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Pictures and History of Mission San Diego de Alcala

Mission San Diego de Alcala is the first mission in San Diego and has a long history of local influence. It is now a National Landmark due to its 1769 start that has molded the city. Thousands of visitors come to the landmark to see the early beginnings of Western influence in the area. Prior to this, Native Americans lived in the region and maintained natural lives unseen by outsiders. The mission was an attempt to colonize and convert these locals while maintaining ownership of the land.  The European story starts with the arrival in 1542 of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. There was no interest in colonizing the area until 1768 when King Carlos III of Spain became aware that Russians were fishing off of California. The push to build settlements became a heightened need to ensure that the land was controlled by Spain.  The first mission was established in On July 16, 1769 by Father Serra. It overlooked the bay but only lasted five years because of a lack of water and ability to m

Thanksgiving as an Example of How Business can Further Societal Interest

In 1620, a small ship named the Plymouth with 102 passengers landed on the new American shores. In 1621, the colonists and the Wampanoag Indians shared a meal together from the harvest. By this time, the 102 members were down to about half due to their first year spent on the ship trying to survive the cold. They were greeted by a Native American who spoke English after returning home from a slavery escape at the hands of an English captain. Without that Native American’s help, the Plymouth visitors may have perished. I wonder what was going through this Native American’s head and why he took such pity on the European settlers. Regardless of the reasons, he decided that him and his band of people would help the settlers find a stronger footing. The peace seemed to have worked out.   Perhaps it was his familiarity with the values of human life that made all of the difference in his decision process. Certainly, he and his band could have made it difficult for the Puritans to get of

Are Native Americans and Europeans Related?

A 24,000-year-old arm bone indicates that Native Americans may be cousins to Eurasians. DNA samples along with current projects to map the DNA of Native Americans have made new discoveries. It was found that the Native Americans share about 18% to 38% with Eurasian and other genomes with East Asians. This may mean that Native Americans are really a mixing of genetics between Eurasians and East Asians that create a distinct identity.  The scientists originally thought they contaminated the samples and put the tests on hold. A year later, they found the same results. They began to look around the American continent for other examples and came across the 9,000-year-old Paleo-Indian found in Washington. To their amazement this Native had features more European than East Asian.  It was believed that earlier studies with Eurasian DNA were a result of mixtures with Europeans after settlement and colonization. Now it is possible that such DNA structures are actually deeper and can

Art: Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks

Edward Hicks (1780-1849) painted over sixty different versions of his popular Peaceable Kingdom. As an American painter in folk art, he worked in a style that was uniquely his. At times, a lack of formal training can be a benefit as styles vary from those offered by some of the masters. His unique work and individualized style led to his great art mastery.  His fame as an artist grew by the passion he put within his work. The Peaceable Kingdom is a rendition of the biblical passage of Isaiah 61: 6-9. As a Quaker, he saw his world through this particular lens and seemed to recreate those concepts on canvas. The passage states, “ The Leopard shall lied down with the kid,; and a calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them .” It was this concept that led to a peace treaty in Pennsylvania with the Natives that became an ideal model for others. The land was purchased and equitably owned as the Quaker mindset was to view all people as human with