Reflection Paper About The Caribbean

Throughout history, race, social development, politics and colonization have played a major role in the indoctrination of modern day Caribbean peoples mind subconsciously. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are two countries that were once one nation, however, the long-lasting effects of colonialism have separated the island which the nations sit into two independent Caribbean countries. Numerous events have led to the modern day conflicts and issues between these great nations, which include violations of civil rights, deportation and violence. To illustrate, relations that developed after the Parsley Massacre and the independence of these nations played a major role in their current social and racial battles. While the nations hatred for each other is clear today, it is important to note that the feud between Haiti and the Dominica Republic has been going on for more than 400 years.

Eric William in chapters seven and nine of his book, “From Columbus to Castro”, provides his readers with an in-depth knowledge about the political and economic history of the Caribbean. Eric William gives his readers the story of how Europeans “discovered” the Caribbean and how they governed it. Thus the various events that took place right from the time of Christopher Columbus, focusing on the colonial sweepstakes pursued by France, England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Denmark. The main idea of chapter seven is how the Caribbean came to be the cock pit of European rivalry and wars in the latter parts of the fifteenth century up to the eighteenth century, an interesting tale of adventure, greed and cruelty. What William offers

The island of Jamaica is very rich in culture and has many historic turnabouts throughout the years. The country has a rich and complex history including being the first country to have Arawak and Taino Indians settle there.

Bravery was a huge thing for the natives of the Caribbean islands when the European colonizers arrived. The weak ones were either killed or enslaved by the dominant Europeans. With the help of literature, many native tribal groups got together to fight for freedom. During the childhood of V. S. Naipaul, many conflicts between the natives and the colonizers were erupting for independence. This is heavily reflected through literature coming from the mid 1900’s and demonstrates the hardships the natives faced for their freedom. By using different types of conflicts, authors can distinguish the differences in the mindsets of the native population from the colonizers. The Caribbean authors use different types of person vs. society conflicts to demonstrate the basic differences between the two different

The Caribbean is a vastly diverse area representing the effects of colonialism, slavery, and the combination of many cultures.

Postcolonial Caribbean society is not able to address and enhance the expectations of the colonized people after its emancipation but lingers on and sustains in the older residues of colonial project. Emancipation does not offer a new structure, power relations and hierarchies but leaves the gaps and complications for more dangerous clashes and differences.

It may sound like a slight cliché but this is an experience that you will truly never forget, as you feel such unity with nature and this cannot be explained until you have witnessed it yourself. You start to think “maybe this is how life should be lived?” A life without worries, responsibilities or stress, a life that is to be lived out how you want, without any authoritative figure forcing you how to live, presenting you with an immense urge to just leave the dull and dark cruel society that we are faced with everyday to go and discover the kind of rare tranquillity that can be found in an such an incredible place unfound and unscathed by the greed of man. The crystal clear sea, the incredible exotic creatures and the peaceful life style of the Caribbean is what makes it so remarkable.

The Bahamas is known for its warm sunshine, perfect climate, and pristine beaches with crystal clear water lapping at the shores. It is one of the most popular and beautiful tourist destinations in the world and attracts thousands of travelers every year. Though gorgeous strips of sand ring every island of this 700-island archipelago, it is a multifaceted destination and offers a variety of exclusively Bahamian experiences for every type of traveler.

(Group Tainos) The cacique was the head of the Tainos society. The cacique was a hereditary title which passed down from father to son. Generally speaking, the Tainos practised monogamy. However, the cacique was allowed to practise polygamy (this was to increase his chances of having a heir).

Patriarchal households have become less the Caribbean. “Patriarchy is a system of society where the men are the head-of-the-household, carry the most power and where the family lineage passes on through men” (www.yourdictionary.com). Directly after emancipation from slavery in the Caribbean, jobs, and education opportunities favour males. This leads to the females to stay at home to take care of the children or household chores. If women had jobs, they were usually as domestic workers. In the Caribbean, men are normally considered as the head of the household since they were the sole “breadwinner”. As time goes on, women slowly gain access to education and better jobs opportunities

Columbus discovered Jamaica on May 5, 1494, one year after he heard of the existence of the island. However, the true history of Jamaica begins with the African-Jamaican people who came to the island twenty years after the English took control from the Spaniards. The history of Jamaica can be broken up into different time periods, which were defined by watershed moments or events. Jamaican history begins with the establishment of the native islanders called the Tainos who inhabited the island for hundreds of years before the discoveries of Columbus. (JNHT 1)

Another issue, which is present, is the fact that in the different countries, different languages and dialects of languages are spoken. A language barrier is a serious impediment to the success of national unity. If proper communication cannot go on, then proper conclusions cannot be made, and any progress politically is extremely slow. Also, the people will not feel a sense of Caribbean unity, if they cannot understand or relate to their other Caribbean residents. Lots of segregation of language will occur if national unity was achieved, and that would deceive the whole idea of unity.

The evolution of Caribbean Literature started centuries before the Europeans graced these shores and continues to develop today. Quite noticeably, it developed in a manner which transcended all language barriers and cultures. Today the languages of the Caribbean are rooted in that of the colonial powers - France, Britain, Spain and Holland - whose historical encounters are quite evident throughout the region. The cosmopolitan nature of the region's language and cultural diversity develop from the mixture of European languages with Native American languages (mainly the Caribs and Arawaks) in the formation of creoles and local patois (hybrid languages) and those of Africans brought to the Caribbean as

“To what extent can it be argued that genocide and revolution are central themes in Caribbean History?”

To begin Latin America and the Caribbean as many countries that make up it group of countries. These countries each have an individual national identity which can be built in bountiful of ways. Firstly, a national identity is something that can presented by a single country using the greater of a wealth of topics, for example politics, culture, historical, climate and tourist attraction, this is just a small amount that can make up a country national identity. The country that this writing assignment is specifically about the one country of The Bahamas. The Bahamas as a country has many elements to its national identity and many of those elements will be discussed in detail throughout this paper. The first component of that national