A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning: Book the First, Summaries

 

Summary by Brian Maregedze

Date: 11/03/2022

A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Bad Beginning: Book the First

By Lemony Snicket

Chapter 1

The book is dedicated to Beatrice who is dead but dearest and darling to the author. The introduction of the novel takes the reader into bad circumstances taking shape in the lives of three children, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, all from the Baudelaire family. These three kids received the bad news of the death of their parents from an inferno while they were hanging out at Briny Beach. Mr. Poe delivered the sad news to the three kids which they initially received as a joke. Upon realising that Mr. Poe was telling them the truth, all the kids became sad with grief. Mr. Poe also informed the kids that he was their executor although the kids felt he was in fact an executioner for delivering bad news to them.

Yes, this is a sad chapter with a subtle character- Klaus, who contemplated on his burnt books in the library. Thoughts of how he would never read his books again linger at a time of grief.

12/03/2022

Chapter 2

Summary writing by Brian Maregedze

A series of bad events continue to unfold in the lives of three Baudelaire orphans‌ Klaus, Violet and Sunny who temporarily fall under the custody of Mr. Poe. While they were staying with Mr. Poe, sharing rooms with his two kids Edgar and Albert made life miserable since they were not used to that. Violet also expressed that they never had fun as they would always mop.

Count Olaf becomes the guardian of the three Baudelaire orphans. He lived close to where they once lived before the fire accident, which eventually killed their parents. The kids’ first impression of Count Olaf is that of discomfort and uneasiness because they liked their neighbour Justice Strauss. Mr. Poe introduced Count Olaf as an actor, although he lived in an ugly house at least according to the kids.

Napoleon’s Foreign Policy

 

By Brian Maregedze and Vincent Chenzi

Right from the start Napoleon was too ambitious and wished to control the whole of Europe. His aims and objectives were to conquer and dominate the entire European continent and thereby spread the revolutionary ideas. He believed that it was only him alone who had the immediate solution to problems facing the inhabitants of Europe.

1. The second coalition (1789-1802)

Napoleon came to power at a time when the second coalition (Britain, Turkey, Austria, Russia, Portugal and Naples) had defeated the French troops. Napoleon re-organized the French army and defeated Austria at the battle of Morengo in March 1800. Austria was forced to sign the treaty of Luneville (1801) in which she surrendered Italy, Holland, Switzerland and the Rhine territory to France. However, although Napoleon defeated the rest of the coalition powers, he failed to defeat Britain because of her naval superiority.

2. The treaty of Amiens (March 1802)

By 1802, both France and Britain were fed up of war and they had failed to defeat each other. They thus resorted to a peace agreement known as the treaty of Amiens. According to the provision of this treaty, Britain was to recognize French boundaries of 1802. Moreover, Britain was to evacuate Egypt, Malta and West India. On the other hand, France was to evacuate Southern Italy and Sri-Lanka which was to be retained by Britain. However, the treaty of Amiens was short lived since Britain refused to evacuate Malta and France did not surrender Egypt and Turkey.

3. Napoleon and the third coalition

By 1805, the third coalition was formed against France. It was made up of Britain, Austria, Russia, and Sweden. Their aim was to force France out of Italy, Belgium, and the Rhineland. Britain blocked the French troops and cut them off from the French colonies. This made Napoleon to plan to invade England. Napoleon was reported to have remarked that, “If I can be the master of the sea for six hours, England would cease to exist.” Consequently, Napoleon attacked Britain and he was assisted by the Spanish fleet. However, his joint naval fleet was hopelessly defeated by the British Naval commander, Horatio Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar on the 21^st of October 1805. This was a great disaster for Napoleon since he lost all his naval troops in Atlantic Ocean.

4. The continental system

The continental system was an economic war which was initiated by Napoleon in an attempt to defeat Britain. It was an effort to bring Britain to her knees after realising that she could not defeat her by naval supremacy or war. Napoleon was advised that Britain could easily be defeated by attacking her trade. Montgaillard remarked, “It’s through her commerce that England must be attacked.” Napoleon and his advisers realized that the British military power rested on her strong economy and her dominance of international trade. They therefore, started destroying the British trade throughout the continent. To effectively implement the continental system, Napoleon passed the Berlin and Milan decrees of 1806 and 1807 respectively. Through these decrees, Napoleon established a ban on British ships and ordered French access to confiscate British goods whenever they were found.

