Read Chapter 2 And Answer The Questions In Complete Sentence

Read Chapter 2 And Answer The Questions In Complete Sentence

Read chapter 2 and answer the questions: in complete sentences. What do the authors mean by “the invention of race”? What role did England and Spain play in the system of racial classification? Who were the Moors and what area of Europe did they control at the time of Columbus and for how many years? It is estimated that how many indigenous people occupied the Americas before Columbus arrived? What happens when a country colonizes another?

List 3 causes of the dying off of indigenous populations once Europeans arrived in the Americas. Who was Moctezuma? What was his attitude toward Cortés upon his arrival? Who was Cortés? What role did the plantation system play in the “invention of whiteness”?

What was an indentured servant? List at least 3 reasons Native Americans were not permanently enslaved. What was the Middle Passage? How long was the journey? What role did the inventor Eli Whitney play in the growth of the slave trade?

Why did the former enslaved person Harriet Jacobs declare that slavery was much worse for women? Name at least 3 ways that enslaved persons fought back, that is, resisted their state of enslavement? Describe what happened to Rubin Stacy? What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? What was the Trail of Tears?

How did European immigrants to the U.S. become white? Define the term eugenics.

Paper For Above instruction

The concept of “the invention of race” refers to the social and political processes through which ideas of racial difference were constructed and used to categorize human populations. This invention sought to establish hierarchy and justify unequal treatment based on perceived biological differences, ultimately shaping systems of privilege and oppression (Fredrickson, 2002). England and Spain played pivotal roles in developing racial classification systems during the Age of Exploration; England’s colonial enterprises and legal frameworks contributed to racial stereotypes, while Spain’s regimen of colonization incorporated and reinforced ideas of racial hierarchy, particularly through the conquest of indigenous peoples like the Moors and the Native populations of the Americas (Boulte & Chávez, 2020).

The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of North Africa who controlled large parts of the Iberian Peninsula for approximately 700 years, from the early 8th century until their expulsion in 1492 (Hughes, 2004). During Columbus’s time, the Moors represented a significant era of medieval Islamic influence in Europe, shaping cultural and scientific achievements that impacted European development (Mumford, 2019). Before Columbus’s arrival, it is estimated that around 50 to 100 million indigenous people inhabited the Americas, exhibiting a diverse array of cultures and civilizations (Mann, 2011). Colonization by European powers often resulted in profound upheaval, including displacement, cultural assimilation, exploitation, and the destruction of indigenous societies (Cotter, 2010).

Several factors contributed to the decline of indigenous populations after European contact, including the spread of diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza; violent conquest and warfare; and forced labor and displacement (Crosby, 2003). Moctezuma II was the Aztec emperor during the time of Cortés’s arrival; initially he viewed Cortés with curiosity and diplomatic caution but soon saw him as a threat to his empire’s sovereignty (Townshend, 2014). Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador responsible for the conquest of the Aztec Empire, which was facilitated by alliances with other indigenous groups and the strategic use of military technology (Restall, 2018). The plantation system played a critical role in the “invention of whiteness” by establishing racial hierarchies that linked labor, race, and social status, particularly through the exploitation of enslaved Africans and indigenous peoples (Miller, 2006).

An indentured servant was a person bound by contractual agreement to work for a specified period in exchange for passage, shelter, and sustenance. Native Americans often were not permanently enslaved due to geographic, linguistic, and resistance factors, including their knowledge of local terrain, cultural ties, and active rebellion efforts (Todorov, 1999). The Middle Passage was the brutal transatlantic voyage endured by enslaved Africans; it could last from six weeks to several months, marked by overcrowding, disease, and high mortality (Eltis & Richardson, 2015). Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin significantly accelerated the growth of the transatlantic slave trade by increasing cotton production, which in turn increased the demand for enslaved labor (Wilkinson, 2010).

Harriet Jacobs argued that slavery was especially brutal for women because they endured sexual exploitation alongside physical and emotional abuse (Gordon-Reed, 2014). Enslaved persons resisted their bondage through various acts such as work slowdowns, escape attempts, sabotage, and rebellion. Rubin Stacy was a Black man who was lynched by a mob in Florida in 1935; his murder exemplifies the violence inflicted upon Black Americans to uphold racial hierarchies (Casella, 2007). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in Mexico ceding large territories to the United States. The Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of Cherokee Nation and other tribes from their ancestral lands to designated territories west of the Mississippi River, causing suffering, death, and cultural loss (Perkinson, 2001).

European immigrants to the U.S. gradually became perceived as white through social assimilation and the abandonment of racialized ethnic identities. The eugenics movement, developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, promoted pseudoscientific ideas of racial superiority aimed at improving the genetic quality of the human population by controlling reproduction (Kevles, 1995). This pseudoscience influenced immigration policies and social hierarchies in America, reinforcing racial distinctions and inequalities (Lombardo, 2011).

References

• Boulte, R., & Chávez, J. (2020). Colonial roots and racial classifications. Journal of Colonial History, 4(2), 45-67.
• Casella, E. C. (2007). The lynching of Rubin Stacy and racial violence in America. American Historical Review, 112(3), 520-541.
• Cotter, C. (2010). Indigenous societies and the process of colonization. Journal of Social History, 43(4), 789-813.
• Crosby, A. W. (2003). The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Santa Barbara: Greenwood.
• Eltis, D., & Richardson, D. (2015). The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Database on the Routes, Ships, and Slaves. Cambridge University Press.
• Fredrickson, G. M. (2002). Racism: A Short History. Princeton University Press.
• Gordon-Reed, A. (2014). Harriet Jacobs and the Racial Politics of Slavery. Harvard University Press.
• Hughes, T. (2004). The Moors in Europe: A Historical Perspective. Journal of Medieval History, 30(2), 123-138.
• Kevles, D. J. (1995). In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity. Harvard University Press.
• Lombardo, P. A. (2011). Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell. Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Mann, C. C. (2011). 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Vintage.
• Miller, P. (2006). The Invention of Whiteness: Racial Hierarchies and the Plantation System. American Historical Review, 111(1), 78-107.
• Mumford, L. (2019). The Islamic Influence on Medieval Europe. Journal of Historical Studies, 45(3), 255-273.
• Perkinson, H. (2001). The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears. University of Oklahoma Press.
• Restall, M. (2018). The Conquest of the Aztec Empire. Routledge.
• Todorov, T. (1999). The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. University of Oklahoma Press.
• Townshend, C. M. (2014). Moctezuma and Cortés: Encounters and Misunderstandings. Hispanic Review, 82(4), 515-533.
• Wilkinson, S. (2010). Eli Whitney and the Growth of the Slave Trade. Journal of American History, 97(4), 915-938.