Research Paper on California Indians

Research Paper on California Indians Historian Kenneth King said about California Indians: If they did not have the ability for organization shown by the Six Nation (Iroquois) in the Eastern part of the United States, they were, on the whole, child like and affectionate and willing to accept the gentle rule of the padres. The ignorance of this statement is astoundingly obvious if one looks at the indigenous people of California and the Padres of the Spanish missions without the rose-colored glasses of a romantic, euro-centric, manifest destine point of view that suggests industrial, Christian societies conquer all. The indigenous people of California were not a primal people that needed to rely on the Spanish and hence the Spanish were not invited into their lands. As Costo said, The Native Californians were by no means primitive; rather they were singularly complex hunters and gathers. (Costo, pg 10) Kings statement tries to justify the colonization, exploitation and murder of the indigenous Californians by asserting t hat the natives were too unorganized to resist or some how inviting to the padres. This assertion, in essence masks the policies of institutional reduction and practical colonization that terrorized the natives and reluctantly drove them inside the mission walls for safety, which unfortunately harbored only more exploitation. In his quote, King refers to the Seneca people, a member of the Iroquois League of Six Nations. They are one of the few tribes to survive in America, intact to this day on their ancestral land, because of their continuous warring with the Europeans. One could accurately state that they were not willing to accept the rule of others, because they fought and held their land. On the contrary, one may not just reverse this logic and hold it to the indigenous Californians. California Indians were not necessarily willing to accept the gentle rule of the padres just because they could not stop them from invading. Just as the Polish people of modern Europe were not necessarily willing to accept Hitlers Nazi led invasion of their country, to practice his similar form of gentle rule. There is no logical connection that says if the natives were conquered, than they must have had a desired to be so. In fact, much evidence will prove the contrary. The statement King made disguises the real forces that drove Indians to the missions. The indigenous people of California that were forced into the missions were driven by two main factors- reduction and colonization. The padres colonized the lands and practiced the institutionalized policy of reduction to convert the land, animals, and natives to their way of life. Both colonization and reduction are a strategy instituted to usurp control over a people, their land and their culture. The most evident form of reduction was the blatant theft of land from the natives. A priest and his soldiers would occupy the high ground in an area and drive the Indians off to other clans or into their missions. Then they would reduce the number of surrounding villages by including them into the mission system and group them together, closer to the mission. Military force backed all these operations and frequently killed the men of villages and stole the women and children for the mission system. The policy of colonization and reduction also affected the ecology of the native land. The priests would grow their own colonizer plants and graze their own colonizer animals on the newly stolen land. The introduction of European traditional agriculture reduced the amount of land the natives had to survive off of and changed the native environment to unfamiliar flora and fauna, of which the natives did not know how to survive. The Spanish brought livestock with them, such as sheep and cattle, which ate the indigenous grasses. Soon indigenous animals, such as rabbit and deer, could not find food and their populations were reduced. The natives were driven inside the mission walls because of scarce indigenous greens and small game populations. The colonizing padres also took on a plan to institutionally reduce the traditions, customs, culture, language, societal standards and freedom of the natives. Natives were baptized upon entering the mission and forever binding them to its gates. A baptized native could never leave. Many escaped and were tracked down and killed by soldiers. Once in the mission they were force to pray to Jesus. A supposed pail skinned God, which dictated a new set of rules and represented oppression. The rules consisted of restricting original language, prayer, medicine or historical reciting. The padres wanted to completely rid the savages of their heathen ways. They controlled every aspect of the natives, even their sexuality, which was limited to the missionary position. The natives minds were washed of their culture inside the missions. (Hurtado) Outside the missions the Spanish soldiers destroyed bodies of the natives through murder, rape and the spreading of disease. Diseases such as pneumonia and diphtheria spread amongst the people quickly. Their bodies had no tolerance to the foreign viruses and were hit especially hard. The spread of disease pushed the natives toward the Spaniards, looking for a cure. Many natives were taken to the missions upon their death beds, in a last resort to cure a European illness. (Lecture) A more blatant form of murder was the slaughter of men and women by the soldiers, who were managed by the padres. The barbaric padres and soldiers would destroy, relocate, rape, breed and brain wash the natives. Whether it was the spoils of victory or just boredom, rape was prevalent. Murder was expected when over taking a new village or traveling on the coast. As San Juan Batista wrote, that anytime the Spanish passed two Santa Barbara the killing of a few natives was