Native Americans and Colonization Essay Example for Free

Native Americans and Colonization Essay Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worst. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture. Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them. This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of shaman to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life. Many Native groups, because they were nomadic, didnt see land as belonging to one person. The idea that someone could come in, claim a piece of land and ban them from it, caused many problems. They could no longer hunt or forage for food in places they had always done so. Fights over territories began to break out and groups who always had plenty of food, now barely had enough. Many Christian missionaries tried to force Native American people to abandon traditional religious beliefs and practices (Mayo, 33). Christian missionaries would sometimes launch attacks on Native American religious institutions when forcing them to convert to Christianity did not work. These harmful attacks destroyed not only their temples and religious artifacts, but also a huge part of their culture. Laws were introduced that protected the land and property the colonists had acquired, banned most of their religious ceremonies, and forced the children into the European educational system. The Europeans wanted to deny the Native Americans of their cultural identity, which eventually would end up wiping them out. Native Americans were deeply effected by colonization. It was extremely unfair of the Europeans to destroy Native American way of life. If the Native Americans had the weapons, like guns and disease, that the Europeans did, then maybe they could have fought for what was theirs. Europeans came to America and changed the Native Americans lives forever. This contact between the Native Americans and Europeans was called the Columbian Exchange. While both Native Americans and Europeans received advantages and disadvantages from the Columbian Exchange, Native Americans definitely suffered more while the Europeans were benefited more. It is not right that the Native Americans lived on American land all their lives and had the land as well as their culture taken away from them in a matter of only a few years. Mayo, Louise A. American Dreams and Reality: A Retelling of the American Story, Volume 1 Second Edition. Illinois: Abigail Press, 2000.

The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Hu

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. While there are many differences between the societies portrayed in dystopic literature, they still have the common bond of lacking the fundamental freedoms required for a properly operated society to exist. This cannot be truer for The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. These novels prove that the individual's freedom are sacrificed in dystopic societies when the government controls the knowledge, individuality and relationships of each person in order for there to be stability in the society. Dystopia is shown in each of the novels through: the use of conflict demonstrating the authority over knowledge, the use of theme to establish the lack of identity and the use of character to show the control of knowledge. It is evident in both novels that a dystopic society exists through the authors' use of conflict to illustrate the control of knowledge of the past and present in order for there to be stability. For example, in The Handmaid's Tale, all Handmaids are forbidden from reading or writing, this is an attempt by the leaders of the society to control the knowledge their citizens can utilize. This control extends over any form of written word, and if the rules are disobeyed, there are consequences: "Scrabble!. This was once the game of old women, old men to be played in retirement villas when there was nothing good on television. Now it's forbidden, for us. Now it's dangerous. Now it's indecent . Now it's desirable" (Atwood 174). In this society, Scrabble is considered "forbidden" because of what it represents -- freedom of expression. The consequences the leaders have imposed create a c... ...ge, individuality and relationships of each person in order for there to be stability in the society. Through the use of conflict, dystopia is established in both of the novels using the control of knowledge of the past and present in the society in order for stability. In addition, through the use of theme, dystopia is established using the lack of identity of each member of the society in order for stability to be in the society. Finally, through the use of character, dystopia is established through the control of the relationships in each member of the societies. In order for there to be stability in a society there must be sacrifices made, especially in a society that is considered dystopic. Works Cited ----------- Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. U.S.A: Seal Books, 1986. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Hammersmith, London: Flamingo, 1994.

Why did Charles V Abdicate?

