Slave Trade and Colonialism free essay sample

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began when Portuguese interests in Africa moved away from the legendary deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity slaves, around the mid-fifteenth century. The plantation economies of the New World were built on slave labor. Seventy percent of the slaves brought to the new world were used to produce sugar, the most labor-intensive crop. The rest were employed harvesting coffee, cotton, and tobacco, and in some cases in mining.By the seventeenth century the trade was in full swing, and at its height towards the end of the eighteenth century. It was a trade which was especially fruitful, since every stage of the journey could be profitable for merchants the infamous Triangular Trade. The first stage of the Triangular Trade involved taking manufactured goods from Europe to Africa: cloth, spirit, tobacco, beads, metal goods, and guns. The guns were used to help expand empires and obtain more slaves (until they were finally used against European colonizers). We will write a custom essay sample on Slave Trade and Colonialism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These goods were exchanged for African slaves. The second stage of the Triangular Trade (the middle passage) involved shipping the slaves to the Americas. Life aboard the slave ships was relentlessly oppressive: Between 10- 20% (around 2. 2 million) slaves died during the transportation. These deaths were due to dehydration, unhygienic conditions, and epidemics of smallpox and over tight packing as the slaves were placed together like books upon a shelf. Starvation was also one of the causes of death as supplies just simply ran out. Slaves aboard the ships would have suffered sever psychological as well as physical trauma.Slaves were chained together, often to those who had already died; they were unable to exercise, were fed from communal bowls and provided with minimal sanitation. The brutality aboard was too awful for words captives endured daily beatings, female slaves were raped and maybe the worst of all was the murder of helpless innocent children born aboard the ship they were merely tossed over the side. The third, and final, stage of the Triangular Trade involved the return to Europe with the produce from the slave-labor plantations: cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses and rum.The number of voyages to Africa made between 1695 and 1807 from each of the main European ports that were involved in the slave trade was: Liverpool: 5,300 London: 3,100 Bristol: 2,200 Other European ports: 450 In the early asses most of Britain s slave merchants were from London and Bristol. However, Liverpool merchants were increasingly involved and from about 1 740 were outstripping their rivals. Although London, Bristol and other ports continued to send ships to Africa, Liverpool dominated the trade until its abolition in 1807.Indeed Liverpool was the European port most involve d in slaving during the 18th century. Its thought that over 40,000 African slaves were transported by Liverpool vessels. By 1792 Liverpool was firmly established as the leading slave port, with 131 sailings in that year alone. There were five main ways that Liverpool made money from slavery, 1 . The building and repair of slave ships 2. Slave trading, 3. Slave produced goods -? cotton, sugar etc 4. Production of exportable goods- pottery etc 5. Insuring and financing the above operations and industries. Liverpool success did not all come from slavery, but it did bring a lot of money to the town. Towns in northwest and central England supplied Liverpool with goods, and so also benefited from the trade. Although it is estimated that slavery generated a staggering EYE million in Liverpool in one year alone. In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century that would have been wealth on a scale only equaled today in the City of Loons money markets. The slaves were not brought directly to Liverpool; they were just one part of a triangle. Manufactured goods were shipped from Liverpool to Guiana.These cargoes Were exchanged for slaves who Were then taken direct to the West Indies and sold. Nearly all the leading people in Liverpool, including many of the towns mayors, were involved with the slave trade. Several Liverpool MSP invested money and supported the trade in Parliament. It was highly unpopular to speak out against the slave trade. William Rose and William Rotenone were two of the few who did. Rose went further and joined with the Quakers, and the political leaders like Fox and the political reformer, William Wildflower, to challenge the slavery laws.In 1787 and 1 788 he published tracts and poems attacking the inhumanity and evil of slavery. In his poem The Wrongs of Africa are lines which retain their strength and poignancy to this day: Blush ye not, to boast your equal laws, Your just restraints, your rights defended, your liberties secured, Whilst with an iron hand ye crushed to earth the helpless African; And bid him drink that cup of sorrow, Which yourselves have dashed, indignant, From Oppressions fainting grasp? (Chandler, 1992) Africans didnt just sit back and simply watch the horror which was unfolding there was great resistance. Ships records have uncovered many accounts of slaves rising up against their captors refusing to do what was asked of them, committing suicide, and once captives reached their destination and learned or their fate many attempted escapes. In letters written by the Imagining, Amazing Mamba Fanons, to the King Jiao the 3rd Of Portugal, he writes: Each day the traders are kidnapping our people children of this country, sons of our nobles and vassals, even people of our own family. This corruption and depravity are so widespread that our land is entirely depopulated.We need in this kingdom only priests and schoolteachers, and no merchandise, unless it is wine and flour for Mass. It is our wish that this Kingdom not be a place for the trade or transport of slaves. Many of our subjects eagerly lust after Portuguese merchandise that your subjects have brought into our domains. To satisfy this inordinate appetite, they seize many of our black free subjects. They sell them. After having taken these prisoners [to the coast] secretly or at night .. As soon as the captives are in the hands of white men they are branded with a red-hot iron. Historian Walter Rodney has argued that at the start of the slave trade in the 1 6th century, even though there was a technological gap between Europe and Africa, it was not very substantial. Both continents were using Iron Age technology. The major advantage that Europe had was in ship building. During the period of slavery the populations of Europe and the Americas grew while the population of Africa remained stagnant. Rodney contended that the profits from slavery were used to fund economic growth and technological advancement in Europe and the Americas.Based On earlier theories by Eric Williams, he asserted that the industrial revolution was at least in part funded by agricultural profits from the Americas. He cited examples such as the invention of the steam engine by James Watt, which was funded by plantation owners from the Caribbean. (Rodney, 1 981 ) Eric Williams has attempted to show the contribution of Africans on the basis of profits from the slave trade and slavery, and the employment of those profits to finance Englands industrialization process.He argues that the enslavement of Africans was an essential element to the Industrial Revolution, and that European wealth is a result of slavery. However, he argued that by the time of its abolition it had lost its profitability and it was in Britains economic interest to ban it. (Williams, 1964) By 1835, Europeans had mapped most of northwest ern Africa.

