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Here Comes the Sun: Deconstructed Student Essays

Colonial Economic Gain

Various practices occurred throughout the colonial era that were carried out solely for the economic gain of colonial powers. Being that these practices were only done in the interest of those who held authority, they were almost done at the expense of those from marginalized groups. The remnants of many of these practices and policies are still present to this day throughout the Caribbean.

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1. Tourism in Jamaica This primary source is a vintage tourism advertisement for Jamaica from 1950. It was put out by the Jamaica Tourist Board, which held two offices in the United States at the time this was released. The advertisement shows an image of a white couple enjoying a tranquil Jamaica beach, as well as various incentives enticing tourists from neocolonialist powers to visit the island. Vivid language is used to paint Jamaica as the perfect tourist destination. The advertisement fails to expose the real Jamaica. It does not display any native Jamaicans and creates a mirage of the island designed to appeal to tourists while neglecting those who live there. Advertisements similar to this one were common throughout American and European tourism boards and used similar vivid language to create a unifying image of all Caribbean islands as places of pure relaxation where tourists could come and be treated like royalty. Unknowingly, these tourists would be participating in neocolonialism, and to a much lesser extent, were involved in the exploitation of the local people of the Caribbean islands in a similar way to the colonizers who came a few centuries prior. (Jamaica Tourist Board)

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During the development of Alphonso’s new hotel, the construction company seeks out ways to undermine local legislation to save time and money at the expense of the residents of River Bank. Unfortunately, this is common practice around the world. Policies exist that unfairly target those of racial minorities and also people who are at an economic disadvantage, whether it is intentional or not. Policies like these only further worsen the racial and economic disparities worldwide.
The severity of hotel development becomes evident in this passage as it becomes clear that land across the island of Jamaica is being dispossessed from those who call it home. Just as the neighborhood of Little Bay was lost to tourism development years prior, the same occurrences are becoming present in River Bend. The sole goal of colonialism was strategic economic gain at the expense of others, and the same trends are occurring in neocolonialism on the island of Jamaica through hotel development. The residents are not taken into account during any decision regarding future changes to the landscape of their home despite being the ones impacted the most.
The key attributes present in the map further embody the colonial rendering of island geographies. The influence these powers held over the island is shown by the striking similarities between this map and maps of the world's colonial powers. The entire island of Jamaica was transformed during the colonial era to become a money maker for the British Empire. The land of the natives was lost as the island was subdivided and settled by thousands, coastlines were destroyed to make way for cities, and slavery was introduced, altering the social and political hierarchies of the island forever.