Use the sources below to extend the paper to a 4-pages research(MLA Essay

Use the sources below to extend the paper to a 4-pages research(MLA Style) - Essay Example At Southern most labors the slaves were freed, the following new issues were different with the antebellum U.S. As the winner, the changes between the Northern which promoted the industrial capitalism and the freed slavery south was embedded after the Civil War was ended. The most popular questions were: would the Black people go or stay? Where should the 4 million go or stay? Under the wave of abolishing the slavery, the capitalism creates a special group: The Sharecropper. What influence did sharecropping have, and was it good or bad for the black people? Who started sharecropping? Was the situation the same as the president Lincoln had suggested? What influenced the U.S. and what was different between sharecropping and slavery? My opinion on this is that sharecropping did not change the black people’s situation and it did not lead the African Americans to an economic independence and autonomy fundamentally â€Å"All facts suggest that black sharecropper’s income was less than white sharecropper’s income. This is not astonishing given the history of slavery, which was bestowed to the blacks† (Federico 261). So, what is sharecropping? Sharecropping is a way of agriculture in which a landowner allows their tenant to utilize their land in return for a split of the crops produced on the land. The tenant signs a contract for such arrangements. Somehow this seemed like freedom for the blacks, but it was not. â€Å"Sharecroppers compensated their lease to the landlord as portions of their crop yield; this gave room for exploitation by the landlords† (Roumasset and James 640). Sharecropping, along with tenant farming, was a dominant form in the cotton and especially in the South from the period between 1870s to the 1950s, among both whites and blacks, but it is largely disappearing since 1966 when Civil Rights and the Workers Union abolished Peonage (Forced Labor). The word,

Islamic finance PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Islamic finance - PowerPoint Presentation Example Instead Islam asks for an equitable distribution of wealth so that all members of society can prosper together. Concentration of wealth in a few hands is not desirable. Islam strikes a balance between conventional socialism and capitalism. One allows only for private ownership, while the other negates it outright. It is the Islamic way that has sought a path between the two extremes for the betterment of man. Unlike conventional systems, Islam recognizes only 3 factors of production which include capital, land and labor. The returns generated from the combination of these three are distributed accordingly. Capital gains return in the form of profits, land in the form of rent and labor in the form of wages. Islamic Contracts Islamic contracts govern the business conventions on how trade transactions must be entered into. First of all, the trade must be permissible in the light of Shariah. It cannot contain any element of Riba’, Gharar, Mysur, Haram etc. Secondly, there are many conditions which must be fulfilled in order for a contract to be rendered valid. They include: A condition which is not against the contract is a valid condition A condition which seems to be against the contract, but is normal market practice, is no void unless proved in the light of Shariah. A condition which seems to be against the contract and not market practice but favors any one participant is void. A condition which is against the contract, not market practice, and doesn’t favor anyone is a void condition. Sales in Islamic Finance The concept of sales in Islam is the exchange of a thing of value with another thing of value. However, it is very strict on the core principles of sales. In the contract, there must be offer and acceptance for the contract to be executed. Furthermore, the individuals must be sane and of proper age to enter into agreements such as this one. The commodity/asset under consideration must exist. It must also have some intrinsic value to as to c ater to the sale. Furthermore, it should be capable of showing ownership. For example, no one can point to the moon and claim that they own it. It exists, and must have some value. But since it cannot be owned, it cannot be transacted. Furthermore, the asset must be deliverable to the buyer, the quantity and quality must be aforementioned. The price of the trade must be addressed at the start so as to avoid any misunderstandings between the parties. Lastly, either physical or constructive possession of the asset must be taken in order to render the sale complete. Modes of Islamic Finance The modes of Islamic Finance, while seemingly like their conventional counterparts, are free from all the Haram (unlawful) ways which have been prohibited in Islam. Following are the types of Islamic Financing: 1. Musharakah In a Musharakah agreement, two parties come together to form an alliance for commercial enterprise and share the profits according to a set ratio. This is decided at the time of entering into the alliance. However, if a loss occurs then the parties distribute that according to the rate of participation of initial investment from each individual. There are two explicit types of Musharakah. In the first type, the partnership arises out of a joint ownership of an asset. For example, two brothers inherit their father’s sugarcane factory. Hence they become partners through the joint ownership which exists. The second kind is via contracts. In this case, the two individuals enter into an

