1 / 10

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Dominicans, Diasporas and Nerds. The Greater Antilles. Dominican Republic & Haiti  Hispaniola Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, & Puerto Rico are the Greater Antilles. The “Discovery” of the New World.

carpentere
Download Presentation

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Dominicans, Diasporas and Nerds

  2. The Greater Antilles • Dominican Republic & Haiti  Hispaniola • Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, & Puerto Rico are the Greater Antilles

  3. The “Discovery” of the New World • 1492 – Christopher Columbus’ 1st voyage to Hispanola • Santa Maria shipwrecked and survivors settle on northern coast – La Navidad • Taino – indigenous peoples of Hispanola • Estimated pre-Columbian population of 100,000 to 2 million • Estimated population in 1711 = 21,000 • Of the Taino, Columbus wrote in a letter: “Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come… to capture them... I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them… I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased.” • 1493 – Columbus’ 2nd Voyage; La Navidad destroyed; Columbus orders local Tainos to deliver tribute of gold every three months or suffer the amputation of their hands • Local populations attempt to resist, some famously lead by female chief Anacaona after the death of her husband (OW 244) • 1496 – Columbus’s brother, Bartholomew, establishes Santo Domingo

  4. Height of Spanish Empire

  5. Encomienda at Casta Castas: Peninsular – Spaniard born in Spain Criollo – Spaniard born in colonies Indio – descendant of the colonized Negro – descendant of African slaves • Encomienda subjugation of native chiefdoms, placing entire villages under“care” of Spaniards. Spaniards supposed to ensure natives worked for Spanish economy and to teach them to live like Christians • Casta system of racial hierarchy in which the purity of Spanish blood is linked with increased rights, power and privilege.

  6. 17th Century Depiction of Castas

  7. Decolonization noun: the attempt to end colonization and establish independence • 1795 – Spain cedes western Hispanola to France • Population was up to 500,000 with 90% slaves • 1795 – Toussaint L’Ouverture leads slave revolt against French • 1801 – Toussaint captures Santo Domingo thus controlling all of Hispanola • 1802 – Napoleon captures Toussaint • 1804 – Rebel forces declare the Republic of Haiti • 1808 – criollos of Santo Domingo overthrow French • 1821 – Santo Domingo declares its independence as the Dominican Republic but then is quickly invaded by Haiti • 1820s – early 1900s – DR resists control by Haiti, briefly becomes a Spanish colony again, suffers multiple coups and revolutions

  8. Dictatorship noun: government of absolute rule exercised by a single individual • 1905 – the Roosevelt corollary of the Monroe Doctrine • 1916-1924 – U.S. military occupation of the Dominican Republic • 1930 – the Election of Rafael Trujillo • Received U.S. support as an anti-communist leader • 1934 – Trujillo recorded as richest man in DR • Renames the capital city, highest mountain and multiple provinces after himself • 1937 - Begins massacre of all Haitians living in DR • 1960 – executes Mirabal sisters and attempts to assassinate president of Venezuela • U.S. withdraws support of Trujillo • 1961 – Trujillo assassinated

  9. Diaspora noun: the movement, migration, and scattering of people from their homeland • 1963 – leftist forces attempt to create democratic government • 1965 – U.S. occupies DR a 2nd time • First wave of Dominican diaspora as U.S. eases immigration restrictions • 1966 – Joaquin Belaguer becomes president • Had been one of Trujillo’s chief ministers/advisers • 1966-1978 – 2nd wave of Dominican immigration to U.S. due to high unemployment and political repression • 1980s – underemployment and inflation continues to fuel immigration • 2009 – 1.36 million people of Dominican descent in U.S.

  10. Reading Schedule • By 4/2, chs 1-2, pgs 1-75 • By 4/4, ch 3, pgs77-165 • By 4/11, chs 4-5, pgs167-261 • By 4/13, chs 6-end, pgs 263-end For your reference: http://www.annotated-oscar-wao.com/index.html

More Related