Interesting research topic in European History?

Question

I need a topic to do a 15-page research paper on. It has to be from European history, and has to have happened at least 50 years. I am interested in something to do with science from early 1800s onward and has to be relatively specific, but not too specific. It can also be something like the Bolshevik revolution or Hitler's Germany or something, just please not anything to do with painting/scuplture/art!

I have to have an analytical research question. For example, a topic could be, in what ways did [insert name of one of Chopin's masterpieces] influence nationalism in [insert place]?

PLEASE!! Anything helps!! If you have the slightest idea, please tell!!

Answer 1

Perhaps the Hundred Year's War?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years'_War

Answer 2

You could consider the Moors. There is a tremendous amount of information on the moors available. Here is a sample.

THE MOORS IN EUROPE

By RUNOKO RASHIDI


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It would not be inaccurate to say that the Moors helped reintroduce Europe to civilization. But just who were the Moors of antiquity anyway? As early as the Middle Ages, and as early as the seventeenth century, "The Moors were," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "commonly supposed to be mostly black or very swarthy, and hence the word is often used for *****." Dr. Chancellor Williams stated that "The original Moors, like the original Egyptians, were Black Africans."

At the beginning of the eighth century Moorish soldiers crossed over from Africa into Spain, Portugal, and France, where their swift victories became the substance of legends. To the Christians of early Europe there was no question regarding the ethnicity of the Moors, and numerous sources support the view that the Moors were a black-skinned people. Morien, for example, is the adventure of a heroic Moorish knight supposed to have lived during the days of King Arthur. Morien is described as "all black: his head, his body, and his hands were all black." In the French epic known as the Song of Roland the Moors are described as "blacker than ink."

William Shakespeare used the word Moor as a synonym for African. Christopher Marlowe used African and Moor interchangeably. Arab writers further buttress the Black identity of the Moors. The powerful Moorish emperor Yusuf ben-Tachfin is described by an Arab chronicler as "a brown man with wooly hair."

Black soldiers, specifically identified as Moors, were actively recruited by Rome, and served in Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. St. Maurice, patron saint of medieval Europe, was only one of many Black soldiers and officers under the employ of the Roman Empire

Answer 3

Here is an interesting and unusual topic area for you:

'The ways in which the UK Engineer Matthew Murray contributed to the success of the present rail infrastructure in the United States'.

This person is relatively unknown for his work and contribution to rail travel and the designing and engineering of trains and would make an unusual, but interesting and relevant topic area. He was designing and building Steam Locomotives more than 50 years BEFORE Stevenson designed 'the Rocket'.

I suggest that you refer to:

http://www.schoolnet.co.uk/RAmurray.html

This site includes brief details and a diagram. Also, reference should be made to:

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/armleymills/gallery/gallery1.html

This site also gives quite a detailed explanation on Matthew Murray's life, inspirations and the reasons why he is probably not as well known as his counterparts like Stevenson. He also contributed quite extensively on the use of rail, steam engines for the mining industry, especially for open-cast mining.

I hope this is useful and good luck on your research paper!

Please visit my blog on homeschooling and education related topics at:

http://lec23.blogspot.com

Answer 4

How did the Scholastics and the early (12th century) universities contribute to the rise of science in Europe?

Answer 5

renaissance. easy.