Tourism and hospitality management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tourism and hospitality management - Essay Example Hospitality management is one of the key areas which can define the overall competitiveness of the firms working in the hospitality industry. Over the period of time, firms which have been able to develop better management of its resources have been successful in developing important competitive advantages over their competitors. This report has presented a complete analysis of different issues pertaining to two different services providers in the industry. The overall purpose was to check and analyse whether different aspects of hospitality management and project management are carried out in accordance with the best practices. A visit to Sheraton Hotel suggested that the hotel has good quality hygiene food, better services, safety management as well as the roles and responsibilities are adequately defined. This has allowed the hotel to develop a system under which different activities are carried out in accordance with the laid down policies and procedures. This was done in order t o get a firsthand information about the best practices adapted by the industry leading organizations. Crystal Clear Resort, our next assignment, however, showed somewhat a different scenario as the resort faced different issues such as people management, diversity, customer services as well as communication between the employees. Due to diversity of the employees, Resort is facing different challenges and as such requires complete change in the overall attitude of the management in shaping its overall competitive advantage within the industry.... ike work place diversity , reducing the conflict between the employees as well as improve communication between them requires that the Resort must develop better strategies as well as work environment in order to ensure that it can operate on the long term basis besides become more competitive in the industry. It is also critical that Resorts must be able to implement better conflict management practices in order to ensure that it can deliver better customer services to its customers. Overall the organization needs a direction- a new strategy to ensure that it has put in place important changes. This would include better management of HR resources, better operational planning as well as the adequate and effective conflict management system. Develop and Implement Operational Plans Appendix A The need for Operational Plans Operational plans are considered as the sub-set of the overall strategic framework of the organization and require meticulous compliance with the overall strategy of the firm. It not only defines the short term goals and objectives to be achieved but also outline as to how and what parts of the overall strategy of the firm needs to be operationalized. A well-developed operational plan is considered as essential for the development and approval of the operational budget of the organization. A well-developed operational plan therefore provides answers to questions like how to measure the progress and where firm intends to go. This approach therefore makes operational plans an important part of the overall strategy execution of the firm. A clear and well prepared operational plan therefore helps firms to set clear objectives, overall activities to be delivered as well as desired outcomes. Appendix B Internal and External Factors In order to better prepare

Role and Advantages of International and Home Trade Coursework

Role and Advantages of International and Home Trade - Coursework Example Commerce includes all those activities, which are connected with trade and auxiliaries to trade such as transport, warehousing, insurance, and banking and finance.   The trade involves buying and selling of goods and its purpose is to bridge the gap between persons, i.e. the producers and the consumers can concentrate on their own occupations and at the same time buy goods to satisfy their consumption needs. The farmers can both enjoy each other’s products with the help of traders. For example, there are different types of cotton; jute, hides, and skins are supplies to the producers of cotton textiles, gunny bags and shoes respectively. At the same time manufactured goods, which have been produced with the raw materials, are supplied to the consumers. Producers buy raw materials, machinery and equipment, as well as stores and spare parts for machinery fro trading agencies and consumers, buy practically all articles required for their daily use from traders.Goods are produced on a large scale in anticipation of demand.   The markets for products are now spread over the length and breadth of the country and even extended to countries acro ss the international borders. Hence direct sale of goods by the producers to the consumers is not possible. Without the help of traders and merchants engaged in trade, it would be impossible for the system of large-scale production to continue. The trader involved in the actual operation of purchasing goods from producers and selling them to consumers. Traders and consumers are interdependent.

