French influence in Vietnam in the 19th century Essay Example for Free

French influence in Vietnam in the 19th century Essay In the 19th century, the French had a great influence in Vietnam in different aspects including; culture, religion, ethics, economy, politics and government and nationalistic aspirations of the Vietnamese. The French ruled Vietnam from approximately mid-late 1800s until 1954 when Vietnam defeated the French. According by Edward Terry on the geocities website, the greatest influence in Vietnam was that of religion. Others may think differently, but this essay will explain how all different aspects had an impact on Vietnam and whether or not the French had a good or bad influence in Vietnam. According to the textbook Contested Spaces by Thomas Cantwell, French colonialism had a negative influence on Vietnamese society. The French had a huge impact on the Vietnamese culture. French culture strongly influenced Vietnamese food, language, some architecture etc. The French cuisine had a great influence in Vietnam as you can still find asparagus, white potato and French bread on menus in Vietnam. A Vietnamese breakfast would be a baguette, yogurt and orange juice, which are all typical French items. In the South, the influence was the greatest, so these things are most often found in southern Vietnam. Before the French came, the Vietnamese used Chinese characters but French missionaries introduced the Latin alphabet to replace that. The Vietnamese written language doesnt only use 26 characters like the English language, but many different with different accents. Actual Vietnamese words were hardly influenced by the French and it could be said that in the 19th century, the Vietnamese spoken language sounded just like the Chinese spoken language to people who couldnt tell the difference. Even though the French language didnt have a great impact on the Vietnamese spoken language, many well educated Vietnamese speak French. The French influence in Vietnamese culture wasnt particularly bad or good. Even though, some may argue otherwise. Vietnamese architecture wasnt influenced strongly by the French but in the main cities such as Hanoi there can still be found the remnants of old French buildings. The French occupied the city so the majority of the buildings in the center like government buildings, offices, opera houses and big lodges were all made by the French. As said before, some argue that the biggest influence the French had in Vietnam was that of religion. The Socià ©tà © des Missions Étrangeres (The society of foreign missionaries) claims that up until the year of 1841, 450 000 Vietnamese had changed their religion to Christianity. However, those statistics arent very reliable, because during the progress they might have killed twice as many people as that. Having said that, even up to today, Catholicism is the second most practised religion (after Buddhism) in Vietnam. Therefore there can be said that religion was one of the biggest influences the French had in Vietnam. Vietnamese moral and ethical values were mostly influenced by the Chinese and the French didnt have a great influence on Vietnamese ethics. The French might have brought in some Europeans habits, but the majority of the Vietnamese lived by Chinese ethics. The French also had a great impact on the Vietnamese economy. The French opened banks in Vietnam but only to the benefit of the French. Looking at the economic influences the French had on Vietnam there can be said it was a bad influence for Vietnamese people. The French also introduced a wine tax in 1817 and since the national drink of Vietnam was rice wine, this had a great impact on the Vietnamese people. They controlled the rice wine manufacture, distribution and sale in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Local production was illegal. Salt was also very important product to the Vietnamese. In 1897 Governor General Paul Doumer also introduced a salt tax. Salt could only be purchased from French outlets with a price 10 times larger than its original price. The French also took opium from Asia and introduced it in Europe. They started trading and by 1929 the whole of Indochina was producing approximately 80 tonnes of opium yearly. All of these things influenced the economy because there was more trading and people had to pay a lot of taxes on things that were free before. Looking at all of these things there can be said that the French did have a negative influence on the Vietnamese economy. The French obviously had an effect on the Vietnamese government because they were ruling the Vietnamese. When they first arrived in Vietnam, they divided  it in three different parts called; Bac Ky (Tonkin), Trung Ky (Annam) and Nam Ky (Cochin china), so they could gain control over each part at a time. While the French were in Vietnam the emperor remained a figure head with no real power. He could practice his activities with his court and initiated laws, and conducted ceremonies as long as they didnt clash with the French policies and intentions. The French were in control over the government and therefore also the politics. As said before they introduced more taxes and with these taxes came new laws. According to the book: A short history of South east Asia by Church P., the Vietnamese imperial government had lost all capacity to control events. Another thing that changed while the French were in Vietnam was that the Vietnamese became more nationalistic. The Vietnamese wanted independence from the French and had a very nationalistic attitude. The French being in Vietnam also started guerrilla warfare. The Vietnamese stood up against the French. Guerrilla warfare isnt supported by the official military of the government but can be very organized. The French being in Vietnam flamed up their nationalistic aspirations. There can be concluded that the French had a huge impact and influence in Vietnam on all different aspects of live and the country. In conclusion from analyzing these different things there can be said that the French mainly had a negative influence in Vietnam. Bibliography: http://www.geocities.com/vietnamrp/french_influence.htm by Edward Terryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnamhttp://www.asian-nation.org/vietnam-history.shtmlhttp://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Vietnam-POLITICAL-BACKGROUND.htmlThomas Cantwell, Contested spaces Conflict in Indochina. McGraw Hill education, first edition 2003, NSW. Church P. 2006, A short history of South East Asia, John Wiley Sons, Singapore.