inevitable. (Lecture)(Hurtado) The indigenous people of California were not childlike or in anyway unsophisticated. In fact they had complex social groups that existed with reciprocity for thousands of years. When King describes the natives as childlike and unorganized, he suggests that they are a lower society and the missionaries felt the same. Fray Francisco Garces said Oh, what a vast heathendom!Oh what a heathendom so docile! (Costo, pg 10) As Rupert Costo points out in The Indians Before the Invasion, The concept of agriculture was a prerequisite for the development of civilization Native people were not primitive, they has their own economic system. Money was in the form of beads. The Indian name for their money is Koy Koy. (Bean, pg 304) They had established trade routes and systems of passing on goods on to distant tribes. Just because they did not industrialize production or use European traditional agriculture didnÐ ¢t mean that resources were not organized. Once again Europeans see technology as the b ar of civilization, rather than examining the balance a society has with its surroundings and its prosperity through non-material eyes. As Kroebers maps point out, the natives in California were very organized and had structured territorial regions. Costo points out that such conditions of territorial stability were generally true throughout California (Costo, pg 15) California was one of the most diverse places in the entire world, with many languages, customs and religions. Native people managed to prosper, through respect and communication through local general counsels. Costo confirms this when he said, the society began to use tools and set up laws establishing its governing bodies. (Costco, pg 18) They generally used natural ecological borders. As Tharon Weighhill said, there was a secret language called the Sylyux language, that chosen members of a clan would speak at intertribal meetings. These meetings discussed local concerns and kept relations strong. They used reciprocity and respect to let each other live. An example of this is exhibited when Bennae Calac, a Lesuno, spoke of not interfering with George Zunigas people, the Kumia, when speaking of modern local issues. She said that she would have no business telling his people what to do. This exemplifies the balance the clans/tribes had with each other. King uses the word affectionate to describe the native, because they did not reject the Spaniards upon their first meeting. The truth is that the natives were accepting to the new comers and they did not war until after they were encroached upon. This tolerance is a sign of an advanced society. They were welcoming until there was reason not to be, just as a new neighbor is today. I believe that King is using a warped sense of societal ranking to asses that accepting a stranger or tolerance is a flaw. California natives did fight back in many violent and spiritual rebellions and the following are just summaries of a few of the most famous: In 1775, the Kumayaay resisted Spanish rule and burned their local Presidio. In order to do this, they sought out the Quchans, whom had more military knowledge on how to burn and attack the missions. The Kumayaay were successful in capturing San Luis Jayme the padre in command. They killed him in accustom to killing a man possessed with witchcraft. The shot him with arrows and crushed the head. Unlike the Spaniards, they did not slaughter the soldiers and all others that resided in the mission. They merely killed the leader in hopes that the mission would fall. Of course the Spaniards sent another priest and Jayme became a Christian martyr. By 1780, eight missions had been founded, but in no way does that indicate an accepting state of affairs by natives. In 1781, the Quechan removed the Spanish from the Colorado River bordering California. The Quechan had agreed to let the Spanish in if the Quechan were left alone, but once again reduction was practiced by the padres. Learning from the past the Quechan killed all the Spaniards and never again could the Spanish colonize South Eastern California. On Oct. 25th 1785, there was a rebellion by the Gabrielinos in San Gabriel. Local Gabrielinos attacked the mission inspired by the rape of a chiefs wife. Led by an Indian doctor, leaders Toypurina and Nick Jose were captured. In an interview the leaders said that they were upset that the Spaniards had invaded and that they were perpetrating pagan abuses on the Indian people. In 1791, at San Jose non-Christian Indians threatened baptized Indians to leave the mission or die. Spanish soldiers slaughtered the village were the threats had originated and capture the women for labor. In 1793 another movement of combined baptized and non-Christian natives attached Santa Cruz. The non Christian man who led the charge found a baptized wife. Eventually the church found her, took her an sent her to a mission in San Francisco In 1794 there was a conspiracy in San Louis Obispo. Baptized Indians told the soldiers of a plot to kill them. In the 1790s in Santa Barbara constantly attacked and there was constant rebellion. Most notably in 1801, when a woman named Chupu led a rebellion against all of the Spanish ways. ChupuÐ ¢s Rebellion was inspired by her vision and focused on conducting reverse Baptisms. She hoped that rejecting the church would free people of the diseases that had ravaged them. The rebellion was continuous because the missions were savage. The Spaniards were the people who brought the idea of rape as a spoil of war and genocide as a common practice. Before the Spanish invasion he native people were organized and balanced spiritually, ecologically, territorially and intertribal. They fought the insurgence of the missions through violent and psychological rebellions. Kings quote is grossly inaccurate and speaks to his misunderstanding of California Indian History.

