Simon Bolivar and the Battle of Boyaca

On August 7, 1819, Simà ³n Bolà ­var engaged Spanish General Josà © Marà ­a Barreiro in battle near the Boyaca River in present-day Colombia. The Spanish force was spread out and divided, and Bolà ­var was able to kill or capture almost all of the enemy combatants. It was the decisive battle for the liberation of New Granada (now Colombia). Bolivar and the Independence Stalemate in Venezuela In early 1819, Venezuela was at war: Spanish and Patriot generals and warlords were fighting each other all over the region. New Granada was a different story: there was an uneasy peace, as the populace was ruled with an iron fist by Spanish Viceroy Juan Josà © de Sà ¡mano from Bogota. Simon Bolivar, greatest of the rebel generals, was in Venezuela, dueling with Spanish General Pablo Morillo, but he knew that if he could just get to New Granada, Bogota was practically undefended. Bolivar Crosses the Andes Venezuela and Colombia are divided by a high arm of the Andes Mountains: parts of it are practically impassible. From May to July of 1819, however, Bolivar led his army over the pass of Pà ¡ramo de Pisba. At 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), the pass was extremely treacherous: deadly winds chilled the bones, snow and ice made footing difficult, and ravines claimed pack animals and men to falls. Bolivar lost a third of his army in the crossing, but made it to the western side of the Andes in early July, 1819: the Spanish at first had no idea he was there. Battle of Vargas Swamp Bolivar quickly regrouped and recruited more soldiers from the eager population of New Granada. His men engaged the forces of young Spanish general Josà © Marà ­a Barreiro at the battle of Vargas Swamp on July 25: it ended in a draw, but showed the Spanish that Bolà ­var had arrived in force and was headed for Bogota. Bolivar moved quickly to the town of Tunja, finding supplies and weapons meant for Barreiro. Royalist Forces at the Battle of Boyaca Barreiro was a skilled general who had a trained, veteran army. Many of the soldiers, however, had been conscripted from New Granada and doubtless there were some whose sympathies were with the rebels. Barreiro moved to intercept Bolivar before he could reach Bogota. In the vanguard, he had some 850 men in the elite Numancia battalion and 160 skilled cavalry known as dragoons. In the main body of the army, he had about 1,800 soldiers and three cannons. The Battle of Boyaca Begins On August 7, Barreiro was moving his army, trying to get into position to keep Bolivar out of Bogota long enough for reinforcements to arrive. By the afternoon, the vanguard had gone ahead and crossed the river at a bridge. There they rested, waiting for the main army to catch up. Bolà ­var, who was much closer than Barreiro suspected, struck. He ordered General Francisco de Paula Santander to keep the elite vanguard forces occupied while he hammered away at the main force. A Stunning Victory It worked out even better than Bolivar had planned. Santander kept the Numancia Battalion and Dragoons pinned down, while Bolivar and General Anzoà ¡tegui attacked the shocked, spread-out main Spanish army. Bolà ­var quickly surrounded the Spanish host. Surrounded and cut off from the best soldiers in his army, Barreiro quickly surrendered. All told, the royalists lost more than 200 killed and 1,600 captured. The patriot forces lost 13 killed and about 50 wounded. It was a total victory for Bolà ­var. On to Bogotà ¡ With Barreiro’s army crushed, Bolà ­var quickly made for the city of Santa fà © de Bogotà ¡, where Viceroy Juan Josà © de Sà ¡mano was the ranking Spanish official in Northern South America. The Spanish and royalists in the capital panicked and fled in the night, carrying all they could and leaving their homes and in some cases family members behind. Viceroy Sà ¡mano himself was a cruel man who feared the retribution of the patriots, so he, too quickly departed, dressed as a peasant. Newly-converted â€Å"patriots† looted the homes of their former neighbors until Bolà ­var took the city unopposed on August 10, 1819, and restored order. Legacy of the Battle of Boyaca The Battle of Boyacà ¡ and capture of Bogotà ¡ resulted in a stunning checkmate for Bolà ­var against his enemies. In fact, the Viceroy had left in such haste that he even left money in the treasury. Back in Venezuela, the ranking royalist officer was General Pablo Morillo. When he learned of the battle and the fall of Bogotà ¡, he knew the royalist cause was lost. Bolà ­var, with the funds from the royal treasury, thousands of possible recruits in New Granada and undeniable momentum, would soon sweep back into Venezuela and crush any royalists still there. Morillo wrote to the King, desperately begging for more troops. 20,000 soldiers were recruited and were to be sent, but events in Spain prevented the force from ever departing. Instead, King Ferdinand sent Morillo a letter authorizing him to negotiate with the rebels, offering them some minor concessions in a new, more liberal constitution. Morillo knew the rebels had the upper hand and would never agree, but tried anyway. Bolà ­var, sensing the royalist desperation, agreed to a temporary armistice but pressed the attack. Less than two years later, the royalists would once again be defeated by Bolà ­var, this time at the Battle of Carabobo. This battle marked the last gasp of organized Spanish resistance in northern South America. The Battle of Boyacà ¡ has gone down in history as one of the greatest of Bolà ­vars many triumphs. The stunning, complete victory broke the stalemate and gave Bolà ­var an advantage he never lost.

