The Galapagos Affair

The Galapagos Islands are a small chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean off the western coast of Ecuador, to which they belong. Not exactly a paradise, they are rocky, dry and hot, and are home to many interesting species of animals found nowhere else. They are perhaps best known for the Galapagos finches, which Charles Darwin used to inspire his Theory of Evolution. Today, the Islands are a top-notch tourist attraction. Normally sleepy and uneventful, the Galapagos Islands captured the worlds attention in 1934 when they were the site of an international scandal of sex and murder. The Galapagos Islands The Galapagos Islands are named after a sort of saddle which is said to resemble the shells of the giant tortoises that make the islands their home. They were discovered accidentally in 1535 and then promptly ignored until the seventeenth century when they became a regular stopping point for whaling ships looking to take on provisions. The government of Ecuador claimed them in 1832 and no one really disputed it. Some hardy Ecuadorians came out to make a living fishing and others were sent to penal colonies. The Islands big moment came when Charles Darwin visited in 1835 and subsequently published his theories, illustrating them with Galapagos species. Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch In 1929, German doctor Friedrich Ritter abandoned his practice and moved to the Islands, feeling he needed a new start in a faraway place. He brought with him one of his patients, Dore Strauch: both of them left spouses behind. They set up a homestead on Floreana Island and worked very hard there, moving heavy lava rocks, planting fruits and vegetables and raising chickens. They became international celebrities: the rugged doctor and his lover, living on a far-off island. Many people came to visit them, and some intended to stay, but the hard life on the islands eventually drove most of them off. The Wittmers Heinz Wittmer arrived in 1931 with his teenage son and pregnant wife Margret. Unlike the others, they remained, setting up their own homestead with some help from Dr. Ritter. Once they were established, the two German families apparently had little contact with one another, which seems to be how they liked it. Like Dr. Ritter and Ms. Strauch, the Wittmers were rugged, independent and enjoyed occasional visitors but mostly kept to themselves. The Baroness The next arrival would change everything. Not long after the Wittmers came, a party of four arrived on Floreana, led by Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet, an attractive young Austrian. She was accompanied by her two German lovers, Robert Philippson and Rudolf Lorenz, as well as an Ecuadorian, Manuel Valdivieso, presumably hired to do all the work. The flamboyant Baroness set up a small homestead, named it Hacienda Paradise and announced her plans to build a grand hotel. An Unhealthy Mix The Baroness was a true character. She made up elaborate, grand stories to tell the visiting yacht captains, went about wearing a pistol and a whip, seduced the Governor of Galapagos and anointed herself Queen of Floreana. After her arrival, yachts went out of their way to visit Floreana; everyone sailing the Pacific wanted to be able to boast of an encounter with the Baroness. However, she did not get along well with the others. The Wittmers managed to ignore her but Dr. Ritter despised her. Deterioration The situation quickly deteriorated. Lorenz apparently fell out of favor, and Philippson started beating him. Lorenz started spending a lot of time with the Wittmers until the Baroness would come and get him. There was a prolonged drought, and Ritter and Strauch began to quarrel. Ritter and the Wittmers became angry when they began to suspect that the Baroness was stealing their mail and badmouthing them to visitors, who repeated everything to the international press. Things turned petty. Philippson stole the Ritters donkey one night and turned it loose in the Wittmers garden. In the morning, Heinz shot it, thinking it feral. The Baroness Goes Missing Then on March 27, 1934, the Baroness and Philippson disappeared. According to Margret Wittmer, the Baroness appeared at the Wittmer home and said that some friends had arrived on a yacht and were taking them to Tahiti. She said she left everything they werent taking with them to Lorenz. The Baroness and Philippson departed that very day and were never heard from again. A Fishy Story There are problems with the Wittmers story, however. No one else remembers any ship coming in that week, and the Baroness and Wittmer never turned up in Tahiti. Additionally, they left behind almost all of their things, including ( according to Dore Strauch) items that the Baroness would have wanted on even a very short journey. Strauch and Ritter apparently believed that the two were murdered by Lorenz and the Wittmers helped cover it up. Strauch also believed that the bodies were burned, as acacia wood (available on the island) burns hot enough to destroy even bone. Lorenz Disappears Lorenz was in a hurry to get out of Galapagos and he convinced a Norwegian fisherman named Nuggerud to take him first to Santa Cruz Island and from there to San Cristobal Island, where he could catch a ferry to Guayaquil. They made it to Santa Cruz but disappeared between Santa Cruz and San Cristà ³bal. Months later, the mummified, desiccated bodies of both men were found on Marchena Island. There was no clue as to how they got there. Incidentally, Marchena is in the northern part of the Archipelago and not anywhere near Santa Cruz or San Cristà ³bal. The Strange Death of Dr. Ritter The strangeness did not end there. In November of the same year, Dr. Ritter died, apparently of food poisoning due to eating some poorly-preserved chicken. This is odd firstly because Ritter was a vegetarian (although apparently not a strict one). Also, he was a veteran of island living, and certainly capable of telling when some preserved chicken had gone bad. Many believed that Strauch had poisoned him, as his treatment of her