Colonial Hispaniola
Citation (Primary source)

Las Casas, Bartolome de. "Brief account of the devastation of the Indies," 1542. From Human

Rights: An Anthology of Texts. Warsaw: The Office of the Commissioner for Civil

Rights Protection, 2008. Accessed December 21, 2011 at http://www.rpo.gov.pl/pliki/12289972270.pdf

This primary source account offers a highly idealized view of the colonized persons of Hispaniola. It is said that the natives are peaceful, hold no grudges, are humble, patient, and kind and willingly serve their Spanish masters. However, they are also called weak and said to easily perish of infirmities. They are said not be covetous, and are said to want no gold or wealth. They are portrayed as simple, humble, natural men and women of a primitive, giving, yet proud disposition. The Spanish are condemned for their barbaric behavior against the inhabitants who resist the Spanish only when the Spanish began to try to take over their land.

Assessment

On one hand, the…...

There are sources claiming that the population of natives had fallen from several million to several tens of thousands. The sources cannot be verified in the present, since there are no notable documents to confirm either assumption. hat is certain is that the Taino population from Hispaniola had been severely diminished as a result on their interaction with the Europeans.
hile Columbus continued to visit the Caribbean in hope that he would find the famous kingdoms that he have heard about, his brother Bartolome became governor of the island. Still, similar to his brother, Bartolome did not seem to control the situation, as no major advancements have been performed during his governing. One of the biggest mistakes that the Europeans had done during their first years on Hispaniola had been that they did not want their community to have anything to do to the native one. The locals had not…...

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Works cited:

1. Atkins, Pope G. Wilson, Larman Curtis. The Dominican Republic and the United States: from imperialism to transnationalism. University of Georgia Press, 1998.

2. Bakewell, Peter John. "A history of Latin America: c. 1450 to the present."

3. Brown, Isabel Zakrzewski. Culture and customs of the Dominican Republic. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999.

4. Guitar, Lynne. "History of the Dominican Republic." Retrieved June 12, 2009, from Hispaniola Web site:  http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/history.php

Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola
The American writer and free lance journalist Michele Wucker in her first book has written about both Haiti and the Dominican epublic complex relations in terms of their cultures and on the sources of their great effort both in their island home as well as in the United States.

According to the book, the Caribbean island of Hispaniola is home to historic, where this continuing conflict between two countries has been intensely separated by language, race and history. However, at the same time it has been forced continuously into argument by their shared geography. The book is emotional from the beginning with the fighting and posturing of blood sport, as observed by the writer in her first Haitian cockfight (1):

The air cracks with the impact of stiffened feathers as each bird tries to push the other to the ground. Around the ring,…...

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References

1. Bob Corbett. Why The Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians And The Struggle For Hispaniola

By Michele Wucker. New York: Hill & Wang. May 1999

2. Rob Ruck. Why The Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, And The Struggle For Hispaniola by Michele Wucker. "A history of Hispaniola." August, 1999.

A www.post-gazette.com

Ponce De Leon
Time Line

Ponce de Leon is born in a rural village in Southern Spain to an aristocratic family. He was the great grandson of Vermudo Nunez. (Nobleman, 2004)

Early to Late 1480s: At an early age, Ponce de Leon became a member of the royal court by serving as an aide to Pedro Nunez de Guzman. He was a Knight Commander in the Order of Calatrava. This was a papal-based militia which served the interests of the Catholic Church and the Pope. (Nobleman, 2004)

Late 1480s to 1492: In this time, Ponce de Leon was actively fighting against the Moors from the late 1480s until 1492. He was at the Battle of Granada and witnessed the decisive victory. (Nobleman, 2004)

After the war against the Moors was over, many soldiers and mercenaries were no longer needed. Ponce de Leon decided to uses these skills in the New World and served on Columbus's…...

