Historic State In Malaysia History Essay

Historic State In Malaysia History Essay The history of Malacca begins with the legendary tale of a Hindu prince Parameswara. He was the 14th Century Palembang prince who fled from a Javanese enemy and escaped to the island of Temasik, where he then established himself as a king. However he was than drive out of Temasik by the Siamese. With his band of followers he then continued his journey along the west coast of Malay Peninsula in search for a new refuge. He finally reached near a river called Bertam, where he witness hunting dogs being kicked by a pelanduk. Fascinated by the bravery of the pelanduk he then decided that he wants to build a city on the spot. While resting under a tree he asked his servant what was the name of the tree, after being informed that the tree was called Melaka, he finally gave that name to the city he is going to establish. All this happened in the year of 1400. Malacca is located at a very strategic point as it is located midway along the straits of Malacca that linked China to India and Near East. It was positioned as a center for maritime trade and with that the city grew rapidly. During this period Islam was introduced by the Gujarati traders from western India. Malacca was a center trade of silk and porcelain from China; textiles from Gujarat and Coromandel in India; camphor from Borneo; sandalwood from Timor; nutmeg, mace, and cloves from Moluccas; gold and pepper from Sumatra; and tin from western Malaya With the success and fame of Malacca it attracted a lot of covetous eyes. The first were Afonso de Albuquerque who was a Portuguese in 1511. Sultan Mahmud tried to counterattack the Portuguese repeatedly but failed without any success. Not until 1641 where Dutch took over Malacca after a fiery battle. The Dutch then used the city as a military base and to control the Straits of Malacca. However in 1795, when Netherlands was captures by French Revolutionary armies, Malacca was handed over to the British to avoid capture by French. In 1826, the English East India Company in Calcutta ruled the city. From 1942 to 1945 the city was under Japanese Occupation. However in 1957 Tunku Abdul Rahman restored Malacca from British when he announces the news of impeding independence. At the foot of St Pauls hill, there is a replica of the Melaka sultans palace during period of the Melaka sultanate ruling. Though it is only replica, some may believe it reassembles the real sultanate palace. The information that gathers and obtained from the Malay Annals is used for building such these historical structures. In addition, these historical structures had references to the construction and the architure of palaces of Melaka ruler, Sultan Mansur Syah, who ruled from 1456 to 1477. The palace is used for various palaces ceremonies and private chambers of sultan itself. For example are Balairong Seri, the main hall or throne room, and the Royale Bedchamber. Customs and traditions of various royal households that ruled Melaka has been demonstrate through the palace. The replica of the palace was constructed in 1984 and was officially opened for public by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 17th July 1986 and then it became cultural museum. A unique feature about this building is wooden pegs is used in the construction of the building, so there is no nails. It also made of hardwood while the roof is made of Belian wood. At the south-western foot of Bukit China there is located a well that is believed to be the oldest existing well in Malacca. Under the orders of sultan Mansur Syah, the well was dug for his consort, the princess Hang Li Poh. However there is no single evidence about the existence of princess Hang Li Poh in Chinese imperial records. This well carries few interesting stories others than for Hang Li poh itself, the well has severally poisoned. In 1551, after Malacca was defeated by the Portuguese, the sultan of Malacca who reluctant fled to Johore, launched a counterattack by poisoning the well. Through this action, 200 Portuguese soldiers were killed. And then in 1606 once more the well was poisoned by the Dutch and lastly on 1628-1629 the Acheenese repeated it by poisoned again. The well then is protected by wall with cannons and guard post by the Dutch, after recognizing the importance of the well and avoid from sabotage again. In the heart of Malacca town there is a historical structure known as The Stadhuys, the red square. It was built by the Dutch who ruling Malacca in 1650. This big red hall was once used as an English institutional education, when Malacca was handed over to the British in the 19th century, by missionaries residing in Malacca. This is to response to a letter signed by a J.Humprey, J.W.Overee and A.W.Baumgarten. Where were once used by the British to provide free education, now the Stadhuys is now the home of a museum of history and ethnography. Traditional costumes and artefacts through the whole era or history of Malacca are been exhibits in the museum and one of Malaccas foremost museum. Jonker Street is the central boulevard of Chinatown. It is once renowned for its antique shops. However over the years it has turned to clothing and crafts outlets as well as restaurants. On Friday and Saturday nights, the street is transformed into the Jonker Walk Night Market a lively bazaar with hawker food stalls and tourist-friendly stands. Alternatively, traditional trishaws (becas) can be hired to take you on a nostalgic journey through this historical site. Jonker Street  has always held a special charm in terms of the diverse European-Asian culture and heritage at this city once known to the world as Malacca. The renowned street houses some of the countrys oldest heritage buildings dating back to the 17th century. Architecturally influenced by the Portuguese and Dutch, you will see an beautiful eclectic mix of cultures through this entire area. While Jonker Street is famous for its architecture and heritage, food is also one of the popular choices here. A good variety of l ocal food can be found along Jonker Street while most tend to source for the famous Peranakan or Nyonya food here. The  Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum  is a living museum located in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, a street adjacent to the Jonker Walk. Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock also known as the Millionaires Row in Melaka. Established in 1896, the  Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum  was once the family home of the Baba Chan family  known as Rumah Abu. Having been around for more than 100 years, this heritage building was built during the Dutch occupancy and later bought over by the Baba Chan family. The  Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum  illustrates the way of living of the Peranakans at the end of the 19th century, a unique blend of the east and the west. It also exhibits  an archive of beautiful traditional Baba and Nyonya costumes and a unique bridal chamber. St. Pauls Church is probably the oldest church in Malacca. It is located at the St. Pauls Hill .This church was originally a small chapel built by a Portuguese Captain called Duarto Coelho in 1521 and called Nosa Senhora Our Lady of the Hill. When the Dutch took over Malacca from the Portuguese, they changed its name to St. Pauls Church and used it for 112 years until they own church, the Christ Church was completed in 1753. Old tombstones found inside the ruins bear silent testimony to the final resting place of several Dutch and Portuguese nationals. In conclusion, Malacca is truly one of the Malaysians pride and honor for its history as well as unique lifestyles. The rich histories have embraced the culture and the people that stay in it. Although there are still a lot more of well known places such as Kota A Famosa, Francis Xavier Church and Kampung Kling Mosque in Malacca that we did not mention above, no doubt this place deserves to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Through Malaysians heart, Malacca is always the best place to learn the history while to enjoy variety of special local foods that are only manufactured there. All in all, we must preserve and maintain the beauty of Malacca so that the generations of Malaysia can get a glimpse of what left behind by the pasts.

