...n Translation Nation, Hector Tobar visits different cities around America to learn first hand about the struggles Latin American immigrants faced and how they endured through the pain and suffering to forge new identities and transform America. Tobar reveals the unsettling changes these immigrants undergo becoming American as they undertake tribulations in new lands, struggling to reinvent their identities while continuing to embrace and nurture their Latin American identities. The United States is undergoing major demographic and cultural changes primarily driven by Latinos, leading to the Americanization of Latinos and the Latinization of America as a new Latin Republic in the United States develops where immigrants can embrace their transnational identity. I will detail the adversity Latin Americans endured immigrating to America described in chapter five, explain how they come together to build a community and reinvent new...
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...Analysis on Open Veins of Latin America History is a subject most people tend to disregard and see it as only the class they needed to pass in school. Most individuals don't take the time to reflect how history has had an impact on them, their family and even their culture. By studying and understanding history and why events happened they way they did it can help us analyze our current situation and even help predict future events. This is what Eduardo Galeano tries to do in his book Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the pillage of a Continent. He discusses the events in history that have led to Latin America be in the state it currently is in. Galeano argues that because of both European and U.S intervention, Latin America has been led down a path which has caused damage to its politics, its society and most importantly its economy. The book begins with the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Spaniard who tried to find a faster passage to Asia but instead would discover by accident the Americas. Columbus would get started with his voyage after asking the Queen and King of Spain to fund his expedition so he could bring wealth to the Spanish Empire. During this time, the Spanish had been fight a war to expel the Moors out of its Kingdom and all those who were not of catholic faith. This included people of Islamic religions and Jews. But the cost of this war was increasing by the day and the Spanish crown was running out of funds to continue this war. But...
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...The economy in Colonial Latin America was complex and contained elements of similarity to the mother country system. Although many of the colonies’ economies in Latin America are influenced by the parent country, there different in nuance. Steve Stern does a great job of showing Colonial Latin America utilize attributes from both capitalism and feudalism to create its own sense of an economic system. The fusion of feudalism and capitalism helped to sustain slavery and provide European colonists with political and monetary power over indigenous people living in Latin America. Systematic forced labor proved Stern was correct about how European settlers established a feudalistic society in the Americas. The first establishment of forced labor came in the form of the Encomienda. The Encomienda allowed conquistadors to control Indigenous...
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...Geography changed Latin American culture. The triangular trade between Europe, Africa and America helped shape Latin American civilization in numerous ways. There were a variety of objects and people being passed around from civilization to civilization during this time. With all of these objects and people being passed around, the geography and civilizations of Latin America were changing rapidly. The goods, resources and slaves were the most popular objects being traded. Many of the civilizations desperately wanted the slaves. Also, smallpox affected Latin American Civilization immensely because like everything else being passed around, this factor was killing thousands of people. Diseases from domesticated animals also affected civilization because people were also being killed from that as well. Geography did play...
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...Colonial Latin America Resistance vs. Accommodation The conquest of the Latin America back in the 16th century was a colonial project that dispossessed millions. This period saw the apparent contradictions of the combination of implausible violence as well as a long legalistic peace. However, there has been an ongoing perception that had been there for a long time that describes the history of the colonial Latin America as one that was of accommodation and resistance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the statement and determine between accommodation and resistance which one superseded the other or was there is a balance. After the arrival of the colonialists, the indigenous people in the Latin America had the obvious option of resisting but this was not obvious as some of these indigenous communities found a place for the colonialists. For instance, the Otomi of Queretaro went ahead to compose a song in which they proclaimed themselves as the builders of the colonial order. Queretaro was a great city that was the hub for great businesses, wheat growing, churches and the most attractive place. However, the Otomi people allowed the Spanish control to creep in gradually as they sought to use their might in the wars and revolts that they faced. However, the Spanish started taking controlling positions in the Otomi registration as the people in leadership started losing their ways[1]. The Spanish council took over the construction of city structures and initiated a new...