Impacts Of Cruise Tourism

Impacts Of Cruise Tourism This business report addresses the impacts of cruise tourism offered by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. on the environment and its related issues. It aims to attend the necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable business for the company. Although Royal Caribbean (the worlds second largest cruise with 23.8% of worlds market share) has contributed positively to regional growth by diversification, creating job opportunity, earning foreign reserves but it has diverse issues related to economic, socio cultural and the environment. However the main focus will be on environment which is strongly affected by the increase in cruise lines and there is a need to protect the ecosystem. The issues of cruise tourism pertaining to the environment arises because of three important reasons; lack of proper waste management, selection of improper tourists destinations, and lastly because cruises doesnt restrict to the number of visitor carrying capacity of the tourism destinations, resulting in site congestion, gathering of wastes, deterioration of archaeological and historical sites. Tourist destinations should be national parks, flora and fauna instead of fragile destinations. Due to ocean pollution the company has to pay penalty which raises its expenses, incur losses and also social impact. Even if cruise tourism is the fastest growing business of the travel industry however if the growth is not planned properly it may cause economic, environment and socio-cultural impacts on tourist destinations. Thus, the need for responsible tourism is highly recommended for the sustainability of the business, which can be achieved by ecotourism. Ecotourism is one form of tourism, which addresses the negative impacts associated with mass tourism through the implementation of sustainable practices. Its impacts and benefits are critically analysed and it was recommended for the company to implement it. Necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable measure for Royal Caribbean 1. Introduction Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the worlds second largest cruise company founded in 1969 and it. The company is responsible for giving a new dimension to the cruise industry transforming a simple ocean carrier service into a mega vacation option. It sails in more than 160 destinations with a variety of travel options. The two brands are Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. It operates globally, however majority of its passengers are from North America. Main competitors are Carnival Corporation, NCL Corporation, and Star Cruises Ltd. (Royal Caribbean International, n.d.) The main objective of this report is to identify the issues, analyze the impacts of the issue on the sustainability, recommend a solution to fix the issue, find out its benefit, and its implementation by the company making it a sustainable business. The issues and challenges faced by Royal Caribbean cruises in terms of social, economical and environmental factors are discussed in this report. The problem that was identified with the cruise tourism of RCCL was the improper waste management which lead to ocean pollution thus affecting the marine as well as terrestrial environment. The poisonous oil leakage from the vessels killed people and also had harmful effects causing deadly diseases. This impacted the environment as well as society. The economy of the company was negatively impacted because Royal Caribbean had to pay heavy penalty for polluting the environment. This raises the issue of sustainability because for the companys long term business, it is essential to have a balance between these three factors. Ecotourism is suggested as a tool for sustainability. However it is important to critically analyze the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for development, evaluate the impacts and benefits of ecotourism, and the ways t o improve ecotourism practices and policies for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 2. Issues With the increase in popularity of leisure tourism, the company focuses on providing adventure, relaxation and entertainment to passengers from across the globe and tourist destinations as a part of the cruise package deals. However it is also necessary to maintain the glory of such destinations as it is linked to the environmental performance and the future of tourism also depends on it. Marine life should be protected which is the base of shipping industry. Cruises generate a high volume of wastes, pollutants into the water body which affects the marine environment. Royal Caribbean was found guilty of illegal waste-handling by disposing the toxic waste into the Alaskas Inland Passage waters thereby polluting the marine environment and for which it has to pay a fine of $18 M. But the company was convicted by the U.S Federal for 11 times in charge of ocean pollution. The $9M and $18M fines each were the highest record set for the largest pollution penalty for a cruise-ship company (F ishman, 2000). These pollution scandals not only increased the expenses but also affected the companys gracious public image. The socio- cultural issue in Haiti has also put Royal Caribbean under a heavy media fire. The company brings the vacationers to a private resort maintained by it in Labadee, Haiti, which is 60 miles away from the earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince (Bennett, 2010). Ms. Martinez, Manager Corporate Communications said, the company is very sensitive to the idea of delivering a vacation experience so close to the epicentre of the earthquake, but given the financial and social challenges the country is now facing, it needs the positive economic benefits Royal Caribbeans cruises provide. Despite Royal Caribbeans help to the Haiti relief effort, $1 M donation as relief fund, the company is charged for bringing cruisers to this place. It is criticized saying that the cruise line should never have tried to mix its commerce and humanitarian efforts in telling its side of the story (Bush, 2010). In a nutshell, the main issue figured out was cruise tourism which had the serious problems like lack of provision for waste disposal leading to environment and economic crisis, destination selection raising social issues. We will further analyse the effects of cruise tourism in this report. Impacts of Cruise Tourism on the Environment The cruise tourism is likely to have effects on various aspects of the maritime and terrestrial environments. There is always a high possibility of oil spills by the ships in the sea which is very difficult to clean up in the cold remote locations. The impact of vessel activity in the breeding ground and feeding areas of marine mammals risks the wild life and is an area of concern. Whereas the terrestrial environment is affected by the numerous passengers who often make shore visit to places of natural and historical interests as a part of their cruise holiday package, either by speed boats, zodiac or helicopters thereby creating noise pollution and destroying the archaeological sites. Another potential threat is there to the flora and fauna of the place because these species have low tolerance capacity which leads to the destruction of the ecosystem. Not only this, there is a social and cultural disruption among indigenous people whose communities play host to cruise visitors on an increasingly regular basis. While cruise tourism has the potential to disrupt local communities it also has the capacity to enrich them. It can contribute positively to the economies of remote communities and also can be viewed as an environmentally sustainable option. Aspects of global environmental change with relevance to cruise tourism The effects are on three sectors: Infrastructure, Access, and Attractions. Cruise tourism increases the open water which leads to storm surges and shoreline erosions. This creates structural damage and raises construction and engineering problems. An effect on Access is because of declination in sea-ice extent causing extended shipping season and melting of glaciers also causes iceberg hazards. Effect on the attractions is because environmental changes alter local activity possibilities, changes scenic values locally and variations in ecosystem lead to alterations in distribution and abundance of existing animal species (Gissling Hall, 2005, p. 44). 3. Recommendations Royal Caribbean should adapt Ecotourism business to address the sustainability dimensions which will provide a diversity of economic benefits to the company, environment and the community. The benefits of implementing this sustainability practice will reduce operating costs, protect the brand image, provide credible marketing advantage, increase client base, and improve the business efficiency. It is recommended for Royal Caribbean to discourage mass tourism because travelling in small groups helps to conserve energy and the waste needs of passengers are managed in a better way, thereby having low impact on the environment (Paul F. J. Eagles, 2002, p. 20). The travellers should be educated on practices respectful to the local environment and the benefits of small-group responsible tourism. So limit in cruisers number will help to protect the local tourism infrastructure for future generations. Cruise destination should be selected wisely because travel to unspoiled virgin areas is harmful and may damage areas of the environment that are exceedingly rare and fragile. It should sail to nature based places like national parks, areas of conservations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle should be the strategy for waste management. It should recycle all materials like glass, plastic, paper etc. Water bottles can be reused; special processing of wastes such as toner cartridges, wooden pallets and cooking oil should be done by approved shore side vendors. The outstanding garbage can be reused in some countries as road fill, or can be treated as special waste for further processing or disposed of in a landfill. The unconsumed foodstuffs by the guests can be sent to the crew galleys; remaining food scraps can be treated inside the vacuum system of the ship and can be discharged to the sea. Similarly water waste is filtered and purified into potable water. Tour can contribute financially toward the local economy and nature conservation (WTO UNEP, 2005, pp. 9-10). It should contact the local guides, local activity providers for the travel guide to the local places; the cruisers can purchase from the local buyers thereby promoting the local business, visit the national parks. Support the integrity of local cultures by integrating tours within the cultural fabric of the sites. The passengers should be encouraged to stay in local hotels, visit places, and participate in activities that foster meaningful interactions with them. It