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Essay

Critique of Christmas Time in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol An audience member's gleeful first-hand account of Charles Dickens's public reading of "A Christmas Carol" unwittingly exposes an often overlooked contradiction in the story's climax: "Finally, there is Scrooge, no longer a miser, but a human being, screaming at the 'conversational' boy in Sunday clothes, to buy him the prize turkey 'that never could have stood upon his legs, that bird'" (96). Perhaps he is no longer a miser but, by this description, Scrooge still plays the role of a capitalist oppressor, commanding underlings to fetch him luxuries. While Dickens undoubtedly lauds Scrooge's epiphany and ensuing change, "A Christmas Carol" also hints at the author's resentment for an industrial society's corrupted notion of the "Christmas spirit." Through instances of goodwill which Christmas provokes, Dickens suggests that Christmas is only an interruptive exception from the otherwise capitalistic calendar. Even when Scrooge becomes altruistic, as in the above scene, his philanthropy still operates under the guise of capitalism, measured in economic terms and aimed ultimately at providing himself with pleasure. Dickens subtly turns his critique of ephemeral and selfish "holiday time" to the reader. The straightforward, Aristotelian structure of the narrative and the constant foreshadowing and repetition reduce any potential anxiety about the story's outcome. The main cause for anxiety over the conclusion of any sentimental tale is to identify with the protagonist in some way. Although Scrooge is a caricature with whom few would commiserate (or admit to so doing), Dickens's Three Spirits lure us into sympathy with the miser while simultaneously engenderi... ... it, since they, already presumably aware of their own Scrooge-ness, need the lesson less than the hypocritical Mrs. Cratchits do. Both sets of listeners will, however, seek out the story each Christmas; for the Mrs. Cratchits, an innocuous retelling reduces anxiety about identification with Scrooge, and the Scrooges receive a reminder of the changes that need to be effected on a social, rather than local, scale. In either case, a rereading is what Dickens solicits, and not only for his own canonization. When "A Christmas Carol" marks the memory of various Christmases for readers, they will, if not perceive all time in such a form, at least live in a literary Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Works Cited: Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. USA: Bantam Books, 1997. Genette, GÃ ©rard. Narrative Discourse. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1980.

