Abina And The Important Men Essay

In the 1870s, Britain colonized Africa and its coasts for two main interests: gold and slaves. However, gold was limited and therefore, its quantity dried up. Soon enough, palm oil had become the “new gold” and played an immense part in Britain’s growing industrial production. The Gold Coast, in fact, had a long history of merchants and foreigners who seek to extract the many riches the land possessed. Specifically, the British had established its footing on the Gold Coasts through its advancements during the Industrial Revolution and drove out other European competitors. Slowly, Britain had gained control of the Gold Coasts and come to agreements with local rulers to remain independent, but conform to certain rules imposed by the British.

Abina and the Important Men: a Graphical History was written by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke. The story of Abina Mansah is somewhat an inspiring graphical history based on an 1876 court transcript. Abina, a woman of West Africa, was wrongfully enslaved and as a consequence, she took her former master, Quamina Eddoo, to court. The overall setting took place on the Gold Coast during the 19th century. The main scenes take place in the court room, which is filled with many “important men.” The men included a British judge, two Euro African attorneys, countrymen, and an entire jury of wealthy, high class local town leaders. This book is broken down into several parts; the graphical history, transcript, historical

Imperialism is like a kingpin putting his hardest working, most experienced partners in a territory that they have sole control over, with the main job of making the money to bring back to the kingpin, getting their “cut” thereafter. It was the same for the British. Imperialism was vastly growing in the new British Empire. New Imperialism gave rise in East Asia and Africa with the new trade networks and new products and goods that were made to be profitable. According to Abina and the Important Men, palm oil became a new “golden” standard for the British. It was a necessity to how machines in factories worked post-Industrialization era. As for East Asia, opium became extremely profitable, although it put many of the population(s) at extreme

By the 1800s, Europe had gained considerable power- centrally governed nation-states had emerged and the Industrial Revolution had deeply enriched different country’s economies. Advances in science and technology, industry, transportation, and communication provided Western nations with many advantages. Encouraged by their new military and economic prestige, European countries embarked on a path of aggressive expansion that today’s historians call “New Imperialism (1800-1914).” Europeans brought much of the world under their influence and control, dominating various countries politically, economically, and culturally. Though the West reaped the benefits of foreign imperialism, native peoples felt its harmful effects. For example, in Document

The British had the idea of mercantilism where a the economys wealth was judged by how much gold and silver it had, the colonies supplied the mother land with materials and then the mother country produced products to sell back to the colonies

The opening of Japan to the West in 1868 affected Kabuki and the rest of the country profoundly. Just when it thought it was free from government restrictions; Kabuki was faced with the challenge to adapt to the changing world. Actors like Ichikawa Danjuro IX tried to raise the

Abina and the important Men is a book that focuses on a young lady whose name is Abina Mansah. Abina Mansah lost her freedom in 1876 from the “Important’’ Men who were British soldiers who invaded the West coast of Africa especially the City of Asante from where Abina live. These British soldiers came to the West Coast of Africa (Gold Coast because they were searching for Gold. This time period is called the Gold rush because Africa has a lot gold as a natural resource. The British also gained a major control of the local trade in West Africa. The British started to imported large numbers of children’s into the colony as worker. Unfortunately Abina was sold by Yaw Awoah who is man from the same town in from where Abina is from (Asante). After

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

The book Abina and The Important Men a graphic history written by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke examined the social issue of what was defined as a slave in these colonies that were supposed to be abolitionist territory. What makes this book so informative and interesting to study is the fact that Abina who was considered someone who was not important had her voice and standpoint recorded and gave us a perspective that is almost non-existent in current literature about how she believed she was a slave in a colony that made slavery illegal. After reading this graphic history I would argue that in the eyes of the British, who believed they were civilizing these local tribes, this was indeed slavery but it was not an issue important enough to

In Giles Milton’s novel, Samurai William, the reader is taken to the other side of the globe to experience the history of old world Japan. Though out the book, Milton provides reason for complex historical events and actions, while still communicating the subtleties and mysterious customs of the Japanese. The novel also closely examines the wide range of relationships between different groups of Europeans and Asians, predominantly revolving around the protagonist, William Adams. The book documents the successes and failures that occur between the two civilizations, then links them back to either the positive or negative relationship they have. As the book goes on, the correlation is obvious. Milton shows us the extreme role that religion,

“. . . Forts built by the Portuguese and Dutch on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) were captured by the British in 1667” (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA), and later, “. . . New technologies and medicines . . . allowed the Europeans to pursue military and political power further into the interior” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103) The British fought to control the area specifically for the gold, and palm oil – an ingredient used for the production of soap, and as machine lubricant. “Second, the industrial Revolution enabled Britain in particular to enlarge its military and commercial power to the point that it was able to eventually drive the other European powers out of the region, with the Danish (1850) and Dutch (1871-1872) being the last to leave” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103). After Britain gained control of the region, new rules were placed into effect. Most Africans adapted to the sudden changes: becoming English-speaking Africans, accepting jobs from the British, trading with the British and even marrying British citizens. “It was this these men who tried to create European-style but independent states such as the Accra Confederation and who wrote a constitution for the Fante Confederation of 1873” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 106). Yet, despite these positive effects, negative effects also existed. In the 1670s, with sugar becoming high demand, the need for slaves increased. “. . . Europeans

Throughout history, there has been a constant narrative of colonialism, from the Spanish Monarchy, to the British Empire, to American Imperialism. Although these spanned different centuries and different regions of the world, they all had a common theme; the marginalization of race and identity of the regions they colonized. Colonialism can be defined by the policy of extending its control over other people and territories. The Marshallese people have been a victim to colonialism since the early 16th century with Spain, changing hands many times from Germany to Japan to America. In Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner's Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter, she approaches past and present issues of marginalization and sovereignty in a uniquely human and heart-wrenching way.

            Throughout history most of Asia has been viewed as strange and exotic by western cultures.  This is especially true for Japan, because, unlike other Asian nations Japan was isolated from western culture until around the year 1542 when the Portuguese landed at Tanegashima (Bryant 14).  There are several reasons for Japan’s solitude, most of them geographical.  One of the primary reasons is what the Japanese call kamikaze, or divine wind (Bryant 24).  These strong stormy winds blew across the waters surrounding Japan, making it quite difficult to approach the island.  Japan is also quite far away from most western nations, especially since the ships had to sail around Africa to get to it.  When the

They are the ritualization in Japanese culture, women’s implicit expression of love, women’s hierarchy in 18th Japan, and how the landscape of Japan influences the prosperity of Geisha culture.

It is no secret that for centuries, the Japanese woman has been, to most observers, a model of elegance and graceful beauty. A picture of a kimono-clad, modest, and often silent woman has been plastered everywhere, allowing for the upmost passive subjection. If we look deeper into this image of woman, can we tell if this picture is complete? How do these women painted in representative images far in the modern world? The ideal woman in Japan is expected to be both a good wife, and a wise mother. Though these seem like reasonable expectations, there is a much deeper meaning to them that has shown signs of being outdated. During the 1800’s and 1900’s, women were subjected to society’s vision of them, and could not break free for fear of the