...2013 Paper One: Guatemala According to World-O-Meters, a real time world statistics website, there are more than seven billion people in the world. Is that not incredible? Over seven billion people. Yet, most of us will never truly or try to understand all the different types of cultures or their history that make up the total population in the world. Being a young lady who is half Filipino and Italian, it has always interested me how different the Filipino and Italian cultures are when comparing the two. These differences range from the food to mannerisms and traditions. However, there is one thing in common with these two very different cultures, they have a history of how they came to be. In order to truly understand all types of people, we must take the time to look at their history and learn about it. In this paper, I’ve chosen to take a deeper, more in-depth look at Guatemala and the ways people lived prior to the 1800s in terms of transculturation, hegemony, and the Columbian Exchange. “Transculturation” is the merging and converging of cultures. According to Maureen Shea, author of Culture and Customs of Guatemala, when Christopher Columbus arrived, it was “an encounter between European and Mesoamerican worlds” (2). The Europeans had arrived to establish “dominance while the Mesoamericans fiercely resisted the invaders, especially initially”. However, they found it “advantageous to acculturate themselves to the ways of the native population”. After Hernan...
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...and have played such a big role in the history of the country. I also, as I will attempt to explain later, feel like I may identify better with their culture. The English initially came to America to colonize The New World and stake their claim in what was and has always remained one of the most important resources: land. America at the time of their arrival was still a frontier land thus far only sparsely colonized by the Spanish. The English first landed at and founded Jamestown in 1607, and quickly became one of the dominant ethnic groups in America. By 1790 about 60% of White Americans were English, and being the “majority” ethnic group in the country they really experienced very little racism against them, though the early days of their colonization was far from conflict free. Many skirmishes with local Indian tribes, coupled with disease outbreaks, lead to high mortality rates for early colonies. These conflicts with Indians were not the only violent encounters they had with other ethnic groups as they were almost constantly at war with the Spanish. Though their wars with the Spanish were primarily politically motivated and not due to their ethnic differences, it did lead to a sort of forced segregation between the English and Spanish colonies early on. A similar segregation existed between the English and Indian tribes as well, and this was at least to some extent an ethnic issue. The trend of the English being a “Majority” ethnic group, as opposed to a minority...
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...World History The Spanish conquests in the Americas seem like impossibilities. The Spanish in Mexico and South and Central America, it is believed were out numbered by more a thousand to one. Their adversaries were people well skilled in war and killing, with strong well organized societies. So how did the Spanish manage to be victorious in the face of such odds? One of the fundamental differences between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Mexican was language. The Spanish were able to control the conversations however because they had trained a woman called la Malince, to be an interpreter. This gave the Spaniards the ability to have open conversations, while the Mexican could not. The Spanish knew what the Mexica were saying all of the time, while the Mexica only knew what the Spaniards wanted them to know. An example of this would be during negotiations with Montezuma’s emissaries, Cortez could issue orders to his troops in the middle of negotiations to do things like fire cannon, and tactically this gave the Spaniards an advantage Another difference between the two cultures was religion, even though both parties had a religion based on human sacrifice, the Mexica actively sacrificed people in a ceremony of blood, while the Spanish religion was based upon a single sacrifice. The Spanish were monotheists while the Mexica were polytheists. However while the Mexica believed in active human sacrifice and bloodletting, the Spanish had no problem spilling the blood of...
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...Difference Between Indian and Spanish Culture [pic] [pic] According to Samovar and Porter (1994) “Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.” (Stanford.edu, n.d.). Our culture defines who you are as a person; it contours ones judgment to a certain approach. In other words, it is our identity. Every nation has its own set of morals and is defined by its own distinct cultures; which gives rise to cultural differences between each and every country in this world. In this vast world, no two cultures are exactly identical. Taking into account India and Spain, needless to mention, both the cultures have an enormous amount of differences between them. Spain being a part of Europe is largely influenced by the European culture furthermore the Rome culture; on the other hand India’s culture is more multifaceted and has been influenced by colonialism over the past century- both collaterally and vernacularly (Sen Amartya, 2005). India is a home to a variety of different cultures; it is known to be the most diverse country in the world in every aspect. Looking into a major aspect of any culture that has existed, religion plays a major role in the upbringing. It influences the framework of...
