Essay on Slavery In American History - 1430 Words

When it comes to some important events before 19th century in United States, we must mention the Abolition Movement, which began in 1930s, and ended with Emancipation Proclamation. Just like our textbook---A Short History of the American Nation,  ¡Ã‚ °No reform movement of this era was more significant, more ambiguous in character, or more provocative of later historical investigation than the drive to abolish slavery. ¡Ã‚ ± Abolition Movement was not only meaningful to itself, that is, slavery was abolished and black slaves were freed, but also meaningful to the whole nation, because it exerted much influences on American society and economy. In this paper, I will firstly present a brief introduction about slaves in North American. Secondly,†¦show more content†¦It seemed that slavery developed very well in south, and southerners wanted to keep it, but it could not to say that all classes in America had the same ideas as southerners, such as blacks and northerners. Where there is disagreement, there is conflict. With the pace of history, people who fought against slavery started the Abolition Movement. First of all, let ¡Ã‚ ¯s come to social conditions.  ¢Ãƒ ±. Social Conditions Every event takes place under some certain society. Abolition Movement is no exception. First, it is known that America passed the Bill of Rights in 1789, which allowed American citizens to have democratic rights, but blacks and Indians were not included. This document admitted the existence of slavery in America. Second, with the development of both north and south, there were more and more conflicts between them, because they had different systems. North was of capitalism, and south was of plantation. Here, I ¡Ã‚ ¯d like to mention the most serious event, which sharpened the conflict between south and north, that is, the Missouri Compromise. This was a heated political battle between slave owners of south and capitalists of north. The focus of their conflict was Missouri should become a slave state or a free state. This issue related to the balance of south and north in Senate, so both sides wanted to be more powerful. This political conflict, rising from the establishment of Missouri State, was theShow MoreRelatedAmerican History: Slavery910 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery (APA) American History Slavery (Order #A2094863) Question #1 In the first half of the 19th century the Untied States quickly expanded westward, but as the country grew the expansion of slavery became a hotly contended issue. Those states that already allowed slavery, mostly the South, wanted to expand the institution into newly established territories and states, while non-slave states in the North wanted to curtail it. In response, a series of compromises were reached in Congress whereRead MoreThe History of African American Slavery1353 Words   |  6 PagesThe History of African American Slavery Tongela Vaughan Axia College of University of Phoenix The History of African American Slavery A slave is someone who is owned by another human. They do as they are told to do by their owners. African Americans had an unfair start in America, by being captured and brought over from Africa to be slaves. Do you know how slaves were treated? The conditions and treatment of slaves were different fromthe average American. Do you know how slavery cameRead MoreHistory: Slavery and American Freedom1104 Words   |  5 PagesSummary I American Slavery, American Freedom written by Edmund S. Morgan captures the history of Virginia while keeping focusing on the social and political elements that uplifted the way of slavery. With the focus on Virginia, the book also probes the central paradox of American history: how a people could have developed the dedication to human liberty and dignity exhibited by the leaders of the American Revolution and at the same time have developed and maintained a system of labor that deniedRead MoreInfluence Of Slavery On American History1351 Words   |  6 PagesInfluence of Slavery on American History From the first 20 slaves brought to Jamestown in 1619, the abolishment of slavery through the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution, slaves and slavery have played an important role in the establishment and economic growth of the United States of America. From its beginning, slavery has divided America on its pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Separating from its own oppressor on the words â€Å"That all men are created equal, that they areRead MoreSlavery And Its Impact On American History912 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery is seen as a blemish on American history, and the man who abolished it can be an idol to many. He is considered honest, and his image can be found on the penny and on the five-dollar. However, history is written by the victors, and Abraham Lincoln had no intention of getting rid of the institution of slavery. In a debate with Stephan A. Douglas, Lincoln said, â€Å"My first impulse would be to free all slaves, and send them to Liberia,-to their own native land.† Later on during that same debateRead MoreNative American Slavery And Its Impact On American History2043 Words   |  9 PagesNative American Slavery Slavery in the colonies was inevitable, but we seem to forget that Native American’s were the first to actually be enslaved by the colonists rather than the Africans. They were not treated as equals, nor respected, their land was stripped away from them bit by bit, and the only reason why they were not used as slaves throughout the majority of America’s history, was due to the fact that an unimaginable amount of them died from foreign diseases; that of which Africans hadRead MoreSlavery Is An Important Chapter Of American History910 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery is an important chapter in American history, and its influence can be seen in the roots of our government and laws. Slavery is a prejudice based on race. It is also economic exploitation; the act of forcing other individuals to work for no pay. While slavery was ultimately abolished, restitution in the form of freedom was not compensation enough for the wrongs, nor could it remove the very ideal of slavery from our nation’s foundation. The effects of slavery continue to influence theRead MoreAp American Historyï ¼Å¡ Slavery953 Words   |  4 PagesAnalyze the origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1619 to 1776. Support your answers with evidence from the assigned readings. The Root of Slavery in Colonial America 1619-1776 The colonists did not choose Africans for slavery simply because they were unease by their alien skin tone or because they belittle the people’s lack of civilized background. In fact, the first Africans to arriveRead MoreSlavery Is An Important Part Of American History904 Words   |  4 PagesSlavery is an important part of American history regardless of what generation you come from. The topic may be an uncomfortable subject however there is a lot you can learn from the experiences and the stories slaves like Harriet Jacobs tell in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. There are several moments through her life that really challenged and complimented my understanding of slavery in American history. The incidents that really swayed me where when she found out she was pregnant, certainRead MoreSlavery During American History Slave962 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout American history slave has resist their master, the system and the idea of slavery. These resistance has became of a key stone in the history of slavery. To understand what these resistance is, we will look at incident of the past to analyze how slave in the past resisted their master, the system and the idea of slavery. If the enemies of the slave were to have a face then it would be the face of their master. The master of slaves are the owner of slaves. there is a misconception that

