Essay about Life of a Slave in the Caribbean - 1450 Words

Life of a Slave in the Caribbean The experience of Caribbean slavery is vital in understanding the contemporary social structure of the region. It was the introduction of an estimated four million Africans to the Caribbean which made these islands melting pots of culture and society. Since Africans had such a tremendous impact on the region, it is important that we recognize the nature of slavery and how it transformed their lives. Although most agree that the institution was dehumanizing, the social relations of slavery help to explain the development of the Caribbean’s identity. In order to understand slavery it is imperative to recognize that it’s introduction to the Caribbean was driven by colonizers need for economic expansion†¦show more content†¦As a result of the distinctions among field and domestic slaves a social hierarchy developed on the majority of plantations. As sugar and other agriculture became more important to the economies of the Caribbean islands the colonies evolved from settlement colonies to exploitation colonies. The consequences of the exploitation colonies was that Africans outnumbered the European ruling class. As a result, for upper-class whites, race rather than class and nationality became a consoling, fraternal bond ( Knight 150). Because race became so important to the colonizers, by the eighteenth century, skin color became a socially defining factor on plantations. Ultimately color became the ticket to social mobility and this created divisions among slaves on the plantation. The majority of the plantations throughout the Caribbean were similar in structure because all the colonizers wanted to maximize profits. Still there were lots of distinctions amongst the islands. In Puerto Rico for example, the Spanish established strict slave codes which gave slaves more rights than in many other colonies. These codes allowed the majority of slaves to own property, cultivate subsistence plots, and live in family units which promoted stable unions (Beckles 62). As a result, the increase in slave numbers was not a reflection of new Africans but rather the growth of slave families. In Cuba on the other hand, the sugar industry becameShow MoreRelatedOpression of Caribbean Peole817 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion: Using examples from the Caribbean, explain how Caribbean people throughout history has responded to oppression. The Caribbean, known as a group of islands located in the Caribbean Sea, is inhabited by a mixture of people of diverse races, cultures, personalities and beliefs; the end result of slavery and oppression. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, oppression can be defined as â€Å"Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control; or the state of beingRead More Caribbean Culture and the Way it Formed Essay1196 Words   |  5 PagesCaribbean Culture and the Way it Formed One of the greatest debates that exists today about the Caribbean is the condition of the socio-culture of the people. Sidney Mintz, Antonio Benitz-Rojo, and Michelle Cliff are three authors that comment on this problem in their writings. They discuss whether there is a lack of identify, unity and culture in the lives of Caribbean people. They examine a culture which was created out of the chaos of slavery, colonialism and the integration of cultures thatRead MoreEssay on History of Slavery in the Caribbean720 Words   |  3 PagesHistory of Slavery in the Caribbean The institution of slavery has played a major role in the history, and the shaping of the Caribbean. Therefore, in order to truly understand the Caribbean one must completely understand slavery itself. Slavery can be defined as belonging to a person, or being treated like a piece of property, and not having any individual freedom This was essentially the life many Africans lived for many centuries in the Caribbean . The master’s had total freedom and controlRead MoreWomen s Influence On Women1084 Words   |  5 PagesThere have been great debates that cause people to have a deep interest in the lives of slave women during slavery in the Caribbean and the Southern parts of the USA. According to Deborah Gray White women has lost their identity, because the history of women has been based off of myth rather than the history of women (ar’n’t I a woman page 3). History is supposed to give people a clearly look into their past, but women believe that they have to prove their women hood; although, many women has provenRead MoreSurvival of African Culture on an 18th Century Sugar Plantation867 Words   |  4 Pagesthere was constant battle between slaves and planters , for the slaves needed to keep their cultural forms alive. Harsh treatment of slaves by the planter, often forced slaves to resort to various forms of resistance in order to keep their cultural forms alive. While the slaves of the plantation were able outsmart the planter at times, the planter also devised wicked schemes that made life for slaves extremely difficult. Cultural forms practiced by African slaves on the plantations included musicRead MoreAmerican Institutional And Intellectual Life Essay1455 Words   |  6 PagesAmerica, and whether it reduced slaves to a child-like state of dependency and