Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness was definitely a little hard to follow. It helped significantly to read King Leopold's Ghost first in order to understand what took place in the Congo, and the extreme circumstances that Europeans put African natives in.  Because Heart of Darkness was a bit more difficult to read I don't really feel that I got the full effect of the book.

In this particular case it kind of struck me as odd that Marlow was almost shocked at what was going on in Africa when he arrived

there.  I know that it was not widely believed that King Leopold was treating natives the way he was and doing the things that he was doing, but I thought that people were at least aware of that accusations.  Marlow didn't seem to be in complete disbelief but he seemed to be trying to take in what he was seeing and experiencing with a bit of caution.  It also almost seemed to me that every one else in the story seemed to get very much caught up in the disturbing history of the Congo; meaning, they partook in the cruel acts.  Whereas, Marlow seemed to almost just do enough (which is always to much), in order to at le

ast be partly accepted and live through his experience.  

Joseph Conrad, the author of Heart of Darkness

King Leopold's Ghost....Blog 2

Although at times King Leopold's Ghost was a hard read it never failed to get across the horrid things that were done in the Congo by King Leopold II. It's hard to imagine that something so wrong that was done at such a large scale was forgotten. It's unimaginable that for even us Americans, where we are so far away, and always seem to be caught only in things that directly concern our own benefits don't know about the holocaust that took place in Africa; but also that Jules Marchal, a Belgian ambassador to countries in West Africa, did not even know about what his own country did to the Congo ending only 70 years prior to him being ambassador.

King Leopold's Ghost was an eye opener not only to what happened in the Congo, the place the book focused on, but it also said that these events took place where other countries were colonizing in Africa. It's hard to believe that history can seem to be so easily forgotten and changed.






Roger Casement

King Leopold's Ghost

  I've found this book a little harder to grasp than the other book we've read so far.  I've had to follow the book very closely to completely understand what is going on and I've caught myself having to go back and reread paragraphs and sentences just to make sure I understand something.  One of the things that I find to be interesting is the way the different countries gained control over Africa.  Although this is not new information to me, the book brought it back to my attention, the countries basically tricked villages and kingdoms to hand over their territory.  They made them sign treaties that rulers couldn't even understand offering them clothe for their entire kingdom.  I find it so interesting that colonizers went in and just expected the Africans to take up their customs and their ways just because.  I'm just waiting for the story to continue to unfold and for European countries to continue doing what is best for themselves and not a country who has just as much right to govern itself as Europe to govern it's original countries.

Boer War

The Boer Flag

It was a war of greed. An already rich and powerful nation wanted more and was willing to sacrifice anything to get it. The Boer War was actually two wars, but since the name is most related with the second of the two wars I will focus on the second. The war took place between 1899 and 1902.

In 1886 gold was discovered in the Transvaal in South Africa. The idea of finding gold and striking it rich brought many outsiders into the Boer territory and brought great attention to South Africa. The Boers were farmers and merchants of European descent that had colonized in South Africa. They wanted to become independent of British control but the discovery of gold did anything but help them become independent. In October of 1899 Britain decided to start war on the Boers to gain control over the gold. Feeling powerful they thought the war would be finished by Christmas of that year, however, the Boers surprised Britain.

Around May or June of 1890 Britain had control over two of Boers main territories and thought the war was over. However, the Boers were not going to give up that easily. The Boers waged Guerrilla warfare, and Britain did not know how to fight this. Eventually, Britain decided the best way to defeat the Boers was with their own tactics. Britain burned farms, took over food supplies, and kidnapped women and children to be put into concentration camps. In 1902 the Boers surrender after everything they had was completely devastated, and sign The Treaty of Vereeniging.



Over the course of the war over 25,000 Boer people were killed and over 14,000 natives died. While reading up on the Boer War one of the websites said that in most accounts of history the natives of Africa, whom were very much affected by the war, are forgotten, which I found to be very true.


Websites I used.....
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/8141/boerwar.html
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v18/v18n3p14_Weber.html
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist1.html

egwugwu

This picture in the virtual world was found in the elder meeting link.  Immediately when I looked at it I thought of a part in the novel Things Fall Apart.  As described in the book, Enoch, a tribal member that converted to Christianity, tore of the mask of an egwugwu.  This was extremely unheard of for anyone to do such a thing because an egwugwu was someone who impersonated one of the ancestral spirits of the tribe.  By unmasking one of these impersonators Enoch took away the immortal meaning behind the spirit; thus, the spirit was then dead forever.

This picture also reminded me of the court scene where there were nine stools set up, and these stools were where the egwugwu sat to hear the case.  Though there are not nine stools set up the masked men sitting there look as though they might be hearing something.  Also, being masked makes them seem like they hold some importance just like an egwugwu does.

