Architecture, Political Landscape and Urbanism on West Africa's Slave Research Paper

Architecture, Political Landscape and Urbanism on West Africa's Slave Coast - Research Paper Example This article identifies some landscape features at Savi and Elmina and postulates accompanying social and political significance of the same. According to Norman & Kelly, many landscape features in Africa have been wrongly interpreted as manifestations European military exploits. However, these landscape features represent the politics of those regions, and have nothing to do with military exploits of the west. The Savi region is the capital of the coastal Hueda Kingdom, in Benin. The state and the capital formed an important part of the Atlantic slave trade. Hueda Archaeological Project under the leadership of Kenneth Kelly, has, since 1991, discovered and mapped the form of a ditch-complex. Later on, the project has concentrated on the palace complex (Kelly, Brunache,& Norman 1999, p. 2). The archeological activities sought to elucidate the political order of the time. The town became desolate in 1772 after the conquest of the Dahomeans. Excavations in the Savi area have yielded lo cally made potteries and smoking pipes. The local pipes discovered were more than the imported. However, it is the ditch complex is the most interesting Savi’s archeology. The ditches are as deep as 8 meters and as wide as 30 meters. Archeologists believe that these ditches separated the residencies of the elites and the rest of the town. This has been proven by the discovery of ramp that provided access to the elite residence. There is also the evidence of a gate structure restricting entry to the area. Additionally, the presence of an elevated watchtower made strong the case of social interpretation of the functions of the ditches. Within the elitist areas, there is evidence of more barriers indicating restrictions to some areas within the elite residence itself. In the palace unearthing, there is evidence of divisions separating different sections of the palace. Furthermore, there is evidence to indicate the presence of storied structures prior to the Dahomean conquest. Ce ramics can be used as active objects domain for cultural configuration and transformation at numerous scales of quotidian lives. They can be used to explain some aspects of the cultural conversions that took place because of the engagement of West Africa in the Atlantic trade. Ceramics for the bulk of artifacts revealed at any excavation site. This is because of their resilience and pervasiveness, making them effective tools of deciphering identity. One useful category are the utilitarian ceramics, which archeologists use identify functional categories and internal group relations by observing the stylistic characteristics. Furthermore, landscape features were built by the interrelationship between political, social and religious institutions. The ditch systems in west African created physical barriers and societal boundaries. They created areas of safety and inclusion (Norman & Kelly 100). The ditch system served several purposes among them, to offer protection to the majority of t he settlements, and differentiate between the royal residence and other non-elite dwellings. The massive work required in the making of such complex ditch system also indicates the level of social organization present in those areas. It shows that the king had the power to summon hordes of people to attend to the duties of the kingdom. This also could have been because of the religious organization of the time. Furthermore, apart from being a show of power, it also alludes to the duties of the king in ordering defensive work. To marshal such an amount of work force, the king must have been entrusted with the duty to defend the kingdom. Another insight that results from the observation of the ditch complex is the regional political climate of

Ethical Dilema on Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Dilema on Abortion - Essay Example Numerous states in the United States of America have been locked into a fierce debate over the issue of abortion being legalized. However, disregarding the legality of this act, it is essential to focus on the morality of the issue as well. Abortion has many trade-offs that involve a variety of values including a sense of where people come from. While the use of the right to abort can be legalized, the legality of the issue does not hold as much weight since this requires the elimination of some form of human life. Instead, one also needs to focus on the â€Å"ethical dilemma on abortion† (Ethics Score Board). Before understanding the different theories that surround this moral debate, it is necessary that the definition of abortion be stated. The definition tends to include two meanings: to give premature birth before the fetus is able to form a life of its own, which may be because of a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, and the other includes the woman’s terminatio n of a pregnancy intentionally. Various feminist and pro-choice groups often regard the intentional abortion as a choice that the woman in question can make for herself. The trend for abortion is on the rise, which includes a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, according to a famous philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, every individual has a right to live, and this right is also extended to the fetus. Therefore, in a way abortion is taking away that right. However, what about the right of the woman to control her own body? Hence, this is a central debate (Butts and Rich 73). The paper, henceforth, addresses the various theories that consider abortion as something not morally permissible for a variety of reasons. Analysis of various theories is essential in order to defend this argument. The pro-life view, which is opposite to the pro-choice view (those who support that abortion is every woman’s reproductive right), puts much weight on the fact that the fetus should be understood as a human being. Such groups also state that life begins at the time of conception, which means that killing a living being is murder and morally impermissible. Unless there is harm to the life of the mother, the fetus needs protection. The pro-life view also includes a variety of religious scholars as well, who quote passages from the scriptures to put forth their argument of pro-life. In Exodus 21:12, the verse states that anyone who murders anyone else should also be put to death. The group also considers the abortion of fetus to be included in this, because fundamentally, the fetus has gained life. This is also illustrated in the verse from Luke 1:41 in the New Testament â€Å"the baby in my womb leaped for joy,† which sheds light on the idea that since the baby leaped, it is very much alive (Butts and Mirch 75). And this â€Å"right to live† is also supported by the philosophical stance of Immanuel Kant and the Divine Command Theory. When it comes to understandi ng moral and religious issues, Divine Command Theory is perhaps the best. According to Cowan and Spiegel, the divine command theory is able to â€Å"provide sufficiently clear moral direction and an adequate sense of duty† (qtd. In Dunstan). This theory considers abortion to be against religion and morality because God does not support it, which has been supported by the verses quoted above. Additionally, a situation from the biblical scripture Exodus 21:22-24 has also been analyzed to state that abortion is wrong. The situation included a woman suffering a miscarriage because of two men arguing. Although this was an abortion, the scripture condemns the loss of life because as Cowan and Spiegel say, â€Å"The life of an unborn child is as valuable as that of an adult,† according to Christian belief (qtd. in Dunstan). There are verses which illustrate that life was bestowed on the fetus from the moment of conception, and God has ordained the entire life of that unborn f etus. Therefore, these precious unborn babies also