The Culture Of The And The Tempest By William Shakespeare

The culture of a space has a powerful influence on the people inhabiting that space, an influence that alters inhabitants to varying degrees. Through the writings of Kant, Montaigne, and Shakespeare–in particular their works What is Enlightenment?, Of Cannibals, and The Tempest, respectively–this idea of cultural influence is able to take shape. Culture is something that all people carry with them, pieces of places and people they have known and groups to which they have been a member. The natural state of people is twisted by culture until there default worldview is changed as if looking through a bias lens. All people carry with them a view of normalcy that is a product of their environments. Montaigne presents this argument about culture’s creation of a bias lens in Of Cannibals. The reader is forced to acknowledge that a view of barbarism stems from what is unfamiliar. Cannibalism is not a norm of the reader’s culture, and as such the reader is forced to question why cannibalism appears so barbaric when compared with the atrocities of their own culture. The familiarity of the evil that is known is what makes that evil appear less barbaric. In reality, and as Montaigne helps his reader to see, the forms of torture that are familiar to the reader are no less indecent than the cannibalistic society, but the culture that practices cannibalism seems uncivilized because to the reader because cannibalism is something taboo in their culture. Societal structures and norm create aShow MoreRelatedComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest by William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 PagesComparing The Cultures of The Tempest and Ours in The Tempest b y William Shakespeare All men are created equal is one of the declarations that American culture is built on. This declaration means that all men no matter of race, religion, or creed are equals in the eyes of society, as well as the law. This was not always true in history, especially not in Shakespeares day and age. During this time, society had levels of classification where men were considered superior to other menRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1603 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeare’s play, The Tempest, power is manifested in several forms: the investigation of the power of love, the power of magic and illusion, or the power of nature. However, in The Tempest, power is most clearly defined as dominance. Throughout the play, there is a universal pursuit of dominance over other people, dominance over property, or dominance over cultural ideals. These pursuits of dominance are used in an attempt to further ones authority, and, ultimately, one’s life. In The Tempest, a motif ofRead More tempcolon Confronting Colonialism and Imperialism in Aime Cesaires A Tempest1403 Words   |  6 PagesColonialism in A Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   A Tempest by Aime Cesaire is an attempt to confront and rewrite the idea of colonialism as presented in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.   He is successful at this attempt by changing the point of view of the story.   Cesaire transforms the characters and transposes the scenes to reveal Shakespeare’s Prospero as the exploitative European power and Caliban and Ariel as the exploited natives.   Cesaire’s A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because heRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1705 Words   |  7 PagesLiterature Mr. Nath 5 December 2014 The Tempest Written between 1610 and 1611, The Tempest by William Shakespeare is the final play penned by the famous Bard. The play portrays the illusory struggle of power and conscience through the character of Prospero and his egocentric motives. Politically, the play can be seen as an analysis of important political issues relevant to that of oppression and imperialistic tendencies of the time. Artistically, The Tempest emphasizes the nature of art, more prominentlyRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1351 Words   |  6 Pagescritique rank’s Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ as one of the most preeminent and descriptive plays addressing the role of colonial power and conquest in literature. One of Shakespeare’s last plays, ‘The Tempest’ explores the direct parallel between the working proletariats and wealthy bourgeois. Therefore the focuses of this paper are the implications of hegemony and class alienation, the commoditization of human subc lasses, and the commonalities with â€Å"The Tempest† and Shakespeare’s life. The analysisRead More Prospero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesProspero in William Shakespeares The Tempest Prospero has long been read as one of Shakespeare’s most cherished and provocative protagonists. His timeless role in â€Å"The Tempest† has provided readers and critics with insights into many attributes of Shakespeare as a man, his works, and the political views that are personified in his play. The historical context of â€Å"The Tempest† is one that convincingly conveys the political views of the English people of his time, relating to the colonizationRead More A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night1505 Words   |  7 PagesNights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night In all of Shakespeares plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. From his very first play (The Comedy of Errors) to his very last (The Tempest), he uses unique symbolism and descriptive poetry to express and explain the actions and events he writes about. Twelfth Night, The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream are all tragicomedies that epitomise the best use of the themes and ideology that Shakespeare puts forth. Read More Cultural Diversity in The Tempest Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesCultural Diversity in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we look at Shakespeares atypically short play The Tempest, the character of Caliban represents a noble savage who is enslaved, exploited, and endowed with low-self esteem due to the ethnocentric views of those who encounter him.   In much the same way as the British originally exploited the Hindus or Americans exploited Native Americans, Caliban is considered the property of those who encounter him, solely because he is not of the same heritageRead MoreEssay about Discrimination Exposed in The Tempest1119 Words   |  5 PagesDiscrimination Exposed in The Tempest  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within ‘The Tempest’ there are obvious social implications regarding the hierarchy, with the representations of characters such as Caliban, Prospero etc.   During Shakespeares time social classification was much more rigid than today and some members of society were considered superior to other members. Shakespeare attempts to provide an example of this rigid social structure. Shakespeare illustrates how superior men differentiated themselvesRead More Essay on the Importance of Language in The Tempest1326 Words   |  6 PagesThe Importance of Language in The Tempest      Ã‚   In discussing Derridas view of Western literature, Geoffrey Hartman writes that Western tradition has been marked . . . by a metaphysics of light, by the violence of light itself, from Apollonian cults to Cartesian philosophies. In the light of this emphatic light everything else appears obscure; especially the Hebraic development of aniconic writing and self-effacing commentary of textuality (xix). This point is well illustrated by the nature