Workplace Bullying and Harrasement

Question: Discuss about theWorkplace Bullying and Harrasement. Answer: Introduction: Bullying is basically the verbal comments or the acts that hurt an individual mentally or can even isolate the individual at the workplace. It is often seen at some instances that bullying involves negative physical contact. Bullying can be defined or characterized as the insulting or malicious behavior or the misuse of the power or abuse to an individual that can humiliate the individual and can create offensive environment.(ACAS, 2012) Bullying can be against an individual or a group of people at the workplace. The bullying and the harassment issues are seen to be very serious issues at the workplace that require adequate steps to be taken by the employers. The bullying and harassment often leads to negative impacts on the job due to which the victim may undergo stress, anxiety, anger and low level of commitment on the job.(Gov Uk, 2012) This issue is very important to be discussed and cured due to the main reason that it affects the productivity at the organization and creates negative atmosphere at the workplace. The bullying and the harassment affect the individual, co-workers and the organization. The problems that are faced by the individuals at the workplace due to the bullying and harassment includes : loosing the self confidence, depression, stress, disturbed sleep, eating problems, shock and anger, family stress and tension , not able to concentrate, low morale, feeling of frustration and mental or physical disorder and blaming oneself. On the other hand the effects of the bullying and harassment at the workplace affects the organization by increasing the costs for hiring new employees as the employees tend to leave the organization when bullied, increase in the absenteeism , decrease motivation and productivity, reduction in the corporate image, increase in the risk of accidents, poor customer service and d iversion of the efforts of the employees away from the productivity of the organization and increase in the outsourcing costs for keeping an eye on the behavior of the employees.(Hoel Zapf, 2010) There are various examples of bullying. It is basically a form of aggression but the action of the bullying re subtle. The examples of the bullying include: Isolation and exclusion of an individual socially Abusing physically or threatening Change in the work guidelines on constant basis Intimidating an individual Spread of negative words, gossips or rumors against a person that are not true Setting unattainable deadlines for an individual that are not possible to attain Deliberately impeding the work of a person Making offensive jokes against a person(Marrie, 2016) Giving wrong information to a person purposefully or withholding important information Giving undeserved punishments to an individual Creating an atmosphere of uselessness by not giving work to the individual; Blocking the various application of the person that includes the leave applications, training or promotion applications. Yelling on the person Tampering with the personal belonging of an individual or his work equipments Assigning the duties that are not reasonable and overloading the person with extra work by putting unnecessary pressures Unfair treatment Bibliography ACAS, 2012. Bullying and harassment at work. In Bullying and harassment at work. London. Gov Uk, 2012. Gov.uk. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment [Accessed 6 October 2016]. Hoel, H. Zapf, D., 2010. Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Developments in Theory. 2nd ed. CRC press. Marrie, A., 2016. The Handbook of Dealing with Workplace Bullying - Page 76. London: Routledge.

Shangri La Hotel Essay Example

Shangri La Hotel Essay Shangri-Las Net Profit Rises 54% Kate OKeeffe. Wall Street Journal (Online). New York, N. Y. : Mar 17, 2010. Abstract (Summary) HONG KONGLuxury hotel operator Shangri-La Asia Ltd. said Wednesday its 2009 net profit rose 54%, lifted by higher property prices, though its core hotels business suffered from a sharp drop in demand due to the global financial crisis.  »   Jump to indexing (document details) Full Text  (515   words)| (c) 2010 Dow Jones Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. HONG KONGLuxury hotel operator Shangri-La Asia Ltd. said Wednesday its 2009 net profit rose 54%, lifted by higher property prices, though its core hotels business suffered from a sharp drop in demand due to the global financial crisis. The economic crisis hit the hospitality sector as businesses restricted employee travel and tourist numbers declined. The industry has lagged other sectors in its recovery outlook, even as demand has been making a comeback since the end of 2008. The Hong Kong-listed company, which is controlled by Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok Hock-nien, said though it expects improvements in its business this year and next, it doesnt expect to return to pre-crisis levels until 2012. Weve been fairly encouraged by the last 10 to 12 weeks, said Shangri-La Chief Financial Officer Madhu Rao at a news conference, adding there has been a return in business travellers. He also said he expects the second half of this year to be better than the first. Shangri-La, which owned stakes in 49 hotels at the end of last year, said its net profit for 2009 totaled US$255. million, up from US$165. 9 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 9% to US$1. 23 billion from US$1. 35 billion. The strength in Shangri-Las earnings was mainly due to a US$327. 1 million non-cash property revaluation gain, up from US$13 million in 2008, reflecting higher property rates. The company has stakes in a number of investment properties such as shopping malls and offices, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region. Stripping out the accounting gain, Shangri-Las operating profit for the year fell 69% to US$51. 3 million from US$163. 2 million, dragged by the poor performance of its core hotel operations. We will write a custom essay sample on Shangri La Hotel specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Shangri La Hotel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Shangri La Hotel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Total revenue for room rentals fell 15% for the year to US$570. 2 million from US$674. 