Declan's blog

Opening Statement
Throughout history, due to political economic and social differences, the interactions of various cultural groups from around the world have led to social disturbances, segregation, and upheaval. On both internal and external frontiers of a country's borders, this segregation can been seen occurring with the presence of different cultures and social groups interacting on a non-peaceful basis. With every possible disturbance from genocide, to colonization, to world wars, segregation caused by zones of interaction can be seen on all scales, both local and global. Although governments and political leaders may argue that cultural interaction has proven to be ultimately beneficial to a society as a whole, the initial reactions have commonly been instigated by violence, racism, upheaval, and disturbance to the individual.

Historically countless violent interactions have occurred between various cultural groups that can be seen on many levels, both locally and globally, and resulted in situations such as world wars, slavery and the slaughtering of cultural groups. Although many cultural exchanges have ultimately led to integration, the initial reactions of violence are irreversible and are still affecting the present day.

The creation of Czechoslovakia was one of the conclusions that resulted from the treaty of versailles after world war one. Due to the contributions of Presidents Wilson's fourteen points the creation of Czechoslovakia was intended to resolve the issues and tensions that had been created within eastern Europe by the triple alliance. However, instead of creating a peaceful environment it caused a great deal of tension and dispute. The land being taken from the surrounding countries, a variety of languages to cause barriers, and a mosaic of cultures being forced to amalgamate were the main contributions to the negative interactions. This would eventually result in many causes that led to World War two and internal conflict.

Social and cultural segregation resulting from colonization has also long defined the social interactions between various cultural groups on both internal and external frontiers. An illustrative example of such tense relationships existed in the interaction between Europeans and Africans in the Atlantic slave trade. An increasing volume in African state-building and commerce in the late fifteenth century initiated commercial relations with European merchants. Economic relations with the Europeans paradoxically brought wealth to the kingdoms of Africa, but also destruction; slaving expeditions became pervasive, and the proliferation of European weapons in exchange for African resources resulted in domestic rebellions and civil strife. Consequently, the Atlantic slave trade catalyzed the involuntary migration of millions of Africans to the Western Hemisphere. The impacts of such social and cultural segregation were pervasive and varied throughout the African continent. While some African societies flourished economically from the slave trade, most suffered inconsolable losses; the Atlantic slave trade deprived African societies of millions of their men and women, thus grossly distorting the male/female sex ratios, and an increase in in-fighting among African peoples effectively brought turmoil to African societies. Thus, segregation from colonization extended beyond the initial economic disparities to the social and cultural divide.

As well as the external conflicts that seem to occur wherever two social groups met, historically there are a great number of internal conflicts between immigrants and the indigenous peoples of different countries. Perhaps most notably is the interactions between the White and Indigenous peoples of America. The indigenous people of America resisted the White population’s efforts to force them from their native lands and formed alliances among themselves in an attempt to become more resistant to the White and the US government’s efforts. The majority of America supported Euro-american settlers, encouraging white expansion which the Indian removal act, an act signed in 1830 allowing the US government to relocate native american tribes, was a substantial step in achieving. Even after the Indian removal act was signed and many tribes were forced to relocate, a transition that caused disease and death for much of the Indigenous population, they continued to fight for the land they felt was rightfully theirs and wars continued until 1890 when a miscommunication caused the slaughter of more than two hundred men, women, and children of the Sioux tribe at Wounded Knee Creek. Similar conflicts between different cultural groups within a country have taken place in countless areas around the globe, such as the latin american wars fought over agriculturally appealing land in Argentine and Chile. Even after major world wars between different cultural groups within America ceased, the racism and violence persists in modern times. This is evident in events such as the assassination of Martin Luther King, bus riots, the Rawanda genocide, the chaos cause by forced integration schools in Mississippi and frequent interracial gang wars in South Central LA. Even today the muslim proposal to build a mosque at ground zero is currently creating a mob of outraged protestors in New York City.