Exam question #'s

Question: Was Athens really a democracy?

Thesis: Athens was a democracy because they had trials by certain laws that they had and the people had some say in the government and what they did.

Quotes:"Whoever intends to bring suit in relation to a free man or slave, shall not take action by seizure before trial; but if he do seize him, let the judge fine him ten staters for the free man, five for the slave, and let him release him within three days."

("Ancient History Sourcebook: The Law Code of Gortyn (Crete), C. 450 BCE." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"Give a person this power, and straightway his manifold good things puff him up with pride, while envy is so natural to human kind that it cannot but arise in him. But pride and envy together include all wickedness---both of them leading on to deeds of savage violence."

("Ancient History Sourcebook: Herodotus: The Persians Reject Democracy/Darius' State."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"Every State is a community of some kind, and every community is established with a view to some good; for mankind always act in order to obtain that which they think good. But, if all communities aim at some good, the state or political community, which is the highest of all, and which embraces all the rest, aims at good in a greater degree than any other, and at the highest good."

("Ancient History Sourcebook: Aristotle: The Polis, from Politics." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

Question: How was the Medieval concept of power and equality different from our contemporary concept?

Thesis: The Medieval concept of power and equality is different from our contemporary concept because we believe that all men were created equal but they believed back in Medieval times that it was not the case. What you were born is what you died as.

Quotes: "For if, as was customary, a slave held a burning candle before him at dinner, he caused his shins to be bared, and placed the candle between them until the flame died; and he caused the same thing to be done with a second candle until the shins of the torchbearer were burned."

("Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves, C."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"The trade in slaves persisted on a large scale throughout the early Middle Ages. Indeed, payments were often reckoned in terms of slaves and early fairs were full of men and women exposed for sale. Since England produced at this time very little for export except a few staple commodities, it was convenient to exchange slaves for other goods and these unfortunate people were sent to Italy, Ireland, and Denmark, from which last country they also probably made their way into Germany."

("Medieval Sourcebook: Traffic in Slaves: England, 1065-1066." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"William the Conqueror found slaves being sold from the north of England and from Bristol, but despite his laws the trade, according to Giraldus Cambrensis, was still being carried on a century later."

("Medieval Sourcebook: William the Conqueror: Sale of Slaves in England, C. 1080."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

Question: What type of exploration has a greater long-term impact on a society: external exploration of the world or internal exploration of human understanding such as math and sciences?

Thesis: Internal exploration is better because expanding the inner part of a certain civilization is better than trying to conquer other cities when the civilization is not ready and does not have the technology to do that yet.

Quotes:

"After the sixteen winters had lapsed, from the time when Eric the Red went to colonize Greenland, Leif, Eric's son, sailed out from Greenland to Norway. He arrived in Drontheim in the autumn, when King Olaf Tryggvason was come down from the North, out of Halagoland. Leif put into Nidaros with his ship, and set out at once to visit the king. King Olaf expounded the faith to him, as he did to other heathen men who came to visit him. It proved easy for the king to persuade Leif, and he was accordingly baptized, together with all of his shipmates. Leif remained throughout the winter with the king, by whom he was well entertained."

("Modern History Sourcebook: The Discovery of North America by Leif Ericsson, C. 1000 from The Saga of Eric the Red, 1387." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"I proceeded on my further journey and made my way to Cathay, the realm of the Emperor of the Tartars who is called the Grand Cham."

(These, Help Of. "Medieval Sourcebook: John of Monte Corvino: Report from China 1305."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

"Amerigo Vespucci (born in Florence in 1452), whose name was given to the American continents by Waldsmuller in 1507, worked in Seville (where he died) in the business house which fitted out Columbus' second expedition. Here he gives an account of the first of his own four voyages. If his claims are accurate he reached the mainland of the Americas shortly before Cabot, and at least 14 months before Columbus."

("Modern History Sourcebook: Amerigo Vespucci (1452-1512): Account Of His First Voyage, 1497." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 04 June 2010. .)

Question: Summarize how Elizabeth rises to the throne -- from her birth to her coronation.