Super Prison Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Super Prison Project Management - Essay Example The act of imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty possibly imposed by the state for a crime committed. The history of prisons dates back to the Biblical history of Joseph in Egypt. However, it began in the 19th century in Britain and has advanced to most countries in the World. In England and Wales, the history of prisons has been that prisoners are assigned security classes when sentenced, while all prisons are provided with specific security classifications depending on the prisoners’ types and numbers recommended (Alexander M., 2012). For instance, the classifications were into category A, B, C, and D. i. Category A: Meant for those whose escape from the prisons would most likely endanger the public and national security. ii. Category B: those of no serious/ maximum security needs, however for those who needed to be highly bared from escaping the prisons. iii. Category C: convicts who own no trust from the prison administrations in case they are left in the open c onditions, but are unlikely to make any escape attempts (Carlson M. and Garrett S, 1999). iv. Category D: convicts who can be reasonably trusted not to make any attempts of escaping from the prisons, and are hence provided with the privilege of an open prison. Such prisoners are subject to approval by the prison administrations and given Release On Temporary License to be able to work outside the prison and or leave for home upon passing their Full License Eligibility Date, which is usually a quarter of any sentence period (Ayers E. L., 1984). Super prison project is entitled to include among other things: religious facilities housing chaplaincy officers and other facilities for counseling; education facilities including library, with provision of adult education and continuing education opportunities; health facility; an exercise yard; a sally port; a segregation unit; a unit for vulnerable prisoners; safe cells; visiting area; a death raw; staff accommodation area; support facilit ies area; agriculture or industrial plant run with the convicts’ labor; a recreational area; and an administration area for prison management (Diiulio J., 1990). 2. Work Breakdown Structure This is a representation of the stakeholders’ roles in diagrammatic format (Harrison F. and Dennis L., 2004). Project management as a discipline involves planning, motivating, organizing and controlling the available resources so as to attain a specific goal; in this case the construction of the Super Prison (Young-Hoon Kwak, 2005). The stakeholders will therefore the managers of each department assigned to them. 3. Stakeholders A stakeholder is anyone involved in a project for the purpose of successful implementation of the project’s strategies. Effective implementation of this project requires composition of stakeholders who will be charged with the responsibility of foreseeing and supervising each and every activity that are undertaken (Dennis L., 2007). A number of stakeh olders, each assigned specific duties will have to demonstrate their potential in undertaking the proposed functions schedule for each rank in the project management. The stake holders will include: a. Executive Sponsor The Executive Sponsor of this Super Prison development and implementation project will be the government of England, and will have the responsibilities of: owning the project and funding it directly; being responsible for the project’s benefits; providing recommended resources and key Implementation Officers to the project in a timely manner; working very closely with the Project manager to deliver the expected benefits; chairing of the Steering Committee in case called upon; approving project initiation plan, statement of project scope, project plan, and any other changes to the set plan, scope or benefits;

Fin 4100 Essay Example for Free

Fin 4100 Essay Financial Management 1. Happy Valley, Inc. stock is valued at $51. 40 a share. The company pays a constant dividend of $3. 80. What is the required return on this stock? Po = D/Rs $51. 40 = $3. 80/Rs Rs = 7. 39% 2. The Francis Company is expected to pay a dividend of D1 = $1. 25 per share at the end of the year, and that dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 6. 00% per year in the future. The companys beta is 1. 15, the market risk premium is 5. 50%, and the risk-free rate is 4. 00%. What is the companys current stock price? Po = D1/(Rs-g)Rs = 4% + (5. 5%)1. 15 = 10. 325% Po = 1. 25/(. 10325-. 06) Po = 28. 90 3. Nachman Industries just paid a dividend of $1. 32. Analysts expect the companys dividend to grow by 30% this year, by 10% in Year 2, and at a constant rate of 5% in Year 3 and thereafter. The required return on this low-risk stock is 9. 00%. What is the stock’s current market value? D1 = 1. 716 D2 = 1. 8876 D3 = 1. 98198 P2 = 1. 98198/(. 09-. 05) = 49. 5495 Po = 1. 716/(1. 09) + (1. 8876+49. 5495)/(1. 09)^2 Po = 44. 87 4. A firm has the following sales: 008200920102011 $1,248,311$1,542,661$1,821,962$2,048,725 Use the compound average growth rate to forecast 2012 sales. g = [(2048725/1248311)^ . 3333] -1 g = 17. 956069% 2012 sales = 2048725 (1+. 