 

Reasons for the failure of the continental system

Napoleon’s naval inferiority compared to the British naval supremacy rendered the continental system a failure. Britain used her naval power to bully the states which had accepted the continental system to abandon it. Moreover, Napoleon lacked a strong navy to patrol far and distant coastlines where British goods were still being smuggled into Europe. The battle of Trafalgar destroyed Napoleon’s naval power and weakened his ability to affect the continental system hence its failure. The confiscation of the Danish fleet by Britain in 1807 also frustrated Napoleon’s plans of using the fleet to patrol the European coastline. Smuggling of British goods continued and was unchecked in some places. There was also corruption that facilitated the consumption of British goods. Britain was the workshop of Europe and Napoleon’s continental system led to lack of essential commodities whilst inflation and starvation made the system to be rejected in both Russia and Portugal.

 

More so, the French substitute to the British goods, were of poor quality and yet very expensive compared to the British products. This made European public opinion to pressurize their governments to withdraw from continental system. Hence, it was because of this reason that Portugal, Russia and the Papal States had to reopen their ports for the British products and trade. In addition, the timing of the continental system was unfortunate since it was implemented during the economic depression following a long period of war and instability throughout Europe. This is why it was impossible for Napoleon to divert the European economy from depending on British trade.

 

Additionally, the peninsular war tied Napoleon’s 300,000 troops in an acute guerilla struggle with the Spaniards which his conventional military was not prepared to confront thereby rendering his continental system ineffective. Moreover, it diverted his attention from implementing the continental system and brought Spain and Portugal in an alliance against him. The Moscow campaign of 1812 was also another by-product of the continental system and it diverted Napoleon’s effort from enforcing the system in other states. Besides, he lost at least 500,000 troops who would have assisted in patrolling the European coastlines against the rampant smuggling of British goods. Moreover, the severe European winter made those who could not do without coal and winter clothing to abandon the continental system. That is to say, this is what partly forced Russia out of the continental system hence rendering it a failure. Napoleon’s own mistake was a cause for the failure of the continental system. In other words, he over concentrated on the British exports and not imports. Moreover, he did not stop the export of wheat to Britain for fear that it would provoke European resistance against him. He miscalculated that the cause of British prosperity was her exports and not imports. He failed to realize the reciprocal relationship between imports and exports. That is to say, imports led to exports and vice versa, hence failure of the continental system.

Napoleon and the Pope

The Papal States were the first to denounce the continental system. This was due to the economic hardship that was caused by the system and the Pope’s desire to remain neutral as a spiritual leader made him to open his ports to the British trading ships in 1808. In retaliation, Napoleon ignored the concordant of 1801 and went on to invade the Papal States, abducted the Pope and imprisoned him in France. This greatly undermined Napoleon’s popularity amongst Catholics in France and the other catholic states throughout Europe and the world over.

The Peninsular war

Napoleon’s ambition to enforce the continental system also drove him to invade Portugal and Spain. When Prince John the regent of Portugal refused to abide by the continental system, Napoleon attacked Portugal through Spain. The Spaniards rose against their King Charles IV for his weakness that made it possible for the French troops to march through their territory up to Portugal. Napoleon used this confused situation to force Charles to resign and imposed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne in 1808. However, Spain and Portugal combined and defeated Napoleon. He lost above 300,000 soldiers. Napoleon later remarked, “The Spanish ulcer destroyed me”.

The Moscow campaign (1812)

The negative effects of the continental system made Alexander of Russia to abandon the continental system and opened the Russian ports to British goods. Napoleon mobilized over 600,000 troops the largest ever in history up to that time to teach Alexander a lesson that he would never forget. He crossed the River Niemen with great expectations as he remarked, “Moscow is the half-way house of India”. However, the Russians reacted by withdrawing and using scorched earth policy in which they destroyed everything that would be useful to the French soldiers. Napoleon reached Moscow only to find the city burning without anyone. Above all, there was neither safe water nor food and there was also an outbreak of cholera that led to the widespread death of Napoleon’s soldiers. The bridges also drowned tens of thousands of soldiers especially the perennial Beresina River. The above circumstances resulted in Napoleon retracing back to France with about 20,000 out of which only 10,000 soldiers were still useful for military service.

