Gary Scott Smith
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195300604
- eISBN:
- 9780199785285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300604.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
To many, Theodore Roosevelt was an exemplar of manliness and “muscular Christianity” and an exceptional public servant who led a crusade for social justice. To others, the sage of Oyster Bay was a ...
More
To many, Theodore Roosevelt was an exemplar of manliness and “muscular Christianity” and an exceptional public servant who led a crusade for social justice. To others, the sage of Oyster Bay was a jingoist, a nativist, a hot-tempered, unpredictable manic, and an egomaniac who put his own interests above America’s good. Roosevelt highly valued biblical morality and considered it vital to personal and public life, including politics. He downplayed doctrine and theological differences and strongly stressed the importance of good works and character. Many contemporaries called him a preacher of righteousness, and he labeled the presidency a bully pulpit, which he used to trumpet the importance of social justice, civility, and virtue. Three religious issues caused considerable controversy during Roosevelt’s tenure in office: his attempt to remove “In God We Trust” from some coins, the “Dear Maria” affair, and concerns about William Howard Taft’s Unitarianism during the 1908 presidential campaign. Christianity, especially the version espoused by turn-of-the-century Social Gospelers, played a significant role in shaping his philosophy of government. Roosevelt’s role in mediating the 1902 anthracite coal strike, “taking” Panama to build an isthmus canal, and promoting conservation illustrate how his religious commitments helped shape his policies.Less
To many, Theodore Roosevelt was an exemplar of manliness and “muscular Christianity” and an exceptional public servant who led a crusade for social justice. To others, the sage of Oyster Bay was a jingoist, a nativist, a hot-tempered, unpredictable manic, and an egomaniac who put his own interests above America’s good. Roosevelt highly valued biblical morality and considered it vital to personal and public life, including politics. He downplayed doctrine and theological differences and strongly stressed the importance of good works and character. Many contemporaries called him a preacher of righteousness, and he labeled the presidency a bully pulpit, which he used to trumpet the importance of social justice, civility, and virtue. Three religious issues caused considerable controversy during Roosevelt’s tenure in office: his attempt to remove “In God We Trust” from some coins, the “Dear Maria” affair, and concerns about William Howard Taft’s Unitarianism during the 1908 presidential campaign. Christianity, especially the version espoused by turn-of-the-century Social Gospelers, played a significant role in shaping his philosophy of government. Roosevelt’s role in mediating the 1902 anthracite coal strike, “taking” Panama to build an isthmus canal, and promoting conservation illustrate how his religious commitments helped shape his policies.
Frederick Rowe Davis
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195310771
- eISBN:
- 9780199790098
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310771.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
A profound sense of place resonates throughout Carr's writings. Just as he constructed lasting images of Florida, that sense of Florida shaped Carr. No matter how far he traveled, Carr remained ...
More
A profound sense of place resonates throughout Carr's writings. Just as he constructed lasting images of Florida, that sense of Florida shaped Carr. No matter how far he traveled, Carr remained devoted to Florida's landscapes and wildlife. In his writings and conservation efforts, Carr worked to preserve the natural history of Florida, including the Everglades, Payne's Prairie, and Lake Alice. As their children reached the age of independence, Marjorie Carr was free to pursue her own passion for conservation. In addition to her important contributions to Archie's research at Tortuguero, she led the fight to save the Ocklawaha. Each of the Carr's five children recalls vibrant conversations around the dinner table about the future of Florida's wildlands and wildlife. Just as their time in Honduras had cemented their relationship, Archie and Marjorie Carr's joint and independent efforts for the conservation of Florida defined their unique relationship and collaboration.Less
A profound sense of place resonates throughout Carr's writings. Just as he constructed lasting images of Florida, that sense of Florida shaped Carr. No matter how far he traveled, Carr remained devoted to Florida's landscapes and wildlife. In his writings and conservation efforts, Carr worked to preserve the natural history of Florida, including the Everglades, Payne's Prairie, and Lake Alice. As their children reached the age of independence, Marjorie Carr was free to pursue her own passion for conservation. In addition to her important contributions to Archie's research at Tortuguero, she led the fight to save the Ocklawaha. Each of the Carr's five children recalls vibrant conversations around the dinner table about the future of Florida's wildlands and wildlife. Just as their time in Honduras had cemented their relationship, Archie and Marjorie Carr's joint and independent efforts for the conservation of Florida defined their unique relationship and collaboration.