Purpose essays

Purpose essays In Aaron Copland ¡s essay How We Listen to Music, he examines the three ways people listen to music. He calls the ways we listen to music  ¡planes ¡. The three planes he examines are the Sensuous Plane, Expressive Plane, and Sheerly Musical Plane (400). He uses examples of each plane and how people use it. The Sensuous Plane is used just for the pleasure of musical sound. People turn it on just to have something fill the air with sound. He says people use music to escape the everyday boring events of their lives.  ¡They use music as a consolation or an escape, ¡ (401). People use it to take themselves into a dream world. The Expressive Plane is used when people try to relate the music to something in their life. The more it reminds them of something, the more expressive it appears to them. Not all people agree with one another ¡s view of what the music means.  ¡Composers have a way of shying away from any discussion of music ¡s expressive side, ¡ (401). He goes on to state that they do this because music ¡s meaning differs from person to person. The Sheerly Musical Plane concerns the notes, words, harmonies, rhythms, tones, melodies, etc. Professional musicians focus on these things only when writing music. They use the music as a way to express themselves and tell how they feel about things. This also happens to be what the composer/song writer is usually criticized for, i.e. Marilyn Manson and Eminem. At the end of his essay Copland says that people don ¡t listen to one plane or another, rather we listen to all three at the same time.  ¡Actually, we never listen on one or the other of these planes. What we do is to correlate them o listening in all three ways at the same time, ¡ (404). ...

