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from colonialism to neocolonialsim
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Effects of colonialism in Jamaica
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Neocolonialism in Jamaica: History, practices, and resistance
“The imposition of structural adjustment programs in the Third World since the 1970s has been characterized as a war against the poor, a process of [neo] recolonization” (Turner, 1994: 37). This statement is particularly applicable to the country of Jamaica. The island has been susceptible to a variety of neocolonial acts including the presence of multinational corporations, structural adjustment programs, and loan organizations that have sucked Jamaica’s economy dry. This neocolonial presence has devastated the population in more ways than one. It is apparent that neocolonialism has had and continues to have a large impact on society as a whole in Jamaica. This influence will be shown by presenting a historical portrayal, forms of neocolonialism in the country, and attempts to resist such domination.
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
Colonialism
The history of Jamaica is crucial to understanding the country’s current situation. Many of the problems today are results of neocolonial forces. The roots of such concerns can be found within the country’s long legacy of colonialism extending 300 years in length before reaching independence. “Jamaica was the meeting place of two expropriate populations: the Britisher uprooting himself in search of quick wealth through sugar; and the African uprooted by force from his environment to supply slave labor upon which his owner’s dream of wealth depended” (Manley, 1975: 12).
In 1494 Christopher Columbus arrived on the island to be followed by his son, Diego, in 1509. Diego Columbus sent a delegation to the island thus supporting Spanish control in Jamaica until 1660. During the reign of the Spanish the colonizers ma...
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... Press, 1975.
Murrel, Nathaniel Samuel, William D. Spencer and Adrian A. McFarlane (eds.). Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1998.
Nabby, Navie. “Mr. Bigness Man”, World Sound ‘ave Power: Dub Poets And Dub. Heartbeat Records, 1994.
Nicholas, Tracy. Rastafari. Chicago, IL: Frontline Distribution International, 1996.
Persaud, Randolph B. Counter-Hegemony and Foreign Policy: The Dialectics and
Global Forces in Jamaica. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2001.
Turner, Terisa E. Arise Ye Mighty People! Gender, Class and Race in Popular
Struggles. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1994.
Waters, Anita M. Race, Class, and Political Symbols. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Publishers, 1985.
Wiarda, Howard J. On the Agenda: Current Issues and Conflicts in U.S. Foreign Policy.
Fidel Castro entered Havana, Cuba and took his place as Prime Minister in January of 1959, just after the fall of the Batista regime. Within days, many of the Cuban upper class began exiting the island, wary of losing their socioeconomic status and possibly their lives (Leonard 13). Castro’s radical new policies appealed to most of the suppressed lower class seeking change, but the middle sector “became disillusioned with their new leader” and soon comprised the majority of the Cuban refugees in Miami, Florida (Leonard 3). Beginning in December 1960 and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, over 14,000 of those refugees wou...
The narration in “The Diary of Laura’s Twin” is in 3rd person because the story is not written by Laura or Sara and does not say I or my.
In 1961, Fidel Castro, Cuba’s dictator, introduced the Marxist-Leninist ideology to the Cuban people, “by grafting it onto the images, symbols, values, and concepts of Cuban nationalism” (Medin 53). This ideology was promoted through what Medin describes as a world where there are no "in-betweens," but instead only "good and evil", and any straying from that perceived norm was seen as counter-revolutionary and must be removed so they wouldn’t corrupt the process of developing a “homogenous revolutionary social consciousness” (Morales-Diaz 1). “The notion of ‘counter-revolutionaries’ and the connection to capitalist nations epitomizes the revolutionary government's contempt for anyone who is not on the side of the communist revolution" (Medin 40). In that way, Castro was creating enemies of any Cubans who weren’t up to his standards. According to Arenas, this new idea of unifying Cuba came at the expense of the persecution of a large segment of the population an...
Throughout Rastafari: Roots and Ideology, Barry Chevannes traces the beginnings of the Rastafari movements and the movements that gave birth to Rastafarian ideology, through both historical perspectives and through the narratives of those people closely associated with these movements. He begins laying out the groundwork of the Rastafarian movement at the slave trade, which gave rise to the institutionalization of racism and the subordination of black people in the “New World.” This racism, and its lasting effects on the social, political, and economic positions of black people in Jamaica led to a realization of the need to create a life, or a belief system, that would actually serve black people and their needs.
