Prompt 8

Sugarcane production finally began in 1875.


Sugar and Pineapples brought immigrants to Hawaii because the labor was needed to produce each product.


The first to arrive were the Chinese, followed by the Portugese, Puerto Rican, Japanese, and Korean, doubling the population of Hawaii in 20 years. However, the workers were paid a mere 24 cents an hour for their arduous labor. They lived in cramped unhealthy workhouses, and with the $3 a month they recieved, they had to buy from a plantation store that took they're money back into the company coffers. They spent 10 hours, sometimes 12, a day hiking in the fields with only a bowl of rise on their bellies. Each labor camp was racially divided. The work was strenuous and many a worker came home with cuts, bruises and bliters on top of blisters. Men were forced to work bent over for 10 hours day after day. The workers were treated very very unfairly.


Sanford Dole's father, Daniel, was a missionary who started the Punahuo School.


Sanford Doles political views were in favor of annexation.


The 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai'i stripped the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, and disenfranchised all Asians and poor citizens while generally empowering rich citizens, including American, European and native Hawaiian elites. It is now widely known as the Bayonet Constitution, a nickname given to it by its opponents because of the threat of force used to gain Kalākaua's cooperation.


Lorrin Thurston was the prnicple leader in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarch system, and the eventuall annexation of the republic into the United States.


The Committee of Safety was a 13 member council that planned to over throw the Kingdom of Hawaii, the groups unofficial advisor was Thurston, the publisher of the Honolulu Adviser.


Sanford Dole became the President of the Republic of Hawaii on July 4, 1894.


Hawaii was annexed in 1898, under President McKinley's adminisration.


Under the territory of Hawaii, Dole's new position was Governor of the Territory.


James Dole is Sanford Dole's cousin.


James Dole bought the island of Lana'i and converted it into a huge pineapple plantation.


One major connection between the missions, business, and Americanization of Hawaii was that Hawaiian League. This secret league of businessmen or planters with US or missionary ties pledged their lives, businesses and honor to the goal of creating decent and honest governement in Hawaii.

Prompt 7

Captain James Cook's voyages were so important because he was searching for a new continent that was believed to be full of riches the world had never known. This continent was later dicovered to be Antarcitca, but Cook's ships were no match for the ice that forbade passage to the snow-covered land itself.
Cook and Hawaii are so closely linked because of the time and season he discovered Hawaii. He was believed to be some kind of god profecied to come at the time Cook came and from the direction he did. Cook is so famous for being connected to Hawaii because it is said that he is the first European to discover it.
It think the story about Gary and the others relates to the reader how the Native Hawaiians view outsiders, but also do not want their own people to seem like barbarians. Gary is a local who is discovered at Cook's memorial. Horowitz thinks that he is the one who wrote the slanderous words on the memorial. Gary is really cleaning it off. He is the keeper and trying to do his job of keeping the marker respectable. Gary feels that Cook wass an invader who began the slow process of taking away the native's traditions. Gary feels strong dislike for Cook, just as the rest of the natives probably do about the man's place in Hawaiian history. Gary's feeling mirror the Reverand's and the churchmen because they are total opposites. Gary has bad feelings while the other men look at him as some sort of hero. Horowitz's point to this story is to share the natives opinion of a man who is looked at two very different ways. It is important to understand both sides of the story.
Shalins's main point of arguement on the ritual performed by the Hawaiians and Cook was that Cook was obliging the Hawaiians, "by playing the part of Lono to it's fatal end." Obeyesekere's view was that the Hawaiians weren't that gullible. From the way the Hawaiian's were behaving I find that I lean toward Shalin's theory. The people seemed to treat Cook like a god, not a man who just landed on accident.
The ironies the author finds are strange indeed. First is that Cook was known for repremanding his men for violent acts, yet he lost his lofe during a very violent rampage of the Hawaiians. He was the one to march ashore with guns ready to violently get back a small boat. He died with a gun in his hand after killing a man. This was odd considering his Quaker upbringing. Secondly, the dagger that felled him was made of the iron Cook himself had asked for to trade in attaining friendships. Finally, Cook didn't die in a place he felt was unsafe, but a place where he'd been treated as a god. A place where he didn't even think his own men needed protection. The strange circumstances are that Cook, a diligent journalist, never wrote about the last month in Hawaii. The crew might hve destroyed it as well, not wanting to disparage their fallen leader. The crew's new captain said that it was an unfortunate tragedy. Seems strange considering all that happened. Why would someone tear out or destroy the journal? Is Horowtiz's story the real recolection or the crews made up one? I guess we'll never know.