George Basalla
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171815
- eISBN:
- 9780199786862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171815.003.0005
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
American astronomer Percival Lowell adopted Schiaparelli’s canali and used them in his theories about Mars, its irrigation canals, and its advanced civilization. Lowell built an observatory in ...
More
American astronomer Percival Lowell adopted Schiaparelli’s canali and used them in his theories about Mars, its irrigation canals, and its advanced civilization. Lowell built an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and spent the last two decades of his life observing and mapping the Martian landscape, refining his theories about the planet, and writing four popular books on Mars. A firm believer in the existence of Martian canals, Lowell refused to accept the work of distinguished astronomers that contradicted his theories. Lowell’s view of Mars finally found its niche in popular culture, notably science fiction. In part, Lowell’s popularity stemmed from the fact that his conception of Mars resonated with the American experience in the late 19th and early 20th century.Less
American astronomer Percival Lowell adopted Schiaparelli’s canali and used them in his theories about Mars, its irrigation canals, and its advanced civilization. Lowell built an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and spent the last two decades of his life observing and mapping the Martian landscape, refining his theories about the planet, and writing four popular books on Mars. A firm believer in the existence of Martian canals, Lowell refused to accept the work of distinguished astronomers that contradicted his theories. Lowell’s view of Mars finally found its niche in popular culture, notably science fiction. In part, Lowell’s popularity stemmed from the fact that his conception of Mars resonated with the American experience in the late 19th and early 20th century.
W. G. Runciman
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263297
- eISBN:
- 9780191734519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263297.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter discusses the information provided by the Hutton Report and the Butler Report concerning the bases of the British government's decision to join the U.S. in overturning Saddam Hussein for ...
More
This chapter discusses the information provided by the Hutton Report and the Butler Report concerning the bases of the British government's decision to join the U.S. in overturning Saddam Hussein for his alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It suggests that nothing revealed in the reports could bring an agreement to whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was right in his decision, but those who have read the reports could surely conclude that the government, the intelligence services, and the BBC fell short of what have been expected of them at a time when Britain was on the brink of being taken into a war. It discusses the similarities between the Iraq War and the Suez Canal conflict.Less
This chapter discusses the information provided by the Hutton Report and the Butler Report concerning the bases of the British government's decision to join the U.S. in overturning Saddam Hussein for his alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It suggests that nothing revealed in the reports could bring an agreement to whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair was right in his decision, but those who have read the reports could surely conclude that the government, the intelligence services, and the BBC fell short of what have been expected of them at a time when Britain was on the brink of being taken into a war. It discusses the similarities between the Iraq War and the Suez Canal conflict.
James K. Hoffmeier
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195130881
- eISBN:
- 9780199853403
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130881.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
In the early 1970s, a team of scientists of the Geological Survey of Israel, while working in the Sinai Peninsula during Israel's occupation of the territory east of the Suez Canal, discovered the ...
More
In the early 1970s, a team of scientists of the Geological Survey of Israel, while working in the Sinai Peninsula during Israel's occupation of the territory east of the Suez Canal, discovered the remains of what they believed was a canal that ran along Egypt's border with the Sinai. Aerial photography and on-site study led to this identification by the leaders of the team, Amihai Sneh and Tuvia Weissbrod. The close relationship between the Fortress of Tjaru and the canal supports the hypothesis that the canal had a defensive purpose as an extensive moat. If indeed a canal existed along Egypt's border with Sinai during the New Kingdom, and the evidence does support this view, it seems logical to conclude that it would have been an impediment to the Israelites in their Exodus from Egypt. A number of intriguing questions remain to be answered about the Eastern Frontier Canal.Less
In the early 1970s, a team of scientists of the Geological Survey of Israel, while working in the Sinai Peninsula during Israel's occupation of the territory east of the Suez Canal, discovered the remains of what they believed was a canal that ran along Egypt's border with the Sinai. Aerial photography and on-site study led to this identification by the leaders of the team, Amihai Sneh and Tuvia Weissbrod. The close relationship between the Fortress of Tjaru and the canal supports the hypothesis that the canal had a defensive purpose as an extensive moat. If indeed a canal existed along Egypt's border with Sinai during the New Kingdom, and the evidence does support this view, it seems logical to conclude that it would have been an impediment to the Israelites in their Exodus from Egypt. A number of intriguing questions remain to be answered about the Eastern Frontier Canal.