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...Slave Power Conspiracy and Latin America” Throughout the course of America’s history there have been events that are so unbelievable and lack sufficient evidence to back them up, thus they become known as conspiracies. One of these conspiracies is the idea of Slave Power. The Slave Power Conspiracy, to most American’s this conspiracy is probably unknown, but it relates to an idea which is a topic of debate among scholars and historians. The Slave Power Conspiracy is an idea that came to be in the 1840’s and lasted till the end of the Civil War. As was stated this idea is a conspiracy as there is no direct evidence to give it a strong foundation or validity in our time. The term “Slave Power” coined in 1864 in a book written by John Smith Dye entitled “History Of The Plots And Crimes Of The Great Conspiracy To Overthrow Liberty In America.” The term started off simply as the Slave Power (conspiracy was added in the modern era). In the book Dye alleges that since the time of Independence, the aristocrats of the South and politicians from the South have had an agenda to extend slavery to the Western United States and Latin America and thus increase their power, wealth, and influence in the United States.[1] There are certain events that happened in Dye’s time that can show this idea was real. They can also prove the legitimate and real threat Slave Power posed, to Latin America. By examining all angles of...
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...The history of Latin America is vastly complex and culturally diverse. From before the Spanish colonization to the independence of the nation states, Latin American literature has continuously reflected its culture. Latin American literature has transcended throughout their history, constantly embodying it’s cultures reality. To understand, one must specifically divulge into the different aspects in history and the literature of those times. Although Central America’s history is long and complex, the literature born from this rich culture encompasses their long-lasting legacy in the world. To start, before the time of colonization and European influence there thrived several Indigenous groups throughout Latin America who cultivated their...
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...to help people with large debt (Goldfield 224). Republicans tried to take all the offices they could be appointed to. After Jefferson finished his presidency, Republicans too almost all the appointive offices (Goldfield 224). Jefferson decided to reverse foreign policies in order to stop Napoleon from making a treaty with Spain which posed as a threat. Jefferson had a deal with Napoleon, which helped expand the size of the United States. Furthermore, it opened up another frontier for slaveholders south of the Mississippi Valley (Goldfield 226). b. How did their policies differ from those of the Federalists who came before them? Federalists wanted people to be in large public debt. Federalists tried to have a grip on federal offices; however Republicans managed to take over. Then the Federalists passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 (Goldfield 224). John Marshall, who was a Federalist, created a precedent of judicial reviews in the Marbury v. Madison case. c. What factors accounted for the Federalists’ inability to regain national power after they lost the election of 1800? Hamilton and his fellow Federalists wanted people to be in a large debt. They failed to keep hold of federal offices when Republicans simply used their Republican principles (Goldfield 224). Federalists attempted to keep up the Judiciary Act of 1801 they passed but Republicans fought back, making them frustrated. 2. d. Why were the Republicans so intent on expanding the boundaries of the...
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...human history the strongest nations were comprised into a group known as the West. The west is home to the ideologies of democracy, capitalism, and consumerism. The idea of democracy has been forced upon many nations in the world by the Western states. Democracy however has been shown to be a very easily manipulated system. Capitalism has shown the need for expansion and exploitation over Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The west has always been in contention with other nations, along with contending with each other. Competition between western nations has led to a technological race and an arms race, which is now more apparent than ever in the United States. With military might came the need to take over other nations and thus the ideas of imperialism, and nation aristocracy. Africa, Latin America, and Asia has suffered and continues to suffer a great deal because of the triumph of the west through exploitation, expansion, and wealth, all major goals of capitalism and imperialism. The West has retarded the development in all facets for many countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia and thus led to the suffering of the world. One of the oldest ideologies from the west to the world is democracy. Democracy comes from the Greek words “demo” meaning people and “kratia” meaning rule, therefore rule of the people. Democracy is an egalitarian system of governance where all citizens together decide public policy, laws, the actions of the state, and public representatives. It...
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...Latin America has been influenced by a variety of different culture groups. Africans and their descendants have affected Latin American in many diverse ways and still affect many cultural practices today. One of the major events the Africans were apart of in Latin America was the slave trade. In this project, African’s affects to Latin America through the slave trade will be described, particularly focusing on the region of Colombia and contributions made on the Panama Canal. The history of African descendants in Latin American countries is very complex and controversial. The amount of African people in Latin America is surprisingly very high which resulted in the transatlantic slave trade in these countries. However, not all of these Africans were slaves, and the ones that were experienced a widely diverse set of conditions depending on a variety of factors. Spaniards felt that Indian slaves were inefficient and preferred to buy African slaves whenever possible. These African slaves were much more hard working and reliable than the previous Indian workers. Africans were also favored because of their ability to survive better under harsher conditions compared to the Indians. African labor was essential in all of Colombia. The Latino people used this newly found labor provided by these African slaves in every form and place they possibly could. Beginning in the 16th century, the slave trade took place across Latin American countries and has influenced African descendants drastically...
