European Enlightenment revolves around the idea of freedom, of liberating people from false beliefs, false religion and from arbitrary authority (Hooker pp). Today the idea of liberation is common to international politics, yet the concept is rooted in Luther's idea of freedom (Hooker pp).

By 1616, Cadinal Richelieu had risen through the ranks to become France's Secretary of State of foreign affairs and by 1924, had gone on to head the royal council as prime minister of France (Cardinal pp). He had an analytical mind and relied on reason and a strong will to govern others and use political power effectively (Cardinal pp). His political views were well-defined early in his career, believing that everyone had a purpose to play in the system of society, each making their unique contributions: "the clergy through prayer, the nobility with arms under the control of the king, and the common people through obedience...believed in….

European History Quarterly, at least if its last three issues are an accurate guide, is a well-edited and well-written journal that focuses on a wide range of political and historical issues in Europe and the United Kingdom from the beginnings of the Renaissance through the present. (That is to say, the articles focus on the range of events within the historical sphere that is generally referred to as the modern world.) The articles in the first three issues of 2002 are somewhat more inclined to discuss politics within an historical context rather than history per se - although one may argue that this is simply the way in which history should be discussed.
Certainly, the editorial cast to these articles is very much within the model of new history - or new historiography. There is a definite avoidance of description that serves no other ends than simply to provide details….

Ancient European History
The image of the Greek philosopher, a man who addressed issues both of cosmic significance and of political moment, is embodied in Socrates, a man known largely by the writings about him from his students, such as Plato, and from the satire of him written by Aristophanes. The images of Socrates as presented by these two writers are quite different, with the student Plato reflecting admiration for Socrates, while Aristophanes expresses a contrary view somewhat closer to that taken by the accusers who brought Socrates to trial.

The political expression of rationalism is evident in Plato's The Apology as Socrates makes a speech to the court that is judging him. The speech depicts the conflict between the power of the state and the integrity of the individual. The court gives Socrates a way out if he recants his teachings, but he refuses. Socrates represents the primary social value of….

Transition of the Role of Women in 19th Century European History
The essays written by Sarah Stickney Ellis (an excerpt from her book "The Wives of England"- 1843) and Jeanne Deroin (excerpt from "Almanach des Femmos"- 1852) are two critical works that depict the role and function of women in the English society during the 19th century. These two critical essays are essential studies of how women's role in the society shifted from one of subordination to a more liberal, even radical criticism of the society's treatment to the women sector. Ellis' essay was written in the year 1843, and her essay talks about women's subordination to men, while Deroin criticizes the unjust and unequal treatment of the society to its women, particularly in their role as wives, mothers, and as women inside the family institution. This paper will conduct a comparative analysis of these two important documents that depict….

European transition between traditional and modern. The writer concentrates on the organizational structure of the nations including industry. The industrial revolution has historically been portrayed as a major revolution and one from which a sudden transformation was born. The writer of this paper presents evidence that the revolution and the change from traditional to modern happened through a step-by-step process and not all at once.
The industrial revolution of Europe was one event during the total European transition from traditional to modern. Since the changes took place it has been commonly understood and accepted that it was a sudden change. Today many people believe there was an overnight transition and Europe woke up in the modern era.

One can see how this has become an accepted theory but upon a closer look will be able to find flaws throughout the theory. The actual transitional period was much longer than commonly believed….

German Worker: Working-Class Autobiographies from the Age of Industrialization by Alfred Kelly. Specifically it will discuss how the book portrays women's working-class lives. Women's lives were far more difficult in the Industrial Age then they are today, and this book shows just how difficult they were, and how women were manipulated by their employers. Working women still had to take care of their families, and many started working very young, leaving school to help support their families.
Working women in Germany during the Industrial Age led difficult lives. They often died early from diseases like consumption and other ailments, and they often did without necessities so their children could have food and clothing. Ottilie Baader, a seamstress, relates how her mother died when she was seven, her father hurt himself, and she, a child of seven, had to take care of her mother's body and help take care of the….

