HISTORICAL JOURNALISTS - UNIT 3

    Saturday , 31th December 1870 

OUR GENERAL HAS BEEN MURDERED

Prim dies after several days of suffering

Yesterday , Friday the 30th December 1870 , General Prim died in War's Office .He died at 56 years old in his bedroom by an infection due to severe injuries caused by fire guns after three days of being ambushed in La Calle del Turco.

It was around 7:30 pm, and a heavy snowfall was falling on the door of The Congress and waiting for the general,there was a green carriage pulled by two horses.

They were heading to the presidential residence when they were surprised by two carriages that crossed the path with three armed individuals. The assistant warned him that they were going to open fire and that they should get out of the carriage and tried to defend themselves. The general received three hits in the left arm that caused damage to the hand eventually causing the amputation of the ring phalanx and  a shot in the shoulder whose shrapnel fragments remained until 2:00 am on Wednesday.

After the attack, the general remained several days at rest and under medical care , but unfortunately yesterday Saturday he passed away.

It is claimed that the general died from the injuries but we have found strangulation marks on his neck that seem quite suspicious.

The general had many enemies, which implies that some of them  could  be the murderer; he had mainly turned against  Isabel´s supporters by dethroning his queen and the Carlists for the result of The War.

We will inform you soon if we receive any breaking news.
Right now we have no more information.


If you click on this video , you can see a brief summary of the news:

The Messenger - Unit III

The long-awaited independence is completed

Friday 22/07/1831 (Brussels)

It has been more than a dozen years, but we can finally say it. The process of our country’s independence is finally complete.

Belgium has been unified to Holland since the rest of Europe decided it in the Congress of Vienna, but they didn't think about our differences. Most of people who were literate or had an important position in the army were in the north in Holland’s territory. In addition, their language, customs and religion were imposed on us by the government. Discontent run through our streets since this trait was considered unfair by many belgians.

Belgium Revolts

Since the July 27 revolutions in Paris last year, the people have been rising up, loots and attempts to get the power such us riots have been going on since then. This is something that led our previous king, Frederick, to send his military army fight against the people in revolt. After that, Belgium celebrated a constituent assembly and started to be considered as a free state by France and Great Britain.

In February this assembly agreed on a constitution for this new state, determining a model of government for a parliamentary monarchy, something that came with another problem, who should occupy the position of monarch? There have been several candidates for the throne, but they’ve all been rejected, most of them to avoid problems with France and Great Britain. All but one, Leopold of Saxony-Coburg, Prince of a German Duchy and widower of princess Charlotte of England.  

Leopold I, King of Belgium

Leopold I, born 40 years ago in the Holy

Roman Empire, was made colonel when
he was just 6 years old and general at the
age of 12 in Russia. He was contacted by
Napoleon himself to be his assistant,

which he refused and went back to Russia
to fight under Alejandro I’s orders against
   Napoleonic Empire. His skills and abilities
allowed him to become a marshal, the highest

place in the army, with just 25 years. His impeccable

career has attracted the attention of many countries,
Peru and Greece asked him to be their king, but he
refused their proposals. He only accepted when he
was requested to be the new Belgium’s king. 

                                                                          

Since yesterday, we’ve got a new capable ruler of a new free state, and Britain has assured protection in exchange of king’s impartiality. In short, this new situation will yield Belgium the chance to be at the forefront of the industrial countries.

THE EXPLORER NEWS - UNIT 3

10/08/1830

LONG LIVE THE KING

 "ÉGALITÉ FILS".

Louis Philippe I of Orleans snatches the throne from

Charles X.

Louis Philippe I of Orleans

Yesterday, the liberal deputies elected the new king, Louis Philippe I of Orleans, due to the desire of the Marquis de LaFayette. This has been caused due to the Trois Glorieuses, the three days of revolutions that took place in Paris from the 26th to the 29th of July, that led to the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the consequent ascent of his cousin Louis Philippe I of Orleans.

After this coronation, the people hope him to approve all the politic reforms that his predecessor didn´t approve, such as the extension of the census vote in which only people with a certain level of income can vote, that Parity in the Upper House ends being hereditary, that civil rights, such as freedom of expression and of the press is guaranteed and the abolition of censorship.

Apart from that, since 1821 the government has been dominated by ultramonarchist ministers, causing growing discontent among both moderate monarchists and the liberal bourgeoisie, and a peak in republican ideas. On the other hand, the popular classes have been suffering a great economic crisis and huge famines that have hit the country.

