Abstract
The paper looks at how people in the Americas used creolization to create flexible identities. The paper shows how slavery was based on economics and class and this created flexible identities.

From the Paper
"The rediscovery of the new world by Europeans and its subsequent colonization resulted in a wide range of historical, social, political, cultural and economic phenomena. Many of these phenomena were the result of different peoples that had previously been separated by geography finding themselves sharing the same geographic space. One of the most important of these phenomena was Creolization. In "Creolization" Edward Brathwaite notes, "The scope and quality of this response and interaction were dictated by the circumstances..."

Tags:creolization, flexibility, americas

Abstract
This paper reviews and discusses the School of the Americas, the secret school that trains assassins. According to the paper, the School of the Americas has been instructing Latin American military officers in the art of counter-insurgency warfare since 1946.

From the Paper
"It is a wonder then that the modern expression of outrage over the abuses that are taking place as we speak and as a direct outgrowth of the contradictions of policy that allow the SOA to remain a viable institution, are so wide spread. The official record of the US has largely remained unchallenged, not surprising given that the nation and its official organizations have actively distanced themselves from open violations in the past. Yet, now, as many who protest the SOA feared such official denials have come to the public attention in the form of abuse in modern war death camps. "

Tags:national, security, latin, america, SOA, classified, training, manuals, Counterinsurgency, techniques

Abstract
The paper looks at the poem "A Child of the Americas," and focuses on the Morales' attempt to convey how living as a minority in a dominant culture is akin to the process of being swallowed up whole. This analysis shows the poets' use of imagery, symbolism, personification, and diction to convey this theme. The paper includes a copy of the poem.

From the Paper
"I am what I am, A child of the Americas, A light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean, A child of many diaspora born into this continent at a crossroads, I am Puerto Rican, I am U.S. American, I am New York, Manhattan, and the Bronx, A mountain-born, country-bred, homegrown jibara child up from the shtetl, a California Puerto Rican Jew, A product of the New York ghettos, I have never known I am an immigrant..."

Tags:Puerto Rican, Latin America, Africa, diversity, culture, identity, duality, inferiority, poetics

Abstract
The paper discusses that the term 'Indian giver' has come to be a synonym for someone who gives something, only to take it back. The paper further explains that it was the Indians who were forced to give to the Europeans--their knowledge about farming and fishing in the Americas and ultimately their land. The paper discusses that in Jack Weatherford's book, "Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World," the exchange between Europeans and Native Americans was an unequal one, with Europeans taking of the positive benefits of the New World, while the Indians were doing all of the giving. The paper concludes that unwittingly, the Indians found themselves the recipient of the evils of European civilization, like slavery, and a disrespectful attitude to the land.

From the Paper
"According to Weatherford, the early post-Columbian contact of the Europeans with the native populace actually enabled the Industrial Revolution to change Europe, and ultimately the world. "Had Europe and America not come together through Columbus or some other connection, the industrial revolution would never have happened in the way we know it," because Europeans would never have gained access to the metals of the New World, or to Indian mines (Weatherford 57). This contact also generated the money economy of Europe and fueled a shift to a European economy based upon real, hard, convertible currency. Metal-based currency also was critical in fueling industrialism and world trade. By beginning the book with tales of South American encounters with Europe, which were particularly brutal and unequal from the beginning of the Indian-European relationship, Weatherford initiates a tragic tone, explaining how enslaved South American Indians mining gold and silver in Potosi supplied the precious metals for most of the European coins that generated wealth for the Old World at the expense of the liberty of the New World."

Tags:indians, slavery, european

Abstract
The paper reviews and discusses the book, "1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus", by Charles Mann. The paper explains that the book reveals how the "New World" for the Europeans was not new at all. The paper relates Mann's revelation that archaeologists and anthropologists have verified that at least 100 million people lived in the Americas before Columbus arrived. The paper relates that Mann explores findings in three specific areas: Indian demography (Part I), Indian origins (Part II) and Indian ecology (Part III).

From the Paper
"The most interesting aspect about 1491 is that Mann compiles information from a large number of reputable sources, which has never been done before. Many anthropologists and archaeologists have written studies on the topics contained in the book, but they remained in academia and not for the layman. Mann not only assembles many of these scientific findings (he apologizes that it would be impossible to cover everything written), but writes about them in an understandable and appealing fashion. At times, he gets the readers muddled with too much technical information and names of tribes, but most often it is just an interesting read."

Tags:Indians, anthropologists, archaeologists, discovery

Abstract
This paper explains that the trend toward regional economic integration has produced organizations, such as the EU, African Union, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, serving the interests of many smaller nations by allowing them to attain more power in their foreign policy by acting collectively within; however, the key factor among all of the organizations, with the exception of NAFTA ,is that the member nations have comparatively similar economies in terms of GDP per capita, manufacturing sectors, and agriculture. The author points out that, surprisingly, the U.S. has done little to expand its trade relations with the other Western Hemisphere countries; however, the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the subsequent establishment of a common market in the Western Hemisphere, which be the largest trade group in the world, is one of the most prudent mechanisms for the U.S. to strengthen relations with key allies and propagate its global economic preeminence. The paper relates that the most significant objection, especially by Brazil, involves the agricultural subsidies given to US farmers, which will skew market costs and competition between U.S. and Brazilian farm products.