Reasons for the defeat of Napoleon during the Moscow campaign

Poor planning and military miscalculations undermined Napoleon’s conquest of Russia. Russia was a big state which needed proper planning and two years to accomplish the campaign. Unfortunately, Napoleon wanted the campaign only in one year that is why he withdrew after conquering Moscow. Moreover, the geographical landscape of Russia was an obstacle to the invading French army. The Russian terrain was rugged and wintery and this favoured the Russian forces who were used to it compared to the French troops. In addition, the Russian scorched earth policy was a total nuisance to Napoleon. The Russian destruction of food, shelter, water, wells, gardens and bridges led to massive death of Napoleon’s soldiers.

 

The Russian withdrawal and the burning of Moscow was a big blow to Napoleon’s conquest. When Napoleon reached the city of Moscow, he conquered an empty place with no people. He could not declare himself successful and that is why he finally withdrew from Moscow. Winter became a natural weapon that helped the Russians to defeat Napoleon. Napoleon and his soldiers had not anticipated to get as far as Moscow. They thus ventured into the campaign without any winter clothing. When winter came, his soldiers therefore, froze and died in large numbers due to extreme cold conditions. Napoleon’s invasion of the city of Moscow was a fatal strategy that led to his failure. It aroused Russian nationalism to the highest level. This is why there was severe resistance that forced him to finally withdraw.

 

The Russian guerrilla warfare was a big blow to Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Russia. Aware that they could not withstand the strength of the French army, the Russians decided to withdraw and engage the French troops in acute guerrilla warfare that weakened him for example, during the battle of Borodino, Napoleon lost 30,000 horses and 50,000 commanders. In addition, the loss of sense of judgement and foresight also undermined Napoleon’s attempt to invade Russia. By 1812, Napoleon had fought too many wars which weakened him leading to exhaustion, fatigue and brain depreciation. As a result, he failed to properly plan and foresee the winter conditions which later destroyed tens of thousands of his soldiers. The distance between France and Russia also worked against Napoleon’s success. Russia is located in the Far East of Europe and France is located in the extreme West of Europe. This long distance made it impossible for Napoleon to get extra fodder and horses in order to replenish and replace the ones which had died of starvation and cold. Consequences of the Moscow campaign

The campaign was the worst disaster in the history of France and Napoleon ranked it highest in his life time. Napoleon lost over 580,000 soldiers and this made him militarily weak. Immediately after the campaign in Moscow, Tallyrand, Napoleon’s foreign minister later claimed that, “This is the beginning of the end”. It was therefore a turning point against his control over Europe. Napoleon’s defeat in the Moscow campaign then contributed to the formation of the 4^th coalition and even the 5^th coalition against him. It was a clear testimony that Napoleon was not untouchable. This led to unity of all European states including even the weaker ones.

 

The Moscow disaster led to the rise of European nationalism against Napoleon’s dominance over Europe. It became a source of inspiration for the states that were dominated by Napoleon to start struggling for their independence. This led to a war of liberation among the Germans, Italians and Australians against Napoleon. The Russian victory also increased Russian prestige and ambition in Europe. Russia also began to interfere in the French dominated states like Poland and German states in order to destroy Napoleon’s influence in those countries. That is to say, it made Prussia promise to help Russia against Napoleon

 The defeat also denied Napoleon internal support from a section of the French. Resultantly, Napoleon resorted to widespread conscription into the army. That is, he recruited young, ill trained and inexperienced youths who were easily defeated. Moreover, Napoleon’s failure in the Moscow campaign was the last blow to the continental system. His failure to defeat Russia marked the end of the continental system and he was forced to abandon it. Many people and countries learnt how to defeat Napoleon and they later adopted the same policies used by the Russians to defeat Napoleon especially guerilla warfare.

For feedback, email: bmaregedze@gmail.com

A Brief Summary of the French Revolution

 

By Brian Maregedze and Vincent Chenzi

The French Revolution took place in France between 1789 and 1799 and as largely characterised by political instability, violent demonstrations, social anarchy and widespread killings. It officially began on the 14th of July 1789 when the Bastille or symbol of the French ancient regime, was ransacked by violent mobs. Throughout the French Revolution, the King, Louis XVI and the Queen, Marie-Antoinette and about 40,000 people were brutally murdered. However, there was also a positive side about the revolution. That is to say, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally adopted in August 1789 and it abolished feudalism.

