Challenges of Caribbean Society in Achieving National Unity
There have been many attempts for the Caribbean nations to come
together as one, leading to national unity in the region. Some
attempts at unity include: Federation, CARICOM (Caribbean Community),
CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association), CDB (Caribbean Development
Bank), UWI (University of the West Indies), CXC (Caribbean
Examinations Council), and recently CSME (Caribbean Single Market and
Economy), which is still in the process of being carried out. The
Caribbean’s aim is to come together socially, economically, and
politically and to try to work as one nation. However, there are many
cultural differences between the countries, which constantly impede
amalgamation of the Caribbean territories; aspects of culture such as
race, religion, language, governmental systems, history, values and
morals and so on, are all different in each territory and place a
barrier between any integration of the countries. While cultural
diversity among the islands is good for tourism, since tourist can
think of each island as a different experience, and always want to
come back to a different one for a different experience, cultural
diversity is also one of the chief prohibitions of Caribbean unity.
One big challenge due to differences in different territories is
religion. With Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Rastafarians and so on all
in the region, it is hard for the Caribbean to try to run as one body
with all different beliefs. For example, if a Muslim were to be chosen
to be the leader of the combined countries, conflict would arise, as
Christian and Muslims do not believe in the same t...
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...ne that is stable? Or do they put the most common
one? Whatever the decision, once again, everyone is not going to
agree, and this could become a serious problem, especially at
governmental level. A different stable currency for all Caribbean
islands, however, would put us higher on the world trading market.
For all the Caribbean territories to merge, full cooperation and hard
work needs to be put in. At the current moment, there are too many
differences between islands for a merger to happen. While a merger
would be the ideal event we as the Caribbean need in order to survive
on the world market, many people in the islands do not want it to
happen. With globalisation coming into effect, this amalgamation
should rapidly occur, but it is not going to happen, because of all
the challenges the cultural differences pose.
Whether it 's for the music, people or food, Cuba is a popular and interesting place to visit. Cuba is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. At 42,426 square miles, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the 105th largest country in the world. Cuba has a population of 11.1 million. Out of that 11.1 million, Havana is home to 2.1 million (Nation Facts). The official language of Cuba is Spanish, but English and French are spoken throughout the country. The most practiced religion of Cuba is Roman Catholicism, but a large number of people follow the Afro-Cuban and Protestant religions. The president of Cuba is currently Raúl Castro, which is Fidel Castro 's brother. The currency of Cuba is the Cuban peso (Cuba).
The Afro-Cuban struggle for equality essentially began after the emancipation of the slaves in 1886. This struggle would continue until 1912, when a brutal government massacre ended their hopes of real equality. The Afro-Cuban struggle for equality was a key issue in Cuba’s fight for independence, as well as, Cuba’s fight to find its identity and character.
In spite of this, the Jamaican government does not have to govern as many people as the United States’ government is obliged to. The entire country of Jamaica has an area merely of about 4,244 square miles and a population of approximately 2,825,928, wit...
Puerto is a mixing pot of cultures that include a history of Native American roots, Spanish conquest and oppression. Puerto Rico has been the property of another nation for most of modern times creating a vast amount of unique cultural elements. All these facets contribute to its brief history.
The study of the creation of Central American states is a topic that has seen relatively few academic endeavors. Early on in the academic sphere, there was a tendency towards studying the formation of states in Europe the in order to understand the nature and process of state making. However, state formation in Central America differed greatly in many ways to rest of the world, even the rest of Latin America.
In the chapter One Island, Two Peoples, Two Histories: The Dominican Republic and Haiti the present day differences of Haiti and The Dominican Republic are explained through the political, social, and ecological history of both locations. The Dominican Republic, although it is still considered a developing country, is in a objectively worse state than Haiti. Haiti’s environmental policies failed so horrendously in the past that the area is in a visible state of disarray. With only 1% of the country still forested, not only is the visual draw of the country lessened, but the prospect of wood trading that the forests once offered is almost obsolete. This greatly effects the outside world’s image of Haiti which, given the financial gain tourism
The earliest form of resistance against the contradictions inherent in the nature of the societies created by enslavement and indentured servitude can be seen long before the Haitian Revolution. There were many documented attempts against the lives of the white slave owners, but known was so critical as the events that mark the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian Revolution, which took place in the end of the 1700’s, was a defining moment that sought to end France’s control of the Island of Saint Dominique or modern day Haiti. This resistance began as an attempt to gain retribution for the hostile and inhuman conditions that the slaves were subjected to. According to C. L. R., the contradictions inherent in the nature of the societies created by enslavement, indenture and colonialism in the Caribbean created the very responses to an insurrection, by those who were being subjected to cruel and unjust
Havana is one of the most architecturally diverse cities. In the beginning of the 20th century, Havana was an international influential powerhouse, enriched with art nouveau, art deco and eclectic design. This boom period was the turn in Cuba’s economical continuous changes throughout the times of change.
