Colonialism
and colonial administration of centuries past give of us so many of the
societal problems descended from those times, with so many of them still in the
forefront of our lives. Just a few included would be race, class, clash of
systems and cultures, and the demand and distribution of resources. There are a
number of seeds planted in a few examples that especially piqued my curiosity
when performing our readings this week.
Moscow City State to Russia
The history
of the Russians and their beginning as a city state were particularly for interesting
for me. I was ignorant of the fact that Siberia was so completely desolate and
only held about 200,000 people around 1600-1700. Like in America, these
Europeans brought and spread diseases. I know many think such diseases were
spread on purpose, but most of us have no knowledge of the poor level of hygiene
of most Europeans at that time. Giving a native Siberian a coat in an act of
kindness or trade might be an act to bring death by the spread of disease—malice
or bad intentions likely had little to do with such deaths.
Spanish Governance
When reading
about the state of Spanish colonization in the new world, I am interested in
the levels of bureaucracy that made their achievements different than the
British, French, or Portuguese. I was most surprised to find that the Spanish
ran the Philippians in a double layer of administration: Officials in Mexico oversaw the
administration of those islands, while reporting to another in Spain. Some communications
took eleven months one way. At the same time, a reverse arrangement had been
made to ship Mexican silver through the Philippians, then to the rest of Asia.
The inefficiencies were certainly substantial.
Blending of Christianity in Art
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| Sculpture on display in the Casa Santo Domingo Antigua, Guatemala |
I have had
to reconsider my impressions of much I’ve seen travelling, having photographed
and admired many things without understanding the correct interpretation of
what an artist might have done. My wife is from Antigua, Guatemala; the old
capitol city. It moved because of tremendous series of earthquakes destroying
much of the city in the late 1600’s. We
have crawled over a lot of the ruins, and I must say that when I observe our
photos of statues, civic and at the fallen cathedrals, I certainly missed the
blended nature of cultures. Art is sometimes more than a method or fashion, but
a way to say, “What is ours is still here.”
