American Survey
Essay by Sahar omar • March 3, 2017 • Essay • 601 Words (3 Pages) • 1,318 Views
The quest for fortune:
If they travel overseas, they would bring back riches and gold. They were battling back and forth with each other. This demand for money has pushed the English further, beyond seas.
They were followed by the French, the Spanish in order to conquer other lands.
1500- Agricultural revolution, the number of population grew, and they needed to bring goods from other lands.
Christopher loved adventure:
The discovery of the new land – he was sent by the Spanish queen to find India. But he ended up in the west. The New World was a coincidence.
The Virgin Land, the Promised Land: They perceived it as the land of new opportunities to invest, away from the queen and kings. The puritans/ Protestants found shelter and refuge in the new world away from the persecution of the Roman Catholic Church so they can practice their religion freely.
The Indians were the first to live in America.
It took almost 100 years for the English to make a settlement. What are the challenges that faced the immigrants?
Environmental challenges: English went to the north; the French went to the south.
Geographical challenges: lands suitable for the kind of vegetables they are used to.
They are used to eat bread and porridge. They did not have domesticated animals. They had to survive by hunting wild animals. But they could grow something else which is potato.
Fighting the Indians- the Indians looked at Europeans as foreigners because they wanted to invade their land.
Pre-Columbus America Documentary
The wealth of queen and kings were in danger.
Indians have many different religions. The kind of world was an ancient world for them.
A South American invasion
Who is the first to discover America?
Vikings and the Aztecs were the indigenous of America.
Columbus established it. He did not discover it. He found the Indians.
Who were the first settlers? The Spanish were the first settlers.
How was their journey?
Christopher arrived to Bahamas, Florida (Spanish settlements).
Manhattan: Danish – New Amsterdam (English) New York
The first English colony is Virginia.
New Orleans: the first settlement made by the French.
How did the immigrants perceive America?
- The Promised Land:
- Promises of new opportunities.
- Religious bond: The New Jerusalem for these Christians. God has promised this land for them. If they thought that this land for them, then that would make them the chosen people. It foreshadows what they thought of themselves and of the Indians (barbarians). They are certainly not considered humans.
Freedom statue: it was a gift from France to America.
It is the symbol of freedom and new opportunities. This suggests something about their naivety. The conditions of the new world were drastic. There will diseases. They had wars. They had to fight each other as they had to fight each other across their lands. They had another enemy which is the India. The American dream is a myth. It is still a myth. It is the place where they would find comfort, seek shelter and fortunes.
We had three groups of immigrants:
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