I know, I know. The reason I am posting this essay about the Sugar Trade is because I am behind on my essays, and we wrote about it in Geography. But an essay is an essay, right?
About a year after Christopher Columbus discovered America, sugar was introduced to Europe, which was basically an undiscovered substance to them. Europe, and the rest of the world, would soon explode with the need for sugar. There are many reasons that people desired sugar, including slavery, plantations, and money, but I think the one of the main reason that sugar became such a need for many people all over the world, was the addiction to this sweet substance. We don’t even know it, but we eat sugar every day, and some people think that they could not live without it. As soon as people were introduced to it, the worldwide addiction began.
The average person consumes about three times their body weight in sugar every year. We absolutely love it, as you can see if you read Documents 3-5. Most of us cannot imagine a world without it, but for a very long time, people didn’t know it existed. But once they did discover it, it soon became clear that the passionate need for sugar would soon become a problem. The ground and climate were not ideal for growing cane sugar, and it got very hard to transport. But, when the Europeans found out that the Caribbean was a perfect place to grow it, the plantations and slavery for sugar also took off.
One of the main reasons of the things that we do today, are to make a profit. Our society is founded and formed around currency and pricing. It was the same back in the day, too. While the price of owning a plantation for sugar was expensive, it was more than beneficial. The average sugar plantation of five hundred acres required at least three hundred slaves, a hundred and fifty head of cattle, twenty-five horses, and fifty head of sheep, and that’s not including all of the houses and needs for the slavers and yourself. It was an expensive process, but the need for sugar overcame the price. The cost for slaves was expensive, but they sold for even more. The average slave cost around about 14-16 pounds, but they sold in the British Caribbean for 32-41. People could make a profit with just buying and selling the slaves for their plantation! Not only was it beneficial to make money from slaves, but they also worked at the plantation to help with the sugar, so if you think about it, you couldn’t really lose money owning slaves for your sugar plantations.
As seen from above, there are many reasons that the sugar trade took off, but I would like to restate, in my prospective, the main reason. I think that the need for sugar outweighs everything else. We, as modern Americans cannot live without it; can you imagine what it would have been like when it was discovered? We thrive on the stuff, and they did too. Once the people had sugar, they would soon need it for a lot of things they ate daily. With this need, it was easy for the sugar plantations to sell, which made a profit, which made owning a plantation very popular. So, when you trace everything back to the source, you will find that the main reason is that we are addicted to sugar.
To conclude, there are many reasons that the sugar trade took off. Slavery, plantation ownership, land and climate, and trade philosophy, but I think that the main reason was consumer demand. Sugar really is an addictive substance, and once discovered, people would continue to want it. The need for sugar brought plantations, slaves, and relocation to better places, so when you think of the reasons all this started, you come to one conclusion: Sugar was needed by everyone.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
To Kill a Mockingbird essay.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ I, personally, think that this quote from Miss Maudie in the book To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most important lines in the book. People often distrust what they don’t understand. A reason why this quote is important is because it basically sums up the whole theme of the book. As we see Scout (Our Narrator) grow up and become more mature, she states incidences in her life that she does not quite understand because of her age, but she is an excellent observer. She states situations such as The Tom Robbinson Trial, and extreme acts of racism. Even the Radley Place would fall under this topic. But if you read this book, you will find that through Scouts adolescent view, you can make sense of what she doesn’t. You can find incidences where people do kill mockingbirds, and you can’t forget it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
First, let’s start with the Tom Robbinson trial. Scout goes through this situation in an innocent manor, and she doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but you can read through the lines a bit and find out the story. Tom Robbinson, a black man, was accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, had been arrested. Over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird, we start to see the trial unfold. Atticus, Scout’s Father, is his lawyer. We see Atticus threatened and insulted, just for helping a black person. We know Tom Robbinson is innocent, but he is convicted guilty. This situation reflects the theme because people didn’t understand him. To them, he was just black garbage, who deserved to die just because of his skin color. People hate what they don’t understand, which in this case, would be Tom Robbinson. He would be considered a mockingbird. He has done nothing to anyone, but yet, they kill him for not fitting the mold that casted the ideal society at the time.