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References

Agueybana. (2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agueybana.JPG 

Ponce de Leon. (2012). USF. Retrieved from:  http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/de_leon/de_leon1.htm 

Ponce de Leon. (2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n.jpg 

Nobleman, M. (2004). Ponce de Leon. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Peace
Freedom is the Foundation of Peace. Without freedom, there is no peace. America, by nature, stands for freedom, and we must always remember, we benefit when it expands. So we must stand by those nations moving toward freedom. We must stand up to those nations who deny freedom and threaten our neighbors or our vital interests. We must assert emphatically that the future will belong to the free. Today's world is different from the one we faced just several years ago. We are no longer divided into armed camps, locked in a careful balance of terror. Yet, freedom still has enemies. Our present dangers are less concentrated and more varied. They come from rogue nations, from terrorism, from missiles that threaten our forces, our friends, our allies and our homeland.

Since the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick between the kingdoms of Spain and France in 1697, the island of…...

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Bibliography

"Beginning of Diplomatic Relations." Department of Foreign Affairs and International Relations. (January 2004) Retrieved June 3, 2005 from  http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca /latinamerica/haitirelations-en.asp.

Graham, Andrew. "Canada bolsters support to Haiti." Media Relations Office

Canadian International Development Agency. (July 2004) Retrieved June 3, 2005 from

Introduction

For decades, school children have been taught the misinformation that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. As consciousness develops and society becomes more aware of the realities of history, it becomes less and less acceptable to celebrate false heroes like corrupt politicians, confederate generals and cruel explorers. Christopher Columbus fits the last category. A close examination of history demonstrates that he brought much despair and horrors to indigenous people near the Americas. The fact that The United States still has a day in his honor is bizarre and absurd. This essay will discuss the numerous compelling reasons why Columbus Day should be abolished, and ideally replaced with something that appropriately honors indigenous people.

One of the most compelling reasons to abolish Columbus Day was the fact that Christopher Columbus was a non-American, non-native, who never actually touched any of the soil of the continental United States. It might even be accurate to say…...

After stops at Grand Turk sland and San Salvador, they reached the east coast of Florida (St. Augustine) in April 1513. Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) because they first spotted land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday. He then claimed the land for Spain (Juan Ponce de Leon: The Explorer).
With that, Florida did become the land of riches and youth, which was what this explorer wanted, however it did not come easy because of the attacks. This led him to believe there was hidden treasure in his conquest of the fountain of youth.

Ponce obtained from Charles V, 23 February, 1512, a patent authorizing him to discover and people the sland of Bimini, giving him jurisdiction over the island for life, and bestowing upon him the title of Adelantado. On 3 March, 1513, Ponce set out from San German (Porto Rico) with three…...

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In short, Ponce de Leon was an explorer that was not successful in finding the fountain of youth, however he discovered Florida, which feels like the fountain of youth for some people. "Although his first voyage had been without result as far as the acquisition of gold and slaves, and the discovery of the "fountain of youth" were concerned, Ponce determined to secure possession of his new discovery. Through his friend, Pedro Nunez de Guzman, he secured a second grant dated 27 September, 1514, which gave him power to settle the Island of Bimini and the Island of Florida, for such he thought Florida to be. In 1521 he set out with two ships and landing upon the Florida coast, just where, it is not known, he was furiously attacked by the natives while he was building houses for his settlers. Finally driven to re-embark, he set sail for Cuba, where he died of the wound which he had received" (Juan Ponce de Le n).

Juan Ponce de Leon: The Explorer.  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/deleon.shtml 

Juan Ponce de Le n)..  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12228a.htm

Soon after, an Aztec general murders several Spaniards from Cortez's band and prove that Cortez and his companions are frauds. Cortez takes Montezuma prisoner and compels him in surrendering the entire empire. The Aztec people choose to disobey their master and than kill Montezuma after he attempts to calm the spirits of the rebellion.
Hearing the news of Cortez's success in Mexico, Velasquez sends an army to arrest the deserter, but most of the men sent to capture Cortez join him after a clash between Cortez's forces and Velasquez's men.