A Brief History of the Age of Exploration

A Brief History of the Age of Exploration The era known as the Age of Exploration, sometimes called the Age of Discovery, officially began in the early 15th century and lasted through the 17th century. The period is characterized as a time when Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of new trading routes,  wealth, and knowledge. The impact of the Age of Exploration would permanently alter the world and transform geography into the modern science it is today. Impact of the Age of Exploration Explorers learned more about areas such as Africa and the Americas and brought that knowledge back to Europe.Massive wealth accrued to European colonizers due to trade in goods, spices, and precious metals.Methods of navigation and mapping improved, switching from traditional portolan charts to the worlds first nautical maps.New food, plants, and animals were exchanged between the colonies and Europe.Indigenous people were decimated by Europeans, from a combined impact of disease, overwork, and massacres.The work force needed to support the massive plantations in the New World, led to a 300 year slave trade that had an enormous impact on Africa.The impact persists to this day, with many of the worlds former colonies still considered the developing world, while colonizers are the First World countries, holding a majority of the worlds wealth and annual income. The Birth of the Age of Exploration Many nations were looking for goods such as silver and gold, but one of the biggest reasons for exploration was the desire to find a new route for the spice and silk trades. The capture and sacking of Constantinople by Turkish troops under Mohammed II, 29th May 1453. The Turkish victory marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the Ottomans. Hulton Archive/Getty Images  Ã‚   When the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople in 1453, it blocked European access to the area, severely limiting trade. In addition, it also blocked access to North Africa and the Red Sea, two very important trade routes to the Far East. The first of the journeys associated with the Age of Discovery were conducted by the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, and others had been plying the Mediterranean for generations, most sailors kept well within sight of land or traveled known routes between ports.  Prince Henry the Navigator  changed that, encouraging explorers to sail beyond the mapped routes and discover new trade routes to West Africa. Portuguese explorers discovered the Madeira Islands in 1419 and the Azores in 1427. Over the coming decades, they would push farther south along the African coast, reaching the coast of present-day Senegal by the 1440s and the Cape of Good Hope by 1490. Less than a decade later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama would follow this route all the way to India. The Discovery of the New World Illustration titled Embarkation and Departure of Columbus from the Port of Palos, On His First Voyage of Discovery, On The 3rd of August, 1492. Ricardo Balaca/Bettmann/Getty Images While the Portuguese were opening new sea routes along Africa, the Spanish also dreamed of finding new trade routes to the Far East. Christopher Columbus, an Italian working for the Spanish monarchy, made his first journey in 1492. Instead of reaching India, Columbus found the island of San Salvador in what is known today as the Bahamas. He also explored the island of Hispaniola, home of modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Columbus would lead three more voyages to the Caribbean, exploring parts of Cuba and the Central American coast. The Portuguese also reached the New World when explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral explored Brazil, setting off a conflict between Spain and Portugal over the newly claimed lands. As a result, the  Treaty of Tordesillas  officially divided the world in half in 1494. Columbus journeys opened the door for the Spanish conquest of the Americas. During the next century, men such as Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro would decimate the Aztecs of Mexico, the Incas of Peru, and other indigenous peoples of the Americas. By the end of the Age of Exploration, Spain would rule from the Southwestern United States to the southernmost reaches of Chile and Argentina. Opening the Americas Great Britain and France also began seeking new trade routes and lands across the ocean. In 1497, John Cabot, an Italian explorer working for the English, reached what is believed to be the coast of Newfoundland. A number of French and English explorers followed, including Giovanni da Verrazano, who discovered the entrance to the Hudson River in 1524, and Henry Hudson, who mapped the island of Manhattan first in 1609. Henry Hudson, his boat being greeted by Native Americans at the lakeshore. Bettmann/Getty Images   Over the next decades, the French, Dutch, and British would all vie for dominance. England established the first permanent colony in North America at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Samuel du Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, and Holland established a trading outpost in present-day New York City in 1624. Other important voyages of exploration during this era included Ferdinand Magellans attempted circumnavigation of the globe, the search for a trade route to Asia through the Northwest Passage, and Captain James Cooks voyages that allowed him to map various areas and travel as far as Alaska. The End of the Era The Age of Exploration ended in the early 17th century after technological advancements and increased knowledge of the world allowed Europeans to travel easily across the globe by sea. The creation of permanent settlements and colonies created a network of communication and trade, therefore ending the need to search for new routes. It is important to note that exploration did not cease entirely at this time. Eastern Australia was not officially claimed for Britain by Capt. James Cook until 1770, while much of the Arctic and Antarctic were not explored until the 19th century. Much of Africa also was unexplored by Westerners until the early 20th centuries. Contributions to Science The Age of Exploration had a significant impact on geography. By traveling to different regions around the globe, explorers were able to learn more about areas such as Africa and the Americas and bring that knowledge back to Europe. Methods of navigation and mapping improved as a result of the travels of people such as Prince Henry the Navigator. Prior to his expeditions, navigators had used traditional portolan charts, which were based on coastlines and ports of call, keeping sailors close to shore. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers who journeyed into the unknown created the worlds first nautical maps, delineating not just the geography of the lands they found but also the seaward routes and ocean currents that led them there. As technology advanced and known territory expanded, maps and mapmaking became more and more sophisticated. These explorations also introduced a whole new world of flora and fauna to Europeans. Corn, now a staple of much of the worlds diet, was unknown to Westerners until the time of the Spanish conquest, as were sweet potatoes and peanuts. Likewise, Europeans had never seen turkeys, llamas, or squirrels before setting foot in the Americas. The Age of Exploration served as a stepping stone for geographic knowledge. It allowed more people to see and study various areas around the world, which increased geographic study, giving us the basis for much of the knowledge we have today. Long-Term Impact The effects of colonization still persist as well, with many of the worlds former colonies still considered the developing world and the colonizers the First World countries, holding a majority of the worlds wealth and receiving a majority of its annual income.

