The “White Man’s Burden”
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Acquisition of colonies became part of the
European power struggle.
No people could match western Europe’s power
resources.
In the late nineteenth century, industrial growth
and worldwide trade created among Europeans a
new global competition for empire.
The search for vital raw materials, markets, and
investments intensified economic outreach,
leading to ruthless exploitation and domination.
Perry, Peden and Von Laue. Sources of the Western Tradition. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
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Thus started a frantic race to occupy the last
unclaimed parts of the world.
The European powers began a “scramble for
Africa.”
In 1884 there was a conference in the German
city of Berlin.
The European powers gathered there to discuss
who would control which parts of Africa.
No African leaders were involved in the
conference.
Perry, Peden and Von Laue. Sources of the Western Tradition. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
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The imperialists dominated their helpless
subjects; all resistance was ruthlessly
suppressed.
Convinced of their superiority, the
imperialists often viewed those they were
colonizing with disdain, dismissing their
culture as barbaric.
Indigenous ways, not understood and
generally disgusting to Europeans, provided a
challenge to Western attitudes.
Perry, Peden and Von Laue. Sources of the Western Tradition. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
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Their reactions ranged from Social Darwinist
racism to a patronizing conviction that they
were obliged to civilize their subjects
according to their own values.
For some, extending the benefits of imperial
rule over “primitive” people was a source of
deep patriotic pride.
Perry, Peden and Von Laue. Sources of the Western Tradition. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
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