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Spartacus, 1960 American film
Spartacus, 1960 American filmThis is a 1960 American film Starring Kirk Douglas as Spartacus a rebellious slave. The film also stars Gauls Crixus, Castus, Gannicus, and Oenomaus all who fought alongside Spartacus against the Romans. Slavery was on the rise with Lentulus Batiatus as a huge slave trader. John Gavin stars as Julius Caesar and Laurence Olivier as the Roman general and politician. The film depicts real events that took place at around 73 BC. Though there is no accurate information about Spartacus many sources believe that he was a Thracian (people from Thrace a region found as present day Bulgaria) (Punta, 45). Spartacus served as a Roman soldier, a thief, mercenary, and due to his strength he was also a gladiator. He was later taken captive together with his wife and sold as slaves to the Romans. Spartacus was sold to a gladiator school in Capua belonging to Lentulus Batiatus where he and other captives fit to fight, were trained to be gladiators. The slaves managed to escape from the school and managed to acquire weapons from a wagon. Trained to be gladiators the slaves were deft and proficient in combat. They managed to defeat several troops sent to take them down as well as take over several towns surrounding Capua recruiting more slaves to form an alliance against the Romans. After the number of recruited slaves swelled the new community settled around Mount Vesuvuis. Free from slavery the community of redeemed slaves chose Spartacus as their leader, Crixus and Oenomaus as his subordinates. However, historical data does not explain what positions Castus and Gannicus held (Punta, 67). The Romans were slow to respond to the treacherous deed for the army was already at war in Hispania and they also regarded the issue to be more of a violation of the law rather than an act of war.
Led by Gaius Claudius Glaber a small army was sent to capture Spartacus and his men in Mount Vesuvius. However, their plot failed and most of the soldiers lost their lives. A second attempt was made against Spartacus but they also failed with the slaves almost capturing the commander. The slaves built a good reputation across the region which attracted more and more slaves to join the group. Spartacus was a tactful leader who trained his men to use available tools to defeat the enemy. Between 73 and 72 BC, during the winter season, the men trained and searched and made weapons. Their territory expanded inclusive of towns such as Nola, Metapontum, and Nuceria. In 72 BC the Roman Empire realised that Spartacus was growing to be a great threat to empire. The slaves divided into two groups one led by Crixus while the other was led by Spartacus. The Roman legions led by Lucius Gellius and Gnaeus Cornelius managed to defeat a group of thirty thousand men led by Crixus near Mount Garganus but were then defeated by Spartacus. Rome assigned Marcus Licinius Crassus the task of leading 40,000 soldiers towards the North where they were to face Spartacus. Crassus treated the soldiers with utmost brutality and demanded discipline from the troops. When Spartacus and his disciples moved north from Italy, Crassus deployed six of his eight groups to monitor the borders. The two remaining groups went to fight Spartacus. During the final battle, which is assumed Spartacus died, took place in 71 BC. Many of the slaves died during this battle with some freeing to the mountains in the North. The battle took place in present day Senerchia where much later at around 1900 swords and shields were recovered. Spartacus’s body was never found while captives were crucified on the route between Rome and Capua.
Theme
The main theme of the films is slavery, struggle for freedom, and corruption. Spartacus is taken as a slave by the Romans. They also take other people whom they force to fight to death in the arena just for entertainment. Crassus bribes the pirates to betray Spartacus in a bid to kill him. Throughout the film struggle for redemption and freedom is depicted through the many wars between slaves and Rome.
Plot
The roman Republic had embraced corruption around 1st BC and practiced slave trade. One of the slaves was a great man known as Spartacus who was condemned as a gladiator. He is trained at a school in the house of Batiatus where Marcellus the trainer treated Spartacus harshly so as to break his spirit. One day Crassus visits Batiatus and during the visit Crassus requests to watch Spartacus fight. A dark skinned gladiator rages towards the Roman spectators but is killed by a guard. The following day, tension was still on the rise. Spartacus and other slaves took the opportunity to escape where they manage to escape and kill Marcellus. The group escapes to the Italian country side. Spartacus is appointed the leader of the fugitives. He leads the slaves in a number of battles freeing slaves from other Roman empires. Countless slaves join the group creating a large number of soldiers. Spartacus proves to be a tactful leader regardless of the many years in servitude. Varinia a young woman who flees from Crassus becomes Spartacus’s informal wife. The Roman leaders are now more afraid than Spartacus more than before. With his army building up Spartacus was able to win the favour of Pirates from Cilicia who were also foes to the Romans. Afraid of Spartacus, the Roman leaders give Crassus full power. Crassus bribes the pirates to betray Spartacus and secretly uses the Roman army to drive the rebels towards Rome. Surrounded by enemy troops Spartacus tells his people to face the Romans with honour and fight for what is right for them. In the battle against Crassus many slaves lose their lives. In the pursuit to conceal Spartacus’s identity several people including Gannicus perform several killings while posing themselves as Spartacus. Crassus reciprocates by crucifying each one of them. Crassus takes Varinia and Spartacus’s son prisoner in the attempt to flash out Spartacus. Varinia refuses to comply which infuriates Crassus. He furiously Seeks for Spartacus and forces him to fight Antoninus to death. The survivor was to be crucified together with the rest of the captives. Spartacus kills Antoninus to save him the humiliation. Crassus is worried by the fact that Spartacus will die a martyr and the fact that Caesar will overthrow him. Grachuss commits suicide after he witnesses fall into tyranny. He asks that Varinia and Spartacus son be saved from Crassus. During his dying moments Varinia comforts Spartacus by showing him his son who shall live as a free child.
