global+dynamics


 * START**[[file:global dynamics goals.docx]]9/13/2011

Thomas Coneys 9/29/11 How does autonomy and ethnicity relate to Machiavelli’s and Hobbes’s sense of necessary government? Do you agree with either of them? Why? Why not? Be sure to cite specific passages to support your position (at least 500 words of your own writing). Email the document to me AND post it on your wikipage.

Autonomy is the idea of self-government in society; ethnicity is the idea of being with an ethnic group and governing oneself within the ethnic divide. The two ideas are often used together hoping to create ethnic autonomy or ethnic groups that are self-governed within a larger society, Spain is an example of this. However the concept is much harder to create then theorize over and many societies have failed at creating ethnic autonomy throughout many years. Autonomy and ethnicity are two very old concepts and both play a role in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiavelli is most famous for writing the prince a political philosophy book on how a prince should behave and act in society. The Prince illustrates his views that people are inherently evil, described by Machiavelli as “ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy of gain” (Machiavelli,233) and that they must be governed by a monarch or society will fall into ruin. Machiavelli was very general in his outlook on ethnicity in the prince and generalized different cultures to mankind. Overall the idea of a prince wanting to be feared rather than loved is the most offensive to the idea of autonomy and ethnicity, and completely goes against the idea of having freedom and choice in society, like the choice of autonomy or ethnicity. Machiavelli seems to believe that government should exist to keep men from doing evil a idea similar to that of Thomas Hobbes. Thomas Hobbes, a famous English philosopher, also strongly believes in the necessity of government, however in a way more fitting to the ideas of autonomy and ethnicity. Hobbes believes that all men are naturally equal none truly physically superior, allowing either to take from one another. His solution is government, Hobbes writes “where there is no common power, there is no law” (Hobbes, 32). Hobbes goes on further to discuss the idea that without government there would be no justice as well as no injustice because neither is of the individual mind but rather of the social ideal and theory. In his writings Hobbes doesn’t praise human nature, and instead goes against the autonomy of the individual fearing the evil that one may cause. Common power, one of the phrases that Hobbes uses when referring to government, suggests that he is not against autonomy when there is a balance between more than one party. From this one can infer that Hobbes may even be in favor of the idea of self-government of different ethnic groups because it is a simple way to divide a population into units of common power and life styles. Autonomy and ethnicity are both valued and challenged in many places around the world throughout history. Both Hobbes and Machiavelli agree that there should be government, although neither mentions autonomous ethnic governments. Through their writings one may try to infer their point of view upon the subjects of autonomy and ethnicity but it is to no avail. Their writings are both littered with support and criticism for the ideas of autonomy and ethnicity. However Hobbes’s theory, which I agree with and support over Machiavelli’s is much more supportive of the ideas.

10/9/11

10/11/11

Smith published his most famous work the wealth of nations in the year 1776 the year that the United States gained independence from Great Britain. This critical event made smith’s work even more important because as a fledgling nation the United States had many new decisions to make like what type of economy they would have. Ironically enough the United States economy took after in many ways the concepts in smith’s work “the wealth of nations.”

Karl Marx published his most famous work in 1848 the communist manifesto. This was a crucial time for his work to be published because Europe was in a state of political term oil, nations fighting among nations and new governments being set up. By publishing his work in this year he had a new form of government into the world stage. Advocating for communism around the world which soon took root in several countries. Similarly Europe seems to be in a state of unrest now in modern times with economic troubles tearing apart the European Union and possible making room for new political or economic theories to take root in Europe.

10/13/11

-The years before ww1 were peaceful and profitable -New technology was becoming popular like cars -Europe’s focus was controlling the rest of the world, controlling all or part of every continent in the world -Competition between European countries for colonies was intense and considered one of the main causes of ww1 -Wealth and power was based on colonies -Britain was the leader of colonization -Britain’s large factories and industry required colonies to provide material not accessible in Britain -India was Britain’s key colony (British east India company) -Africa was divided among Europe most was controlled by Britain and France however -Britain was well in the lead of colonization in the pre ww1 world -America although rebellious was of little consequence to England -Tea is a symbol of England’s success -Some questioned the morality of imperialism but others considered it a good thing bringing luxiours of civilization to the rest of the world -Many countries fought over colonies around the world -New powers like Germany and japan tried their strength at colonization -Germany over took Britain as the world’s industrial leader but could not match England’s colonization and began to feel it necessary to challenge British colonies -Germany began to increase naval power to challenge Britain’s naval power -Many nations began to build up their militaries creating a competition among countries for military superiority -As the arms race grew nations created alliances Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy Russia, France, Britain -Battle plans began to be created (just in case) -An Austro-Hungarian leader was assonated, sparking ww1
 * Part 1**
 * Part 2**

