Postcolonial Identity in Caribbean, South African, Indian & Sri Lankan
Caribbean: Art, Maps, and Diasporic Identity
Antillean Art and Walcott’s Shattered Histories
“Antillean art is this restoration of our shattered histories, our shards of vocabulary, our archipelago becoming a synonym for pieces broken off”? In his Nobel Prize speech, Derek Walcott explains that Caribbean, or Antillean, art is a way of rebuilding what history destroyed. Caribbean history was violently broken by slavery, colonialism, and forced migration. During the Middle Passage, Africans were
Read MoreProgressive Era and WWI: US History
Unit 10: The Progressive Era & World War I
The Early Twentieth Century: Reform and Conflict
The Progressive Era (1890s–1920s)
Towards the end of the Gilded Age (1870s – 1890s), a new era started: The Progressive Era (1890s-1920s). Different people advocated for reform (though not always for the same reasons), including politicians, conservationists, muckrakers, scientists and scholars, civil rights activists, and labor unions.
Key Progressive Figures
Eugene V. Debs
Founder of the American Railway
Read MoreKautilya’s Arthashastra: Ancient Indian Economic Structure
Ancient Indian Economic Thought and State Power
Ancient Indian economic thought, best represented by Kautilya’s Arthashastra, viewed the economy as a crucial engine for state power (Artha). It stressed a dynamic and balanced system involving agriculture, industry, trade, and state regulation to ensure prosperity and welfare.
Industry and Crafts
Ancient Indian thought recognized the value of manufacturing and specialized crafts as a key source of wealth and national prestige, driving both internal and
Read MoreU.S. History Timeline: Civil War to Civil Rights, 1860–1970s
Unit 7: Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow Era
The Road to the Civil War
- Kansas-Nebraska
- 1850s: continual debate over the future of the western territories — free or slave states?
- Compromise of 1850: California became a free state, but the Mexican cession (Utah & New Mexico territories) would be decided by popular sovereignty — people in the territory decide by vote.
- The South wanted popular sovereignty to decide the future of the Kansas & Nebraska territories.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Read MoreGeopolitical Profiles: Key Nations, History, and Global Influence
Cuba: History, Revolution, and US Relations
Cuba is a Caribbean island nation known for its major geopolitical and cultural influence despite its size. Historically known as the Pearl of the Caribbean, a colonial name highlighting its strategic location and wealth.
Key Historical Events and Figures
- Cuban Population: An ethnic mix including Spaniards, Africans, Chinese, Italians, and others.
- Spanish-American War (1898): Conflict resulting in Spain losing Cuba to US control.
- Fulgencio Batista: Cuban ruler
Architects and Leaders of the Second Spanish Republic
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora (1877–1949)
Alcalá-Zamora was twice a Liberal minister in the monarchy, shifting his allegiance to the Republicans during the dictatorship. This move attracted moderate and Catholic groups to his party. He was president of the Republican Committee and was jailed in 1930. After the Republic was proclaimed, he became the first Head of Government in 1931, resigning when the approved constitutional articles relating to religious freedom were passed. However, two months later,
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