In the article, You Are Being Lied to About Pirates by Johann Hari, Hari conveys that the image of pirates has been villainized by governments throughout the ages while the very same governments provided the conditions that drive them to piracy. The article begins by explaining that during the gold age of piracy, the majority of men only had two options when it came to employment. It was either become a merchant or be forced to endure the unjustly working conditions of the Navy, which often times resulted in them getting cheated of their wages. So, as an act or rebellion, sailors would rebel, take over the ship, elect a new caption, and equally disperse evenly any profit made, amongst the entire crew. They collectively decide as a group about…
In all the primary sources one thing they all have in common is, that none viewed the exploration in a truly positive light, none used honorific language to describe colonization and exploration. In "A Brief Account of The Destruction of the Indie" by Bartolome de las Casas his view was in favor of the natives, stating they were welcoming and excited for new visitors but, the new visitors were really brutish beasts who "barbarously murdered" everyone one of them, even children. While his account depicts conquistadors and colonizers as pure evil, "The Ship of Fools" by Alexander Barclay makes a mockery and satire of it. In his work he believes explorers and colonizers gain all this land but, truly learn nothing from it, they do it for just…
The Salem Witch Trials are known as a series of people being accused and prosecuted of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts beginning in February 1692 until May 1693. The trials began after a group of girls claimed that they were possessed by the devil. Several local women were accused of witchcraft and this began the wave of hysteria that would forever haunt Salem and leave a painful legacy for a long time to come. Nearly every major school of historians has attempted to explain the answer to the mystery of the trials, trying to understand why they occurred. From Marxists who blame class conflict, to Freudians who believe in mass hysteria, the more ecologically based historians who put the blame on hallucinogenic ergot fungus, and now more…
The article I chose to discuss was a court case involving the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). A Dickinson County hospital violated EMTALA for failing to provide emergency care for a patient who was transferred to a different hospital without being completely stable enough for transfer. In 1985, Congress passed the law of “Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act” also known as (EMTALA) to ensure public access and treatment to emergency services regardless of race, ability to pay, or legal status (U.S. Dept. of Health, 2010). This act states that all individuals needing emergency medical support should never be discharged or transferred until their condition is stable. This act also states that hospitals should then provide stabilizing treatment for patients with emergency medical conditions. If a hospital cannot stabilize a patient within its capability, the hospitals duty is then to treat the patient’s condition and in the event the patient needs to be transferred to become stable then a risk and benefit consent form needs to be signed by the patient. The transferring physician must also sign a certificate that explains the transfer outweighs the risks of not being transferred. In this paper I will examine the court case and convey how this case relates to the nature, sources, and functions of the law.…
In the "case of the shipwrecked sailors", three men were marooned after the sinking of an oil tanker. Subject to extreme conditions and starvation, the men drew lots after about twenty five days and decided that the loser would be killed and eaten as food. When one of the men lost the draw, he pulled out his consent, and the other two men killed him anyway, eating him. Five days later, the remaining two men were rescued and ensuing actions incurred their murder charges. This seems to be a simple case over the battle of life and death, and it truly is. The two men, Dudley and Stephens, made a conscious decision to commit not only the crime of murder, but the atrocity of cannibalism. Crime is crime and law is law- when breaks a law and commits a crime, a punishment must ensue.…
The start of the voyage was on September 20, 1519. Magellan and a crew of approximately 300 men parted from their families, getting ready to face the most turbulent experience ever. They faced a storm as they reached the equator in a country called Sierra Leone. To make everything worse, Magellan found out that 3 of the Spanish Captains were planning to kill him and King Manuel sent ships to sabotage their voyage. To avoid the ships from Portugal, Magellan ordered the captains to sail along the African coast.…
The second Amistad trial was the civil case that was tried before District Judge Andrew Judson (Linder). According to Wikipedia, The abolitionists filed charges of assault, kidnapping, and false imprisonment against Ruiz and Montez. The trial began on November 19, 1839 in Hartford. The ruling states;…
In the novel, The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent we witness great historical significance in the years surrounding the Salem witch trials. For one, the author's ancestor was Martha Carrier, a key character in the novel and also known as the “Queen of Hell”, who was among the first of women to be accused of witchcraft. In this specific novel we relive the horrors that nine year old Sarah Carrier must face along with her family. The hysteria during the year of 1692 could have not been prevented, the superstition that would rise was inevitable, and the amount of damaged caused could have never been guessed.…
The MIT Pirate Certification is something that really interests me. Along with normal classes, I feel that working toward this certification would be a great way for me to have fun, and learn skills that many people do not have. This certification includes many activities that I wanted to do as a kid, and allows me to actually partake in them and learn more about them. I find it nice that MIT encourages students to enjoy themselves at MIT along with taking rigorous classes. I want to attend a school who understands this balance between work and…
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is held in Tampa every year in late January or early February to celebrate the legend of the mythical Spanish pirate, Jose Gaspar, who was said to have operated in Southwest Florida.…
The Salem Witchcraft was a series of undesirable events, which was powered by paranoia and fear. Though several witch trials occurred before the Salem Witch Trial, this was the most well known of all. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft which resulted to 19 men and women that were hanged, 17 innocents that died in unsanitary prisons, and an 80-year old man that was crushed to death by putting stones on top of his stomach until he confesses (movie: The Crucible). In some accounts, it was reported that two dogs were stoned to death for cooperating with the Devil. Why did the Salem Witch trial occur? Were these trials appropriate? Or were they truly a Devil's work? The Salem Witch Trials might have occurred for a variety of reasons such as people's ignorance that led to superstitions. It might have also occurred because people's crave for power, or it might also be because of fear.…
Boston Massacre considered the real beginning of the American Revolution, the first shots heard around the world. It took place in Boston, Massachusetts, in March, 1770 when Captain Thomas Preston, Corporal William Wemms, and seven British soldiers confronted a crowd which attacked them with cudgel, ice balls, and other makeshift weapons. The soldiers formed a line and loaded their guns, warning the crowd to disperse. A soldier fired a musket into the crowd, immediately followed by more shots they heard someone shouting “fire.” five men, including a black man named Crispus Attucks, were killed on the spot; two more were wounded and later died.…
To understand Shakespeare’s perspective on justice in The Merchant of Venice it must be clear that they were in the reign of Elizabeth I. During this particular time Jewish people were hated and the Christians believed that they were superior. Shakespeare considered there to be a difference between law and justice, he shows that if the law is blindly applied without the Christian idea of mercy and fairness, the pursuer will fall.…
It has been almost four hundred years since Shakespeare completed the last of his plays. His work however continues to be played to sell out audiences still captivating people. His plays are still taught in schools with eager passion. Many people question the relevance of his work and lingering popularity. So what could a playwright from the seventeenth century have absolutely anything to do with a world full of advancing technology, fast food and materialistic views?…
At the court of law in Venice, the Duke, Antonio, Bassanio, Salerio, Graziano, and various notable personages are gathered for Antonio's trial. The Duke begins the trial by showing how impartial he is: he immediately says he's sorry for Antonio and that Shylock is an "inhuman wretch, uncapable [sic] of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy."…
