King Philip II of Spain

  Something that really called my attention about the movie is the perspective of Spain respect to the conflict between both empires. For that reason I speak about the King Philip II of Spain and his role in this conflict.

  The King Philip II of Spain was born at Valladolid in Spain on 13 September of 1598. He was son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal.  His mother died when he was young, and his father was often gone because of his extensive political duties. Charles did, however, he write many letters to Philip, which had a great influence on him. It was from these letters that Philip learned to be cautious and skeptical, but also long-suffering and to be persistent. From childhood, Philip was taught his duty to the Roman Catholic faith, which remained an important influence on him for the rest of his life.

  For that reason, Philip II believed he had two duties in life: the first, to extend the Spanish Empoire and to promote the Romn Catholic faith . Instead, Philip crippled Spain with an overwhelmingky inefficient bureauccrcy and turned the Spanish church into an oppressive regime that was feared and distrsuted. Philip learned his policy from his father, Emperor Charles V. He also inherited a poweful leviathan of an empire, complete with an efficient army and a number of colonies and territories. However, Philip loved paperwork nd dispatches. By the end of his rule, Spain was drained and weakened, ignorance was prevalent and the corrupted Church controlled even the king himself. Also Philip was known like "the prudent king" to some, or "the demon of the middle day" for others.

  In the 1560s, Philip II of Spain, a champion of the Catholic cause, sought to frustrate English crown policy for both religious and commercial reasons. The Protestant Elizabeth I of England, whom the Catholic Church did not recognise as the rightful English monarch, had antagonised Catholic states by restoring royal supremacy over the Church of England. These situation renewed the impression among Catholics in Europe that England was a Catholic country oppressed by Protestant rulers. The English historically had also supported the Protestant cause in the Netherlands partly to maintain the power balance in Europe and prevent the Spanish from using the Netherlands as a staging point for invasion.

The activities of English privateers (considered pirates by the Spanish) on the Spanish Main and in the Atlantic seriously affected Spain's royal revenues. The English trans-Atlantic slave trade – started by Sir John Hawkins in 1562 – gained the support of Elizabeth, even though the Spanish government complained that Hawkins's trade with their colonies in the West Indies constituted smuggling.

  For her part Elizabeth provided assistance to the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion and in the Dutch Revolt against Spain. Philip, meanwhile, was fiercely opposed to the spread of Protestantism, and in addition to financing the Catholic League in the French wars, supported the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland, in which Irish Catholics revolted against Elizabeth, from 1579 to 1583.

In 1584 the Spanish king signed the Treaty of Joinville with the Catholic League in France presenting Elizabeth with the choice of intervention or allowing an alliance between Spain and France against Protestant forces, the most notable of which was England. In 1585 Elizabeth signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch, agreeing to provide them with men, horses, and a subsidy. Philip II took this to be a declaration of war against his government.

  For these reason the Spanish Empire started the war and not precisely or totally like the movie presented.

Elizabeth I: A queen like no one else

Most known as The Virgin Queen or The Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth, although she had a hard life, she had one of the most properous kingdoms of England and be one the most remarkable woman around the world.

Her childhood wasn´t easy at all. Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn who was executed for alleged adultery against him when Elizabeth was only three years old and her father didn´t feel any affection for her, because he wanted a boy to be the new king after his dead.

She was separated from his father and she was raised by governesses that guide her on the path of education and culture.

In her youth, she passed hard times because her half sister Mary Tudor put her in prison for being a protestant and not become to catholicism.

When her half brother Edward VI died, she inherited the crown, becoming the new Queen  of England.

During her reign she lived hard times that she knew how to deal; like the trap created by Mary Tudor against her for  for being a devotee of protestantism and the war with Spain which it was at seas, even when Spain had more than one hundred ships and England just had sixty-six, anyway they defeated them because Spain couldn´t control the english seas.

In my opinion Queen Elizabeth was very fair and benevolent, because she listened the voice of the citizens, she considered them as people that had rights just like her. Her thinking was that her people had right to be attended just like her because she was part of that people.

She was a very intelligent woman because she knew how to maintain her power without  fall in desperation for a long time.

I think that the fact that she never got married didn´t meant egoism, it was that she wanted that her country wouldn´t fall into wrong hands and maybe that would end in disaster.

I consider that she is a remarkable woman because the hard moments that she passed showed her that nothing was easy, and those things made her strong and intelligent and not just in the rol of queen. Her passion and love for her beloved England made her make good decisions.

British Empire and its descolonization

The British Empire was the most extended of all, started to form in the eighteenth century but its maximum extent occurred between 1890 and 1910.

Their expansion occurred in the five continents:

There were the settler colonies (were designed to accommodate the excess population of the Empire and had some political autonomy.) and the exploitation colonies (which supplied raw materials to the metropolis and lacked political autonomy). For example:

-In Asia one of the most important colony for the British Empire was India, It was a farm colony administered since 1777 by the East India Company. India "The jewel of the British Crown" was the highest exporter of raw materials ( cotton, silk, sugar, tea).

-In Oceania Australia and New Zealand were discovered in the late eighteenth century by Captain James Cook, were used to reduce the overpopulation they had. Australia was practically uninhabited so it was occupied as a prison, but when the British realized the benefit that the land could give them inmigrants was integradated as a labor for the production.

