The Spanish Armada

Was it, as old-fashioned British textbooks would have you believe, the story of heroism against the odds as the plucky English underdogs beat off the mighty Spanish thanks to their superior sailing skills and daring tactics? Was it, as many Spanish textbooks - and King Philip II - claimed, merely a question of some freakish weather coming to the aid of the fortunate English? Or was the failure of the Armada due to a more complicated combination of military, climatological and political factors?

Try and shake off your national bias and take a look at some of the following websites so that you can make up your own mind.

The History Learning Site offers a pretty objective analysis of events. Spot the interesting differences in the versions given on the Spanish and English versions of Wikipedia. Or take a look at this very detailed webpage and its sister site that attempt to destroy some of the myths surrounding one of the most famous events in English and Spanish history.

Take a look at this David Starkey video for his take on events and decide if you think it gives a fair verdict. Use your own research to decide if Spain really was weakened by the defeat of the Armada.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Tuesday is Holocaust memorial day, a time to reflect on the horrific events that led to the deaths of over 6 million Jews and other minorities as a result of the Nazi extermination campaign during the Second World War. Unfortunately similar atrocities have continued to occur. This hard-hitting video looks at the issue and provides us with plenty of food for thought.

Elizabeth I portraits

In Year 8 we will be looking at some portraits of Elizabeth I. Here is a short presentation showing some of the most famous representations of the Tudor monarch.

Martin Luther King

Monday 19 Jan was Martin Luther King day. He was one of the most important figures in the fight for equal civil rights for black people in the United States in the 1950s and 60s. King, a baptist minister, led a famous march on the capital Washington DC in 1963 where he made his “I Have a Dream” speech - an impassioned call for human justice that helped earn him a reputation as one of the greatest orators of modern times.

You can take a look at this video of the whole speech here.



King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. This was the last speech he made shortly before dying.



King's work is particularly relevant given that this week Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first black president of the United States.

The Middle Ages

Here are a selection of websites that contain a host of interesting information on the Middle Ages.

This interactive site has a stack of information on all aspects of medieval life. Here is the British Library site on the period and it has a great section on the role of women.

As you know, we looked at some images from the Luttrell Psalter in class. Click here and you can see the book itself. Click on the section entitled "glimpses of medieval life".

Here is an atmospheric video on peasant food.



And finally another video showing a 13th century harp dance.

Greensleeves

Legend has it that Henry VIII composed Greensleeves for his lover and future wife Anne Boleyn, but the song was probably written towards the end of the 16th Century in the Elizabethan era. The video below gives a taste of what the original would have sounded like.



You can find the lyrics of the song on this webpage.

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I reigned for 45 years between 1558 and 1603, becoming one of the most famous of all British monarchs. She is renowned for her moderate religious policy, her refusal to marry, her carefully measured foreign policy, her order to execute her cousin and rival Mary Queen of Scots and for rallying her troops in the face of the threat of Spanish invasion at the time of the Armada.

She was also an expert at propaganda and carefully cultivated her image as the "virgin queen" prepared to sacrifice everything for the good of her country. Look at this website for a comprehensive selection of portraits of Elizabeth and check out this video which has a slide show of some of the most famous ones.

For an explanation of the reasons behind her refusal to marry take a look at this short extract from a documentary series on the Tudors.

For a re-enactment of her famous speech to the troops at Tilbury at the time of the Spanish Armada watch this video:



For more on the Armada take a look at the BBC website and this section on the British Library website.

The Slave trade

The slave trade was a highly lucrative trade for Britain and other European nations during the 18th and 19th centuries. Slaves were taken from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in appalling conditions in a journey known as "the middle passage".

The slave triangle involving Britain, Africa and the American colonies is explained in this website. If you want to know more about the battle to abolish the slave trade there is plenty more information on the same site.