The title, Sea of Poppies has two key words – ‘sea’ and ‘poppies’. It is basically the two issues of indentured labor and forced opium cultivation and its trade that are reflected by these two words. The setting is 19th century India and Ghosh goes on to show how these two issues are interrelated. Ghosh explores how the British forced the peasantry to take up opium cultivation, their ensuing impoverishment and their reluctant acceptance of their subsequent lives as indentured laborers or girmitiyas.
This point of time was also marked by the abolishment of slavery in America. Corresponding fallout to this development was an acute vacuum in the labor market. The British who were in dire need of labors for their plantations in various thinly populated
…show more content…
She is married to an opium addict, who works in an opium factory. She is drugged with opium and raped by her husband’s younger brother with the sanction of her mother-in-law as her husband is not fit to sire a child. Deeti in order to find out the truth herself administers little doses of opium to her mother-in-law who finally spills the beans. The unbounded power of the drug gets reflected in Deeti’s observation, " ...if a little bit of this gum could give her power over the life, character and the very soul of this woman , then with more of it at her disposal, why should she not be able to seize kingdoms and control multitudes?" (Ghosh, Sea of Poppies …show more content…
Ghosh’s depiction of the opium factory as a grand structure with a fort like impermeability reflects how far the colonial power dynamics revolved round opium trade. Ghosh modeled his description of the factory from an account of a Scottish head of one such factory who curiously fashioned his version to serve as a tourist guide. The grandness of the colonial structures was intended for power projection and the factory was definitely put for such purpose. The awe inspiring building had many levels like concentric circles, the innermost circle preserving the end product in specially designed vaults. The colonial structure is further elaborated with the shadowy presence of waif thin, dark laborers going about their work in a mechanical fashion while the portly white superintendents go on to lord over them. The ominous and deadly nature of the business is so despicable and hugely immoral and a reminder of the absolute nadir the British hit with their exploitative
Indentured servants, were by all accounts, the main source of labor in the seventeenth century. The labor force was mainly needed for the newly discovery of the cash crop that was tobacco. It was a plant that need a lot of man power to be harvested and transported to port to be shipped back to England. “At first they turned to their overpopulated country for labor, but English indentured servants brought with them the same haphazard habits of work as their masters.” Indentured service being described as haphazard is an understatement; uprising.
The transatlantic slave trade was extremely important to the development of the British economy in the 18th century. Slave ships needed large crews in
With the addition of Europeans in the New World, and the decline of Natives due to Old World diseases, labor was intensified and African Americans
Between 1750-1900, indentured servitude became much more popular due to the abolishment of slavery, the willingness of participants, the need for more workers, being able to be paid, and the movement of the world due to the Industrial revolution. Consequences to the popularization of Indentured Servitude were low wages, poor living conditions, and the mass immigration numbers to countries. During the years 1750-1900, the world was evolving to a more mechanical and industrial world compared to its past. But that does not mean agriculture as a whole was eliminated and an industry, people were still needed to work the fields and grow new plants and foods.
Also, the number of slaves rose tremendously over the time frame of 1700 to 1770. The slave count increased from 80,000 to 450,000 doing this time period. The world as we know it today would have been completely different without the British coming to the New World and learning and adapting as they did. With the growth of population came many important aspects from what we know today such as inventions and cultural diversity.
The industrial revolution was both positive and negative for our country. Despite the fact that there were many good things that came out of about the revolution there was many more negatives for the people at the time. A few of these consequences included low and unequal pay, child labor, no job guarantee, and poor living conditions. These situations made it obvious to the government that something needed change, but it took a while for them realize it resulting in injuries and even death. Although it did take awhile for them to realize what they needed do to prevent this, eventually they did figure out laws to help stabilize and grow in in a healthy way.
This time period is usually associated with dreadful working conditions for the working class and unimaginable unemployment rates. The light that Griffin shines on the subject contradicts what many believe to be a terrible period for all those involved. We see a glimpse of this
Following the War of 1812, America entered a period known as the Antebellum Era, meaning "before the Civil War," which lasted from 1815 to 1861. This period was characterized by the Market Revolution, which saw the birth of American capitalism and caused major social and economic change. From the year 1815 to 1850, slavery remained an established institution, economic change in the North East led to industrialization which in turn caused other economic and social changes, and a shift in America's social climate caused the growth of the abolitionist movement. One change that transformed American society was industrialization. Prior to the War of 1812, American society was mostly comprised of yeoman farmers who subsisted through trade and barter,
Firstly, the owners of land ownership in the southern colonies rapidly pooled their land, forming a large-scale farms, which, respectively, required much more labor. Second, the price of tobacco, the main crop of the South, in the 1660s fell and remained at a low level, forcing all the planters to sell cheaper. Third, as population growth in England and at the same time reduced to improve living conditions, the number of people who wanted to go to America as indentured workers, reduced - thus the number Servent also declined. Fourth, the laws of Virginia and other colonies were aimed at the worsening situation of black workers and ultimately led to legitimize the system of slave labor. Although theoretically black workers were free men, in fact, they had to put up with infringement of their civil, legal and property rights.
During this era the north was industrializing but leaving the south behind. South was using slaves to harvest crops or do domestic work. There was also a cotton boom; therefore more blacks were needed to produce to the demand. Blacks did not have a choice to what they were. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that all blacks should be sent south to be a slave, whether they were free or a
This was causing monopolies and a large population of Asians, overcoming the population. In document C it talks about how the Chinese had already began to monopolize the shoe, boot, and cigar industries and were starting to take over farming. This caused problems for many Americans and was quickly putting them out of work. That also brings up the point that the Chinese required fewer workers to complete a job because they did not require micromanagers. They could work independently and get the job done, therefore requiring less workers, as stated in document
America also experienced major economic growth in both industrial and agricultural areas. On the other hand, were negative impacts as most people would not become prosperous. During this time the rich would become richer and the poor would remain poor and struggle to make ends meet. Many of the jobs that were available were dangerous, required long hours, and paid low wages. This forced many workers to live in “urban slums” where cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis were found (Shmoop Editorial Team,
As a result, from 1860 to 1900 alone, the number of urban areas in the United States expanded fivefold (Source 2). The immigrants who desperately needed employment and the greed of factory owners made the rise of sweat shops astonishing. Around the country low-paid immigrants, including women and children, worked for excessively long
The movie Gandhi was an inspiring depiction of the life of Mohandas Gandhi and the impact that he made on India in gaining its independence from Britain through the act of non-violent protest that made it possible. The film reveals the period of Indian immigrants being suppressed by the British authorities in 1893 South Africa. It shows the slow transformation of changes that occurs within India with the arrival of the Indian lawyer Gandhi who came to South Africa to be a legal advisor to a firm, and had witnessed the tragic reality of the absence of basic rights that his fellow Indian people were being denied of. Moved by the suffering, Gandhi displayed his ability to see the injustice and felt obligated to fix it through the interconnectedness
“Leone’s original version tells this story in a complex series of flashbacks, memories, and dreams.” – Roger Ebert “Sergio Leone was known for his Westerns, but his last film and one of his greatest was set in New York City” – Martin Scorsese ‘Once upon a time in America’ is the immortal work of the famous Director. The film, which touches the most important questions of life, such as love, friendship, duty, death, betrayal, happiness and unhappiness, education and outlook. This film is an entire cinematic heritage.