However, the difficulty of maintaining these territories, the decrease economic and the nationalist sentiments of the colonies took their toll on Britain, so began the decolonization of territories like India or other colonies from America and Africa, but not until after the Second world War when Britain ceded his position as world power (the U.S.) and granted independence to multiple colonies worldwide.

Many of the independent  countries of the British Empire, today form the  Commonwealth wich is a voluntary association of 54 independent countries.

Architecture in the Elizabethan England.

   Something that really called my attention is the way castles, churches,houses and all buildings were designed and built.

   For many people today, houses are not only places to live; they are status symbols. This is the same way homes and buildings in general in the Elizabethan period were looked upon and judged: as signs of social class and personal status. 



   There were several types of homes in this period: royal works, great houses, smaller country homes, and farmhouses. As in modern day times, much of a person's choice of a home depended on his income and the social class with which he was associated. The kings and queens had the royal works, which were usually spread for miles, as far as the human eye could see. The upper-class, usually doctors or business men, had what was known as great homes. These were not as outlandish and extraordinary as the royal works but were definitely very large and quite nice. 



   The smaller country homes were usually owned by the merchants and craftsmen (tradesmen). Lastly, there were the farmhouses, which most of the time were occupied by farmers and their families.  



   The most distinctive feature in the great houses was the use of classical symmetry. This was the Elizabethan visual expression of order and harmony. An example of this use of symmetry is found in Hardwick Hall, located in Derbyshire. 

 






This two-storey building,
designed by Robert Smythson, was mirrored in a shape of an 'H', which gave the hall a perfect sense of balance.

   The smaller country homes were most commonly under the ownership of crafts men and tradesmen. These homes were not only nice and cozy, but were also very inexpensive to build because they often were built from materials that the owners already had. These homes were usually two stories with a kitchen, family room, and several bedrooms. Some people feel that the small country homes are just as beautiful as the large royal works of the century. These houses were by far much more commonplace than the huge and extravagant homes of the royalty and the others who were solely concerned with the social status shown by their houses.

   In my personal opinion, the Elizabethan Architecture is very neat and beautiful. All buildings, even the small ones, are surrounded by some sort of reserved ambiance, full of details. This shows how careful were architects and builders.
On the other hand, I don't really think buildings should be a feature for classifying people.

 

Common Elizabethan House.

Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

BLACK HOLE SUN

Soundgarden is a grunge band formed in Seatle (Washington) in 1984's. It was one of the seminal bands in the creation of grunge. Its debut album was "Ultramega Ok" in 1988, but it achieved its biggest success with the album "Superunknown" in 1994 with very popular singles like "Spoonman" or "Black Hole Sun", the song that I have choosen for this blog.

The videoclip for this song was directed by Howard Greenhalgh. In this video, the first images that we can notice are people in their american-stereotiypical way of life, doing this through a vision of a pleasing, colorful and plenary environment. However, this vision is quickly distortioned until turning and showing the real face of the corrupted society, through deformed and exagerated smiles and gesticulations. Justifying this way the apocaliptic vision of a black hole absorbing everything and everyone starting from the middle of the video. Like cleaning trash so to speak.

Regarding the song composed by vocalist and guitarist Chriss Cornell. He recognizes that in regard to this point does not seek a clear message, however intended to reflect the sense of desolation.

To complete the personal reason why I chose this song, basically is that Soundgarden is my favorite band and this song is why I started to listen.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I !!

Who´s driving your life, fear or YOU?

Fear is a feeling caused by the perception of danger.
When we feel danger getting close, we let the fear control us and make decisions for us, decisions that actually are not always correct.

Why do I let the fear takes the wheel of my life, if I should be the one who´s taking the wheel?
This is the message of the song "Drive" composed by the band´s vocalist, Brandon Boyd.
The idea is that the people understand the song just as the chorus says: "Whatever tomorrow brings I´ll be there, with open arms and open eyes".







The video it´s very simple and easy to understand; the band is recording a musical session while the vocalist appears drawing himself, this is interpreted as was previously mentioned: I decide to drive my life and not let fear interfere.

You are the one who decides what are you gonna do every day, you decides what you want for your future, not fear.
We must confront with our head up each problem or conflict that may appear and not run and hide.
So, don´t let the fear control your life, start taking your own decisions... believe it, it´s not that hard :).

Enjoy the video!

Sometimes, dreams can bite.

   This is a short film released last year called "The Boy Who wanted to be a Lion". It was produced by the Brazilian-British production group, SINLOGO, and directed by Alois Di Leo.   
   The animated film is about Max, a seven-year-old deaf boy growing up in the 1960s. One day he goes on a school trip to the zoo, where he sees a lion for the first time. Since that moment, a big wish started to grow inside him, leaving aside everything else.   
   As you can see, the animation style is very special, and creates a unique environment that catches the audience attention. 




   The story leaves a message that can be understood in many ways. There's a struggle between what someone wants to do and what someone must do. In addition, there is another issue: "Should i follow my dreams, no matter what?" The end of the film can make this question even harder to answer, since it can be a little bit shocking.

   This film shows a really good way to propose that question, from a different angle.