Hispaniola

The Columbian exchange has helped to double the world’s population between 1650 and 1850. The exchange introduced to the new and old worlds to a variety of things that undoubtedly has shaped the world in time that followed. The Columbian Exchange refers the time that resulted after Christopher Columbus and other explorers discovered the land that would become known as the Americas and many islands, such as Bermuda and the Caribbean. This age of exploration and discovery introduced the newly discovered lands and the old world to new people, animals, and plants, but not everything exchanged between the two worlds was beneficial to all parties involved. This essay will examine the positive and negative impact the Columbian Exchange had both

In the Columbian Exchange, ecology became destiny. Powerful environmental forces, understood by no one alive at the time and by very few people even today, determined who would thrive and who would die. And that may be the most shocking truth revealed to those who take the time to understand the Columbian Exchange: we, as humans, cannot always control our own destinies. The most important historical actors in this story are not Christopher Columbus or Moctezuma or Hernán Cortés. They are the smallpox virus, the pig, the potato, and the kernel of

The “Pristine Myth” is the idea that the Americans in 1492 were pristine, in other words, they were very much undisturbed. This idea comes from the argument that it is the European colonizers who tainted the environment and evoked the deforestation and erosion. The myth in this is the belief that the Indians by themselves were successful in the deterioration of the landscape. Furthermore, the belief indicates that there is a possibility that the environment was actually healthier in the late 1750 than in the early 1492. In Denevan’s article, “The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americans in 1492”, he tries to demystify this myth and unmask how it has impacted the landscape development today (Denevan, 1992:370).

Among the more notorious dimensions of the age of exploration and colonization is the impact which this massive wave of maritime transmigration would have on the indigenous populations of those locations where European settlers made landfall. And perhaps no historical figure is as emblematic of this impact than Christopher Columbus, who in his ambition to bring gold, spices and cotton home from the lands he believed to be the West Indies, would help to set off one of the most complete genocides in human history. As the text by McKay et al (2003) demonstrates, Columbus approached the natives that he encountered in the Caribbean with a sense of European superiority that would come to define colonialism and to justify its attendant ethnic cleansing. Indeed, the perspective offered by Columbus is that of a conqueror establishing dominance over a people quite vulnerable to subordination.

The different effect of colonization that is still visible in these cultures today is the devastation of the forest in Brazil, malnutrition in New Guinea, and the poor issues of dental care in

Christopher Columbus should be remembered by history as a sadistic man who paved the path of genocides, exterminating and enslaving many innocent natives for his own pleasures and “successes.” He exploited the generosity that was given to him by the natives as a way to get what he wanted. He uses this to his advantage, “When you ask for something they have, they never say no,” clearly showing the natives weaknesses. (Zinn, 5) Instead of thanking the natives for their hospitality, the Europeans use it to get the natives to their bidding.

During colonial times, Central America was a place of hostility and unequal treatment to many of its indigenous people. War, starvation, cruelty, and death occurred occasionally due to the unfair treatment of many poor citizens during this time. The worst part about it is that not one, but many types of people and ethnic groups were subjugated to this mistreatment. Many groups such as the Mayans,, the poor, and even ordinary citizens underwent hardships in hope to barely survive the cruel world that they lived in. The exclusion of these people first began when Central America was first colonized.

The textbook says that United States of America is a country that bears “an elevated exposure to hazards” but because it is not vulnerable, it does not face as much destruction (Boyle 274). The precocity presented in Ocean Village in the Rockways, was poverty, poor governance, mega urbanization and environment degradation. According to the textbook, “Poverty alone is perhaps the greatest progenitor of precarity”, and it is clearly visible in the Rockways (Boyle 271). While it is not exactly poverty that hits the Rockways, the people there are on the lower end of the income level, and that shows in their style of living as they are recovering. The apartment building does not have an elevator that works and the hallways and staircases are all dark as the lights do not work a month after the hurricane. Nilejawel Stora, a teenage girl who is staying at Ocean Village speaks of how she is scared for her safety to walk down the dark stairs. This is a very minute example of poor governance. Boyle defines poor governance as “Poor governance, in contrast, heightens the precarity of vulnerable groups, militates against long-term planning, and reduces the capacity of communities to prepare for, to cope with, and to recover from a hazard event.” which is what the residents of Ocean Village are facing (Boyle 272). Their everyday lives are very dependent on the generator in the building and even that generator is not strong enough to keep the power on. It would be understandable if this was the situation a little bit after the hurricane, but the fact that it is still the situation after one month has one thinking that perhaps the government has forgotten about the people there, or that maybe it does not care enough as the residents are of low income. Lastly, environment degradation is present as the environment plays a significant role in how the residents there will recover. As the Rockways are already a lower income community, they do not recover as fast as they would have if they were middle class or part of the upper class because they are more vulnerable due to the lack of resources and lack of government aid. Boyle writes about how “underdevelopment and poverty in lesser developed countries was viewed as a key source