10/13/11

-June 28th 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assonated by a Serbian -In retaliation Austro-Hungry moved to attack Serbia first issuing an ultimatum, if refused it gave Austro-hungry reasons to attack Serbia -Russia however backed with Serbia and Austro-Hungry turned to Germany their allies for help if Russia became involved -July 28th 1914 Austro-hungry declares war on Serbia Russia begins to mobilize its army in series defense -Aug 1st 1914 Germany sees Russia’s mobilization as an act of war and declares war upon them -Aug 3 Russian ally France joins the war -Aug 4th French ally England joins the war to defend France -April 1917 US joins the war against Germany after 3 years of neutrality because of the threat on commercial shipping offered by German subs and unrestricted warfare. -Prussia fought both Austria and France demolishing both, while Germany seeked to create another German speaking country -Prussians land gains created the German empire -France was angry over their loss to the Prussian and in their battle plans for ww1 actively seeked to recapture lost territory quickly
 * The first world war**
 * Before ww1**



I know Our great city is tumbling. You can hear the engines rumbling. Off they fly, Never saying good bye.

But they’ll be back, To continue the attack, The commanders will be demanding, For there are still buildings standing.

Not one shall be left tall. They will fell them all. What have we done? They have nearly won!

We tremble at their sight, Yet we do not fight. Because we are but civilians, While they live in pavilions!

For peace I yearn, But I know I will burn. We will all fry, And this is why I cry.

why the wall came down

The Berlin wall was destined to collapse under the pressure of communist short comings. All over the soviet empire, hidden behind the iron curtain was miserable and stagnate life. Many workers labored for 70 hours a week with sometimes less than 30 hours of sleep, with no opportunity for promotion. In addition the sole purpose of the industry was to create instruments of war not social improvement. This created a cultural barrier and in some ways stopped the cultural growth of Eastern Europe. Revolution was clearly the answer in many minds. The soviet army, the group stomping out the revolutions worsened the situation but creating a great sense of oppression. Although the threat of force stopped revolution, it also unified ideas of revolution and democracy. The domino theory that Eisenhower suggested also seemed to applied also to democracy among communist states of the Russian empire. This would be demonstrated as the iron curtain began to fall at an exponential rate as more countries gained freedom. Communism and militarism would be the cracks in the wall leading to reform and change in Eastern Europe and effectively crushing communism worldwide.

Tom Coneys

Global dynamics 4

12/15/11


 * The problem of the European Union **

Can rivals cooperate? Can ancient conflict be forgotten and worked past? I am reticent to speculate, but these are the questions plaguing the European Union today. This represents another trial for the theory of the unified ideas of autonomy and ethnicity within Europe, which has been met with success and failure in previous years and is now the deciding factor, of whether the European Union will fail. To succeed, Europe must create or keep a unified cult of nations that works together for their greater good in the future but also respects and accepts the ethnic differences of the past.

Germany an industrial and innovating leader worldwide, as well as Greece a cultural treasure chest with little to no economic capacity must learn to work together. Cooperation is the key to success inEurope. All European powers are dependent on each other and throughout history this has been proven. No power in Europe has ever prospered without allying itself with another nation, or without oppressing one. This is still true today.

WillGermany still be as successful if the rest ofEurope is in shambles? No, even the economic power house of the EU relies on other countries. Without other nations, Germany is limited by her resources and consumers. Oppression in Europe will not be tolerated in modern times so the only option Germany has left is cooperation within an alliance with other nations in Europe. The same is true for Greece and every other country in the EU, whether they are dependent on resources, loans, consumers, or producers, Europeans need each other. Once countries forget self-interest and realize this then the European Union has a chance to survive.

History does not favor the EU. The world wars and the countless other battles fought within its borders prove peace is hard to achieve in Europe. Many hope and believe we as a world have moved past such conflicts, I would disagree. Under the patina of coexistence that coats the European Union, still exists many rivalries and injustices yet to be settled. These boil to the surface when difficulties arise like the debt crises today.

Germany an old enemy of many Europeans, is still in many ways secluded, as it is one of the few successful countries in the EU today and considers itself superior in this regard. Whether it is or isn’t, is not the problem, but rather the idea that smaller countries in the EU are now again at Germany’s mercy. The difference being it is not militarily in control, as it was in the first half of the 20th century, instead it is economically in control, because countries require German loans to avoid bankruptcy. This allowsGermany to influence other countries by imposing stipulations on the loans. This is only one of the underlying causes of the lack of cooperation within the European Union that is plaguing its success.

