Brazil And Andean Highlands Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Brazil And Andean Highlands Essay, Research Paper The similarities between the societies found in Brazil and those found in the Andean Highlands are comparatively few. The Andean Highland inhabitants were largely Incas, found in greatest Numberss in Peru. The dwellers of Brazil were chiefly concentrated around the Amazon River Basin country. The Andean Highland people consisted in big portion of the Inca civilisation ( the name of the governing household, non an ethnicity ) . However, the geographic location of these societies is non the lone disparity that exist between these groups of people. Possibly the most dramatic of the differences is the features of these societies and the promotions, or deficiency of, that where achieved in each. With each group holding distinguishable features in the manner of life, authorities, and labour, this affected the colonising groups in significantly different ways and finally lead to the prosperity or diminution of the settlement at that specific time. We will write a custom essay sample on Brazil And Andean Highlands Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The signifiers of regulation in the Amazon Basin and the Andean Highlands were of great contrast. At the clip of European find of the New World, there existed really small political hierarchy in the countries of the Amazon River Basin. At most, and this was reasonably uncommon, there was a local tribal head. However, the authorities did non widen any farther. There was no web of higher opinion. This may hold stemmed from the fact that small towns were scattered around the Amazon, divided by dense wood. The tribal heads would do some small town determinations and be a affair with other local small towns. Still, territorial war was a major facet of the Amazon Basin inhabitants # 8217 ; lives. This is in crisp contrast to the political system that existed in the Inca civilisation. The Inca had a profoundly intricate political system that was based on regulation that was inherited through blood lines. There were local, regional, and imperium opinion leaders. These solons demanded testim onial from the lower categories and besides force labour upon them, but they did supply services for the good of the people and the imperium. The leadings had comparatively few physical responsibilities other than supervising the sphere that he ruled. Territorial war was besides a feature of the Inca society. This society has frequently been labeled either a socialist imperium or a public assistance state.Specifically, the people of the Amazon Basin lived in little small towns around the Amazon River and relocated frequently ( when the dirt became fallow ) . They were a tribal society maintained itself through switching agribusiness and hunting and assemblage. The basic of their diet was of the tuber assortment, a sort of murphy. The society had no categories that differentiated between therich and hapless because the people had really small or no private belongings. However, gift giving was really common in this civilization. The Inca had communities that ranged all the manner from little small towns to booming metropoliss. The chief metropolis of political and civil civilization was called Cuzco. This is where the swayer of the full imperium lived. Much like the inhabitants of the Amazon Basin, communities were frequently formed among groups of relations, which was known as ayllu. In contrast with those of Brazil, the Inca were divided by categories and persons did ain belongings. The lower categories were basically frequently used as slave labour and they besides paid revenue enhancements and testimonial to their local and regiona l rulers through food, materials, and general gifts that were not reciprocated. Land and human labor power was a main source of wealth in the Inca civilization.The types of labor that took place was vastly different between these societies. In Brazil, the labor was very much communal. Everyone worked together for the good of the village and its people. They worked together to build dwellings as well as for the cultivation and care of the crops. They used a slash-and-burn style of farming and relocated once the nutrients of the land were used up. The Incas were much more advanced. In many areas, labor specialization was common, especially in the large densely-populated areas like Cuzco. Many of the people were forced to work building or repairing paved roads, irrigation channels, fortresses, and mines in a system called mita. The Inca took part in labor-intensive agriculture. They employed much more advanced agricultural production methods also. They developed irrigation systems, te rracing, and other advanced agricultural techniques. With the arrival of the European colonists, many of these existing institutions and practices were destroyed and replaced with the Europeans’ system of rule and social customs. However, these clashed with what was practiced before the arrival of the Europeans and this soon became evident. The was much turbulence and revolt against the European ways. In the Andean Highlands, the Incas’ power was totally lost to the Spanish through force. Every pre-existing class was driven into slavery. The Spanish also employed the ruling-class’ system of mita to suit their own purposes. The lower classes were already used to this type of treatment from the ruling class, but the upper classes resisted and were force to somewhat reform their policies on the strict ruling of the Incas.The Amazon Basin dwellers essentially suffered the same fate as the Incas. Captaincies were developed along the Atlantic coast of Brazil and the i ndigenous people of Brazil were forced into working there. There were many attacks against these captaincies by the indigens which strained their success. Also, these indigenous people were not used to organized work that the captaincies used. Many of the workers tried to escape or commit suicide. This eventually led to their replacement with African slaves.Because of pre-existing conditions, European colonists were forced to deal with enigmas that were ingrained in the culture. Force alone could not override the conditioning of hundreds or thousands of years. This called for the Spaniards and Portuguese to amend their methods of governing the people of this foreign land.BibliographyHansis, Robert. The Latin Americans: Understanding Their Legacy. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1997.Keen, Benjamin. A History of Latin America. 5th ed. Boston: Hoghton Mifflin Company, 1996.Patterson, Thomas C. â€Å"The Inca Empire and Its Subject Peoples.† The Indian in Latin Americ an History: Resistance, Resilience, and Acculturation. Ed. John E. Kicza. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources Inc., 1993Stern, Steve. â€Å"The Rise and Fall of White-Indian Alliances.† The Hispanic American Historical Review. Vol. 61.3 (1981) West, Robert C. â€Å"Aboriginal and Colonial Geography of Latin America.† Latin America: An Introductory Survey. Ed. Brian W. Blouet and Olwyn M. Blouet. New York: John Wiley Sons, 1982.