2 million, with average revenue per available rooma key metric of the hoteliers performancefalling 24% for the year. RevPAR for its hotels in mainland China, Shangri-Las biggest single market, fell 27% to US$66 from US$91, while RevPAR for its hotels in Hong Kong fell 24% to US$157 from US$206. Shangri-La said it saw more opportunities in China as the nations economy continues to expand and that outside of projects it has already committed to do in Beijing and Shanghai, most of the companys development focus will be in provincial cities. Credit Suisse said last week Shangri-La Asias well-established footprint in tier-two and tier-three cities in China should help it generate superior returns over the next three to five years, noting hotel room oversupply concerns persist in tier-one cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The brokerage firm said Shangri-La Asia would likely have stronger earnings growth momentum compared with regional peers Hong Kong Shanghai Hotels Ltd. and Mandarin Oriental International Ltd. due to expectations its hotel portfolio will increase 26% over the next three years in terms of rooms. Shangri-Las disappointing core earnings performance comes after rival Hong Kong ; Shanghai Hotels last week reported a 61% drop in underlying profit to HK$315 million from HK$807 million in 2008 as hotel revenue was hit hard by the financial crisis from January to August. Credit: By Kate OKeeffe | Translate document from:   | Other available formats: Abstract Find more documents like this: Subjects: Hotels motels Bond issues Stock offerings Capital formation More options v | | Shangri-La raises $375m in rare market foray for Kuok; Euroweek. London: Feb 13, 2004. pg. 1 Abstract (Summary) Shangri-La Asia, the Asia Pacific hotels group controlled by Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok, on Monday raised $375m in a dual $200m convertible bond and HK$1. 354bn issue of new shares. The dual deal, led by JP Morgan, was the first such joint exercise from Hong Kong, emulating the larger deals from Singapore earlier this year. In Hong Kong, only Star Cruises has achieved similarly attractive 5 year funding in recent memory. The last time Shangri-La Asia issued a convertible was in the racy markets of 1993.   Jump to indexing (document details) Full Text  (626   words)| Copyright Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC Feb 13, 2004 Shangri-La Asia, the Asia Pacific hotels group controlled by Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok, on Monday raised $375m in a dual $200m convertible bond and HK$1. 354bn issue of new shares. The dual deal, led by JP Morgan, was the first such joint exercise from Hong Kong, emulating the larger deals from S ingapore earlier this year. The challenge was to raise $375m for a company whose stock is illiquid, with less than $1. m trading a day on average. The total fundraising represented 325 days average trading volume. Moreover, there is little or no stock borrow available, making it almost impossible for buyers to set up the usual delta hedge strategies. Shangri-La also wanted to defer dilution because in hotel development, returns lag investment by several years. The company was also wary of stretching its balance sheet, which has previously been geared at 35% or less. The compelling terms available in the CB market made a convertible an obvious choice. However, the stocks illiquidity and the lack of stock borrow meant a maximum size of about $200m. These conditions also meant it appealed more to outright buyers than arbitrage funds. With the CB, Shangri-La secured five year funding at a zero coupon. Issued at par with redemption at 114. 633 and no put, the deal yields 2. 75%. In Hong Kong, only Star Cruises has achieved similarly attractive five year funding in recent memory. The tightly priced jumbo convertible from Henderson Land recently had a one year put structure. The conversion premium of 25% was at the low end of the range, but JP Morgan extracted implied volatility of just over 32%, compared with about 35% historical volatility, which is an excellent result for a non-technology stock. There is still huge interest in any stock that offers a play on the Chinese market. Kuok, with his high level connections in China, is considered more likely than others to succeed. There was price sensitivity in the book, as the buyers were mainly the European CB funds and other more equity focused players in the US and Asia, said a CB specialist in Hong Kong. Solid buyers who tend not to flip issues in the immediate after-market are always more cautious on pricing. The bond floor is also notable, pricing at just under 90%. For an issuer of this type to secure five year funds at modest cost, the investor base demands a floor of about 90% as a minimum, said the same specialist. The last time Shangri-La Asia issued a convertible was in the racy markets of 1993 , when the Kuala Lumpur stock market was often trading more shares daily than the NYSE. Although originally Malaysian, Kuok has lived in Hong Kong for many years, from where he has steadily built his plantations-to-shipping-to-hotels group of listed companies. Recently Kuok has focused much of his attention on mainland China. Shangri-La Asia, for example, owns Beijings largest hotel, the Kerry Centre Hotel. The new funds are slated for further expansion in China. The 183m shares were sold at HK$7. 40, a 7. 5% discount to the stocks HK$8 close on Monday. That was the wide end of the 5%-7. 5% discount range. Shangri-La has not traditionally enjoyed a strong following among funds outside Asia, largely because of its modest trading volumes and also because Kuok has for decades tended to steer clear of the capital markets. For this reason most of the shares were sold in Asia. With trading volumes at a little over HK$24m daily, the new share issue represented 56 days trading and will dilute shareholders (other than Kuoks Kerry Group) by roughly 8. 5%. Kerry owns slightly over 50% of the company and in keeping with Kuoks practice of retaining control of group companies, it took up $85m, or 48. 5%, of the shares on offer. ction: International News BEIJINGTheres much more than hotels in Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts expansion plans for the Peoples Republic of China. To staff both its present seven and at least 10 new properties set to open by 1998, Shangri-La is opening two new training facilities. A management-training center will open in Beijing in February, and an Institute of Management wil l open in Shenzhen at the end of 1996. Current Chinese employees total 7,000, a number which will increase to approximately 17,000 with the proposed expansion, said Phil Stephenson, group director of human resources. Our management projections indicate that we will need to train and develop 5,000 managers and supervisors during the next five years to meet the needs of the expansion and replacements. Experienced managers and supervisors are simply not readily available in China, Stephenson said. We are therefore taking a pro-active stance by developing our own hotel educational institutes. The Beijing project is expected to have start-up costs of $280,000, with operating costs of $645,000 annually. The facility is expected to graduate more than 1,000 students each year. The Institute of Management will be a much bigger project, involving construction of a campus-style school including classrooms and dormitories, Stephenson said. It will graduate 450 students a year in a 48-week prog ram. To launch the Beijing project, Shangri-La and the Beijing Second Foreign Languages Institute have formed a partnership to operate the non-profit hotel-management training center. It will be located within the,institutes existing campus setting and will include classrooms, dormitories and recreational facilities. Open only to hotel employees selected for their potential for company advancementand whose salaries will continue to be paid by their properties during their eight-week training sessionsinstructional areas will cover supervisory and management positions such as housekeeping, food