Eleanor of Aquitaine plays a supporting role throughout so much historiography that it seems surprising that Alison Weir’s Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life would stand apart as one of the few scholarly biographies in publication. The woman best known for being queen to two kings, Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, comes alive on the pages of Weir’s book. Weir admits in a preface that primary sources on Eleanor’s life are scarce, though, alerting readers that filling more than 450 pages may require slight embellishments or at least padding. At the same time, the 12th century was a time during which courtly chroniclers did keep surprisingly meticulous records and logs. Genealogies of the Tudors are relatively straightforward to research partly for this reason, which is why Weir can cull information from numerous sources. Unfortunately, most of the sources available refer only indirectly to Eleanor. The lack of information….

History Naval Warfare
What was naval power in the age of sail and how did different sea going states exercise it from the period 1650-1850?

"There is a deep landlubber bias in historical and social research," writes Charles King. "History and social life, we seem to think, happen on the ground. What happens on the water…is just the scene-setter for the real action when the actors get where they are going. ut oceans, seas, and rivers have a history of their own, not merely as highways or boundaries but as central players in distinct stories of human interaction and exchange." Current essay is an exploration of the naval power and sea command during the period of the age of sail (1650-1850). The author has mentioned the war history and war strategies of major navies and sailors during this era. The author has also discussed how different sea going states exercise naval power….

The history from the Renaissance to the Machine Age was defined by major technical and stylistic advances that allowed for much larger, taller, more elegant buildings, and higher degrees of functionality and architectural expression.
In cultural and scientific matters, the Modern Era was characterized by an increasingly rationalistic trajectory of thought which was based on an ethos of the humanistic exploration of reality and truth. While in a cultural sense religion still played a significant role, the Industrial Revolution as well as the advent of the Machine Age and the predominance of empirical science and the scientific method, had overtaken the norms and values of the rural and agrarian worldview. There were many other factors that played an important role in the scientific culture of this era, including the rise of Capitalism and international trade. This in turn is linked to other concomitant factors such as the use of steam….

External references, even to source material that is not online such as printed documents, would tremendously boost the credibility of the Web site. Even so, the author does not claim to be a scholastic resource.
One of the strengths of the "European and Asian History" Web site is its objectivity. The author presents the historical information dryly and without opinion, and there is no noticeable bias. In fact, the information is listed as simple chronological tidbits as opposed to sentences. The Web site is informative and not analytical. Without a main thesis, Garneau's information is more encyclopedic than it is essay-like. Bias can therefore be avoided, as Garneau is not proving a point or persuading readers. What Garneau's site lacks in academic credibility, it makes up for in evident objectivity. No broad assertions or conclusions are being made.

"European and Asian History" includes few external links and therefore few links to….

European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the euro. Included is a critical assessment of the sources used.
All of the sources used for this report were well written, concise, and understandable. The European Union and the Euro are difficult topics to understand on a first reading, but the authors had a real understanding of their topics, and explained the issues clearly.

For example, Taylor gives the background that makes the forming of the European Union more understandable. "This Summit produced a communique which supported the idea of European Union by 1980, and proposed a great push towards a European Great Society, illustrated by the efforts made to push the European social programme forward at that time, which no member government opposed" (Taylor 10).

The subject could be considered dry, but Taylor gives it life, making his book interesting to read, and right to the point. He writes with authority, and gives….

The Donations of Constantine were in fact a fraud - a fact that could only have been revealed through the subjecting of the "original" document to unbiased evaluation. Yet Leonardo Bruni, much more than Valla, deserves the credit for shaping the modern idea of history. Advancing on the style and technique of such Classical authors as Herodotus and Thucydides, Bruni developed a more modern, and scientific approach to the subject. Though not all of his writings can be taken as shining exemplars of the new commitment to accuracy and truth, Bruni at his best, charted new territory for historical scholarship.
Bruni's monumental Historiarum Florentini Populi Libri XII (hereafter Historiae) is often singled out as an exemplary work, one that set the whole enterprise of history writing on a new plane.... Bruni destroys the legends surrounding the founding and early history of Florence, and then recasts the story on the basis….