The Gospel of Thomas Essay -- Informative, Manuscripts

Discovered in the twentieth century, The Gospel of Thomas was founded by peasants that were digging for fertilizer close to the village of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The peasants revealed a container containing thirteen leather-bound manuscripts that were buried in the fourteenth century. The container contained fifty-two tractates that represented â€Å"heretical† writings of Gnostic Christians. Dated back to 200 A.D., there was not much known about the Gospel of Thomas besides that there were only three small fragments from Oxyrynchus. The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of literary works that contains 114 ‘opaque sayings’ of Jesus that were collected and written down by St. Didymus Jude Thomas, but nobody knows if St. Didymus Jude Thomas wrote the sayings down for sure, it is just said that he did. St. Didymus Jude Thomas was said to be Jesus’ twin brother, assumed by a few early Christians. Thomas is actually Hebrew for twin, and Didymus is Greek for twin as well. According to saying twelve, the disciples said to Jesus, â€Å"We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?† Jesus said to them, â€Å"Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being†(Gospel of Thomas: saying 12). As I was reading the Gospel of Thomas and read over saying twelve, I believe that Jesus is stating that his brother James is the go to guy, the leader, when they are to be departed. I also believe that saying twelve is evidence that, in the second century, someone who admired James had help write the Gospel of Thomas. Furthermore, I think that the writer of the Gospel of Thomas most likely has had access to the Gospel of John. This is because the writer references Jesus as being a light. Only John's Gosp... ...ng how Christianity would be different if the Gospel of Thomas were in the New Testament is impossible to answer because no one could say in regards to the details. However, it would be safe to say that Christianity as we know it would not exist. The Bible would now contain opposing teachings on salvation. This kind of contradiction would certainly lead to confusion and distrust in the veracity of any of the Gospel accounts. The Canonical Gospels can be traced back to the earliest Church via the writings of the Ante-Nicene Church fathers. The Gnostic Gospels cannot be traced back to any writer who is connected to Jesus in any manner. Furthermore, all the texts within the Old Testament and the New Testament were never in question among believers at any point, while the Gnostic texts were seen as texts simply using the name â€Å"Jesus† to teach different â€Å"truths.†

Business Environment in Fiji

Fiji business environment is a combination of several factors that govern the business and trades of this island nation. Fiji business environment is generally good and promising for taking initiative of new ventures apart from some occasional disturbing factors. Fiji is one of the most progressive island nations in the central south of Pacific Ocean. It has many industries and other natural resources that help together to make a good business environment in this country. But Fiji faces a number of troubles also in the business sector. There are some political strife in the country that has originated from the clash between the cultural communities belonging to different ethnicity. Moreover, Fiji has some other problems also which are not favourable for creating a sound business environment in Fiji. Some of these problems are, natural disasters, deficiencies of sound economic plans and some others. But overall, Fiji business environment is good and promising enough for further developments. Business is affected by the external environment as it is by the competitors. It is important that firms are aware of the changes in the external environment to be successful. Understanding the influence of Macroeconomic factors helps the firms to determine the current market conditions and how beneficial will they be for the success of their business. Various macroeconomic factors that influence the business are: Macroeconomic factor a. Economic Growth. Economic activities refer to the level of buying and selling activities happening in an economy over a time period. Economic activity changes could happen due to the following reasons: †¢Changes in income levels †¢Future prospects of individuals. †¢Future of the economy †¢The level of economic activity in the world as a whole †¢Political activities around the world †¢Natural disasters – like hurricanes, earthquakes, or flood etc †¢Changes in prices of raw materials – oil, metals, fuel, energy and so on †¢Changes in world stock markets b. Inflation: With the increase in Inflation there will be an increase in the level of prices of products and services over a specific period of time. As a result the firms will have to incur higher costs of operations. This will be also due to the increase in wages of the employees. c. Interest Rates: Interest rates are the charges levied by the banks for lending a loan. Increase in Interest rates will directly influence the business as businesses borrow money from the banks from time to time. Increase in interest rates will lead to higher interest expense: Businesses will have to incur higher costs to repay the loan. Interest rate changes also affect customers who in turn will affect the business. In case of increase in interest rates the amount that individuals need to pay to borrow the money will increase thereby, reducing the demand for large products in the market. Further, if the interest rates decrease then the charges on a loan to buy larger items like cars, electrical equipments are likely to fall. As a result, a large number of people might be willing to buy such items. There will be a sudden increase in the demand for the products offered by such businesses.

