In the colonization period, the urge to conquer foreign territories was strong, and many lands in the Western Hemisphere were conquered. With the colonization of these areas, a mercantilist relationship was formed between the conquered civilization and the maternal country. A major part of this was the restriction of exportation of native resources only to the mother country as well as the banning of trading with colonies of other countries. In turn, there was an increasing in the number of smuggling activities during the time. According to a British sailor named William Taggart in 1760, the illegal smuggling of goods into these areas had a positive impact because it brought prosperity to the people in Monte Christi, as there were only one hundred poor families. Likewise, Dominica governor John Orde praised the trading because it created prices much lower than with its maternal country. However, British admiral David Tyrell, Roger Elletson, Dominica governor John Orde, and a 1790 Bahaman newspaper report all had similar views on the harmful effects and corruptness present in smuggling. Despite this, physician George Lipscomb and British Lieutenant Governor Thomas Bruce had neutral opinions on the matter, and only stated what they witnessed in the process. Firstly, the Caribbean smuggling was viewed as necessary and positive in the late eighteenth century. According to William Taggart, a British sailor traveling to testify at his smuggling trial in April 1760, the illegal transportation of goods from the Spanish port of Monte Christi led to general prosperity in the area, as there were only 100 relatively poor families and that the governor had full knowledge of this and demanded a tax of one silver Spanish coin. Taggart mi... ... middle of paper ... ...e action. Also, lieutenant governor Thomas Bruce of Dominica reported of inhumane treatment (primarily tar and feathering) of John Blair, who failed to alert British officials of the trading, but did not give a clear standpoint. This depiction shows the mixed views of the people in these societies on the issue. In all, the smuggling of raw materials, products, and slaves to and from the Caribbean islands assisted the economy in the islands but harmed the maternal countries such as the British. This issue was met with mixed views, and even some people such as John Orde had two different opinions on occurrences of the action. One additional document that would be of assistance in analyzing the causes and opinions of the smuggling would be an account of a native Caribbean merchant, because it would give a middle class account of the event of whom it actually affected.
As the Reconstruction Era ended, the United States became the up and coming world power. The Spanish-American war was in full swing, and the First World War was well on its way. As a result of the open-door policy, England, Germany, France, Russia, and eventually Japan experienced rapid industrial growth; the United States decided to pursue a foreign policy because of both self- interest and idealism. According to the documents, Economic self- interest, rather than idealism was more significant in driving American foreign policy from 1895 to 1920 because the United States wanted to protect their foreign trade, property and their access to recourses. While the documents also show that Nationalistic thought (idealism) was also crucial in driving American foreign policy, economic Self- interest prevailed.
In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb.
More than half of American goods produced for export went to Great Britain, and acts were in effect that gave England more control over colonial exports (Navigation Acts and White Pines Acts are two examples). However, the West Indies played a vital role in preserving American credit in Europe, illustrating that Americans had developed economic differences that distinguished them from the British. They were able to trade with other countries throughout the world, not just England. Without the source of income from the West Indies, colonists wouldn’t have been able to pay for manufactured items they purchased in the mother country. An expanding coastal and overland trade also brought colonists of different backgrounds into more frequent contact.
As I walked through the snow with aching, raw feet, the blood, making a trail behind me, I soon began to realize how Valley Forge and this whole war in it’s entirety was driving me to the point where I wanted to quit. It was the winter of 1777 and the American Army was forced to set up camp 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, we called it Valley Forge. The question that keeps popping up in my mind while I sit miserably in my hut is, am I going to re-enlist? I am not going to re-enlist for 3 reasons; death and illness, harsh conditions, and the lack of support and supplies.
One facet of this unique system involved the numerous economic differences between England and the colonies. The English government subscribed to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demanded that the individual subordinate his economic activity to the interests of the state (Text, 49). In order to promote mercantilism in all her colonies, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts in 1651, which controlled the output of British holdings by subsidizing. Under the Navigation Acts, each holding was assigned a product, and the Crown dictated the quantity to be produced. The West Indies, for example, were assigned sugar production and any other colony exporting sugar would face stiff penalties (Text, 50). This was done in order to ensure the economic prosperity of King Charles II, but it also served to restrict economic freedom. The geographical layout of the American colonies made mercantilism impractical there. The cit...