Architecture through the Ages
Mesopotamia

Construction in ancient times is second only to agriculture-it reaches back as far as the Stone Age and possibly further (Jackson 4). Before the existence of master builders in design and construction the Code of Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.) referred to design and construction as a simple process (Beard, Loulakis and undrum (13). Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylon, the world's first metropolis and he codified his code of laws (Beard 13). This is the earliest example of a ruler introducing his laws publicly. The code regulated the organization of society including the extreme punishments for violating the law. The builder's work is addressed in the code, however faulty design and improper construction were viewed as one (13). Six specific laws address the builder. These laws are;

228. If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he….

History Of Zionism
Zionism

is the political movement that arose in Europe in the late 19th century with the aim of creating a Jewish state in Palestine. It asserted that the Jewish people were a separate nation and were entitled to have a country of their own and succeeded in its objective with the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Since then, the Zionist movement has concentrated on strengthening Israel and encouraging Jews from around the world to migrate and settle in the Jewish state. This paper traces the history of Zionism from its origins to the present time.

Origins and ackground

Although the Zionist political movement started in the late 19th century, its roots lie as far back as 70 AD when Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans ended with the destruction of the Temple and the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem. The land of Israel was re-named Palestine and the….

Histories of Herodotus
In his Histories, which chronicles the historical aspects of ancient Greece, Egypt and other regions of Asia Minor, Herodotus focuses in the beginning on the myths associated with these cultures and civilizations from his own distant past which at the time had acquired some relevance based on what was viewed as historical truth. Some of these myths, which now through archeological evidence may have some basis in fact, include the abduction of Io by the Phoenicians, the retaliation of the Greeks by kidnapping Europa, the abduction of Helen from Sparta by Paris and the consequences which resulted in the Trojan War.

Following this, Herodotus examines the activities and consequences of more recent historical myths associated with the cultures of the Lydians, the Egyptians, the Scythians and the Persians, all of which are interspersed with so-called dialogue spoken by the leading figures of these cultures. However, Herodotus' ability to separate….

1. Analyzing the impact of David Clay Large's work on the field of European history
2. Exploring the themes of identity and nationalism in David Clay Large's writings
3. Evaluating the role of historical fiction in David Clay Large's storytelling
4. Investigating the influence of David Clay Large's background in journalism on his historical writing
5. Comparing and contrasting David Clay Large's approach to storytelling with other prominent historians
6. Examining David Clay Large's perspectives on the impact of World War II on modern European society
7. Discussing the importance of historical accuracy in David Clay Large's publications
8. Exploring the role of memory and commemoration in....

1. The origins and development of Norman theory in Russia
2. The controversial debate surrounding the Norman theory of Russian history
3. The impact of the Norman theory on Russian national identity and historiography
4. The influence of Norman theory on Russian political discourse and foreign relations
5. The significance of the Varangian Rus' in Russian history and culture
6. Comparing and contrasting the Norman theory with alternative theories of Russian origins
7. The role of archaeology in shaping our understanding of the Varangian Rus' and Norman theory
8. The portrayal of the Varangians in Russian literature and folklore
9. The connection between the Norman theory and the....

Norman Theory of Russia

The Norman Theory of Russia, proposed by German historians in the 18th century, posits that the foundations of Russian statehood were laid by Vikings known as Varangians. It argues that these Scandinavian warriors established themselves as rulers over the East Slavic tribes, bringing with them their political and military organization.

Essay Topics for Exploring the Norman Theory of Russia:

1. Origins and Evolution of the Norman Theory

Discuss the historical context and intellectual origins of the Norman Theory.
Trace the development of the theory from its early proponents to its acceptance and subsequent challenges.

2. Archaeological and Historical Evidence Supporting....

The Hundred Years' War: A Tumultuous Conflict that Shaped Medieval Europe

The Hundred Years' War was a protracted conflict between England and France that spanned from 1337 to 1453, leaving an indelible mark on the political, social, and military landscapes of medieval Europe. The term "Hundred Years' War" is a modern historiographical designation, as contemporaries referred to the conflict as the "Great War" or the "English War."

Origins and Causes:

The roots of the war can be traced to the complex feudal relationships between the French monarchy and the English kings, who held extensive lands in France. Edward III, King of England (1327-1377),....