To answer the question “will the EU survive” we must not turn to economics, which no one is certain of, but instead focus on the history of Europe, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana). Rivalries must be forgotten because without cooperation the European Union will fail andEurope will again fall into conflict as it has in the past.

1/16/12 =Brazil=

Big rain storms hit Brazil on January 5 th  2012 causing havoc. The death total was small, only 7 killed. But an estimated 13000 people were displaced by the storms. Property damage was also significant not just because of the rain but also because of the resulting mudslides. However large storms like this are common during the rainy season in Brazil which last from December to January, usually. Although terrible the storm has cause little damage compared to the 900 killed last year do to big storms during the rainy season. [|__http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219381.html__] Orange juice prizes are hitting a record high in the United States. This is in large part do to a cold spell in Florida but more so because of the US’s disapproval of Brazilian growing methods. Going so far as to stop shipments testing positive for Carbendazim, a chemical treatment for a mould that grows on trees,  from coming to the US. The problem being that Brazil is the largest producer of Orange Juice in the world at least according to 2010-2011 statistics. Many speculate that removing Brazilian OJ completely will raze prices even higher. As well as affect the Brazilian economy as there will be less of a consumer pool. [|__http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16500773__]  Brazil was quick to jump back from the worlddebt crisis. Now though the OECD calls for further economic reforms to keep the new Brazilian growth going. Although the GDP growth is expected to drop for the next 2 years Brazil is still doing much better than most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. As well Brazil is maintaining an inflation rate well within there inflation standards. According to the OECD report however Brazil still needs to work on boosting investment rates, reforming the pension system, and deepening long term financial markets. Overall however brazil is one of the better economic systems, in South America, coming out of this global financial crisis. [|__http://www.oecd.org/document/5/0,3746,en_21571361_44315115_48934149_1_1_1_1,00.html?rssChId=201185__] INTERESTING FACTS Fact 1: Brazil has the biggest rain forest of the world, the Amazon forest [|__http://www.10-facts-about.com/Brazil/id/18__] Fact 2: Brazil has the biggest rain forest of the world, the Amazon forest [|__http://www.10-facts-about.com/Brazil/id/18__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 3: Brazil has the 2nd highest Christian population in the world. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.10-facts-about.com/Brazil/id/18__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 4: Brazil has one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the Christ Redeemer statue, located in Rio De Janeiro. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.10-facts-about.com/Brazil/id/18__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 5: The Amazon basin gets over 7 feet of rainfall each year <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.brazil-travel.co.uk/fascinatingfacts.htm__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 6: Sao Paulo is the counties largest city with over 18 million people making it the 3rd largest in the world <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.brazil-travel.co.uk/fascinatingfacts.htm__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 7: Brazilian women received the right to vote before the ladies of France and Switzerland <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.brazil-travel.co.uk/fascinatingfacts.htm__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 8: Voting in the elections is compulsory in Brazil, and everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 has to vote. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.buzzle.com/articles/interesting-facts-about-brazil.html__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 9: Brazil also has many billionaires, and is ranked 9th in world for the country with the most number of billionaires. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.buzzle.com/articles/interesting-facts-about-brazil.html__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fact 10: With over 8000 airports, Brazil has the second highest number of airports in the world, behind the United States of America, who have over 15000. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.buzzle.com/articles/interesting-facts-about-brazil.html__]

Thomas Coneys

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">(July 2011 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">491,989 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">(July 2011 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">10,118,683 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">(July 2011 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">3,308,535 (July 2011 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">industry: 14% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">services: 66% (2003 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">agriculture: 8% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">industry: 14% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">services: 78% <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(2004) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">agriculture: 40% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">industry: 17% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">services: 43% (2006 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">agriculture: 13% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">industry: 14% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">services: 73% (2010 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">(2002 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">30.3% <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">(2009 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">20.9% of households (2009) ||
 * || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Brazil ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Suriname ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bolivia ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Uruguay ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">population ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">203,429,773
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Government type ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">federal republic || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">constitutional democracy || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State" || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">constitutional republic ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Labor **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Force by occupation ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">agriculture: 20%
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Population below the poverty line ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">26% (2008) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">70%
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">GDP ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">$2.172 trillion (2010 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">$4.711 billion (2010 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">$47.88 billion (2010 est.) || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">$47.99 billion (2010 est.) ||


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Note: **//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">the population below the poverty line is //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Thomas Coneys