Trois Glorieuses

This king change is marking the shift from a constitutional monarchy, under the restored House of Bourbon to the July Monarchy, meaning a new historical and hopeful beginning for the country. And now that the House of Orléans is reigning, there will be a replacement of the principle of hereditary right by popular sovereignty.

From here, we hope that these proposals will come true and that this revolution has been worth for a better start for the nation.

The Messenger - Unit II

      MOSCOW IS IN FLAMES  

                                                                                                                     Tuesday 15/09/1812 (Perm) 

It´s official. Napoleon is against us!

The last Monday, 14 of September, the Emperor of France arrived with his army in Moscow, and would have taken the city if our great army hadn’t done anything or hadn’t moved the citizens. But why did we have to get to this point?
Napoleon has been ruling in France since 1804 as its Emperor (obviously, he declared himself the Emperor) and he has got kind of prestigious for conquering the most part of Europe, even if he’s having problems with Great Britain. 
Spaniards are trying to revolt, but, in the middle of that, Napoleon has decided to go to our homeland, that’s how greedy he is. 

Alexander I, Our Tzar

But we won’t surrender, we didn’t the last 7th in the Battle of Borodino, we could even resist the bloodiest war that the French Army has ever done. Fortunately, our great Tzar, Alexander I, has the perfect ways of winning this war, we’ll use our big land to weak the enemy, we won’t give anything to them, it’s preferable burning it down that to allow them to get it. And that’s what happened in Moscow. Our army took most of the people with them, they abandoned the city and let it in flames, just to not permit the enemy to stole us any supply. 

The moment when the invincible Napoleon’s Grande Armée will weaken is near, and then Russia will took its revenge.

The Battle of Borodino

THE EXPLORER NEWS - UNIT 2

19/06/1815

NAPOLEON BITES THE DUST

The Napoleonic army was defeated yesterday in a battle that took place near the city of Waterloo.

Yesterday a brutal armed confrontation took place between the French imperial army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Seventh Coalition.

As you know, Napoleon has tried to conquer territories all over the continent, and because of those imminent wars and conquests, Great Britain, Sweden, Holland, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Germany, decided to create the Seventh Coalition in order to defeat him. Although Napoleon Bonaparte had the support of officers and soldiers loyal to the French imperial army, he could not avoid the union of the allied armies. Now, Napoleon is expected to be exiled to the island of Santa Elena and, as it has happened on similar cases during History, probably the Napoleonic Empire will come to an end and the French monarchy will be restored, as it was defeated by Napoleon. According to that, we suppose that all the territories conquered by Bonaparte all over Europe, will be part again of the country they belonged to initially.

For you to understand better how this battle went by, we interviewed one of the survivors of the battle. He has told us his version: "Firstly, we were summoned by Arthur Wellesley at 09:30 in the morning in the Mont-Saint-Pont. Our compatriots came very scared since they had faced the Napoleonic Army in the village of Quatre Bras, in addition, they have been persecuted by them the day before. Around 11:30 a.m., when we were all together, the battle started. From then onwards everything became very bloody and bleak." And he added in tears: "It was horrible to see my mates losing their lifes one by one and I went down in the dumps."

On our part, we will keep you informed about the events referent to the battle and its consequences.

If you click on this video, you will see a recreation of the battle and live it as if you were there:

And if you click on this one, you will see a small and brief explanation of the battle, in case you have any doubt:

HISTORICAL JOURNALISTS-UNIT 2

Wednesday,20th July 1808

THEY ARE BLEEDING!

SPANIARDS DEFEATED FRENCH AT BAYLEN
Yesterday , 19th July The Battle of Baylen  , where the spaniards fought against french troops , took place.

It was the first time that spaniards got to defeat the french army in a openfield battle.

Napoleon is extremely furious  because it was the first time he lost a battle.


The Boards of government of Seville (Supreme Board of Spain and the Indies) and Granada, under the presidency of Francisco de Saavedra, began the recruitment of two armies, which were to cut the road through Sierra Morena to the French.

In the showdown 21.000 french soldiers commanded by  General Dupont faced against a spanish contingent formed by 27.000 men , commanded by General Castaños. It should be noted that more than half of the Andalusian army (About 17.000 soldiers) was made up of volunteers.

They won because of some circustances:the local population supported everything they could for their troops,the most decisive aid was the water supply for the soldiers on a very hot day of the Andalusian summer.Due to the high temperatures,French artillery was affected and many cannons were destroyed.


Because of that, Joseph I Bonaparte has to leave Madrid by force , obviously doubting the invincibility of the French.