The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, And Sleeping Beauty

Historical children s tales have been the basis of every person’s childhood for years. These stories, however, do have original versions that should be analyzed when researching the true meanings of these children s stories. Walt Disney portrays children s tales as a simple, fun form of entertainment, but the original stories reveal the bigger truths, changes, and adversities of these children books. The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty are three of the many children s stories that have controversial backgrounds. No matter the time frame, these stories have their differences, but strangely enough have more than plenty similarities. Mid-1994, Walt Disney Pictures released what could arguably be one of the best animated features of all time, The Lion King. The original story however, was written by one of the most famous literary artists still to this day, William Shakespear. The work of Disney s The Lion King parallels none other than one of Shakesphear†™s most prized literary works, The Tragedy of Hamlet. The film shadows this work so closely, that the resemblances between the main characters themselves are wildly apparent. Even with a four hundred year gap these two stories resemble each other to a high degree and definitely make their mark on past and future generations. In The Lion King and in The Tragedy of Hamlet, both of the main families are royal and considered the highest in the land. Simba is the main character in The Lion King, he isShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of A Fable And Tortoise And The Hare 2287 Words   |  10 Pagesthat taught me a horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. We commence with the movie The Lion King. The moral lesson that was portrayed by Walt Disney in this animal tale of a movie was: In order to be successful, sometimes people have got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate rained down on poor little Simba when his dear old dad got trampled to death by a wildebeest stampede caused by the evilRead MoreAdverse Influence of Disney Movies on the Younger Generation2049 Words   |  9 Pagesportray these values. Many of the Disney Classics that our generation has grown to know and love have exposed children to many bad values. Classics such as: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Pocahontas display lessons not suitable for those of the younger years. In short, Disney movies have a bad influence on the younger generation by exposing them to subliminal messages, rac ist valuesRead MoreAll s Not Well And Land Of The Lion King 1450 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some of herRead MoreAll s Not Well And The Land Of The Lion King 1452 Words   |  6 Pages In the article â€Å"All’s Not Well In The Land Of â€Å"‘The Lion King’†, Lazarus discusses how the movie: â€Å"The Lion King† negatively portrays a society to children by using racism, homophobia, and social inequality. In American culture, racism and homophobia are both very common and controversial. Discrimination in today’s society is not primarily associated This essay is not completely effective because children do not yet understand social concepts and she did not have enough reasons to back up some ofRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty : The Lion King Vs. Disney928 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreWaking Sleeping Beauty Analysis939 Words   |  4 Pageshurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it,† explains Rafiki, the wise baboon from The Lion King, to Simba, a young cub, in order to teach him a valuable lesson: to use other peoples’ mistakes to avoid making the same ones; when people reflect on their past and are willing to confront the mistakes head on, they can be very successful. Waking Sleeping Beauty, directed by Don Hahn, gives viewers an inside look from 1984 to 1994 when Disney reached the peak of â€Å"The DisneyRead MoreThe Correlation Between A Fable And The Ant And Tortoise1781 Words   |  8 Pagesat Disney movies that taught us horrible life lessons verses the classic moral Aesop’s was intending us to learn. Let’s start with by looking at the Lion King. I don’t really think Disney was trying to portray the message to be successful, sometimes people got to die. We all know Simba was going to succeed his father, Mufasa, as the next Lion King. But fate spit in poor little Simba s face, when his dear old dad got trampled to death by wildebeests. And we all know that Mufasa s death was reallyRead More Animal Influences in Paleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesPaleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art There are numerous ways in which animals have resonated within the human mind. Throughout history there have been representations ranging from the realistic, to myths, legends, symbols, and even horrific murderous beasts; at the same time providing fascinating perspectives of our own humanity. Various forms of art have conveyed ideas and concepts of animal’s intelligence, as well as behavior, from generation to generation. Animal art is used as a tool to makeRead MoreCharacteristics Of Disney Movies906 Words   |  4 Pagesentertaining for the younger audience even older audiences. Another example of talking non-humans is in the movie The Lion King - talking animals. They communicate just like humans do which makes the movie relatables and understandable for the younger audience which would be another factor how a movie is great. Last example for a non-human speaking movie is Beauty and The Beast. In this movie the beast and non-organic items talk. This makes the movie orginal, because after that other movies started copying andRead MoreHow Does Disney Movies Alter A Child s Perception1984 Words   |  8 Pagesfiction and not real life scenarios for young children. ` How does Disney Movies Alter a Child’s Perception What’s your favorite Disney movie? Walt Disney is well known for their animated children movies. From Beauty and The Beast to their most recent movie Princess and the Frog, many children grow up watching Disney movies. While watching these movies many people probably never thought of Disney movies as being stereotypical or racial, but as one continues their education

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay Example For Students

Adventures Of Huck Finn And History Essay The world in which we live in now is much less oppressive than say the world lived in the middle of the 1800s. Up until the Civil War, the South depended on their peculiar institution of slavery, in order to be productive a successful. Most people believed slavery was not wrong, but those who thought otherwise seldom tried to alter it. In general if surrounded by oppressive environment, one does not usually try to make a difference in that world. This is because people are afraid to defend what is right against a whole mass of people who believe otherwise. Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Billy Budd in Billy Budd, and Frederick Douglass in his autobiography all portray individuals who because of their good, innocent qualities go up against the oppression in their society. Living in an oppressive society does not always draw you to do the wrong thing you are still capable of generating change, whether it be for a certain individual or against a whole mass of people. Billy Budd starts off on the ship the Rights of Man, Melville obviously showing his intent in the naming of the first ship. This shows that on this ship where Billy wanted to be and chose to be he had rights. That he and the other crew had choices of what to do and how to be. Then along comes the British navy and decides that they are going to take Billy aboard their ship Power of War. This is when Billy is brought into an oppressive society. This is the navy and wartime during which rules must be followed as well as a lifestyle that must be followed. Billy is a poor innocent boy with a childish stutter. This stutter shows Billys humane side, a flaw, as well as leading you to the thinking that he has the innocence of a child. This stutter is connected to innocence because of its childish qualities. When most children begin speaking they have some sort of stutter, which usually goes away. The stutter parallels innocence because it is showing that you are just learning how to talk and dont really comprehend the correct way to make sounds, as you grow older you learn and the stutter disappears. Like innocence you are born with it, but as you grow older you usually are not portrayed as innocent any longer. Billy is like the premature kid who still has both his stutter and his innocence. Billy is introduced to many people aboard his new ship and is confronted by John Claggart. In this movie Claggart is the one who Billy must actually go up against. Being in an oppressive society and Claggart being the master Billy is forced to listen to Claggart. Although he tries to avoid him he is nevertheless confronted by him. Claggart and Billy are totally opposite in character. Claggart is an evil man who is out to get Billy whereas Billy is a sweet innocent young man who tries to help others. It is these two opposite traits that eventually lead to the death of both of these men. Billy tries to avoid Claggart because he has heard of his evil and does not want to deal with it. It is until he hears of Claggarts accusations that he is involved in a mutiny that he confronts him leading to the deathblow, which Billy delivers to Claggart. Captain Vere now holds a court to determine Billys consequences. Captain Vere is torn here between doing the right thing morally and doing the right thing legally, and in the end he realizes he has sworn to uphold the law and does just that. Billy did indeed kill a higher officer and according to the laws must be sentenced death. On the other hand, Billy was sticking up for himself. Captain Veres legal side wins the battle; Billy is condemned and hanged. Billys hanging meant a lot. It tore the officers among themselves, most saying Billy was justified in his actions therefore should not be punished to the extent of death. This makes a difference in the whole issue of oppression aboard this ship. We now know that the officers, while usually acting inhumane, actually do have a humane side and are capable of being in touch with that side when needed. Billy changes the society by killing Claggart because now no one aboard the ship will have to deal with his evilness again, although Billy and his goodness did not prevail in this oppressive society the lasting effects of his actions will. By killing Claggart he has forcefully removed all of the evil, except Squeek, aboard this ship. During the trial we are shown Captain Veres human side with his struggle to decide which is more important moral or legal. While most would agree that he should have gone with his moral side one realizes that Captain Vere is not evil. He is the medium between Billy who is the best end of good and Claggart who is as evil as it gets. When being hanged Billy yells out God bless Captain Vere, which shows until the end he was still good and makes Captain Vere feel awful, it was now too late to save poor Billy Budd. Billys doing this may have forever changed Captain Vere into making the right decision next time, one can only speculate. Billy was just a boy oppressed onto a ship that he didnt want to be on, but Frederick Douglass was born a black man in the south, a society raging with slavery. And like Fredierick Douglass he was living in an oppressive society and managed to initiate change among the oppressive society. Frederick Douglass was born a black man into pre-Civil war southern society. On January 1, 1834 his master, Master Thomas ordered Douglass, to go to a man named Covey. The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor EssayHis sympathetic and hurtful side is shown when Buck dies later in the novel Huck cries because of how good Buck was to him before he died. Huck and Jim are both alike in that they are both superstitious. This is shown even before they run away when Huck goes to Jim in order for Jim to read his future through the hairball. The first real sign of human relationship on the raft trip is when Huck and Jim stay up all night talking, about moral issues in particular. During this time Huck tries to out reason Jim several times. Then there comes a fight in their friendship. When they are on the raft and they get stuck in fog and Jim falls asleep. When he is awakened Huck pretends they never got separated and that it was a dream on Jims part. When Jim finally realizes it is not a dream but in fact what really happened he gets very mad at Huck and calls him trash leading Huck to apologize. By Huck apologizing for this incident you see that Huck is beginning to look at Jim as a person because he would not apologize to just a piece of property, for property has no feelings and you would need not apologize to something that has no feelings. Huck also notes that Jim must be human to a level when he talks about his family. While Huck doesnt think it is right Jim wants to free his family because they are someone elses property, he still notices that Jim has a family and wants to be with them. The king and the duke are the people who push Jim to act more human than Huck thinks he is. This is because they push Jim to a point when he really starts to suffer. When Huck sees Jim suffering because of the duke and the king he realizes that Jim really is human. Jim says Dese is all I kin stan' showing that he cant take the king anymore. He doesnt think the duke is as bad as the king is. And the king and the duke are the two people who bring the raft trip to an end. After they sold Jim Huck thinks it would have been better for him to have returned him to Miss Watson in the beginning where he knew Jim would be treated better than at some other plantations. Huck knows that society would look down upon him for helping Jim to escape and while Huck realizes Jim is a human it does not change his view of blacks in general. When he tells Aunt Sally that nobody is hurt saying. Nom. Killed a nigger. This shows that while Huck has realized that Jim is not property, but human that it does no apply to all blacks, just to Jim. You understand that Huck sees Jim as a person especially since hell go to hell before he will betray Jim and turn him in. Huck is very surprised that Tom Sawyer is going to help free Jim, when in reality Tom already knew Jim was freed and was doing this stuff to a freed slave, while Jim gives up his freedom in order to help Tom when he gets shot in the leg. By this time Huck already knows of Jims humanness and that is why he tries to help him out of the Phelps plantation. Huck overcomes societys evilness towards blacks in one situation. Although he lives in a society who hates blacks he doesnt necessarily do the wrong thing because of what society says. While Jim got his freedom in the end because of Miss Watson freeing him Huck still tried to help him overcome the societys oppression