and beverage, communications and marketing. Targeted training In Beijing, we are not grooming an elite executive corps, a Shangri-La spokesperson said. We are training to meet our area of greatest need, which is at the middle-management and supervisory levels. There are no accredited hotel management schools either in China or in the region, and there is a real need to teach basic concepts of management and delegation of responsibility, something that is not part of current Chinese society. Des Pugson, group director of training and development, said the schools also will help meet the rising demand for more local people to be employed. Training must also produce sufficient numbers not just for present needs, but to replace employees other foreign joint-venture companies lure away. Our people are bright, personable and speak English well, Pugson said. Those are skills that are in very high demand these days in China. No wonder Shangri-La is a company other people are happy to poach from. According to company guidelines, the Beijing school is designed for potential supervisors and junior managers who will receive standardized training and educational programs. Graduates are expected to perform above average upon return to their work unit, and will command respect from subordinates, peers and managers, the guidelines said. They also are expected to be less likely to leave the company. Building leadership The Shenzhen management course will target future Peoples Republic of China managers and educate potential leaders for specific career moves. The program will develop multidisciplined hotel managers with practical understanding of the divisions of the hotel, and their relationship with the wider business market, the program guidelines said. Therefore, this will allow them to be allocated to different departments, divisions and hotel locations. Pugson stressed the program will have standards comparable to overseas hotel education institutes such as Cornell. Shangri-La now operates 27 hotels, all in Asia except for a property in Vancouver, British Columbia. Pacific Rim locales include China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Most of its hotels are in Chinain Beijing, Hang-zhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xianand in Malaysia, where it has six properties. Secondary-city strategy Expansion in China will focus on the countrys secondary citiesthose with populations between 3 million and 5 million, Pugson said. Properties with announced openings include Beihai next spring, Shenyang and Changchun in 1996, and Dalian in 1997. Pugson expects that in this new group of hotels, perhaps 60 percent to 70 percent of the patrons will be Peoples Republic of China citizens. There are more and more local people who can afford quality accommodations, a trend we have noticed in Malaysia where, as the market matured during the past three to four years, the percentage of clients who are nationals has steadily grown, Pugson said. PHOTO: The Shangri-La Hotel Shenzhen will benefit from the training facilities. ~~~~~~~~ By Robert Selwitz HMM New York Bureau

How to Write an Illustration Essay

How to Write an Illustration Essay How to Write an Illustration Essay Writing an illustration essay is easier than you think. The main idea behind a good illustration essay is to prove your thesis with the help of various examples. Sometimes an illustration essay is also referred to as explaining or expository essay. In fact, every type of essay needs good proving points and examples, so most probably you have already written an illustration essay without even realizing it. Proving your point through various examples is not difficult if you have chosen your thesis correctly and made proper research to find the right points and examples to make it sound trustworthy and reliable. There are of course some useful tips on how to write an illustration essay which we are going to examine in details below. An illustration essay consists of introduction, body and conclusion. The first step in writing an illustration essay, however, is to define your thesis. The most important thing in your thesis is your capability of defending it. Therefore, once again, you have to research your thesis extremely well in order to pick the right examples to illustrate and defend it. Introduction of an illustration essay The introduction of an illustration essay is the first or the so-called introductory paragraph. The purpose of the introduction is to present to the audience the subject you are going to illustrate. It is useful to give a general overview of your thesis and also point briefly why other people have different opinion from yours. But be careful when doing that because you have to be sure you can defend your thesis better than they can defend theirs. For example, you have decided to write an illustration essay on cell phones and how they affect our daily life. First, you have to decide whether you are going to defend the thesis about how useful really are the cell phones or how cell phones have altered our communication in general, or any other variation of the topic which you find interesting and believe you can illustrate. It is important to find a thesis which reflects your point of view and you can adapt. So let’s say you have decided to write on how mobile phones have altered our way of daily communication. You have to find some key points to prove that the usage of cell phones has really changed the way we communicate. First, you may say that texting has replaced the traditional phone call; second, it allows to be closer to a larger number of friends and acquaintances than before; and third, that cell phones help you in your studies or business since you can check not only your email account all the time, but you can also observe your business or studies from distance. You can also state that some people claim that we spend too much time on our phones neglecting our real lives as a negative effect. Main body of an illustration essay Before starting to write the main body of your illustration essay, it will be good if you outline it first. After you have finished your initial research on the thesis, systematize by priority the examples you have found that illustrate your thesis in the best possible way. Afterwards, you proceed with writing a paragraph for each of the examples you have picked which illustrates your thesis. Every example has to be examined and defended in details. The purpose of the main body of an essay is to convince the audience of your thesis so here you have to use precise information and convincing language. Sometimes in an illustrative essay you can tell a personal story and use it as an example to prove your thesis. For instance, you can say that your cell phone and its calendar saved you from forgetting a deadline for an important paper or helped you prepare for an exam. The personal story of course has to be trustworthy and something the audience can relate to. You must have at least thre e examples to illustrate your thesis or at least three paragraphs in the main body of your illustration essay. Conclusion of an illustration essay The purpose of the conclusion is to restate your thesis for one last time. You can also highlight the examples that illustrate your thesis in the best possible way. Make the audience lean to your thesis for one final time in the conclusion of the essay. Always proofread your essay and make sure it’s free from grammar and punctuation mistakes.

