Oppenheimer Film Discussion for Philosophy and Film
Colonialism
1. THE COLONIAL EXPANSION 1850-1914 What is it ? The political and economical dominance exercised Who? Europe: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Portugal and Russia . BUT also USA and Japan by the Capitalistic states: Where? Mainly over all Africa, Oceania a large part of Asia and North America. When? From the first half of the XIX Century to the first half of the XX century. But… Why?
2. CAUSES o FACTORS 1898- The March of the Flag Speech. By senator Beveridge (future President of the USA). What reasons are given in the text? Political, cultural, economical, ideological, social, demographic…?
3. REASONS or FACTORS A) ECONOMICALS Industrialization and Mechanization Companies needed new markets - Where to sell their products - and where to find raw Materials for the factories Increase in production and in productivity Overproduction Crisis X 10 They “encouraged” states and governments to conquer new colonies to impose a commercial monopoly For this reason
4. CAUSES o FACTORS 1849- Northampton Herald Advertisment Carta de Cecil Rhodes (empresari i aventurer anglès) 1895. “ Urgent. Whoever wishes to come to the wealthy and prosperous lands of Australia, either as a peasant, servant or as a miner, will be provided with a first class free ticket (Immigrant Commission for the Colonies)” “ Yesterday I went for a walk to the East End (a working class neighborhood) and attended a meeting of unemployeds. What I saw there convinced me more than ever of the importance of Imperialism (…) We must conquer new colonies to allocate the excess of population that we suffer. What reasons are given in the text? Political, cultural, economical, ideological, social, demographic…?
5. B) DEMOGRAPHIC encourage Millions of European citizens to leave to the colonies. 1850-1914: + than 50 millions) REASONS OR FACTORS High increase of population in Europe Population Any 1800 180 millions Any 1900 430 “ A period of overproduction, unemployment, and misery British 17 Italians 10 Germans 5 Balkans 4’5 Spanish 4’4 Others 13 Emigration to other countries (USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, North Africa, South America, etc.) was an opportunity for Europe‘s poorest.
6. CAUSES o FACTORS Speech to the Parliament by J.Ferry, French Prime Minister ,1884 “ Gentlemen, in Europe such as it is today, in this competition of the many rivals we see rising up around us, some by military or naval improvements, others by the prodigious development of a constantly growing population; in a Europe, or rather in a universe thus constituted, a policy of withdrawal or abstention is simply the high road to decadence! In our time nations are great only through the activity they deploy; it is not by spreading the peaceable light of their institutions ... that they are great, in the present day. Spreading light without acting (…) and seeing as a trap (…), all expansion into Africa or the Orient-for a great nation to live this way, (…) is to abdicate and (…) to sink from the first rank to the third and fourth.” Speech by Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, 1895. “ I venture to claim two qualifications for the great office which I hold, which to my mind, without making invidious distinctions, is one of the most important that can be held by any Englishman; and those qualifications are that in the first place I believe in the British Empire, and in the second place I believe in the British race. I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen. ” What reasons are given in the text? Political, cultural, economical, ideological, social, demographic…?
7. AND STRATEGIC To protect the country’s trading routes and their companies’ policies from foreign competitors. C) POLITICAL, IDEOLOGICAL… Governments and military men Encourage colonization It strengthened the nationalist spirit of the country and its prestige. They got medals and promotions REASONS OR FACTORS because
8. THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE... 1841-1871- Expeditions across Africa by Livingstone, Stanley,... 1871- Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species” 1878- Discovery of a passage between Asia and America 1895-1908- Expeditions across Central Asia 1909- Expeditions to the North Pole 1910- Expeditions to the South Pole D) OTHER REASONS FOR COLONIALISM
9. From: F. D. Lugard, The Rise of Our East African Empire , (Edinburgh, 1893 I am convinced that the indiscriminate application of such precepts as those contained in the words to turn the other cheek also to the smiter, and to be the servant of all men, is to wholly misunderstand and misapply the teaching of Christ. The African holds the position of a late-born child in the family of nations, and must as yet be schooled in the discipline of the nursery. He is neither the intelligent ideal crying out for instruction, and capable of appreciating the subtle beauties of Christian forbearance and self-sacrifice, which some well-meaning missionary literature would lead us to suppose, nor yet, on the other hand, is he universally a rampant cannibal, predestined by Providence to the yoke of the slave, and fitted for nothing better, as I have elsewhere seen him depicted. That is to say, that there is in him, like the rest of us, both good and bad, and that the innate good is capable of being developed by culture What reasons are given in the text? Political, cultural, economical, ideological, social, demographic…?