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...diverse. Hispanics come from a variety of different cultures and include Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Central Americans. Each of these groups vary in their customs, religious beliefs, political views, family views, and other conventions that make them similar in some ways, and very different in others (Franklin, 2009). This paper will discuss the various cultures of Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and Venezuelan-Americans in America. Mexican-Americans As a result of the Mexican-American war, about 80,000 Mexicans resided in the United States due to the accumulation of New Mexico and California. Even though many returned to Mexico, the majority stayed in the United States and gained their citizenship after two years (Englekirk and Martin, 2009). Since then, Mexican immigration to the United States has grown significantly and for various reasons. Today, Mexican-Americans make up about two thirds of the Hispanic population in the United States (Schaefer, 2006). The first indigenous Mexican people were various Indians such as Mixtec, Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, and Teotihuacan who assimilated with Spaniards after Spain invaded Mexico. Mexican families were typically male dominated but close-knit due to respect for elders. When women entered the workforce, male dominance was not as prevalent, but men are still the authoritative figure in the home. Between the 1940’s and 1960’s during labor shortages, many...
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...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...
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...and hundreds of thousands of natives. He writes about Columbus’ delivery of vast amounts of slaves to the Spanish monarchy, with slaves being sent to Europe or forced to labor in New World mines and plantations. Zinn further recount the historical writings of Bartolomé de las Casas, who commented on native culture, as well as chronicling and questioning the necessity of the harsh, brutal conditions that the conquering Spanish subjected the natives to. Zinn then claims that the easy casualness with which contemporary historians ignore or disregard historical atrocities as necessary for the advancement of humanity does a disservice...
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...Relations between Indians and English Colonists were anything but docile. Neither side was solely at fault. Both the Indians and the colonists held a violent nature with one another. The tensions started to boil increasingly as settlers encroached more and more onto claimed Indian lands. The actions taken by both sides shaped the relationships in a negative way. Some tribes and settlers formed alliances between small tribes and towns; however, the majority of the relationships were murderous. Prior to the French and Indian war, hundreds and hundreds of innocent American Indians were killed, among them women and children. Each region, New England, Chesapeake, Spanish Southwest, New France and New York proved to deal with different issues than a neighboring region. The settlers were not the only violent offenders. American Indians attempted to hold their ground, and a number of tribes even attacked English Colonists. Not only was there violence but many other factors contributed, including religion. Actions committed by both sides shaped the relations in different ways for different regions. New England relations with American Indians Initially, the relations between colonists in New England and the coastal Indians were friendly. The Indians offered a helping hand to the colonists. As the Englishmen were developing their colonies, the Indians helped shape the economy. Settlers were eager to move off the coast and more inland. When the settlers pushed farther and farther inland...
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...Josphat Minja 29 September 2014 INTRODUCTION Culture is that aspect or part of our existence or life that makes us different to the majority of the world but similar to certain people. It is a way of life common to a particular group of people who share a collection of attitudes, beliefs and patterns of behavior that enable them to live together in harmony but at the same time setting them apart from other people. One such culture is that of the Native Americans. Native Americans have diverse and rich cultures that are based on a deep spiritual relationship with the land they live in and the natural resources. They have a history that is rich in strife, struggle and triumph. In fact, most of America’s modern life is considered to be adapted from native Indian cultures practiced many centuries ago. This then shows that there is a lot to be learned from the Native America cultures as well as their beliefs about their relationship to the natural world. This paper is aimed at analyzing the Native American culture and the European culture with an emphasis on their beliefs about the natural world as well as their agricultural techniques and how they relate to the modern world. Many of the familiar features in modern day America that may be taken for granted originated from the Native Americans. The peace pipe, moccasins, totem pole and the teepee are an example of integral pieces that wove together a large picture of the Native American culture. Everything from animals to plants to the...
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...Music can mean a multitude of things which is why there isn’t a set definition that is used to define the nature of what it is. However, it is important to realize the ways in which music always seems to complement the art of dance. Since the prehistoric era, the creation of music as well as the use of musical instruments has not only played a vital role in our society, but has also played a big part in the realm of dance specifically because the beat and rhythm or even the lyrical content of a song directly encourages the style of dance. The relationship between music and dance also plays a prominent role in a country’s culture, and therefore, is a significant role of cultural expression all across the globe. Furthermore, many dancers see...
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...Compare and Contrast Essay [pic][pic] Language – Writing The purpose of a compare and contrast essay is to examine two things of interest and tell the reader about the similarities and differences between them. There are many different formats for writing a compare and contrast essay. For the purpose of this assignment, we will focus on the most common format called the Feature by Feature Format, where we compare and contrast (similarities and differences) between two subjects (i.e. Singapore versus Trinidad, etc.) on three different features about the subjects (i.e. geography, people, and food, etc.) Basic Structure: |1st Paragraph – Introduction | |General Topic Sentence(s) – catch the reader’s attention | |Brief background information about the two subjects | |THESIS STATEMENT | |Brief overview of the three features you are comparing and contrasting | |2nd Paragraph –Personality Inventory ...
