The character Miranda has lived on an island for twelve years with her father Prospero, once the duke of Milan. She never did see another human’s face, and when a ship wrecks on the island, and new inhabitants appear, she declares, “Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in ’t!” (5.1.181-184). Written by an English man, William Shakespeare, in 1611 for his play The Tempest, this was not everyone’s reaction to the New World. In fact, The English did not seem destined to conquer the New World due to many factors that worked against them. The English faced disadvantages from other competition with other countries that proved the English were not up to par with them, …show more content…
They were among the countries that seemed destined for world domination—with their advancements in technology and a powerful military, conquering new lands, like the New World, did not seem out of their reach. According to Paul Kennedy, in his essay, Rise of the Western World, China had a “hierarchic administration run by a well-educated Confucian bureaucracy” that gave them a “coherence and sophistication to Chinese society which was the envy of foreign visitors” (Kennedy 5-6). This was opposite of the European world of this time; there was no unified leader to rule over everyone. Not to mention, the countries were all scattered and separated, so it would have been difficult to govern the anonymity of it. Other achievements, which made China seemed as if they were on the path to being successful leaders in dominating new lands, were their technology and military. China is credited in inventing gunpowder and canons, as well as having a domineering military, something the Europeans did not have at this time due to being too spread out and not unified. Like China, the Ottoman Turks also had a substantial army, which posed as threat to the rest of the world. The Ottoman Empire had advancements, such as libraries like the Chinese had, and also in medicine and mathematics. Both these cultures were surely on their way to success, but each had their downfall. Even with the downfalls, Europe faced disadvantages that outweighed their …show more content…
Some of these were geographical reasons, like the climate and mountains and forests that extended throughout Europe. As a result of those geographical reasons, it was difficult to have plentiful crops, they would later grow in the New World; cash crops, in particular, like tobacco and sugar. As mentioned previously, Europe as a whole did not have a unified army. When a country in Europe attempted to advance, “each of the rival forces was able to gain access to new military techniques so that no single power ever possesses the decisive edge” (Kennedy
Western imperialism in China was very significant, costed the lives of millions of people, but also helped shape China into a much stronger country than it was before, being ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Imperialism is a country extending its power and influence through the use of military force. There were two wars between the imperialists and China, the first and second Opium wars. The result of these wars was the weakening of the Qing Dynasty and led to a time of rebuilding, which was a great struggle, for China. The Europeans wanted to trade with China because of the great opportunity that they saw in the market. China’s population, which was 430 million, was seen as a fast and easy way for the Europeans to make a lot of money. The
Before the arrival of western powers, China was very stable, agricultural, and ethnocentric. They had many factories that produced silk, cotton, and porcelain with their natural resources: salt, tin, silver, and iron mines. They had no interest of trade or interaction with foreigners. From the early eighteenth century, European and American Imperialism spread throughout China with a goal to extend their nation’s power. China was one of many territories that undertook the changes of New Imperialism. By 1912, the country was governed by outside nations: Great Britain (mostly), Russia, Germany, France, and Japan. Their influence on China resulted malignantly on the country’s economy, political ties, and lifestyle; in spite of the few
China had a significantly larger population than Europe, China was the home to one hundred to one hundred thirty million people, whereas Europe had only fifty to fifty-five million people in the fifteenth century (Kennedy 4). China had been severely deterred when the Mongol hordes entered their civilization and in the aftermath of Kublai Khan invading their country. However, the Ming dynasty surfaced in 1368. The Ming were able to bring the empire back together by finally defeating the Mongols, and by restoring old Chinese order and tradition. With the Mongols being defeated, the Chinese made leaps and bounds in the world of technology, creating inventions that were far ahead of their time. From an early time, there were very large libraries in China. In order to create the books that existed those libraries, the Chinese created printing by movable type all the way back in the eleventh century. This segued into the use of paper money, which quickened the flow of commerce, which resulted from the increase of trade due to “… canal building and population pressures…” (Kennedy 6). Perhaps what is most impressive about Ming China was their overseas exploration. The most prominent of
The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play that was written shortly after England colonized Virginia in 1609. Throughout the play, there are many different references to imperialism and colonialism within the characters. The Tempest analyzes the imperialistic relationships between England and America but applies it to personal human interaction between the central characters. The island gives newcomers a sense of endless possibilities like claiming the land for themselves because of the belief in the Great Chain of Being and the seventeenth century being an age of exploration. The idea of ruling a colony lured many people into the idea that having that kind of power over a large group of people is attainable. Master-servant relationships are
China before the 1800s was very isolated. The West comes in and gains control by selling Opium to the Chinese for tea and silk. This was nowhere fair, eventually, China wanted to ban this trade that led to war. The Royal Navy’s modernized ships versus poor china’s unadvanced ships, I wonder who won. China was forced into the world of modernization. The British came in and reshaped China like it was clay, with no regard to the natives. This eventually leads to some failed rebellions. These past three examples are how western modernization helped or ruined countries, and that it isn't always black and
The English colonizers embarked for America in the 1600s with the expectation of colonizing and cultivating “the Lord’s garden,” a land believed to be full of resources yet lying in waste because of its uncivilized inhabitants. The Puritans arrived with an “errand into the wilderness” that consisted in transforming the wilderness into civilization, which ended up costing the lives of innocent Indian tribes. This situation was not exclusive of the English settlers in the New World, since the Irish were being targeted by the English for being uncivilized as well. During the time when the English were encountering “strangers” in new lands, playwright and poet William Shakespeare presented to his audience in London the play The Tempest, the story of a man and his daughter in exile on a remote island. Not only does The Tempest provides an accurate context for the actions of the English in the New World and Ireland due to the similarities with the setting and characters of the play, but Shakespeare does an excellent job at portraying the English racialization of savagery in both Ireland and the New World.
