POLITICS: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

British Imperialism
Hope for a Modern World in Shambles
Andrew Michael Weigler 11/23/2009

The 19th century is often portrayed as an era of savagery and barbarism among the western world against the poor and oppressed colonies, a time of white man's great evil against the black man and the yellow man. A time when people of every racial background but Caucasian were enslaved to make money, in mines, forestry, massive plantations, denuding the natural world of all its wonder. This is simply not the case. British Imperialism and the truly liberal ideals of the 19th century did more for the world than history will ever give them credit for. In 1899 the world was very much a different place. Great Britain, the shining jewel on the western world's crown, holds lands within her Empire that make Rome look like an amateur expedition. From continent to continent the cry rings out "The sun never sets on the British Empire." and "Rule Britannia." And they are correct, for she is the grandest Empire the world will ever see. From Egypt to Afghanistan, Nepal, China, Burma, Australia, to the beauty that is India, and more, all bend their knee to Queen Victoria. Her soldiers, with their modern artillery, maxim guns, and Martini-Henry rifles, control and defend a population that exceeds 458 million people of every race and walk of life. That February, a famous poet by the name of Rudyard Kipling will pen one of the most controversial poems ever to cross our eyes. This poem, "White man's Burden" begins with the stanzas: "Take up the White Man's burden-Send forth the best ye breed-Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild--

Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child Take up the White Man's burden-In patience to abide, To veil the threat of terror And check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain To seek another's profit, And work another's gain." 1 Although he is addressing U.S foreign policy in Manila and the Philippines, urging the United States to take up the burden Europe already has, Kipling's poem can be used to show the general viewpoint of Imperialists, that is, as shown in the lines: "Send forth the best ye breed-/Go bind your sons to exile/ To serve your captives' need;" that it is not a action of evil or depravity that drives the western world to her colonies, but a overarching feeling that it is their duty to help those who are not as enlightened yet, to guide and protect, a view shared by all English Imperialists at the time. Kipling is a perfect example of this view, and the paternal, almost benevolent, actions of English Imperialists. The old saying goes, "They took the tea from India and the rubber from Malaya." But the opposite is true, they brought Chinese tea to India

US, Survey. ""The White Man's Burden": Kipling's Hymn to U.S. Imperialism." History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. US Survey. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5478/>.
1

and South American rubber to Malaya2 thereby improving the economy and bringing to those two places what would become their number one exports and the center of their economies. They ruled over initially barbaric and savage peoples. In Africa genital mutilation was practiced, In India the death of a prince would signal the burning of pyres covered in women, tribal warfare in Africa and the Middle East was so intense that genocide became quite prevalent, Cannibalism was rife across South America, Asia, and Africa, and slavery common as well. All were abolished by these evil, English, Imperialists, and all would return with their departure.3 We call the 20th century the era of enlightenment, but it has really been one of massive savagery and sacrifice, two world wars and their gas, atom bombs, and fighter planes have inflicted more death and horror on the world than any Imperialist army would have ever dreamed or wished. The 19th century was the last hope the world may have had to abolish war, but instead we replaced imperialism with totalitarianism, and thus doomed the world to the conflicts that spread across her to this day. In reality, the 19th century was the truly enlightened and free era, new technologies raced across every continent; Imperialists industrialized their colonies, bringing factories, the telegraph, and the wheel to areas where they had not been dreamed of. In the 19th century true liberalism reigned, where a man was free to write as he liked, and then print what he liked. And why not, if he could print what he liked, could he not open a printing business as he liked? He could do all this without state interference, free in a truly capitalist free market. With our enlightenment and progressivism we destroyed the semblance of happiness that was possible
2

Costikyan, Greg. Pax Britannica: The Colonial era 1880 to the Great War. New York: Victory Games, Inc, 1985. Print

Costikyan, Greg. Pax Britannica: The Colonial era 1880 to the Great War . New York: Victory Games, Inc, 1985. Print.

