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cahnBackground: The kids' school has a topic for "Unit" every trimester that a lot of their work (reading, writing, some math) revolves around. These topics range from time/geographic periods ('Colonial America') to geography ('Asia') to science ('Space') to social science ('Business and Economics'). (I have some issues with this way of doing things, but that's a whole separate post.) Anyway, for Reasons, they have had to come up with a new topic this year, and E's 7/8 class is doing "World Fairs" as their new topic.
Me: I know E's teacher is all about World Fairs and I know she is great and will do a good job. But I feel like if we had a different teacher who wasn't so into World Fairs, they wouldn't do such a good job and another topic would be better.
Me: Like... the Enlightenment!
D: Heh, you could teach that! But you'd have to restrain yourself from making everything about Frederick the Great.
Me: But that's the thing! Everyone does relate to each other in this time period! Voltaire -- and his partner Émilie du Châtelet, who was heavily involved in the discourse of conservation of energy and momentum -- well, I've told you Voltaire had a thing with Fritz -- and then there's Empress Maria Theresa, who went to war with him a few times -- and Catherine the Great --
D, meditatively: You know --
Me: *am innocently not warned even though this is the same tone of voice that is often followed by, say, a bad pun*
D: -- it's impressive how everyone from this 'the Great' family is so famous!
Me: *splutters*
D, thoughtfully: But of course there's probably selection bias, as the ones who aren't famous don't get mentioned. You never see 'Bob the Great' in the history books...
Me: *splutters more*
Me: I know E's teacher is all about World Fairs and I know she is great and will do a good job. But I feel like if we had a different teacher who wasn't so into World Fairs, they wouldn't do such a good job and another topic would be better.
Me: Like... the Enlightenment!
D: Heh, you could teach that! But you'd have to restrain yourself from making everything about Frederick the Great.
Me: But that's the thing! Everyone does relate to each other in this time period! Voltaire -- and his partner Émilie du Châtelet, who was heavily involved in the discourse of conservation of energy and momentum -- well, I've told you Voltaire had a thing with Fritz -- and then there's Empress Maria Theresa, who went to war with him a few times -- and Catherine the Great --
D, meditatively: You know --
Me: *am innocently not warned even though this is the same tone of voice that is often followed by, say, a bad pun*
D: -- it's impressive how everyone from this 'the Great' family is so famous!
Me: *splutters*
D, thoughtfully: But of course there's probably selection bias, as the ones who aren't famous don't get mentioned. You never see 'Bob the Great' in the history books...
Me: *splutters more*
Re: 1764-1772 Foreign policy: Austria: Partitions, partitions, partitions
Date: 2024-01-13 11:36 pm (UTC)Frederick: I may be your ally, but OMG no.
Joseph/MT/Kaunitz: We are seconding Fritz hard on this one.
Hee!
Heinrich, Catherine: We're still on for partitioning Poland, right?
Fritz: Yes, caveat being "without starting a war." I, for one, have not forgotten the last war. So if we don't want Austria to have any ground to stand on when they go to protest our land grab, we should cut them in on the deal!
Heh, well, I guess he did call that...
MT: I have an idea that might actually be ethical. How about we agree to give up our claims to Poland in return for you all giving up your claims to Poland, and then we can avoid a war and still sleep at night!
So, her idea never made it to Catherine and Fritz? But would they have agreed to that? They wouldn't have, would they?
MT: This is still a really BAD idea, both politically and ethically. But FINE, if we're going to do it, we'd better get as much territory as possible out of this. We have to get *something* to make up for everything we're losing by agreeing to this.
"She cried as she took, and the more she cried, the more she took."
Hee, I was thinking about that line!
He should be very sorry if the World put a false Construction upon it, and considered Him as a Man of loose and unsettled Principles. That that was far from being the Case, that he meant to be a truly honest Man
Things that Fritz never said :P
As one historian points out, though, it was MT's signature on the partition, all her tears and protests notwithstanding.
Well... that's what happens when you continue to hold on to being the place where the buck stops in the triumvirate. You can't really get away with blaming other people for the stuff you signed :P
Re: 1764-1772 Foreign policy: Austria: Partitions, partitions, partitions
Date: 2024-01-13 11:42 pm (UTC)So, her idea never made it to Catherine and Fritz? But would they have agreed to that? They wouldn't have, would they?
As far as I can tell from Beales, it didn't, but I can't be 100% sure. In any case, no, they wouldn't have. Catherine's army was on a roll and she wanted massive gains, and as long as she was getting territory, Fritz wanted territory, and as long as she didn't object to him getting territory, Fritz wanted territory. I think even if Austria hadn't gone along with it, Fritz and Catherine would have divided Poland...and since that's the argument that convinced MT to reluctantly take part in the partition, I think for once I can confidently speak about what would have happened in an AU.