James G. Lochtefeld
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195386141
- eISBN:
- 9780199866380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386141.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter details Hardwar’s mundane history, gleaned from multiple sources. For centuries, Hardwar’s primary attraction was a spring bathing festival—which has drawn larger numbers for the Kumbha ...
More
This chapter details Hardwar’s mundane history, gleaned from multiple sources. For centuries, Hardwar’s primary attraction was a spring bathing festival—which has drawn larger numbers for the Kumbha Mela at least since the late 1600s—but this pattern shifted late in the 1700s. During the early nineteenth century, the Hardwar fair (the bathing festival) was also north India’s largest marketplace, creating unprecedented wealth. Later, the Upper Ganges Canal and the railroads radically altered Hardwar’s local and religious environment. Each major change also generated conflict—whether between the warrior ascetic bands (akharas) that battled for control over Hardwar’s rich marketplace, or for control over Hardwar between local elites and a colonial administration worried that festivals were breeding grounds for cholera epidemics. The most important struggle came in 1914–17, when Hindu groups led by Madan Mohan Malaviya forced the British to modify plans to dam the Ganges.Less
This chapter details Hardwar’s mundane history, gleaned from multiple sources. For centuries, Hardwar’s primary attraction was a spring bathing festival—which has drawn larger numbers for the Kumbha Mela at least since the late 1600s—but this pattern shifted late in the 1700s. During the early nineteenth century, the Hardwar fair (the bathing festival) was also north India’s largest marketplace, creating unprecedented wealth. Later, the Upper Ganges Canal and the railroads radically altered Hardwar’s local and religious environment. Each major change also generated conflict—whether between the warrior ascetic bands (akharas) that battled for control over Hardwar’s rich marketplace, or for control over Hardwar between local elites and a colonial administration worried that festivals were breeding grounds for cholera epidemics. The most important struggle came in 1914–17, when Hindu groups led by Madan Mohan Malaviya forced the British to modify plans to dam the Ganges.
Linda L. Fowler
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151618
- eISBN:
- 9781400866465
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151618.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines long-term institutional changes in the Senate committee system that devalued committee work and negatively affected the total hearing activity of Armed Services and Foreign ...
More
This chapter examines long-term institutional changes in the Senate committee system that devalued committee work and negatively affected the total hearing activity of Armed Services and Foreign Relations. It begins with a review of expectations and measures regarding the influence of the shifting institutional context on Senate committee hearings in general and on Armed Services and Foreign Relations sessions in particular. It then analyzes the effects of various long-term changes on the frequency of public hearings first by Senate committees in the aggregate and then by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. It also considers the influences on the frequency of executive hearing days by the two national security committees. Finally, it looks at the Panama Canal to illustrate the confluence of trends that created a watershed moment for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Less
This chapter examines long-term institutional changes in the Senate committee system that devalued committee work and negatively affected the total hearing activity of Armed Services and Foreign Relations. It begins with a review of expectations and measures regarding the influence of the shifting institutional context on Senate committee hearings in general and on Armed Services and Foreign Relations sessions in particular. It then analyzes the effects of various long-term changes on the frequency of public hearings first by Senate committees in the aggregate and then by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. It also considers the influences on the frequency of executive hearing days by the two national security committees. Finally, it looks at the Panama Canal to illustrate the confluence of trends that created a watershed moment for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Christopher Harding
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199548224
- eISBN:
- 9780191720697
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199548224.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Asian History, History of Religion
This chapter explores the Christian village experiment. Brand new villages, constructed by the missions on land reclaimed through canal irrigation in western Punjab, offered missionaries control of ...