After a nearly forty year rule over an empire of unprecedented size and complexity, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire abdicated his throne in 1555-6. His rein saw much adversity yet he had great success and during his rein, the empire grew and prospered. However, a series of political, militaristic and health problems culminated in Charles’s retirement. To explore these problems and to fully comprehend why Charles relinquished his power is the topic of this essay. By and large, Charles V was the most powerful leader in Europe during his rein (Cavendish 2006). His realm was described as â€Å"an empire which the sun never set on† and it encompassed about 1,500,000 square miles. A Habsburg in his teens, in 1516 he inherited Spain, which had been unified by his grandparents Isabella and Ferdinand. In 1519 he succeeded his paternal grandfather Maximilian I as Holy Roman Emperor (Cavendish 2006). He was Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria and he also ruled the Netherlands, Bohemia, Hungary, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia. Ruling Spain meant ruling Spanish America and in Charles’s time Cortes took Mexico and Pizarro conquered Peru (Cavendish 2006). The wealth of Spain paid for his efforts to control Western Europe. Despite sizeable incomes from parts of the empire, Charles’s rein encountered monetary difficulties attributing to military defeats. Encircled by the Holy Roman Empire, France existed as the empires great rival and had three major conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire during Charles’s rein. The first began in 1521 against Charles’s nemesis Francis I of France and was highly successful, driving the French out of Milan and defeating and capturing Francis at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. There were three later conflicts where the outcome was less conclusive and France acted as a constant oppose to the empire. Another great rival of Charles’s were the Ottomans, who put pressure of the Holy Roman Empire’s Hungarian border and from piracy in the Mediterranean, especially in the 1530s. The predominately Islamic Ottoman Empire had a longstanding feud with the H. R. E. who was seen as the defender of Christendom (Claydon 2009). Charles the V is among the many rulers since ancient times who desired to create a neo-roman empire and as a Catholic, Charles hoped to unite all of Europe in a Christian empire of which he would be ruler. Unsurprisingly, the notion was met with fierce opposition. Not only did the French and the English prove resistant to the idea, but in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg: Charles’s ambitions deteriorated on the Protestant Reformation. Not only a factor for political defeat, his staunch religious belief also be attributed to his decision to abdicate. When something went right he attributed it to God, his failure to unite Europe made Charles V feel unworthy and that God must surely want another ruler to extend the empire and destroy Protestantism and Islam. In addition to the great stress of battling a multitude of enemies, Charles had to bear loyalty problems from within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1520, the Comuneros in Castile demanded lower taxes, an end to Burgandian dominion of Castile. They would have preferred Charles’s mum, Joanna the Mad to rule (Claydon 2009). Charles’s brother Ferdinand, archduke of Austria and king of Bohemia and Hungary placed higher priority on defeating the Ottomans than on France and getting rid of Protestantism which were Charles’s goals. Charles failed to control Germany and the Princes saw Ferdinand as their actual ruler (Claydon 2009). In 1529, the Diet of Speyer saw the Lutheran princes protest Charles’s catholic policy in direct defiance of the empire. The princes of Germany also largely adopted protestantism which Charles abhorred and considered heresy. Another factor for his abdication is that by the 1550s that Protestantism in Germany would have to be tolerated. The Holy Roman Empire saw major finance problems during Charles’s rein. The cost of training and maintaining the armies of the H. R. E. were vast and Charles struggled to find the money (Claydon 2009). Charles had to cancel a successful campaign against France where victory was near due to funding problems. A large portion of the empire’s income was through taxes but in certain areas people highly resented taxes due to feelings of localism, for example, the Spanish resented paying for Charles’s efforts on the other side of Europe whilst the German states saw Charles as a ‘foreigner’ and resented his rule over them and considered their own Princes as supreme (Claydon 2009). A similar situation existed in Burgundy where the Flanders estates rejected a 1534 plan to be organised into an imperial ‘circle’ to provide regular taxes and troops. Also, Charles’s claim of Italy was not profitable because Italy was financially dependant and contributed little to the empire monetarily (Claydon 2009). After a series of unfortunate militaristic failures and chronic finance and loyalty problems, in about his mid-forties, Charles was afflicted by severe health issues, most notably agonising gout, as well as epilepsy and chronic indigestion which was caused by his Hapsburg jaw, a condition where the jaw is deformed and creates difficulty eating. It was common to his family line due to aristocratic inbreeding. Tests have been conducted on a finger of Charles’s (which was preserved separately from his body) by researchers at the University of Barcelona who have concluded that severe gout was the main cause of Charles’s abdication (Emery 2006). They concluded that anyone with a condition that severe could not work. Historically, gout is seen as a ailment of the very wealthy due to food that increase risk are red meat. Such lavish food was not available in great