Source One Synthesis Essay
The topic of Source One is how explorers and colonists of the New World took part in horrific, illegal events to colonize the foreign lands, but yet they were not the ones who suffered from these events. This phenomenon is portrayed in the source through the image of a wanted poster for Christopher Columbus, where Columbus is wanted for several offences including: genocide, racism, initiating the destruction of a culture and rape. The poster also goes on to state that the reward for Columbus is “500 years of tourism”. The reward symbolizes how despite the atrocities that the explorers and colonizers took part in, they would be remembered throughout history for their accomplishments and not the horrendous events that brought them to those successes. The illustrator’s perspective on the source is the idea that colonizers of the New World were
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poorly (if at all) punished for their crimes solely because they were doing it in the interest of the mother country. This is demonstrated in the source through the image of “500 years of tourism” as a reward for the capture of Columbus. This image demonstrates how colonizers would not be punished for their crimes but would be celebrated because their actions were in the interest of their respective mother country. This source relates to globalization as European powers often force their culture onto the indigenous people of the area that they were exploring. An example of this phenomenon is how aboriginal children of Canada were forced to attend Canadian residential schools in an effort to assimilate the children into the dominant Canadian culture. In 1920, The Indian Act it was mandatory for every aboriginal child to attend a residential school; alternately, it was illegal for any native child to attend any other educational institution. The forcing of residential schools on the children allowed the government to eliminate all aspects of aboriginal culture. They did this through punishing any practices of aboriginal customs, separating boys and girls and by abusing the children. The cruelty of this assimilation was felt by the aboriginal community for generations.
Source Two’s main topic is about how eurocentrism causes people to be intolerant about the discrimination, assimilation, and genocide of non-European people. This is evident within the source when Chamberlain states “In carrying out this work of civilization we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission. … No doubt … there has been bloodshed, there has been loss of life among the native populations … but it must be remembered that that is the condition of the mission we have to fulfill.” This statement demonstrates how eurocentrism causes people justify their actions by classifying the assimilation and murder of the native populations as a “work of civilization” and a “national mission”. The speakers perspective on the source is the idea that European people are called to civilize and discipline the indigenous populations of the new world. This is evident within the source when Chamberlain states “In carrying out this work of civilization we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission. … sent out to bring these countries into some kind of disciplined order…” The “disciplined order” that Chamberlain speaks of is a euphemism for the assimilation or genocide of indigenous peoples. The source relates to globalization through the fact that the imperialistic pursuits of European countries led to the exploration and eventual destruction of many cultures of the New World. A true to life example of this is how the entire Beothuk culture and people were wiped out due to conflict with European colonists. Contact with European colonists on the shores of Newfoundland between the 16th to 19th centuries led to the eventual extinction of the entire culture as the last known Beothuk died in 1829. This extinction was largely due to conflict that arose when the Beothuk people were denied access to vital resources of the ocean. This restriction led to the starvation and malnourishment of many Beothuk people which was detrimental to their way of life. The European people also involuntarily brought diseases with them, which brutally killed many Beothuk as the Beothuk had no natural resistance to these foreign diseases. This extinction of a culture proves that European contact and colonization was disastrous to many native populations.
The main topic of source three is the idea that the economic system of imperialism is unjust and parasitic to all countries not in power. This is demonstrated in the source when Suyin states “Exploitation and oppression [cruel use of authority] is not a matter of race. It is the system, the apparatus of world-wide brigandage [robbery] called imperialism …” This statement demonstrates how imperialism is to blame for the exploitation and theft of weaker nations. The author’s perspective on the source is how the European nations who used the economic system of imperialism are not solely to blame as any country with the same kind of dominance would have done the same. This concept is clearly portrayed in the source when Suyin states “I have no illusions on this score, nor do I believe that any Asian nation or African nation, in the same state of dominance, and with the same system of colonial profit-amassing and plunder, would have behaved otherwise.” This quotation demonstrates how any nation would have behaved the same if they had access to the same level of sovereignty. Globalization is related to the source as imperialism caused the destruction and division of native land, ultimately changing native way of life forever. A true to life example of this is how European imperialism caused the division of African lands, ultimately led to the loss of independence and culture of the native populations. During The Scramble of Africa of the 19th century, European powers divided African lands for their own economic and political benefits. This division of land created stress on not only the African culture, but the environment too. Christianity was forced onto many tribes in the new colonized Africa, converting many people from Islam to Christianity; ultimately, this conversion changed the culture of many African tribes. The Scramble for Africa also caused the exploitation of the environment as resources like ivory, cash crops, cotton, coffee and other precious minerals. The exploitation of these resources caused essential practices like farming to suffer greatly. This division of a continent demonstrates how imperialism can impact native life.
Source one relates to Source Two through the concept that eurocentrism causes people to believe that non-European people are inferior and thus should be assimilated into the European way of life or be eradicated.