 

The French Revolution could largely be traced with a government financial crisis, which quickly became a movement of reform and violent change throughout the country. In one of the historic events, a crowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government.

At the beginning of the revolution, unfolding events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent of France’s lower and middle classes. By law, society was broadly divided into three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up the clergy, whilst the nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens consisted of the third estate. The third estate greatly resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay the bulk of the taxes. On the other hand, the third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country’s tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status.

They were among the most important people in the French society but were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate. Durant claimed that the, “Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to finance the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the Revolutionary War (1775-1783).” The Parliament of Paris insisted that the King Louis XVI could only borrow more money or raise more taxes only by calling a meeting of the estates-general. However, the estates-general meeting was made up of representatives of the three estates and had last met in 1614. Unwillingly, the king called the meeting. The estates-general opened on May 5 1789 at Versailles. The first two estates wanted each estate to take up matters and vote on them separately by estate. The third estate had has many representatives as the other two combined. It insisted that all the estates had to be merged into one national assembly and that each representative had one vote.

Furthermore, the third estate wanted the estates-General to draft a constitution. Unfortunately, the king and the first two estates refused the demands of the third estate. In June 1789, the representatives of the third estate declared themselves the National Assembly of France. Louis the XVI then allowed the three estates to join together as the National Assembly. Soon after, he began to gather troops around Paris to break up the Assembly. Meanwhile, the masses of France also took action. On the 14th of July 1789, a huge crowd of Parisians rushed to the Bastille. They believed they would find arms and ammunition there for use in defending themselves against the king’s army.

The people captured the Bastille and began to tear it down. At the same time, spontaneous peasant uprisings were also taking place throughout the countryside. The king’s removal led to a new stage in the revolution. The first stage had been a liberal middle-class reform movement based on a constitutional monarchy. The second stage was organized around principles of democracy. The National Convention opened on the 21st of September 1792, and it declared France a republic. Louis XVI was placed on trial for betraying the country. The National Convention found him guilty of treason and a slim majority voted for the death-penalty. The king was beheaded on the guillotine on the 21st of January 1793. Afterwards, the revolution gradually grew more radical-that is, more open to extreme and violent change. Radical leaders came into prominence. In the Convention, they were known as the mountain because they sat on the high benches at the rear of the hall during meetings. Leaders of the Mountain were Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Jacques Danton, and Jean Paul Marat. The Mountain dominated a powerful political club called the Jacobin Club. Woloch further stated that, “Growing disputes between the Mountain and the Gironde led to a struggle for power, and the Mountain won. In June of 1793, the Convention arrested the leading Girondists. In turn, the Girondists’ supporters rebelled against the Convention. One of these supporters assassinated Marat in July 1793.”

This was the most horrific period of the revolution. The Convention’s leaders included Robespierre, Lazare Carnot, and Bertrand Barere. The Convention declared a policy of terror against rebels, supporters of the king, and anyone else who vehemently disagreed with official policy. According to Woloch, “In time, hundreds of thousands of suspects filled the nation’s jails. Courts handed down about 18,000 death sentences in what was called the Reign of Terror. Paris became accustomed to the rattle of two-wheeled carts called tumbrels as they carried people to the guillotine.” In time, the radicals began to struggle for power among themselves. Robespierre succeeded in having Danton and other former leaders executed. Many people in France wanted to end the Reign of Terror, the Jacobin dictatorship, and the democratic revolution. Robespierre’s enemies in the Convention finally conspired against him for being a tyrant on 29th of July 1794. They executed him the following day. With Robespierre’s death, the Reign of Terror ended.

Afterwards, the Convention, which had adopted a democratic constitution in 1793, replaced that document with a new one in 1795. The government formed under this new constitution was called the Directory. France was still a republic, but once again, only citizens who paid a certain amount of taxes could vote. The Directory began meeting in October 1795. In October 1799, several political leaders plotted to overthrow the Directory. They needed military support and turned to Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general who had become a hero during a military campaign in Italy in 1796 and 1797. Bonaparte seized control of the government on November 9, 1799, ending the revolution. Napoleon would restore order to the French people with such significant achievements as his Code Napoleon.