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...In this week's reading the chapters both talk about Nationalism in Latin America. The definition of Nationalism in the book Problems in Modern Latin American History, by James Wood, is the identification of a large group of individuals with a nation. In the book Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, by John Chasteen, it says that nationalists were often urban , middle class, mixed race, or recent immigrants. It is said that Nationalism is one of the most widespread and influential ideologies in modern world history. In this week's reading for James Wood, entitled "Nationalism", it talks about Nationalism and how it affected Latin American countries. An example of how Nationalism affected Latin America is the Cuban war for independence from Spain, which happened from 1868 to 1898. Jose Marti was a apostle of Cuban Independence, in which he earned this title from many years of fighting for this cause. Jose had died on the battlefield fighting for Cuba's independence in 1895. Due to his belief about Cuba being independent, Jose was imprisoned and was also exiled from Cuba. Jose Marti's most famous essay was published in newspapers in both New York and Mexico City in January of 1891. In this essay he talks about the blindness of the previous Latin American governments to what was actually going on in the that region. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 had posed a revolutionary challenge to the neocolonial system. Francisco Madero had led a campaign to overthrow...
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...Latin America’s history has been an arduous and long struggle in their attempt to break the chains that bound them. Since the conquista, conquering, of their lands during the colonial era, Latin America has been a region plagued with an oppressed poor. There have been people that have been the voice for the poor community in Latin America. These people are specific priest of the Catholic Church, these priests took it upon themselves to go against the status quo and appeal to the poor. These priests quickly became a beacon for the poor because with their guidance the poor were seeing a way out of the despair of poverty. The priest to place this feeling of helping the poor rather than the elite was the Dominican friar, Bartolome De Las Casas. He was the first priest to challenge the crowns of Portugal and Spain, because of their maltreatment to the indigenous people of the New World. In this day and age, the poor still go through a systemic way of oppression; in which the poor stay being the poor and they receive no help from the government and the concept of imperialism is continuously suffocating the poor. Until the archbishops of Latin America got together to discuss what should be their primary focus; out of that meeting the idea that the archbishops of Latin America should direct their energy to the poor was formed. That idea soon evolved into an ideology that came to be called, Liberation Theology. Gustavo Gutiérrez, whom admired the work that Bartolome De Las Casas had done...
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...1) Why does Chasteen believe that Latin-Americans come to the United States? Chasteen believes that Latin Americans wanted to be able to live and work in conditions similar to the United States middle class, along with poverty and proximity. 2) Who was Hernán Cortez? Cortez was a Spanish explorer and conquistador that led an expedition to overthrow the Aztec empire of Tenochtitlan. 3) Who was Bartolomé de las Casas? What is he best known for? Bartolome de las Casas was a university-educated, fortune-seeking young man. By the age of 40, he preached against Spanish exploitation of encomiendas to protect indigenous Americans from the system. He is best known for protection of the Indians and the famous writing “A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies”. 4) What is the “encomienda”? A system that started in Spain where the conquerors were rewarded with people. Indigenous people were assigned to each conqueror, who had the responsibility of Christianizing them and using them for labor. 5) What does “mestizo” mean? “Mestizo” is a person of mixed race, such as indigenous and European heritage. ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. Give three examples of things that all Latin-Americans have in common according to Chasteen. According to Chasteen, Latin Americans are interpreted as “Hot-blooded Latins” with too much “nonwhite blood”. He mentions that as...
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...Migration is a popular thing that happens here in the United States of America. If you don’t know what migration is, it means the movement of people from one place to another place. There are many reasons why people migrate. They migrate for different reasons like to seek a better job, to seek greater economic opportunities, for safety, or to basically have a better life. Others even migrate so that when they have kids, their kids can have a better education and a better life style. As of right now one in five immigrants in the world live in the United States. A total of fifty-nine million have migrated to the United States. Many people over the years have migrated to the United States because we have better job opportunities, etc and immigration has also changes a lot over the years.Also over the last twenty-five years, the total immigrant population has increased and has also spread across the country. Some of...
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...Have you ever wondered why we use words the way we do? Or how these words came to mean what they mean? Or perhaps, why so many other languages that we have heard some pieces of before have similar words to our own? Many languages can be traced back to the Rome’s language, Latin. Latin is by far the most important and widely used part of the Roman Empire’s legacy. Which part of Ancient Rome’s legacy has had the biggest impact on the world we live in today? Ancient Rome’s language, Latin, is the most important part of the Roman Empire’s legacy because of how often we use it in the English language, how it is the language of law, government, and science, and how it’s the basis of countless languages that spread and conquered much of the world’s lands....
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