The History of WWI Hospital Ship, the HMHS Britannic

The History of WWI Hospital Ship, the HMHS Britannic In the early 20th century an intense competition existed between British and German shipping companies which saw them battle to build larger and faster ocean liners for use in the Atlantic. The key players including Cunard and White Star from Britain and HAPAG and Norddeutscher Lloyd from Germany. By 1907, White Star had given up the pursuit of the speed title, known as the Blue Riband, to Cunard and began focusing on constructing larger and more luxurious ships. Led by J. Bruce Ismay, White Star approached William J. Pirrie, head of Harland Wolff, and ordered three massive liners which were dubbed the Olympic-class. These were designed by Thomas Andrews and Alexander Carlisle and incorporated the latest technologies. The first two ships of the class, RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, were laid down in 1908 and 1909 respectively and were built in neighboring shipways in Belfast, Ireland. Following the completion of Olympic and launching of Titanic in 1911, work began on the third vessel, Britannic. This ship was laid down on November 30, 1911. As work moved forward in Belfast, the first two ships proved star-crossed. While Olympic was involved in a collision with the destroyer HMS Hawke in 1911, Titanic, foolishly dubbed unsinkable, sank with a loss of 1,517 on April 15, 1912. Titanics sinking led to dramatic changes in Britannics design and to Olympic returning to the yard for alterations. Design Powered by twenty-nine coal-fired boilers driving three propellers, Britannic possessed a similar profile to its earlier sisters and mounted four large funnels. Three of these were functional, while the fourth was a dummy which served to provide extra ventilation to the ship. Britannic was intended to carry around 3,200 crew and passengers in three different classes. For first class, luxurious accommodations were available along with lavish public spaces. While the second class spaces were quite good, Britannics third class was considered more comfortable than its two predecessors. Assessing the Titanic disaster, it was decided to give Britannic a double hull along with its engine and boiler spaces. This widened the ship by two feet and necessitated the installation of a larger 18,000-horsepower turbine engine in order to maintain its service speed of twenty-one knots. In addition, six of Britannics fifteen watertight bulkheads were raised to B deck to aid in containing flooding if the hull was breached. As a lack of lifeboats had famously contributed to the high loss of life aboard Titanic, Britannic was fitted with additional lifeboats and massive sets of davits. These special davits were capable of reaching lifeboats on both sides of the ship to ensure that all could be launched even if it developed a severe list. Though an effective design, some were blocked from reaching the opposite side of the ship due to the funnels. War Arrives Launched on February 26, 1914, Britannic began fitting out for service in the Atlantic. In August 1914, with work progressing, World War I began in Europe. Due to the need to produce ships for the war effort, materials were diverted from civilian projects. As a result, work on Britannic slowed. By May 1915, the same month as the loss of Lusitania, the new liner began testing its engines. With the war stagnating on the Western Front, the Allied leadership began looking to expand the conflict to the Mediterranean. Efforts to this end began in April 1915, when British troops opened the Gallipoli Campaign at the Dardanelles. To support the campaign, the Royal Navy began requisitioning liners, such as RMS Mauritania and RMS Aquitania, for use as troopships in June. Hospital Ship As casualties at Gallipoli began to mount, the Royal Navy recognized the need to convert several liners to hospital ships. These could act as medical facilities near the battlefield and could transport the more severely wounded back to Britain. In August 1915, Aquitania was converted with its troop transport duties passing to Olympic. On November 15, Britannic was requisitioned to serve as a hospital ship. As suitable facilities were constructed on board, the ship was repainted white with a green stripe and large red crosses. Commissioned at Liverpool on December 12, command of the vessel was given to Captain Charles A. Bartlett. As a hospital ship, Britannic possessed 2,034 berths and 1,035 cots for casualties. To aid the wounded, a medical staff of 52 officers, 101 nurses, and 336 orderlies was embarked. This was supported by a ships crew of 675. Departing Liverpool on December 23, Britannic coaled at Naples, Italy before reaching its new base at Mudros, Lemnos. There around 3,300 casualties were brought on board. Departing, Britannic made port at Southampton on January 9, 1916. After conducting two more voyages to the Mediterranean, Britannic returned to Belfast and was released from war service on June 6. Shortly thereafter, Harland Wolff began converting the ship back into a passenger liner. This was halted in August when the Admiralty recalled Britannic and dispatched it back to Mudros. Carrying members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment, it arrived on October 3. The Loss of the Britannic Returning to Southampton on October 11, Britannic soon departed for another run to Mudros. This fifth voyage saw it return to Britain with around 3,000 wounded. Sailing on November 12 with no passengers, Britannic reached Naples after a