Age of Exploration Essay Example for Free

Age of Exploration Essay The age of exploration had many varied effects on the countries involved, mainly Spain, France, and England. By establishing a prosperous empire in South America by conquering the native people, Spain became vastly wealthy off of the gold collected by its native subjects. However, since the native people were dying off rapidly due to the foreign diseases brought over by the Conquistadors, as well as malnutrition and fatigue, Spain and Portugal were the first to introduce slavery to the New World by replacing them with African slaves brought over by Portuguese slave traders. The silver mining by these slaves caused world trade to increase. Often, silver brought to Europe from America was then traded with China and other Asian countries, making silk, porcelain, and Indian spices more prevalent in Europe. Products from America that became popular in Europe included corn, potatoes, pineapples, and sugar cane. Many cultures spread and combined with others: Spanish missionaries converted natives to Christianity, which then combined the new Christian beliefs with the natives’ cultural traditions. Another example, Arabian coffee with American sugar became quite popular throughout Europe. Although saying that anyone who crossed the Atlantic (at least when referring to modern theories) truly discovered America is ridiculous, I believe that the first to do so was Leif Eriksson and his group of Vikings whose settlement was found in Canada. According to the Greenlander saga and the Eric saga, his father, Eric the Red, a Viking outlaw, discovered Greenland. In order to establish himself as a man separate from his father, Leif sailed to the west in order to discover his own land. He sailed west because there had been a rumor in Greenland for the past fifteen years of a merchant sailing from Iceland to Greenland whose ship had been blown off course in a storm. According to the rumor, the merchant claimed that there were three separate lands west of Greenland. Around the year 1000, Leif purchased the merchant’s ship from the story, and obtained directions from the same merchant. He set sail only for a few days, which was reportedly was miserable due to the conditions on the open boat. On this expedition, they were seeking trees, which were scare in Greenland, but abundant in what is now northern Newfoundland, Canada, where the party landed. Leif named the new land Vinland after the wild grapes found there and the wine the grapes produced. Shortly thereafter, the settlers began to erect a settlement and scouted the land. In 1960, the archeologist and set out to find the fabled Vinland, using a four hundred year old Icelandic map and descriptions from the sagas. On the very northern tip of Newfoundland, they came across an area of mounds and ruins near a small town. Because the ruins predated the settlement of the area, the locals had always believed that Native Americans created the mounds. In fact, through almost seven years of painstaking excavations and radiocarbon testing, it was proven that the ruins were of a settlement dating back to the year 1000. Various artifacts found at the site also confirmed its Norse origins. Archeologists have gone so far as to pinpoint which ‘house’ was Leif Eriksson’s, based on size and complexity of the structure. I believe that Leif Eriksson was the first to cross the Atlantic and settle in America because of many factors. The radiocarbon dating of the site which puts it at 1000 C. E. immediately eliminates any of the explorers from the age of exploration, as well as the Chinese in 1492, in addition to the obvious implausibility of traveling above Canada in ice riddled waters in a flimsy wooden vessel. A case could perhaps be made for the merchant in the sagas who started the rumor, but as with all epic stories, the Icelanders who were the ones to transcribe the sagas based on oral stories, may have simply added him in as a fictional supporting character. Because of this and other equally plausible scenarios, I have to concede that Leif Eriksson was the first to reach the New World by crossing the Atlantic. There is confusion among certain people about whether America was colonized because of a desire for more money on the part of England or because the colonists were seeking religious freedom from the Roman Catholic Church. This confusion stems mainly from the watered down version of Jamestown and the Mayflower that we teach students at a young age. While it is true that Puritans did indeed come to the New World seeking religious freedom, the initial desire to colonize America was all about the desire for wealth. Because of Spain’s conquests in South America, the gold it had acquired from the natives and silver mining had made the country vastly wealthy and other nations were eager to get their share of the riches. America also had an abundant supply of farmland at a time when many farmers had small farms that they toiled over in an effort to merely support their families. In addition, as more settlers moved to America and created a demand for indulgences that they were accustomed to in Europe, the companies that sold such items made more money because of the higher prices the settlers had to pay in order to accommodate shipping costs. In short, while religious freedom was a noble and idealistic dream, it wouldn’t benefit anyone or make any money, which is what people were chiefly concerned with. How would America be different if it had been settled one hundred years later, in 1592? To begin with, it probably would not be called ‘America’. America is so named after Amerigo Vespucci; however, as he died in 1512, it is unlikely that we would have been named after him. Perhaps we would be named Raleigh, after Walter Raleigh, a British explorer of both North and South America in our actual history. Christopher Columbus would not be in history books, as he would not have been to Raleigh. Native Americans thus would have never been referred to as Indians. Because of our late start as a nation, it is reasonable to assume that certain historical events in our country would be delayed, let us say, fifty years or so. Because colonization was delayed, it would take longer for tensions to raise between the colonists and the French, so the French and Indian War would not have started in 1689, but around 1739 instead. This in turn would delay the Seven years war and thus the taxed imposed by the British that led to the American Revolution, which would now begin in 1825. Thus, we would have the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1826 and become our own country in 1833. Or alternatively, because of the differing technology, we might have lost the war and still been English today. But lets assume that we won and Raleigh was founded. I believe the Civil War would have been delayed as well until 1911, three years before World War One started. Both world wars, because we did not start them, would have happened the same years as they actually did, 1914 and 1939 respectably. However, I believe that the issue of civil and women’s’ rights would have been later in coming, perhaps in the 80’s. We would probably be dealing with racism more than gay rights today, if that were the case. And our music would be behind as well, so 60’s music today would then be 80’s music now.

