Spanish Influence in Puerto Rico Essays - Americas, Spanish Empire

Spanish Influence in Puerto Rico Sarah Osorio Imperialism and Nationalism Final project Sarah Osorio John Poon Imperialism and Nationalism 11-18-17 Spain's Control of Puerto Rico For most of its history, Puerto Rico has been controlled by an outside power, and its people oppressed. While Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. territory, Spanish colonialism has had a significant impact on the island's development and identity. The history of the island itself is proof of this fact, demonstrating each step Puerto Rico took to reach its current state. By examining the stages of Spanish control that Puerto Rico experienced, we can determine how each stage affected the structure of Puerto Rico. Before Spain invaded Puerto Rico, the native population known as the Tainos inhabited it. At the beginning of the 1500's, the Tainos were conquered by the Spanish and, after a series of revolution attempts, virtually disappeared from Puerto Rican life. Those that were left fled to the interior of the island, which was empty for the most part. This part of the island became a refuge for the people who had fled from the approaching Spanish conquerors. This was the first stage in Puerto Rico's development. Spain was the most dominant oppressor of Puerto Rico, and its occupation of the island resulted in many social and economic changes. The native people were marginalized, and Spain took over Puerto Rico in order to turn it into a productive colony. In addition to this, the presence of the Spaniards in Puerto Rico added a different ethnic group to the island's native population. When the official slave trade began in 1518, African slaves were added to Puerto Rico's mixed ethnic heritage. This is the reason for all of the different skin toned people in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico remained under Spanish control until 1898, but in the 1540's, Spain discovered silver mines in Mexico and Peru. Puerto Rico was virtually abandoned, becoming a frontier zone. Forced into labor, the peasants developed a passive, evasive attitude toward Spanish control. A reflection of this can be seen in Francisco de Valle Atiles article The Spiritual Life of the Jibaro. According to Valle Atiles, The speech of the peasant has the imperfections of those who never had any education; he still uses words that modern Spanish has forgotten, and the impurity and barbarism of his language are notorious. (Valle Atiles 95) This describes the life of the Puerto Rican peasant: poor, uneducated, and deemed inferior by their Spanish tyrants. However, the Puerto Rican peasants had pride in their own culture, and did their best to survive despite their oppressed status. They refused to be controlled by the Spaniards, even to the point of escaping the areas of the island most heavily developed by Spain and living in the uninhabited area. Between 1550 and 1560 Puerto Rico's position as the entry point to the New World began to attract people from countries other than Spain. For this reason, Puerto Rico became the target of many anti-Spain attacks. In 1598, England made an attempt to conquer Puerto Rico, only to be wiped out by an epidemic. San Juan became a Spanish enclave, and it was at this point that Puerto Rican society began to develop dualism. The people who fled to the interior of the island, the Spaniards living in San Juan, and those living in the coastal areas became more familiar with their own identities. In particular, those living in the interior of the island, known as jibaros, were characterized by their dislike of authority and desire for independence. Another aspect of Puerto Rican history that affected the development of the island's structure and identity was the emergence of the sugar and coffee industries. The sugar industry was the first market to emerge, and Spain went so far as to change their policies to encourage commerce on the island. With their new policy, foreign traders could trade with Puerto Rico, building a web of economic interdependence that had a huge effect of Puerto Rican economics. Spain wanted Puerto Rico to become a valuable asset in the sugar industry, and used this reason to tighten its grip on Puerto Rico. This also advanced the class divisions on the island. Although

Workers Union essays

Workers Union essays 1. I do not believe that it is wrong for companies to replace striking workers. If it was against the law to replace those workers, different companies would have employees going on strike everyday. I understand that there are some circumstances where a company may not be paying their employees enough to get by, but there are employees out there that would go on strike just because they want, not need, but want more money. I believe that if the replacement workers are doing a better job than the former employees, and they are satisfied with the pay, then why not hire them permanently? 2. Of course, the first negative that comes to mind when you think of replacing strike workers is the fact that there are going to more people added to the unemployed list if you replace the strike workers. Some companies may lose profit from potential customers if the customers feel like the company does not care for their employees. And, like in Firestones case, if the new employees do not do as good of a job, the products being produced may be of lesser quality. 3. When a union goes on strike, the workers on strike lose their pay for whatever time period they are on strike. They also face the chance of losing their job permanently. The companies may have to eventually give in to the strike losing profit, and as I said in question 2, customers may see the company differently, and if they replace the workers permanently, the products may be of lesser quality. 4. Would I cross a picket line and fill the job of a striking worker? The first thing that comes to my mind is the strikes in baseball. Its just ridiculous. Baseball players get a minimum of $250,000 a year. Thats the minimum, and if you cant live on that, you are out of your mind. Most teams only have one or two guys on the roster that are getting paid that little. In this circumstance, yes I would cross a picket line in a heartbeat. I wouldnt ...

The British Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The British Constitution - Essay Example This discussion outlines that parliamentary sovereignty is the main feature of British constitution. Though the constitution is unwritten in one single document, it is not entirely unwritten. It is also mostly embedded in the written form through various statutes, judgments and treaties apart from the conventional principles. In countries like the USA whose democratic origin has been very recent, writing constitution for a new country after their independence from British rule was a necessity. But, parliamentary democracy in Britain has a very long history and the Parliament of UK is one of the oldest democratic institutions in the world. After the merger of the Parliament of Scotland in 1707 and Ireland in 1801 with the English Parliament, it has been known as the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The country has an established judiciary system with a long history and the system has been evolving over the period of time mainly based on precedents in the legal landscape. This paper stresses that that parliamentary sovereignty is the fundamental principle of the un-codified British Constitution. There were controversies at the time of UK’s accession to European community based on the concerns that law-making functions could eventually be transferred to the EC Commission and the Council of Ministers. After the accession of the UK to  European Economic Community, European common law has gained preeminence in the UK which is inevitable. In Thoburn v Sunderland City Council it was observed â€Å"All the specific rights and obligations which EU law creates are by the ECA incorporated into our domestic law and rank supreme.