In Hasting’s article she explores the ways in which Canada sought to annex Britain’s West Indies colonies in the early twentieth century. One of the major benefits of expanding into the West Indies was to increase trading and goods that were being traded, this was made possible with the expanding steamship technology that increased its commercial and passenger routes south. The second factor of Canada’s campaign to annex the West Indies was to prove itself as a new territory that was expanding it’s borders, which suggested Canada as a contender among other countries such as Britain and France who had a long history of colonization. Hasting’s explores the factors contributing to Canada’s anticipated success in annexing the West Indies. The article discusses Canada’s potential in trying to create harmonious political relationship with the Bahamas in 1911, and how the issue
For years the European colonies in Latin America had made profit off the backs of slaves. They used them to harvest crops and produce goods for their economies. They had abused them and did not give them full equality as whites had in the colonies. By the 1770s, there are abolitionists who have been fighting for the rights of slaves, and many of them have seen or heard of the horrors of slavery. They work tirelessly to rid of the institution that many considered to be evil. However, many of these colonies do not feel that slavery should be ended, and they continued in their abuse of the slaves. Even before the 1700s, slaves have committed small acts of resistance in order to fight back against the injustices done to them. These acts however, did not gather as much attention as the future rebellions that would arise in the 1790s and the 1800s.When these rebellions did occur, such as the famous Haitian Revolution, and the fact that abolitionists have proved through testimonies and evidence that slavery was an evil institution, that many nations begin to reconsider whether or not slavery could be continued. In the case of France, they decided to give slaves in Haiti more rights partly due to the large scale of insurrections occurring on plantations. However, they still want to maintain control of Haiti. After Louverture had become the governor, later arrested, and the French failed to retake Haiti, they finally decided to leave the country alone, and take action against slavery. One example was how there was a law passed in 1818 which “declared that the captains of slave-trading vessels, if apprehended, would be deprived of their licenses and their cargoes would be liable to seizure”. Still the author does mention that the slave trades continue in secret. The Spanish as well as Brazil, who will continue slavery all the way up
Economic concerns of the British caused the colonization of British North America. Such economic concerns included the opportunity to acquire gold, silver, a North American waterway that would lead directly to China and the Indies, and the prospect of countering Spain's dominance in North America (Boorstin et al. 34). In addition to these economic reasons for colonization, the English were also seeking to obtain the essential "raw materials" in America that they had been previously buying from other European countries for exorbitant amounts of money and gold (Boorstin et al. 34). Great Britain also sought to solve other economic problems through American colonization. For example, England needed to replenish some of its diminishing materials and assets, generate another "market" to export its cargo and merchandise, maintain its powerful navy and "merchant marine" through business with new American colonies, and to provide a new place for the unemployed to settle rather than escalating populace/crime and the economic burden in its own cities (Boorstin et al. 34).
In the “Interpretive Essay”, Kenneth Banks discuses the consequences of the Atlantic slave trade. The negative effects on the Africans due to the Atlantic slave trade range from the influence on Africans societies and warfare, inhumane and atrocious living and working conditions, decrease of their population, and the long-term impact of bigotry. During the Atlantic save trade’s peak, the movement to abolish slavery started because it went against certain religious beliefs, several thinkers saw it as inefficient, and was unethical.
Thesis: What happened after Columbus arrived in Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and Dominican Republic)? So many people still assume that Christopher Columbus was a hero, whether they know if that’s true or not. They think that he was a man that cannot be forgotten. What humans in the 21st century have forgotten is that Columbus was a nasty man. He was very cruel, especially after his arrival at Haiti, on December 5th 1492, with three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria (“Taino Conquest” Latin American Studies). Of course, Columbus had always thought he had reached the East Indies in Asia, due to his underestimation of the size of the world’s vast seas. What he didn’t know was that there was no way he would reach Asia without a half dead and starving crew.
...nd the development of sugar cane in the Caribbean. Their wealth began with rice production and sales to England. Georgia, a colony founded by James Oglethorpe and named in honor of King George II. The land between Atlanta and Savannah rivers was considered to be the headquarters to the “south seas” and served as a border to Spanish Florida. It was settled in 1732 and slavery along with alcohol was banned until 1750.
Green, Cencilia. (1997). Historical Roots of Modern Caribbean Politics. Against the Current. Vol. 12, (4), 34-38.
With the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the eradication of the original Haitians through disease, slavery, and slaughter executed by the Europeans, did not take long. According to Farmer, author of The Uses of Haiti 2006, massive development in agricultural labor triggered transatlantic trafficking of humans and beginning in 1540 over 30,000 Africans had been forced into slavery on the island known today as Haiti (Pg.54). Human trafficking continued to increase over the decades as the demand for more
The 1600’s were a time of expansion in the new world. Unfortunately the development of this area led slavery to be the main source of labor. As history teaches us slavery was used extensively in the new world. The main areas of concern of this paper are how slavery in the Caribbean carried over its practice in the American South. The slave system was implemented in the Caribbean on a larger scale before the South implemented their system. The slave plantations of the Caribbean served as a learning platform for the slavery system in the south. The development of Caribbean slave laws, slave revolts, transfer of information on this practice to the South and the South’s implementation of these slave laws, and the slave issues in check.
What light do these documents shed on the much-debated question about who should be held responsible for the tragedy of the Atlantic slave