Cortes : The Two Face :: essays research papers

Cortes: The Two Face   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Don Fernando Cortes was either a misguided religious extremist on a quest to serve his earthly king and immortal god or simply an entrepreneur who wished to achieve great status, power and wealth. Cortes is in love with the idea of conquering new worlds in the name of God to convert their heathen inhabitants into righteous followers of Jesus. The problem is that Cortes is also in love with himself and the future power that he might one day hold. Cortes is largely a hypocrite and shows that very much through his actions. He often tells his men and the king that God undoubtedly on there side. He attempts to prove this through his accounts where describes his small regiments of no more than one thousand men defeating massive armies of forty thousand to two-hundred thousand Indians. Many times it seems though Cortes truly is being helped by God but he quickly contradicts these possibilities with his sinful actions. Cortes seems to get a large amount of help from God for someone who reacts with merciless vengeance and accepts slave women as gifts. However, one might say that Cortes could be forgiven for his ignorance in accepting human beings as property because in the 1500’s the Catholic Church in Spain lead its followers to believe that the act of slavery was in fact not a sin. Cortes explains that he merely wants to enslave the Indians so that they may better learn the ways of the Catholic Church and of Spanish culture. He figured that it was his duty to enslave these people because it was the only way of turning them away from their horrible sins such cannibalism, sodomy, and their horrific practices of sacrifice. Cortes attributes much of his success and victory to the will of God. â€Å"They should observe that God was on our side, and to Him nothing is impossible, for, as they saw, we had won so many victories in which so many of the enemy had died, and none of us.†(Cortes, 63) He feels that God is helping him to punish theses people for their sins and save their souls by helping to enslave them for it’s the only way to lead them towards Jesus Christ. There is a chance that Cortes truly was a genuinely a religious man believed strongly in the true principles of the Catholic faith but it’s not likely.

Band of Brothers Essay

The book title, â€Å"Band of Brothers,† by Stephen E. Ambrose is a book that shares the risky undertaking and hazardous experience that the United States Army had to go through in World War 2. Bravery is an understatement when describing the men of East Company’s personalities. The book really helps the reader describe the relationships and friendships that were either directly or indirectly developed as a result of going to war. From the extremely brutal training, to the depths of enemy territory, these men developed a brotherhood that only can come about as a result of extreme situations such as preparing and training for war, as well as World War 2 itself. This book not only describes Easy Company but other military veterans or active service members can relate to the situations described in the book. First of all, the book’s title describes things very accurately. Like most military divisions, Easy Company which was a part of the 101st Airborne Division in the Army, had to go through an exhausting basic training course in Camp Toccoa in Georgia. This alone is going to establish bonds and friendships among the young men participating in this training, whether they are looking for a buddy or not. Much of Easy Company already had an unspoken brotherhood before they even came into basic training. Many of these men had grown up in the terrible time of the depression and many of them had something in common. During Easy Company’s time in basic training, they not only had to compete with their selves, but with other militaries. â€Å"A day or so before leaving Toccoa, Colonel Sink read an article in the Reader’s Digest that said a Japanese Army battalion had set a world record for marching endurance by covering 100 miles down the Malayan Peninsula in seventy-two hours. (p. 28)† Colonel Sink wanted to top the Japanese’s achievement so he ordered his men to do better. This was a very miserable journey and test for Easy Company but they accomplished more than the Japanese Army had. War in itself is a competition but this book also examines with detail, the miniature competitions that occurred during World War 2. This march helped bring the soldiers together even closer and it also gave them the confidence and conditioning they needed to go into the brutal battles of World War 2. Most importantly, trust develops between these men because they are confident that they have well trained soldiers going into battle with them and not people that are going to drag their feet. â€Å"They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other (Pg. 1). The first battle which was the invasion of Normandy proved to be an eye opener that would just only strengthen the bond and brotherhood that Easy Company had. The pure terror of landing in Normandy and facing the Nazi German in a low vision area was at this point, the ultimate test to see if the training they bared in Camp Toccoa was good enough. With bullets flying and loud bangs disrupting their hearing, many of the men could not locate the rest of the group. Winters helped to organize and reunite a few men so they could have a better chance against the Germans by sticking together. Even though men were lost, Lieutenant Winters proved in a small victory that Easy Company was a highly trained group of soldiers that could get the job done in defeating the Nazis. Winters achieved this with a small group of soldiers as well. â€Å"The attack was a unique example of a small, well-led assault force overcoming and routing a much larger defending force in prepared positions (Pg. 84). † Even though this gruesome battle was an eye opener to the horrors of war, Easy Company’s soldiers were described as confident, had a will to survive and a sense of pride.