had gotten much worse. According to Margret Wittmer, Ritter himself blamed Strauch. Wittmer wrote that he cursed her in his dying words. Unsolved Mysteries Three dead, two missing over the course of a few months. The Galapagos Affair as it came to be known is a mystery that has puzzled historians and visitors to the islands ever since. None of the mysteries have been solved. The Baroness and Philippson never turned up, Dr. Ritters death is officially an accident and no one has any clue how Nuggerud and Lorenz got to Marchena. The Wittmers remained on the islands and became wealthy years later when tourism boomed: their descendants still own valuable land and businesses there. Dore Strauch returned to Germany and wrote a book, fascinating not only for the sordid tales of the Galapagos affair but for its look at the hard life of the early settlers. There will likely never be any real answers. Margret Wittmer, last of those who really knew what happened, stuck to her story about the Baroness going to Tahiti until her own death in 2000. Wittmer often hinted that she knew more than she was telling, but its hard to know if she really did or if she just enjoyed tantalizing tourists with hints and innuendos. Strauchs book doesnt shed much light on things: she is adamant that Lorenz killed the Baroness and Philippson but has no proof other than her own (and supposedly Dr. Ritters) gut feelings. Source Boyce, Barry. A Travelers Guide to the Galapagos Islands. San Juan Bautista: Galapagos Travel, 1994.

In the early 16th century, African Americans were stripped...

In the early 16th century, African Americans were stripped from their natural rights as they were sold as property and used for labor. Throughout history, they have acquired rights as individuals and have gained equality as members of the nation. Because of the cruelty guided toward them in earlier centuries, their fellow African Americans and people in other races have served their responsibilities to help free them by revolting, and have now turned into heroic figures because of their courage. This time marks the struggles to accomplishing The Civil right Movement, which worked to end racial segregation, and provide Africans with constitutional rights to vote. Throughout all the history of the U.S, the most common topic is the one†¦show more content†¦Writings throughout history show people from different backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs fighting for the same cause, the rights of African Americans which were stripped from them during the 16th century until the late 19th century. In â€Å"They had a dream,† by Jules Archer, the stories of four very different people are joined together by their pursuit of freedom as they viewed the inequality against African Americans. The Civil right movement was made by a series of social movements that led up to many campaigns of civil resistance. During this time people seeked for the dignity of people to treat African Americans as equal, including giving them constitutional voting rights. From 1955 to 1968, there was a series of non-aggressive protests circling around the United States, which caused disagreements between the authorities and activists. These included boycotts from the people when inequality was evident, like the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama, where Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus. She made a huge impact on the people to resist this segregation and fight for the rights they deserved. In the year 1793 Eli Whitney’s Invention, the cotton gin increased the demand for slavery, they had to work in order to survive, but got paid very low wages. The fugitive slave law became in act for slaves who tried toShow MoreRelatedSkin Deep Americ A Free Country Of Freedom, Prosperity, And Opportunity1567 Words   |  7 Pagesstill face oppression, especially African Americans, even in today’s modern society. This can obviously be demonstrated in our history; which is corrupted with slavery, segregation, and white supremacy. Our country was literally built by whites, and for whites, on the breaking backs of African Americans, who were the driving labor force for the developing nation. Slavery was the fuel for the burning fire that is racism. Former slaves then struggled for civil rights and equality, as well as safetyRead MoreThe Essential Questions5521 Words   |  23 Pagesthe earthly realm of nature. In some respects, this was a good thing: nature received a more proper place. From a biblical viewpoint nature is important because it has been created by God, and is not to be despised. The things of the body are not to be despised when compared with the soul. The things of beauty are important. Sexual things are not evil of themselves. All these things follow from the fact that in nature God has given us a good gift, and the man who regards it with contempt is reallyRead MoreThe Influence of Witchcraft on Feminism Essay1780 Words   |  8 Pageswitch-hunt that blazed a trail across Europe (and indeed the world) over the 15th to 18th centuries stripped women of much of the power they had historically held. Not 100% of all accused Witches were female but 75% to 90% of accused witches in Europe were in fact women (Levack, 1987, p.124). Prior to the 15th century, rural European women were highly revered and respected pillars of rural community life. Women were not only considered as mothers and wives, but also as community leaders, physiciansRead MoreWhen Did Racism Begin? Essay3222 Words   |  13 Pagesand shaped differently. People grow up in different environments and parents raise their children differently. A person might have their own personality, such as being friendly or shy, but they develop to be friendly or shy based on how they grew up. From infancy till eighteen people develop a way of thinking about things and later in their lives they will use their process of thinking about issues whether politically or morally. 