17956069) 2012 sales = 2416595. 469 5. A firm is considering two projects, and it requires a 12% return on its projects. Their minimum payback period is 2. 5 years. Assuming the projects are independent (not mutually exclusive), which would you choo se based on the payback method? The NPV? The IRR? Project AProject B Initial outlay $200,000Initial outlay $180,000 Cash flows Year 1$70,000Year 1$80,000 Year 2$80,000Year 2$90,000 Year 3$90,000Year 3$30,000 Year 4$90,000Year 4$40,000 Year 5$100,000Year 5$40,000 Payback for A: 2. 55 years (reject) NPV for A: $104,275. 05 (accept) IRR for A: 30. 15% (accept) Payback for B: 2. 33 years (accept) NPV for B: $32,647. 23 (accept) IRR for B: 20. 57% (accept) If the projects were mutually exclusive, then based off of Payback, only B is accepted; off of NPV, A is accepted; and off of IRR, A is accepted. 6. A firm has a capital structure containing 40% debt, 20% preferred tock, and 40% common stock equity. The firm’s debt has a yield to maturity of 8. 1%, its annual preferred stock dividend is $3. 10, and the preferred stock’s current market price is $50 per share. The firm’s common stock has a beta of 0. 9, and the risk free rate and the market return are currently 4% and 13. 5% respectively. The firm is subject to a 40% tax rate. What is the firm’s WACC? WACC = . 40 (8. 1%) (1- . 40) + . 20 (6. 2%) + . 40 (12. 55%) = 8. 204% 7. A firm has 1 million shares of outstanding common stock which currently trades at $50 per share. The firm’s stockholders require a 15% return on their investment. The firm also has $47. 1 million (par value) in 5 year, fixed rate notes with an after tax yield to maturity of 7% . The current market value of the five year notes is $49 million. The firm also has 200,000 outstanding shares of preferred stock which pay an annual dividend of $8 and currently trade at their $80 per share par value. What is the firm’s WACC? Market cap for common stock: $50M Market cap for debt: $49M Market cap for preferred stock: $16M WACC = . 15 (. 43478) + . 07 (. 42609) + . 10 (. 13913) = 10. 90%

Portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood

Portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood Zeinab Kobeissi Over the years, pre and post 9/11, many people have noticed that Hollywood tends to dehumanize Arabs and Muslims. In most western movies, Arab and Muslim characters are subjected to racial and ethnic stereotyping and have continued to be the center of vilification for the entertainment industry in the states. The mass media has depicted Arab and Muslim stereotypes in a number of ways within the American culture and the west in general. Through the society’s media, literature, theatre, and many other creative outlets, stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims is manifested continuously. Such representations have been negative for the most part, whether they were based on historical facts or on works of fiction. They have also had very negative repercussions on Arabs and Muslims who live in the west especially as a reaction to current events and when it came to daily interactions. Generally, Arabs and Muslims exist as one-dimensional characters in Hollywood cinematic works and appear almost sub-human. They are typically always a danger or a threat, ignorant, violent, and most importantly obsessed with kidnapping or killing as many Westerners as possible as they supposedly view them as the enemy. Edward Said notably coined the term â€Å"Orientalism† to express the cultural habit of converting those from eastern cultures into the â€Å"Other†. The notion of Orientalism presents exotic characters that are created from a Western political and social biased perspective in order to provoke a powerful reaction against the eastern culture while at the same time confirming western values. Basically, the hero westerner defeats the nameless evil villain from the east and the western audience in turn feels good about itself. In Reel Bad Arabs, Shaheen states that televisions image of the Arab is omnipresent [and] is becoming a part of American folklore. He also says that Arabs have consistently appeared in American popular culture as billionaires, bombers, and belly dancers† which are known as the 3 B’s for the role of a typical Arab character in a Hollywood movie. What most seem to be forgetting though is the fact that â€Å"Muslim† is no more synonymous with â€Å"Arab† than â€Å"Christian† is with â€Å"American†. In Hollywood movies, Arabs are equivalent to Muslims, though Arabs actually comprise only 12 percent of the Islamic world population. Islam followers or supporters live on every continent and the Muslim majority is not present in the Middle East, rather in the Asia-Pacific region in countries like India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In fact, the latter has the largest population of Muslims and is a constitutional republic. It is not very surprising, however, that Hollywood makes Arabs and Muslims synonymous, appearing in such a manner as one. Hollywood is simply reinforcing the concept of Orientalism when it comes to Muslims. Edward Said explains how the image of Muslims in the eyes of orientalists was not any different from anti-Semitic views by saying that, â€Å"Not accidently, I indicate that Orientalism and modern anti-Semitism have common roots†¦ The transference of a popular anti-Semitic animus from a Jewish to an Arab target was made smoothly, since the figure was essentially the same.