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...After Hernan Cortez’s victory over the Aztecs, the Spanish expeditions focused primarily on the vast territory to their north. With legends of gold and great wealth, more and more Spanish explorers launched expeditions to what is now the American southwestern region as well as Florida. Map 1 demonstrates the exploration and colonization efforts that took place in the North America from the middle of the 16th century until 1675. It is very evident that Spanish authorities put an enormous focus on the area of present day New Mexico, which they heavily settled after Juan de Oñate’s arrival in 1598. For the settlers, the territory of New Mexico was their opportunity to gain riches, but also it puts them in direct contact with the area’s native population, the American Indians. While at first, Indians and settlers coexisted without any major conflicts; soon distinct cultural and religious differences would result in a full-blown revolt by the region’s Pueblo Indians. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 has been characterized as a landmark event of the American history and has attracted...
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...The Dominican Republic is unique from all other Latin American nations in part because its heritage relates to Haitian cultural traditions rather than solely Spanish ones much like the rest of Latin America (Brown & Standish, 1999). In fact, the Dominican Republic received its independence from Haiti not Spain (Brown & Standish, 1999). This is not to say that Spanish colonial influences are not evident in the country; in fact they are widespread, particularly within the realm of architectural structures and art. The official religion of the Dominican Republic is Roman Catholicism (Brown & Standish, 1999:69). More than 90% of the citizens living in this country are Roman Catholic. There are other religions prevalent in the country however including Protestantism and the traditional religious system of native Taino Indians, who practice cohoba religious ceremonies and also Gaga, which is the Dominican version of voodooism (Brown & Standish, 1999). For this reason some cultural aspects of the religion are seen by outsiders as ‘evil' or foreign, because they are largely misunderstood. Customs in the Dominican Republic are tough to originate in part from the Cibao area, settled back in colonial times (Brown & Standish, 1999). This area brings with it many native traditions including traditional foods consumed within the Dominican Republic, discussed below. Common foods include coffee, hot cocoa, ham and cheese, fruit, papaya and friend eggs (Brown & Standish...
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...they found an eagle holding a serpent between its claws on a cactus. The Mexica thought this was a message from their god Huitzilopochtli (sun god) telling them that there was their sacred land. Pre-Hispanic Cultures Before the Mexica arrived to the center of Mexico and Central America, many pre-Hispanic cultures were developed, sharing their traditions and culture. When we talk about Mesoamerica, it refers to cultures that existed before the European conquest in the territories that are now Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In Mesoamerica grew and faded many cultures, some of the most important were the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec. These cultures had their own art, architecture and religion, most of these cultures were conquered by other cultures and therefore there was a mixture developing and forming a new and enriched culture. These cultures lived on the Pre-classic, Classic and Post classic which is division in periods of the pre-Hispanic period, some of these cultures lived for over a period, others just lived through one. The Conquest of Mexico and the Creation of New Spain In 1492 Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba and thought that they were in the Indies (today India). Almost thirty years later, Hernán Cortés invaded and conquered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan and for the next 300 years, Mexico was under the control of the Spanish monarchy, were the Indians and Spanish lived together and mixed, imposing their...
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...Central or South Americans. Though all of these individual ethnicities have very similar attributes and values, there are some various differences in where they come from, religious beliefs and social standings in the United States. The Mexican American was typically viewed as the person who came from Mexico to work, then return to Mexico to support his family. (Franklin, 2006) According to Franklin, the core of the Mexican American is the immediate and extended family. Many Mexican Americans tend to be very spiritual and deep into religion predominately the Catholic faith. Economically, the Mexican Americans income is steadily increasing but still remains lower than the Anglo Americans. (Hispanic Americans, 2006) The Mexican American population is growing in this country and they are not following the typical stereotype of coming to America to work the fields and return to Mexico. Many are staying and looking for permanent work in cities and education in our schools. They continue to practice their beliefs and hold the same religious and moral values as their Mexican ancestors. Puerto Ricans sometimes get grouped in with Mexicans because of the common Latin background. There is an obvious difference which is Puerto Ricans being from Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens since they are a territory of the U.S. One difference between Mexican and Puerto Rican households are the family structures. Mexicans are predominately headed by the Men while women work in the...
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