Political Cartoons

Imperialist England

This cartoon depicts John Bull of England with tentacle arms reaching out toward various countries all throughout the world. It is symbolic of the phrase, "the sun never sets on the British empire." Britain occupied territory on nearly every continent which made it so that the sun was always shining on at least one section of the British empire. This is a satire of England, mainly due to the fact that the artist chose to depict Bull as an octopus, which is commonly perceived to be a savage beast. I think that this piece is effective because it illustrates how much power the British truly had at that point, and with two countries already being constricted by the tentacles, it also shows how little compassion the British government had for the lands it ruled.

The White Man's Burden

Based off of the widely read poem by Rudyard Kipling, the cartoon shows a white adventurer carrying a wild beast over his shoulder. The white man is labeled with "U.S." written on his canteen, so he is representing the imperialist United States during the late nineteenth century. The beast he is carrying represents African civilians, which shows that Americans perceived Africans to be uncivilized monsters. He is carrying him to the school house because Europeans believed that it was their responsibility to educate and civilize the monsters of Asia. The American flags in the background show that the land is occupied by America. The man is shown going uphill to emphasize the struggle it took to force the natives into the schools the U.S. established there. I feel that this piece could also be criticizing "The White Man's Burden" because the beast does not appear to want to be educated , and it is not right for the man to be carrying it to the school house against its will.

Introduction

Chapter 27: The West and the World

Imperialism in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Europe

With the expansion and urbanization of the Western world, nineteenth-century aggressive European powers were intent on controlling the forces outside of the parameters of their continental boundaries. European economies were booming from the Industrial Revolution, thus giving leaders the ability to improve their own systems of trade, but were able to invest money to improve the trade systems of the countries they conducted business with. However, other countries such as Britain were more concerned with achieving domination over foreign soil through force. The age of imperialism displayed a rapid shift in how the nations of the world operate with one another, as schemes such as protective tariffs effectively ruined the economy of nations such as India. The forces of Europe were not prepared to simply allow the other powers to get ahead, so the European leaders held the Berlin conference to distribute African lands among each other. This displays how determined Europe was to occupy the entire continent of Africa. The imperialist movement was an important change for the Europeans because they were no longer fighting each other for land, but rather trying to take land from weak, uncivilized societies overseas.

Chapter Objective:

• Give the reader an in-depth understanding of imperialism in nineteenth-century Europe
• Connect events and figures from the imperialist movement with events and figures from various times and locations
• Analyze images and texts reflective of the time period
• Offer opinions and reflections regarding imperialism

Essential Question:

What caused Europeans to begin searching overseas to build their political empires?

Industrialization had been booming, and technology was improving quickly. With technological advances, Europeans were able to overcome obstacles that had once blocked their paths. The establishment of railroads connecting major cities to ports and the invention of the steam engine for ships drastically improved transportation.To make the trip from Europe to Africa was now much faster and safer, and the threat of disease was far less deadly due to the improvements in health and medicine. European leaders became aware that it was much easier to travel overseas, and decided to begin sending troops to occupy foreign lands. Many Europeans preferred this method of conquest because the people living overseas were weak and uncivilized, making the struggle for occupation far less difficult than if they were contending with another European nation for land.