Prompt 6

I think that as tourists we view cultures in a "look but don't touch" manner. We see the cultures and the different ways of life yet we do not want to participate in it. That is why the PCC is so vital to the undertanding of Polynesian life. It is so different from the "American" way. The Polynesian Cultural Center, to me, modifies the way a person sees the different polynesian cultures. There are these separate islands that depict te different polynesian islands such as Samoa and Figi. Yet they are different in many ways. The PCC modifies them by putting each separate place so close together. They are really different cultures because of the different ways they dance, their costumes, and their traditions. The dancing is all different and very separate. There are different dances for different things and no dance is the same. The people's clothing is different according to the displays. Some wear only a loin cloth for ceremonies and day to day life whereas others wear western clothing. Finally, no two traditions are alike in any culture. The PCC obviously has to condence and only show the best parts of the cultures, but their midications don't take away from the overall message of the Polyneisan people.

Prompt 5

The religious practices of the Hawaiians were all intertwined to pull the people along in the passage of time. The different aspects of the religion pulled the people along through the passage of time. This was because the rituals were for the people to see the gods work for the specific reasons they were believed in. The different beliefs and practices were learned from childhood. The rules never changed, and the people were expected, even required, to know them. The religion itself was what pushed the people and ran their everyday lives. The kahuna's were the people's leaders, and the gods were worshipped in everything the people did. The hawaiian gods were worshipped through rituals that would seem very alien to the newcomers. The Christians were not used to the pagan like rituals of the Hawaiians. For example, the Catholics might have understood that the Hawaiian's belived that the gods were the wood carvings during the ceremonies atop the haeius, for the Catholics believe that the bread and the wine are Christ's blood and body. However, even I would find it hard to believe that a spirit was inside a handcrafted wooden carving. The newcomers also might have been wary because of the rituals being performed, wether they be for war, the harvest, or to bless something else. There are similarities in the two belief systems that the Christians used as an advantage. The Hawaiian's believed in a sun god. The Christians used this as an example of the Devil. There is also a maker and a prayer. These are just a few things that one could consider common ground.

Prompt 4

The best explanation for the "Shindo Priest" is that the Americans regarded the Japanese proposal as based on mere superstition. All of the options are valid, this just best explains why the Americans were so against bringing in a Shindo priest. Americans are very supersticious, however, that usually reserved for rabbit's feet, and lucky coins. The Americans most likely thought of the Japanese wishes as superstiction because they did not fully comprehend what the priest does and how important he is to Japanese people.
All of the American's were probably not Christians, because it's not fair to say that everyone in the business world is a Christian. It's too narrow of a reason. Believing it's a superstiction is much more logical than tying it into religion. Also Christians believe that everyting happens for a reason, not in superstition, so therefore they would be more willing to accept a different idea on how to fix something.
Because of what they are asking to do, it's very unlikely that the Japanese would ask to bring in the Shinto Priest if they had shady ways of insuring safety.
This is a good point, but when you work for company, you become a part of that company in Japan. Therefore, the "family" takes care of it's own. This is an unlikely choice because of the way businesses like the one discribed in the interaction. Secondly, because of the "family" situation, its unlikely that the Japanese employeers would be worried about an employee ratting them out.

