The Arrival of Europeans in America and its Impact on Native Americans and Slavery, Exámenes de Literatura inglesa

¡Descarga The Arrival of Europeans in America and its Impact on Native Americans and Slavery y más Exámenes en PDF de Literatura inglesa solo en Docsity! UNITED STATES Most Native Americans are descended from hunting bands pursuing large game animals who moved from Central Asia into Siberia. Between twenty thousand and fifteen thousand years ago, some of these bands began crossing the Bering land bridge then connecting Siberia to Alaska. In doing so, they became the first Americans. The First Natives of America went through Alaska, Siberia, etc. The ones from North, Middle and South America came from the same place, Asia. When did people start reaching the continent? It all started in the sixteenth century. They called it the New World, but in fact, it was the homeland of the Native American people. The native said ¨we belong to nature¨, however the white said ¨nature belongs to us¨. The English explorers were mainly concerned at first with finding a passage to the East. During Elizabeth I´s reign, mercantilism became the main aim of the colonial ideal. New fields for investment and profit were required, as well as new foundations for national power. One of the most relevant explorers of the period was John Smith, who published General History of Virginia in 1624, describing the foundation of Virginia. His book is not to be trusted as a whole, as it mixes fact and fiction, and shows Captain Smith’s interest in self-promotion. Yet, it gave an account of the explorers´ encounters with Native Americans and of their difficulties in dealing with environmental conditions of North America. The Indians showed the people coming to the country to cultivate, to use some medicinal plants, and to use the lands better. Nevertheless, more and more people started to reach the continent and took possession of more and more pieces of land and then began killing the native people. 17th century In the 17th century religious people migrated to America. There were two groups: The Puritans and the Separatists, who settled Massachusetts. The Separatists arrived first, they were known as the Pilgrims and they came from Holland although they were English, because Holland did not accept them and England neither. The Separatists wanted to separate themselves from the established religion and make their own. The Puritans, on the other hand, did not want to separate from the Church of England, they wanted to purify it. Separatists boarded the Mayflower, and the Puritans boarded the Arbella. THE BIRTH OF A SETTLER COLONY: settler colonies were the invading Europeans that annihilated, displaced and marginalized the indigenes to become a majority non-indigenous population. It includes, amongst others, Australia, Canada and the United States. The Native Americans died of many diseases because their immune systems were not prepared for the European diseases. Settlers also suffered discrimination and they felt abandoned by the crown of England. They asked the king of England to protect them, but he left them to their own faith. 18th Century In the 18th century. Throughout the 1760s a great controversy arose between the thirteen American colonies and the metropolis. New taxes and restrictions were imposed on the colonies by the British King, George III, like the Sugar Act, the Quartering Act, or the Stamp Act. The king decided to increase the taxes TEN TIMES MORE. So, people decided to protest. They had a motto ¨no taxation without representation¨ under which the settlers organized, wrote the Declaration of Independence (1776), and fought a war against the British monarch which they eventually won. Those men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and led the Revolution of 1777-1783 are known as the Founding Fathers. They include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, etc. THE PURITAN LEGACY: John Winthrop said ¨we are the chosen people and we will build here a new Jerusalem. We shall be as a City upon a Hill¨. Everything they did was supposedly in the name of God. The main legacy they left on the identity of the future nation, that is, the United States of America, is the belief in their providential role as the Chosen People of God: the belief that Americans are people set apart, a people with a providential mission. In the 19th century: ¨Manifest Destiny¨, publicized by the new ¨penny press¨ and fomented by nationalist politicians. America was destined by God and by history to expand its boundaries over the continent of America and, perhaps, beyond. The colonies began pushing the Indians to the West due to the unfertile lands on the East. Nowadays, there are 50 states. They tried to occupy Canada and Alaska (which they got). First, they took Texas, then California, Miami, the Filipins, Puerto Rico, … All those conquests are related to the Manifest Destiny. Some supporters of this movement imagined the construction of a new empire of liberty. However, there were also others who wanted to conquer the rest of the world. Some thought of using force, but some thought they should have a peaceful expansion because they were fearful enough. Territorial expansion reopened the controversy over slavery and threatened the stability of the Union, leading