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If that person was still alive, the procedure was successful Witchcraft Correlated with ‘The Crucible’ where Tituba, Sarah Good Sarah Osborne are accused of witchcraft in Salem, 1692 What to do with the witches?! Exodus 22:18- Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live Leviticus   20:27- A man also or woman that hath a familiar spiritRead MoreAn Article On Earth Essay10094 Words   |  41 Pages This is a featured article. Click here for more information. Page semi-protected Listen to this article Earth From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Earth (disambiguation). Earth Astronomical symbol of Earth The Blue Marble photograph of Earth, taken by the Apollo 17 lunar mission. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and Madagascar lie in the upper half of the disc, while Antarctica is at the bottom. 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Through Better Understanding Of Objectives â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Through Better Understanding Of Objectives? Answer: Introducation Communication is very important for business as through effective communication managers can inform workers regarding various jobs they need to do in an effective manner. Similarly through effective communication teams can inform and generate ideas and implement decisions through better understanding of objectives. Effective communication follows the process of encoding of message by the sender in a meaningful manner and then decoding of this message by the recipient. Noise is the interruptions that can operations the communication process leading to incorrect feedback. Noose is caused by barriers to communication 3 Firm can work effectively towards attainment of business goals only if the management, workforce and all other stakeholders are aware about the necessary actions to be taken. This can only be attained via effective communication. However there are certain issues in communication which create barriers. These can be lack of understanding of language, culture differences and complicated structure. Communication coming from different directions can also cause communication barriers. To function effectively firms need to remove these barriers to communication. 4 Barriers to business communication are classified into four major categories. Semantic barriers arise due to language, signs and gesture related misunderstanding. Obscure and faulty language written in a message can lead to this barrier. Also use of words with different meaning can lead to non-understanding of message by the receiver. For example the following sentence changes its meaning if the last four words are removed What is the value of computer education in the modern world and what is the value of computer education. Another barrier is psychological or emotional barrier where an individual judges information wrongly because of his psychological or emotional state. Premature evaluation is major communication hindrance caused by emotional issues. Sometimes receiver tries to read in between the lines or attaches meanings to words which are not openly said by the sender. Additionally receiver may show poor attention and retention of the message leading to errors in business functions. Distrust can also cause a psychological hindrance to communication and receiver may act differently despite getting the message correctly 5 Organisational barriers are another form of barriers to effective business communication. Sometimes employees may find organisational structure and line of authority confusing leading to lack of understanding of information. Policies may also give different inferences to the receiver. Lack of understanding of position and roles in an organisation may also lead to barrier. Addi Through Better Understanding Of Objectives tionally formal status related division of hierarchy in an organisation can become a barrier in bottom up communication as the employee may be afraid to speak his mind in from of superiors. Personal barriers to communication occur due to personal nature of the sender or the recipient. Some workers may be afraid of speaking truthfully to the superior. Moreover there may be lack of mutual respect which may act as a barrier. Also workers may lack confidence to communicate accurately. Also there may be unwillingness at certain levels to communicate due to personal nature of secrecy in some managers. Sometimes superiors do not have faith in ability of the subordinate and hence they do not communicate well with them leading to further errors. In certain cases incentive to communicate lacks. Audit is, workers feel they wont gain anything from communicating there issues. 6 In order to overcome communication barriers the firm needs to give communication skills training to its employees. Also the firm has to address the language issue. Clarity in media and mode of communication is requires. Also the organisation should have a clear structure with proper line of authority. All issues should be discussed and an environment of cooperation and coordination should be inculcated. Also fear and lack of confidence in employees should be addressed and removed. Managers should learn to trust the employees. Most barriers can be overcome if there is an atmosphere of trust and transparency in the organisation. 7 Therefore if a firm makes attempts to improve communication skills of the employees and bring in an environment of transparency, trust, respect and dialogue, barriers to communication can be removed References Guffey, M. E., 2012. Essentials of Business Communication. New York: Cengage Learning. Hartley, P., 2015. Business Communication: Rethinking your professional practice for the post-digital age. New York: Routledge. Krizan, A. B., 2010. Business Communication. New York: Cengage Learning. Mannan, Z., 2013. Business Communication: Strategies for Success in Business and management. New York: Saint Martin Publisher. Mitsuru, K., 2012. Interactive Business Communities: Accelerating Corporate Innovation through Boundary Networks. Hants: Gower Publishing. Monippally, 2013. Business communication: From Principles to Practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education,.