against Jim. In all three of these instances Billy Budd, Frederick Douglass, and Huck Finn all try to overcome oppression of a society. In Budds case it was not a huge force such as slavery was in the south, but he still had to overcome his own local oppression. Budd killed the real evil on his ship allowing for a better lifestyle for the remaining crewmembers. He also brought reality and morality to a higher level for the officers and Captain Vere, which may have changed them forever and this would not happen again. In Douglass life he overcame oppression for himself and by doing that he tried to help all of those who were affected negatively by the institution of slavery. He ran away; thus, releasing himself from the oppressive nature of the south and after doing so he became an abolitionist trying to help others become like him and be freed. In Huck Finn Huck goes against all of what he knows in society to help Jim runaway. After finally realizing that Jim was human and that he should not give him back Huck does everything in his power to help Jim runaway. Hucks innocence and good heartedness show through even when society would judge him wrong. Huck overcame societys oppression towards blacks for himself because he realized that Jim was a person and not a piece of property. Oppressive societies still remain in todays world although not nearly as prevalent or as torturous as they were in the days of Billy, Frederick, Huck, and Jim. These characters can motivate one to show that you against a large oppressive society can, alone, make a difference. It may be only a small difference to one or two individuals, but any progress one can make is helpful.

Political corruption free essay sample

Many political leaders, especially in Africa, are known to engage in financial malpractice involving public funds meant for the communities they represent. The few people who run the resources of a country end up abusing the resources. These resources that are supposed to be channeled to develop infrastructure or educate the citizens end up being misused, misapplied or misappropriated by those entrusted to bring development. For example in Zambia, Constituent Development Funds (CDF) have been diverted by Members of Parliament to their personal use. There is no doubt that financial malpractice by leaders is a stumbling block to meaningful development in any country. One would not expect leaders in a democratic society like Zambia to embezzle funds meant for the welfare and development of their communities. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, this kind of behaviour by leaders is only possible in autocratic regimes. They argue that democracy makes this kind of theft difficult to accomplish and to conceal for two reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on Political corruption or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Firstly, the formal institutions of government such as the legislature constrain the behaviour of leaders. Secondly, popular participation in the process of government ensures that elected leaders are accountable to the citizenry. In a truly democratic society, there will be honesty, fairness, responsibility and accountability to and for each other (Djokoto and Chama: 2006). However, in most democratic societies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, leaders can misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds without the affected citizens raising any serious queries against the culprits. The citizens seem to be indifferent to such occurrences. Their silence or indifference could be a result of either not caring about what goes on around them politically or just being unaware of such things happening. This essay will attempt to explain why citizens do not raise any serious queries against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate funds meant for their communities. This essay will begin by defining democracy and give the meanings of the words misuse, misapply and misappropriate. It will then try to explain why the affected citizens do not query their leaders when they abuse community funds. Finally, it will conclude. Democracy is a word with many meanings. Sir Stafford Cripps defines democracy as a system of government in which every adult citizen is equally free to express his or her views and desires upon all subjects in whatever way he or she wishes and to influence the majority of his fellow citizens to decide according to those views and to influence those desires. H. B. Mayo defines a democratic political system as one in which public policies are made on a majority basis by representatives subject to effective popular control at periodic elections which are conducted on the principle of political equality and under conditions of political freedom (Mahajan 1988:794). Democracy is usually understood as majority rule and the holding of regular elections. But if it has to work effectively, it must include active participation by all citizens and a conscious awareness of both rights and responsibilities (Mbewe 2012:16-17). According to the Macmillan English Dictionary, the word misuse means to use something in a wrong way or for the wrong purpose. To misapply is to use something in a wrong or illegal way. Misappropriation means to take for oneself money that one is responsible for but does not belong to them. One of the primary challenges of some democratic societies such as Zambia is the lack of leaders who vie for political office with the goal of serving the people, instead of themselves. During election campaigns, aspiring leaders give false information to people. They promise them of things they fail to give them after elections. This has been the tradition in the Zambian politics. Once voted for, the leaders become part of the rich while the poor Zambians remain cut off. They will invite rich people to dine with him at their newly acquired mansions while the poor who are the majority voters remain poor if not poorer. To host rich people, these politicians will need to have huge sums of money. They also need money to afford their newly acquired status. These people will shun the services in the country; they will send their children to private schools, or to schools abroad. They will seek medical advice outside the country and they will buy their clothes from outside the country. With the above behaviour little or no attention will be paid to improving the services they will never access or to improve the conditions of those who voted for them. Since most of the politicians in poor democratic societies have financially humble backgrounds, where do they get such monies? Records show that it is easy to steal public money in most African countries. The Auditor-General’s report on the Zambian government accounts shows how public funds have been stolen in Zambia. Weaknesses in accounting and revenue collection make it easier for public servants to steal huge sums of public money. At times, the money is not stolen but just misapplied. For example, a forensic audit of Solwezi District Council books by the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) for the financial year ending 31 December 2004 revealed glaring financial irregularities. The auditor’s report showed that the K168 million grant given to the municipal authority with instructions that 70 percent of the money be spent on social services went towards salaries, allowances for councilors and cell phones for chief officers. Only 25 percent of the money went towards social services (op cit Djokoto and Chama). An example of a case of