Thursday, December 9, 2010

Free Response Essay II

Discuss ways that the 17th century Dutch Republic differed from its neighbors, telling how these differences contributed to the country's success.

The 17th century Dutch Republic had seven provinces, that all maintained a steadfast and strong independence. The middle class was dominant and its trade and banking topped that of the rest of Europe. The merchant class supported the arts and considered art to be a profession learned through apprenticeship. The Dutch did not live lavishly, which was good for them. The Dutch outplayed many of their fellow European counterparts because of how they lived and how they ran their government.
With the middle class as dominant forces, things would be more equal for everyone. In each province was a chief executive, who would help out and claim more power in times of need and military threats, but the rest of the time, they would just keep the peace and equality throughout the land. There was a man by the name of William of Orange, who was elected by six provinces to be the chief executive. He tried to consolidate power, but the provinces would not allow this to happen, because if that happened like the other European monarchs, the rights of the people would cease to exist.
Religious refugees also liked the Dutch Republic in the Netherlands. Since Jews, Christians, Arminians, Huguenots, and others were protected from persecution, there were many who took refuge there. However, Calvinists had the most rights of any religious groups in the Netherlands. They were the majority religious group in the Netherlands at the time. In effect, the Dutch gained some more knowledge in the economic world and culture of their country.
The very successful trade and shipping that the Dutch controlled caused some conflicts with the British trade and shipping. Because of the Navigation Act the British passed, the Dutch came into a few feuds with the British, since they did not follow the Navigation Act very well. These conflicts caused the republic to tire out. However, when William, of Orange became king of England, the conflicts ended. The Dutch continued to trade all around the world, which helped out their economy, but they never created a colonial empire. This was because no one was very excited about moving to a different colony that could be located far away from where they lived.
In conclusion, the Dutch had a better off society than that of the other European countries. The people had more of an equal say in what happened, instead of the King just giving all the orders like in England and France. Also, more religions were free from persecution, since the people's home countries did not, they would move to the Netherlands. The Dutch government was different from other European countries because they did not follow a monarchy, which allowed for more equality making people happier. So it makes sense that the Dutch Republic would be successful.

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Free Response Essay Practice Test Final

Galileo sparked turmoil within the religious world, which would cause for him to be exiled and shunned by those who had been told otherwise. He was an Italian scientist, who created the telescope. Galileo's discovery with the telescope had caused controversy, and this discovery would be a considerably contradictory find, compared to what was already stated by previous scientists. Because of the past statements, Galileo had a hard time being taken seriously in the religious world. He made a great contribution to the scientific world and
Galileo was the first to invent the telescope. He found many interesting facts about the solar system and how it really worked. Galileo also discovered that space did not revolve around Earth. Earth in fact revolved around the sun. This caused an uproar in both the scientific world as well as the religious world. It had been stated for a while that space revolved around Earth, and was known throughout Europe as being proven correct. However, this was controversial to what Galileo had actually seen. He had also figured out that the universe was a lot of mathematical equations and formulas. This is what caused the uproar from the theological world.
Because of this uproar in the theological world, Galileo was shunned and insulted by many. The religious leaders of the time had said that humans were at the center of everything. They had told the people that God had set them at the center of everything because they were so important. The people believed in the religious leaders and in God, and because God was all knowing and all powerful, they felt it was an insult to God and his knowledge and power to say that this was not true. The people wanted to believe that their lives were destined for something important, and what Galileo was saying was tarnishing that idea. Because of Galileo's controversial facts, he was put under house arrest.
It seems that Galileo's trials and tribulations were predicative of the future of Western Civilization as well as a perfect encapsulation of his own time period. The future of Western Civilization and his own time was that of controversial statements and confusion among the people. Others had given controversial facts that had received an uproar from the theologians and scientists. These debatable discoveries were partially what caused all of the hullabaloo within the religious world. The scientists would discover something that would be disputatious towards what was stated by the religious leaders, and would cause turmoil for everyone.
Because of Galileo's discovery, there was controversy and disputes about whether it was true or not. The religious leaders had stated otherwise, but Galileo had seen for himself the truth. This discovery had caused so many disputatious arguments, which he would sadly pay for. Galileo was exiled and shunned for his factual statement, and because of the biased opinions of the people and leaders. His facts had been insulted and rejected by those who did not believe that there could be something different than was already told by religious leaders who did not actually see the truth for themselves, but instead believed in something that could not be proven correct.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Free Response Essay Practice Test

Why are the trials and tribulations of Galileo often considered both predicative of the future of Western Civilization as well as a perfect encapsulation of the context of his own time?



Galileo sparked turmoil within the religious world, which would cause for him to be exiled and shunned by those who had been told otherwise. He was an Italian scientist, who created the telescope. Galileo's discovery with the telescope had caused controversy, and this discovery would be a considerably contradictory find, compared to what was already stated by previous scientists. Because of the past statements, Galileo had a hard time being taken seriously in the religious world. However, in the future, Galileo would become a worldwide known scientist who discovered the truth about how the solar system is set up in the Milky Way.
Galileo was the first to invent the telescope. He found many interesting facts about the solar system and how it really worked. Galileo also discovered that space did not revolve around Earth. Earth in fact revolved around the sun. This caused an uproar in both the scientific world as well as the religious world. It had been stated for a while that space revolved around Earth, and was known throughout Europe as being proven correct. However, this was controversial to what Galileo had actually seen. He had also figured out that the universe was a lot of mathematical equations and formulas. This is what caused the uproar from the theological world.
Because of this uproar in the theological world, Galileo was shunned and insulted by many. The religious leaders of the time had said that humans were at the center of everything. They had told the people that God had set them at the center of everything because they were so important. The people believed in the religious leaders and in God, and because God was all knowing and all powerful, they felt it was an insult to God and his knowledge and power to say that this was not true. The people wanted to believe that their lives were destined for something important, and what Galileo was saying was tarnishing that idea. Because of Galileo's controversial facts, he was exiled.
It seems that Galileo's trials and tribulations were predicative of the future of Western Civilization as well as a perfect encapsulation of his own time period. The future of Western Civilization and his own time was that of controversial statements and confusion among the people. Others had given controversial facts that had received an uproar from the theologians and scientists. These debatable discoveries were partially what caused all of the hullabaloo within the religious world. The scientists would discover something that would be disputatious towards what was stated by the religious leaders, and would cause turmoil for everyone.
Because of Galileo's discovery, there was controversy and disputes about whether it was true or not. The religious leaders had stated otherwise, but Galileo had seen for himself the truth. This discovery had caused so many disputatious arguments, which he would sadly pay for. Galileo was exiled and shunned for his factual statement, and because of the biased opinions of the people and leaders. His facts had been insulted and rejected by those who did not believe that there could be something different than was already told by religious leaders who did not actually see the truth for themselves, but instead believed in something that could not be proven correct.