Our World

Notes for 3/7/06

Caribbean Diaspora
Rural-Urban Continium
~Plantation and subsistence farming shaped settlement patterns
~Farmlands owned by elite, small plots for substance agriculture
-Caribbean Cities
~Rural to urban migration since 1960s
-Causes: mechanization of agriculture, offshore industrialization, and rapid population growth
-60% of region today is classified as urban
-Cuba is the most urban (75%), Haiti is the least (35%)
-Cities reflect colonial influences
-Housing
~A decrease in rural jobs played a major role in the surge in urbanization
~As urbanization occurred, thousands poured into the cities
-Erected shanty towns, filled informal sector
-Electricity pirated from power lines
~In Cuba, government built apartment blocks reflect socialism
-Housing, landscape, homogenecity

Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Neo-Africa in the Americas
Creolization: The process in which African and European cultures are blended in the Caribbean
The Cultural Imprint of Colonialism
-Plantation system destroyed indigenous systems
-Replaced with different social systems and cultures through slavery
~Plantation America
-A cultural region extending from midway up coast of Brazil through the Guianas and the Caribbean into the southeastern U.S.
-Characteristics include:
~European elite ruling class
~African labor force
~Mono-crop production: a single commodity such as sugar
Asian Immigration
-Result of colonial governments freeing slaves by mid 19th century
~Indentured labor: workers contracted for a set period of time
-Largest Asian populations in Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, and Tobago
~More than 1/3 of Surinamese population is South Asian (from India)
Creating a Neo-Africa
-Beginning in the 16th century, African diasporta: forced removal of Africans from their native area
~At least 10 million were brought to the Americas, and 2 million died en route
~Influx of enslaved Africans, plus elimination of most indigenous peoples
Maroon Societies
-Communities of runaway slaves (Maroons)
~Many short-lived, but others survived and helped African traditions and farming practices to survive
~In isolated areas, like Bush Negroes of Suriname
African Religions
-Most strongly associated with northeastern Brazil and the Caribbean
-Voodoo most widely practiced
Creolization and Caribbean Identity
-Creolization: Blending of African, European, Americindian cultural elements into a unique system
Languages: Spanish (24 million), French (8 million), English (6 million), Dutch (500,000)
-In some places, new languages have emerged
~Patois (French Crede) spoken in Haiti
~Creole languages are an expression of nationalism
Music: Several forms emerged in the region
-Reggae, calypso, merengue, rumba, zouk, Afro-Caribbean, others
-Steel drums
-Music of Bob Marley reflects Jamaica's political situation
(Transatlantic Slave Trade Map)
(Caribbean Language Map)

posted by Anonymous @ 3/07/2006 10:23:00 PM