helps in providing employment, encourages cultural exchange and strengthening of intercultural understanding and tolerance for both guests and hosts. Ecotourism Martha Honey defines as Travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and (usually) small scale. It helps educate the traveller, provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights. (Honey, 1999, p. 25) Advantages of Ecotourism It can help in protecting the ecosystems, preserving natural areas and increase the tourism. Increase the awareness on environment; educate people about the consequences of exploiting natural resources. Help in providing employment to the local and regional people, e.g. selling of handicrafts, local food items etc.; this also creates some entrepreneurial skills (Leader-Williams, Hashimova, Guliyeva, 2004, p. 45). Increases foreign reserves of the region, enhances economic growth. Raises the warmth to multitude countrys political, environmental and social climate Cultivate a feeling of pride and community through a revival or safeguarding of customary beliefs, practices and enriching techniques. Untouched destinations and natural activities may become a craze for tourists creating scope for ecotourism. Diversifying the tourism package into interesting events such as halt in country boats, trail walks etc. will help retaining the revenue generated with the local people and promote local economy. Figure 1: Sustainable Development Triangle (World Conservation Union, 2003) Utilizing the above figure of sustainable development triangle we can say that ecotourism puts a balance between these three sides i.e. economy, environment, and the society. For the long term development of a company it is necessary to be sustainable; Ecotourism will bring future and current benefits as well as work as a form of sustainable development. SWOT Analysis of Ecotourism can be referred in the Appendix attached at the last. 4. Implementation The company should get the new criteria for selecting destinations in a cruise ship port of call from the tourism council. It should follow the guidelines on ecotourism destinations set by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. After that a third party verification of its land excursions adhering to Global Sustainable Tourism Council-recognized standard by 2015 should be done. Once final GSTC Criteria for Destinations are in place, they will provide another standard by which Royal Caribbean can judge ports of call. (Wilkinson, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, 2012) Timeline: An approval from the CEO has to be obtained and then the company should follow GSTC for obtaining the criteria. This process of implementation will take around 3 years which is the timeline. Instead of activities like snorkelling, scuba diving etc. which has impact on the marine life there can be other attractions like visiting conservation area, Plantation house, lush forest trekking, catamaran ride to beaches where the guests can have beach barbeque. Maintaining the quality of these experiences means integrating the guidelines of sustainability, with the help of a GSTC consultant. Timeline: There should be an approval received from the strategic planning department and It can be implemented within 6 months from now. There should be proper waste disposal system in the cruises. Modern equipment like exhaust gas scrubbers should installed on smokestacks, superior wastewater purification should be on the vessels. RCCL can implement these systems on the newer ships as a measure to treat all kind of wastes like solid waste, water waste and air waste. It can also have highly developed systems like reverse Osmosis system that uses only 35 percent of the electricity consumed as compared to older units for converting sea water into drinkable ship water. Timeline: Approval from the corporate governance department should be obtained and this can be implemented within 6 months from now. In order to preserve the environment from dumping things overboard RCCL can initiate programs for educating the cruisers, travellers, crews for recycling all the wastes like aluminium canes, water bottles, food stuffs etc. It can also purchase more than one million pounds of recycled products each year. An approval from the CEO can be obtained for immediately implementing the plan and the sanction for purchasing recycled products can also be got from finance department. Timeline: This can be implemented within 2 month. 5. Conclusion Ecotourism is a win-win solution for destinations where the conservation efforts for the environment are also associated with the livelihood opportunities of the local people. For ecotourism to be effective in its true sense there is a need to develop a proper ecotourism package which should be different from the existing mass tourism packages. Royal Caribbeans plan to implement Ecotourism as a sustainability measure is indeed a commendable decision. The companys initiative to sponsor programs such as setting new criteria for selecting holiday destinations, running programs like Save the Waves with mission as reduce, reuse, recycle will certainly help it for a long term development and overcome the challenges to sustain its business. Although RCCLs investment will be more on these sustainable measures but it will not have a negative impact on the environment, social image and the economy as well because there will be no threat for hefty fines for creating pollution.