“What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, freedom is to the soul of man” (Brainy Quotes). Light is essential to the eyes, love is what makes the heart beat, and freedom is the hope of man kind; all of which are essential to the happiness of humanity. Having to live without these rights is a difficult way of living. For example, Cubans have suffered time after time in pursuit of their freedom, but sadly they never accomplish their goal. They live in fear of their broken government, but never stop fighting for freedom. In the early 20th century, Cuba was a democracy. From 1940 to 1944 Fulgencio Batista, a Cuban politician, was Cuba’s president. In 1952 he decided to run again, but when it was apparent he’d lose, Batista seized power before the election took place. The citizens were outraged causing them to turn against their flawed democracy that was brought upon by the election. As a result, Fidel Castro, a communist revolutionary political man, began to plot Batista’s downfall. The Cuban Revolution, also known as Castro’s Revolution, began on July 26, 1952, and ended January, 1, 1959. After Batista, Cuba’s former president, fled the country, Castro took complete control and turned Cuba into a communist country. The Revolution brought upon: many deaths, censored news and publicity, and no freedom of speech. Throughout the years Castro stayed in power, but due to health issues originating on July 31, 2006, he had to step down. After Castro returned, he took control of Cuba up until February 19, 2008. He then abdicated his place as dictator and handed down his position to his brother, Raul Castro.
However, it seems as though the impossible is possible, or at least mostly possible, and traditional Rastafarianism enforces rules and cultural norms that keep womyn in the subordinate, domesticated realm of everyday life. Yet, in the last thirty years or so, those rules and norms have been slowly challenged by a new generation of Rastafarian womyn who no longer accept their inferior position and are demanding greater equality. These womyn, some of whom turn to reggae to promote their own socially conscious ideas, symbolize the growing consciousness of womyn in Jamaica and other majority world countries who have experienced centuries of oppression.
―"Religious Repression in Cuba / Juan Clark, Ph.D. - Cuba News / Noticias - CubaNet News."
What would it be like to wake up everyday knowing you would get bullied, mistreated, and/or abused just because of where you were born? Discrimination still exists! “Discrimination remains and there is an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican-Americans, as one of the perceived symbols of that discrimination, the U.S.-Mexico Border Fence, nears completion. Instead of pulling together in these difficult times, we may see a greater polarization of attitudes” (Gibson). But why are hate crimes increasing towards Latin and Hispanic aliens and what types of discrimination are occurring against them? Understanding violence towards the Hispanic and Latin alien is divided into three main classes; the difference between legal and illegal aliens, the attacks and effects, and the point of view of different people towards aliens.
Hart, Richard. (1999). Towards Decolonisation: Political, Labour, and Economic Development in Jamaica. Kingston: Canoe Press.
  Murrell, Nathaniel Samuel, William David Spencer, and Adrian Anthony McFarlane. Chanting down Babylon: the Rastafari reader. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Print.
The colony is not only a possibility in the geographical; it is a mental dominance that can imperialize the entire self. Entire continents have be domineered, resources completely dried, and at colonialism’s usual worst, the mental devastation of the indigenous culture has left a people hollow. Indigenous culture is no longer that. In the globalized world, no culture is autonomous; culture cannot breathe without new ideas and new perspectives, perspectives that have traditionally come from the people who have lived within the culture. But, the imposition of dominant cultures has certainly benefited from culture’s own vulnerability, as global similarities now exist throughout most different, yet not separate cultures. Postcolonialism is imperialism with a mask on, nothing less. As Franz Fanon puts it “that imperialism which today is fighting against a s true liberation of mankind leaves in its wake here and there tinctures of decay which we must search out and mercilessly expel from our land and our spirits.”
Situated just south of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica is well known as a popular tourist spot and the birthplace of reggae music. Populated initially by native Arawak Indians, who gave the island its name, “land of wood and water (Jamaica).” However, this beautiful land’s almost pristine beauty was shattered by outbursts of violence surrounding the 1980 political elections. This fighting was sparked by the people’s mistrust of the ruling socialist party at the time. The reasons for this fighting and this mistrust are not simple, they are intrinsically tied to the island nation’s history from the beginning of its colonial period five hundred years before.
...ies without having to be afraid#.’ Reagans is a man of the United States, so he is, perhaps, a bit biased, but life in Cuba was quite close to how he tells it. The peoples’ civil liberties were restricted under the one-party political system, information was censored, and the government spied on the people, and jailed thousands of political opponents.
The British had quite an impact on the economic, political and social development of Jamaica. One important factor here was the slave trade, which took place not only in Africa, but Jamaica as well. England’s government was also a big factor in influencing the political ways of Jamaica. Before Jamaica was conquered by England, it had a military government, but England installed a civil government based on the principle of the right of the governed to have a voice in the making of laws. At this time King Windsor ended martial law and appointed a twelve-member council of Jamaica.
Growing up, we are always told to never lie because it is the worst thing you could ever do. “Lying will only lead to a horrible situation with less than mediocre results. While lying is not always good, it is not always bad either. Samuel Butler once said “Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.