The Origins of the Cold War: Division, Conflict, and Crisis
The Maximum Tension: Early Cold War Conflicts
The Economic Division of Europe
The Marshall Plan
The U.S. government devised a strategy to revive the economies of European countries that were favorable, which was named the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan included almost all Western European countries except Spain, as the Franco dictatorship was considered anti-democratic. The United States scheme had two objectives:
- To improve living standards in Europe and thus ward off revolutionary movements.
- To maintain
The End of the Cold War, Decolonization, and Spain (1939-1991)
Theme 7: The End of the Cold War (1968–1991)
Détente (1968–1979)
- The Détente period marked a reduction in tensions between the USA and the USSR, although communist influence continued to spread in Latin America and Africa.
- The 1973 Oil Crisis caused a global economic downturn as oil prices rose dramatically, leading to inflation and economic restructuring.
Renewed Conflict (1979–1985)
- The Cold War escalated again in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
- Ronald Reagan, US President from 1981 to 1989,
20th Century Turning Points: Revolutions, Depression, and Dictatorships
The Tsarist Autocracy and Russian Society
In the early twentieth century, the Russian Empire survived under monarchical absolutism, known as the Tsarist autocracy.
Characteristics of Tsarist Rule
The Tsar ruled by decree, was not subject to any constitution, and did not have to answer to a parliament. Control of the Empire was assured by the bureaucracy, the army, and the Orthodox Church.
Economic and Social Structure
Agriculture was the main economic activity. Land was concentrated in the hands of a
Read MoreEstablishing the Second Spanish Republic: 1930-1933 Reforms
The End of the Dictatorship and the Republic’s Proclamation
Following Primo de Rivera’s resignation, the return to the previous regime’s dictatorship was impossible for three reasons:
- The dynastic parties had lost their organizational structure and were discredited.
- The monarch was unpopular, because public opinion compared his figure unfavorably to that of the dictator.
- The anti-dynastic forces took a united initiative, which culminated in the Pact of San Sebastián (1930).
Republicanism until 1931
Read MoreThe 1884 Berlin Conference and the Colonization of Africa
Early European Contact with Africa
Until the end of the 15th century, Africa was an almost unknown continent, except for its northern region bordering the Mediterranean, where ancient civilizations like Egypt had settled or had been colonized by Greeks, Romans, and Arabs. Beyond the Mediterranean coast, Africa opened into vast deserts that Europeans had not yet crossed.
In the 15th century, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire made it necessary to find new routes to the East, the land of silk and spices.
Read MoreThe Empire of Charles V: Spain and the Holy Roman Empire
The Life of Charles V
Son of Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria (son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy), and Joanna of Castile (daughter of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile), Charles was born in Flanders. Tutored by Adrian of Utrecht, he was educated in the Flemish court and received an excellent cultural and religious education. In 1526, he married Isabella of Portugal, effectively unifying the entire Iberian Peninsula under his family’s influence.
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