domingo, 26 de janeiro de 2014

Rastros de ódio [2]

 
"Saiba que antigamente
Também existia guerra
Também se matava gente
Por uma nesga de terra
 

[...]
Foi um tempo agoniado
Eu não gostei do passado"


(trecho daqui)



WORLD WAR ONE - CAUSES

The first world war began in August 1914. It was directly triggered by the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, on 28th June 1914 by Bosnian revolutionary, Gavrilo Princip.

This event was, however, simply the trigger that set off declarations of war. The actual causes of the war are more complicated and are still debated by historians today.

ALLIANCES

An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies.

A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies. declared war first.

1879 - The Dual Alliance: Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance to protect themselves from Russia.

1881 - Austro-Serbian Alliance: Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop Russia gaining control of Serbia.

1882 - The Triple Alliance: Germany and Austria- Hungary made an alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking sides with Russia.

1894 - Franco-Russian Alliance: Russia formed an alliance with France to protect herself against Germany and Austria-Hungary.

1904 - Entente Cordiale: This was an agreement, but not a formal alliance, between France and Britain.

1907 - Anglo-Russian Entente: This was an agreement between Britain and Russia.

1907 - Triple Entente: This was made between Russia, France and Britain to counter the increasing threat from Germany.

1914 - Triple Entente (no separate peace): Britain, Russia and France agreed not to sign for peace separately.

IMPERIALISM

Imperialism is when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule. By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. With the rise of industrialism countries needed new markets. The amount of lands 'owned' by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies late and only had small areas of Africa.

MILITARISM

Militarism means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government. The growing European divide had led to an arms race between the main countries. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. The British had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships. The German, Von Schlieffen also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany.

NATIONALISM

Nationalism means being a strong supporter of the rights and interests of one's country. The Congress of Vienna, held after Napoleon's exile to Elba, aimed to sort out problems in Europe. Delegates from Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia (the winning allies) decided upon a new Europe that left both Germany and Italy as divided states. Strong nationalist elements led to the re-unification of Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871. The settlement at the end of the Franco-Prussian war left France angry at the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany and keen to regain their lost territory. Large areas of both Austria-Hungary and Serbia were home to differing nationalist groups, all of whom wanted freedom from the states in which they lived.


Fonte:
http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/causes.htm

domingo, 19 de janeiro de 2014

Rastros de ódio [1]

Em suas memórias, o conde Ottokar Czernin observa:

"The bursting of a thunderstorm is preceded by certain definite phenomena in the atmosphere. The electric currents separate, and the storm is the result of atmospheric tension which can no longer be repressed. Whether or no we become aware of these happenings through outward signs, whether the clouds appear to us more or less threatening, nothing can alter the fact that the electric tension is bound to make itself felt before the storm bursts."

Ele está correto. Você pode procurar. Vai topar com os rastros que levam à enorme desgraça.



1839: Guarantee of Belgium's neutrality.

1867: The Treaty of London: establishes Luxembourg's neutrality.

1870: The Franco-Prussian War, in which France is beaten and Paris is besieged.

1871: The German Empire is created.

1879: The Austro-German Treaty.

1882: The Triple Alliance established between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

1883: The Austro-Romanian Alliance.

1888: Wilhelm II becomes Emperor of Germany.

1889 - 1913: The Anglo-German Naval Race.

1894: The Franco-Russian Alliance.

1902: The Franco-Italian Agreement.

1904: The Entente Cordial, agreed between France and Britain.

1904-5: The Russo-Japanese War, in which Russia loses.

1905-6: The First Moroccan Crisis.

1907: The Anglo-Russian Agreement.

1908: Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia.

1909: The Russo-Italian Agreement.

1911: The Second Moroccan (Agadir) Crisis.

1911-12: Turkish-Italian War.

1912: Anglo-French Naval Agreement.

1912, October 8 - 1913, May 30: The First Balkan War.

1913: Woodrow Wilson sworn in as US president.

1913, April 30 - May 6: The First Albanian Crisis.

1913, June 29 - July 31: The Second Balkan War.

1913, September - October: The Second Albanian Crisis.

1913, November - 1914, Janaury: The Liman von Sanders Affair.


Fonte:
http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/worldwar1/a/ww1stimeline2.htm

domingo, 12 de janeiro de 2014

Ouverture: O espírito de 14

Um espectro ronda 2014. Não é a ansiedade pela Copa da qual seremos anfitriões. Não é o desgaste que paira sobre o decênio do Facebook.

A Primeira Guerra Mundial foi o doloroso parto do século XX. E não deixa de ser curioso ver essa metáfora obstetra aplicada a um fato opressivamente fúnebre. Este ano marca o centenário daquilo que o papa Bento XV chamou de "o suicídio da Europa". A Europa das estátuas equestres e dos lendários monarcas, dos imponentes museus e dos estandartes com belicosas águias bicéfalas.

Você deve estar se perguntando, Mas como surgiu o seu interesse pelo assunto? Foi ali pelos anos 90, quando o barbudo professor Wagner Castro, em uma das aulas de História, recomendou para nós um filme muito famoso que se passava na Grande Guerra. Dias depois consegui um VHS do referido. O título: Glória Feita De Sangue. Talvez tenha sido o enredo revoltante, a imortal atuação de Kirk Douglas, as cenas das trincheiras, não importa. O que sei é que fui fisgado pelo tema. O acontecimento que é o jarro de Pandora do qual saíram, como um enxame de abelhas, os ancestrais de vários elementos que fariam do século XX a era da aniquilação industrializada. Como dá para notar, não é bem um passeio de domingo.

A série que planejei ficou bastante longa. Estabeleci a meta de um post por semana. Essencialmente, vai ser a reunião de algumas amostras dos quilogramas e gigabytes de material (textos, vídeos, imagens) que tenho sobre a WW1.

Quero ver no que isso vai dar. Que comece a Danse Macabre. Vamos bailar.


domingo, 5 de janeiro de 2014

A caminho de Ur

Estandarte da Batalha de Ur, painel de guerra mesopotâmico (2600 a.C.)

Só um aviso: está vindo aí um assunto que irá ocupar este blog por um longo tempo. Em breve contarei os detalhes.