Prompt 3

To me culture is traditions, behavior, and teaching. There is culture everywhere you look and it's all different. When I think of American culture, I think of how Americans see life and how we are so used to having all of these freedoms given to us by the people. I think culture goes with you wherever you are. I have learned from birth that I have a right to say whatever I want without being punished for having an opinion. However, I've learned that freedom of speech is not given to everyone. A woman in Iraq, for example, knows that she cannot go against her father, or husband's wishes. "Culture," is something that people are born into. A Chinese man has the same ideas in America as he does in China. An American can go to any country in the world and still have the same values, traditions, and ideas as he or she does in America. That is to say, culture is not restricted to a certain country, race, religion, or anything else for that matter. For example, a young girl born into a very traditional Japanese family, will learn and grow in that culture, even if she is born in America. However, that is not to say the world itself will not have an impact on her culture as well. I believe that each individual person has their own culture based on where they live, who they are around, what they are taught, and what they see.
A certain belief or practice really is definitely cultural. For example, Scientology is the new "fad" in Hollywood these days. New fads are apart of celebrity culture. Three years ago it was Kabalah. The new religion isn't a part of the culture, the fact that it's the "in" thing to be apart of is the culture itself. Celebrities have to stand out and lead the crowd, or follow it, regardless of what they truly believe. Using religion for an example in middle class life, we see that most people stick with the religion they were born into and were raised as. Christians rarely convert until they receive more information in college when they move away from home. Beliefs are a part of culture whether it be because it's the "thing" to be in, or because the person really does believe in it.
Cultures definitely progress with the passage of time. Today we can see the scaring effects of racism, yet the people of this country are truly getting better and more accepting of interracial relationships and desegregation. Twenty years ago, no one talked about homosexuality as a way of life, and today there are gay pride parades, as well as pushing of legislation to make gay marriage legal. The American culture has progressed with the passage of time and the accepting of new ideas. I think that "development and progression" are very good terms to use when speaking of how a culture has changed. Religion has changed even in the course of time, it's progressed to accommodate how life is. Baptists used to have this rule that there could be no dancing, it was a "sin." Today the church is accepting of dancing as long as it's not in a lascivious way.
I don't think that there will ever be a "global culture." There wouldn't be individuality anymore. I think it would be so boring for everyone to be the same religion, same ideas, same views, and the same way of dress even. So much could be lost by having a global culture. I think, while the world as a whole is moving towards that on a global scale, the people of the world are from far too many different cultures for them all to combine together and form one large one.
If a person were to be harmonious in different cultures, some skills they should have are language, knowledge, and the willingness to accept. First, to exist harmoniously, there cannot be a language barrier. To not be able to understand someone or have them not understand you is extremely frustrating and could turn very ugly. Secondly, there has to be a basic knowledge of how different cultures work. The willingness to accept goes hand in hand with knowledge because while a person might know about a certain aspect of a culture, they cannot exist equally and harmoniously within that culture until they accept that idea or practice as a way of life.

Prompt 2

Jared Diamond's main argument in "Why Did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents for the Last 13,000 Years?" was that cultures vary due to geography. Basically, cultures are different because of where they are on a global scale.
Diamond believes that the proximate factors is the technology of weapons, domestication, and other things. The ultimate factors for my Eurasia developed much faster is because of the climate is the same from east to west. The spread of ideas as well as the adaptation of animals was much easier because of the similar climates. The Eurasian continent was much bigger as well and had more animals available for domestication. This was not the case in the Americas which only had one or two animals available for adaptation and nowhere to spread the ideas to because of the extreme changes in climate where certain crops could not adapt to.
J.M. Blaut argues that Diamond's "science" is wrong and therefore cannot be reliable. He says that Diamond's methods are discredited and unreasonable.
In my faith I cannot really believe in either of these theories. If I did believe in either of these, I'd have to believe that Blaut is right. There are discrepancies in Diamond's theories. Added to that they are old and have already been disproved. Diamond does have valid points though. I just don't know who's right without researching more into the subject.

