Chapter 14

Claudia Hernandez

April 23, 2008

Las 284

 

Chapter 14 talks about the injustices towards those citizens that are born of immigrants. An example is seen with the Japanese Americans. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the government acted out of fear instead of reason. Many Japanese were moved to concentration camps. Although there might have been a great number of them that could had been dangerous, for the most part many of them were hard working families that were treated unfairly.

Young married couples were having children at these camps. A Nisei woman told her husband “This is crazy. You realize there is no future for us and what are we having kids for?” I cannot even imagine all the pain and suffering that all these families must have gone through. Many Japanese-Americans found themselves joining the armed forces not to get medals or because they wanted to live that experience, but they were doing it to prove to others that they loved America. This was their home, their nation, and they had to join to be proof that their families were not “the bad guys”.

Chapter 11

Claudia Hernandez
April 21, 2008
LAS 284
Chapter 11
Between “Two Endless Days”

The Jews of Russia and Eastern Europe also began their migration to America during the 1800’s. Unlike the Japanese immigrants, they could not return to their homeland, and almost everywhere government officials had encouraged acts of violence against Jews. “The pogroms, observed Abraham Cahan, forced Jews to realize that “Russia was not their homeland and that a true home must be found for the Jews. But Where?”” (279) So when they heard stories about freedom and a better life in a land called America and how well ordinary people were doing here they started to migrate. By the beginning of World War I, one-third of all Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe had emigrated, most of them to the United States.
Although they often thought about all the possibilities and wealth that could await them in America, they couldn’t stop but wonder if they would ever return or see their loved ones again. This is something that I think all people migrating here or to another place in hope of a better future must go through. Sadly, most immigrants saw themselves as exiles, unable to return to Russia as long as religious persecution persisted. The Jews had to make America their new home.
Jewish immigrants were educated, 80% of the women and 63% of the women who came between 1908 and 1912 were literate. Not only did they bring their values, they brought something more useful, their skills, especially in the sewing trades.
They settled in the lower east side and began to establish a community. They formed networks composed of people from the same town or district in Russia. This is still seen nowadays.
Similar to the Irish women who migrated here, most young Jewish women working were single, planning to work for a few years before marrying.
Similar to the

DeToqueville Pages (11-26)

DeToqueville – Pages 11-26 (R).

* On page 16, the author writes, “A new political science is needed for a totally new world.” Why does he think this? What is political science and why is it necessary? How would he go about constructing a new political science? What are the challenges he faces in coming to understand America? Write your reading journal blog-post on this question.

The reason why he might think this way is because he knows how governments have ruled in the past. No matter how smart or bright people are, governments are the ones to guide its civilians.
Political science is “a branch of social science concerned with theory, description, analysis and prediction of political behavior, political systems and politics broadly construed.”
It is necessary so that there can be predictions of the future, being for example in the nations wealth, or in the functions of civilians in any given state.
When it comes to him understanding America, it must be difficult, for people here each have a certain understanding of government, and although they might have left their country to come here and start a better life, a better “nation” where everything would be different, they are still going to go on the basis of what they have lived their lives.

Questions

1. From what you can tell from the account, what were the purposes of Zheng He’s voyages?

Zheng He’s was elected at the age of ten to be a eunuch. The purpose of his voyage was “to go and confer presents on them in order to make manifest the transforming power of the (imperial) virtue and to treat distant people with kindness.”
Later on in the text, it is mentioned that they are also doing this in part to serve their dynasty.
2. What is tribute and how did it function in the Chinese world order?
Tribute is referred to as “The precious objects refer to tribute sent to the emperor of China by various other countries. The fundamental principle by which the Chinese international order was governed was the tribute system. Foreign princes would send tribute to the emperor of China. Tribute often consisted of rare and precious local items, such as the giraffe sent from Africa. The foreign rulers would acknowledge that the emperor of China was the son of heaven, and would often adopt the Chinese calendar. In return, the Chinese would send gifts, often of value equal to or exceeding those presented as tribute. But the most important benefit was the formation of a peaceful and stable diplomatic relationship among the two countries. One of the main purposes of Zheng He’s voyages was to reinforce existing and create new tributary relationships.”
3. Where is the account of the voyage written down?
The account of the voyage is written down in a stele; a stone.