Stradegies (or Barriers) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stradegies (or Barriers) - Term Paper Example Evidence of institutions structured racially were slavery, segregations, residential schools and Indian wars. In 20th century though, discriminations of all kinds were banned following activities of civil rights groups from all quarters who opposed these discriminations using various strategies, its fundamental to note that some like employment, housing, education and lending prejudices still happen in the present society. In this paper however, focus is on the Asian and African Americans as two of the groups that faced barriers (discrimination) in United States’ history and what strategies they used to overcome these challenges. In the first part of this paper we shall look at the African Americans and then proceed to second part of Asian Americans in order to create contrast in the strategies they deployed in fighting for their freedom. Perhaps the most prominent barrier of this group is the institution of slavery in which the African Americans were enslaved and viewed as property and treated as second class citizens, stigmatized and denied industrial jobs. It the perception of slavery that resulted in all the barriers faced by the Africans in America, it started in 1630s in prehistoric era and has been practiced for a long period of time due to sugar, tobacco and other plantations that seek more workforces. There are several issues that kept them invisible in all aspects of their lives: Their lives were incredibly difficult as slaves mostly for those who worked in the plantations, they could work from sunrise to sunset without exception of the old or the young all could work for this long period of time. It was considered to be lucky if the master gives the slave a day off from work or holidays like Christmas which was infrequent. In his free lucky time, the slave engage in his own activities of fishing or cultivating small piece of land in order to supplement what is given by the master that was poor in quality. As stated earlier it was

UK Taxation System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

UK Taxation System - Essay Example Alongside, the developments in the indirect taxation are also described. Income Tax is believed to be the largest source of earning equating up to 30% of the total tax revenue in UK. This is charged on salaries from employment, on rental income for let-out properties, on bank and building societies' interests and on company dividends. The one that comes next in this list is the Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT is charged to the customer by businesses on the supply of goods and services in the country. The revenue generated by the UK government by way of VAT comes somewhere around to 23% of the total tax revenue and also this is believed to be the second largest earner of revenue to the government. Apart from this the government of UK also generates revenue through some other kinds of taxes like the National Insurance Contributions (NIC), duties and Corporations Tax, the contribution of which are believed to be 21%, 16% and 8% respectively. There exist also other sources of contributions like the Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Inheritance Tax (IHT), Stamp Duty (SD) and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) etc., which form the rest of the total tax revenue. The Tax Year: The Tax Year in the United Kingdom starts on the 6th of April in the current year and ends on 5th of April in the following year. All the citizens of the country pay their income tax by reference to the same. The different kinds of rates and allowances relating to taxes are finalized in the Annual Budget which is scheduled every year in the month of March. The Tax System: A study conducted in the previous year reveals that almost 29.5 million individuals do pay tax in the form of income tax in UK. Indirect taxes are collected in the form of Excise duties, Vehicle excise duties, Insurance premium tax, Air passenger duty, Landfill Tax and Aggregates Levy etc. The government of UK levies excise duty particularly on five types of goods. They are tobacco, fuel, beer, wine and beer. A flat rate is followed for levying tax on these particular goods. When it comes to tobacco, they are additionally subject to a tax called ad valorem tax. This ad valorem tax is set up at an amount of 22% of the total retail price. The following table shows the tax rates of duties that were levied in the year 2006-07. Table.1 Excise duties, 2006-07 Good Duty (pence) Total duty as a % of price Total tax as a % of price Packet of 20 cigars: Specific + ad valorem 314 66.4 81.3 Pint of Beer 29 13.5 28.4 Wine (75cl bottle) 129 38.2 53.1 Spirits (70cl bottle) 548 48.0 62.9 Ultra-Low sulphur petrol 47 50.8 65.7 Ultra-Low sulphur diesel 47 49.1 64.0 Sources: HM Revenue and Customs website (customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal'_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_InfoGuides); UK Trade Info website - www.uktradeinfo.co.uk; National Statistics - www.statistics.gov.uk Capital Gains Tax: The concept of Capital Gains tax was introduced in the year 1965. These capital gains are supposed to be levied on the

Mughal Empire Culture and Religion

Mughal Empire Culture and Religion After the decline of Hindu kingdom around 1000 AD, a number of Islamic invaders and merchants came and went but could not caste any significant impact on the cultural life of people. Most of the invaders were tribal kings from the clan Hun and Pathan whose main motive was to plunder the country, loot the property as much as they could. They had no ambition to establish an empire and that is why their cultural impact is insignificant. This could not remain for a long period. The Muslim empire was established with the first battle of Panipat in 1526 AD. Their after we find a continuous interaction between these two major distinct communities Hindus and Muslims. Muslims were the rulers and Hindus became the ruled. Hindus were employed in a number of jobs under their Muslim rulers. Continuous intermingling takes place between these two communities in the coming several centuries. Trade and Commerce: The middle Classes Nature and Standard of Living The middle classes in medieval India consisted in the main, merchants, professional classes such as vaidyas and hakims and officials. There was high degree of professionalism among the Indian merchants. Some specialized in wholesale trade and others in retail trade, the former being called seth or bohra and the latter beoparis or banik. In south India the chettis formed the trading community. There was a special class banjaras who specialized