More
This chapter explores the Christian village experiment. Brand new villages, constructed by the missions on land reclaimed through canal irrigation in western Punjab, offered missionaries control of the natural, socio-economic, and religious environment in engineering the ideal Christian communities of the future. Free now of old, oppressive village ties that they had once hoped simply to re-negotiate, the small numbers of converts who moved to the new villages had high expectations of their own. In particular, the CMS village of Clarkabad and the Capuchin village of Maryabad had the potential finally to stretch the mission-convert relationship to breaking point.Less
This chapter explores the Christian village experiment. Brand new villages, constructed by the missions on land reclaimed through canal irrigation in western Punjab, offered missionaries control of the natural, socio-economic, and religious environment in engineering the ideal Christian communities of the future. Free now of old, oppressive village ties that they had once hoped simply to re-negotiate, the small numbers of converts who moved to the new villages had high expectations of their own. In particular, the CMS village of Clarkabad and the Capuchin village of Maryabad had the potential finally to stretch the mission-convert relationship to breaking point.
A. S. Morrison
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547371
- eISBN:
- 9780191720710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547371.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter covers the technical but essential subject of artificial irrigation and the control of water. In a land where rainfall is scarce, controlling canals and water distribution is one of the ...
More
This chapter covers the technical but essential subject of artificial irrigation and the control of water. In a land where rainfall is scarce, controlling canals and water distribution is one of the keys to State power, and by and large the Russians were ineffective at doing so. On the face of it, with their vast expansion of irrigation in Punjab, the British were much more successful, but they too had difficulty controlling pre-existing networks.Less
This chapter covers the technical but essential subject of artificial irrigation and the control of water. In a land where rainfall is scarce, controlling canals and water distribution is one of the keys to State power, and by and large the Russians were ineffective at doing so. On the face of it, with their vast expansion of irrigation in Punjab, the British were much more successful, but they too had difficulty controlling pre-existing networks.
Harvey Molotch
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163581
- eISBN:
- 9781400852338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163581.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter turns to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to demonstrate command and disarray in the way that city meets river. It describes how threats from nature become part of the social-political ...
More
This chapter turns to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to demonstrate command and disarray in the way that city meets river. It describes how threats from nature become part of the social-political apparatus—with the Katrina disaster the unhappy result. It has become rather common to observe that “there is no such thing as a natural disaster,” and Katrina is surely a poster child for that assertion. Much of the history of the New Orleans area was a kind Katrina in the making. Building levees, canals, and other infrastructural elements for the sake of safety yielded eventual mayhem. The chapter traces out some of the details of the “downward precautionary spiral.” Each effort at a fix leads to a successive effort of the same sort, accumulating not as a series of individual safety features but as vulnerability to events of catastrophic proportion.Less
This chapter turns to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to demonstrate command and disarray in the way that city meets river. It describes how threats from nature become part of the social-political apparatus—with the Katrina disaster the unhappy result. It has become rather common to observe that “there is no such thing as a natural disaster,” and Katrina is surely a poster child for that assertion. Much of the history of the New Orleans area was a kind Katrina in the making. Building levees, canals, and other infrastructural elements for the sake of safety yielded eventual mayhem. The chapter traces out some of the details of the “downward precautionary spiral.” Each effort at a fix leads to a successive effort of the same sort, accumulating not as a series of individual safety features but as vulnerability to events of catastrophic proportion.
Margaret Chowning
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195182217
- eISBN:
- 9780199850532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182217.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Although María Josepha Lina de la Canal received the money to establish the La Purísima Concepción convent in San Miguel el Grande as inheritance upon her parents' death, the civil and ecclesiastical ...
More
Although María Josepha Lina de la Canal received the money to establish the La Purísima Concepción convent in San Miguel el Grande as inheritance upon her parents' death, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities assured that the convent was not constructed under grief-induced haste as María Josepha Lina was just finishing what her father, Manuel Tomás de la Canal, had started. While María Josepha Lina was to become the first novice of the convent, several early accounts showed almost contradictory statements about her true character towards her parents and the convent. The “official” version of the biography by Díaz de Gamarra points out that Father Alfaro, María Josepha Lina's confessor, “directed” that the convent be established while also recognizing María Josepha Lina's religiosity and obligation to her parents as motivations.Less
Although María Josepha Lina de la Canal received the money to establish the La Purísima Concepción convent in San Miguel el Grande as inheritance upon her parents' death, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities assured that the convent was not constructed under grief-induced haste as María Josepha Lina was just finishing what her father, Manuel Tomás de la Canal, had started. While María Josepha Lina was to become the first novice of the convent, several early accounts showed almost contradictory statements about her true character towards her parents and the convent. The “official” version of the biography by Díaz de Gamarra points out that Father Alfaro, María Josepha Lina's confessor, “directed” that the convent be established while also recognizing María Josepha Lina's religiosity and obligation to her parents as motivations.