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Global Dynamics

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2/9/12

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Americas before European contact were full of brilliant and powerful societies, like the Inca, Maya, Aztecs, and the Anasazi, more commonly known as the pueblo. Not only were they great in comparison with their brethren, in the Americas, but also in comparison with some of the greatest cultures of the world, rivaling the logic of the Chinese, expansion of the roman and Greek empires, and the military tactics of the Europeans. Setting them apart however is their eventual and in some cases sudden demise. In the case of the Inca and the Triple Alliance (Aztecs) this sudden end was brought forth by the European conquistadors Francisco Pizzaro and Hernan Cortes; while the Mayan and Anasazi cultures brought themselves to their knees. Although the differences between the civilizations’ falls, nature versus conquerors, appear as polar opposites they are identical downfalls started by different catalysts.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Incan empire was the largest civilization of its time. “In 1491 the Inca ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the great’s expanding Russia, bigger than Songhy in the Sahel or powerful Great Zimbabwe in the west Africa table lands, bigger than the cresting Ottoman Empire, bigger than the Triple Alliance (as the Aztec empire is more precisely known), bigger by far than any European state, the Inca dominion extended over a staggering thirty-two degrees of latitude (3rd page in the land of four quarters). How did a nation so large fall to a force no greater than 168 Spanish conquistadors? Overextension, disease, and infighting are the answers.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Incan civilization was already plagued and weakened by civil war, over the leadership of the empire, and disease that killed key rulers and generals. ”smallpox not only killed Wayna Qhapaq, it killed his son and designated heir-and his brother, uncle, and sister wife, the main generals and much of the officer corps died as well” (Inca). This left the Incan empire weakened and leaderless, which led to more civil wars. The conquistadors only represent a ping pong ball thrown into a room of mouse traps, setting off the downfall of the crumbling Incan society. This is similar to the droughts that the Mayans experienced, ending their civilization.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Mayans built a great empire that one day disappeared. The long standing question is why did this happen? Similar to the Incas, the Mayans were pushing the boundaries of what their environment could support “they exhausted their recourse base, began to die of starvation, thirst, and fled their cities en masse” (Pg 277). Slowly the Mayan society was dying. Until the final sudden push, a dry spell lasting 100 years from the year 800 AD through the year 900 AD (Pg 277), the catalyst of their demise.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Aztec society was also a thriving culture, said to have rivaled the logic and philosophical thinking of the Chinese dynasties. Yet they too were destroyed and subjugated by a small European force. However, similar to the other great civilizations that fell, the Europeans were just a catalyst, used by some of the enemies of the triple alliance, as tools to gain the advantage in drawn out wars. Also helping to dismember the alliance was the disease that already plagued the land, which killed one third of the Aztec’s capital’s population, weakening the alliance enough that Cortes and his Indian allies could capture the capital.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Anasazi, a civilization based in New Mexico, also were weakened before their fall, but they were weakened by the consequences of their own action. Deforestation and other miss uses of their resources had drastic effects, like the erosion of the soil needed for agriculture (the Columbian exchange part 3), creating food shortages and weakening the civilizations infrastructure. Natural climate change did the rest pushing the battered society into extinction, just as the droughts did to the Mayans, and the conquistadors did to the Incas and Aztecs.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">All of these civilizations came crashing down, destroyed by either nature or invaders. Nature and invasion is not the only reason they crumbled though, they merely acted as the catalyst for the demise or in other words the final nail in the civilizations’ coffins. So although the civilizations’ collapses seem extremely different they all follow the same pattern. Miss use of resources, and disease caused infighting weakening the societies and allowing the first big threat, whether it was the conquistadors, natural climate change, or a drought to overwhelm and end the society.