10 lessons in Pursuit Of Purpose (P.O.P)

By Brian Maregedze

It is undisputed that 2020 and 2021 have not been easy years, at least to most people globally. Although the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has been a serious challenge, the question on our purpose as humanity on earth equally demands important moments of reflection. There are at least 10 lessons l found intriguing and worth sharing after reading Ralph Kadurira’s 2018 publication, 109 Pursuit Of Purpose (P.O.P) Aphorisms published under Mind Blowers Publishers.  Drawing lessons from philosophical and biblical teachings, it is vital to note the following lessons;

1.       Everyone is uniquely designed for a purpose

It is under uncertain times that hope is lost. Why are you on earth? Why are you alive? From a functionalist entry point, Ralph is noticeably clear that everyone is uniquely designed for a purpose.” This is so because purpose goes beyond financial gain but guarantees a life full of meaning.

2.      Discover your purpose

Everyone must discover her/his purpose. It is that which you already have.  What you only need is to DISCOVER your purpose. It is not going to be easy for you to sacrifice and do what ever it takes to succeed be it academically or in extra-curricular activities if you don’t know purpose. Reading Ralph Kadurira’s books is vital in the quest for a #purposedriven life.

3.      Be passionate about what you do

Citing other writers on passion, it is noted that, “You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”-Steve Jobs

With passion, one can courageously move mountains. The struggle may be there, but it is all confronted with zeal and burning energy. Candidates writing the public examinations under the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) undoubtedly are uncertain about the prospects of excellent results. Writing examinations under Covid-19 compounded by a long year without having proper learning environment isn’t an easy task.  

4.      Constancy of purpose

Under the principle of constancy of purpose, long-term thinking and improvement is vital in the life of every learner. Gesturing towards the greater good and results must be upheld. 2020/21 may have been a challenging year, but remaining in touch with constancy of purpose is crucial. By being consistent in continuous study and sharing knowledge, it is possible to excel resoundingly.

 

5.      Focus

Efforts have been made before to stall the public examinations in Zimbabwe but with no success. Instead of listening to gossip and rumours on whether the public examinations in Zimbabwe are still to be written or not, FOCUS in reading, revising, and making sure you know all your material is vital. Ralph Kadurira is very apt when he notes that, “purpose will not allow you to engage in unnecessary talk.” As you pursue your purpose, don’t allow yourself to be drawn into social media fake news but rather FOCUS on your GOALS. More notable is that those the purpose driven don’t have time to fall for distractions. Beyond public examinations, those who pursue purpose remain FOCUSED.

6.      Be responsible!

It is easy for some learners in 2020/21 to say that they are likely to fail due to the pandemic, lack of resources to learn, lack of access to resource persons as classroom instructors among other reasons. However, it must be acknowledged that it is your RESPONSIBILITY by all means to fight and win. The Zimbabwe crises have manifested variously over the past two decades, but they must make important decisions in life, to exit your excuses and BE RESPONSIBLE.

 

7.      Eat that frog!

Instead of ONLY being a planner and a schemer, ACT on your plans. Many at times learners write and read the timetable daily but without being faithful to the timetable. Whenever one is studying, it is easier to read, revise on familiar topics rather than to take up challenging topics.  Brian Tracy wrote, Eat that Frog! to promote an action driven plan in everyday life. In P.O.P, it is a recurring theme to take up challenges and be ACTION oriented.

8.      Law of attraction

If you ACT on that which you love, it is possible to find volunteers who support your cause or your purpose in life. The story of Mind Blowers Children’s Fund started by Ralph Kadurira is a typical example. This initiative had other supporting hands because Ralph was equally able to take ACTION in offering a giving hand to those in need.  You are responsible for changing the course of your LIFE if you take the right steps.

 

9.      Associate with the RIGHT people

Reading P.O.P closely, the power of association is related to the biblical story of Mary and Elizabeth who shared similar purpose. Reading the biblical book of Luke is instructive on the story of Mary and Elizabeth. Away from the bible, the power of association is made clear. Who do you play around with? Association comes with influence for the better while to some, it may result in catastrophic life decisions. In 109 P.O.P, Bishop David Abioye is cited saying, “Association is vital to every man in pursuit and fulfilment of destiny. Who you follow determines what follows you. Where you stand determines how and what you view.”

 

10.   Don’t settle for less

Aiming higher and chasing excellence is key to pursue and unlock your purpose.