Following several days of skirmish, Cortez enters the capital of the Aztecs once again, with the cost of thousands of lives of native people. After two years of attacks from the Spaniards and their allies, on the 13th of August, 1521, the Aztec king of Guatemoc surrenders his country before Hernan Cortez.

For the following seven years, Cortez remained in Mexico and…...

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Works Cited

Marc Ferro, Colonization: A Global History [book online] (London: Routledge, 1997, accessed 11 November 2008), 114; available from Questia,  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=109075460;Internet .

Schmal, John P. 2004. The RISE of the AZTEC EMPIRE. Houston Institute for Culture. Available from Internet,   accesed 10 November, 2008.http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/aztecs.html ,

William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico, ed. Kirk, John Foster, Revised ed. [book online] (Philadelphia J.B. Lippincott, 1891, accessed 11 November 2008), 4; available from Questia,  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9012160;Internet .

Cortes, Hernan: Introduction." Literary Criticism (1400-1800). Ed. Jennifer Allison Brostrom. Vol. 31. 1, 1996. eNotes.com. 2006.   / cortes-hernan, accessed 10, November, 2008http://www.enotes.com/literary-criticism 

However, this may not have been Diaz's intention at all. He may have simply been trying to emphasize the third person viewpoint and that the reader is merely witnessing the events. This opening statement requires the reader to place themselves in a position somewhere, hovering above the lives of the characters, viewing them from an unattached vantage point. This is much the way in which one views an ant hill. We look at the ant hill and see it as a whole. We may see individual ants going from here to there. We have no idea what is going on in the heads of the individual ants. We do not know where they intend to go, but we see them scurrying about on the way to something that is apparently important to them. At that point, we can either choose to focus in one a single ant and follow its…...

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Bibliography

Asim, Jaban. it's a Wonderful Life. 30 September 2007. Washington Post. 1 October 2008.

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Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, First edition, New York: Riverhead. 2007.

Ben has renounced piracy and promises to help Jim and his friends. However, Gunn also acts as a warning to Jim that money is not all that matters, as Ben's life has left him alone, dissolute, and desperate, and at the end of the novel Ben quickly spends all of the money he gains from his escapades and must turn to begging. Soon, Jim's own morality will be tested when he is captured and is given the choice to join Long John Silver's crew. Jim resists, and when the pirates turn against their leader, both Silver and John narrowly escape wit their lives.
From Dr. Livesey, Jim learns to take risks, like travel far and wide in search of treasure. His experiences aboard the Hispaniola teach him that sometimes he has better judgment than esteemed Englishmen with aristocratic titles like Squire Trelawney. From Ben Gunn Jim learns that not all…...

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Works Cited

About Robert Louis Stevenson." (2006). The Online Literature Collection. [1 Feb 2007]  http://www.online-literature.com/stevenson/ 

Robert Louis Stevenson." Treasure Island Webpage. [1 Feb 2007]  http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/treasure/author/ 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. 1881. E-text. Project Guttenberg. [1 Feb 2007]  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/120/120-h/120-h.htm

" However, osch's writings were by no means one-dimensional, for he addressed many universal aspects of life. Indeed, osch's versatility as a writer is reflected in his ability to write works of fantasy, political thought, biographies, history, social realism, and cultural commentaries. He also published several poems and short stories in Cuban and Dominican newspapers and magazines, and worked for a period of time as literary editor for the influential newspaper, Listin Diario.
The fact that Juan osch was, first and foremost, a humanist who was interested in all aspects of human interest and welfare is clearly reflected in his writings. for, osch did not merely dwell on the miserable plight of the rural poor, but also reflected on the materialism and hypocrisy of the upper classes. For instance, in La bella alma de don Damian (the eautiful Soul of Don Damian), osch depicts Don Damian's soul examining itself with a…...

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Bibliography

Alexander, R.J. Presidents of Central America, Mexico, Cuba, and Hispaniola:

Conversations and Correspondence. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1995.