† Basically, what Hollywood now does is use a newer and more effective technique to warp the image of Islam; how Muslims are described in Hollywood is similar to how the Jews were portrayed in Nazi-inspired movies. It is crucial however, to mention that there have actually been some movies after 9/11 that portray Muslims quite fairly; such as The 13th Warrior. Unfortunately though, the negative image is usually more influential than the positive one as it feeds people’s fears. According to a survey done by the Pew Forum in 2009, 35 percent of Americans believe that Islam promotes violence more than the rest of the other religions. Moreover, according to a poll done by Time Magazine, 62 percent of Americans do not personally know a Muslim American. This means that most Americans form their concept of Islam from what the mass media offers them, and this is extremely problematic. Hollywood must give out an image that gives attention to what unites the people of this world, focusing on the positives and the universal humanistic qualities that bring people together instead of dividing them. The 13th Warrior is one of the very few Hollywood movies that portray Arabs and Muslims realistically. The Arabs in this movie are portrayed in a way that they appear to be multi-dimensional just as any westerner would be in a Hollywood production. The Arab here is not only depicted as a regular human being but even more so as an actual hero. Even Jack Shaheen deems it as one of the best depictions of Arabs in film; it has a balanced and progressive image of Arabs. The main character, Ahmad ibn-Fadlan Ibn-Fadlan is an Arab, who is at the same time the narrator describing his exploits with the Vikings. He tells his experience with them looking back as an outsider. The life of these Vikings is seen from the perspective of a character who appears to be a learned member of a civilized society, serving as an observer and the viewers’ window to a foreign culture from foreign eyes. Through him, we see and react to traditions that neither we nor him are familiar with, and this makes t he viewer discover more about him as well as those he is talking about. The way he adapts to their cultural ways and even adopts some of their social patterns as well adds more layers to his character, and this encourages respect and tolerance for other religions and races. Neither the Arabs nor the Vikings seem to be radical or fanatic and no faith is criticized or put down. In The 13th Warrior, from the point of view of the Arab â€Å"other†, we see characters from two distinct cultures and backgrounds learning from each other and growing from the experience. The main character and protagonist in this Hollywood movie is actually a likable Arab who realistically tells the tale of his encounter with a strange culture and convincingly demonstrates his attempts to connect with this odd and bizarre world that he has stepped into. In turn, the Vikings treat him kindly and put aside his differences instead of distrusting him for them. They even come to a point where they refer to him as â€Å"little brother†. The Arab is portrayed as rational and intelligent vs. impulsive and primitive. Ibn-Fadlan quietly learned the Vikings’ tongue by immersing himself into their conversations during their nights next to the bonfire and carefully dissecting their language. He learns to understand it and speak it by merely listening to them talk and repeating the sounds in his mind, a task that would probably be impossible in real life. This helps his character appear as an educated man who is clever enough to accomplish incredible tasks quite quickly, which earned the respect of the Vikings. Another act of intelligence by Ibn-Fadlan is when he deciphers what the oracle had told him and his fellow warriors when they went to see her. The men wanted to ask about the whereabouts of some men who had attacked them earlier, but the woman was quite mad and could not speak very coherently. When no one was able to understand what she was hinting at, Ibn-Fadlan was able to put the clues together and finally tell the warriors where the men who had once attacked them lived. Not to mention that the Arab was the only one who was able to provide a token from the enemy for the oracle to derive energy from. â€Å"Drawing sounds†, which referred to the writing of letters and words, was something the Vikings knew only the Arab was capable of doing amongst them. A fellow warrior found Ibn-Fadlan drawing these sounds into the sand with a stick and wondrously questioned him about it. Ibn-Fadlan explained to him how he could also speak them back – read them – and showed him how it could be done. Even though the Viking still did not quite grasp this notion, he recognized Ibn-Fadlan’s spectacular ability to comprehend such a novel and complex idea and eventually learned from him, as Ibn-Fadlan did from the Vikings. Even though Ibn-Fadlan is Arab and Muslim, there is no direct assumption that just because he is Arab he is also a Muslim. The