The Columbian Exchange And The Colonization Of America Essay Example for Free

The Columbian Exchange And The Colonization Of America Essay The Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of diseases, ideas, food crops, and populations between the New World and the Old World following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. While some had cataclysmic results for the indigenous populations, other interactions led to exchanges of ideas and resources. These exchanges altered life on both sides of the Atlantic. In North America many native cultures had lived and thrived across the continent. Meanwhile, in Europe, the thirst for knowledge and discovery had led to a competition among. European nations to establish and dominate trade routes to acquire the exotic resources of Asia. Each country began to finance voyages of exploration to see who could find a quick and profitable trade route. Spain, England, the Netherlands and France began to travel west, across the Atlantic, to places that were unknown, at that time, to Europeans. Unaware of how large the world actually was and equipped with basic and inaccurate maps, many decades passed before any of these early travelers realized that they were not traveling to Asia, but actually had stumbled upon a land previously unknown to them. However, these lands were well known to their native inhabitants. By the time Africans and Europeans came to the Western Hemisphere, most peoples of the Caribbean and the coastal mainland lived in sedentary villages or semi- permanent encampments. They had organized themselves into clusters of families and hierarchical communities that were recognizable to Europeans, and they identified among themselves leaders, servants, and specialists of many kinds, American Indian society had not been static before it came into contact and conflict with Europeans. The native people hunted, gathered, and grew an array of foods that nourished millions of people. In short the Americas were not an empty land when the Europeans arrived. (HBG 1) Indigenous North Americans exhibited a remarkable range of language, economies, political systems, beliefs and material cultures. (HBG 25) The Old and New World gained from the Columbian Exchange in a number of ways. The Spanish introduced a wide variety of domesticated livestock to the Americas, including cattle, goats, swine, and horses. Of all the animals introduced by the Europeans, the horse held particular attraction. Native Americans first encountered it as a fearsome beast ridden by Spanish conquistadors. However, they soon learned to ride and raise horses themselves. In the North American great plains, the arrival of the horse revolutionized Native American life, permitting tribes to hunt the buffalo far more effectively. Several Native American groups left farming to become buffalo-hunting nomads and, the most formidable enemies of European expansion in the Americas. The Native Americans, in turn, introduced the Europeans to a variety of beans and squashes, as well as the potato and tobacco. Tobacco, was so universally adopted that it came to be used as a substitute for currency in many parts of the world. The exchange also drastically increased the availability of many Old World crops, such as sugar and coffee, which were particularly well-suited for the soils of the New World, Agricultural discoveries ultimately proved more important to the future of Europe than the gold and silver the conquistadores valued so highly. (Brinkley 20) The transfer of foods between the Old and New Worlds during the Columbian Exchange had important consequences for world history. There are two channels through which the Columbian Exchange expanded the global supply of agricultural goods. First, it introduced previously unknown species to the Old World. Such American foods as squash, pumpkins, beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, also found their way back to Europe and in the process revolutionized European agriculture. (Brinkley 20) Second, the discovery of the Americas provided the Old World with vast quantities of relatively unpopulated land well-suited for the cultivation of certain crops that were in high demand in Old World markets. Crops such as sugar, coffee, soybeans, oranges, and bananas were all introduced to the New World, and the Americas quickly became the main suppliers of these crops globally. The primary benefit of the New World staples was that they could be grown in Old World climates that were unsuitable for the cultivation of Old World staples. This benefit of New World crops has resulted in their adoption in all parts of the world. The exchange not only brought gains, but also losses. European contact enabled the transmission of diseases to previously isolated communities, which caused devastation far exceeding that of even the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. Most areas of the New World experienced a demographic catastrophe, as least as grave as, and in many places far worse than the Black Death. (Brinkley 20) Europeans brought deadly viruses and bacteria, such as smallpox, measles, typhus, and cholera, for which Native Americans had no immunity, Native groups inhabiting some of the large islands and some areas of Mexico were virtually extinct within fifty years of their first contact with whites. (Brinkley 19) On their return home, European sailors brought syphilis to Europe. Although less deadly, the disease was known to have caused great social disruption throughout the Old World. The effects of the Columbian Exchange were not isolated to the parts of the world most directly participating in the exchange: Europe and the Americas. It also had large impacts on Africa and Asia. Europeans used the new lands as sources of precious metals and plantation agriculture. Both were complex operations that required labor in large, closely supervised groups. Attempts to enslave native peoples failed, and attempts to force them into other forms of bound labor were slightly more successful but also failed because workers died of disease. Europeans turned to the African slave trade as a source of labor for the Americas. The native populations could not meet all the labor needs of the colonists because of disease and war therefore, European settlers began importing slaves from Africa. (Brinkley 21) During the colonial periods of North and South America and the Caribbean, far more Africans than Europeans came to the New World. The slave trade brought wealth to some Europeans and some Africans, but the growth of the slave trade disrupted African political systems, and robbed many African societies of their young men. Millions of Africans were shipped to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade, the largest involuntary migration in human history. The trade was fueled by the high demand for labor in the Americas, which was driven, at least in part, by two aspects of the Columbian Exchange: The first was the spread of Old World diseases to Native Americans, which resulted in extremely low population densities in the New World. The second was the cultivation of highly prized Old World crops, such as sugar and coffee, which were particularly well suited to New World soils and climates. The result was the forced movement of slaves from Africa to the Americas which had devastating consequences for the African continent. In addition to economic motives for colonization there were also religious ones. It became required that Catholicism be the only religion of the colonies. Missionaries were sent out to convert Native Americans to Catholicism, Priests or friars accompanied almost all colonizing ventures. Through their zealous work, the gospel of the Catholic Church ultimately extended throughout South and Central America, Mexico and into the South and Southwest of present United States (Brinkley 16) The Columbian Exchange brought about the greatest interchange of different people, ideas, plants, and animals that has ever been known in the history of the world. Some positive effects, like the agricultural growth and use of the potato and other staple crops in the Old World enhanced people’s lives. The trading of livestock also greatly enhanced the opportunities for the settlers and Native Americans. Still, some results were negative, such as the exploitation of the Native Americans by European colonists, and their depopulation due to the communicable diseases of the Old World that came from across the ocean. The Columbian Exchange had a significantly negative impact on the African slaves. The European success story in the Americas was achieved at horrendous expense for the millions of Native Americans who died and for the millions of Africans who were enslaved. The most perplexing fact about the Columbian Exchange is that it cannot be truly described as completely positive or negative, but just that it happened.