Moving from SMD (Single Member District) System to PR (Proportional Representation) System

Moving from SMD (Single Member District) System to PR (Proportional Representation) System As political disillusionment intensifies in America, Diamond and Plattner (2006) show that parties and candidates are becoming more cynical thus culminating into low voter turnout. Several proposals have been brought forth to revolutionize the American electoral system among them the campaign finance reform.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Moving from SMD (Single Member District) System to PR (Proportional Representation) System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the attention given to the most recent reform (PR system) has made more people to consider replacing the current SMD (winner-takes-it-all) system with the PR system. United States is a democratic and a multi-party state. Therefore, an effective electoral system should cater for the interests of the parties present and the people without compromising on democracy. What impact is the change likely to have on (a) party-system and (b) democracy in U.S.? T hese are the most fundamental questions that people should seek to answer before replacing the SMD system. It is important that we understand the party-system and the democratic deficiencies present in SMD so that we can decide whether PR will be a practical option. The SMD system discriminates against third parties, does not represent all voters, discourages people from voting and enacts laws that do not correspond with the public views. These problems reveal a fundamental flaw in the electoral system; the only persons represented are those who elect the winning candidate. The rest, about 49% in every district never get any representation as the election system shuts out the minorities from participating in elections. What happens is that a Republican who is in a Democrats dominated district votes but his/her votes go to waste because the Republican candidate never wins. Due to lack of minorities’ representation in the electoral system, Shively (2011) asserts that there is h eightened lack of democracy in the electoral system. This explains why there is distorted representation in the state, local legislatures and Congress. The SMD system also shows evidence of unequal representation of political parties. Parties end up getting more or less, than what they deserve. For instance, the House of Representative Elections (1994) saw the Democrats in Washington get 22% of the seats despite winning with over 50% votes.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As put across by Diamond and Plattner (2006), PR systems make use of multi-member districts and uses larger districts to elect the members required as an alternative to voting a single member in every small district. In addition, the number of candidates who win seats in the multi-member districts is dependent on the votes each party gets. For instance, in a PR district consisting of 20 members, if the Democratic Party gets 50%, the Democratic candidates get ten seats. If the Republican Party gets 30%, the party’s candidates secure six seats and if there is a third party with 20%, four seats are reserved for its candidates. A PR system would make sure that all people and parties get a fair and just representation. This is because under PR, there is representation of all significant groups including the political minorities who might only garner 10 or 20 % of the votes. The PR system ensures that the legislature reflects the parties’ voting strengths. For instance, a party with 40% of the votes gets 40% of the seats. Presently, the party-system reflects the unfairness of SDM. The Republican Party and Democratic Party, which are the winning parties, dominate the electoral system thus limiting other parties from winning. The PR system will offer diversity and make sure that emerging third parties such as the Liberation party, the New Party and the Greens get realis tic chances to challenge the two major parties. Such parties will only need 10% of the votes to elect a candidate hence guaranteeing the viability of the minor parties. Shively (2011) notes that this would lead to a healthy multi-party state where there is fair and free representation and competition among political parties. This would also guarantee that there are varied choices during elections. Each person can find a party or candidate that he/she can enthusiastically support. As a result, the public would exercise its voting rights in a democratic manner and with the assurance that their votes are not wasted; there is a guarantee that a 10% vote would see a candidate who can represent their views/needs in parliament. For this reason, voter turnout would be high meaning that the multi-party system formed would be heterogeneous. Thus, varied political perspectives present in the electorate would guarantee that there is a wide-ranging political debate that would uphold democracy, l ead to new ideas and sound decision-making.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Moving from SMD (Single Member District) System to PR (Proportional Representation) System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To maintain or uphold democracy, Shively (2011) emphasizes that the government should allow all people to participate equally in every decision that affects them. The PR system will enhance democracy by giving the party-system a complete overhaul whereby the dominance of the winning parties will be eradicated and equal representation of all political parties, including the minor ones guaranteed. The PR system will also ensure that the electoral system upholds democratic rights, including voting rights and political representation rights of all citizens. Simply stated, PR system will cater for the party-system and democratic deficiencies in the SMD system without compromising on the role of the electoral system. Diamond , Larry Jay., and Marc F. Plattner. Electoral Systems and Democracy. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press, 2006. Print. Shively, W. Phillips. Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science. 12th  Edition. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

AFRICAN HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

AFRICAN HISTORY - Essay Example In a social context, when it comes to social behavior, to begin with it was limited to a few single individuals with children that began to live together to better their chances of survival. These small groups eventually gave to bigger groups evincing a higher degree of social complexity (Berger 1). Thereby the humans felt an increased need for a better and efficient communication, and the need for language was felt (Berger 4). The earlier usage of limited oral expressions to solve the limited problems gave way to much complex lingual constructs (Berger 4). The early humans realized the advantages of using language for the sharing of information. The first convincing stone tools were developed by human about 2.5 million years ago in East Africa (Berger 5). As the early human realized the efficiency that stone tool ushered in their daily activities they started using select rock materials to craft and fashion tools (Berger 5). The humans accepted the importance of tools in butchering activities, as human teeth and nails were quiet incapable of slicing pieces of flesh and tough skins. Gradually the proto humans also learnt to fashion tool from perishable materials like wood (Berger 5). Eventually, with the enhanced preference for group formation, the early humans became more of hunters and farmers than being mere scavengers. This led from human populations confined to small groups that were far scattered to social organization and thereby an enhanced human capacity to fight against the vagaries of nature. This eventually gave way to larger human populations. 2. The relationship between the land, people, and climate has always been a complex issue on the continent. Discuss agriculture, domestication, and pastoralism in early ancient Nile Valley and Southern African communities. Cite techniques used to control plant productivity, livestock domestication, and responses to climatic changes. There is no