in carrying trade. The banjaras used to move from place to place, sometimes with thousands of oxen, laden with food grains, salt, ghee etc. The sarrafs (shroff) specialized in changing money, keeping money in deposit or landing it, or transmitting it from one part of the country to the other by means of hundi. The hundi was letter of credit payable after a certain period. The use of hundies made it easier to move goods or to transmit money from one part of the country to another. The hundies were cashed at a discount which sometimes included ins urance so that the cost of goods lost or destroyed in transit could be recovered. By these means the Indian merchants could easily ship goods to countries of west Asia as well as where there were Indian banking houses. English and Dutch traders who came to Gujarat during the 17th century found the Indian financial system to be highly developed and the Indian merchants to be active and alert. There was keen competition for inside information and whenever there was a shortage of some goods in some parts of the country it was made good quickly by the merchants. But this applied to goods of high quality. Food grains and bulk articles were costly to move overland but not so costly if moved by rivers. hence the major rivers carried much more goods in medieval times than now. However the total trade was limited since the villages, while not completely self sufficient, bought only a limited number of things from outside such as salt, iron and few consumer goods. Long distance trade generall y catered to needs of the affluent sections in the cities. The trading community in India was fairly large in number and included some of the richest merchants in the world. The names of virji or vohra who dominated the Surat trade for several decades and who had a large fleet of ships, Malaya Chetti on the Coromandal coasts, and Abdul Ghaffoor Bohra who left 85 lacks of rupees in cash and goods at the time of his death in 1718 are some of the noteworthy cases. There were many wealthy merchants in Agra, Delhi, Orissa and Bengal. The wealthy merchants in the costal ports of Gujarat lived in an ostentatious manner and aped the manners of the nobles. They lived in lofty houses with coloured tiles, wore fine clothes, rode well caparisoned horses and had people carrying flags and banners before them when they moved out in public. European travellers mentioned the commodious and well built houses in which the wealthy merchants of Agra and Delhi lived. But the ordinary sorts lived in houses above their shops. The French traveller Bernier, says that that the merchants tried to look poor because they were afraid they would be used like filled sponges that is squeezed of their wealth. But Sher Shah passed many laws for protecting the property of the merchants. The laws of Sher Shah are well known. Jahangirs ordinances included a provision that if any one, whether unbeliever or Musalman should die, his property and effects should be left for his heirs, and no one should interfere with them. If he should have no heirs, they should appoint inspectors and separate guardians to guard the property, so that it value might be expanded in a lawful expenditure, such as the building mosques and sarais, repair of broken bridged and digging of tanks and wells. Thus the concept of protection of private property, including the property of merchants clearly emerged. Organization of Trade and Commerce Role of European Trading Companies Trade and commerce expanded in India during the first half of the 17th century due to a number of factors. Perhaps the most important factor was the political integration of the country under Mughal rule and establishment of conditions of law and order extensive areas. The Mughals paid attention to roads and sarais which maid communication easier. Uniform tax was levied on goods at the points of their entry into the empire. Road cesses or rahdari was declared illegal though it was continued to be collected by some of the local rajas. The Mughals minted silver rupees of high purities which became a standard coin in India and abroad and thus help Indias trade. Another factor which helped Indias was the arrival of the Dutch and English traders towards the beginning of the 17th century. Ralph Fitch during Akbars reign, said Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were each larger then London. Montserrat says Lahore was second to none of the cities in Europe or Asia. The growth of town and town life is one of the significant features of 17th century India. The Indian traders welcomed the Dutch and the English because these traders helped them to break the Portuguese monopoly of sea trade, and in course of time, helped to establish a direct link between India and European markets. The Portuguese power have begun to decline during the second half of the 16th century, as was demonstrated by the defeat by the Spanish armada by England in 1588. The Portuguese remained at Goa and also at Daman and Diu. But their shares in overseas trade declined continuously and were insignificant by the end of the century. The British could not succeed in India as long as the Mughal empire was strong but it was not long incoming as soon as the weakness of the empire became manifest. Architecture There was an outburst of many sided cultural activates in India under the Mughal rule. The tradition in the field of architecture, painting, literature and music created during this period set a norm and deeply influenced the succeeding generations. In this sense, the Mughal period can be called a second classical age following the gupta age in northern India. In this cultural development Indian traditions were amalgamated with the Turko Iranian culture brought to the country by the Mughals. The Timurid court at Samarqand had developed as the cultural centre of west and central Asia. Babur was conscious of this cultural heritage. He was determined to set proper standards. The development of art and culture in various regions of India during the 14th and 15th centuries had held to rich and varied development from which it was possible to draw upon. The Mughals built magnificent forts, palaces, public buildings, mosques and baolis etc. They also led out many formal gardens with running water in fact use of running water in their palaces, resorts was the special feature of the Mughals. Babur was very fond of gardens and laid out few gardens in the neighbourhood of Agra and Lahore. Some of the Mughals gardens such as the Nishant Bagh in Kashmir. The Shalimar at Lahore and Pinjore etc have survived even to this day. We do not find the tradition of developing gardens in prior Hindu Kingdoms. It began with the Mughals and today is very much the part