TACTICS OF RULEEuropean Imperialism: Introduction

SQ Section IIIPart 4

Introduction to the Excerpts: New imperialism

• The question of colonialism evolved during the 1880s• Europe, Japan, and the United States entered into a period of renewed

imperialism– Europeans divided up most of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific islands

• More than ________million square miles of land were seized by Europeans in the decades leading up to World War I– ________million people fell subject to new European rule

• New imperialism enjoyed the popular support of _______________– Previous forms of colonization and imperialism did not have this solid

foundation• The scramble for Africa almost led to war in Europe

– The Berlin Conference laid the ground rules for continued European colonization and subjugation of Africa

• New imperialism persisted in Europe through the first half of the 20th century

10500

nationalism

HERBERT SPENCER and SOCIAL DARWINSIM: Justification for Imperialism

Imperial justifications• Many European states relied on __________________________to justify the

new empires– ______________________________heavily advocated the use of Social Darwinism– Spencer assumed that technologically advanced civilizations enjoyed a superiority

over other cultures• The __________ used their civilizing mission as a rationale for their

expanding empire– _____________relied on spreading their culture– The ____________heavily advocated the “white man’s burden”

• King Leopold (1832-1905) of Belgium developed a new round of empire building– Belgium seized Congo in the early ________s– Leopold ostensibly sought to bring modern technology and civilization to the

Congo Free State• The Belgian king actually had purely economic and commercial interests for

the African region– Historians have termed Leopold’s rule of Congo a virtual

___________________________

Social DarwinismHerbert Spencer

FrenchGermans

British

1880

holocaust

The excerpts themselves• __________________(1873-1924) wrote King Leopold’s

Rule in Africa (1904)– This book details the disease, slaughter, and depopulation

synonymous with Belgium’s rule of Congo• The __________________________in __________ had

already confirmed the facts of Morel’s book– These scandals did not stymie colonialism either in Congo or other

locations• _____________________(1903-1950) penned “Shooting an

_____________” in ___________– This short story describes the relationship between a subject

community and its imperialists– Orwell specifically focuses on Burma from 1922 to 1927

Edmund Morel

Investigative Commission 1903

George OrwellElephant 1936

Background InformationEdmund Morel

• Edmund Morel worked as a British _______________ in the Congo– Morel first realized that slave labor was involved in Congo in

__________– In ______________, he observed only guns and bullets being

loaded onto ships headed for the Congo• These same ships had returned with ivory and other valuables

• Morel first published the expose, ___________________________, in __________– The _______ book _________________________in Africa

continued the ideas from this work• He collected his facts from his own experiences as well as

interviews with Belgian imperial _________________

journalist

1897Antwerp

“The Black Man’s Burden” 19031904 King Leopold’s Rule

bureaucrats

Forced Labor and Depopultion: Effects on Congo

• ______________became widespread throughout Congo during Belgian rule

• ___________________ included slaughter, emigration, sickness, poverty, despair, and child neglect– ________________accompanied the slaughter of Congolese

citizens– Morel blamed the system of oppression for causing

__________________– __________________closely followed the poverty– Years of Belgian tyranny led to a hopeless despair and mental

depression among the Congolese– The mistreatment of women led to _______________

Forced labor

DEPOPULATION

mutilation

sicknessstarvation

child neglect

DEPOPULATION Effects on Congo

• Depopulation and ___________________had enormous effects for Congo

• Depopulation often occurred through the torture of _____________– Women were dragged from their homes for forced

labor requisitions• Belgian officials often __________________women to put

pressure on men to supply rubber or food taxes• Some women starved in prison along with their children

– Pregnant women were not spared this terrible treatment• Belgian soldiers often took advantage of these female

hostages

Infant mortality

women

kidnapped

DEPOPULATION Effects on Congo

• Young children experienced similar neglect and mutilation

• Most children did not survive this terrible situation

• One Belgian official declared that the Congolese who possessed “the __________ to show their stumps to the missionaries” deserved such treatment