Here we have a little video about this important battle:

FIRST NEWS - UNIT 2

BOSTON TEA PARTY

REBELLION OF THE COLONOS

The last 16 of december,1773 it took place in Boston, Massachusetts a rebellion

It was organized by john hancock but the names of the othersinvolves are still unknow.Between 60 and 150 people disguised as Mohawk Indians.
They left the great protest assembly and headed to Griffin Pier, where the Dartmouth and the newcomers Beaver and Eleanour were. 
Quickly and efficiently, armed with axes and knives, they frightened the sailors and climbed tea boxes from the hold to the deck. They opened the boxes and threw tea overboard. 
In the work that lasted until late at night, less than three hours were spent, the assailants acting quickly and efficiently.

At dawn, 45 tons of tea worth an estimated 10,000 pounds were poured into the waters of Boston Harbor.

It was an act of protest due to George III, that increased several taxes on the colonies, to recover from the expenses that the  Seven Years war produces.

That taxed the importation from the metropolis of different products, including tea, to benefit the British East India Company, whom the Colonist boycotted by buying tea from the Netherlands.

Many Colonist, in Boston and other parts of the country, have sworn not to take such a drink as a sign of protest, prefering other herbal infusions and coffee.

Many of these Colonist believe that this is not a simple protest but the beginning of a great revelation.

FIRST NEWS

 TORRICELLI INVENTS THE BAROMETER

THE LAST WEEK EVANGELISTA TORRICELLI SHOWED THAT THE AIR HAS WEIGHT

 

This physicist and mathematician at the University of Pisa and born on October 15, 1608 in Faenza discovered after a long work the BAROMETER.

To do this, he used the mercury by ascending it in a tube, creating a vacuum in the upper part, pushed by the weight of the air in the atmosphere. So he showed that the air has weight. 

The barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure or barometric pressure, that is, to measure the pressure in an open vessel and also to calculate the height of the mountains.

Torricelli's theorem is an application of Bernoulli's principle and studies the flow of a liquid contained in a container, through a small hole, under the action of gravity.

Over time we will discover if this Galileo Galiley student, a student educated at Benedetto Castelli and now a PhD supervisor, makes this invention one of the most important of the time.

The Messenger - Unit I

THE BATTLE OF THE LAND: PHYSIOCRATS AND LOUIS XV

10/20/1758 (Paris)

With a war against Great Britain still on, Louis XV has to face a new economic movement: the physiocracy

The current king, Louis XV, The Beloved, was for a time loved by the

Louis XV

people as a courageous and capable king. However, for some time 
he has gotten into battles for land he has not been able to win, and 
the current one against Great Britain and Prussia does not seem to
be different. All this added to the scandals concerning their 
followers have made the town have a bad image of Louis XV, 
see in the stab he received about a year ago for one of his servants, 
a wound from which the king recovered. But now our king faces 
another problem: physiocracy. Recently a book has been published 
by François Quesnay, the king's doctor since 1744, and his name is 
"Tableau Économique". This text defends that wealth is based on
food produced by the country, mainly agriculture, disregarding trade
and manufacturing as sources of wealth, considering them "sterile”.
This is based in Britain’s system, where the land and weather make
agriculture easier. The supporters of this movement, the physiocrats,

François Quesnay

try that neither the owner of the land nor the state intervene in these
activities and that the price of the land is lowered, ideas that Quesnay
coined under the term
"Laissez-faire", something that to the King does not seem like a good
idea even though the movement is gaining strength and more and more
followers.

Here you have a resumed video that we recorded about Louis XV (you
need to turn captions in english)

And Here you´ve got an Spanish adaption of the "Tableau Economique"

THE EXPLORER NEWS - UNIT 1

07/10/1796

THE NEW VACCINE THAT IS SAVING 

SO MANY LIFES   

Finally the cure to the deadliest disease of the time 
is discovered: the smallpox.

As you know, lately the smallpox virus has spread very quickly. This is a contagious disease caused by a virus which is characterized by causing fever and the appearence of pus. It can be transmitted through direct contact with infected body fluids or with contaminated objects, such as sheets, covers or clothing.

The English physician and scientist Edward Jenner has discovered last Wednesday the cure for the disease that more deaths is currently causing. He has achieved it by extracting pus from a pustule from the hand of Sarah Nelmes, a milker who had contracted her cow's smallpox, and inoculating it into a healthy 8-year-old boy named James Phipps, who later incubated the disease between the 7th and the 9th day. Eventually, he inoculated him with the smallpox virus, but he didn't get sick since a vesicle had formed at the inoculation points and thanks to that, he knew that he had discovered the cure for smallpox.

On our part, we want to thank Edward Jenner for his great discovery and we hope that many more lifes will be saved.