Explain the Success and Failure of Constitutions

Constitutions can be defined in a variety of different ways. Duchacek , in 1970 described constitutions as â€Å"power maps†, in which the formal powers of the state are described and distributed. A more explicit definition can be gauged from Robertson , who describes the constitution as, â€Å"a set of rights, powers and procedures regulating the structure of, and relationships among the public authorities and between the public authorities and the citizens. † This long definition is condensed by Watson , who describes constitutions as the â€Å"rules of the political game† and â€Å"the laws that govern the governors. Constitutions usually have come into existence to facilitate a â€Å"fresh start† following the demise of the past regime via revolution, independence, or a change in society. Constitutions are not infallible and can fail if the conditions are right; those conditions will be discussed in this essay. According to Hague, Harrop and Breslin , a successful constitution is â€Å"one that does not attempt too much†. They point to the American constitution as an example. The US Constitution created a limited central government because that is what was deemed necessary. If the constitution created a stronger central government, it may have gone against the interests of the more independent minded states and individuals who would have opposed such a move. A constitution, which delegates and separates powers amongst the governing institutions apparently, coins success. The most well known example of this would be again the American constitution. The legislature (Congress ), executive (the President ) and the judiciary (the Supreme Court ) is separated by the Constitution, providing constitutional independence and delegating various powers. The Constitution insures that no one institution has more power than the other, preventing a power struggle within government that could lead to its destruction. However, to explain the success of constitutions in terms of the balance of powers would ignore the success of the â€Å"unwritten† British Constitution. The British Constitution, where power lies supremely with the government, the legislature, cannot be regarded as a failure. The success of this constitution could perhaps be explained by its flexible and articulate nature, which allows gradual change. A good example of this in practise is the enfranchisement of Britain, which took almost a century to attain. The Government introduced this necessary legislation following the changes in society. Without this change, Britain's Constitution would have failed to meet the needs of the people, and fall in the face of popular revolt. Even supposedly rigid, written constitutions can respond to changes in society, an important property if that constitution is to succeed. In the United States, judicial constitutional interpretation plays an important part in placing a constitution written over two hundred years ago into the context of the modern day. Chief Justice Hughes' statement; â€Å"We live under a constitution. But the constitution is what the judges say it is. † This may not be wholly accurate, but judicial interpretation has been an important factor in the continual evolution of the American Constitution, which encouraging its success. Finally, the success of constitutions can be attributed to the economic factors within the state. Germany and Japan have for the past fifty years possessed successful constitutions, which can, to a degree be attributed to their very strong economies. Following the Second World War, the allies, by buoying up the economies of these two nations, prevented them from falling to the short-term problems, such as nationalism and communism. This move subsequently ensured their long-term constitutional success. A constitution that has failed its purpose is one that fails to provide adequate rules of government, which can lead to either an inefficient government, or a government that abuses the governed. There are a number of reasons that governments fail. If Hauge, Harrop and Breslin's reasoning concludes that a successful constitution is one that attempts little, it follows that a constitution doomed to failure is one that attempts too much, allowing no room for interpretation or change. A poor constitution would not allow the judicial interpretation that allows the American constitution to develop, or allow a flexible constitution like the British to change wit the introduction of new legislation. The Constitution of Italy, the Guarantisimo prevents the reoccurrence of a dictatorship. However, the various checks and balances created by the constitution, such as a strong bicameral legislature, and regional autonomy have led to ineffective government, and the loss of popular support among the people. This is one example of the separation of powers going to far, hindering the constitutional process. A constitution that fails to take into account the social, economic and political factors within a society will very rarely succeed. Evidence of this can be found in the failure of the post-colonial constitutions imposed on former colonies during the 1950's and 1960's. Countries such as Britain and France attempted to impose constitutions that were based on theirs. Unfortunately, the peoples of Africa and Asia were not used to democracy, their cultures were based upon autocratic rule, not liberal, democratic government. Many of the fledgling governments fell, as single rulers, often helped by the military filled the vacuum. Countries whose democratic governments survived, for example India and Pakistan experienced the move toward strong centrally controlled government, undermining the democracy the constitution represented. It is often not the constitution that fails, but the regime that facilitates the change because it is weak, and cannot remain in office for too long a period. The constitution may succeed in providing the checks and balances of power, but if the regime lost the support of the military, there would then be scope for change Constitutions are not always liable to succeed; the above examples indicate that. A successful one allows change, can be interpreted by the judiciary and is assisted by a healthy economic climate. A failure is doomed to be ineffective because it is too restrained, and not allowed to change as society develops. Explanations for the success and failure of constitutions can be diverse, particularly in today's global society; the reasons above are only a selection of wh at can constitute a constitutional success or failiure.