Winter Moon :: essays research papers

Critique of Winter Moon In Winter Moon by Dean Koontz a cloudy Los Angeles, California day is shattered when a hot Hollywood director turns a city street into a fiery abyss. A heroic police officer, Jack McGarvey, is badly wounded in the inferno and will not be able to walk for months. Little does Jack know that a series of events will lead him and his family to a ranch in Montana. On that isolated ranch they discover their destiny in a horrific encounter with a ruthless and puzzling enemy from which neither the living nor dead are safe. Koontz’s novels seem to have one thing in common. Their themes are about how the human mind and spirit relate to things in life. He doesn’t stray from that commonality in Winter Moon. Koontz’s purpose in writing the book was to show that the power of the mind is yet an unmatched force. Both my mother and I agree that he accomplished this very well. His use of characters also fits a pattern that has developed in his writing. Koontz uses the same two characters in many of his novels: the heroic, faithful male and the strong female. Koontz’s employment of indirect characterization is impeccable, and makes the reader feel as though they really know the characters. At the beginning, the book can seem confusing, whereas Koontz jumps back and forth from character to character. I feel that after the reader has become accustomed to it, the switching between characters creates good stopping points. However, my mom found it annoying and didn’t like the switching. Koontz explodes into action during the first chapter, which grips the reader and holds their attention throughout the rest of the book. The novel starts out as two separate stories: a police officer’s family living in L.A. and an old retired man living in Montana. As the book progresses the two stories become more connected, and finally intertwined. The book can seem confusing at the start. However, the confusion of the reader is used by Koontz to make the ending more intense. Koontz certainly unleashes his vivid imagination in this novel, whereas some of the details and occurrences can leave a weak stomached reader feeling nauseous. My mom said that she couldn’t sleep after reading one of the more disturbing sequences of events. The setting of Winter Moon occurs in two different places. Two places that are complete opposites: Los Angeles, California and a ranch in Montana.