The Yellow Wallpaper -- essays research papers

Yellow Wallpaper Without question the short story Yellow Wallpaper would definitely be categorized into a male dominant/feminist interpretation. The story is a perfect example of the stereotype, "that a male knows best". Throughout the story the author does a good job of placing you in the women's shoes. He makes you feel the control he has over her, mentally as well as physically. Most males have a tendency to think that they know best. A man will never stop at a gas station to ask directions from a local resident in a town that he has been lost in for two hours because of course he knows his way around far better than the local ever would. He will find his way eventually even if it takes him the entire day. John makes it well known that he knows best. In line 30 he states, "Your exercise depends on your strength, dear, and your food somewhat on your appetite; but air you can absorb all the time." Yes John is a physician but he does not know exactly what her illness is therefore; he cannot state what depends on what. He tells her that her exercise depends on her strength yet; she is not allowed to go out of the house. No matter her strength she will not be able exercise. The way the story is written (not organized/unfocused), gives you a claustrophobic feeling of no way out, just as the character feels. The story is written to make you empathize with the character. The form of writing is relat...

History of Architecture in Puerto Rico Essay

Puerto Rico was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. He named the place San Juan Baustista and sooner or later the people called it Boriquen Tierra del alto senor or the Land of the Noble Lord. Juan Ponce de Leon became the country’s first governor . Upon his arrival, he constituted a colony in Caparra until such time that Caparra had to be moved to a nearby location with a sound environment. The name Caparra was changed to Puerto Rico which means Rich Port because its harbor is among the best in the world (Everyculture. com, n. d. . Antilles has a series of islands closely situated together with extends more than one thousand miles from Florida all the way to Venezuela or South America. There is the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico together with Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Haiti form part of the Greater Antilles. Puerto Rico is the smallest island in the easternmost part of Greater Antilles with a roughly rectangular shape (Solboricua. com,1998). The element, design and architecture of a particular place is as much important as everything else. It is architecture that gives meaning to the place. Good architecture is a reflection of a country’s triumphs and adventures. Architecture at its best light makes the outline of the country. Buildings, cathedrals and homes scream out the personality of the nation and the people . A simple architecture can turn a piece of art into a masterpiece but great architecture breathes life into anything thereby enabling it to achieve a harmonious blend with the society. It is evident in the country’s architecture that Puerto Rico has a substantial amount of Spanish influence during the course of time. The condensed, twisting cobblestone can be similarly compared with Andalusia of Spain. San Juan, otherwise known as La Ciudad Amurallada which is the capital city was founded in 1521. San Juan has a classic example of Spanish architecture, it is home to hundreds of reminiscent historical events. It has more than four hundred years of history stored inside a military threshold. The landmarks of the San Felipe del Morro are considered as one of Puerto Rico’s most prized treasures. After the commonwealth renovation, San Juan was turned into one of the most amazing tourist spot in the world. The city was built using Spanish plans which was organized to make intersecting and perpendicular streets and plazas all over the city. Spanish architecture was brought back in the country during the American occupation. The families belonging to the elites built fortresses and castles that resemble Art Deco structures (Everyculture. com, n. d. ). Puerto Rico has been the home of 16th and 19th century architecture. This country has been the home of classical, contemporary and medieval architecture. Gothic architecture can be seen as well in the San Juan church which was built in the 16th century. The El Morro Fortress is considered an international site. This is a six-level fortress that was built in 1540 and was finished in 1589. The name San Felipe del Morro was adopted in honor of King Phillip II. This building is filled with dungeons and tunnels. It is now under the administration of the National Park Service. Along side the El Morro is the San Cristobal Fort. This ancient structure provided one of the largest defense in the history of America. Like the El Morro, it also contains mazes and tunnels which are built to stand on its own if ever the others would fall. Another architectural wonder in Puerto Rico was the Plaza del Mercado which was an old market that had been revived and turned into a piece of tourist spot. The government allocated a substantial amount of their budget in order to restore their heritage (The Puerto Rico Channel, 2009). The part of Old San Juan is the home of breathtaking tourist attractions. Every year, more and more people go to Puerto Rico rather than any place in the