misappropriation of public funds by a leader is one in which a former Defence Minister in the Chiluba administration was found guilty by the Lusaka High Court for using CDF for his campaign during the 2001 elections (ibid). The minister was never jailed but lost his ministerial appointment. Despite such rampant financial malpractices by leaders, the citizens who are deprived of the funds and other amenities fail to raise any serious queries against such leaders. In most cases, revelations about misuse or misappropriation of community funds have been largely driven by the private media. Sometimes, the greatest pressure on government leaders to be accountable for their actions has come from the international media and Western donors. Anti-corruption campaigners such as Transparency International (TI) and other interest groups have also been involved in the fight against abuse of public funds. Through their activism they try to amplify the weak voice of the poor citizens in keeping political leaders in check. However, this is not easy. The constant struggle by these interest groups to hold leaders accountable for their expenditure of public funds cannot be won without the greater involvement of the affected citizens (ibid). Unfortunately, citizens in these societies are just not angry enough. They seem not to care about what happens to the community funds meant to improve their livelihoods. Their indifference to financial malpractices by their leaders does not help the situations at all. As a matter of fact, it increases their already high levels of poverty and widens the gap between the rich and poor. To understand why affected citizens do not take any serious steps against their leaders when they embezzle public funds, there is need to understand the political awareness of the majority of citizens and their involvement in public issues, whether the political system gives a voice to the poor or not, and the way government agencies charged with the responsibility of handling such cases respond to citizens’ grievances. There are quite a number of reasons why citizens choose to keep quiet about the wrongs committed by their leaders. As we try to look at some of these reasons, there is need to understand that people have different levels of awareness with regard to what happens in their communities. There are those that are aware of the situation prevailing in their communities and those that are not. Those that are aware may try to voice their concerns through whatever means are available to them, but their voice will not be heard because it is not strong enough. The reason is that they are just a small minority of the affected citizenry. At times this is made worse by the fact that among this group there may be others who also benefit from the plunder of their community resources by way of receiving gifts or bribes from their community leaders. These will be unwilling to divulge any malpractice by their leaders because they fear losing their extra source of income, which is the bribes they receive to remain silent about the misuse, misappropriation or misapplication of community resources by the leaders. These may even try to protect such erring leaders by hiding whatever information they may know about such happenings to investigative agencies. The other group comprises those that are unaware or have just decided not to participate in such matters, and these are the majority. The majority of citizens are usually not well informed about public issues because of the general lack of information about such issues, especially about government spending policies. For example, in Zambia, there is no community involvement in the budgetary process at whatever level. At community level, there are no access points for ordinary citizens to participate in the budgetary process. The budgeting is done by officials and leaders. Participation of citizens in the budget process is inhibited by lack of access to information on both the national and community budget processes (http://info. worldbank. org/governance/wgi/index. asp). Although citizens may not play a direct role in the preparation process of the budget, they can contribute by fostering leaders’ accountability through positive engagement in monitoring of the implementation of the community projects. If the information about community projects being funded is readily available and understood by citizens, they can easily ask questions when planned projects are not implemented. Unfortunately, this does not happen even in some democratic societies. As a result, leaders continue to misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds and get away with it because citizens are not aware of the malpractices being committed by their leaders. This can be prevented or lessened by availing citizens with all the necessary information pertaining to projects planned in their communities and how the allotted funds are to be used. Another reason why affected citizens fail to complain against the financial malpractices committed by leaders in their communities is the negative or unfavourable response by government agencies and investigative agencies charged with responsibility to deal with such cases. It appears that the government or political statements are, in most cases, not matched by action. For example, in 2005, a former Health Ministry permanent secretary was accused by the Task Force on Economic Plunder of misusing public funds. As he had openly voiced his support for the President, the latter ordered the chief prosecutor to drop the case. However, the prosecutor refused and ultimately managed to secure a conviction (http://www. freedomhouse. org/template. cfm? ). What this implies is that the citizens lose confidence in the ability of the responsible government agencies to ably handle their complaints without undue influence from higher offices. There have also been cases, for instance in Zambia, where the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had given consent to prosecute some government officials but the government has interfered to protect the accused from being prosecuted. People accused of abusing public resources are allowed to remain members of the ruling party. Such inconsistencies erode the credibility of the government’s stance in fighting such vices and make citizens lose confidence in the government. As a result, citizens begin to feel that even if they complained very little or nothing at all would be done by the government to correct the situation. This is a good reason for citizens to keep quiet and not complain against their leaders when they misuse, misapply or misappropriate community funds (ibid). In conclusion, it can be said that the citizens’ tendency to remain silent despite widespread acts of financial misconduct by the leaders is mainly due to fear by the affected citizens to lose the financial and material support they receive from the culprits because when leaders steal community funds, they bribe a few members of the community to buy their silence and loyalty. The other reasons are the lack of information pertaining to expenditure of public funds, and the unfavourable response by the responsible government agencies in handling issues of financial malpractice by leaders after receiving complaints from concerned citizens. In order for citizens to become willing, informed and effective participants in issues of democracy and good governance, they must be minimally taught to understand good governance and democratic principles and virtues and in the process begin to practice democracy and good governance themselves.