incompetence. Anthropologist Melville Herskovits, and historian Stanley Elkins both weigh in on this debate: Herskovits with, The Myth of the Negro Past, and Elkins with, Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life. In, Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life, Elkins asserts that African culture was all but destroyed by a repression of the slaves’ rights, at the hands of theirRead More The Social Impact of Slavery on the Caribbean Society Essay1336 Words   |  6 PagesThe Social Impact of Slavery on the Caribbean Society In order for us to understand the Caribbean, we must acknowledge the tremendous social impact slavery placed upon the islands. We must not only consider the practice of slavery dating back to the indigenous peoples, but from what the introduction of the African slave trade did to the islands economically as well as culturally. In this paper let me reflect on slavery in the Caribbean not from an economical standpoint but, from the racial orRead MoreSugar And Slaves By Richard Dunn1514 Words   |  7 Pageswealth. However, for the colonists living on these islands it was an intense struggle between enormous fortune and a premature death. Richard Dunn, author of Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713, decided to shed light on these seldom mentioned groups of settlers, who chose the Caribbean islands over mainland America. The first settlers of the islands being buccaneers, along with their short lifespan, coupled with the monoculture of th e islands and aRead MoreEssay on Caribbean Society1353 Words   |  6 PagesCaribbean Society An Essay on the Culture of Incarceration A suggestion was made, in the context of the classroom setting that an interesting assignment would be to question shoppers at a suburban mall about slavery in the Caribbean and to capture the responses on videotape. An initial thought in response to this suggestion was to wonder just how one would go about eliciting any sort of meaningful response from a likely ill-informed and possibly disinterested group of consumers in centralRead More The Institution of Slave Trade Essay1533 Words   |  7 PagesThe Institution of Slave Trade The institution of slave trade and the actual experiences of slavery that occurred in the Caribbean were to form a monumental part of that regions culture, society, and everyday interactions, both in the past and in the present. The culture that is present today in the Caribbean is the result of many different influences varying from those introduced by ruling colonial countries, to influences that the slaves stressed, and even from brand new colonies being developed

The Use of Social Networking Sites Free Essays

By Ogechi Ebere By Ogechi Ebere Their Advantages, Abuses and Dangers. Their Advantages, Abuses and Dangers. The Use of Social Networking Sites The Use of Social Networking Sites Introduction: Human beings by and large are social. We will write a custom essay sample on The Use of Social Networking Sites or any similar topic only for you Order Now They feel an inherent need to connect and expand their connections. There is a deep rooted need among humans to share. In the past, due to geographical distances and economic concerns, connections between people were limited. A social network is made up of individuals that are connected to one another by a particular type of interdependency. It could be ideas, values, trade, anything. Social networks operate on many levels. Initially social networking happened at family functions where all relative and friends would conglomerate under one roof. Social networking has always been prevalent; it is just that in these times the face of social networking has changed. Where earlier the process was long drawn, involving a chain movement where in one person led to another through a web of social contacts, today the process is highly specialized. I’ll introduce to you the  most must-know advantages and disadvantages, dangers of social media so you’ll be aware of how to use it in the safest and most valuable possible ways! Advantages of Social Networking Sites: 1) Low Cost Communication (essentially free) If you go on to social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo or MySpace, you can send messages back and forth to multiple friends at once, absolutely free from charge (apart from the cost of actually running the internet, and computer etc. ). 2) Making New Friends You are given the opportunity to make new friends via such sites, whether that be ‘suggested friends’ (a friend of a friend) or online relations that can be formed due to a shared interest or hobby. 3) The Ability to Upload Videos and Images Most Social Networking platforms have the capability to allow you to upload particular media. So a wide selected audience can view your pictures and videos. Saving you having to send images and videoes directly to each person you want to see them, instead they can simply pop over to your account profile and view them. 4) The Ease of Setting Up Events Facebook allows you to create events, which is an online organised meeting to do something (in the real world) with a set time and place, so via Facebook you can offer invites to the event and make announcements etc. Again saving time, as you aren’t having to go around communicating to everyone individually. 