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Free Trade Area of the Americas
Strategy for the Resolution of Disagreements over the FTAA
Geo-Strategic Implications of the FTAA
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In order to revive FTAA talks and lead to a finalization of the agreement, three major areas require important changes: the administrations of the involved nations, the resolution of differences halting negotiations and a concerted effort to curb domestic political resistance to the FTAA. First, recent history has shown that the current administrations in many of the countries involved in the FTAA are unwilling to compromise on conflicting goals. While the Bush administration has made expanding free trade a high priority, its tenuous relations with the Chavez regime will continue to lead to subsequent Venezuelan actions to undermine US efforts. The forthcoming US presidential elections in 2008 or a resolution of the electoral controversy surrounding Chavez could bring a change in circumstances in this arena."

Tags:agricultural, brazil, cuba, venezuela, differences, geo-strategic

Abstract
This paper explains that, soon after word of the great wealth and abundance of potential converts, discovered by Christopher Columbus, spread across Europe, other nations expeditiously sent their own ships to the new world to establish settlements, extract the land's wealth and convert the natives. The author points out that, while the Spanish immediately laid claim to Central and South America and later ventured north into New Mexico, the English followed over a century later by establishing their first permanent settlement in Virginia. The paper stresses that each group of settlers had different reasons for choosing to colonize the Americas. The author concludes that these groups' expectations for their colonies, their relations and early encounters with the natives and their fundamental long-term goals catalyzed the experiences of the early colonists and ultimately shaped the structure of these early American settlements.

From the Paper
"By 1622, the settlers of the Chesapeake had established what they considered to be a peaceful and friendly dynamic with the Indians, living in a hierarchical, dominating peace with the natives. In the massacre of 1622, the Indians cunningly preyed upon the English settlers' sense of safety and their naivety to the Indians' true feelings regarding their relationship. Although the efforts of the Indians were largely successful, it was also the catalyst for their demise, as it brought about a valid excuse for the English to assault the natives and steal their lands which, it can be argued, had been their intention from the start."

Tags:pagan ruthless, catholic church, jamestown indians

Abstract
The paper examines the potential impact of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement with Brazil by looking more closely at the impact of NAFTA upon Mexico. In particular, the paper looks at worker conditions in Mexico, the heavy reliance of Mexico upon maquiladoras and the US economy, the disruptive impact of free trade upon many of Mexico's prime industries (chiefly agriculture) and the implications of free trade for the long-term viability of Mexico's present education system. The paper also explores what the free trade environment has meant for Mexico's fragile ecology.

From the Paper
"To start with, it need hardly be said that many first-world countries (of which there is none richer than the United States) trumpet the economic benefits to be derived from open trade between nations. At the same time, opponents of free trade in the developing world decry proposals such as the FTAA as being socially negative and as a means by which first-world, Western nations can consolidate an asymmetric power relationship between themselves and poorer countries. Naturally enough, such opponents also fear the mass-exploitation of natural resources and the implementation of regulatory "red tape" which will constrain internal growth and hobble the ability of languishing nations to join the first rank of economic powers. As one might expect, Mexico is a nation which often springs to mind whenever one contemplates the prospective economic impact of an FTAA arrangement upon Brazil insofar as both nations are relatively resource rich, possess abundant labor pools coveted by foreign multinationals, and have considerable (albeit predominantly latent) intellectual capital which can serve as a boon to themselves and to the outside world if channeled properly. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement has not been kind to Mexico despite its many promising opportunities."

Tags:worker, conditions, maquiladoras, industries, education, environmental, problems

Abstract
This paper uses the following criteria to analyze the influence of the initial colonization of the Americas by Europeans: 1) importance of the matter, 2) data and statistics, 3) unanswered questions, 4) objectivity, 5) relevance, 6) sources, 7) readability, and 8) completeness.

Tags:Aztecs, tobacco, sugar, slavery, slaves, Spain, trade, resources, exploitation, brutality, religion, Christianity, exploration, rituals

Abstract
This paper explains that, today, after the abolishment of slavery, a new paradigm of tolerance has forced a new way for the descendants of immigrants and natives to view their own identities. The author points out that the speaker of the poem, "Child of the Americas", provides the reader with an assortment of different images that emerge from the varied and colorful history from which the current American nation has been formed. The paper relates that, at the end of the poem, the speaker brings all the different ideas together into an identity that is a combination of all the others images---a unique American. The poem is included in the paper.

From the Paper
"Line 18 is interesting in that it contains the final transition before the climax. The speaker suddenly appears to realize that she has both assimilated and transcended the old to become new. This does not mean, as said above, that the old is replaced. Instead, heritage becomes part of the new awareness born in both the speaker and the reader. As if a little afraid of the sudden realization however, the speaker takes a final glimpse back before moving forward to the glorious climax. The word "Spanglish" focuses the central theme of the poem that supports the climax."

Tags:crossroads, tolerance, images, heritage, unstable