emphasis of his identity remains on the fact that he is an Arab and that is where the focus lies. We discover he is Muslim when he tries to explain to the Viking that there is only one God, and that Mohammed is his prophet, which is an actual prayer in Islam. Also, we see him praying on the prayer mat only once in the entire movie, which helps in showing that Muslims are not necessarily praying and saying â€Å"Allahu Akbar† all the time as they do in most other Hollywood productions. We are used to seeing the intolerant and angry Arab who cannot accept other cultures and religions other than his own. In this film the Arab surprisingly shows tolerance to the others’ religion and cultural practices unlike a stereotypical Arab, as depicted by Hollywood, who is always at war with the West and their ways. When Ibn-Fadlan gets injured in battle, a Viking woman attempts to heal his wounds by applying cow urine. When he learns what she is putting on his cuts he reacts quite disgustingly and asks her for clean water instead. After explaining how this is better for the wound to heal properly, he complies and puts his recovery in her unusual methods. You would never imagine an Arab falling in love with a Western woman and actually having a respectful and polite interaction as Hollywood almost always portrays the Arab man to be abusive and oppressive to women. Ibn-Fadlan falls in love with a Viking woman and they share a mutual admiration to one another; neither looks at the other as an â€Å"other† but rather as true equals. Unlike the usual Arab depiction of them mistreating women, here the Arab treats the Western woman with utter appreciation and affection. He even makes love to her outside of wedlock, that night after the big battle where they find themselves unable to resist their attraction to one another, which is also not allowed in Islam. Ibn-Fadlan finds himself trying out new things and not resisting exposing himself to alien traditions. The Arab is usually never adaptive or social in Hollywood films, but more closed off and unwilling to interact with the outside world. Ibn-Fadlan breaks this stereotype and engages in a give and take relationship with the Vikings where he accepts that he can learn a few things from their culture just as they could from him. One of these examples is when he attempts, for the first time, to taste an alcoholic beverage which a Muslim cannot have. Religiously at the time, the fermentation of grapes and of wheat were forbidden in Islam, so when the Viking offers Ibn-Fadlan a drink after battle, he politely rejects. However, when the Viking explains to him that this was actually made of honey, Ibn-Fadlan dares to take a sip from the Viking’s horn. At the beginning, Ibn-Fadlan is given a sword by the Vikings as this is what he would be using in battle. Arabs back then were used to fighting with lighter and much thinner swords, which meant there was no way the Arab was able to strategically fight and win with a sword that weighs almost twice or three times the one he usually uses. He adapts to certain fighting styles by observing the Vikings fight and learns to use new armory, such as the wooden shield used for protection which he is also not accustomed to. At the same time though, while learning that he would be a much better fighter and far more useful as a warrior, he decides to stick to the same old kind of sword he is used to and goes to the blacksmith asking for one according to his own specifications. Through this, the Vikings see the advantage of a lighter and therefore faster sword and are impressed with his wit. He successfully shows the Vikings that although his sword is lighter, although his horse is smaller (which h e was ridiculed for), he can be far more effective. Despite the fact both Arabs and Vikings are portrayed fairly and as both having equal negatives as well as positives, the Vikings are portrayed as somewhat more barbaric than the Arabs. Ironically, the way Arabs are portrayed as primitive in Hollywood movies is how the Vikings are portrayed in this movie, to some degree. They appear to be aggressive and impulsive, lacking hygiene, and not all that clever, while the Arab is the epitome of self-control, decency, and wit. Generally, neither is depicted as evil or bad; they are both righteous and pious warriors as shown by this film, but the underlying qualities of culture and traditions that are present for each are shown in different lights. The Vikings, in the beginning, are made out to look like complete fools and dirty slobs who possess limited intellectual skills. They share a bowel of water to remove snot from their noses and rinse their mouth with which they pass around for everyone to use. They also cast a few of bones to predic t future events that might take place. However the Arab appears to be very clean and even shows disgust to their unhygienic ways (it is not shocking how he was unable to adapt to this specific cleansing method). The usual poor misrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims that dominates Hollywood movies is what seems to be pushing movies such as The 13th Warrior into the background. The twisted depiction of Arabs and Muslims is a representative image of how they truly