Cambeira, a. Quisqueya La Bella: The Dominican Republic in Historical and Cultural

Perspective. Armonk, NY M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1997.

Developing country that will be focused upon for this report is Haiti. The reason the author of this report chose Haiti for this report is because the recent earthquake there that claimed roughly 50,000 lives brought it to the forefront. This is in contrast to the Dominican epublic (which is on the other end of the same island) had little to no notable news coverage during the same aftermath. Haiti is certainly not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to developing countries but it shares a colonial past (French) with many other countries and it faces many challenges including starkly low incomes, very low literacy rates and other major life challenges for normal every-day Haitians. Facts to be covered include the name of the country, which of course is Haiti, when it became independent, its location, in what ways the country is less develop than more advanced…...

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References

Brittanica. (2013, April 28). Haiti -- Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/251961/Haiti 

CBCNews. (2013, April 28). CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from  http://www.cbc.ca/ 

Ferreira, S. (2013, October 25). The Clintons in Haiti: Can an Industrial Park Save the Country? | TIME.com. World | International Headlines, Stories, Photos and Video | TIME.com. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from  http://world.time.com/2012/10/25/the-clintons-in-haiti-can-an-industrial-park-save-the-country/ 

GoogleMaps. (2013, April 28). Google Maps. Google Maps. Retrieved April 28, 2013, from  http://maps.google.com/

3. Who are the various groups of indigenous people? What are some of their customs? How did they receive the Spaniards? What marks of 'civilization' does de las Casas note?

The author refers to the indigenous peoples as Indians, and also as Cacics. De las Casas respects the great diversity among the indigenous people he encounters, even if his impressions seem ethnocentric. For example, the author claims that the indigenous people of Hispaniola are innocent and childlike, and trust the Spanish overlords. He also notes they do not like to work very hard. At times, de las Casas describes the religious idols and practices of the peoples, and also games like juggling.

4. List various specific things that de las Casas uses as examples of Spanish barbarity.

The entire tome is devoted to examples of Spanish barbarity. De las Casas does not hold back when he refers to the brutality and tyranny of…...

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References

De las Casas, B. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indes. Retrieved online:  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~twod/latam-s2010/read/las_casasb2032120321-8.pdf

Colonization
European Colonization

Father Bartolome de Las Casas

Father Bartolome de Las Casas is one of the most prominent advocates of the Cuban indigenous people. He actually owned slaves himself at one point, yet he set his own slaves free and renounced the practice. He also joined the Dominican order of Christianity and protested against the cruel and unusual punishment that the indigent people had suffered. He was especially against the practice of encomienda which is to trade a life for other material possessions. He wrote:

"The Indies were discovered in 1492. In the following year a great many Spaniards went there with the intention of settling the land. Thus, forty-nine years have passed since the first settlers penetrated the land, the first so claimed being the large and most happy isle called Hispaniola, which is six hundred leagues in circumference…And all the land so far discovered is a beehive of people; it is…...

It is impossible in six short pages to fully comprehend the attitudes that hite Americans had to Native Indians and black Americans in the early centuries of our nation's founding. That was m not my intent. My goal rather, was to illustrate first that although we are often presented a dominant narrative as the narrative, the truth is that in surveying American attitudes towards American Indians and Blacks a single cohesive narrative does not exist. If such a narrative did exist the Native American Seminole tribe of Florida would not exist. The Seminoles were a tri-racial tribe composed of Creek Indians, remainders of smaller tribes, runaway slaves and whites who preferred to live in Indian society (Loewen). The First and Second Seminole wars (1816-18, 1835-42) in which the Seminoles fought against invading hites who demanded that they surrender their African-American members, were fought not for economic value but to eliminate…...

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Works Cited

Jordan, Winthrop D. White Over Black:American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550-1812. University of North Carolina Press., 1995.

Loewen, James. Lies My Teacher Told Me. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Miller, Eric. George Washington and the Indians. 1994. 25 March 2010 .

Root, Maria. Love's Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Temple University Press, 2001.