Rhetorical Analysis of JFKs Inauguration Speech -- John Fitzgerald Ke

John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people. John F Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States and at 43 years old he was the youngest president to take office. Because of his youth, he stumbled upon much skepticism from his opposition and even a little from his supporters. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was so vital because he needed to make a quick and powerful first impression to America and to the entire world. The address was written to encourage American citizens to get involved with their country and with the issues of the time. This speech reassured the voters that they made the correct choice and informed the country that changes were on there way. The inaugural speech was arranged so that it flowed easily from start to finish. The first paragraph contains many uses of comparison and contrast. For example, â€Å"We observe today not a victory of a party but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end as well as a beginning—signifying a renewal as well as change†(Kennedy par 1). There are also examples of cause and effect in the speech. I believe that this is to be expected because of all the deliberations over war. Kennedy used these techniques to make it sound like it was our moral responsibility we should go to war. These are the two basic s... ...commitments and his plan. By reiterating common knowledge, Kennedy has his audience reflect on known fact in order to drive his message home. In conclusion, this speech was structured beautifully. Its use of figurative and expressive language makes it an unforgettable speech. Kennedy does a great job of using pathos, ethos, and logos to reiterate his commitment to the American public as well as discuss expected changes. Given the state of the world at the time of his inauguration, the decision to rely so heavily on pathos and ethos was a wise one which got the job done. His use of the rhetoric triangle effectively conveys Kennedy’s plan for America to not only her citizens, but to the world. Works Cited Kennedy, John F. â€Å"Inaugural Address.† Reading Literature And Writing Argument. Ed. Leah Jewell. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc, 2005. 622- 625.

Counseling Liza

Joe understands Liza’s theme or belief that she has a problem with her boyfriend. It is not a life theme seeing as Liza’s problems with her boyfriend are recent and ongoing events. Besides, the frustration that she feels is her moodiness in the face of the problematic situation. However, if Liza expresses the belief that â€Å"All men are obnoxious,† Joe may rightfully conclude that it is a life theme that his client is expressing; and that, in fact, she is having a problem with her boyfriend because of a core belief.In order to deal with Liza’s stuck pattern of repeating the same story about her problem with her boyfriend, Joe should use both education and hypothesizing in his counseling sessions with Liza. It is clear that Liza would like to find a way out of her problem with her boyfriend. Regardless of whether she would like to continue her relationship with her boyfriend or not, Joe should provide his client with literature concerned with her particul ar patterns.Bibliotherapy in the area of relationship patterns should help Liza understand her own patterns. Furthermore, Joe should complement the education with hypothesizing by asking questions that would allow Liza to speak her mind and thereby understand her situation better. To allow Liza to hypothesize, Joe should ask her questions after she has spoken her automatic thoughts.If Liza claims about her boyfriend, â€Å"He always does that,† referring to problem behavior on the part of her boyfriend; Joe should follow up with the question, â€Å"Why do you think he does that? † Such questions would allow Liza to truly understand the situation that she is faced with. Moreover, her education as part of the therapeutic process would add to her insight, allowing her to eventually leave the problem pattern that she must work her way out of with the help of the counselor.

Macbeth And The Lottery Ticket Analysis - 1160 Words

Relationships play key roles in many books and stories. A relationship can be a close bond with someone or multiple people. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and Anton Chekhov’s short story The Lottery Ticket brings up the idea of wealth in relationships. Wealth takes people in these books from middle to higher status, whether this is in reality or in a dream. The relation of wealth is shown through the characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, and the Dmitritch’s. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth along with the Dmitritch’s share these qualities of wealth in a relationship. Both couples are in the middle class, but both also desire more money. The relations are similar with wealth, but different because Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are power hungry for†¦show more content†¦They want enough wealth to make their dreams and desires come true. By thinking they have won the wealth, makes them want to do bad things to each other. So only one can have the wealth, but ins tead both will have to share. Their wealth is shown as a form of a lottery ticket as when winning it Ivan is said to be doing this â€Å"Ivan Dmitritch gave a broad, senseless smile, like a baby when a bright object is shown it† (The lottery Ticket, 101). This displays how the relationship of Ivan and his wife works around this wealth. As Ivan cares, so much about the money, their relationship gets a second of a strong feeling of goodness towards this amount of money. Their relationship demonstrates wealth, when Dmitritch finds out he is going to be rich. He easily is turned into a child, expressing the love of Ivan and his wife have over wealth because of living a middle-class status for a long time. Both Anton Chekhov and William Shakespeare added the concept of wealth to these relationships because usually a man and women are happy with just each other. But in these stories, they are representing how wealth can make anyone happy at the same time destroy a relationship. We alth is shown through women in these books, as the women introduce the concept of wealth. Which contradicts, how women do not earn a living in these stories. Wealth can be revealed by women, as they are the real wealth behind it all. Showing the reader that wealth just leads to loneliness and that females