are; it is a myth and does not fully reflect reality. A certain connotation is masquerading as a denotation and it became so literal that people started believing it as fact. There exists this dominant meaning or understanding of Islam or Arab-ness, which is not fixed or inherent, rather created based on a complex of social interaction among the two parties or sides. The interplay between the different cultures created this iconic image and a certain decision was made when it was chosen to be represented in this manner; it was agreed upon in a particular context to portray this value and this culturally imposed meaning. One thing is for sure: Hollywood’s determination on reacting to the same political and social spurs for years and even decades now is pretty consistent. No group of peoples provide more ground for Hollywood’s degenerating stereotyping than Arabs and Muslims, and it seems that this is probably not going to change any time soon. As the world’s leading cinematic industry, the Arab stereotype has a greater negative impact on audiences today than it did decades ago. Nowadays, Hollywood’s films are created, developed, and disseminated world-wide, reaching viewers globally. The international success of a movie has become the decider of its popularity; it is not just domestic and local approval that deems a movie a hit anymore. Also, Arab images not only affect international audiences, but international movie makers as well in this case. Arabs and Muslims have given the world quite a lot throughout the years, from architecture to mathematics, but how much of it has found its way onto the movie screens? They have grown tired of seeing rudimentary and inaccurate depictions of themselves that are causing them to be extremely misrepresented to others on this planet. In fact, what does Hollywood think the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world are thinking when they see movies that they are depicted so unjustly in? Hollywood realizes that it has a key role to play in shaping public opinion (domestically and internationally) but only time will tell whether it ever decides to deliver a realistic and just viewpoint on the Muslim world, the Arab world, and their peoples. The most effective films are the ones that remind us that the essence of our collective human experience shows us at our best, free of nationality, ethnicity, politics or religion. But before a movie can ever deliver that, it must be completely and utterly with out stereotype to say the least, Muslim, Arab or otherwise.

The Benefits of Animal Testing are Too Great to Stop Essay -- essays r

Animal Testing Animal testing began when William Harvey used animals 400 years ago to find out how blood circulated through the body. The "modern" era of animal research however started about 150 years ago with the rise of physiology as a science. It was very different back then. There were no anesthetics or effective painkillers, so the animals suffered a great deal, as did patients. Scientists learned that putting animals, or humans through that type of torture was inhumane. Consider having to have a leg amputated, which was not uncommon in those days due to the fact that infections got very severe without the use of antibiotics, without even so much as an anesthetic to control the pain. Now the treatment is there to help the pain, so neither human nor animal has to go through the excess undue strain. Through all the new medical technology still there will be people who disagree with animal testing. Animal testing provides many benefits that looked over most of the time. One of the most common q uestions is, â€Å"why are animals used in research?† The answer to that question can be broken down into three separate categories. The first reason for animal testing is to advance in scientific understanding. The likelihood of achieving the significant advances we have today in scientific understanding or the prevention and treatment of diseases is very low without the use of animal testing. Through the testing researchers are able to find out problems in humans and even in other animals. Another reason the testing is used is because it develops solutions to medical problems. More than half the animals that have been tested on have succeeded in finding a cure for the human race. The third is to protect the safety of people, animals ... ...an ape with a tube in its skull than it is to unite behind a defenseless woman. It is important and even very crucial that such people as disabled people defend animal testing. For example we can return to both the medical and social conditions of what are now thankfully in the past. Doesn’t it make more sense for one to test on chimps before people? In the past, disabled people were used as medical guinea pigs. Call me an animal-hating barbarian, but I would rather use animals than my fellow mental types. (Newsweek 2005) In all, animal testing helps research science. Animal rights activists can argue their points until the end, yet in a matter of their life or their families lives, more than half of them would have to contest and say that they would rather have an animal be tested for something before their family member. It is done in humane ways and is reliable.