5) Sharing Knowledge Social networking sites give you the capability to share information with ease, and by doing this Julia Porter states that people are able to â€Å"increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organisation† – this particular statement was is in regards to passing information around scientists, however it can also be applied to other organisations also. ) Finding Old Friends Social networking is a great tool to reunite with friends, with social networking sites such as â€Å"Friends Reunited†. Where a simple sign-up and filling in a few details – you have just allowed yourself to be found by old friends. 7) Tools for Teaching As students are using a wide range of social networking sites already, teachers have taken advantage of this. Teachers have started to bri ng up online academic discussions (through threads and chat rooms) – for their students to participate in. Social network platforms also provide teachers with the ability to help students out with homework and communicate with parents. 8) Pursuing Jobs and Work Experience Twitter in particular is a great tool for this, tweeting that you are interested in a particular job or internship could be a great step to actually securing one. As your followers may not actually have a opportunity for you, but they may know people who do – so you don’t only tap into your network, you tap into the network of the people who are following you (i. e the friend of the friend’s network). Disadvantages of Social Networking Sites: 1) The Invasion Of Privacy It has been addressed on many occasions in the news and in the press, that we are giving away too much ‘personal information’ about ourselves, and that this is leading us to becoming vulnerable to the likes of identity theft etc. 2) Reducing Worker Productivity There has been evidence to suggest social networking sites are harming businesses. Their employees are wasting time right throughout the day by participating in social networking sites rather than actually working. It has been stated that Facebook alone is accountable to wasting more than ? 130 million a day in the UK. 3) How Much Do Social Networking Sites Know? Perhaps social networking sites have learnt a bit too much information for comfort, Facebook knows via their program ‘Facebook Beacon’   that analyses our natural online behaviour – how long we are on the internet for, how often we visit certain websites etc. They monitor your activity even when you aren’t actually even logged in to Facebook! 4) Potential to Cause Harm There has been many reported cases, where fake accounts have been made, that lead to horrific tragedies. Such as in October 2006 a fake MySpace account was created that was given the name of Josh Evans that was closely linked to the suicide of Megan Meier. 5) The Case of Cyber-Bullying As many young teenagers are using social networking sites as a form of communication, this just provides  bullies with another opportunity to traumatise  their victims. With few limitations from social networking sites to what people can actually post, bullies have the ability to publish offensive images and comments. ) â€Å"Trolling† These are rather common occurrences where individuals will post within a social network, to either annoy or spark a reaction through a post or general comment – these people are often referred to as Trolls. Not really bullying, more being a nuisance on the social network. 7) Causing a Lack of Personal Communication There is a concern over people becomin g so reliant upon the convenience of social networking sites that they aren’t actually using ‘real-life’ verbal skills and they losing out on social intimacy with other people. ) Psychological Issues Studies have been conducted where the results suggest that people are becoming addicted to social networking sites – e. g. a case of fourteen year old spending over eight hours day on Facebook etc. . There is also evidence to suggest that these sites can cause a person to feel ‘lonely’. The Dangers Of Social Networking Sites: There are many inherent dangers of social networking sites because of the way the websites work. One of the biggest dangers is fraud, sometimes having to do with identity theft. Because these sites are based on friends and the passing along of bits of personal information, thieves realized the potential instantly. There are endless  social networking scams  that crooks can try to pull off with this medium and we have only seen the â€Å"tip of the iceberg† so far. The newest mainstream social network is twitter. It’s based on people following others and getting to read their tweets of 140 characters or less. This is one of the dangers of social networking sites because many people want as many followers as possible and they aren’t shy about what they say in their tweets. This highlights the  trouble with Twitter  and many other social networking sites. Many people’s goals on these sites is to have as many friends as possible and they just don’t think before they message or add friends. Unfortunately, this sets them up to be victimized by one scam or the next. The biggest social network in the world is facebook. Started in 2004 by a Harvard student, this site has had a meteoric rise. Facebook has become a huge software platform