Caribbean. This is the perfect place to see if people want to get a picture of the Old World. There are several plazas such as the Plaza de San Jose. In the center of it stands the statue of Ponce de Leon made entirely of bronze. Plaza del Quinto Centenario has Christopher Columbus’ statue about forty feet made in ceramic and granite which can be interpreted to mean as a symbolism of American roots. It was the work of one of the country’s top artist, Jaime Suarez. Another interesting site would be the Plaza de Armas which has four statues each over a hundred years old, symbolizing the four seasons. Plaza de Colon otherwise known as Columbus Square contains tablets made in bronze in order to remember the significant aspects of his life. The Plaza de la Rogativa’s main attraction was the sculpture of the procession of a pious lady. This piece of art signifies an important event which happened in that same place in 1797. In that year, a British troop lead by Sir Ambercrombie sailed onto the coast of San Juan bay with the plan of attacking the city and taking control. The plan failed so they resulted in alternate plan of blocking the port of the city in the hopes of starving the residents until they come into a point of surrender. The whole town grew desperate so the governor told the people to call for divine assistance. In response, all the women in town gathered and formed a procession carrying bells and torches. When the British heard the bell and saw all the lights, they thought that reinforcements came to the aid of the people so they left ( Puerto Rico, 2009). It is a wonderful thing that Puerto Rico imbibed the rich culture of Spain during its colonization but as good as it may be, the country also has its own pure and uninfluenced Puerto Rican architecture. An example would be its very own Caribe Hotel. Its colors, structure and striking murals reflect its own rich culture and not Spain’s. The main feature of of this hotel is that it was once a part of the medieval fort that the Spanish explorers used (The Puerto Rico Channel, 2009). The beauty of this country is that it never runs out of sights that stand out during the course of time. A person can look every direction and see pieces of architecture lying all over the country such as fortresses, parks, churches and buildings. La Fortaleza was built as a defense against attacks of the Indians. This structure was the very first among the several military concentration camps that were constructed along side the San Juan Bay. The original structure underwent changes because of the passing of the time so in the late 1800’s, this building was reconstructed. Puerto Rico also has its very own Madrid in the heart of San Juan city, it is called Alcadia. When it comes to churches, Puerto Rico has a handful. The San Juan Cathedral, the second oldest cathedral in the west was built in 1521. The very first building was made of wood but it got destroyed by a hurricane two times, once in 1540 and again in 1598. The Cathedral standing today was the result of efforts to restore the structure that once was in order to preserve the its heritage. In the church lies the tomb of the country’s first ever governor Ponce de Leon. The San Jose Church was the first ever church and monastery of Saint Thomas Aquinas which was constructed by the Dominicans in the memory of Saint Thomas de Aquinas and also to serve not only as a refuge but a sanctuary as well. Puerto Rico is a country blessed with museums. The Pablo Casals Museum is considered a Spanish legacy . It contains artifacts, memorabilia and library full of tapes of festivals and concerts. Casa de los Dones or the House of the Two Foyers is Puerto Rico’s home of the Indians located at the streets of San Juan. It is full of archaeological exhibits. The Asilo de Beneficencia was built to help poor people. It was constructed during the 1800’s . The place now offers exhibits everyday, it is called the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. Puerto Rico’s White House called the Casa Blanca was the former residence of Governor Ponce de Leon and his children’s children for over two hundred years. After the military took over, they used it as home for the commanders. The White House today holds over several rooms each designed with a different period associated with the history of the house (Puerto Rico, 2009). Many art lovers and scholars firmly believe that architecture greatly contributes to the pillar of success of any nation. Puerto Rico is a classic example that architecture gives life to the nation. Through a country’s architecture, its history can be fully appreciated. Somebody once said that the present can never be understood without knowing the past. In the same way, the value of Puerto Rico’s deep and rich culture can never be fully appreciated without the beaming architectural structures of the fortresses, cathedrals and museums. These architectural pieces holds in time all that the country went through, from the time when the island was first discovered until the Spanish colonization and the modernization. Every memory that the country holds dear are steps away from each other. Taking a look and examining the historical landmarks all over Puerto Rico enables any person to take a trip down the country’s very own memory lane. The country itself is a living memorabilia of everything that went through its nation and this fact can be greatly attributed to its architecture.