quanities to people of medium to little wealth. He suffered from a particular severe gout and many scholars think Charles V decided to abdicate after a gout attack in 1552 forced him to postpone an attempt to recapture the city of Metz, where he was later defeated. This incident appears to have acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back in Charles’s decision to exit power. By now, Charles faced a great variety of tribulations. The implications from Charles’s failed was efforts, money and loyalty problems suggest he lacked full control of his empire. He felt that if God wanted him as ruler, he would have had an easier time. Overall, despite numerous reasons that probably influenced his decision, like failed military efforts, loyalty issues and his unwillingness to tolerate Protestantism in the empire, Charles’s health afflictions causing increasing inability to meets the demands of being Emperor, appears to be the key factor in his abdication. His epilepsy, gout and chronic indigestion (caused by his Habsburg jaw) surely made an already stressful and life dominating role of ruling a vast empire overwhelming and the various problems he faced culminated in his abdication. Despite being only fifty-eight at the time of his death, Charles must have appeared a frail and crippled old man who could barely walk (in his later years, he was carried around in a sedan chair) or use his hands (Emery 2006). Not a desirable public image for a mighty Emperor. Peaceful retirement to holy surroundings must have seemed a welcome change to a life of constant travel, warfare and turmoil. Charles V’s abdication has been interpreted differently. While many condemned it an unsuccessful man’s admission of failure and escape from the world, contemporaries of the time thought differently. There is evidence that Charles himself had been considering the idea even in his prime. In 1532 his secretary, Alfonso de Valdes, suggested to him the thought that a ruler who was incapable of preserving the peace and, indeed, who had to consider himself an obstacle to its establishment was obliged to retire from affairs of state. Upon the finalisation of the abdication, St. Ignatius of Loyola had this to say: â€Å"The emperor gave a rare example to his successors . . . he proved himself to be a true Christian prince . . may the Lord in all His goodness now grant the emperor freedom. † By today’s standards, Charles’s abdication would be nothing extraordinary considering his ailments and the stressful job requirements of emperor. Charles abdicated as Emperor in 1556 in favour of his brother Ferdinand; however, due to lengthy debate and bureaucratic procedure, the Imperial Diet did not accept the abdication (and thus make it legally valid) until May 3, 1558. Up to that date, Charles continued to use the title of Emperor. Charles gave Burgundy, Spain and the American colonies to his son Philip II. He retired to the Monastery of Yuste, near Cuacos de Yuste. The monastery was expanded in 1556 to make room for the emperor and the fifty to sixty members of his entourage. Charles was occasionally visited by notable people, including his illegitimate son Don Juan de Austria, as well as his heir Philip II of Spain. Like many former men of power in history, Charles was deeply interested in politics and was routinely posted on the news of the empire in his retirement. Probably hoping for news that his successors had created a miraculous Christian unification of Europe! He lived his few remaining months on earth amid works of art, of which he had a keen appreciation (Titian was his favourite painter), amid the books which, as a cultured man, he studied and took pleasure in enjoying the music (Knight 2009). His health afflictions worsened and he died of malaria on September 21, 1558 (de Zulueta 2007, 107-9). He was buried in the monastery church, though his remains were transferred twenty-six years later to San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Relationship Between Couples And Heterosexual Couples

There are many different ways a person could say a relationship is supposed to look like. There are Lesbian couples, gay couples and heterosexual couples. As a result of so many different types of sexual preferences, you then have many different types of relationships. Typically as a child you look to your parents for guidance on what a relationship should be perceived as, so then when you are old enough you use what you learned from your parents to find a good relationship. I was raised in a two parent household from a heterosexual married couple. I learned a great deal of what an ideal relationship should look like from my parents who have been married for 30 years. Not only have my parents taught me about relationships but my grandparents have too and the main things that I learned that you will need in a good relationship is patience, compromise, and love. There are three main stages in a relationship with a person. The first stage is friendship the second stage is the exclusive relationship and the last stage is marriage. My parents taught me that while going through each of these stages, a person has to have patience to have a successful relationship. Patience in the Webster dictionary is defined as being â€Å"able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people†. When you are going through those different relationship stages there are going to be problems you will have to face daily. In a marriage orShow MoreRelatedSame Sex Marriage Should Be Legal1659 Words   |  7 Pages Same-sex couples can hardly remember a time where they were not fighting for their right to marriage in the United States. After several court cases, California Proposition Six, and their struggle against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex couples found their way into U.S. society. 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