that houses every application imaginable and millions of games and groups and users. This brings us to another one of the dangers of social networking sites. With the goal of becoming bigger than big, can these sites really protect the average users while on their site? Yes, this should be up to the individual user, but certain things cannot be controlled by the user and when the site has 200 million users (100 million log in everyday! ), how much resource can be used for protecting clients of the site? With so many people logged in everyday that contribute personal information constantly, the crooks have followed and committed  Ã¢â‚¬ Facebook identity theft†Ã‚  to get what they need. There are truly endless scams they have tried and will try to pull off on the social networks. Teen Social Networking By The Numbers: * 51  Percentage of teens who check their sites more than once a day. * 22  Percentage who check their sites more than 10 times a day. * 39  Percentage who have posted something they later regretted. * 37  Percentage who have used the sites to make fun of other students. * 25  Percentage who have created a profile with a false identity. * 24  Percentage who have hacked into someone else’s social networking account. * 13  Percentage who have posted nude or seminude pictures or videos of themselves or others online. acebook identity theft like any other online identity theft, can be extremely dangerous for teenagers. With their brain still developing, it is very easy to take advantage of them by pretending to be someone else (usually a crush). There have been many cases like this and it devastates the teen when the criminal reveals that it was a hoax. Many teens have fallen into deep depression or even lost their life, an enor mous tragedy and one of the biggest dangers of social networking sites. Be Careful! Be Careful! There are thousands and thousands of  facebook impostors  out there looking to make an easy buck or harass people they know. How to cite The Use of Social Networking Sites, Essay examples

Amistad Essay Example For Students

Amistad Essay LAmistadThe Amistad, ironically a ship that means friendship, was the setting of one of the most historical slave revolts led by black Africans in 1839. This revolt gained considerable attention from the American population, the media and well as other international interests. It was the black insurrection on board the Amistad that ignited the underlying issues of politics, slavery, sectionalism, religion, trade rights, and anti-British sentiment that already plagued the nation at the time of the Amistad incident. The controversy drew the entire world into the conflict over human and property rights, an issue that divided our nation and would eventually catapult it into war over the relationship of race and slavery to liberty. Treaties and Laws in the 1800s sought to further slavery regulation by making it legal, but prohibiting the further importation of slaves.Great Britain banned slavery in its own colonies, and pursued the suppression of trade. The United States passed the Slave Importation Act of 1807, which declared further importation of slaves into the United States illegal.Yet these Laws proved to be unenforceable due to Presidential denial of power to halt trades in the United States, as well as the rising cotton production in the South and the demand for Cuban sugar and Brazilian coffee, both expanding the market for slave labor. Thus the 1817 treaty with Great Britain that also outlawed foreign slave trade especially hurt the Spanish colony of Cuba.In spite of the ban, slave-traders continued to smuggle in slaves for several decades and tried to pass them off as legal. Slaves were constantly kidnapped from their homeland and taken most on route to Cuba, where slave labor was in most frequent demand. In 1839, the two men, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes chartered the Amistad to transport the 49 slaves to plantations in Cuba. One of the slaves on board the ship, Joseph Cinque, was given the impression that he and the other prisoners were being taken somewh ere to be turned into dried meat and eaten. Deciding he had nothing to lose by trying to get free, Cinque led others on board in a rebellion against the ship, killing the ships captain and the cook. Two other crewmembers either died during the revolt or jumped off the ship to try to reach shore. Only one slave died during the uprising. The slaves on board, with Cinque in charge, ordered Ruiz and Montes to sail to Africa. In hope of being rescued, the two men instead pursued a different course, that which would lead them down Atlantic Ocean, where they would eventually reach the United States, along the coast of Long Island. As Cinque and some others left the ship, members of the U.S.S. Washington came on board. The Africans were charged with murder and mutiny, and they were transported to New Haven, Conn. to await trial. The rebellion on board the ship immediately caught the attention of abolitionists Lewis Tappan, Joshua Leavitt, Simeon Jocelyn. Together they rallied for public sup port and established themselves as the Amistad Committee , a precursor to the American Missionary Association. They conducted a nationwide appeal for funds to provide for the legal defense. They