Imperialism & Social Darwinism
K.J. Benoy
Imperialism
• “The policy of a state
aiming at
establishing control
beyond its borders
over people generally
unwilling to accept
such control.”
» Encyclopedia Britannica
Reasons for Imperialism
• Old Imperialism
– Strategy
– Economics
– Religion/Cultural
Expansion
• “God, Gold &
Glory.”
Reasons for Imperialism
• New Imperialism
– Strategy
– Economics
– Religion/Cultural
Expansion.
– Raw Materials
& Markets
End of the Classical Liberal Era
• During the mid-19th
century, it appeared
that Britain was losing
interest in maintaining
a formal empire.
• Colonies like Canada
were encouraged to
look after themselves.
New Imperialism
• The retreat from
formal empire came to
an end when newly
industrializing
countries began to
compete with Britain
for global trade.
• Formal control of
markets and sources of
raw materials became
even more important
than before.
New Imperialism
• A scramble for
colonies ensued in the
late 19th century.
• Nowhere was this
more clear than in
Africa, where only
Liberia and Ethiopia
remained independent
by the dawn of the
20th century.
New Imperialism
• When Germany
emerged as a
nation in the
1870’s, it too
demanded “a
place in the sun.”
Social Darwinism
– “Some groups of people
survive and compete
better than others. The
struggle leads to human
progress. Some groups
advance human
progress more than
others.” (From Pierre
L. van den Berghe,
Race & Racism. 1967.
Social Darwinism
• Social Darwinism is
really a perversion of
the scientific notions
of Charles Darwin,
taking his ideas about
the evolution of
animal species and
applying the same
logic to the evolution
of human societies.
Social Darwinism.
• Proponents saw
western science as
providing material
benefits to the world.
• They observed
ongoing struggles for
territory and
commerce.
• They regarded
conflicts between men
as inevitable.
Social Darwinism
• Soft, gentle, kind and
humane groups were apt
to lose out to more
diabolical rivals.
• Man, in the evolutionary
process, bred some races
that were superior to
others.
• Survival of the fittest
ensured progress for all of
mankind.
Social Darwinism
• Social Darwinism was
accepted by most white
westerners.
• Popular non-fiction
included the works of
Walter Baghot,
Benjamin Kidd and
Charles Dike.
• Popular fiction writers,
like Rudyard Kipling
echoed their views.
• Tabloid newspapers
upheld these notions.
The British Empire
• There were two kinds
of colonies:
– The White Dominions
– The Coloured
Colonies.
• Internal selfgovernment was fine
for the former – but
not for the latter.
Imperial Conflict
• Imperial powers were
liable to conflict regarding
overlapping claims.
• This was usually resolved
by negotiations between
the powers.
• Sometimes war erupted,
but this was not usually the
case.
• Coloured people were
never consulted about their
fate.
Imperial Consequences
• For the colonized, the
consequences were often
devastating.
• Britain forced China to accept
Indian opium imports, with
terrible social consequences.
• African societies were often
destroyed, as is documented
by Nigerian writer Chinua
Achebe.
• The social effects sometimes
still persist
Finis