Great Migration

Beginning 1910 and leading through the end of the 1920’s, a â€Å"Great Migration† took place int he United States where more than 2 million African Americans moved from the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast and West. Much of the movement was a response to the high levels of racism in the South as well as employment opportunities in the growing industrial cities. The results of this movement not only affected the current economic climate but also led to many changes that would continue to evolve for generations to come.This essay is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the migration in order to hopefully provide insight into much of the culture we encounter in today’s society. As we explore the deeper reasoning behind the sudden migration of African Americans to the more urbanized locations of America, we must first consider the increased level of racism in the South of this time. â€Å"The primary factor for migration was the racial clim ate and widespread violence of lynching in the South. †1 With the Jim Crow laws being in effect, much of the idea of â€Å"separate but equal† facilities for African Americans was terribly skewed. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. †2 Through these disadvantages, a higher level of oppression was then conveniently enforced on African Americans of the South including voting restrictions, separation of schools and job restrictions. During and World War 1, the industries of the North began to grow significantly due to the needs of the war.As industries grew, so did the job market. With the increase in job openings and the restrictions placed on immigration to the United States, blacks from the South found opportunity to escape the harsh economic climate of the South. Looking at the growth of the cities, a connect ion is made with the railroad locations. â€Å"People tended to take the cheapest rail ticket possible. This resulted in, for example, many people from Mississippi moving directly north to Chicago, from Alabama to Cleveland and Detroit, and Louisiana to California. 1 With this mass movement, came a huge cultural shift among African Americans. Having better opportunities in industries away from the failing farming market, fighting in the Great War, and forming new communities away from the more severely oppressive South brought about a level of pride in their black culture, much of this leading to riots and protesting among African American groups. Even before the war, African Americans had stepped up protests against discrimination.The NAACP â€Å"fought school segregation in Northern cities during the 1920s and lobbied hard, though unsuccessfully, for a federal anti-lynching bill. †3 With the continued growth of black pride, it soon found its cultural expression in the â₠¬Å"Harlem Renaissance–the first self-conscious literary and artistic movement in African American history. During the 1920s, Harlem became the capital of black America, attracting black intellectuals and artists from across the country and the Caribbean. Soon, the Harlem Renaissance was in full bloom. †3Because African American migrants maintained much of their Southern culture and speech patterns, such differences created a sense of â€Å"otherness† in terms of their acceptance by others who were living in the cities before them. â€Å"Stereotypes ascribed to â€Å"black† people during this period and ensuing generations often derived from African American migrants' rural cultural traditions, which were maintained in stark contrast to the urban environments in which the people resided. †1 Many of these stereotypes are known and enforced even in todays society showing the underlying effect of racism in a culture years down the road.The Great Migrati on’s effects on our culture both political, economic and sociologically have effected much of where we are today. In hopes of branching even further from our tainted past, we must learn from it. â€Å"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. â€Å"4 -George Santayana Sources: 1. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American) 2. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws 3. http://www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/database/article_display. cfm? HHID=443 4. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/George_Santayana