• This official served in the Belgian House

bad taste

Responses to the events• Morel wondered how civilized people could allow their

governments to remain inactive in the face of such atrocities– The incidents in Congo harbored back to the horrors of the slave trade– These events even exceeded the violence of Arab slave catchers

• The Congo government boasted of its success– Tribal _____________ stopped and the sale of tribal prisoners of war

had ceased– Morel believed that the domestic African slave had much better

prospects than the __________________enslavement of the Congolese by the Belgians

• Belgium M & Ms: they believed this system to be “____________and ______________regeneration”– Morel saw it as an invasion of primitive rights unparalleled in the world– The _______________and ________________of the Congolese people

faced utter destruction

warfare

de facto

Moral material

social ties family life

Responses to the eventsOnly __________________

(1809-1898) could have found an adequate phrase to describe the inhumanity present in the CongoGladstone served _______

terms as the British prime minister

He also spoke against the ____________ brutalities in the Balkans in the ________ and in __________ in the 1890s

William Gladstone

4

Turkish

1870sArmenia

It’s “the NEGATION of GOD!”

Reasons for the atrocities• Morel sought to understand the reason for the Congolese suffering

– They had committed no crime for which they needed to be punished– Morel thought that the suffering might serve as a further warning to Europe

• The journalist hoped that the Congolese would soon rise up in revolt– Morel wondered about the effects of the development of brains as well as brawn

in Africa– He then shifted away from the future, as humans can gain nothing from

conjecture• Belgium remained morally responsible for the events in the Congo

– The country of Belgium suffered as a result• Even if the policies of the Congo State had been rational, they still would have

been condemned– The Congo Free State could never have been a white man’s country– The region consisted of individuals working as part of their own selfishness– Only the fanaticism of dividends enticed the Congolese to work

• European powers suffered stupidity and inhumanity by not stopping the extermination of the Congo

The Belgian Investigative Commission

• The Belgian Investigative Commission released its report in ________– Rumors had already spread regarding the Belgian

treatment of the Congolese people• The report supported ___________________’s

works of 1903 and 1904• A drastic decline in ________________ resulted

from the Belgian occupation of the inappropriately named Congo Free State

1903

Edmund Morel

population

DemiTranslationThe Belgium government retains absolute control over the

Congo Free State. Economic conditions have become stagnant and natives often cannot move. Some are granted permission to visit a neighboring village for a short time. Breaking these regulations results in arrest or punishment and the demands of agents are often excessive, as they have personal stakes in rubber yields.

A native often has to march one to two days before he can reach parts of the forest with rubber vines. The native spends a few days in this region without food or his family, exposed to the elements of weather and natural predators. Natives barely get to spend more than three consecutive days in their village as forty hours must be worked per month.

DemiTranslationBrutal officials take hostages, imprison chiefs, and force the

quartering of soldiers. The punishments and military expeditions cannot be denied. Women are imprisoned; chiefs are made to do degrading work; rubber collectors are flogged. Black officials commit brutalities.

Evidence and official reports have provided substance to the rumors of murders carried out by black soldiers. We cannot say for certain how many murders have been carried out. 142 black soldiers have killed in a desire for revenge. The official reports concerning punitive expeditions include phrases like ‘‘energetic measures’’ and ‘‘great abuses.’’ These reports also indicate that men, women, and children have been shot as they try to escape our own soldiers.