to the Civil War. How did the African slave trade begin? Sir John Hawkins transported the first ship with five hundred slaves from West Africa to the New World in 1562. He was a pirate. William Turner painted a painting with these slaves ¨The Slave Ship¨. Once they reach the plantations, slaves were catalogued like animals. Each one had a number. In Britain many aristocratic people used slaves as servants. When they were working in their properties, they had to wear padlocks collars and were frequently mistreated. Churchmen, historians and philosophers justified the slave trade on the belief in the inferiority of the black race. Yet, there was opposition too. Most notably from evangelicals such as John Newton (a converted slaver), which led Britain to abolish the trade in 1807, and finally slavery itself in 1834. The decision was followed by other European nations. The attacks of September 11th (9/11), left an open wound in the nation. The fact that the US became a military superpower throughout the 20th century, applying its own idea of Manifest Destiny to many international interventions, gives a clue to many of the conflicts the nation has confronted recently. The election of the first African American president in the history of the US in 2009 opened a new path of hope for the different races and cultures that make up this rich and contradictory multicultural society. Thanksgiving Day: The truth In 1614 the pilgrims come to Massachussets, and they start to extend their religion. They killed them by smallpox and …. Then the natives were taken as slaves to England. The Indians taken as slaves were from the Patuxet tribe. When some people went to the United States, there was just one Indian survivor from that time, he was called Squanto. He showed them how to cultivate, what products could be cultivated there, he also showed them how to fish, how to construct proper houses for the American winter. He actually had a good relationship with white men. He came from the tribe of Wampanoag which was a peaceful tribe. However, there are some records that say the Wampanoag wasn´t such a peaceful tribe. However, one of their rules was to help others whenever it was possible. The Wampanoag is another branch of another superior tribe called the Algonquian. After a while, there were rumours in England that America is a distant paradise where people could become rich. As a consequence, more and more settlers started to emigrate to the United States. They saw there weren´t any fences/ borders, so they assumed that the land was theirs. ¨This is a virgin land, so this is my land¨. The Indians found the land as part of nature, but the white men considered the land as theirs. There was another tribe who said ¨enough is enough¨, called the Pequot Nation. They decided to start a war against the white people, The Pequot War. One day, the natives wanted to celebrate their Thanksgiving Day, the Green Corn Festival. It meant giving thanks to the gods of nature. So, the Pequots were celebrating this festivity. But, in that moment the English and Dutch people came there and had no good intentions. They started killing people without stopping. First, they killed the men who came out of their tents, but the women and children were burned alive in their tents. About 700 indigenous people were murdered that day. The white people saw the Indians as Satan, so they called it a Thanksgiving Day because of killing so many of them. These European barbarians killed the chief of the Wampanoag and beheaded him. His head was stuck on a stick and placed where many people could see. Many white people played with American natives´ heads as balls for soccer balls. This tradition continued till the Civil War. The Indians were called the redskins by the white people because of all the blood that was shed when they removed the scalps out of their heads. George Washington decided to change this every day murder to a one day a year murder. Then Abraham Lincoln decided to establish the Thanksgiving Day as a national day. He owned many slaves even though he´s seen as a hero of the United States. Thomas Jefferson had them as well even though he was the one to bring the equality of rights of all men (not blacks nor women, just white men). Dogs were genetically modified to attack aggressively the Indians and eat them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Kinds by Amy Tan In Two Kinds by Amy Tan we have the theme of hope, identity, rebellion, responsibility, blame, independence and acceptance. Narrated in the first person by a woman called Jing-mei Woo the story is a memory piece and after reading the story the reader realises that Tan may be exploring the theme of hope. Jing-mei’s mother has hopes for her daughter. She wants her to be famous or at least to be a prodigy. She devotes a lot of her energy in trying to make Jing-mei into something that Jing-mei isn’t. Something which would play on the theme of identity. It is also interesting that Jing-mei’s mother believes that once you live in America you can be anything. This may be important as Jing-mei’s mother appears to be chasing the American dream. However she is doing so through Jing-mei. If anything she is living her life vicariously. There is also no doubting that Jing-mei’s mother is a hard working woman however she doesn’t seem