Business research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Business research project - Essay Example Such a job is complicated poses several challenges for the employee when dealing with the difference in the countries like cultural differences, language, legal, political and economic scenarios that he needs to be accustomed to. MNCs of all sizes today counter the issues of facilitating the right type of training to their employees, selection of the employees for expatriate jobs and ensuring that these managers are integrated well in the new environment. Hill (2007) adds that even with such problems entailing such managers, businesses today are still venturing in international field experiences because such business setups across the global enables the firms to grow multi-dimensionally and form an important resource for the firm. Profits boom and the firm is not dependent on one market only. Especially in the case of economic downturns in the west, industries are now seeking businesses in China and India, which they are doing so by incorporating international field experiences for the employees in these markets. These employees give the firms valuable insight into the new markets and help the businesses decide whether they are prospective markets for future investments or not. Even though there may be demand for the product the firms may decide not to enter the market due to cultural barriers, legal issues and political scenarios, which may only be known, when employees are sent on international projects to test out the market prospects. International field experience is not a novel concept. It is when an employee of a firm is sent to work in another country to the firm’s subsidiary. Rowold (2007, 21-36) adds that these employees are expected to control and administer the business simultaneously syncing its operation with the centre of operations, which may be in his hometown. Such learning offers rare developmental chances for the individual by giving him more flexibility both at personal and