Jacob Shell
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029339
- eISBN:
- 9780262330404
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029339.001.0001
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cultural and Historical Geography
What sorts of transportation technologies and methods of conveyance have political regimes associated with the movement of weapons, papers, or people for political subversion and revolt? In an era ...
More
What sorts of transportation technologies and methods of conveyance have political regimes associated with the movement of weapons, papers, or people for political subversion and revolt? In an era when much transfer of information moves across a wire-tappable medium, and much transport of goods and people occurs across a mapped network of tracks and checkpoints, what social history of the specter of subversive trafficking—and of the associated political fears this specter has been able to elicit—might help us better understand the retrenchment of an older range of possibilities for human mobility? This book pursues these lines of inquiry, focusing on several modes of transportation which have been perceived, in different times and places, as especially useful for clandestine, subversive logistics, and which have also become relatively marginalized and divested from over the past century and a half. The examples treated in the book are mostly animal-based forms of transportation (carrier pigeons, mules, elephants, camels, and sled-dogs) or water-based forms of transportation (especially canal and harbor boats). The book’s overall historical-geographic discussion is mainly concerned with the period from 1850 to 1950, though some examples are from well before or well after this period. The discussion extends to many parts of the world, most of them (with exceptions) places which were at some point in their history within the confines of the British Empire.Less
What sorts of transportation technologies and methods of conveyance have political regimes associated with the movement of weapons, papers, or people for political subversion and revolt? In an era when much transfer of information moves across a wire-tappable medium, and much transport of goods and people occurs across a mapped network of tracks and checkpoints, what social history of the specter of subversive trafficking—and of the associated political fears this specter has been able to elicit—might help us better understand the retrenchment of an older range of possibilities for human mobility? This book pursues these lines of inquiry, focusing on several modes of transportation which have been perceived, in different times and places, as especially useful for clandestine, subversive logistics, and which have also become relatively marginalized and divested from over the past century and a half. The examples treated in the book are mostly animal-based forms of transportation (carrier pigeons, mules, elephants, camels, and sled-dogs) or water-based forms of transportation (especially canal and harbor boats). The book’s overall historical-geographic discussion is mainly concerned with the period from 1850 to 1950, though some examples are from well before or well after this period. The discussion extends to many parts of the world, most of them (with exceptions) places which were at some point in their history within the confines of the British Empire.
Saurabh Mishra
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070603
- eISBN:
- 9780199080007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070603.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter sketches an overall picture of the pilgrimage from the Indian subcontinent and outlines the broad trends and changes that occurred within the period under study. It compares the colonial ...
More
This chapter sketches an overall picture of the pilgrimage from the Indian subcontinent and outlines the broad trends and changes that occurred within the period under study. It compares the colonial government's stand on internal Hindu pilgrimages and the Haj. It shows how the pilgrimage underwent a massive transformation due to technological breakthroughs such as the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which represented a huge watershed in the world of marine navigation. The canal not only ‘joined the East and the West’ but also allowed European shipping companies to operate in Asian territories, as a result of which the Haj traffic became a potential source of commercial profit for these companies. The opening of the Suez Canal also marked the point where the perceived great medical threat presented by the pilgrims to European nations emerged, due to which quarantines had to be imposed.Less
This chapter sketches an overall picture of the pilgrimage from the Indian subcontinent and outlines the broad trends and changes that occurred within the period under study. It compares the colonial government's stand on internal Hindu pilgrimages and the Haj. It shows how the pilgrimage underwent a massive transformation due to technological breakthroughs such as the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which represented a huge watershed in the world of marine navigation. The canal not only ‘joined the East and the West’ but also allowed European shipping companies to operate in Asian territories, as a result of which the Haj traffic became a potential source of commercial profit for these companies. The opening of the Suez Canal also marked the point where the perceived great medical threat presented by the pilgrims to European nations emerged, due to which quarantines had to be imposed.