George Orwell: “Shooting an Elephant”

BACKGROUND: “Shooting an Elephant”

British history– Photographs exist of British troops arriving in ___________________,

Burma in ________– The British made Burma a province in __________

The narrative• “Shooting an Elephant” related the awkward position of young

colonial ___________________– _____________________served in this position in Burma– Colonial administrators did not know local _______________ but had to

assert themselves as part of the foreign ruling elite• This internal debate caused Orwell to decide to shoot the elephant

in the story– Some European imperialists believed that the elephant was worth more

than any Burmese villagers it could kill

Mandalay 18851886

administratorsGeorge Orwell

customs

Setting the stage• Large numbers of people hated Orwell when he served in __________________ in

Lower Burma– Orwell was never again important enough for people to hate him– He worked as sub-divisional police officer of Moulmein

• Orwell experienced an aimless, anti-European bitterness

• No Burmese had the nerve to start a riot– They did commit small infractions like ___________________________on European women

in bazaars– The Burmese baited police officers whenever no real danger was present

• One Burman _________________Orwell up on a football field and the Burman referee looked the other way

• The crowd subsequently laughed at this obvious infraction– Orwell faced “____________________________” everywhere

• The constant insults got under Orwell’s skin• Young _________________________mounted the worst verbal assaults at Orwell• Several thousand priests lived in Moulmein• Orwell believes that the men had nothing more to do than stand on street corners shouting insults at

Europeans

Moulmein

spilling betel juice

tripped

Sneering yellow facesBuddhist priests

Perplexed and Upset: Orwell• Orwell determined that _______________was an evil thing and that he needed

to leave his job as soon as possible– Orwell secretly supported the Burmese in their efforts against the British

• He hated his job much more than he could articulate in his short story– Orwell experienced the dirty work of empire up close– Orwell felt guilty when he saw the dirty prisoners huddled in lock-up cages and men

whose buttocks were scarred from floggings• Orwell had to sort out these problems in silence since he was young and ill-

educated– He had no idea that the British Empire was declining at that point– The empires that supplanted the British Empire do not live up to the latter’s splendor– Orwell found himself stuck between hatred for the empire and a dislike for colonial

subjects• He despised the ________________________as a tyranny• Orwell also wanted to stab ______________________with bayonets

• These feelings naturally resulted from imperialism– Any off-duty Anglo-Indian official would confirm such emotions

imperialism

British RajBuddhist priests

The day of the elephant affair• The shooting of the elephant granted Orwell a glimpse into

the real nature of imperialism• The sub-inspector of a police station across town called Orwell

one morning with news of a rampaging elephant– At the time, the elephant was destroying the bazaar– The sub-inspector asked for Orwell to come handle the situation

• Orwell wanted to see the situation for himself

• He rode on a pony to the police station– Orwell brought his _____________________with him

• The rifle was not powerful enough to kill the elephant– Orwell thought the noise might terrify the elephant

– Various Burmans stopped Orwell on his way to the situation• The elephant was tame but had entered must

.44 Winchester

The day of the elephant affair• The animal broke its chain the previous night and escaped

– The _____________had set out in pursuit of the elephant in the wrong direction• Only the mahout could control the elephant in must• At the time of the incident, the mahout was _________hours away

– The elephant suddenly reappeared in town the morning of the shooting

• The Burmese people had no weapons to defend themselves against the elephant– A bamboo hut had already been destroyed– The elephant had also killed a cow and raided fruit-stalls– A municipal garbage van had been overturned by the elephant– The driver escaped before he was dealt damage

mahout

12

• The Burmese sub-inspector and Indian constables waited for Orwell’s arrival– The neighborhood was very poor, containing bamboo huts with thatched

palm-leaf roofs– The morning was cloudy and stuffy, as it marked the beginning of the rains– The local Burmans did not provide useful information as to the location of the

elephant• Stories always become vague when examined closely in the East

• Orwell did not believe the story about the elephant until he heard nearby cries– He approached an old woman shooing away children from a scene

• Children gathered around the dead body of a black_____________________coolie– The elephant had come upon him from the corner of his hut– The animal wrapped the man in his trunk, stepped on his back, and crushed

the Indian

The day of the elephant affair

Dravidian

Preparing for a shooting• Orwell immediately ordered an orderly to get an elephant rifle

from a nearby friend’s house after seeing the dead man– Orwell also sent his pony back to prevent it from going mad after

smelling the elephant– The orderly soon returned with a rifle and five cartridges

