Studyspark Study Document

British Imperialism Be Explained In the Colonial Term Paper

Pages:5 (1450 words)

Subject:Government

Topic:British Empire

Document Type:Term Paper

Document:#73638337


British Imperialism Be Explained?

In the colonial period, Africa became the land of opportunity for Europeans who exploited the people and resources for profit. When Europeans went to Africa, home of black skinned people, they looked at the land as available to use as they wished. They never considered that this land belonged to its original inhabitants. Neither did they consider themselves thieves. They did not bother to think of black natives as human beings, but rather sought every way possible to use them to make money. Rather than openly admit their mercenary motives, whites assumed an attitude of superiority and declared that they were acting out of generosity to bring civilization and Christianity to primitive peoples. The thesis of this essay is that the colonial period in Africa was characterized by the arrogance of whites and atrocities committed against blacks. The focus will be on the British Empire and it's monstrous interactions with the dark continent especially as viewed in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, with supplementation from other sources.

In 1896 King Leopold of Belgium, about to begin building his empire in the Congo, expressed his intention "to open to civilization the only part of our globe where Christianity has not penetrated and to pierce the darkness which envelops the entire population." (Hennessy 87) It was also Leopold whose often quoted words made clear that the "primitive barbarism" of Africans must be replaced by subservience to whites of which the primary consideration was forced labor: "They must accustom the population to general laws, of which the most needful and the most salutary is assuredly that of work." (Hennessey 86) Of course this labor was salutary only to the whites.

Joseph Conrad was one British citizen who saw through the rhetoric and hypocrisy to the dark heart of the horror of British imperialism. In his novel, Heart of Darkness, he did not hesitate to explore the underlying drive behind imperialistic inhumanity. The Heart of Darkness is about clashing cultures, about whites who think they have the right to totally control the lives of blacks. In his novel Conrad shows how Africa, known as the dark continent to the colonizers, represents all that the British Empire does not wish to see about itself: its fearful dark interior; it's damaging colonial policies; its superiority, prejudice, racism, inhumanity and its violation of basic human rights. For Conrad, British Imperialism in Africa comes to represent the shadow side of the human soul, the dark, forbidden side that most of us don't want to acknowledge. Conrad's novel shows how this dark side shows up when humans come into contact with something other than that which they know well, like the unknown of the African continent. The fear that surfaces in British imperialists springs from the depths of their own hidden inner selves.

In Heart of Darkness Conrad explores many aspects of our shadow side: duplicities that dominate human thinking of a group, ideas about slavery, darkness of heart, the unnatural, horrors below the surface, greed, exploitation, profiting, surviving, thriving at the expense of others, inhumanity, atrocities, and extermination. All these were factors in British imperialism in Africa. Often Conrad creates an ironic tone, using the grandiose language of empire itself, to undermine imperial logic, as in this description of the Thames as the voyage begins:

hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearing of a spark from the sacred fire. What greatness had not floated on the ebb of the river into the mystery of an unknown earth!...The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires." (Conrad 67)

Seeming greatness has embarked from this river, yet what smallness lies beneath, says Conrad. Then, as the sun sets, the narrator Marlow adds, in ironic contrast to the image of light, "And this also... has been one of the dark places of the earth." (Conrad 68)

Here at the start of his tale, Conrad acknowledges, through Marlow, that the intent of empire builders was far other than to bring religion and civilization to the dark continent:

They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force -- nothing to boast of... since your strength is just an accident arising from…


Cite this Document

Join thousands of other students and "spark your studies."

Sign Up for FREE
Related Documents

Studyspark Study Document

British Occupation of India Was

Pages: 6 (1828 words) Sources: 8 Subject: History - Asian Document: #65776148

Fielding suffers from a strong attachment to English literalism and rationalism, in which he feels himself obligated to support British colonialism because it is not only inevitability but also a positive influence upon India. Aziz allows suspicion to harden into grudges and a strong feeling of distain for both the British and loyalists. Even when Aziz is ultimately acquitted the reaction of the individuals involved in the case reveals

Studyspark Study Document

Britain and France's Imperialism and

Pages: 10 (3144 words) Sources: 10 Subject: History - Israel Document: #75711288

At the start of the 20th century, France was still bitter about their loss of power in Egypt and continued fighting for African lands, including Morocco. Further fighting erupted over the canal, now between Britain and the newly alligned Germany and Turkey; however, the attempts at seizure were not successful. Soon after, France divided up a large portion of the Ottoman empire with Britain after the fall of Turkey in

Studyspark Study Document

British Raj Is One of

Pages: 6 (1956 words) Sources: 6 Subject: Literature - Latin-American Document: #58947379

Moreover, "corruption and inefficiency have exacerbated problems," ("Fidel Castro: Cuba's Communism Not Working" 2010). Because of the problems currently plaguing Cuba, communism is likely wane gradually by an opening of Cuba's markets even if American-style capitalism is not the replacement. The rise and fall of communism in Cuba has taken place over a relatively short period of time in human history: less than a century. Because of this, the

Studyspark Study Document

Historic Imperialism

Pages: 4 (1497 words) Sources: 8 Subject: Government Document: #60236139

imperialism is necessary for cultures to progress. The United States is not often thought of as an imperialistic nation, because we like to think that we would not subjugate or take over other countries. However, that is just what we did when our forefathers came to this country and shoved aside the Native Americans. We subjugated and eradicated a culture and way of life, and that is the textbook

Studyspark Study Document

Presumption, Often Promulgated by Scholars

Pages: 10 (4661 words) Sources: 12 Subject: Economics Document: #43906482

They goal for globalization is to increase material wealth and the distribution of goods and services through a more international division of labor and then, in turn, a process in which regional cultures integrate through communication, transportation and trade. The overall theory is that if countries are tied together cooperatively economically, they will not have needed to become political enemies (Smith 2007). Notice the continuum here -- globalization, like

Studyspark Study Document

India Cultural Identity Challenges Many

Pages: 4 (1263 words) Sources: 4 Subject: History - Asian Document: #31631372

Over a period of time, the Ayurveda medicine lost its importance and today, its benefits are lost to the entire world. The power of herbs was not passed on to subsequent generations and so, the Indian society continues to use the form of medicine introduced by the British instead of relying on its indigenous herbs. This is another example of the decentering of culture due to British influence. Besides,

Join thousands of other students and

"spark your studies".