Australia’s Response to Communism in the 1950’s Essay

In the 1950’s the world had just come out of the greatest war in human history. In the aftermath of this war many countries turned to communism. It was against this threat of communism that the Australian government reacted in such a wide variety of ways. Although there were a wide variety of ways in which Australia reacted there were perhaps three that were the most prevalent and influential. Firstly Australia sent troops to fight in Korea to avoid and prevent the spread of communism and the start of the domino effect in South Asia. Secondly the Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies put forward the bill that would ban the communist party in Australia and make being communist illegal. Finally Australia also sought to establish treaties and relationships with other non-communist countries to provide Australia with an adequate defence, and also to help limit the spread of communism through. It was these strategies that made up Australia’s reaction to communism. One of Australia’s main responses to communism was its participation in the Korean War. Australia got involved in this war for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons was to stop the â€Å"domino effect† that was believed would mean the fall of most of South East Asia and would put Australia under direct threat. Source A shows the potential consequences of not stopping the â€Å"red tide†. The source shows that if even one country in this region were lost to communism â€Å"the security of Australia itself would be imperiled†. This very clearly shows the attitudes towards communism at the time. Source E goes again to show how scared people were of communism and how controversial this topic was. Another huge reason troops were deployed into Korea was the idea of â€Å"forward defence†. It was believed that communism could be most effectively kept away from Australia by fighting it well away from Australian soil. This policy of forward defence ju stified the positioning and placing of troops into the Korean War. In the response to the internal threat of communism The Australian Government came up with some somewhat extreme courses of action. Australian Prime Minister proposed a bill, called the Communist Party Dissolution Bill that  would make communism illegal, ban the communist party and prevent anyone declared a communist from holding a job in the government or trade unions. The controversial issue in this bill was that if you were accused of being a communist you were guilty until proven innocent. Many people were accused of being communist and although no one was ever confirmed to be one it still ruined many lives. At this time the Australian communist party had 24,000 members and although this was a small amount it still scared many people. This fear of communism was almost enough to get Menzies’s bill passed however the high court called it unconstitutional and agreed to not pass it. Although Menzies held a referendum to pass his bill there was a slight majority of against votes. Even though the bill failed to pass it still shows just how large an issue this was and how concerned people were about communism. Another issue that showed the seriousness of this issue was the ‘Petrov Affair’. This scared people, as there was a possible ring of soviet spies in the country. Menzies manipulated this event to his advantage and so won the election and forever tarnishing the opposition’s reputation by branding the labour party as communist supporters. Finally another smaller, but no less important, action was taken as a response to the â€Å"threat of communism†. Australia began to sign treaties with other countries that were not communist. The Prime Minister Robert Menzies was seeking to create a new more secure position for Australia specifically â€Å"under the US wing†. Australia needed new alliances and allies beyond Britain and so we turned to America for support. This need for allies led to the ANZUS agreement of 1951 and the SEATO alliance of 1954. These agreements ensured aid from foreign countries, particularly the US, in the event of attack from a communist country or indeed any country in general. These policies ensured mutual protection from any threat to the countries involved. Other countries involved in these treaties were New Zealand as well as many South East Asian countries such as Thailand, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These countries were included to help prevent the advance of communism. By allying these countries with the US it was practically assured that they would resist the red tide of communism. In the 1950’s Australia adopted many policies and responses to the growing threat of communism. These included our involvement in the Korean War, our  policy of forward defence, the Communist Party Dissolution Bill and treaties with America and other countries. Although Australia was never directly threatened these policies were prudent measures against the advance and popularity of communism. These responses, while somewhat excessive, were implemented to protect Australia and to keep it safe. Bibliography Anderson, Maureen. Retroactive 2. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print. Orwell G. 1945. Animal Farm. London. Jonathan Cape. â€Å"Australia’s Responses to the Threat of Communism: International.† Web. 15 June 2013. < http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-t_s-14_u-116_t-313> â€Å"80 Days That Changed Our Lives.† Soviet Diplomats in Canberra Defect. Web. 16 June 2013. < http://www.abc.net.au/archives/80days/stories/2012/01/19/3411302.htm>

Tobacco in the New World essays

Tobacco in the New World essays When tobacco was first introduced to the New World in the early 1600s, nobody could have imagined the significant impact that it would soon have on the Virginia colony by the 1660s. In fact, Virginia thrived around tobacco, as it soon became the colonys means of making money. Virginia not only became dependent on tobacco, it became too dependent (Morgan 185). Without a doubt, Virginia was a money hungry colony that wanted to get rich fast. At the beginning with tobacco, this was possible because they would ship the tobacco to London, where they would receive a large return. Virginians began to make larger tobacco plantations, believing that they would make more money. Instead the amount of tobacco that was produced by the colony was so large that the planter had to sell for half or less (Morgan 185) of what he received in the past because of the large supply. Until Virginia would begin to plant different crops and make the most out of the land available, it would fail. This was a problem for Virginia because instead of producing more crops in the land, tobacco remained to be their only form of income until the 1660s when William Berkeley came into the picture. Until then tobacco was used as money for some, and even used to purchase indentured servants, another outcome of the vast amount of tobacco in the land. The first indentured servants were brought to Virginia in 1619, because of tobacco. After seeing how much more tobacco Virginia could produce with the indentured servants, a very large amount of blacks were brought into Virginia. A problem that arose because of indentured servants was that the servants became free men after seven years of work, and then became fierce competition in the tobacco market for the white planters. Colonists decided that it would be cheaper to do away with indentured servants, and instead get slaves who would not require payments, and also be t...