MATT K. MATSUDA
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195162950
- eISBN:
- 9780199867660
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162950.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter examines the ambitious but ill-fated French project for a canal across Panama, and the ways that the engineering challenge was encoded in what one commentator called “glory for the ...
More
This chapter examines the ambitious but ill-fated French project for a canal across Panama, and the ways that the engineering challenge was encoded in what one commentator called “glory for the country and a touch of romance.” By following the dreams of universal commerce and brotherhood that were attached to the project, many registers of French emotionalism are explored. In Panama, romantic Jesuit ruins, utopian jungle communities, and attractive isthmian peoples illuminate French Saint Simonian communities of love plotting to conquer the Pacific transit with a passionate Gallic nationalism.Less
This chapter examines the ambitious but ill-fated French project for a canal across Panama, and the ways that the engineering challenge was encoded in what one commentator called “glory for the country and a touch of romance.” By following the dreams of universal commerce and brotherhood that were attached to the project, many registers of French emotionalism are explored. In Panama, romantic Jesuit ruins, utopian jungle communities, and attractive isthmian peoples illuminate French Saint Simonian communities of love plotting to conquer the Pacific transit with a passionate Gallic nationalism.
Chris Freeman and Francisco Louçã
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251056
- eISBN:
- 9780191596278
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251053.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
The available statistics show that there was a sharp acceleration of the growth of British industrial output, investment, and trade in the last few decades of the eighteenth century, justifying the ...
More
The available statistics show that there was a sharp acceleration of the growth of British industrial output, investment, and trade in the last few decades of the eighteenth century, justifying the general use of the expression ‘Industrial Revolution’ and refuting the efforts of a few historians to deny its very occurrence.In particular, the extraordinarily rapid growth of output and exports of the cotton industry was widely remarked upon both at the time and ever since, and was generally and plausibly attributed to a series of inventions and innovations, which increased productivity per hour of work by more than an order of magnitude and made possible rapidly descending costs and prices.Only a little less rapid was the growth of the British iron industry, its rate of technical change, and its widening range of applications throughout the economy.These exceptionally dynamic industries made an outstanding contribution to the growth of the economy as a whole based on water‐powered mechanization and a new transport infrastructure of canals, rivers, and roads.Finally, British leadership in the Industrial Revolution must be attributed not only to these changes in technology and in the economy but also to the confluence and congruence of these changes with developments in the political and cultural subsystems particularly favourable to science, technology, and entrepreneurship.Less
The available statistics show that there was a sharp acceleration of the growth of British industrial output, investment, and trade in the last few decades of the eighteenth century, justifying the general use of the expression ‘Industrial Revolution’ and refuting the efforts of a few historians to deny its very occurrence.
In particular, the extraordinarily rapid growth of output and exports of the cotton industry was widely remarked upon both at the time and ever since, and was generally and plausibly attributed to a series of inventions and innovations, which increased productivity per hour of work by more than an order of magnitude and made possible rapidly descending costs and prices.
Only a little less rapid was the growth of the British iron industry, its rate of technical change, and its widening range of applications throughout the economy.
These exceptionally dynamic industries made an outstanding contribution to the growth of the economy as a whole based on water‐powered mechanization and a new transport infrastructure of canals, rivers, and roads.
Finally, British leadership in the Industrial Revolution must be attributed not only to these changes in technology and in the economy but also to the confluence and congruence of these changes with developments in the political and cultural subsystems particularly favourable to science, technology, and entrepreneurship.
George Basalla
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171815
- eISBN:
- 9780199786862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171815.003.0004
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
Speculation about extraterrestrial life continued in the 19th century, as did the development of the telescope by Sir William Herschel and others. The discovery of the moons of Mars by Asaph Hall in ...