Importance of Forest Conservation - 1284 Words

The birth and growth of human civilization and culture has been very intimately connected with the forests. Forests have had a great influence on human thought and way of living. For example, the Vedas and Upanishads, the oldest known religious, philosophical and literary monuments of mankind are the direct products of forest-life in ancient India. The Aranyakas or the Forest Texts form an integral part of these oldest testaments of human wisdom and philosophy. They are called so because they were both composed and studied in the forest-dwellings. They contain the contemplation and meditation of the forest seers, hermits and rishis on God and Soul. Many of the Vedic gods are deified forces of nature. They have been very beautifully and†¦show more content†¦In the light of this policy, the forest related activities are being given a new orientation. These activities include development of waste lands, reforestation and reclamation, forest settlement, restriction on grazing and supply of other kinds of fuel, elimination of forest contractors, and discouragement of monoculture practice, etc. The objectives are really laudable but there is no proper and strict implementation of the policy decisions. Destruction of forests by timber merchants, contractors, and local people, etc., is still going on. Trees are being cut indiscriminately in the Himalayas, causing floods, soil erosion and salutation of the rivers and canals of the area. Some enlightened people of the area were very much concerned at these activities of deforestation and so startedShow MoreRelatedThe Importance of Wildlife Conservation1634 Words   |  7 Pagesthat failed to understand the importance of wildlife conservation. Why is wildlife so important? What steps need to be taken to preserve wildlife? How can one become involved in wildlife conservation? These are all important questions that need to be explored in order to help maintain the delicate ecosystem on Earth. Wildlife plays a vital role in this fragile ecosystem and without wildlife the human race would not survive. The initial step in wildlife conservation is understanding why wildlifeRead MorePotential Spatial Structures Of Peregrine Falcon Populations1549 Words   |  7 PagesIn addition to the conservation benefits of recognizing that metapopulations have spatial structure, a number of important conservation risks arise when conservationists do not account for the various potential spatial structures of metapopulations. One of the risks of assuming homogenous spatial structure is that the models will produce falsely high numbers, as the actual population violates the assumptions of the model. Wootton and Bell (1992) highlight the importance of addressing spatial structuresRead MoreThe Land Ethic, By Aldo Leopold, Gifford Pinchot, And John Muir980 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many great people throughout the history of forestry; however, three men stand out for their powerful messages and passion for the forests: Aldo Leopold, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir. Not only did they love the for ests, but they wrote about them, too. Each man had their own specific agenda for how to manage our forests, and we will analyze them below. Aldo Leopold, in The Land Ethic, discusses society’s relationship with the land. He explains how land is still seen as a privilege, butRead MoreThe Impact of Sea Otters on Marine Ecology Essay1217 Words   |  5 Pagesspecies due to their profound impact on marine ecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model of the impact of predator-prey interaction on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the population of sea urchins in particular, and kelp forests other marine organisms in general. There has been a steep decline in sea otter populations due to water pollutionRead MoreEnvironmental Worldviews And The Importance Of Resource Conservation Essay1473 Words   |  6 PagesASSIGNMENT 2 712923 QUESTION 1 Environmental Worldviews and The Importance of Resource Conservation QUESTION 3 Acid Rain - Uneven distribution and Human and Environmental Effects QUESTION 1 The world consists of many opposing views on how the world should function and how to best interact with it. The first points describes different environmental worldviews and the second point describes the importance of resource conservation. 1.1 Environmental Worldviews and Values Environmental worldviewsRead MoreThe And Its Effects On Indigenous People1475 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Bioprospecting is aimed to make humans rich, not to conserve forests† (Onaga 2001). Even though the Convention on Biological Diversity called for more benefit sharing, in most cases bioprospecting agreements cannot be enforced by source countries, communities, or the convention (Sandhu 3,4). This makes biopiracy common, since the country that makes a successful commercial product is likely to want to protect their intellectual property rights and neglect indigenous contributions (Cluis 1). ARead MoreChanging Distribution Of The K ≈à ¥ Kako Essay1628 Words   |  7 Pagesyear spent visiting wildlife (MfE, 2007) In addition, KÃ… kako are culturally important to MÄ ori. Legend tells of how KÃ… kako brought Maui water during his battle with the sun. As a reward, Maui is said to have given the KÃ… kako its long, strong legs (Forest and Bird, 2009). KÃ… kako contribute to ecosystem services that help sustain the country’s farming, forestry, and horticulture industries. Patterson and Cole (2013) valued New Zealand’s land-based ecosystem services as NZ$57 billion (equal to 27% GDP)Read MoreEssay about Impact of Sea Otters on Community Ecology1487 Words   |  6 Pagesecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model for the impact of predator-prey interactions on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the populations of sea urchins, which indirectly affects the populations of kelp forests other marine organisms. There has been a steep decline in seaRead MoreJohn Muir vs. Gifford Pinchot810 Words   |  4 PagesHave you ever heard of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot? These two men expressed different beliefs over preservation and conservation. John Muir was America’s most famous conservationist. While Gifford Pinchot was one of America’s leading preservationist. Both of these men spent most of their lifetime defending the natural resources and the wildlife around the world. John Muir is one of California’s most important historical personalities. Born in Scotland, he has been called â€Å"The Father of our NationalRead MoreGifford Pinchot, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold Saved the Beauty of the Wilderness1006 Words   |  5 Pagesthe man who saved U.S. forests. He introduced sustained-yield forestry---cutting no more in a year than the forests could produce new growth. Pinchot’s goal was to show private landowners that they could too can harvest trees without damaging the forest and graze livestock without denuding the range. He is known for reforming the management and development of forests in the U.S. Pinchot believed that it was important for people to depend on natural resources, and conservation must be utilitarian. The