five-day run. Briefly detained in Naples due to bad weather, Bartlett took Britannic to sea on the 19th. Entering the Kea Channel on November 21, Britannic was rocked by a large explosion at 8:12 AM which struck the starboard side. It is believed that this was caused by a mine laid by U-73. As the ship began to sink by the bow, Bartlett initiated damage control procedures. Though Britannic had been designed to survive taking heavy damage, the failure of some watertight doors to close due to damage and malfunction ultimately doomed the vessel. This was aided by the fact that many of the lower deck portholes were open in an effort to ventilate the hospital wards. In an effort to save the ship, Bartlett turned to starboard in the hope of beaching Britannic on Kea, approximately three miles away. Seeing that the ship would not make it, he ordered abandon ship at 8:35 AM. As the crew and medical staff took to the lifeboats, they were aided by local fishermen and, later, the arrival of several British warships. Rolling on its starboard side, Britannic slipped beneath the waves. Due to the shallowness of the water, its bow hit the bottom while the stern was still exposed. Bending with the weight of the ship, the bow crumpled and the ship vanished at 9:07 AM. Despite taking similar damage as Titanic, Britannic only managed to remain afloat for fifty-five minutes, approximately one-third the time of its older sister. Conversely, losses from the sinking of Britannic numbered only thirty while 1,036 were rescued. One of those rescued was nurse Violet Jessop. A stewardess before the war, she survived the Olympic-Hawke collision as well as the sinking of Titanic. HMHS Britannic at a Glance Nation:  Great BritainType:  Hospital ShipShipyard:  Harland Wolff (Belfast, Northern Ireland)Laid Down:  November 30, 1911Launched:  February 26, 1914Fate:  Sunk by mine on November 21, 1916 HMHS Britannic  Specifications Displacement:  53,000 tonsLength:  882 ft., 9 in.Beam:  94 ft.Draft:  34 ft. 7 in.Speed:  23 knotsComplement:  675 men Sources WebTitanic: HMHS BritannicHMHS BritannicLost Liners: HMHS Britannic

Midterm election in the House of Representatives Essay

Midterm election in the House of Representatives - Essay Example There are two theories that explain the out come of mid term elections. The first one is the theory of rise and fall of a regime and the second is the performance of the regime and the situation at the time of the election. Both the theories provide different analyses but you can also use a combination of the two for analyzing the outcome; this method is supposed to give better reasoning. Analyzing the data for mid term polls in the last hundred years, the ruling party seems to have always lost, except in 1934. After 1940 the loss used to be 30 seats or more than 30 seats. In the midterm elections of 1946 the loss was as high as 46 seats. According to the rise and fall of a regime theory, the strong performance by the presidential party in previous elections may cause a downfall in the midterm election. But this is more statistically correct than logically applicable. Generally the statistical details about the loss of the President's party in elections denote that the extent of the strong performance in the last election will decide the downfall in the present election.1 But the statistical details were the results obtained by applying statistical analysis to available data. Though all the mid term elections are similar to each other, each election will have its own significance. The significant factor changes from term to term. That significant factor will have an important place in analyzing the outcome of the midterm elections along with the standard issues. This year the war on Iraq and the policy of the government regarding it is supposed to be a deciding factor in the elections. According to the rise and fall theory the strong performance by the presidential party in previous elections may cause a downfall in the midterm election. The strong performance of the president's party depends upon the information provided by presidential candidate about his future activities in power. The strong performance indicates the trust of the people in his policies and words. It is clear that two years period is not sufficient to deliver in all the fields. It can be difficult for the party in power to defend the delay. At the same time it is easy for the opposition party to criticize and exploit the situation in the form of votes polled. The performance of George W. Bush in the last election can be termed as strong, because his party withstood an anti - incumbency wave and won a majority. Winning a second time shows greater expectations from the people and the party itself. It takes time to fulfill the promises made during the election campaigns and to materialize the wishes of the people. In the course of these things when the government has to face the midterm polls, generally the electorate compares the performance with the promises before electoral victory. The dissatisfaction due to the non - fulfillment of the promises results in mid term poll losses. A number of reasons for the dissent of the people towards the party in power can be cited. The uproar about the nominal boss of US intelligence Negro Ponte's activities of pleasure, spying and making Iraqis write pro US articles by funding them, can be one of the number of activities which is capable of fixing the regime in trouble.1 The above-mentioned activities may not show direct affect on the people. When the electorate