in the 19th century. No doubt there would be minor wars and rebellions, but none of the great powers were to fight, and no democracy has ever gone to war with another.4 Most wars were minor in relation to the great wars that plagued us in the 20th century, and they were fought against well respected enemies, as shown in the words of Churchill as he described the Dervishes at Omdurman: "Mad fanaticism' is the deprecating comment of their conquerors. I hold this to be a cruel injustice. Nor can he be as very brave man who will not credit them with a nobler motive, and believe that they died to clear their honour from the stain of defeat. Why should we regard as madness in the savage what would be sublime in civilized men?"5 Colonialism and imperialism in the modern day have become bywords for racism and evil but they were not. Colonialism was a drive to bring civilization and enlightenment to the world, for, since when can you not succeed yourself while helping others succeed? As far back as the conquistadors it has been the ideals of imperialist to help, to serve, and to as well get rich. Sure the Aztec Empire was destroyed, but what of the Totonacas? There future generations were saved from human sacrifice at the hands of their oppressive Aztec rulers. We are told that it is all evil to conquer and colonize the world, but that is simply not the case, for it has done much good in many places.6

Costikyan, Greg. Pax Britannica: The Colonial era 1880 to the Great War. New York: Victory Games, Inc, 1985. Print. D'este, Carlo. Warlord A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945. New York: Harper, 2008. Print. Wood, Michael. "BBC - History - British History in depth: The Story of the Conquistadors." BBC Homepage. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/conquistadors_01.shtml>.
5 6

The good of Imperialism lives on to this day, but is dying as we become "enlightened". In Nairobi the Imperialist ideals lived on in one man until 1988. The man's name was Patrick Shaw. Patrick Shaw, an English white man in Kenya, came like many of the United Kingdom's brightest generations to Kenya in 1955 during the Mau Mau Emergency to work for the Ministry of Agriculture. He worked there for five years, managing farms. When he met Geoffrey Griffin, the two worked out a boy's camp and school, sort of a mix between public education and the Boy Scouts, for the sordid youth of Kenya. The school was the only free education in the entire country, and was not subject to state control. It is a model school where ninety-five percent of the students pay nothing, and where most are black orphans. There is little gain for these vile Imperialists to run this school, but they do it, in the words of Shaw, "Because I like it, not because I want t get money or credit out of it. No doubt, I could spend my time gaining a lot of money, but as long as I have enough to live on, I'm not interested." This is the view of British Imperialists, of which Shaw is one of the last. Shaw was also an experienced police officer, feared throughout Kenya by criminals for his get-it-done attitude, when others quaked in fear to deal with criminals, Shaw raced to the scene. Shaw fought for the people of Kenya more than many others could ever claim, took multiple bullets, and did it all simply because he cared.7 Shaw is just one example of the abandoned dregs of British Imperialism, who stayed on in their perspective countries, not because they were making money, but because it was their home, because they cared, because they were British Imperialists. If all this is true, then why is Imperialism and Colonialism given such a bad reputation? The answer is simple: Imperialism shows exactly what a world free from government control and oppression can be like, it is a history that shows what true liberalism is, and a proud tradition that
Boyles, Denis. African lives white lies, tropical truth, darkest gossip, and rumblings of rumor--from Chinese Gordon to Beryl Markham, and beyond . New York: Ballantine, 1989. Print.
7

lead to people like Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan. The same people who would propose to still use Imperialism are those who have been vilified by the school systems, media, and politically correct politicians of the modern world. The same things that are used to explain Imperialism as good are also used to portray it as evil. That Imperialists seek to control what is now the "Third World". It is the motivation behind these actions that are not assessed by its naysayers, who then go on to silence its proponents. Imperialism must be learned and seen in a neutral view, for it is a tool that should never leave the arsenal of the civilized world, especially when we see ourselves as purveyors of civilization and of humanitarianism, both of which walk hand in hand with British Imperialism. Though it may be politically incorrect, it is true of the free world, that we must, Take Up the White man's Burden.