4. From what sorts of records do we find accounts of East Africa from other perspectives?

The records of East Africa come from the Ming Dynastic History, Swahili oral accounts, the accounts of Ibn Battuta, and Duarte Barbosa’s Account of Brava.
5. If you follow all the links, you will discover that two of them mention the city of Mecca. Which two, and is it just a coincidence?
*The first link in which it mentions Mecca is in Zheng He’s link. It talks about how his family was originally surnamed Ma, and his father’s name bore the designation Haji, indicating that he had gone on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
*The second link which mentions Mecca is in the Mohammed link. “Mohammed (or Muhammed) was born in Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula in the year 570. He died in the year 632. Mohammed was a prophet and religious messenger and founder of the religion of Islam. His teachings are preserved in the Koran, the sacred book of Islam.”
6. What information about political authority can you glean from each of the four different perspectives on East Africa (15th-century Chinese, 14th-century North African, 16th-century Portuguese and Swahili oral traditions)?
The information gathered from the 15th-century Chinese is that the Portuguese were attempting to bring the Coast under Portuguese control.
The information gathered from the 14th-century North African is about the relations with Trade of China and Eastern Archipelago and the coasts of the Indian Ocean.
The information gathered from the 16th-century Portuguese and Swahili oral traditions is that in the oral histories, ties between the two peoples are typically cemented by marital and political alliances, although some refer to periods of warfare as well.
7. What can you infer from Fei Xin, Duarte Barbosa, Ibn Battuta and the Swahili oral histories about what goods were traded to and from the East Coast of Africa?
Some of the things that were traded to and for the East Coast of Africa traded dried fruits, fish, garlic, and onions for gold, silk, silver, satins, silks, rice, beans, and chinaware, and also animals.

DeToqueville_ 895-907

Why does the author go to the Wilderness?

The reason why the author goes to the wilderness is that as he states when he is with the host, “There are many reason’s driving us to it, my dear host”. They are heading to Saginaw. I think they are searching for the interior of an untouched forest. (905) 

What does he think of White Americans?

As he is traveling through the wilderness, he is describing the nature and he believes that in a few years, the Europeans will come and destroy all of nature’s beauty, along with forcing out its inhabitants into the wilderness.

 What of Indian Americans?

He gets different opinions of them. Mr. Williams says that he would sleep more calmly among Indians than among whites. However, the author says that in the more populated areas, people speak of them “only with a blend of fear and scorn”, and the author believes that they deserve both of these opinions. An Indian the author encounters has white teeth, which proved to him that the savage had cleaner habits than the American neighborhood.  

What of the relationship between the different groups?

On page 899, the author describes how although the European and the Indian were born and raised in different places, they still manage to communicate and interact with one another. Also on page 905, it mentions the Indians and the white each have advantages in certain situations. The whites in socializing, but the Indians knew the forest like the palm of their hands. Both of these groups need of one another in life.  

How does he describe the wilderness and what impresses him?

 He describes the wilderness in detail. He says how magnificent Mother Nature is, but how destructive we as humans can be. Nature impresses him, he finds it fascinating how trees can grow for years and still produce and be of aid to other life.  

Battutah59-100

Claudia Hernandez

LAS 284

Battutah 59-100

  

            In chapter 4, Battutah has just visited the tomb of the Commander of the faithful Ali, and the caravan then headed off to Baghdad. He mentions the Arabs and how they are very powerful and violent, while being an outsider in another nation’s territory, it is better to befriend the “enemy”. Those who stayed behind suffered the consequences; they were stripped off everything, from their belongings to the clothes they were wearing.

As Battutah travels, he encounters many people as well as differences in cultures. I will only mention those which I thought to be interesting or odd.

In a previous chapter, Battutah mentions people not saying the number “ten” and while trading or in the market selling, when they would need to say the number ten, they would say “nine and one”. After reading this, whenever I read a passage where Battutah mentions the number ‘ten’, I think back about those people, and wonder if the same thing perhaps happened to Battutah in his travel.

Something amazing about Battutah is how he always goes off in search of those persons whom people are always saying great things of,  like on this instant the devotee who lived off the shore of Abadan. The way this man lived influenced Battutah in such a way, that for a moment he contemplated the idea of spending the rest of his life in the service of the sheikh, but he was dissuaded from it by the pertinacity of his spirit.

Battutah is also invited to a funeral, and while at the funeral he behaved in a manner which I didn’t expect of him. He said “my associates have no knowledge of either music or dancing” (65), I found it very disrespectful, for he was a guest and although he might not have the same beliefs or opinions as those he is staying with, and there are better ways of behaving without offending. He also says the spectacle he witnessed was an appalling thing and disgraceful sight, the like of which he had never encountered.