Picking Cotton

When a traumatic event happens, a multitude of people are affected. In Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption written by Jennifer Thompson- Cannino and Ronald Cotton, the story of Thompson's rape and Cotton's conviction is unraveled through the perspective of both authors. The emotions that both Thompson and Cotton endure in the aftermath of the rape are shown with the alternation of speaker. With the change in speaker in each part of the book, the read gets to see the most significant part of the person's life.The memoir begins with Thompson's rape, in the perspective of her. Telling the horror of Thompsons experience strengths the reader's sympathy towards her as pathos dominates the first section of the novel. Being inside Thompson's mind and knowing her strength throughout the crime acts as a characterization method for Thompson. Since the novel is nonfiction, the typical characterization methods used in other novels are not possible. Knowing how Thompson thinks a nd feels creates traits for her which later makes her conviction of Cotton understandable.The transition to Cotton during his ime in prison enlightens the reader on Cotton's life and also his innocence. An inside look of what a double life sentence can take from an honest man is shown as Cotton reveals his hardships during his memoir. Again pathos was used, showing the struggles and confrontation Cotton faces during his imprisonment. The theme of forgiveness results after Cotton's perspective and thoughts are expressed and he chooses to forgive Thompson for her mistake. Having multiple speakers in the novel also has its disadvantages.By changing perspectives from Thompson to Cotton, the eader is neglected the others thoughts during a certain time. While Cotton tells of his prison time, the read does not know how Thompson is the novel during this time. When the novel changes speakers back to Thompson she is married with children. There is a missing gap of time the reader never knows about. The reader also misses out on Cottons reunion with his community and friends. During times when both Cotton and Thompson are together, only one person's thoughts are shown, blinding the reader to how the other person feels and what they are thinking.The authors' choice to share both of their stories in one novel had both advantages and disadvantages. While the different point of views showed how both Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton were victims as a result of the crime committed by Booby Poole, the reader did not always get the full story of both speakers. Overall, the structure of the novel was strong and made a momentous impact on the reader and accomplished its goal of bringing awareness to wrongful imprisonment and also to forgiveness. Picking Cotton By alyssaduck

the story behind the beatles essays

the story behind the beatles essays THE INTERESTING STORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S LEADING POP BAND The introduction of pop style into the music industry in the nineteen-fifties and sixties has had a definite effect on the world. Pop brought rock'n'roll music into existence; it gave those listening to it a sense of non-conformity and freedom. It put parents on the edge of their seats with worry, teenagers on the edge of their seats wanting more. Most important were the bands that brought about the development of pop culture. One of these bands was the Beatles. The Beatles were perhaps the greatest pop band ever, and it is a very interesting story how they came to be so. The foursome had many things in common. Each was born in Liverpool, England, and as boys they lived fairly near to one another (About the Beatles). Also, three of the four had losses that had a great impact on their lives before age 17. As the band became a defined, independent group, the four seemed to have more and more in common with one another. John Winston Lennon, basically known as the founder of the group, was born on October 9, 1940. His parents separated when he was only four, and it was then that John was sent to live with his Aunt Mimi in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. John grew up half a niche higher than Paul, George, and Ringo in the class system (Roylance, Quance, Craske, Milisec 7). In order to pass time, John often played with his friends at Strawberry Fields-a Victorian house converted into an orphanage. Later, this would serve as the inspiration for the song Strawberry Fields. John had a rough school history throughout, and as a boy he often thought, there is something wrong with me because I seem to see things other people dont see (Roylance, Quance, Craske, Milisec 8). At age 16, he finally found an interest when his mother taught him a few banjo chords. Soon after, his mother was killed by a drunk off-duty policeman. In griev...