The extinction of the Beothuk culture and the attempts to assimilate aboriginal children through residential schools demonstrate this concept. Source One relates to Source Three through the idea that imperialism and colonization of an area can cause lasting detrimental effects on the native life previously undisturbed. This idea is evident in how the cultures of both African and Canadian native populations were changed due to colonization. Source Two relates to Source Three in the fact that changes in the natural environment brought on upon by colonization had devastating effects upon native populations. This is demonstrated in how the Beothuk people suffered because an inability to access the ocean and how African agriculture suffered because of the exploitation of cash crops. All three sources are related to globalization in the fact that European presence and colonization impaired native cultures and
environments.
poorly (if at all) punished for their crimes solely because they were doing it in the interest of the mother country. This is demonstrated in the source through the image of “500 years of tourism” as a reward for the capture of Columbus. This image demonstrates how colonizers would not be punished for their crimes but would be celebrated because their actions were in the interest of their respective mother country. This source relates to globalization as European powers often force their culture onto the indigenous people of the area that they were exploring. An example of this phenomenon is how aboriginal children of Canada were forced to attend Canadian residential schools in an effort to assimilate the children into the dominant Canadian culture. In 1920, The Indian Act it was mandatory for every aboriginal child to attend a residential school; alternately, it was illegal for any native child to attend any other educational institution. The forcing of residential schools on the children allowed the government to eliminate all aspects of aboriginal culture. They did this through punishing any practices of aboriginal customs, separating boys and girls and by abusing the children. The cruelty of this assimilation was felt by the aboriginal community for generations.
Source Two’s main topic is about how eurocentrism causes people to be intolerant about the discrimination, assimilation, and genocide of non-European people. This is evident within the source when Chamberlain states “In carrying out this work of civilization we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission. … No doubt … there has been bloodshed, there has been loss of life among the native populations … but it must be remembered that that is the condition of the mission we have to fulfill.” This statement demonstrates how eurocentrism causes people justify their actions by classifying the assimilation and murder of the native populations as a “work of civilization” and a “national mission”. The speakers perspective on the source is the idea that European people are called to civilize and discipline the indigenous populations of the new world. This is evident within the source when Chamberlain states “In carrying out this work of civilization we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission. … sent out to bring these countries into some kind of disciplined order…” The “disciplined order” that Chamberlain speaks of is a euphemism for the assimilation or genocide of indigenous peoples. The source relates to globalization through the fact that the imperialistic pursuits of European countries led to the exploration and eventual destruction of many cultures of the New World. A true to life example of this is how the entire Beothuk culture and people were wiped out due to conflict with European colonists. Contact with European colonists on the shores of Newfoundland between the 16th to 19th centuries led to the eventual extinction of the entire culture as the last known Beothuk died in 1829. This extinction was largely due to conflict that arose when the Beothuk people were denied access to vital resources of the ocean. This restriction led to the starvation and malnourishment of many Beothuk people which was detrimental to their way of life. The European people also involuntarily brought diseases with them, which brutally killed many Beothuk as the Beothuk had no natural resistance to these foreign diseases. This extinction of a culture proves that European contact and colonization was disastrous to many native populations.
The main topic of source three is the idea that the economic system of imperialism is unjust and parasitic to all countries not in power. This is demonstrated in the source when Suyin states “Exploitation and oppression [cruel use of authority] is not a matter of race. It is the system, the apparatus of world-wide brigandage [robbery] called imperialism …” This statement demonstrates how imperialism is to blame for the exploitation and theft of weaker nations. The author’s perspective on the source is how the European nations who used the economic system of imperialism are not solely to blame as any country with the same kind of dominance would have done the same. This concept is clearly portrayed in the source when Suyin states “I have no illusions on this score, nor do I believe that any Asian nation or African nation, in the same state of dominance, and with the same system of colonial profit-amassing and plunder, would have behaved otherwise.” This quotation demonstrates how any nation would have behaved the same if they had access to the same level of sovereignty. Globalization is related to the source as imperialism caused the destruction and division of native land, ultimately changing native way of life forever. A true to life example of this is how European imperialism caused the division of African lands, ultimately led to the loss of independence and culture of the native populations. During The Scramble of Africa of the 19th century, European powers divided African lands for their own economic and political benefits. This division of land created stress on not only the African culture, but the environment too. Christianity was forced onto many tribes in the new colonized Africa, converting many people from Islam to Christianity; ultimately, this conversion changed the culture of many African tribes. The Scramble for Africa also caused the exploitation of the environment as resources like ivory, cash crops, cotton, coffee and other precious minerals. The exploitation of these resources caused essential practices like farming to suffer greatly. This division of a continent demonstrates how imperialism can impact native life.
Source one relates to Source Two through the concept that eurocentrism causes people to believe that non-European people are inferior and thus should be assimilated into the European way of life or be eradicated.
The extinction of the Beothuk culture and the attempts to assimilate aboriginal children through residential schools demonstrate this concept. Source One relates to Source Three through the idea that imperialism and colonization of an area can cause lasting detrimental effects on the native life previously undisturbed. This idea is evident in how the cultures of both African and Canadian native populations were changed due to colonization. Source Two relates to Source Three in the fact that changes in the natural environment brought on upon by colonization had devastating effects upon native populations. This is demonstrated in how the Beothuk people suffered because an inability to access the ocean and how African agriculture suffered because of the exploitation of cash crops. All three sources are related to globalization in the fact that European presence and colonization impaired native cultures and
environments.