• Burmans arrived and reported that the elephant was in a paddy field just a few hundred yards away– Almost the whole local population followed Orwell to the field

• Burmans had seen the rifle and thought Orwell was going to shoot the elephant

– The local people did not care when the elephant had ravaged their homes

– Upon hearing the animal would be shot, the Burmans had their interest piqued

– The Burmans saw the activity as both fun and providing meat

Orwell had NO intention of shooting the elephant

• The rifle had meant to serve as mere protection• The following crowd unnerved Orwell

– He felt like a fool marching down the hill• The bottom of the hill contained a “_______________”

and paddy fields 1,000 yards across– These soggy fields contained coarse grass and had not yet been

ploughed• The elephant stood eight yards from the road

– The left side faced the crowd– The animal appeared not to even notice the approaching crowd

• The elephant tore up bunches of grass, beat them against his knees, and then ate them

metalled road

Orwell stopped on the road• He instantly knew, upon seeing the elephant, that the

animal should ________be shot– The elephant looked as dangerous as a cow when peacefully

eating– The attack of must had mostly worn off

• The elephant likely would have harmlessly wandered until the mahout returned

• Shooting a working elephant was comparable to destroying an expensive piece of___________– One ought to avoid this action if it can be avoided– Orwell decided to watch the elephant for a bit and then return

home

NOT

machinery

A change of plans

• The increasing crowd had grown to ________ by the time Orwell made his decision– The road was blocked for a large distance on both

sides– Every member of the crowd thought the elephant

would be shot• While the Burmese did not like Orwell, they respected

him while he held the rifle– Orwell then realized he would have to shoot the

elephant• The wills of the crowd members pushed Orwell forward

2,000

Orwell then grasped the hollowness of European dominion in the East

• The armed _________man supposedly commanded the scene in front of unarmed natives

• The_____________actually led the actions of Orwell• **White men destroy their own _____________ when they become

_____________– Europeans serve as a conventionalized ___________in this role– In order to impress the natives, white men have to act how natives expect in

every crisis– Europeans’ faces grow to fit the mask they wear

• Orwell committed himself to shooting the elephant when he asked for the rifle– Trailing away feebly from the elephant would be impossible– The crowd would _______________ at Orwell

• The white man’s life in the East consisted of attempts to not be the subject of laughter

white

nativesfreedom

tyrants sahib

laugh

Orwell still did not want to shoot the elephant

• The elephant continued beating bunches of grass against its knees– The preoccupied _________________________ air of elephants remained

present• Orwell thought it murder to kill the elephant

– He was not squeamish about killing animals– Orwell had never previously shot an elephant

– Killing a large animal seemed worse to Orwell• He also considered the_____________of the elephant

– A live elephant was worth roughly £_________– A dead elephant’s only value was his tusks, worth approximately £____

• Orwell needed to quickly make up his mind to appear ___________– Burmans confirmed to Orwell that the elephant had been peaceful since

arriving in the field– Going too close to the elephant, however, might cause him to charge

grandmotherly

owner100 5

resolute

The final chapter• Orwell realized the correct course of action

– He should have walked within 25 yards of the elephant to test its behavior• If the animal charged, Orwell could shoot and kill it• If the elephant remained peaceful, the situation could wait until the

mahout arrived– Orwell knew he would not follow these moves

• He was a poor shot with a rifle– Moreover, the ground was soft mud

• If Orwell missed with the rifle as the elephant was charging, Orwell would die

– The main motivation for Orwell remained the ever-growing ________________• Orwell feared being trampled by the elephant in front of the local people