Chinampa - Raised Field Agriculture in the Americas

Chinampa - Raised Field Agriculture in the Americas Chinampa system farming (sometimes called floating gardens) is a form of ancient raised field agriculture, used by American communities at least as early as 1250 CE, and successfully used by small farmers today as well. Chinampas are long narrow garden beds separated by canals. The garden land is built up from the wetland by stacking alternating layers of lake mud and thick mats of decaying vegetation. The process is typically characterized by exceptionally high yields per unit of land.  The word chinampa is a Nahuatl (native Aztec) word, chinamitl, meaning an area enclosed by hedges or canes. Key Takeaways: Chinampas Chinampas are a type of raised field agriculture used in wetlands, constructed of stacked alternating layers of mud and decaying vegetation.  The fields are built with a series of long alternating strips of canals and raised fields.  If properly maintained, by dredging organic-rich canal muck and placing it onto of the raised fields, chinampas are quite productive.  They were seen by the by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes when he reached the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) in 1519.  The oldest chinampas in the Basin of Mexico date to ca. 1250 CE, well before the formation of the Aztec empire in 1431.   Cortes and the Aztec Floating Gardens The first historical record of chinampas was by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who arrived in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) in 1519. At the time, the basin of Mexico where the city is located was characterized by an interconnected system of lakes and lagoons of varying size, elevation, and salinity. Cortes saw agricultural plots on rafts on the surface of some of the lagoons and lakes, connected to the shore by causeways, and to the lakebeds by willow trees. The Aztecs did not invent chinampa technology. The earliest chinampas in the Basin of Mexico date to the Middle Postclassic periods, about 1250 CE, more than 150 years before the formation of the Aztec empire in 1431.  Some archaeological evidence exists showing that the Aztecs damaged some of the existing chinampas when they took over the basin of Mexico. Ancient Chinampa Aerial view over Xochimilco traditional agricultural fields Mexico City, March 16, 2015. Getty Images / Ulrike Stein / Stock Editorial Ancient chinampa systems have been identified throughout the highland and lowland regions of both continents of the Americas, and are also currently in use in highland and lowland Mexico on both coasts; in Belize and Guatemala; in the Andean highlands and Amazonian lowlands. Chinampa fields are generally about 13 feet (4 meters) wide but can be up to 1,300–3,000 ft (400–900 m) in length. Ancient chinampa fields are difficult to identify archaeologically  if theyve been abandoned and allowed to silt over: However, a wide variety of remote sensing techniques such as aerial photography have been used to find them with considerable success. Other information about chinampas is found in archival colonial records and historic texts, ethnographic descriptions of historic period chinampa farming schemes, and ecological studies on modern ones. Historical mentions of chinampa gardening date to the early Spanish colonial period. Farming on a Chinampa Chinampa Field Scene, Xochimilco. Hernn Garcà ­a Crespo The benefits of a chinampa system are that the water in the canals provides a consistent passive source of irrigation. Chinampa systems, as mapped by environmental anthropologist Christopher T. Morehart, include a complex of major and minor canals, which act both as freshwater arteries and provide canoe access to and from the fields. To maintain the fields, the farmer must continually dredge soil from the canals, and redeposit the soil atop the garden beds. The canal muck is organically rich from rotting vegetation and household wastes. Estimates of the productivity based on modern communities suggest that 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of chinampa gardening in the basin of Mexico could provide an annual subsistence for 15–20 people. Some scholars argue that one reason chinampa systems are so successful has to do with the diversity of species used within the plant beds. A chinampa system in San Andrà ©s Mixquic, a small community located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Mexico City, was found to include an astonishing 146 different plant species, including 51 separate domesticated plants. Other benefits include a damping down of plant diseases, compared to ground-based agriculture. Ecological Studies Instensive studies in Mexico City have been focused on chinampas in Xaltocan and Xochimilco. Xochimilco chinampas include not just crops such as maize, squash, vegetables, and flowers but small-scale animal and meat production, hens, turkeys, fighting cocks, pigs, rabbits and sheep. In sub-urban spaces, there are also draft animals (mules and horses) used to draw carts for maintenance purposes and take visiting local tourists. Beginning in 1990, heavy metal pesticides such as methyl parathion were applied to some chinampas in Xochimilco. Methyl parathion is an organophosphate which is extremely toxic to mammals and birds, which negatively impacted the kinds of levels of nitrogen available in the chinampa soils, decreasing beneficial types and increasing those not-so-beneficial. A study by Mexican ecologist Claudia Chvez-Là ³pez and colleagues reports successful laboratory tests removing the pesticide, lending hope that damaged fields may yet be restored. Archaeology Chinampa or floating gardens, Mexico, journey of Leon De Pontelli to Central America, from LIllustration, Journal Universel 886(35), February 18, 1860. De Agostini / Biblioteca Ambrosiana Getty Images The first archaeological investigations into chinampa farming were in the 1940s, when Spanish archaeologist Pedro Armillas identified relict Aztec chinampa fields in the Basin of Mexico, by examining aerial photographs. Additional surveys of central Mexico were conducted by US archaeologist William Sanders and colleagues in the 1970s, who identified additional fields associated with the various barrios of Tenochtitlan. Chronological data suggests chinampas were built at the Aztec community of Xaltocan during the Middle Postclassic period  after significant  amounts of political organization was in place. Morehart (2012) reported a 3,700–5,000 ac (~1,500–2,000 ha) chinampa system at the postclassic kingdom, based on aerial photographs, Landsat 7 data, and Quickbird VHR multispectral imagery, integrated into a GIS system. Chinampas and Politics Although Morehart and colleagues once argued that chinampas required a  top-down organization to be implemented, most scholars today (including Morehart) agree that building and maintaining of chinampa farms do  not require organizational and administrative responsibilities at the state level. Indeed, archaeological studies at Xaltocan and ethnographic studies at  Tiwanaku  have provided evidence that the meddling of the state in chinampa farming is detrimental to a successful enterprise. As a result, chinampa farming may be well-suited to locally-driven agricultural efforts today. Sources Chvez-Là ³pez, C., et al. Removal of Methyl Parathion from a Chinampa Agricultural Soil of Xochimilco Mexico: A Laboratory Study. European Journal of Soil Biology 47.4 (2011): 264–69. Print.Losada Custardoy, Hermenegildo Romn, et al. The Use of Organic Waste from Animals and Plants as Important Input to Urban Agriculture in Mà ©xico City. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology 5.1 (2015). Print.Morehart, Christopher T. Chinampa Agriculture, Surplus Production, and Political Change at Xaltocan, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 27.1 (2016): 183–96. Print.-. Mapping Ancient Chinampa Landscapes in the Basin of Mexico: A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach. Journal of Archaeological Science 39.7 (2012): 2541–51. Print.-. The Political Ecology of Chinampa Landscapes in the Basin of Mexico. Water and Power in Past Societies. Ed. Holt, Emily. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2018. 19–40. Print.Morehart, Christopher T., and Charles D. Frederick . The Chronology and Collapse of Pre-Aztec Raised Field (Chinampa) Agriculture in the Northern Basin of Mexico. Antiquity 88.340 (2014): 531–48. Print.

