and teaching professionals, and individuals on-the-spot in different colonies wove a dense web of ideas on nutrition. African women quickly became the focus of efforts to end malnutrition due to Malthusian concerns of underpopulation in Africa and African women’s role as both farmers and mothers. …

The Hopes And The Realities Of Aviation In French Indochina, 1919-1940, Gregory Charles Seltzer

Theses and Dissertations--History

My dissertation examines how and why the French employed aviation in the five constituent parts of French Indochina (Annam, Cambodia, Cochinchina, Laos, and Tonkin) during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. I argue that the French, believing that the modern technology of powered flight possessed seemingly endless potential, saw aviation as a vehicle for extending, consolidating, developing, and protecting their interests both within the colony and around Southeast and East Asia. Aircraft, whether civil or military, were viewed and used as a multi-purpose tool of empire. Indeed, planes were employed for a variety of tasks in Indochina: transportation …

Making Religion Acceptable In Communist Romania And The Soviet Union, 1943-1989, Ryan J. Voogt

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation focuses on religious gatherings in communist Romania and the Soviet Union, 1943-1989. Church was one of the few opportunities for voluntary associational life and is invaluable for the study of power, ideology, and belonging in an everyday social setting. This project is based on archival documents and memoirs, uncovering how state officials and religious representatives struggled to establish religious practice that would be acceptable to all. Although ideologically atheist, state officials regarded some religious gatherings as acceptable and others unacceptable, but not due to utterances of beliefs or performance of traditional sacraments, but because of social aspects: how …

How The Willowbrook Consent Decree Has Influenced Contemporary Advocacy Of Individuals With Disabilities, Kristen S. Addessi

Student Theses

The existence of the Willowbrook State School was a culmination, of over a one-hundred-year history of Western society’s attempts to provide adequate care, and treatment for individuals with disabilities. The residents housed there, suffered violations of their human and civil rights in various forms of severe abuse, neglect, and violence. Following a three-year legal battle in 1975, as a result of the travesties that occurred, the legal doctrine known as the Willowbrook Consent Decree was written. The Consent Decree was implemented to ensure that the residents’ human and civil rights are met and protected. The Willowbrook State School and the …

Fashion And Court-Building In The Sixteenth-Century Florentine Ducal Court: Politics, Agency, And Paleopathology In The Wardrobes Of Eleonora Di Toledo And Giovanna D'Austria, Leah Rachel Jeffers

Scripps Senior Theses

Fashion in the Renaissance became intensely political, highly gendered, and anatomized (i.e. emphasizing human anatomy rather than masking it). Court culture placed a particular emphasis on the body of the courtier, as skills such as dancing and dressing fashionably became crucial to political success in states throughout Europe. In sixteenth-century Florence, the Medici attempted to install a duchy in what was at the time a republican city (with strong republican heritage). Florentine fears of foreign domination and resentment towards non-republican forms of government made the Medici’s task nearly impossible. Fashion became a primary pillar of the Medicean political agenda, as …

Conformity, Dissent, And The Death Of Henry Barrow, 1570-1593, Sara Chetney

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the executions of London Separatist leaders Henry Barrow and John Greenwood on 6 April, 1593. Occurring after a lengthy prison term punctuated by official examinations conducted by authorities, the executions took place only after the men had been twice reprieved, performed so early as to avoid a crowd yet still in the appointed place of public execution. Focusing on Henry Barrow and the London Separatists, this thesis explores how a national climate of fear and violence led to a greater crackdown on religious dissidents, and argues that the strange circumstances …

An Examination Of The Integral Support Of His Father’S Family For The Royal Aspirations And Maintenance Of The Crown Of King Henry Vii, Kyle W. Rea

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This work represents an extensive study made into the impact which the Welsh heritage through his father's family helped Henry Tudor to both acquire and maintain the throne of England. It illustrates to the reader how from Henry Tudor's childhood, through his early reign up until the Battle of Stoke, how integral his Welsh connections through his father's family were to his success. It draws from extensive primary sources to illustrate the point and presents a clear presentation of the extreme extent to which these connections impacted Henry Tudor's both his acquisition and his ability to maintain the throne of …

The Jews Of Italy (1650-1815), Francesca Bregoli

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Dangers Of Corporate Champions: The East India Company's Devastating Impact On Britain, Richard Newman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper argues against the common historical belief that the British East India Company’s actions benefited the British Public. While many recent historical works argue that the Company had detrimental effects on India, the common consensus believes that the Company’s actions while pillaging India benefited Britain through economic treasures and access to luxuries.

In the first section of the text, the author describes the British East India Company’s corruption, propaganda, and lobbying efforts to enrich individual members of the Company and protect personal and corporate profits. The next section describes the Company’s impact on Britain and argues that the Company …

The 1936 Nazi Olympic Games; The First Truly Modern Olympiad, Quinn Glosniak

CMC Senior Theses

Revived in 1896 by the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic Games have come to represent the ultimate international celebration of sport, culture, and the human spirit. The grandiose festival of the current day evolved into its mature form throughout the course of the twentieth century. However, no Olympiad altered the Olympic Movement as radically as the Berlin Olympics of 1936. Through the examination of key secondary sources and primary sources like, International Olympic Committee (IOC) records, personal testimonies, and newspaper articles, this thesis examines how and why the 1936 Nazi Olympics fundamentally altered the Olympic Movement and forced the …

The Military Genius Of Philip Ii Of Macedon, Nathaniel Thomas

A with Honors Projects

The great achievements of Philip II of Macedon are often overshadowed by the accomplishments of his son Alexander the Great. In this paper I intend to show why Philip deserves more recognition for his many outstanding achievements, and how his accomplishments were important in paving the way for Alexander’s success.

Fourth Time’S A Charm, Ardennes Vickery

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The sources I used to create my short story, Fourth Time’s A Charm, were essential for all aspects of its development. My story concerns the awkward first meeting of King Henry VIII and his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. As with all historical fiction stories, striving for period appropriate details and accurate representations of historical events was crucial. The resources that I was able to access through the UNLV University Libraries not only assisted me throughout my project by streamlining the research process, but proved indispensable for obtaining various primary sources that I may not have been unable to access …