Forum 7: Are we really free?

Last year, when discussing the French Revolution, one of the questions posed was whether, two centuries after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, we could still say that we are really free.

What's your opinion on this issue?

Portuguese colonies in Soth America (by Andrea Mariño)

First steps on the territory

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, a Spanish navigator, was the first European to be known in the region of the territory today known as Brazil. By 1500, as he advanced northwards to the mouth of the Orinoco River, he found a territory which had been assigned to Portugal in 1494 by the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed by both the Spanish and the Portuguese Ambassadors at Tordesillas (in Northwest Spain),to mark by an imaginary line down through the Atlantic 370 leagues west of Cape Verde, Portugal´s most westerly possession, the division of the territory. According to this treaty, the land on the west side belonged to Spain and the land on the east side belonged to Portugal. Later the same year, a Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, reached the coast of present Brazil and named it Terra da Vera Cruz (Land of the True Cross). The following year, he Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, was sent to Terra da Vera Cruz by the Portuguese government and when he returned with a cargo of the valuable red wood known as brazilwood, the government changed the name of the territory from Terra da Vera Cruz to Brazil.

King John III and the captaincies

In 1530, the Portuguese king John III, divided the colony into 15 districts or captaincies and granted them to 15 donatarios, whose heirs could found cities, grant land and even levy taxes over their territories. In 1549, Thomé de Souza, the first governor general of Brazil, made his headquarters at Bahia (today Salvador), which remained its capital city for over two centuries. He also brought large numbers of slaves to overcome the shortage of laborers, what led to the foundation of Sao Paulo in 1554. In 1555, the French founded a colony on the shores of the Rio de Janeiro Bay. However, the Portuguese destroyed it and in 1567 established on its site the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil´s economy

During the First two centuries, Brazil´s economy was mainly based on the sugar trade but it was changed after the discovery of diamonds and other minerals in the region of Minas Gerais, in the north part of the colony. The mineral trade through the port of Rio de Janeiro gave this city prosperity and sophistication. These facts made Pombal, the chief minister of Portugal, move the capital, Bahia, to Rio de Janeiro in 1763.

Brazil becomes a Republic

A military revolt in November 1889, led by General Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca, forced Pedro II to abdicate the Regengy of Brazil. A republic was was proclaimed and Fonseca was elected head of the provisional government. The drafting of a constitution based on the American one was completed in June 1890 but it was not adopted until February 1891. Now, Brazil became a federal republic officially named United States of Brazil with Fonseca elected its first president.

Montréal’s Historical Summary (by Robert Quinteros)

In 1535, a French navigator, Jacques Cartier, arrived at Hochelaga. It was a village inhabited by St. Lawrence Iroquoians but he claimed the territory for France and gave the name Mont Royal to the mountain.

It is said that there was a supernatural flavor in the beginnings of the city. two religious gentlemen of France, the priest Jean Jacques Olier and the layman Jerome leRoyer de la Dauversiere, had at the same moment a dream in which they saw the configuration of the island, although they had not known of it before, and heard an inner voice convincing them to establish a new colony for the glory of God. The two men met and joint efforts to form a society called ‘La Compagnie de Notre Dame de Montreal’. On May 18, 1642, those men together with Paul de Chomedy De Maisonneuve, who was the first governor of the city, found Ville-Marie with about 60 settlers.

People were constantly attacked by natives, until in 1665, Carignan Regiment was order by New France to suppress the Iroquoians and ease tensions between both sides. At the end of the 17th century, the French gained permanent peace after the treaty La Grande Paix between the French and the Iroquois. At this time, Montréal began to prosper, it became the center of fur trade. The population was about 1,000 and they had the advantage of having inland navigation.

In 1775, Montréal was in war against the British and the city surrendered to British rule. They gave a new impetus to the life of the community, and at the end of the 18th century, Montréal had already taken the lead over the city of Quebec in population as well as in importance.

During the following years, there were fundamental improvements in transportation and industries. For instance, the expansion of the St. Lawrence canal system that made Montréal the principal seaport. The Railway construction made the city the hub of the railway system. Finally, Montréal was becoming a major industrial centre around the middle of the 19th century.

In the mid of 20th century, great projects took place in Montréal, such as the International World Exposition or EXPO 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympic games which gave status to the city.

After the 70s, there was high rate of unemployment, but Montréal regained a strong vitality from the mid-1990s and entered the 21st century with a modernized and buoyant economy based on international trade in basic products and on the distribution of manufactured goods.

Wrong (by Rojas, Pachame and Mallemaci)

Wrong

(Review by Carolina Rojas, Daniela Pachame and Marisol Mallemaci)

“Wrong” appears in Depeche Mode’s new album which is “Sounds of the Universe”. The electro pop band continues with their characteristic dark style, writing about love, lust and death.

Depeche Mode’s lyrics express a feeling of negation and this English group uses negative words and phrases such as: “wrong”, “born in the wrong place” and “I was born in the wrong side”. Throughout the song, the word “Wrong” is repeated with emphasis in order to demonstrate the singer’s feeling about living a hated life.

Apart from the fact that we consider “wrong” a negative song, we would recommend this track to people who like Depeche Mode’s characteristic style but we would not do so if the listener does not like Depeche Mode’s characteristic style.

Listen to the song here:

Wrong - Depeche Mode