                 

The mask to the left is a close up to something that might have been worn by an egwugwu.  If you go to the link below it has some cool pics on another african tribe and they compare it to the Umuofia tribe in Chinua Achebe's novel. 

 http://www.aug.edu/~artpxh/Class%20files/HUMN2002/IgboArt/IgboArt10.html

Things Fall Apart

This was my first time reading Things Fall Apart and I can't really describe how it left me feeling. From my research on the previous blog topic many people felt that although colonization was brutal it served Africa well because it gave them new technology and an updated way of living. However, I do not agree with that, especially after reading this book.  Okonkwo's tribe had a its long ancestral history and rituals and although they seem strange to us they are one's way of life. 

Europeans took what was good for them and what worked for them and thought it meant that it was good for everyone. The tribes in Chinua Achebe's novel had a long history within their own tribes and with their surrounding tribes. When the Europeans came they tried to change everything that a tribe had ever known, their way of living, their beliefs.  The thing that really gets me is that the missionaries came in and asked for land and hoped that they would get it and at least be remotely accepted.  But once they had the land they decided that it was their way that was right and just even if the tribal members did not understand it completely or even at all.

The novel made me think that even after all of these years, and with people becoming highly educated, that we would have solved the problems in society today.  After all this time and reading these books and being able to use history as our guide book we would know what way is the right way, and many would think that our way (the white man way) is the best way, but in this book that is not true.  Many will read this book and think that the way the Europeans colonized Africa was not right, but yet the fear of diversity, and the fear of others who are different will continue to rule our society and people's actions. Chinua Achebe's novel will continue to cause people to stop and think and hopefully make a change.

Check out these sites.....

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/achebe.htm

THE LARGEST EMPIRE EVER

The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was considered one of the greatest dynasties of all time. It dates back to as early as the 9th century and lasted up through the 16th century. Over hundreds of years many rulers ruled over the Songhai Empire, but two are seen as the great rulers who brought Songhai to its greatest power and to be known as the largest empire ever. These rulers were Sunni Ali Ber and his successor, also his son, Abu Bakr Dao who later became known as King Askia Mohammed.

Ruling from 1464 to 1492, Sunni Ali Ber began the expansion of the Songhai Empire. During the beginning of Sunni Ali's rule the Mali Empire had begun to break up into small states which led Sunni Ali to take advantage of the situation and begin to conquer these weak areas. His empire continued to grow so he began to divide it into provinces.  He then chose his greatest war chiefs to govern over these areas.  Sunni Ali's reign came to an end in 1492 due to his strange drowning on the way back from an expedition.

Following Sunni Ali's rule was his son Abu Bakr Dao who ruled from 1493 to 1528.  Early in his reign he took a pilgrimage to Mecca where the Sharif of Mecca gave him the name Askia Mohammed.  He then was no longer known as Abu Bakr Dao but as King Askia.  During King Askia's name he followed in his father's footsteps and continued to conquer the rest of the Mali Empire's territories and more.  He also added a system of schooling where students were taught on the basis of the Islamic religion.  Also during this time trade became an active role in Songhai's economy.  With an expanding empire Songhai needed to continue to have a strong army, thus, the trade continued to grow.  

In 1528 King Askia was removed from office and exiled by his successor and own son.  The kings who ruled after 1528 were either assasinated or exiled.  In 1595 the Songhai Empire was completely destroyed and under the reign of Morrocco.  To this day the empire is known as one of the largest empires in history.

Check out these links:

http://www.mythinglinks.org/afr~subsahara~Songhay.htmlhttp://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/songhai.html

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/songhai-2.html

A Little About Me

My name is Elizabeth Dennis, but everyone calls me Betsey. I grew up in a small town in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula called Charlevoix. For those of you who have no idea where Charlevoix is it is about an hour south of the Mackinac Bridge and an hour north of Traverse City located right on Lake Michigan. Before attending Western Michigan University I attended KVCC where I played basketball for two years and then chose not to continue my athletic career. I am currently in my third semester at Western Michigan University and beginning my fourth year of college. After spending a year and a half majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education I decided teaching that age group was not for me. I have changed my major to Secondary Education: English and a minor in Math, which in turn has put me a year and a half behind. I am hoping everything goes my way and I will be able to graduate in the fall of 2010.

I like to dabble in a little bit of everything as you can probably tell my major and minor are two completely unrelated subjects. However, there is a lot more to me than just school. I'm a huge health nut. Most wonder why I don't look into a health related field but I think I like it as a hobby rather than work. I currently work at a fitness center and am constantly reading and researching about the body, food and exercise. A lot of my time is occupied by sports. I'm either watching a football game or out playing basketball somewhere. I've recently attempted to take up golf and tennis where I have come to find my hand eye coordination may not be as superb as I thought. Along with these things I am very into my religion and my God. I attend KVFC and try to live my life as an example to others and with purpose.

My focus right now is on finishing school in a more timely fashion than how I started it. I plan on earning my degree in Secondary Education and I might come back for graduate school or turn my minor into a major while I continue to look for a job.