The main characters in the film are Spartacus who is a strong, willing and brave person who believes in importance for all people of all kinds. He both has a tender heart for the oppressed and a heart of hatred towards the oppressors (Douglas, 3). Crassus who is a wealthy proud and heartless man is also a character in the film. He depicts a power hungry that would do anything at all costs to be at the top. He is a selfish and brutal ruler to even his own people. Crixus the second in command after Spartacus also shares the same love for freedom as Spartacus. He is compassionate but fierce when it comes to his enemies. He lacks the skill of leadership as his feelings compromise his ability to lead well. The main events in the film include the escape from the gladiator school of Lentulus Batiatus where Spartacus and other captives lead each other through Italy. Spartacus alongside his comrades takes over other Roman Empires freeing slaves from captivity and building his own army. The War between Crassus’s troops and slaves where many slaves die and some are taken as captives again. Spartacus is also killed but before he dies all slaves are free including his son.
The film based on several sources is both accurate and inaccurate. Comparison between the Plot of the film and the true historical events shows a match and mismatch of events and character. Spartacus was a real slave and gladiator as the movie depicts. As the movie reveals, the gladiators used basic kitchen utensils to fight their way out of the school with Spartacus leading the raid. It is also true based on historical evidence that Spartacus had a companion, a wife whom he loved. The events that took place including the battles also match together with the events that took place in the real story. However, some aspects do differ between the true events and the film. In the movie Spartacus was born a slave but in the real life he was born a free child. In the rue history, Spartacus first started as a Roman soldier and fought for Rome. His became a slave and gladiator for no apparent reason which the Romans themselves admit.
Spartacus and Crassus share a great deal of similarity with the true versions of themselves. Spartacus was a strong willed person who believed in freedom and honour for everyone. The true Spartacus also fought for the freedom of other people and he cared for them. Crassus on the other hand was a wealthy heartless and power hungry ruler who cared about nothing but his thirst for power. He was also brutal by crucifying his captives and treating his own soldiers mercilessly.
This film is recommendable for viewing as it gives a clear overview of the major events that took place at 72 BC. The film provides substantial information about the life and deeds of Spartacus and his accomplices. The film also describes slavery as it was around the time, how strong men were used as gladiators in the arena as entertainment for the people of Rome (Douglas, 45). However, it is not recommended if the main aim is to study the personal life of Spartacus as we have already seen the film differs with the true life history of Spartacus.
References
Punter, Russell, and Gustavo Mazali. Spartacus. London: Usborne, 2013. Print.
Douglas, Kirk, and George Clooney. I am Spartacus!: making a film, breaking the blacklist. New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 2012. Print.
and it is a finely curved comb
which is among a number of knife handles and combs produced towards the end of prehistory of Egypt. The curving is three dimensional and it is curved out of ivory. The curving is light brown and it was created by curving figures of animals on both sides in horizontal roles. This spatial organization can be associated with the later art of most Egyptian artists. The artist uses curving and figures of animals to produce an art work that is rough in texture. The figures are well balanced because the figures are curved horizontally (Heilbrunn timeline of art history).
Spanish Colonization
Spanish Colonization
Presented by
Subject
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Introduction
Religion has been used as a form of excuse throughout history. Religion acted as the driving force for worse atrocities ever imagined in America. The Spanish made use of several atrocities to carry out the colonization process that ranged from offering human sacrifices, killing of innocent people and torturing people all in the name of religion. The main reason for Spanish colonization in North America was to explore, conquer and settle politically in most of the western hemisphere. The colonization process was started by the Spanish conquistadors and accelerated by the Monarchy of Spain. Since then, the Spanish have claimed most territories that today form the United States. The following paper discusses Spanish colonization in North America focusing on the main processes involved, and its effects.