History has a great impact on lives today. It’s often said that our history doesn’t define us, yet this is not the case when it comes to many of the Caribbean islands. Especially Haiti and the Dominican Republic which due to their colonization have ingrown problems against each other that persist till this day. Historians say that the island formerly called Hispaniola was “found” by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Yet the separation of the island came in 1697 when Spain relinquished the Western third of the island to France. After this moment this half of the island was well known as Saint-Domingue and the other as Hispaniola. Despite their rich history filled with death, punishment, war, and oppression. Today this same turmoil exists but against

Previously, the voyages of the Spainards have been described as explorations to prove the world was round. When the Spaniards discovered the Bahamas they encounter the primitive Arawak people. Christopher Columbus recognize the indigenous people were naïve and easily controllable. Men were forced to work in inhumane and treacherous conditions while they labored for months in the mines. It became evident the Spaniards were in search of gold but only trace amounts could be found in the region. Christopher Columbus began to enslave the indigenous people and shipped many out to be sold as slaves in Spain. The Arawak people tried to defend themselves only to endure greater torture at the hands of the Spaniards. The impact on the people in the region is great. In Howard Zinn excerpt he states “In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead “. The Spaniards pushed the Arawark and other tribes to near extinction driving down population to below two thousand in some areas.

Columbus arriving in the Americas can be viewed as influential or detrimental. On one hand, he prompted other groups to send expeditions there, but on the other hand he killed thousands of natives of the land and disrupted the isolation and serenity of their lives. In “The Century of Discovery” and “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress” the tale of Columbus from 1492- 1498 is told similarly in content and order, but the viewpoints on Columbus differ.

Imagine yourself as a businessperson on a trip to the island of Hispaniola to check on how production is faring. You land in Santo Domingo to transfer to a short commuter flight to Port-au-Prince. During the flight, you gaze outside your window to admire the breathtaking view of the Sierra de Baoruco, with its luscious forests. As the plane approaches the Haiti-Dominican Republic border, you notice that the land has been completely denuded of trees directly on the other side of the border, creating a clear demarcation between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Population: Dominicans consist of European, African and Taino. Since the time Spaniards started migrating into La Hispaniola, where they found gold and other goods. After the gold was all gone, they started using the Taino as slaves for labor. The Taino with time disappeared, later they started trading slaves from Africa and today all that history has become mix. Now they have a population of 73% mix, 16% white, and 11% black. With around 10,478,756 Dominicans on the West side of La Hispaniola. Remember, La Hispaniola is made out of two countries Haiti and Dominican Republic. Some of their largest cities are La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo and many others. According to the United Nation there is around 5% of the population that

Columbus’ exploitation of Mesoamerica and consequential enslavement of its people weakened the power of the empires in the New World and caused the power of the global world to be enhanced in Spain. When Columbus first set foot on Hispaniola, he encountered a population of native people called the Taino. The Taino’s were a peaceful and friendly group. Subsequently they willingly traded jewelry, animals, and supplies with the Spaniards. However, at the base of the relations between the two groups, were the malicious concepts, Columbus was waiting to enact.

There is only one island in the world that can lay claim to being the home of two different countries. That island is the historic, La Hispaniola, which is home to both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There are other islands in the world who are split between different countries, but none that contain, in entirety, two distinct nations. The island of La Hispaniola resides in the Caribbean ocean and is a part of the Greater Antilles archipelago.