– The only course of action that remained was to shoot the elephant and end the situation

crowd

Orwell loaded the magazine and laid on the road to get a better shot

• The crowd grew still and breathed a collective sigh• The German rifle possessed cross-hair sights• Orwell did not know how to shoot an elephant

properly– He mistakenly aimed several inches in front of the

______________into what he believed was the elephant’s brain

– The proper way to shoot an elephant is to aim to cut a bar from earhole to earhole

earhole

Orwell Fired• Orwell soon fired the first shot

– He did not feel the kick or hear the bang of the rifle– The crowd erupted in glee upon hearing the shot– A change came over the elephant even before the bullet hit– Upon being hit, the animal appeared stricken and immensely old– After five seconds or so, the elephant sagged to its knees

• Orwell fired a second shot into the same spot– The elephant tried to rise after the second shot hit– The animal’s legs sagged and head drooped

• The third shot from Orwell sealed the elephant’s fate– The last remnant of strength from the animal’s legs disappeared after

this shot– The elephant trumpeted as his rear legs sank and he momentarily

jolted upward– The crash of the animal shook the ground all the way to Orwell

• The Burmans ran past Orwell before he could get up– The elephant would never get up again, but it had not yet died– The beast breathed in rattling grasps with his side painfully rising and

falling– His mouth lay wide open– The breathing did not weaken as Orwell waited for the animal to die

• Orwell then fired the two remaining shots into the location Orwell believed to be the elephant’s heart– Blood pumped out of the elephant but the creature still refused to die– The beast died a slow and agonizing death

• Watching the beast be both unable to move and unable to die affected Orwell– Orwell fired shot after shot into the elephant’s throat and heart to no

effect• Orwell eventually left the elephant, unable to stand the situation

any longer– It took the elephant half an hour to die– Burmans stripped the body to the bone by the afternoon

The aftermath• Endless discussion followed the events of the day

– The enraged owner of the elephant could do nothing because he was ________________

– Orwell had legally committed the correct action• A mad elephant had to be killed the same as any mad dog

• Opinion was divided among Europeans– ______________supported Orwell– _____________thought that an elephant was worth more than any

Indians it could have Killed• Orwell was very _____________the elephant killed the Indian

after the fact– This tragedy allowed Orwell to kill the elephant

• Orwell frequently wondered if other Europeans knew he shot the elephant just to avoid looking like a ______

Indian

Older menYounger men

GLAD

FOOL

3.29 MATCHING (pp. 100-101)

a. Leopold IIb. Edmund Morelc. The Germansd. The Frenche. The Britishf. George Orwellg. Herbert Spencer

_____ 1. Founder of Social Darwinism

_____ 2. Wrote a book about Belgium’s King Leopold II

_____ 3. Set off the new round of empire building when he seized

the Congo in the early 1880s_____ 4. A British journalist in the

Congo_____ 5. They talked of spreading

“culture”

3.29 MATCHING (pp. 100-101)_____ 6. Author of The Black Man’s Burden_____ 7. They talked of their mission to

“civilize”_____ 8. They believed they carried the

“White Man’s Burden”_____ 9. Commissioned a 1903 investigation

in the Congo_____ 10. Author of “Shooting an Elephant”_____ 11. His intentions in imperialism were

described as “purelycommercial”—his rule was described as a

“virtualholocaust”

a. Leopold IIb. Edmund

Morelc. The Germansd. The Frenche. The Britishf. George Orwellg. Herbert

Spencer

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

1. Morel writes: “Outwardly the most striking effect is ______________________: slaughter, mutilation; emigration; sickness, largely aggravated by cruel and ______________________ oppression; Poverty and even ______________________ starvation, induced by unlimited taxation in ______________________ and ___________________; a hopeless despair and mental ______________________ engendered by years of grinding tyranny; ______________________ of children by the general maltreatment of women”.

depopulationsystematicpositive

Foods stuffslivestockdepression

neglect

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

2. Morel writes of the devastation to the daily life of the native population and the “crushing weight of ______________________, remorseless oppression; the gradual ______________________ of everything in the ______________________ life of the natives which makes that life worth living.”

perpetualeliminationdaily

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

3. Morel writes about how men were pressured to pay their ____________________ or produce more by having their women taken “away from their homes for forced labor requisition”. Some women were “[seized] as ‘hostages’ and [tied up]”. Oftentimes the women and their

______________________ were thrown in prison together where many died of ______________________, neglect, or physical abuse.