More
Speculation about extraterrestrial life continued in the 19th century, as did the development of the telescope by Sir William Herschel and others. The discovery of the moons of Mars by Asaph Hall in 1877 drew attention to that planet. Thereafter, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observed Mars closely and became convinced its landscape contained canali (natural or artificial channels). Schiaparelli mapped Martian canali and speculated that they were irrigation canals built by a great Martian civilization.Less
Speculation about extraterrestrial life continued in the 19th century, as did the development of the telescope by Sir William Herschel and others. The discovery of the moons of Mars by Asaph Hall in 1877 drew attention to that planet. Thereafter, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observed Mars closely and became convinced its landscape contained canali (natural or artificial channels). Schiaparelli mapped Martian canali and speculated that they were irrigation canals built by a great Martian civilization.
George Basalla
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171815
- eISBN:
- 9780199786862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171815.003.0006
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars in the 1960s and 1970s returned images of a cratered Mars with no signs of Lowell’s canals or life of any kind. However, Martian life as well as Martian civilization ...
More
NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars in the 1960s and 1970s returned images of a cratered Mars with no signs of Lowell’s canals or life of any kind. However, Martian life as well as Martian civilization found a new champion in Carl Sagan, a planetary astronomer and popularizer of science. Sagan and Iosif Shkovskii’s book, Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966), argued for the existence of a long-dead Martian civilization and proposed a rationale and program for the search for intelligent, civilized life in the universe. Sagan scoffed at Lowell’s Martian canals, yet Sagan’s claims that civilized life was abundant in the universe initially gained few supporters at NASA or in the scientific community. Like Lowell, Sagan sought a popular following by arguing repeatedly and eloquently that the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life was in our grasp.Less
NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars in the 1960s and 1970s returned images of a cratered Mars with no signs of Lowell’s canals or life of any kind. However, Martian life as well as Martian civilization found a new champion in Carl Sagan, a planetary astronomer and popularizer of science. Sagan and Iosif Shkovskii’s book, Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966), argued for the existence of a long-dead Martian civilization and proposed a rationale and program for the search for intelligent, civilized life in the universe. Sagan scoffed at Lowell’s Martian canals, yet Sagan’s claims that civilized life was abundant in the universe initially gained few supporters at NASA or in the scientific community. Like Lowell, Sagan sought a popular following by arguing repeatedly and eloquently that the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life was in our grasp.
R. Po‐chia Hsia
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199592258
- eISBN:
- 9780191595622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592258.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Asian History, History of Religion
In 1600, Ricci attempted once more to reach Beijing, Accompanied by Diego de Pantoja, a Spanish Jesuit, he travelled north on the Grand Canal. En route, the Jesuits, on their mission as ...
More
In 1600, Ricci attempted once more to reach Beijing, Accompanied by Diego de Pantoja, a Spanish Jesuit, he travelled north on the Grand Canal. En route, the Jesuits, on their mission as tribute‐bearers, were intercepted by the eunuch Ma Tang. After escaping from Ma's clutches, Ricci successfully negotiated the bureaucracy in Beijing and obtained permission to reside. This chapter describes the circle of his friends and acquaintances in the imperial capital. As customary, Ricci depended on his friendship and the goodwill of powerful mandarins for his success. A special relationship developed between Feng Yinjing, a loyal and just official imprisoned for opposing eunuch corruption, and the Jesuit missionary, who continued publishing works in Chinese, introducing Stoic and Christian texts to the Ming elites.Less
In 1600, Ricci attempted once more to reach Beijing, Accompanied by Diego de Pantoja, a Spanish Jesuit, he travelled north on the Grand Canal. En route, the Jesuits, on their mission as tribute‐bearers, were intercepted by the eunuch Ma Tang. After escaping from Ma's clutches, Ricci successfully negotiated the bureaucracy in Beijing and obtained permission to reside. This chapter describes the circle of his friends and acquaintances in the imperial capital. As customary, Ricci depended on his friendship and the goodwill of powerful mandarins for his success. A special relationship developed between Feng Yinjing, a loyal and just official imprisoned for opposing eunuch corruption, and the Jesuit missionary, who continued publishing works in Chinese, introducing Stoic and Christian texts to the Ming elites.