I would like to focus on Atticus for this paragraph, because he would also be considered a mockingbird. We don’t read the book from his point of view, but we can understand some things that happened. I don’t think that Atticus was treated fairly at all, and I am not just saying that because he is my favorite character. Atticus Fitch has a different state of mind than most people in this book. He understands everyone is equal, while everyone else doesn’t. He almost gets killed in Chapter 15, just for trying to protect Tom. People don’t understand why he thinks so differently, so their conclusion is to be against Atticus. While we didn’t get to see some things that happened to him, he would diffidently be considered a mockingbird.
Another subject, which would seem like a childhood story than an actual event, would be the Radley place. Scout, Jem, and Dill grow up right next to the house, and they always thought it was a scary story, a Malevolent Phantom, if you will. They interact with this character they call Boo, who is rumored to remain inside the house at all times. They never get to see him early on, but they know he is there. People, including the kids, don’t understand Boo, also known as Arthur Radley. And while at the end of the book he saves their lives (which was one of my favorite parts in the book), he is often judged for what he is. Another example of people not trusting something they don’t understand. So, in a way, he would also be considered a mockingbird.
To conclude, I think that the main topic in this book is People often distrust what they don’t understand; I think that around the time this story takes place, is where this topic is most exampled. The thing is; people don’t like what they don’t understand. They hate it. So we see much injustice in this book, just because of the way that something is. People mistreat things that don’t deserve to be mistreated. They are like mockingbirds. And we must always remember: It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
First, let’s start with the Tom Robbinson trial. Scout goes through this situation in an innocent manor, and she doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but you can read through the lines a bit and find out the story. Tom Robbinson, a black man, was accused of raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, had been arrested. Over the course of To Kill a Mockingbird, we start to see the trial unfold. Atticus, Scout’s Father, is his lawyer. We see Atticus threatened and insulted, just for helping a black person. We know Tom Robbinson is innocent, but he is convicted guilty. This situation reflects the theme because people didn’t understand him. To them, he was just black garbage, who deserved to die just because of his skin color. People hate what they don’t understand, which in this case, would be Tom Robbinson. He would be considered a mockingbird. He has done nothing to anyone, but yet, they kill him for not fitting the mold that casted the ideal society at the time.
I would like to focus on Atticus for this paragraph, because he would also be considered a mockingbird. We don’t read the book from his point of view, but we can understand some things that happened. I don’t think that Atticus was treated fairly at all, and I am not just saying that because he is my favorite character. Atticus Fitch has a different state of mind than most people in this book. He understands everyone is equal, while everyone else doesn’t. He almost gets killed in Chapter 15, just for trying to protect Tom. People don’t understand why he thinks so differently, so their conclusion is to be against Atticus. While we didn’t get to see some things that happened to him, he would diffidently be considered a mockingbird.
Another subject, which would seem like a childhood story than an actual event, would be the Radley place. Scout, Jem, and Dill grow up right next to the house, and they always thought it was a scary story, a Malevolent Phantom, if you will. They interact with this character they call Boo, who is rumored to remain inside the house at all times. They never get to see him early on, but they know he is there. People, including the kids, don’t understand Boo, also known as Arthur Radley. And while at the end of the book he saves their lives (which was one of my favorite parts in the book), he is often judged for what he is. Another example of people not trusting something they don’t understand. So, in a way, he would also be considered a mockingbird.
To conclude, I think that the main topic in this book is People often distrust what they don’t understand; I think that around the time this story takes place, is where this topic is most exampled. The thing is; people don’t like what they don’t understand. They hate it. So we see much injustice in this book, just because of the way that something is. People mistreat things that don’t deserve to be mistreated. They are like mockingbirds. And we must always remember: It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
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