One thing of being an outsider is that when you arrive at a place, if no one tells you who is the authority, you arrive and you treat everybody equally, which might be good but sometimes backfire at you. He told the sultan what no other person had told him before, and for that the faqih Fadil was very grateful.

Battutah3-58

Claudia Hernandez

LAS 284

Battutah 3-58

            Battutah left from his birthplace Tangier in the year seven hundred and twenty-five with the objective of making the pilgrimage to the Holy House at Mecca and visiting the tomb of the Prophet. He then arrived at the city of Tilimsan and he rode after two envoys of the king of Africa. One of the persons fell ill and Battutah ended up leaving them and joining some merchants from Tunis. During his journey, he reached the town of Qusantinah and since they were caught by heavy rains, his clothes got ruined and along with the others had to stay in some of the buildings versus their tents. The governor then greeted him and he gave orders that his clothes should be washed at his house. Maybe the reason why the governor did this for Battutah was because he knew he was a traveler that was on his pilgrimage or maybe he did it out of pure goodness. I found this incident quite interesting.

When they reached the town of Tunis, he “wept bitterly” (pg5) because no one greeted him, since no one knew him. He encountered loneliness being away from home, and perhaps in this instant remembered his family and all he left behind to go on in this pilgrimage. Battutah also got married with the daughter of a talib and he gave a wedding feast at which he detained the caravan for a whole day.

One thing that I did notice is the fact that when he describes a city or town, he also describes it as if it is some sort of person with physical characteristics. An example is on pg 6 when he describes the city of al-Iskandariyah.

Another fascinating thing is how everything is known by word of mouth. An example is that on pg 11 on the pious Shaikh Abu Abdallah al-Murshidi of how well he treated all his guests and got them whatever food he desired. Battutah got to stay with him and he revealed him a dream which he had. This dream revealed that he should go to Mecca and visit the tomb of the prophet and then he shall travel through the lands of the al-Yaman and al-Iraq, the land of the Turks, and the land of India. It is quite fascinating how legends and rumors or people get to be known in this time. Since there is no media at this time to tell the news or what is going around in other parts of the world, for him to have heard about this great man, in my opinion is just amazing. It is thanks to all those travelers that Battutah heard about him and we know about him as well.

Chapter one ends with Battutah sailing down the Nile and arriving at Cairo, but when he arrives at the town of Balbais, he “did not see there anyone whom he wish to mention” (pg. 25) This was surprising since he always meets or encounters someone whom he seems worthy of mentioning, people in this place must really not be of much interest to him, or maybe they weren’t as nice as people from previous towns. Battutah mentions how at Jerusalem there is a venerated church which the Christians go on pilgrimage to, and all who go on pilgrimage there are liable to a stipulated tax to the Muslim and various humiliations, many similar things happen nowadays with people of different beliefs around the world.

Ibn Fadlan and The Rus

Claudia Hernandez
March 12, 2008
LAS 284
Arabs on the Silk Road

Ibn Fadlan’s describes these people called the Rus. He describes their physical appearance, comparing their perfect physique to that of palm trees. They have a very poor hygiene, and he goes on into some detail about this. A slave girl will bring in a large basin of water in the morning, and she hands it to her owner. He washes his hands, face and hair in the water and then dips his comb in the same water, which he then uses to brush his hair, he then blows his nose and spits in the basin. Once he is done, the slave girl takes the basin to the man besides him and he goes through the same routine as his friend.
Before trading, they make an offering to a piece of wood that is in the shape like the face of a man. They say to this lord all of the things they have with them to trade, and they ask him for trade everything at the price they wish to sell. Sometimes if trading isn’t as expected, they come to this “Lord” a second or even a third time.

They have a very sophisticated way of dealing with the sick and with thieves. The put the sick in a tent far away from them, and they leave him there alone for the duration of the illness. If the person recovers, they are allowed back to the tribe but if they die, they body is left in the tent for the animals to eat. This is a good technique, for if they ever encounter a deadly disease, there is a higher chance for the rest of the tribe to survive. The thieves are hanged.
The way in which Ibn Fadlan expresses about the Rus’s sex, I can only assume that for Ibn sex is something sacred or at least something private. The Rus seemed to be having sex all the time with their slave girls, it never mentions them working or being with their families. Ibn also mentions the cremation of the chief, the process and rituals. The slaves are asked which one wants to go with its master, and this person is then killed and laid down with its master and then burned.