Risk Management in Facilities Management Dissertation

Risk Management in Facilities Management - Dissertation Example In the end research ethics is given followed by the conclusion of the chapter. Background Facilities management is a field or profession that includes a number of disciplines in order to guarantee the proper functionality of the environment that is being built through incorporating a mix of people, process, place and technology (David, 2006). Facilities as the name suggests can include properties, buildings and other infrastructure. In the industry of facility management, facility is defined as a ‘built environment’ (Booty, 2009). As mentioned in the beginning, facility management’s main objective is to manage the effective and efficient operation of the said ‘built environment’ (David, 2006). In addition to this, facilities management also covers the areas of delivering services that add to the profitability and productivity of the personnel who are using any facility; reducing costs related to operational life cycle; and looking after the maintenanc e and security of facility for high efficiency in operation (David, 2006). Facility managers are the people responsible for the management of facilities. These managers can be working on business levels such as top management level where strategic planning and decision making takes place; or at managerial or operational level where technical issues are being handled (Booty, 2009). During the 1980s, the facilities management industry started to grow due to the expansion of business globally which during that era mainly included outsourcing of management and maintenance of the business facilities by enterprises (David, 2006). The effect of facilities management today not just on one country but on global basis is large because of the rapid growth and diversification in different industries (David, 2006). For instance, in Australia, the number of full-time employees amount up to 200,000 contributing to annual GDP turnover of more than AUD$20 billion making Australia as one of the large st business sectors (Booty, 2009). While the growth of facilities management industry is impressive, it is not without risk. This is where risk management comes in. Over the decade, a lot of emphasis has been given on risk management especially in the field of facilities management (Booty, 2009). It is based on two objectives: to identify risks associated with facilities management and to reduce or eliminate those risks (Booty, 2009). It is therefore important for any facility manager to implement a risk management program in the ‘built environment’ in order to save money on the costs, reduce obligations and insurance, operate a safe facility etc (David, 2006). This phenomenon has increased the importance of risk management in facilities management. Therefore, this research will explore this phenomenon in the topic of facilities risk management. Problem Statement Facilities management has become a vital factor for the effective operation of organizations in either publi c sector or private sector. This has put the role of facilities managers in high importance for the realization of organization objectives in terms of daily operating functions (Booty, 2009). Because facilities management involves the effective and efficient maintenance of operating facilities, it has given rise to many risks that are part of the daily work environment. To identify these risks and reducing them is a big challenge that facilities manage

Essay --

Mobile computing has been a is part of the enterprise for the last couple of decades, but not until the recent advancements in hardware, software, and wireless networks, has mobile computing has become a key part of enterprise. The cConsumerization of mobility has had the biggest influence on enterprise mobility in the past five years. SToday, smart phones, tablets, mobile infrastructure, management, and wireless data plans have become a trillion-dollar business. Today, the ability to connect wirelessly to the internet Internet or to a private network from almost anywhere has revolutionized the idea of mobility in the enterprise. The adoption of mobile devices in the enterprise has been started from with two-way radios with antennas to communicate simple voice or text messages. We have also saween the onset of personal digital assistants (PDAs) with screens that can could do some of the functions of personal computers. 1.1 Portable Computing Some of the first mobile computers that came to the market in late 1970s and early 1980s were inspired by Alan Kay’s Dynabook concept from 1968. In 1968, Alan Kay as a PhD candidate envisioned a mobile computing device. He later in his 1972 proposal (Kay 1972) "â€Å"A personal Personal Ccomputer for Cchildren of Aall agesAges" † (Kay 1972) described it as the Dynabook. The proposal outlines the requirements for a conceptual portable educational device that’s intended primarily for children. Although the Dynabook concept was originally presented as a mobile computing device for children, some entrepreneurs and thought- leaders, especially John Ellenby, saw the portable computing as a new market. John also realized that the initial price point for as innovative a concept as the Dynabook c... ...rs. Wireless connectivity probably had the biggest impact on mobile computing. It, Wireless connectivity allowed development of devices and applications that could communicate wirelessly with networks. The next era of innovations were focused on convergence. T, this helped in the designing of a hybrid device that combined the functionality of used to be multiple separate mobile devices. Multiple digital mobile devices, such as like Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, voice recorders, music players, cameras, and games, etc.,were now integrated into one integrated mobile device. The era of smart phones was focused on content rendering and consumption on mobile devices. Mobile apps becaome popular among smart phone users. To create more interactive and meaningful digital experiences, digital ecosystems and mobile data services came into existence.