The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries were distinguished times, in which new thoughts and great legends were being born and Europe was changing. People were seeing their world in a new, dazzling light. Humanity's greatest writers, scientists, and composers were beginning to share their gifts. However, underneath these artistic overtones were the political changes, too. There was a New World out there, and its potential was undefined and many countries overlooked its capabilities. England, on the other hand, had placed its foot firmly into the foundation of the New World, and the footprint left behind influenced both the countries' possibilities, and the artists' works.
We are all aware of the fact that when the Europeans traveled to the New World, they conquered it. This has been taught to us throughout our lives. However, there are many theories as to why the Europeans dominated the New World. There may have been many factors that led to the fall of the people living in the New World. Thus, I believe the main three reasons I received, alliance that was formed, and disease that was contracted from the Europeans.
China experiences the pressure of the imperialist’s military which China did not have the knowledge or the experience to match. China went from a superior leader, self-sufficient country, that thought that everyone else were barbarians to a torn country. China accepted foreign trade, but they wanted to control and limit how much and with who the trade was used for, they felt that they European trade was unnecessary. They did not allow the western merchants to have any power or privileges and restricted them to Canton, plus they refused to open their trade system beyond Co-Hong which caused china to not become as prosperous as Japan. (Valentini 2013) Because China the believed that they were the center of civilization and that the Western culture was inferior the Chinese government refused to go along with any of the European’s request and the two nations became hostile towards
The island of magic and mystery that Shakespeare creates in The Tempest is an extraordinary symbol of both the political and social realities of his contemporary society, and of the potential for a reformed New World. Shakespeare’s island is a creation which allows the juxtaposition of real and idealised worlds, and shows his audience both what they and what they ought to be. The seventeenth century was a time of ideological upheaval in Europe, with Medieval ideas of a hierarchical and ordered society being challenged by Renaissance thinkers. For the dynastic powers, including England under Elizabeth I, colonialism was an important opportunity to realise territorial ambition and prove religious
The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play.
The 19th century had sparked a time period of bloody revolution, social and political reform, and both economic and financial problems for China. Though the cause of many of these problems could be rooted to internal conflict, foreign influence on Chinese ways proved to be disastrous. During the early 19th century the population was growing, the economy seemed stable and generally people seemed content with China’s economic progress. However these feelings of success would soon end as overpopulation would cause widespread poverty and famine. At that point in time China’s rulers had been Manchu; the Qing dynasty had been in rule but even its
The Tempest is a classic example of Shakespeare’s dichotomized notions of right and wrong within the context of racial inherencies, a social commentary of the colonialism of the New World. An important theme in the play is the racial differentiation between Caliban and the other antagonists, primarily, Prospero, who comes to the island and enslaves Caliban to enforce his own rule. This relationship, as portrayed through the play, is a reflection of the historical social and racial tensions that existed between the colonizers of New Europe and the Native Americans and is illustrated through the language employed by Shakespeare and the interactions that take place between the characters. The Tempest
Early chinese civilization was very well in control of Asia and assumed the role of ‘big brother” to its neighboring Asian countries of Japan, Vietnam, and Korea. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam were absolutely affected by China, being affected by Chinese religion, government, and sky’s the limit from there. Even if you look at current day Asia, those countries still possess a lot of Chinese influence.
The Tempest is a play which by William Shakespeare thought by many critics to be the last play that he wrote by himself. The setting of the play is on a remote island where Prospero the sorcerer and also the legitimate Duke of Milan, plans to return his daughter Miranda to her rightful status, he uses magic and skillful manipulations to achieve this. He magically creates a storm that makes his rival brother Antonio and Alonso the King of Naples be shipwrecked and marooned on his island. On the island, Prospero uses his talents to reveal Antonio’s lowly character and vindicate the king. The main moral lessons from the poem are forgiveness and absolution but there are many other lessons we can learn from The Tempest. This paper explains how The Tempest leads us to a creative perspective of the modern world by tackling issues of colonialism, power, and forgiveness. Basically, is the humanity and society in the world today.