Spanish colonization
The European arrived in America in 1492, and since then America has never been the same again. Over 35 years following the arrival of Europeans the Spain ruled America in a vast empire that was based on labor and exploitation of the Indian population. Spanish colonization in North America lasted for over four hundred years, from 1492 to 1898. The Spanish initiated colonization process with the motives of expanding trade and spreading Christian faith through native expansions. The Spanish went to North America with the hope of teaching Catholicism to the people while extracting off their riches. Thousands of Spaniards went across the oceans to America with self interests of gaining great riches with the name of religion. Some of the most common atrocities conducted included the Buddhist Burma, Thuggee Murders and the Inquisition.
After their entry in America, the Spanish established a strong and elaborate empire that covered the entire Western coast of North America, South America, the Caribbean and parts of the United States. Before the fifteenth century, the Spanish had no idea of the fact that the whole hemisphere of the world was not owned by anyone. The emergence of indirect discoveries led to direct contract leading to the Spanish constructing massive overseas kingdom. They brought diseases to new world dwellers. Greatest tragedies ever experienced in the human history followed as people were infected with various diseases such as the smallpox, influenza and other communicable diseases. These diseases killed millions of people since they had no immunity against them. The Spanish claimed they had no intention of destroying people who lived on this new world but, they were only interested in using Indian labor to gain riches.
The arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 accelerated the expansion of the Spanish Empire across most regions of America. Revolutionary movements were started that resulted into the independence of most Spanish colonies in the Americas except Cuba and Puerto Rico. The Spaniards used effective technologies and other devices that helped them discover the new world. Many people have been credited for their efforts in finding the new world and the development of the Spanish Empire in America. All the strategies and tactics used by the Spaniards were aimed at generating massive profits and power. Under the Spanish colonization, several indirect results were observed in America and Europe with the effect extending to other regions like Africa. Generally, the Spanish colonization in North America changed the ways of life for everyone because it the modified the international economies, integrated social cultures, and changed political structures and beliefs.
The Spaniards aimed at using the Indian labor to gain wealth. The Indians had their own atrocity called Thuggee Murders. Members of India’s Thuggee killed people and offered them as sacrifices in order to appease the bloodthirsty goddess. They practiced this ritual in order to prevent the Spaniards from exploiting their labor. The ritual claimed over 20,000 lives every year until the British stopped them. Despite the above sacrifice, the Spaniards continued using Indian labor in their massive factories and big plantations.
As a result of natural attrition and harsh misrule, however, the number of laborers became too small for the Spanish who started importing African slaves. The introduction of African cultures and traditions to North American cultures resulted into a richer social mixture compared to most parts of the world. Despite this, racism was still practice. The colonial society was discriminative when it came to hierarchies. People were offered jobs and issued with land titles depending on the amount of Spanish blood an individual had. Discrimination and repression characterized the Spanish colonial rule throughout the 406 years of colonization in North America.
Conclusion
The Spanish colonization in North America lasted for 406 years, a period which the Americans experienced the worst empire ever. In the 17th century, the Spanish colonial administration realized that they had decreased in number in many parts of New Spain. They introduced a policy reform that allowed people to practice their own religion and, forced labor ended. The use of atrocities during the Spanish colonization was too effective leading to loss of many lives. In addition, the introduction of Spanish Empire and their movement in America introduced many deadly diseases that also claimed lives of many Americans.
Bibliography
Cook, Noble David, and W. George Lovell. Secret judgments of God: Old World disease in colonial Spanish America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.Cooke, Jacob Ernest. 1993. Encyclopedia of the North American colonies. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons.
Jackson, Robert H. Missions and the frontiers of Spanish America: a comparative study of the impact of environmental, economic, political, and socio-cultural variations on the missions in the Rio de la Plata Region and on the Northern Frontier of New Spain. Scottsdale, AZ: Pentacle Press, 2005.Johansen, Bruce E., and Barry Pritzker.Encyclopedia of American Indian history. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2008. John C. Super. “Food, Conquest, And Colonization In Sixteenth-Century Spanish America, University Of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM. 160 Pages. $24.95.” Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 8, no. 4 (1988): 439-439.Keegan, William F.. Taíno Indian myth and practice: the arrival of the stranger king. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.Lange, Matthew, James Mahoney, and Matthias vom Hau. “Colonialism And Development: A Comparative Analysis Of Spanish And British Colonies.” American Journal of Sociology 111, no. 5 (2006): 1412-1462.Pickett, Margaret F., and Dwayne W. Pickett. 2011. The European struggle to settle North
America colonizing attempts by England, France and Spain, 1521-1608. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.
http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=665215.