of Indian culture. Akbar was the first Mughal ruler who had the time to undertake construction on a large scale. He built a series of forts. The most famous of which is the fort of Agra. In 1572 he commenced a palace cumfort complex at Fatehpur Sikri. Build atop a hill, along with a large artificial lake; it included many buildings in the style of Gujarat and Bengal. The Gujarat style of architecture is used most widely in the palace built probably for his Rajput wife or wives. Akbar took a personal interest in the work of construction at both Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. Persian or central influence can be seen in the glazed blue tiles used for decorations in the walls or for tiling the roofs. The period of Shahjahan needs no mention. His period is the best period of architectural development. Mughal architectural traditions were based on a combination of Hindu and Turko Iranian forms and decorative designs continued without a break into the 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus Mughals traditions influence the palace and forts of many provincial and local kingdoms. Even the golden temple of the Sikhs at Amritsar which was rebuilt several times during this period was built on the arch and dome principle and incorporated many features of the Mughals traditions of architecture. Painting The Mughals made a distinctive contribution in the field of painting. They introduced new themes depicting the court, battle scenes and the chase, added new colours and forms. They created a living tradition of painting which continued to work in different parts of the country long after the glory of the Mughals disappeared. The richness of the style again, was due to the fact that India had an old tradition of paintings. While no palm leaves older than the 12th century have survived to indicate the style of painting, the wall painting of Ajanta are an eloquent indication of its vigour. After the 8th century, the tradition seems to have decayed, but palm leaf manuscripts and illustrated Jain text from the 13th century onwards so the tradition had not died. Apart from the Janis some of the provincial kingdoms, such as Malwa and Gujarat extended their patronage to painting during the 15th century. A vigorous revival of the painting culture began only under Akbar. During the reign of Akbar paintings were organized in one of the imperial establishments. From the beginning of both Hindus and Muslims joined in the work. Thus, Jaswant and Dasawan were two of the famous painters of the Akbars court. Apart from illustrating Persian books of fables, the painters were soon assigned the task of illustrating the Persian text of the Mahabharata, Akbar Nama and others. Indian themes and Indian scenes thus came in vogue and helped to free the school from Persian influence. Indian colours such as peacock blue, Indian red etc began to be used. Above all the somewhat flat effect of the Persian style began to be replaced by the roundedness of the Indian brush giving the pictures three dimensional effect. The Mughals reached the climax under Jahangir who had a very discriminating eye. While the tradition continued under Shahjahan, Aurangzebs lack of interest in painting led to a dispersal of the artist to different places. This helped in the development of painting in the states of Rajasthan and the Punjab hills. The Rajasthan style of painting combined the themes and earlier traditions of western India or Jain school of painting with Mughal forms and styles. Thus, in addition to hunting and court scenes it had paintings on mythological themes, such as the dalliance of Krishna and Radha, or the Barah masa, that is, the seasons or the Ragas (melodies). The Pahari School continued these traditions. Language, Literature and Music By the time of Akbar knowledge of Persian had become so wide spread in North India that he dispensed with the tradition of keeping revenue records in local language Hindavi in addition to Persian. Persian prose and poetry reached a climax under the Akbars reign. Abul Fazal was a great scholar and a stylist as well as the leading historian of the age, set a style of prose writing which was emulated for many generations. The leading poet of the age was his brother Faizi who also helped in the translation of the Mahabharata. Utbi and Naziri were the leading Persian poets. Though born in Persia they were among the many poets among the scholars who migrated from Iran to India during the period and made the Mughal court one of the cultural centres of the Islamic world. All though not much significant work was done in Sanskrit but number of Sanskrit works produced during this period is quite impressive. The dalliance of Krishna with Radha and the milk maids, pranks of the child Krishna and stories from Bhagawat figure largely lyrical poetry in Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Rajasthani and Guajarati during this period. Both Muslims and Hindus contributed in this. A leading Mughal novel Abdur Rahim Khan I Khanan, produced a fine blend of bhakti poetry with Persian Ideas of life and human relations. But the most influential Hindi poet was Tulsidas who created Ramchritmanas in dialect of eastern u.p. During the Muslim reign Akbar patronised Tansen of Gwalior who is credited with composing new melodies (ragas). Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well as many Mughal nobles followed this example. There are many apocrvohal stories about the burial of music by the orthodox Aurangzeb. Recent studies show that Aurangzeb banished singing from his court, but not performance of musical instrument. In fact, Aurangzeb himself was an accomplished veena player. Music in all forms continued to be patronised by the Aurangzebs queens in the harem and by the nobles. That is why the largest number of books on classical Indian music was written during Aurangzebs reign. But some of the most important developments in the field of music took place later on in the eighteenth century during the reign of Muhammad Shah (1720-48). Religious Ideas and Beliefs The bhakti movement continued apace during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Sikh movement had its origin with the preaching of Nanak. But its development is closely linked with the institution of Guru ship. Akbar had been deeply impressed with the Sikh gurus, and it is said, visited them at Amritsar. However, a clash began with the imprisonment and death of Guru Arjun by Jahangir. Dara the eldest son of Shahjahan, was by temperament scholar and a Sufi who loved to discourse with religious divines with the help of Brahmins of Kasi he got the Gita translated into Persian. But his most significant work was an anthology of the Vedas in the introduction