White man's burden. Myths of the colonial period.
to list the cultural aspects of colonialism;
to indicate the examples of colonial and racist propaganda and the crimes of the colonial era;
to describes the position of opponents of colonialism.
Colonialism was not only about the political or economic competition. It was also a cultural phenomenon, including the ideas about other „races” and exotic cultures. The way of travelling to distant places changed as a consequence of the colonial expansion — that's how the exotic tourism was born. It was the racist prejudice and arrogance that helped European people to implement the politics of extermination. Tribes that were mostly threatened by this type of politics in the 19th century were the ones considered as „evil”, for instance those practising cannibalism. Congo, the private property of the Belgian king Leopold II, was the most extreme case of colonial cruelty. British people sought to occupy two Boer Republics neighbouring the Cape State - Orange State and the Transvaal in the early 70s of the 19th century. It was because diamond and gold deposits had been discovered there. The first attempt to annex those territories was not successful. Finally, in 1910 the Boer Republics were made parts of the Union of South Africa, which had a status of a dominion.
Familiarise yourself with Fortier's publishing activity from the early 20th century. Find out how his famous pieces were received. Then look at the portrait from the early 20th century. Read the comment. Notice how iconographic representations contributed to the colonialist ideology.
Read the opening lecture on England's colonial expansion delivered by John Ruskin at Oxford University in the 70s of the 19th century. Then complete the exercise.
Inaugurational lectureWill you, youths of England, make your country again a royal throne of kings; a sceptred isle, for all the world a source of light, a centre of peace; mistress of Learning and of the Arts;--faithful guardian of great memories in the midst of irreverent and ephemeral visions;--faithful servant of time‑tried principles, under temptation from fond experiments and licentious desires; and amidst the cruel and clamorous jealousies of the nations, worshipped in her strange valour of goodwill towards men?
And this is what she must either do, or perish: she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is able, formed of her most energetic and worthiest men;--seizing every piece of fruitful waste ground she can set her foot on, and there teaching these her colonists that their chief virtue is to be fidelity to their country, and that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and sea: and that, though they live on a distant plot of ground, they are no more to consider themselves therefore disfranchised from their native land, than the sailors of her fleets do, because they float on distant waves.
Source: John Ruskin, Inaugurational lecture, [w:] .
Group the arguments below that encouraged young Britons to take part in the colonial race for new territories.
teach her colonists that their chief virtue is to be fidelity to their country, and that their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and sea, though they live on a distant plot of ground, they are no more to consider themselves therefore disfranchised from their native land, [has] strange valour of goodwill towards men, she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is able, formed of her most energetic and worthiest men, [was] a royal throne of kings; a sceptred isle, for all the world a source of light, a centre of peace; mistress of Learning and of the Arts;--faithful guardian of great memories in the midst of irreverent and ephemeral visions;--faithful servant of time-tried principles, under temptation from fond experiments and licentious desires, seize every piece of fruitful waste ground she can set her foot on
| Features that give England the right to colonize | |
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| Tasks that British youth must complete according to John Ruskin |
Read the text. Note down and memorise the most important information.
It's the European civilisation that enabled the colonial conquests: a particular organisation of the country, legal codes and the ability to manage huge and varied communities of people. What reinforced their cultural dominance in the world was mostly the development of transportation and communication. Christianity also played a pivotal role in the Europeanisation of the world. Most of all, however, the West conquered the world by means of organised violence, schemes and corruption. An element that played an important role in the colonial policy was inciting hatred between different societies and political powers. „Lower races” quickly became subject to European genocide practices.
It was the racist prejudice and arrogance that helped Europeans implement the politics of extermination. Tribes that were mostly threatened by this type of politics in the 19th century were the ones considered as „evil”, for instance practising cannibalism. However, it wasn't the „evil” or the „good” qualities of the invaded communities that triggered European actions, but the demands of the expansion and imperial politics. Hence the San people (Bushmen) and Hottentots in South Africa and the Aborigines in Australia were effectively exterminated. Moreover, many local tribes of Siberia and Central Asia, invaded by the Russians, became either extinct or their population drastically decreased.
Congo, the private property of the Belgian King Leopold II, was the most extreme case of colonial cruelty. Since only a few of the African colonies generated actual profits to their owners and very few were abundant in resources, Congo became the main supplier of caoutchouc, diamonds and colonial metal ores. Local administrators sought to multiply the resources they obtained there. They decided to do it through murderous exploitation and bloody pacification of the rebelling tribes. The total of 5 to 15 million people were murdered there. The exact number of victims will never be known. The Belgian king, Leopold II was a widely respected monarch, considered by many a philanthropist. When the world discovered the whole truth about the genocide in Congo, nobody wanted to believe it at first. It was contradictory to what Europeans knew about colonial politics and to all the big slogans of its propagandapropaganda. Therefore, for quite a long time there was a certain conspiracy of silence around the colonial politics of Leopold II.
Also the Germans implemented cruel colonial politics. After they had conquered the coasts of Namibia in South‑West Africa in 1883, they followed the orders of Wilhelm II and brutally suppressed the resistance of Herero and Namaqua people. One of the ways to pacify the Africans was placing them in labour camps built specifically for that purpose (concentration camps), where they were starved and forced to work more than they could. It was also in that German colony that the first racial laws and categorisation of people were introduced.
Keywords
racism, propaganda, metropolismetropolis, mandarinmandarin, samuraisamurai
Glossary
rasizm – pogląd o istnieniu nierówności między ludźmi, zakładająca wyższość i konieczność dominacji jednych ras nad innymi.
propaganda – celowe oddziaływanie na zbiorowości/jednostki celem uzyskania ich poparcia, wywołania określonych zachowań i wpojenia pożądanych przekonań
metropolia – państwo w imperium kolonialnym, stanowiące jego polityczne centrum.
mandaryn – urzędnik chiński
samuraj – wojownik, pierwotnie członek gwardii cesarskiej