Thomas Coneys 2/26/12 GD

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The island of Hispaniola, better known today as Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was first discovered by Christopher Columbus, the Spanish explorer. However the islands significance doesn’t stop there, it is also at the center of a ethnical clash that has been going on for over a century. The recurring motif of heritage and its importance is at the center of this conflict, as the native inhabitants who occupied Hispaniola when the Spanish arrived all died from disease and physical conflict with the Europeans, leaving only immigrants from foreign soil. So where do these Caribbean islanders gain their culture from? That question of identity is the root of all conflict on Hispaniola and is the biggest European contribution to sculpting the contemporary island of The Dominican Republic and Haiti. <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The eastern side of the island, where Columbus first landed, was colonized by the Spanish and is now the Dominican Republic. A treasure trove of new world Spanish culture, as the Dominicans strongly associate themselves with their old Spanish masters. Although their population is an accumulation of free slaves, legitimate and illegitimate Spanish children and not pure blood Spanish but rather what is referred to as “indo” a modern term used to cover many shades of brown skinned people who refuse or ignore their African heritage substituting it instead with European past, as most Dominicans do. This gained the Dominican colony the name “the most Spanish colony in the new world” but also the resentment of their island neighbors who had a greater respect for their ancestor’s African heritage.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The western side of the island was developed by the French. Ruling with an iron fist and using the colony as a stop in the slave trade, loading the island with 774,000 discontented African slaves who were inevitably going to revolt and who eventually gained their freedom, becoming the first free black republic in the new world. This new republic, Haiti, had strong cultural roots based in Africa a ancestry that was widely accepted and celebrated. Dominicans however looked at this new republic with disdain thinking of them as inferior Africans. <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Now in addition to the island being officially split between the French and Spanish in 1627, there was a cultural divide that prevented Hispaniola from growing as a whole. This was in large part due to the Europeans, especially the different techniques of integration of freed slaves or slaves in general into the European colonies and furthermore the Europeans treatment of the people had a lasting impression on industrialization. For example after Haitians gained their independence they destroyed any infrastructure reminding them of slavery and also downsized to smaller family farms essentially crushing their economic position. A big reason for Haiti’s economic trouble in modern times compared to the slightly more industrialized Dominican Republic. <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Industrialization is the key to success in modern times. This gives the Dominican Republic a much better chance at becoming a prosperous country in the near future compared to Haiti who is still plagued by small family farms and the lack of cash crops. The huge differences in these island neighbors culture and past and future economic success is based on European influence from two different world powers.

Thomas Coneys Global Dynamics 3/8/12


 * Writing’s roll in conquering the Americas **

The European Union is one of the strongest economic and political powers in contemporary society, as Europe has been for hundreds of years, although only recently united under the title of the European Union. How have they managed to be so successful for so long? What enabled European explores like Francisco Pizzaro and Hernan Cortez to be so successful and why is European society still a success today? Guns, germs, and steel although and interesting theory presented by Jared Diamond does not completely answer the question, as the advantages they possess would only be temporary and would not still apply today. The saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” however, is true for all of human history. Knowledge, communication, unified currency, and the written language are the factors that allowed European conquistadors to conquer the Americas, and are the reasons why Europe is still one of the world’s most potent forces today. Jared Diamond’s book ­__Guns, Germs, and Steel__ is a useful resources when discussing the downfall of Native American society and its fall to the Europeans, but his conclusion, guns, germs, and steel, is wrong. First off guns were vastly ineffective machines, even in the American Civil War, 300 years later, guns were inaccurate and slow and still lead to hand to hand combat, so suggesting that 168 Spaniards armed with guns beat 80,000 Incan warriors because of fire power alone is preposterous. Second, steel although a deadly advantage in hand to hand combat would prove useless against ranged slings and 80,000 natives, as the human component would tire. Thirdly, germs the biggest killer of natives in history, but if they were so effective wouldn’t there be no battles? 80,000 troops still managed to meet Francisco Pizzaro in battle. What if they won? Then germs also would have meant nothing in the European conquest. As it would be arrogant to deny that each played a part, I will agree each provided the Europeans with an edge, but I will also say that the bigger factor is writing. Writing is the key to power and unlike Native American societies most Eurasian powers had a significant literate population particularly among the bureaucrats and governments. This allowed for ideas, strategies, history, and technical knowledge to spread with greater speed and ease. While the natives instead relied almost completely on the oral process of passing news or knowledge from one native to the next like one giant game of telephone all across the Americas. Adding to the difficulty of dispersing knowledge was the language barriers an estimated 600-2000 of them throughout the Americas. Resulting in utter confusion amongst native resistances who were uncertain of why these men were even there. The answer for the Europeans was simple, currency. In particularly the one commodity that had value throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa to some extent, gold and silver. This was another idea that had not yet hit the Americas currency on a large scale. Have you ever heard of an Incan Coin? But I will bet you have heard of a piece of 8! Currency was an underlying goal for all the European explorers and gave them a purpose; one that natives could not grasp, leaving them at a disadvantage as to how to stop them or what to expect from them. The Europeans however did not have to worry about what to expect because they had ** written ** accounts. By writing down the what’s, where’s, and how’s of his trip Hernan Cortez virtually created a how to hand book of conquering the Americas. Writing was the key to success for the Europeans in the Americas. Writing allowed for better communication, leading to more effective strategy. Writing allowed for the reproduction and passing on of technology; creating the might of the gun and steel. Writing allowed the trips to the Americas to reoccur and overall allowed the Americas to be conquered as a whole.