UNIT 2: POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS ACTIVITIES.
1. Read the text and answer the questions:
George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1732. During the American Wa of Independence, he was the commander-in-chief of the colonial forces that fought the British. After the war had ended, Washington presided over the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 when the Constitution of the United States was written.
In 1789, he was elected as the first president of the United States. During his time in office, he supported the Bill of Rights, which guaranteed the basic rights of all citizens. He was president until 1797 and died two years later in Mount Vermon, his home in Virginia.
1. What army did Washington lead during the war?.
2. Where was the American Constitution written?.
3. When did Washington become president?.
4. What year did Washington die?.
2. Complete the text using these words: colonist, commerce, constitution, Great Britain, Independence, middle, representation, thirteen.
In the 18th century, the ______colonies of north American won their independence from ______. The ______refused to pay higher taxes and they also wanted to have ______in the British parliament. Wealthy members of the American ______class also wanted more control of their land and ______. The war of ______began in 1776 and the United States finally became a nation in 1783. A new ______was written four years later.
3. Complete the text using these words: Corsica, family, emperor, victories, leader, alliances, century, coup d'état.
Napoleon Bonaparte, (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) later known as ______Napoleon I, was a French military and political ______who is considered one of the most influential figures in European history.
Born in ______and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, he rose to prominence under the First French Republic. He distinguished himself as a military commander fighting in Italy. In 1799, Bonaparte staged a______and installed himself as First Consul; five years later he crowned himself Emperor of the French. In the first decade of the Nineteenth ______, he turned the armies of the French Empire against every major European power and dominated continental Europe, through a series of military victories. He maintained France's sphere of influence by the formation of extensive ______and the appointment of friends and ______members to rule other European countries as French client states. It appeared that through Napoleon's tactical genius, nothing could stop the French as they won a series of military ______.
4. Complete the text using these words: older, died, Spain, island, reign, States.
Born Giuseppe Buonaparte, on the ______of Corsica, on January 7, 1768, Joseph Bonaparte was the ______brother of Napoleon I, emperor of France. During his brother's ______, Joseph was made king of Naples and Sicily (1806–08), and then king of ______(1808–13). After Napoleon's defeat, Joseph moved to the United _____, but spent his final years in Europe. He _____ in Italy in 1844.
5. Read the text and answer the questions:
When Napoleon returned to Paris after the Russian campaign, Napoleon one day placed on the table a large map of the United States and said to his older brother, "Joseph, it is very probable that the time is not distant when you andI will be forced to seek an asylum in the United States. Come, let us look out the best spot.". The place they selected was the territory between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers in New Jersey. Within three years Napoleon was an exile at St.Helena and Joseph was living on the banks of the Delaware at Bordentown, New Jersey.
Napoleon once remarked, "Ilove no one; not even my own brothers." Then he added, "Joseph perhaps a little."
During the Hundred Days, which he helped to finance with much of his own wealth, Joseph returned from Switzerland and joined the Emperor at Paris. After Waterloo he went to Rochefort where Napoleon was, and did all he could to persuade Napoleon to attempt an escape to the United States. He proposed that they exchange passports, thinking that in this way there would be less likelihood of Napoleon being captured but Napoleon refused to escape in his brother's place, under the name of Bouchard, embarked for the United States on board the American shipCommerce. Several times the ship was halted by British ships. Even when the Commercewas approaching the harbor of NewYork she was pursued by two British ships, but by a favourable winds, they managed to escape.
Joseph landed at NewYork on the 28th of August,1815.
1. Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, Was it a successful campaign or not? Why? Explain.
2. Why do you think they thought in the USA to seek asylum?.
3. Where the island of Saint Helena is located?
4. Why do you think the text says that Napoleon "love no one"?
5. After Waterloo, What did Joseph propose to his brother Napoleon?.
6. Read the text and answer the questions:
Maximilien de Robespierre was on born May 6, 1758, in Arras, France. He was a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution. Robespierre soon took on a public role, calling for political change in the French monarchy. He gained a reputation for defending the poorest of society and earned the nickname "the incorruptible" for his adherence to strict moral values .
At age 30, Robespierre was elected to the Estates General of the French legislature. He became increasingly popular with the people for his attacks on the French monarchy and his advocacy for democratic reforms. He also opposed the death penalty and slavery.
In April 1789, Robespierre was elected president of the powerful Jacobin political faction. A year later, he participated in writing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the foundation of the French constitution. In December 1792, he successfully argued for the execution of the king and continued to encourage the crowds to rise up against the aristocracy.
On July 27, 1793, Maximilien Robespierre was elected to the Committee of Public Safety, formed to oversee the government. The Revolutionary government instituted the Reign of Terror in September. In the next 11 months, 300,000 suspected enemies of the Revolution were arrested and more than 17,000 were executed, most by guillotine. Robespierre was able to eliminate many of his political opponents .
Robespierre called for more purges and executions. By the summer of 1794, many in the Revolutionary government began to question his motives. Then, he was overthrown and guillotined.
- ¿Dónde nació Robespierre y en qué año?.
- ¿De qué facción era líder Robespierre?.
- ¿Qué sobrenombre tenía Robespierre y por qué?.
- ¿Cuál es el ideario de Robespierre?.
- ¿De qué organismo fue su máximo líder?.
- ¿Por qué se conoce a su periodo de gobierno como “la época del Terror”?.
- ¿Cómo acabó su vida Robespierre?.
7. Read the text and answer the questions:
The Battle of Waterloo was the culmination of the famous Hundred Days, the period from the time of Napoleon's escape from exilein Elbaand his return to reclaim his throne of France. Now defeated, Napoleon had a limited number of options. He contemplated fleeing to America, where his brother Joseph had fled.He considered surrendering to the British, imagining himself to live out his days as a respected guest of his former enemy.
He was confined to a ship off the coast of Portsmouth, and transported as a prisoner to the island of St. Helena.There Napoleon spent the next five years of his life. He was 47 years old when he went into exile.
Some experts argue that powerful men—French, English, or maybe a combination—feared the ex-emperor might escape exile again and retake France.Some historians suggest that Napoleon was slowly poisoned with arsenic, perhaps in his wine or food. Studies of Napoleon's hair have revealed high levels of arsenic. Anyways, Napoleon died as a result of stomach cancer.
Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821. The following day an autopsy was conducted by the emperor's doctor, Francesco Antommarchi in the company of 17 witnesses and a priest called Vignali. Antommarchi removed Napoleon's heart (which will be given to the empress Marie-Louise, though it was never delivered) and stomach and his penis.
1.What were the Hundred Days?
2. How many years was Napoleon confined in the island of St. Helena?
3. What parts of the body were removed during Napoleon's autopsy?.
4. What was Napoleon's cause of death?.