Haiti is the unequivocally the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, indeed, the country is so poor that its citizen cannot even afford eating foods and Haitian children need to eat dirts to stay alive. [1] Nevertheless, Haiti is the home to the only successful slave rebellion; Toussaint Louverture, last governor of French Saint-Domingue, was born a slave.
The colonization of Puerto Rico by the Americans resulted to a decline in the economy; the presence of the American took every opportunity that the people of Puerto Rico had. In addition, colonization made Puerto Rico a foreign country; this made the import tax to increase rapidly. The Americans took the economy of that country from their hands and into their own; they controlled everything for the time that they colonized the country. In addition, all the farmers were forced to work for the Americans under severe conditions and less wages, thus declining the economy of Puerto Rico. Below is a picture of the people of Puerto Rico on the streets demonstrating on the declining economy under
Simon Bolivar’s self-exile to Jamaica caused him to write a letter to the governor of Jamaica expressing his thoughts on the then current condition of Latin America and how he hopes to fix it. Bolivar strongly believed in the ideas of the enlightenment and uses them to justify his claims of action that he hopes to carry out in the continent. In the Jamaica Letter, Bolivar illustrates his compassion for a revolution and liberation from Spain, but also his doubts and pessimistic viewpoint on uniting Latin America. Through a South American Revolution fueled by the rage of the Spanish creoles and Americanos, Bolivar believes that South America can sever its tie to Spain and become fully independent as well as self-governable in a republic; however, Bolivar contradicts himself because he does not fully live up to the
The African diaspora in the Spanish Caribbean – namely, in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – fomented the emergence of a syncretic identity. Likewise, this historical period brought forth similar ethnobotanical hybridity. This study endeavors to highlight the role of plants in the medicinal and spiritual practices that have come to characterize Afro-Caribbean cultures, as reflected in Santeria and traditional medicine (curanderismo). Of central focus will be the degree to which, according to social circumstances and the ecological profile of the Caribbean, West African plant knowledge was appropriated in the Spanish colonies, and how related customs were adapted to the new environment.
Jamaica’s fighting spirit can be seen even in its early days with the Maroons. The fighting spirit is not uncommon with people who are oppressed or forced against their will. The Maroons came in two waves, the first are slaves that fled during the Spanish rule, the second wave was during British control. The Maroons used the highlands of Jamaica to seek refuge, establish colonies and attack plantations when needed. Even today the beliefs and herbal practices of the Maroons are still evident in Jamaican culture. Their trouble past has made their life difficult but even today they are a presence in Jamaica.
“It’s Better In The Bahamas”. This slogan advertises throughout the world to attract tourist. Is it really better in the Bahamas? Many articles on television and in the news paper address the issues in the Bahamian society. While many pay no attention to this dilemma, many Bahamians live in constants fear. Miss Bijoux a single parent lost her job two months ago. One night she lay down on her bed thinking of all the possibilities of obtaining a job. Deep in thought how is she going to care for her children, and how is she going to help her twelve year old pregnant daughter? Lost to the world her phone rings, hello she said the caller answer hi, is this Bijoux residence? I am calling from PMH (Princess Margaret Hospital). Mrs. Bijoux drop the phone and runs to her children’s rooms. When she reaches to her son’s room he was not there, she kneel down on the floor and recites a prayer “Lord please let my son be okay”. Immediately, she calls her family to pick her up and drive her to the Hospital. When she arrives at the hospital she saw her lifeless son on the ventilator in pulmonary distress with blood stains over his clothes. Without shedding a tear, she waited patiently for good news. Unfortunately, her son expires three hours later. Mrs. Bijoux is a victim of a drive by shooting in Nassau Village. While the Bahamas is battling against the economic crisis, the three major issues in the Bahamian society are crimes, unemployment and sexual abuse.
Modernization theory is an unworkable guide for facilitating Caribbean growth because of the many weaknesses, which have been highlighted. The modernization theory although is without a doubt one of he most influential theory, is in fact an unworkable guide to Caribbean development as it simply describes the development process without showing how it might be achieved. The theory is in fact a unilinear, ethnocentric theory and it is with all it's shortcomings which one can conclude that it provides an unworkable guide to Caribbean development.