The Samurai History in Japan

The Samurai History in Japan Socio-economic Challenges that Kobushin Samurai Faced Samurai faced a number of challenges, which were both economic and social. In the 19th century, Samurai was the respected royal class of Japan. However, its power faded so fast due to the public mistrust. This was mainly because of the stagnation of income owing to the fact that the society was undergoing change.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Samurai History in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Members of the Samurai were unable to achieve their economic interests because of poor returns and oppressive policies. The daimyos and the shogun could not increase taxes because rice farmers were reluctant to appreciate the role of the samurai in society. This affected the Samurai in the sense that the populace lost trust to an extent of refusing to submit taxes, which were in a form of food. The shift from agriculture as an economic activity to merchant trade affected many people since some individuals became poorer. They could not even sustain their families. This meant that they could not pay taxes to the Samurai. The daimyos had no option, but to increase tax rates for peasants. This complicated everything because the community experienced social disorder. The rates of crime went up because of frustrations. Katsu noted that the peasants threatened to organize demonstrations, forcing the Samurai to change the strategy as regards to adjusting the tax rates upwards (71). The social position of the Samurai and its economic chances were insidious, which resulted in the internal and external conflicts. This affected the existence of Kobushin because it was brought down. The royal class attained adequate power that placed it in the top position, with high culture and high social rank. This social position affected economic chances of the Samurai because the higher the social position, the better the chances for attaining high economic positi ons. Another challenge that faced the Samurai was the issue of change because the leadership could not handle change. The role of the peasant was always to provide foodstuff and offer taxes in a form of food. However, there was a new trend whereby the society was changing from agricultural society to the merchant society. The economic activity was changing because the community was adopting trade and quitting agriculture. Before the community changed its economic activity, merchants were viewed as the necessary evil because only unavailable products could be acquired from them. The society was growing at unprecedented rate because the challenges of urbanization were being felt for the first time.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People had to shift from mechanistic societies to what were referred to as organic societies. This was not an easy task (Vaporis 33). The Samurai was not allowed to engage in trade or any other activity that would benefit it economically. The society had become complex since everything relied on economics meaning that those with economic power controlled everything in society. The Tokugawa laws stated that the Samurai had to offer guidance to the society, but not engaging in profit making activities. Merchants became very rich because the new social and economic trends favored them. Some peasants benefited directly from the new laws because they engaged in trading activities with the merchants. The power of the Kobushin Samurai was at risk because its social status did not allow it to engage in trade. The society was changing at the rate that few people had anticipated meaning that traditional ways of doing things could no longer hold. How Katsu Used or Abused his Status as a Samurai to Survive Katsu had to abuse his status to survive because the society was changing so fast. The new dynamics of society demanded that every person ad justs his or her views to conform to the new trends. During Katsu’s era, there was a tremendous growth of agricultural production. Moreover, the population grew at an alarming rate because there was a reported seventy percent growth. Tokugawa policies supported land reclamation, which supported agricultural production in various parts of the country. There was adequate peace because of the disarming of peasants and local leaders, which boosted development in various parts of the nation. It is reported that the land cultivated was increased by over one hundred percent meaning that there was surplus production. Katsu could not sit back and watch the changes taking place without getting involved. Tokugawa regime introduced the use of fertilizers and modern farming techniques that improved people’s living standards. Katsu could not be a part of the changes because of his status in society. He had to keep off from all economic activities that would make him rich. However, h e changed his position when he decided to be a thief because the book reports that he stole and lied to many people to achieve his interests in society. He allowed himself to mingle with people of all characters including beggars, thieves, priests, merchants, gamblers, and the holy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Samurai History in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the samurai culture, this was unacceptable because the member of the royal class was expected to conduct him or herself in the manner that befits their status. In other words, Katsu was willing to do virtually everything to ascend to a higher economic status, including spoiling his own reputation and that of his family. Instead of living in accordance to the culture of the Samurai, Katsu involved himself in activities that were contrary to the provisions of the traditional culture. For instance, he participated in producing goods th at would generate profit. This was not allowed because it was considered exploitation. Members of the ruling class were not expected to exploit the poor by disposing cheap goods at an exorbitant price (Yoda 89). Katsu posited that he engaged himself in the making of lanterns, care parts, and umbrellas. Moreover, he accepted to take up cheap jobs that were contrary to his culture such as car painting, gate keeping, and plastering. Katsu commented that he was willing to live in accordance with the provisions of the culture, but he would not be able to live a comfortable life. Living a pious life would not bring any greatness to his family hence he decided to engage in activities that contravened the culture. The Realities of the Urban Life Urbanization was one of factors that forced Katsu to readjust his view as regards to the traditional culture. The emergence of cities posed serious challenges to both the mighty and the working class. The city life presented new opportunities, as we ll as challenges to individuals. Katsu was forced to adopt a new way of life whereby he would interact with individuals perceived to be impure. Katsu lost greatly due to the emergence of the cities because he was always paid in fixed stipends, which were disbursed in terms of rice. The stipends were paid based on an individual’s social position in society. Urbanization contributed to the increase of prices of commodities, which was not commensurate to the increase in production. The new trends of the city demanded that people pay out their bills in monetary terms meaning that the samurai was to exchange the rice received with money. This would not be enough because the living costs had gone up yet taxpayers could no offer more taxes. The Samurai existed at the mercy of the moneychangers and the merchants who had taken over the economic systems of various towns, including Osaka and Edo.Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the market, there was an unstable price for rice, meaning that moneychangers could decide the price at which they could buy the major product. The economy was growing so fast, yet the Samurai was not allowed to engage in farming and commerce. This was a challenge because the leadership of the city was becoming weaker and weaker while traders, who were ranked low socially, were the economic powerhouses. The emergence of the cities presented new challenges to the Samurai in a number of ways because they were forced to engage in activities that were forbidden culturally. Contacts between people were official meaning that individuals did not meet just to talk about the social problems. For instance, an individual needed an appointment with any of the merchants to discuss any issue. The role of the Samurai was diminishing because the city had complex challenges that demanded effective forms of administrations. For instance, the Samurai was expected to act as an example to other member s of society regarding morality. Other members of society would follow the ways of the Samurai in terms of observing cultural rules and regulations. Moreover, other forms of crimes emerged due to the urbanization, for instance, prostitution, muggings, kidnapping, and carjacking emerged as new forms of crimes that would not be prevented. Even the Samurai was not spared. Dilemma of the Low Ranking Samurai in the Tokugawa Regime The Samurai was expected to follow the culture that was so strict on its members, whereby each individual was supposed to keep off from activities that would hurt the members of society. During the Tokugawa regime, it was very difficult to convince people to live in accordance with the values of the Samurais culture because of the changes that were taking place in society. The changes were taking place rapidly. The Tokugawa regime tried to disseminate information regarding the life of the Samurai through promotion of education and increasing literacy. The Samur ai belonged to the royal class whose major aim was to defend the community during war. To the Samurai, death was considered normal because it was inevitable. To preserve unity in Japan, involvement of the Samurai was crucial because it was respected all over. It became extremely difficult to convince people to appreciate the role that the Samurai played in the Japanese society. This was the dilemma of governmental officials because they found it difficult to abolish the role of the Samurai. There was divided loyalty among government officials as regards to the role of the Samurai. Some believed that the Samurai had no role to play since its members had abandoned the fundamental ideals that characterized the royalty. Some Tokugawa officials noted that the Samurai motivated the soldiers because they were regarded as the highest family in the land. To be a good soldier, an individual had to forfeit all other things and concentrate on serving the nation. Therefore, the role of the Samur ai was important. Katsu, Kokichi. Musuis Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai. Tucson: The Univ. of Arizona Press, 1995. Print. Vaporis, Constantive. â€Å"To Edo and Back: Alternate Attendance and Japanese Culture in the Early Modern Period.† Journal of Japanese Studies, 23.1 (1997): 25–67. Print. Yoda, Tomiko. â€Å"A Roadmap to Millennial Japan.† South Atlantic Quarterly, 99.4 (2000): 629–668. Print.

A Beginners Guide to Delphi

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Our  Delphi Programming site proudly presents free online programming courses for (beginner) Delphi developers! Quick Launch Turbo Delphi Tutorial: For Novice and Non-ProgrammersThis series of tutorials is oriented to those who want to take their chance in the world of software development, it is designed to teach the complete beginner (read: non-programmer) how to become a programmer using Delphi.Delphi for BeginnersThis free online course is perfect for beginner developers as well as for those who want a broad overview of the art of programming Win32 applications with Borland Delphi. Focus on Delphi 6.Delphi Database Programming. You can take this as an Email CourseDevelopers will learn how to design, develop and test a database application using ADO with Delphi. This course focuses on the most common uses of ADO in a Delphi application: Connecting to a database using TADOConnection, work with Tables and Queries, handle database exception, create reports, etc.Learning Object Oriented Programming with DelphiExplore the true power of Delphi OOP: learn how to create your own classes, instantiate objects at runtime, use association, composition and other OOP topics. Using the TDBGrid componentContrary to most other Delphi data-aware controls, the DBGrid component has many nice features and is more powerful than you would have thought. The standard DBGrid does its job of displaying and manipulating records from a dataset in a tabular grid. However, there are many ways (and reasons) why you should consider customizing the look and feel of a DBGrid...Creating Custom ComponentsEverything about creating custom controls and components in Delphi. The ultimate source. From tutorials for starters to more advanced materials.Introduction to COM ProgrammingCOM stands for Component Object Model. It allows you to create COM objects that are not specific to any language, and in some cases, even platforms. For instance, COM objects can be ported to a Unix system. COM also allows you to create COM Objects that will be instantiated on a different machine across the world if you so desired.(Fast Forward to) Delphi for .NETHeres a series of articles designed with o ne goal in mind: to provide a quick and dirty introduction to the world of .NET programming with Delphi. If you are looking for what you need to know about Delphi for .NET - search no further! ASP.NET Web ProgrammingDevelopers will learn how to design, develop and debug ASP.Net web application using Borland Delphi for .Net. The chapters will cover the fundamental elements of creating Web applications (working with Web Forms, Web Services, and User Controls) using Delphi, including the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Delphi for .Net language.Windows API (no VCL) SeriesThis free online course is perfect for intermediate Delphi developers as well as for those who want a broad overview of the art of Windows API programming with Borland Delphi.