to which Dara declared the Vedas to be heavenly books in point of time and in conformity with holy Quran thus underlining the belief that there were no fundamental difference between Hinduism and Islam. Dadu a Gujarati poet preached a non sectarian path. He refused to identify either with Muslim or with Hindus. Among the Muslims too, while the trained of tauhid continued apace a were supported by many leading Sufi saints, a small group of orthodox Ulama reacted against it. But the influence of the orthodox thinkers and preachers was limited. Their chief hope was that their ideas would receive the support and the backing of those who held position of wealth and power in society and the state. On other hand the liberal thinkers made their appeal to the broad masses. The recurrent cycles of liberalism and orthodoxy in the Indian History should be seen against the situation which was routed in the structure of the Indian society. It was one aspect of the struggle between and entrenched privilege and power on the one hand and the egalitarian and humanistic aspirations of the mass of the people on the other. The prestige and influence of the narrow orthodox elements and their re assertion of the narrow ideas and beliefs was a barrier to the growing process of rapprochement and tolerance among the votaries of the to dominant religions, Hinduism and Islam, and Hindrance to the process of cultural integration. The clash between the two trends came to the surface during Aurangzebs reign. Conclusion The thousands years from the beginning of the 18th century to the end of the 17th century saw important changes in the political, economic and cultural life of the country and also, to a smaller extent, in its social life. In the field of social life, the caste system continued to dominate, despite the challenge posed to it by Islam and loss of political power by the Rajput rulers who were duty bound to protect dharma which implied, among other things, the upholding the fourfold division of society(varnashrama dharma). Although the Nath Panthi Jogis and the Bhakti saints vehemently criticised the caste system, they could hardly make a dent in it. A tacit agreement was arrived at the in the course of time. The criticism of the caste system by saints did not, with some notable exceptions, extend to day to day or secular life , while the Brahmans acquiesced in the advocacy of the path of devotion as the way for salvation for all castes, specially for the sudras. However, the Brahmans continued to claim a privileged position for themselves, including the exclusive right to preach and educate. The Bhakti and Sufi saints gradually brought about a better understanding of the fundamental tenets of Hinduism and Islam underlining the fact that they had a great deal of similarity. This resulted in a greater spirit of mutual harmony and toleration, although forces advocating a narrow, intolerant approach continued to be strongly entrenched and sometimes influenced state police. But such occasions were, on the whole, very few. The Bhakti and Sufi saints also brought about important changes in the approach to religion, laying greater emphasis on true faith than to the formal observances they also contributed to the growth of regional languages and literature. But the excessive concern with religious and spiritual affairs resulted in setback to the growth of rational sciences, epically to the cultivation of science and technology. While the Portuguese monopoly of some of the oriental trade and their domination of seas had, on the whole a harmful effect on Indian trade and commerce, the Dutch and English traders who broke the Portuguese monopoly, helped to open the European markets for Indian products such as textiles, indigo, and salt petre which were not exported to Europe earlier. Thus, India was linked more closely to the rapidly expanding European market. However in the absence of strong navy and a well developed mercantile fleet, the Indian trader and producer could secure only a marginal share of the profits of this new trade. On the other hand, the richness of the oriental trade further whetted the appetite of the European nation and quickened their economic and technological growth. Under the Mughals, political integration was accompanied by a deliberated effort to create a unified ruling class consisting of Muslims and Hindus. The development in various fields in India during this period should not be lost sight of the growth of political integration. Indian society was one of the few societies in the world which was able to develop a more or less unified culture despite differences in race, religion and language. This unified culture was reflected in an outburst of creative activity which makes the 17th century a second classical age. In the south, the traditions of the Cholas were continued by the Vijayanagra kingdom. The Bahmni kingdom and its successor states also contributed to culture developments in various fields. The rich cultural developments in the various regional kingdoms during the 15th century were, to some extent integrated in the new cultural forms developed by the Mughals. However, this integrated culture came under pressure from the religious dogmatists of the two faiths as well as from the competing and conflicting interests of various sections in the ruling classes. But that it survived, on the whole till the middle of the 19th century is no mean tribute to all those saints, scholars and enlightened rulers who helped to fashion it. The period was also marked by economic developments and growth. Trade and manufactures expanded and there was expansion and improvement of cultivation also. However, the growth was uneven in different areas and during different phases. Apart from the Ganga valley where the Mughals spent a substantial part of the revenue resources of the empire the areas which developed rapidly during the 17th century were Gujarat, the Coromandal coast and Bengal. Perhaps, it is no accident that these have been the areas in the forefront of economic developments of India in the modern period, particularly the post independence era. Would India have continued to progress economically and even attained Industrial Revolution on its own, if the Mughal Empire had continued? The question is too speculative. Perhaps the Mughal Empire had already reached the limit of its development. The feudal aristocratic nature of the state and the neglect of science and technology by the ruling class were already placing limits to the economic developments of the country. But whether India was able to develop faster and in a more harmonious manner under the British rule is a question which will be explained in the subsequent volume on modern India.