Modernization And Modernization

When Europeans encountered the Native Americans, the encounter was fraught with difficulties for both sides, for the Native Americans more so than the Europeans. Europeans conquered the Native Americans, forced them into labor, and spread diseases which the Native Americans had no resistance to. In addition to this the Europeans considered themselves superior to the Native Americans. Despite this, the Europeans and Native Americans, both had things the other wanted and so they often engaged in trade with each other. However, the Native Americans thought that, despite not having the luxuries the Europeans had, they were better off than the Europeans. This sentiment is exemplified in “Your People Live Only Upon Cod” by French priest Chrestian LeClerq who was traveling with the Micmac Indians. It is a documented response by an unknown Micmac leader to European, particularly French, claims of superiority. In analyzing this document, we will find that the cultures of the French and the Micmac were vastly different. We will also discover what the Micmac and the French thought of each other.

This paper looks to define and explore three books which are a crux to various food histories which in the last decade has become a scholarly journey as food history is becoming increasingly studied as a scholarly endeavor by historians where previously it was not seen in such a scholarly light. The three texts which are going to be examined are: Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food by Jeffery M. Pilcher, The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture by Rebecca L. Spang, and lastly To Live and Dine in Dixie: The Evolution of Urban Food Culture in the Jim Crow South by Angela Jill Cooley. Each of these books seek to redefine how people see their perspective topics whether it be Mexican identity rooted in cuisine, the evolution of southern food in a racially divided south, or even the concept of the restaurant emerging from a revolutionary culture. These texts bring awareness to various topics which have both social, cultural, and economic stigmas associated with them.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.

Upon the European’s discovery and colonization of the Americas an irreversible transformation was triggered. The extreme differences in the cultures of the Europeans and Native Americans would prove to be fatal to the way of life that existed before European colonization.

In his essay “Of Cannibals”, Michel de Montaigne presents Native Americans as a mirror image of European racial and cultural superiority, placing their barbarous cannibalism in context in order to critique the widely-held belief of their inferiority. Montaigne’s comment on the European perception of Native Americans as uncivilized is ultimately undermined by the extreme nature of the arguments used in his critique.

Moreover, Ferris talks about how throughout the history of the south, the politics of power and place, have lead to the establishment of a cuisine that includes both privilege and deprivation. Thus, continuously impacting the food patterns of the modern day south. Ferris states, “In food lies the harsh dynamics of racism, sexism, class struggle, and ecological exploitation that have long defined the south; yet there, too, resides family, a strong connection to place, conviviality, creativity, and flavor” (Edible South, 1) . This is exemplified all throughout the text by many accounts of antebellum cuisine influenced by that of African and Native Americans.

When Europeans arrived in North America, they encountered the Native Americans. This encounter was fraught with difficulties for both sides, for the Native Americans more so than the Europeans. Europeans conquered the Native Americans, forced them into labor, and spread diseases which the Native Americans had no resistance to. In addition to this the Europeans considered themselves superior to the Native Americans. Despite this, the Europeans and Native Americans both had things the other wanted and so they frequently engaged in trade with each other. However, the Native Americans thought that, despite not having the luxuries the Europeans had, they were better off than the Europeans. This sentiment is exemplified in “Your People Live Only Upon Cod” by French priest Chrestian LeClerq who was traveling with the Micmac Indians. It is a documented response by an unknown Micmac leader to European, particularly French, claims of superiority. In analyzing this document, we will find that the cultures of the French and the Micmacs were vastly different. We will also discover what the Micmacs and the French thought of each other.

Marcy Norton’s presentation of commodified agricultural resources as a cultural force that had influence beyond it monetary value is an important point of view. In this it diverges from works like Jenifer Anderson’s article Natures Currency which looks at how the demand for mahogany completely altered the nature of the industry that supplied it, and from John Thornton’s Cannibals, Witches, and Slave Traders, which focuses on the internal African reaction to the depredations of the Slave trade. By looking at the multidirectional cultural and social influence the methods and uses of tobacco and chocolate had on Europeans, Norton clearly shows how Native American cultures were not just passive victims of European desires. Instead, they were active cultural participants in this new Atlantic

Many Americans strongly support the idea of America as a ‘melting pot’ of cultures, and that this blending of cultures serves as one the foundations of this country. However, as Vincent Parrillo argues, many Americans also believe that multiculturism in America began once there was European contact, and in this chapter, Parrillo argues this is far from the truth. Parrillo attempts to illustrate that it is incorrect to assume Native Americans were a single entity when in fact there were great differences among Native Americans and it is wrong to associate all Native Americans with ‘tipis, buffalo and horseback warriors’ (1). Instead, Parrillo highlights several areas such as gender roles, clothing, and values to illustrate his idea of multiculturism present among Native Americans, and well before European contact.

J. Hector St. John de Crévecoeur, a French aristocrat who traveled across the American colonies and purchased a farm in New York, defines Americans in a passage from his 1782 collection of essays entitled Letters from an American Farmer. To the readers of this passage from Letters, Crévecoeur argues for colonial American society and handles this topic with a subjective and passionate tone.

The 17th century, known as the colonial era, reformed the United States and brought about many changes within the Native American culture. The whites who overtook the native colonies thought that they transformed culture, when in reality they did not. Property was taken from the natives, so “the term New World” does not fit (Rury 27). Several cultural traditions and religious values were adapted after life in the Americas, and became the predominant culture among the people. Anyone that resisted the new lifestyle and concepts were left behind in the process of the growing and progressing civilization.

In the nineteenth century, most Americans believed that their prosperity ultimately meant the prosperity of the Native American tribes as well, even if it meant the destruction of their culture and the committing of numerous atrocities against women and children. Hence, out of this belief came the process that was called “Americanization,” by which Native Americans were forced to relinquish their cultural identities to the government and adopt American customs and values, as dictated by various policies enacted to

India is one of the oldest civilizations that have made contributions to math and science. What the Ancients Knew: “India” explores the accomplishments of ancient India that are still used and have been modernized. The ancient Indians had a lasting influence through their developments in astronomy, metalworking, medical practices and the numeric system.

In “A Wild Taste”: Food and Colonialism in Eighteenth-Century Louisiana, Dawdy reconstructs minutely “what and how people were eating in [French] colonial Louisiana” (Dawdy, 389) based on narrative accounts of colonial writers and also the confirmation from archaeological data. Then, she tries to show “how the sensual and social experience of eating relates to the political rationalities of colonialism,” (Dawdy, 389) which involved mediative practices like adopting and valuing native foods, transplanting French foods and habits into the local environment, and taming exotic ingredients with traditional French recipes (Dawdy, 407). In addition, she identifies the “pyramid [structure] of preference in the order of European, Native, and African