Chapter 6

Chapter 6 begins with distinguishing between who the old immigrants are and who the new immigrants are. The old immigrants according to the book are “the British Isles and north-western Europe who came before the 1880s, were very much like the settlers of the colonies and were relatively easy to assimilate. The new immigrants were persons from the southern and Eastern Europe who came after the 1880s, were of very different ethnicity who spoke strange languages and worshiped strange god—that is, they were not Protestant.” (pg. 121) I see race and different culture playing a part in separating people already.  People should NOT be separated based on the language they speak or their religion. People should only be judged by the content of their character. However, no matter what you do or what time in society you live in people are always going to judge you. That’s how I feel about the people who were considered to be new immigrants were being treated. For being a little different the new immigrants were judged.

The main reason for Irish migration during the 19’th century was either because of the potato famine or famine in general.  During the 1840s and early 1850s the “great hunger” was a major push factor.  Up until the 1921, Ireland was not a free nation. I thought that was really interesting. If you think about it every nation had their own problems of why people were trying to leave it. It’s all about survival and people were migrating to survive. They were migrating to help support their families.

I love potatoes! So reading about the Irish and they survived on potatoes was very interesting for me.  It all started after Emancipation Act of 1829 when rent grew higher.  When I read that an “acre of a half of potatoes could feed a family of six.” (pg.133) I can’t believe that these poor people survived just on potatoes then again it was survival. I think if you are put in that situation then you no choice and that’s what happened to these people. For poor people, potatoes were the bulk of their diet.  I didn’t know that potatoes has a disease called Phytophthora infestants or otherwise known as potato blight. The potato blight was horrible. For some potato was the main crop they ate. I wonder how this fungus was contracted. Nowadays there’s no secret that we have a lot of chemicals put into our foods to preserve it. I also wonder if it still happens nowadays or with all the chemicals they put into the food that doesn’t happen. That is something to wonder.  Either way the safest way to eat vegetables is to grow them yourself or unless you know its organic.

Olaudah Equiano The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African Chapter 1

Olaudah Equiano
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African 

Chapter 1

Chapter one was pretty interesting to read. The reason why I chose chapter 1 was because I wanted to know about their marriage traditions and I wanted to see if things are different. All I can say is that I’m glad I live in today’s society. I thought it was interesting how if the wife cheated on her husband then the husband can chose her punishment, but men have a plurality.  The marriage was set up by their parents and once married the woman is then the property of her husband. Why is she considered to be his property? Why can’t he be her property? In many cultures why are men always dominant? Even in the Indian culture men are dominant. We as women have to bow down to the men in my culture. Thankfully, a lot of that is changing now. I don’t think it’s changed in India, but it’s not likely around here. It really makes me realize how lucky I am.

I also found it interesting how the women would fight side by side with their men. I just feel like woman don’t get enough credit sometimes. It happens everywhere at jobs, in culture/society. I mean if women are considered to be their property, why do they have to fight just like men? I think that it needs to be equal. If a woman is in the fighting alongside with her husband then she should be allowed to call him her property as well.

I thought it was strange how the house would have a master, then the family and slaves. I didn’t really understand that concept. I thought it would be awkward all these people living in the same house at once. It was understandable to let the master have the biggest room in the house, because he’s the one in charge.

Chapter 1 made me think about how many women have to marry men that their parents pick out for them. I know I could never be able to do that, especially because I come from an Indian background. Usually it would be the father who picks the best suitor for his daughter. That would not fly with me. We have freedom, but in those other countries these women they don’t have freedom or voice. They don’t have a say in what they want to do with their life.  This really makes me realize how lucky I am. The women from the tv show Bridezillas should realize how lucky they are as well. In that show these women are so mean to their parents who give them everything, but what they should do is stop and come back to reality. They could be the ones who would have to have an arranged marriage and then become their husband’s property. Count your blessings!

Other Europeans In Colonial America

Other Europeans In Colonial America

This was a very interesting chapter.  Every Immigrant race went through their own set of hardships. There were some pretty interesting/ disturbing things that went on. The voyage of the Scotch Irish was the most disturbing.  Apparently, 46 passengers starved to death and the 60 people who survived only survived due to cannibalism. This reminded me of the Donner Party.  When the Donner party was rescued some of the passengers who survived were asking the rescuers if they were from the heavens. The documentary I saw stated that the people didn’t know if they were dead or alive. Due to the situation, people were driven to being delusional. Wow, I can’t imagine what it might be like to have to be in that situation. How awful and traumatizing!!! I bet these people were in the same situation as the Donner party.  The only difference was that the Donner party was a group of 87 people who were headed for West Cali. And they got caught into snow on their journey.  Both groups of people were stuck in some terrible situations and I really feel for them.  They were stuck in situations where they had no choice. It was all about survival for them. I think they were brave for having the courage to result to cannibalism.

Reading about the Irish Catholics was also interesting. One man’s story was just upsetting to me. It was Charles Carroll. I can’t believe that his estates in Ireland were confiscated. Why?  I didn’t really understand what the book was talking about when it said that they added his name to the Declaration of Independence.  I was surprised to find out that most Irish were supporters of the Patriot Cause. For Jews, I wasn’t surprised to find out that they didn’t marry outside the faith. That must have been common a lot. However, I am glad that eventually they allowed Jewish spouses in mixed marriages. Some of the history that these people went through still happen today like the mixed marriages for Jewish spouses. Still today, in some places people are still accepting mixed marriages. I believe that one day that will all change.  

I keep seeing repeats in history.  Like the Donner Party and the Scotch Irish people. They both went through similar horrific hardships.  Those events have a disturbing connection, but the people had no choice it was survival. In the end with nature it is always all about survival. The situation with Charles Carroll, estates and other items still get confiscated today. I would say for those people who were semi-rich like Charles Carroll would share history with Native Americans because technically it was their land first and what happened to them was not right in both cases with Native Americans and other people.  Same thing with mixed marriages same thing still around today. Like I stated before one day people will learn to accept it. History in general holds a connection with the past, present and future and I think it always will.

Pre History Pacific Seafarers & Maritime Cultures

       

When I first started reading this handout I didn't know what the word seafarers meant. So I had to google it, lol. According to Wikipedia, the definition for Seafarers is "Seafarers are ethnic groups living by the sea......" The Chumash Tribe would be a great example of seafarers. From the reading itself I just found out a lot of interesting information that I never knew before like I didn't know the Coastal Migration Theory. The most interesting part of this hand out was reading about the Chumash Tribe. The Native American's in general really fascinate me. The Native American’s culture, customs, rituals, food, traditions all of that is amazing. I look forward to learning more about them. I often wonder about their daily life. I know that they were hunters and gathers.  Men hunted while women and children would do chores at home and gather vegetables. I want to learn more about their traditions and beliefs. Why did they have certain beliefs? I’m also really interested to know what other tools and materials they used. Where did they get these ideas to build such unique items? With limited materials, how did they make the items they needed? Then again it’s all about survival. The plank canoes, I thought was an awesome invention for the Chumash. With the materials they had and to build something like a canoe is truly remarkable. The fact that it could hold over 20 people was pretty incredible. They didn't have the materials or tools that we have today.  Another canoe that fascinated me was the Dugout canoes. I was stunned to find out they had different types of canoes and boats. I wonder if they have some in a museum somewhere because I would love to see one their inventions.   I hope in the future we read more about them.