Prompt 1

Pangaea was the super continent thought to exist 200 to 250 million years ago. The reason it was special is because it made for one area of competition in the centralization of evolution. It broke apart 180 to 200 million years ago. We care about Pangaea today because going from one world to multiple worlds, made for more locations for evolution to take place.
Crosby says that homo habilis existed 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago. Homo erectus came along about 1.8 million years ago, to 700 thousand years ago. Finally, homo sapian sapians, like us, have only existed from about 170 thousand years ago to the present. An interesting fact, the oldest remains of the homo sapian species was found in East Africa and was carbon dated to be 130 thousand years old! The thing that sets humans apart from other animals is the size and capacity of our brains. The storing and altering of behavior is much different in humans than in any other creature. Humans developed faster and have a much larger brain to adapt to climate, lifestyle, and cultural changes that animals do not.
Crosby thought of culture as a system of storing and altering behaviors not in the genetic code but the brain cells themselves. To Crosby culture is so special because it made the members of the genus homo into "nature's foremost adaptable."
People moved into Europe and Asia 50 thousand years ago while 40 thousand years ago they were moving into Australia. However it wasn't until 12,000 years ago that they came to the Americas through the ice free corridor.
The reason that people in the Americas were so isolated was not only the fact that thousands of miles of oceans separated the different continents but also the people were on separate ends of the Neolithic Era. There was less communication in the Americas than there was on the Eurasian continent.
The Neolithic Revolution was the move from stone to metal. It began roughly 25 thousand years ago and evidence shows that some of the process didn't end until 2,500 years ago.
During the Neolithic Period people became civilized and formed civilizations with political systems, agriculture, writing systems. They established cities and laws. They formed a community and worked together to make that community flourish. The days of hunting and gathering were over with the domestication of plants and animals.

sorry i've been remiss

You would not believe how beautiful this place is and how wrong pictures are. It rains every single day. Just a misting rain that makes you think you need to get inside. Nothing like the rain Houston is getting right now. I'm having a good time except for the occasional pain in the battle wound i've recieved. A battle wound is what Charlie would call it and I guess he's right. We've all gotten a few and had a rough time. Today was great because we went to the Japanese religious sights. I forgot to take my camera but the Shendo temple in Chainatown was amazing. I bought 3 talismans that will aid me in the year. One for my studies, one for relationships, and a personal card to keep with me for a personal problem i might be having. I also bought tiny budda's to put in my purse for peace and good fortune. I have to go to class soon so I'll be comeing back to finish this blog and add pictures, but I hope from the pictures you do see that you will enjoy to beauty I get to see everyday. The mountains are on one side of the hotel and the ocean is on the other side. We went to North Shore at Sunset Beach!

It was outrageous. I fell asleep. My dream for all of you at home to get to see this place someday. Maybe I can be your tour guide! The shedo temple we went to was a place to honor and venerate ancestors for the Japanese people. A place to purify and honor the Kami. We had a lecture today from Dr. Littlejohn that was interesting and saw a movie that depicted a family that has grown apart with the passage of time. I felt that Japanese people today focus more on their duty to the whole country than their duty to their families. It made me sad bt also made me realize that we cannot as Westerners feel sorry for the women because it is an honor to them to serve their husbands and family. There is a word for the relationships that we strive for. That relationship where you are totally dependent on a person, whether it be your parents or a close friend. It astonished me that wives and husbands in Japan hardly ever have that relationship with their husbands and vice versa. We went to a Buddist temple today and learned of the meditation and peace the buddist religion has. To be empty is Nirvana. Which is amazing to me because in the Christian faith, to be filled with the love of Christ is essentially "Nirvana" or salvation. The difference just blew me away. I have to go to class now but i'll post more soon. I miss you guys! luv ya tons!

Jenn