Human behavior in orgzations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human behavior in orgzations - Essay Example It is, because organizational behavior has a direct influence on productivity that is the chief managerial concern. Defining organization behavior Robbins (p.11) states, â€Å"OB is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organization’s performance.† OB is a very vast concept that may include the study of simple disciplinary matters of employees, interactions, reactions, employment of power and skills, turnover, leadership, performance, communications, actions and perceptions etc. hence there is no consensus on the definition of OB among researchers and scholars. Minor (2006, p. 40) observes, â€Å"Although it does seem that consensus is at a rather low level overall within organizational behavior, there are subfields and sectors where this is not the case.† However, Ostrof, Kinicki & Tamkins (cited in Kinicki, p.41) have presented a more comprehensive and objective definition of the concept, â€Å"Organizational culture is the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments.† The increasing need to understand and react according to the demands of organizational behavior has exposed managers to tough challenges of interpersonal skills and expertise. Today, the effectiveness and success of a manager is heavily associated with his knowledge and commitment to the OB. Studies have shown that managers with better communication and networking skills are effective and successful. Managers need to administer human resource extensively and keeping in touch with lower level employees and higher-level managers simultaneously has become inevitably important to achieve managerial objectives for the organization. Horizontal and vertical communication with individuals and groups can help to bridge gaps and evade