Ashley Carse
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028110
- eISBN:
- 9780262320467
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028110.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This book traces the water that flows into and out from the Panama Canal to explain how global shipping is entangled with Panama’s cultural and physical landscapes. By following container ships as ...
More
This book traces the water that flows into and out from the Panama Canal to explain how global shipping is entangled with Panama’s cultural and physical landscapes. By following container ships as they travel downstream along maritime routes and tracing rivers upstream across the populated watershed that feeds the canal, it explores the politics of environmental management around a waterway that links faraway ports and markets to nearby farms, forests, cities, and rural communities. The book draws on a wide range of ethnographic and archival material to show the social and ecological implications of transportation across Panama. The canal moves ships over an aquatic staircase of locks that demand an enormous amount of fresh water from the surrounding region. Each passing ship drains 52 million gallons out to sea—a volume comparable to the daily water use of half a million Panamanians. The book argues that infrastructures like the Panama Canal do not simply conquer nature; they rework ecologies in ways that serve specific political and economic priorities. Interweaving histories that range from the depopulation of the US Canal Zone a century ago to road construction conflicts and water hyacinth invasions in canal waters, the book illuminates the human and nonhuman actors that have come together at the margins of the famous trade route. Beyond the Big Ditch calls us to consider how infrastructures are simultaneously linked to global networks and embedded in places, giving rise to political ecologies with winners and losers who are connected across great distances.Less
This book traces the water that flows into and out from the Panama Canal to explain how global shipping is entangled with Panama’s cultural and physical landscapes. By following container ships as they travel downstream along maritime routes and tracing rivers upstream across the populated watershed that feeds the canal, it explores the politics of environmental management around a waterway that links faraway ports and markets to nearby farms, forests, cities, and rural communities. The book draws on a wide range of ethnographic and archival material to show the social and ecological implications of transportation across Panama. The canal moves ships over an aquatic staircase of locks that demand an enormous amount of fresh water from the surrounding region. Each passing ship drains 52 million gallons out to sea—a volume comparable to the daily water use of half a million Panamanians. The book argues that infrastructures like the Panama Canal do not simply conquer nature; they rework ecologies in ways that serve specific political and economic priorities. Interweaving histories that range from the depopulation of the US Canal Zone a century ago to road construction conflicts and water hyacinth invasions in canal waters, the book illuminates the human and nonhuman actors that have come together at the margins of the famous trade route. Beyond the Big Ditch calls us to consider how infrastructures are simultaneously linked to global networks and embedded in places, giving rise to political ecologies with winners and losers who are connected across great distances.
Dik Roth and Linden Vincent
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198082927
- eISBN:
- 9780199082247
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198082927.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
In recent years we can see a growing pressure on land and water resources, increasing water scarcity, and intensifying competition between sectors, water uses, and water users. Processes of ...
More
In recent years we can see a growing pressure on land and water resources, increasing water scarcity, and intensifying competition between sectors, water uses, and water users. Processes of socio-economic transformation in developing countries like India and Nepal often entail interventions in irrigated agriculture to increase efficiency, sustainability, or equity. These processes also generate societal debate about the advantages and disadvantages of modern engineering technology and ‘traditional’ or ‘farmer-managed’ irrigation systems. Dealing effectively with these issues and problems, it first requires an understanding of the complex interrelationships between the various dimensions of water control involved. The Introduction provides a critical perspective on the role of technology and institutions in and around irrigation in a context of rapid societal changes. It also introduces the case studies and the technologies, institutions, and socio-technical interactions they present.Less
In recent years we can see a growing pressure on land and water resources, increasing water scarcity, and intensifying competition between sectors, water uses, and water users. Processes of socio-economic transformation in developing countries like India and Nepal often entail interventions in irrigated agriculture to increase efficiency, sustainability, or equity. These processes also generate societal debate about the advantages and disadvantages of modern engineering technology and ‘traditional’ or ‘farmer-managed’ irrigation systems. Dealing effectively with these issues and problems, it first requires an understanding of the complex interrelationships between the various dimensions of water control involved. The Introduction provides a critical perspective on the role of technology and institutions in and around irrigation in a context of rapid societal changes. It also introduces the case studies and the technologies, institutions, and socio-technical interactions they present.