to realise that not every child is a prodigy and Jing-mei herself probably understands that she is not a prodigy. Though at times she aspires to be one. Which may be the case for many children. To have the aspirations that they too can be seen to be special or gifted or different from their peers. What child would not like the focus to be placed on them? Particularly if the spotlight placed on them is positive. Each and every child likes to be thought of as special. However the definition for special is different for each parent. Jing-mei’s mother also appears to be boastful about Jing-mei’s talents. It is not so much that she is proud of Jing-mei’s achievements it is more a case that she wishes to be better than others. Which is understandable considering that she has had a hard life. Losing a husband and children while in China. However there does not seem to be any type of reality check when it comes to Jing-mei’s mother. It is okay to have a child of average ability, which Jing-mei is, however that is not good enough for Jing-mei’s mother. It is as though she wants to distance herself from the pain of her past and the only way, she knows how to do that is by forcing Jing-mei into being something she is not. Which again plays on the theme of identity. Jing-mei’s relationship with her mother is strained due to her mother’s wishes that Jing-mei becomes something that she is not or will never be. It is inevitable that Jing-mei is going to rebel against her mother. It is as though she is forced to after her efforts at the talent contest. Jing-mei doesn’t want to accept responsibility for her own actions and the fact that she played badly. She wants her mother to give out to her. To start an argument with her in order that Jing-mei can blame her mother. When the reality is that Jing-mei set the bar too high for herself just like her mother has. It is also interesting that Old Chong is the only one that claps for Jing-mei at the talent contest. His actions show loyalty regardless of how badly Jing-mei played. If anything the talent contest acts as the catalyst for Jing-mei to gain independence from her mother. She knows that she may not be good enough to be a prodigy and the embarrassment that she felt at the talent contest has in some ways shattered her confidence. It is easier for Jing-mei to give up than pursue something that she may not necessarily hit the mark for (a prodigy). It is also interesting that Jing-mei doesn’t play the piano again. Not till her mother dies. It is possible that her confidence took a sufficient knock that playing the piano became impossible to Jing-mei. It acts as a constant reminder of her own failings. The end of the story is also interesting as Tan appears to be exploring the theme of acceptance. By having Jing-mei play the piano in her parent’s house Tan may be suggesting that despite what had happened when she was a young girl Jing-mei no longer has any ill will towards her mother. The two pieces she plays at the end also act as symbolism. The first piece the ‘Pleading Child’ in many ways mirrors how Jing-mei felt as a child. Pressurised by her mother to be something she wasn’t. While the second piece ‘Perfectly Contented’ suggests exactly that. That Jing-mei is content in her life. She may have had a childhood she did not wish for but she also appears to have found acceptance. Jing- mei knows who she is. Jing-mei’s mother wanted the best for her daughter. Though unfortunately for her Jing-mei was on a different path. Jing-mei was always going to disappoint her mother no matter what she did as a child. In reality the hopes and aspirations that Jing-mei’s mother had for Jing-mei were really her own hopes and aspirations. She was living her life through Jing-mei. Judith Ortiz Cofer: American History The white americans reject the Latinos, not only for their music, noise, culture, … Afro-Americans and Puerto Ricans live in Paterson. Afro-Americans do not get on with Latinos very well. It is very confusing to see racism in white people and in Afro-Americans. When Helena falls in love for the first time, the president of America is killed. It coincides with the day when she visits Eugene´s house. We know that she´s the new girl, that she feels dislocated. She loves reading. She actually feels in between, not an American nor a Latino. She doesn´t think about the present, but about the future only. She´s a dreaming girl. She´s a brilliant girl, however, she is not included with the rest, with the white people. Another case of racism. Many nuances in the story tell a lot of what is happening. There is a moment when she feels attracted to Eugene. It might be not deep love, but she feels safe with him as if he was her shelter (Claudia). People repel Eugene due to his accent, so Helena can identify herself with him, because he is rejected by something he is naturally. She has no friends, so she finds somebody who could be one (Eugene). When Helena comes to Eugene´s house, his mother comes. The mother´s first question was ¨do you live there? ¨ referring to the building she lives in, so the woman rejects Helena. Helena was still shocked when the mother told her she should leave and that she doesn´t want her to study with her son. That was quite a difficult moment for her, since she was just 14 and going through a racist behaviour.