Ford’s E-Business Strategy

Jacques Nasser, Ford Motor Company president and chief executive officer announced a new vision for the firm in the fall of 1999: to become the â€Å"world’s leading consumer company providing automotive products and services. † Key to that dream was the transformation of the business using Web technologies. Brian P. Kelly (Kelly), Ford’s e-business vice president, described Ford’s plan to rebuild itself as a move to â€Å"consumer-centric† from â€Å"dealer-centric,† and stated that Ford would transform itself from being a â€Å"manufacturer to dealers† into a â€Å"marketer to consumers. Kelly explained that the main objectives of Ford’s e-business strategy were to bring speed, convenience, and information to customers rather than just focusing on cost cutting. The strategy was based around the principle â€Å"The consumer is King† and using the net, customer orders would be sent directly to factories and suppliers whi ch will eventually allow Ford to deliver cars to consumers within days of ordering. Some of the e-business initiatives that Ford put in place to transform the company into an e-commerce company is mentioned below. Improving Efficiency in Supply Chain: 1. Ford believed that using the internet improved the efficiency of its supply chain, so in mid-1999, the company along with Oracle, created AutoXchange that allowed online B2B transactions with its suppliers. This e-commerce tool helped Ford and its suppliers swap information and bids on goods and services worth nearly USD 300 billion. The company expected to reduce its purchasing bill by 10% through the use of AutoXchange. 2. Until February 2000, the company followed the ‘push’ operations model, but by collaborating with GM and DaimlerChrysler, Ford set up an online marketplace cum private exchange – ‘Covisint’. This substantially reduced the operating costs and brought efficiency to the business. ‘Covisint’ followed the ‘pull’ model which allowed Ford to first take the order from a customer and then manufacture the car according to the customer’s specifications, thus the traditi onal supply chain became a demand chain. 3. To optimally utilize the features of Covisint, Ford launched the Ford Supplier Network (FSN). FSN was used to share information with its suppliers over the web. By increasing the flow of information between suppliers and Ford, it reduced the vehicle delivery time. Focusing on the Demand Chain: 1. In partnership with Microsoft, Ford developed CarPoint an auto buying website in 1999. Retail customers could order cars through this website. In addition to developing this website, Ford also got into alliances with reputed portals like Yahoo. com, iVillage. com and bolt. com. These alliances gave Ford insight into the preferences and buying habits of various segments of the society. . In late 1999 Ford realized that customers’ queries should be resolved quickly to get closer to those who use the net and for this it established a new e-CRM company ‘Percepta’ a joint venture with TeleTech holdings. 3. In continuation with the e-CRM strategy, Ford in 2000 launched another e-commerce initiative to supplement CarPoint. com and Ford. com; it was called ‘Ford Int ernet Retail System’ (FIRST). FIRST was aimed at facilitating communication of leads and orders between the company and its dealer network. This system gave customers capability and options for buying a car like never before, right from research to financing options. 4. Another e-commerce tool – MyFord. com launched in February 2002, offered personalized service information like the maintenance schedules to owners All the above initiatives helped Ford to gain competitive advantage and they achieved the vision of the Build-to-Order (BTO) system that was conceived before the launch of e-commerce initiatives. It was estimated that a Web-enabled, BTO system could reduce distribution costs by almost USD 2,600 per vehicle. About USD 1,400 of these savings would be in physical costs such as freight, sales commissions, and advertising. The balance would be in â€Å"phantom† costs associated with the current â€Å"push† vehicle distribution/sales system, such as price discounts and stockout costs. Adding together all the supply-chain savings thus identified(back-end, on-line direct sales, and build-to-order) would produce an estimated total potential cost reduction of about USD 3,643 per vehicle, amounting to 14 percent of total vehicle cost. Source: GS Research Analysis) With the means of e-business websites, Ford established a direct connection with its customers. Now when customers came to FordDirect. com they had the ability of choosing the features of the car they wanted to buy. This reduced the role of the middlemen and so dealers felt that they were being gradually excluded from the value chain. To avoid channel conflicts arising out of online retailing Ford began a number of initiatives. One of the main initiatives was to share the ownership of FordDirect. om with its 4200 dealers in the US. Ford also facilitated the communication of leads and orders between the company and its hugh dealer network through Ford Internet Retail System (FIRST). In addition to this, using MyFord. com the company enabled Ford dealers to inform vehicle owners about recommended maintenance, remind them of oil change and provide information about tyre care, safety, insurance, loans and leases. It also provided dealers a vehicle locator tool to help them find a vehicle on another dealer’s stock.