Movie Review on Crash

The movie started with Don Cheadle, who played a Los Angeles detective, commenting about how people interact with each other. He said that the act of touching is prevented by the existence of artificial elements such as metal and glass. Because of this, people have the tendency to crash with one another in order to feel each other. This thought provoking line summarizes the entire plot of the movie which revolved around racism and stereotyping. The term â€Å"crash† described the many conflicting events among the main characters that transpired in the movie. It defined the multifaceted relationships of people from different cultural backgrounds, colors of the skin and socio-economic status. There were many concepts in the movie that emphasized differences in race and gender that manifested the following power, discrimination, hate crime, racism, wealth, sexual harassment, ethnicity, minority, prejudice, stereotype, segregation, pluralism, assimilation, scapegoat, crime against property and gender stratification. Power was seen in the scene where the District Attorney played by Brendan Fraser got prioritized by the LAPD when his vehicle was stolen. He used his stature as a government official in order for the police force to immediately handle and resolve his case. Meanwhile, I saw a form of discrimination when Matt Dillon who played a white racist cop, called the hospital to inquire about the medical treatment needed by his father. Throughout their conversation, he was very unsatisfied so when he asked who was he talking to, the person at the other end of the line, gave a name that was a typical Black name and Dillon immediately assumed that the reason behind the unsatisfactory service was because he was dealing with a Black person. An example of hate crime was also depicted in the movie. When the Persian store owner assumed that the Hispanic locksmith was behind the damaging of his property because the locksmith looked like a typical gangster or criminal, he tried to kill him by shooting him in front of his home. Luckily, the locksmith was unharmed from the incident. In relation with this, prior to this incident, the Persian tried to buy a gun for him and his family's protection from an American-owned gun store. The American owner refused to sell a gun to the Persian because the owner associated the Persian with the Arab Muslims who were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attack. This was a form of racism that showed intolerance for another social or racial group. On the other hand, wealth was evident with the characters of Bullock and Fraser who played a rich white couple while Howard and Newton's characters who were the well to do black couple. These characters symbolized that fame and fortune can be attained and enjoyed irregardless of the color of the skin. In another scene in the movie, I saw an act of sexual harassment between a black woman who was the victim and the white man who was the harasser. It is the scene where the character of Dillon pulled over a vehicle of a black couple and interrogated them. During the interrogation, Dillon physically searched the character of Newton who played the rich black wife of Terrence Howard, a big shot black producer. Dillon inappropriately touched the body of Newton which implied an unwelcome sexual advance. On another note, at the beginning of the movie, several cultural identities were presented. A black man, a Hispanic woman and an Asian woman were convened together in one place because of a car crash. This scene portrayed the fusion of different ethnic groups in one area wherein their different languages, beliefs and culture signifying the existence of various ethnicity in LA. However, multiculturalism also entails having minority groups. In the movie, Chinese illegal immigrants were being sold as slaves by Americans in downtown Los Angeles. This scene illustrated that the Chinese are still considered as a minority or a subordinate group in an American dominated city where they are deprived of their basic needs. Meanwhile, prejudice was seen when the character of Bullock clutched the arms of her husband upon seeing two African-American males walking on the same sidewalk as they are. Bullock's action showed her hasty judgment of the two blacks. She assumed that they were gangsters or robbers so she made a gesture seeking protection from her husband. In a similar scenario, Bullock stereotyped a Hispanic locksmith with a gangster because of his shaved head and tattoos. This is a form of stereotyping wherein one generalizes a specific concept to anyone who typifies that concept. Meanwhile, segregation is apparent in the scene where people of Mexican or Hispanic origin are usually typecast in blue collar jobs such as domestic works or construction. In the movie, the housekeeper of Bullock and Fraser was a Hispanic woman. Because of the housekeeper's nationality and the nature of her job, Bullock constantly looked down on the capability and intelligence of the Hispanic woman. Moreover, pluralism was shown by demonstrating Los Angeles as a pluralist city. LA was seen as a place where Black and White Americans, Asians and Hispanics have preserved their respective cultural identities amid the diversity. Meanwhile, Terrence Howard played the character of Cameron Thayer who was a successful black television producer. The TV industry was dominated by whites. Howard managed to be assimilated to the dominant group by succumbing to the demands and wants of the whites at the expense of disregarding his own wants and opinions. This is a clear example of cultural assimilation. Meanwhile, in the scene where Detective Graham Waters played by Don Cheadles was investigating a shooting scene between a black man and a white LAPD officer, he learned that the police officer was guilty of doing illegal activities. In order to preserve the good image and integrity of the LAPD, the black man was used as an scapegoat by pinpointing him as the instigator of the crime. On the other hand, crime against property was illustrated when the store of the Persian was thrashed. They were subjected to such offensive behavior because of their similar physical appearance with the Arabs who were highly discriminated in the U.S. because of the 9/11 attack. Last but not the least, gender stratification was demonstrated in the movie through the scene where the Persian woman was urging the American gun store owner to sell them a hand gun. Instead the owner verbally harassed the Persian woman indicating the status of women in a male-dominated society. Generally, women are perceived as sex objects or domesticated beings. References Cheadle, D., Haggis, P., Moresco, R., Schulman, C., & Yari, B. (Producers) & Haggis, P.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Director).(2004). Crash [Motion Picture]. U.S.A.: Lion Gate Films.

Sexuality in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and A Street...

In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Keseys One flew over the cuckoos nest and Tennessee Williams A street car named desire? In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Keseys One flew over the cuckoos nest and Tennessee Williams A street car named desire? The capacity of sexual feelings within the individual is central to both the development and fundamental basis of any significant character. As observed in both One flew over the cuckoos nest (AKA Cuckoos nest) and A Street car named desire (AKA. St. car) sexuality emerges as a principal device used in defining a character to the audience. By†¦show more content†¦Their appearances can consequently be said to be greatly symbolic of their role within the narrative. The use of colour is also symbolic of character sexuality Red hots!! or face and neck the colour of oxblood leather, Red is symbolic of passion and is connected to McMurphy and Stanley, whereas the colours ivory[5] and pale blue[6] are used in describing the weaker characters that deny sexuality. The individuals role within the narrative is dependant on the conflict that arises, in these texts, due to variations within their own sexuality and societys subsequent reactions. Sexual imagery also surrounds the characters; McMurphey and Stanley further giving, once more, indication of their sexuality big stiff thumb or having those coloured lights going, more subtly there is also animalistic imagery Stanley stalks fiercely. The images constructed are emblematic of the characters sexuality in the same way as the physical descriptions previously. Sexuality being established in a variety of ways to then allow a character to be fully established, in doing so a character can be categorized into a stereotype which means the audience can then envisage a potential outcome by using the rules of conventionalism that are assigned with a stereotype. Despite the typecast of these two characters through sexuality, the narrative that surrounds each is unique. This uniqueness allows the fight each one pursues against society