10. From “The Conquest of Civilization” p.114 By James Henry Breasted New York: Harper & Brothers, 1926 On the south of the Northwest Quadrant lay the teeming black world of Africa, separated from the Great White Race by an impassable desert barrier and unfitted by ages of tropical life for any effective intrusion among the White Race, the negro and negroid peoples remained without any influence on the development of early civilization. We may then exclude both of these external races from any share in the origins or subsequent development of civilization. . What reasons are given in the text? Political, cultural, economical, ideological, social, demographic…?
11. E) Other reasons for Colonialism… or.... ...maybe... JUSTIFICATIONS? E.1) THE CIVILIZING MISSION E.2) RACISM Europeans believed that their civilization was superior and that they had the duty to impose it to the barbarians. The belief that one’s own race was superior to the other races. A belief that could only be proved exerting some kind of political influence over other peoples
12. TYPES OF COLONIES Settler Colonies Europeans settled themselves in the country permanently. They took control of the territory. In time they became independence. Canada Australia New Zealand South Africa Algeria Trading Companies The states granted private companies large territories to administer who were only interested in exploiting and plundering the natural resources of the territories. The natives worked merely as slaves for this companies who employed racist and draconian policies. The army and a military governor used to rule the colony and kept the natives under control. India African Colonies Indo-China Protectorates In theory this type of colonies consisted on independent native governments who voluntarily demanded military protection to a colonial power. In fact, most of these protectorates became so subordinate to the protecting powers that they lost their independent statehood. Morocco Egypt
13. 4.- CONSEQUENCES Exploitation of men and women and of their territories for the benefit of the metropolis. Land expropriation and destruction of traditional agriculture. Colonies were forced to trade with the metropolis with the consequent destruction of craftsmanship. The natives had to pay taxes and had to work in the mines or in the plantations 3.- ECONOMICAL 1.- POLITICAL Creation of artificial boundaries Acculturation 2.- CULTURALS
14. Increase in International Conflicts Cuba Morocco 5 .- CONSEQUENCES ACROSS THE WORLD Crises in the Balkans…
15. Crises in the Balkans Independent territories 1878-1908 Ottoman Empire until 1878 Territory occupied by Austria 1878 Romania Bulgària Sèrbia The Ottoman Empire fell into decline since 1878. Areas of expansion and tension 908-14 Rússia Majority of Serbs Majority of Romanian Many minorities The Balkans became a very politically unstable region because many nationalist and imperialist interest concluded there.
16. The colonial powers also wanted a piece of the cake, specially Austria and Russia. Balkan peoples Turkish Russia Germany Austria Great Britain France Peace The crises in the Balkans will drag Europe to the First World War..
17. The Crises in the Balkans (1908-1914): (summary) The Ottoman Empire was falling into decline and the Balkans became a politically unstable region. The Balkan peoples (Serbs, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians,...) began to fight against each other to control the region. Meanwhile, conflicts between the colonial powers (specially between Austria and Russia among others) erupted for the dominance of the new Balkan states. These crises will finally drag the World towards the Great War of 1914. For more information ( http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/1871-1914/section9.rhtml )
23. Finally remember that Colonialism was: The political and economical dominance exercised by the capitalistic states over all Africa, Oceania, a large part of Asia and North America, from the first half of the XIX century to the first half of the XX century.