saw the Amistad blacks as noble savages, who though untutored in education or religion, realized the value of freedom. While genuinely and sincerely committed to fighting for the blacks release, abolitionists perceived as well the value of the Africans as dramatic symbols in the battle against slavery.Right away the abolitionists searched for a translator who could break the language barrier and allow the captives to tell their side of the story in court. They found a linguistics professor from Yale University knew the Mende language. The abolitionists sought to also save the blacks by sending theology students to visit them in jail to teach them English and Christianity.The abolitionist dedication to the cause increased with the firm opposition to the Africans by the Van Buren administratio n and leading Southern spokesmen. The Van Buren Administration could not afford to alienate his Southern supporters in his upcoming 1840 election and thus did have reason to heed Southern views on the Amistad question. A public dispute over slavery would divide his Democratic Party. Moreover, both the Secretary of State and Attorney General were not only Southerners but slaveholders as well. The administration in fact, had but recently proven its sensitivity on the fugitive slave issue. Van Buren disregarded both American law and the Constitution in an attempt to quiet the issue by complying with Spanish demands. By having a ship ready to deliver the Africans back to Spanish authorities, Van Buren interfered in the judicial process and violated the blacks rights as human beings.Spain shared both the Van Buren fear of slave revolt and his fear of abolitionist gain through events like the Amistad rebellion. The Spanish government had made demands upon the United States concerning the Amistad. Angel Calderon de La Barca, a Spanish minister, cited four articles of the Pinckneys Treaty, which had been reaffirmend by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. They claimed that the US had no right to try the captives, and that they should be immediately returned to Cuba so they can stand trial for murder and piracy, the Africans were being described in a contradiction of property and pirates. Ruiz and Montes claimed that the Africans had been slaves in Cuba prior to the time of purchase and were therefore Ruiz and Montes legal property. Along with support from the Abolitionists, Great Britain, given its recent disagreements with the American government over the right of search, did not show sympathy to American or Spanish concerns, especially in the Amistad incident. The Glasgow Emancipation Society and other groups passed resolutions in support of the Amistad Africans. A year before the Amistad Africans landed in the United States, U.S. Minister to Great Britain demanded that t he British refrain from forcing liberty upon such American slaves, as might enter British ports, prohibited slaves from landing in her colonies, and guard such slaves that landed until they would be claimed. Spain, in Van Burens view, took a more reasonable view than Britain toward slavery and the slave trade. This is why Van Buren felt it was more important to maintain good relations with Spain. Pans Labyrinth Character Notes, Captain Vidal. EssayThe Amistad case illustrates the extent of divisiveness felt over slavery issue. A number of northern newspapers felt the cases drama would provoke wide debate on the institution of slavery. The case indicated the divisions already apparent within the United States. It showed the ideas of differences between north and south regions firmly established and the tensions between them to be increasing rather than decreasing, eventually leading to war over this prevalent issue of slavery. Another influence in the surrounding the Amistad period was the aftermath of the Second Great Awakenings and the rising of the evangelicals. Many scholars have pointed out some of the more radical consequences of this evangelical position with respect to moral reform. Their opposition to slavery was based primarily on the belief that it was inherently selfish and that selfishness was a card. Another negative association about slavery, viewed by evangel icals, was its association with great wealth.In the following November, the Africans, a translator, and some missionaries (both black and white) left for Africa aboard the ship the Gentleman. The arrival of those Amistad Africans who had successfully rebelled against slavery two years earlier, had ignited a sectional debate of significance within the United States. The immediate support of the blacks by leading abolitionists, when contrasted to the immediate denial by the federal government of the Africans right to be free, indicated how firmly different forces in the nation were committed to the slavery issue. General public response to the case revealed the importance of party allegiance, the divisiveness of slavery, the limited place of the black man, and the extreme aversion to the abolitionists and Great Britain shared by Americans at the close of the Van Buren administration. These prevalent and resistant differences would remain firmly settled in the United States, and would gradually tear the nation apart until there comes a call of war to finally settle sectional differences.