Taxes

childrenstarvation

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

4. Morel writes that the life of the ______________________ slave under the African system is blissful beyond words if you compare his ______________________ with that of the ______________________ serf under the Leopoldian system”.

domestic

lotdegraded

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

5. Morel asks whether they’ll be a future time when Africa will bring forth a “reaction so violent than an era of ______________________ will, for the first time in the history of Caucasian relationship with the _____________________ Continent, arise, never to be ______________________”.

justice

darkeradicated

3.30 FILL IN THE BLANK (pp. 101-102)

6. Morel places the blame on those who did nothing to prevent the exploitation of the Congo saying “the wickedness of this thing is grafted in the fatuous stupidity and inhumanity of the Powers in

allowing the extermination of the Congo races to go on _____________________, barely, if at all, reproved.”unchecked

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

1. According to the report, the Belgians had “absolute and exclusive” control and ownership of…

THE “WHOLE TERRITORY”.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

2. The commission reported that natives are forbidden to change…

THEIR PLACE OF RESIDENCE.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

3. Belgian agents because of their own personal interest in its yield often made excessive demands on the production of…

RUBBER.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

4. In order to meet the demands put upon them by the Belgians in charge, native men had to travel…

• ONE OR TWO DAYS TO GET TO THE PART OF THE FOREST WHERE A FAIR NUMBER OF RUBBER VINES CAN BE TAPPED.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

5. The natives who were harvesting the rubber faced…

• SEVERAL DAYS ALONE, HUNGRY, EXPOSED TO THE WEATHER, AND VULNERABLE TO ATTACKS FROM WILD ANIMALS.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

6. In all the settlements women were…

IMPRISONED AND TAKEN AS HOSTAGES.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

7. Many black soldiers were killed out of…

REVENGE FOR THE VIOLENCE THEY PERPETRATED.

3.31 FINISH THE SENTENCE (p. 103)

8. Men, women, and children who tried to escape were…

SHOT WHILE TRYING TO GET AWAY.

3.32 ORDERING (pp. 79-103)• 2 (1873) Beginning of a lengthy industrial depression

which lasted to the early 1890s• 4 (1888) Kaiser Wilhelm II took over as ruler of Germany• 6 (1898) Britain wins battle of Omdurman• 3 (1878) Beginning of the Anglo-Zulu War• 7 (1899) Beginning of the Boer War• 1 (1869) Suez Canal opened• 5 (1894) France formed the French Indochina Union• 9 (1904) Beginning of the Russo –Japanese War• 8 (1903) Belgian Investigative Commission issues its

report

3.33 CHARTING (pp. 83-101)

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 1. George Orwell was well liked in Burma.

• False—He writes that he was hated by many for the first time in his life.

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 2. Orwell was once tripped on the football field and a crowd of Burmans came to help him get back up.

• False—He was laughed at by the crowd.

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 3. Orwell writes that the only people who supported him were the Buddhist priests.

• 3. False—He writes that the Buddhist priests were the meanest of them all, as they were jeering Europeans seemingly all the time.

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 4. George Orwell worked for the British Empire but secretly disapproved of imperialism.

• 4. True

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 5. Orwell claims to be keenly aware of the way in which the British Empire was weakening.

• False—He writes that he was unaware of the loss of the British Empire’s position of dominance.

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 6. Orwell writes that the British Empire is better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it.

• TRUE

TRUE-FALSE

• T F 7. Orwell claims that his encounter with the elephant helped him to realize the true nature of imperialism.

• TRUE

3.35 ORDERING (pp. 104-106)

3.36 CONNECT THE DOTS (pp. 103-106)

STOP