India is one of the worlds oldest and richest civilizations, the treasure chest of the Far East, and the desire of all the great powers of Europe. After years of battle it ended up under the control of Britain, making it "the most precious jewel in the crown of the Empire". Yet for India, the rule of the British did not bring promises of rebuilding a nation. Rather, it brought new dilemmas to face the Indian people. The British constantly exploited the nation for its prime resources and yet India had no gain from them. As the British Empire expanded, the wealth, resources and power of India attenuated. Slowly the suffering of the people of India grew. Meanwhile, Britain concentrated on increasing profits for its share-holders and officials, neglecting the suffering people of India and not to mention draining the wealth out of a great nation. Furthermore, new British laws destroyed the Indian industries that the British actually helped create in the first place. Their new British laws were also responsible for an enormous unemployment rate. Finally, India was ruled by a country that knew nothing about them and could not sympathize with them or rule them properly.
India, at the time, had previously supported the Roman Empire under its rule with jewelry, spices and even clothing. It also was one of the oldest, and at the same time, richest places in the world. A huge number of people lived in India making it one of the biggest colonies in the world. After being dominated by the Roman Empire, India was ruled by the Portuguese. However, the Portuguese were only interested in India's trade so they monopolized on it. Europeans' began to see the true value of India. The Dutch then attacked the Portuguese in India and took over the country. Soon the Dutch were defeated by the French and, finally, in 1757 the British defeated the French decisively and then conquered India by using the method of "divide and rule". Before the British victory over France, in the sixteenth century, India was conquered by the Moslems from the north. In India the majority of the people supported the Hindu religion and the Moslems were supporters of the prophet Mohammed. This caused great tension between the Hindu people and Moslem leaders which contributed to the downfall of the Moslem Empire. Shortly after the crash of the empire, local rulers began to fight amongst themselves for land and power.
This exchange of European control sparked a two year long “Great Rebellion,” an attempt made by Indians to end the Raj — or British Imperialism. With the help of Indian princes and many other local leaders, the British controlled over 300 million Indians (Insert Internal Citation Here). The Raj was solely used a...
Colonialism and imperialism was at its peak during the late nineteenth century. During this time, the African continent was partitioned by different European nations. In Heart of Darkness, author Joseph Conrad, explores this nature of colonial imperialism in African country, Congo. European nations were going to these African countries to “civilize” the natives of that continent. The European nations viewed the people of Congo as “savages.” “We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an unknown planet” (Conrad). This description from Conrad gives us the impression that the people of Congo were “prehistoric” and did not develop a sense of civilization. However, the Europeans were in Africa for the exploitation of resources. To the Europeans in Congo, “progress” meant the exploitation of the natives. Through the means of cruelty and treachery and violence, the Europeans took advantage of the innocent natives. Violence instilled fear in the natives and ...
"All the leadership had spent their early years in England. They were influenced by British thought, British ideas, that is why our leaders were always telling the British "How can you do these things? They're against your own basic values.". We had no hatred, in fact it was the other way round - it was their values that made us revolt." -Aruna Asaf Ali, a leader of the Indian National Congress. (Masani, quoted in Wood, 32, 1989)
A nation of tortured slaves with bodies so emaciated one could count the ribs, death lingering in every corner as overworked natives line the ground with their lifeless forms, a people so scarred that evil men are allowed to rule as gods. Unfortunately, the gruesome description reigns true for African tribes that fell victim to the cruelty of colonialism. Pointing out the abhorrent evils of the imperial tradition, Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness to expose the possibility of malevolence in a human being. Throughout the novella, Conrad illustrates sickening images of the horrendous effects of colonizing African tribes while incorporating themes such as a reversal of black and white imagery, the “fascination of the abomination”, and the inherent evil within humanity. Uniquely, Conrad often describes good and virtuous situations or people using the commonly negative description black. Likewise, Conrad also uses the word “white” to describe negative, evil, or unfortunate events and people. Another use of theme arises as Conrad’s main narrator, Marlow, becomes fascinated with the savage people and the cruelty under which they live. Although the situations and people are described as wild, Marlow pays special attention to the details of these people because they are all human, like him. Lastly, the protagonist, Kurtz, falls into deep evils as his soul is consumed by power-hungry and greedy ambitions. Conrad often discusses the possibility of evil within every man if the environment is unrestrained and open to a dictatorship-like control. Despite the main idea of the novel being the evil within man, a native Nigerian professor, Chinua Achebe, greatly criticizes what he believes to be both obvious and subtle racist undertones through...
... British had colonized India for approximately 200 years, there were lasting effects on the country in terms of many sectors, specifically the economical and industrial sectors. Due to India’s non-participation and manipulation of agriculture by the British, some would argue that the British obliterated the economy. Others would argue that the British instead helped due to the creation of the railroad, improved communication and created the beginnings of an industry. The British harmed the economy and industrial sector more than they helped it, and effectively caused the destruction of the economy both in the short term and the long term. The growth rate directly after the independence was less than 1% for almost 5 years (BIC 4). It was necessary for India to rebuild the economy if they ever wanted to be on the same playing field as the other countries at the time.
Imperialism in India British imperialism in India had many positive and negative effects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries, and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases, there were actually both. In India, the British colonization had more positive effects than negative. For instance, when the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is very clearly critical of imperialism. This is abundantly evident from the first pages, to the last, and everywhere in between. Marlow’s begins the journey as naive as the rest of Europe in his time, but is shocked by the horrors of colonialism. Conrad gives the reader a very negative view of imperialism through the setting, and actions of his characters. However, he is not entirely sympathetic of the African people, as he tends to dehumanize them throughout the novella.
The lecture given at the University of Massachusetts in early 1975 was published as an essay in The Massachusetts Review, and later republished in The Norton Critical Edition Heart of Darkness. Achebe’s main theme within the essay is “the need—in Western psychology to set up Africa as a foil to Europe” (“Image” 252). Within the context of this theme he goes on to criticize what he considers a work of “permanent literature”, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
In the article "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Chinua Achebe criticizes Joseph Conrad for his racist stereotypes towards the people of Africa. He claims that Conrad broadcasted the "dominant image of Africa in the Western imagination" rather than portraying the continent in its true form (Achebe 13). Africans were portrayed in Conrad's novel as inhuman savages with no language other than sound and with no "other occupations besides merging into the evil forest or materializing out of it simply to plague Marlow" (Achebe 7). To Joseph Conrad, the Africans were not just characters in his story, but rather props. After reading Achebe’s famous essay and Conrad’s novella I’ve come to side with Achebe. Conrad “was a thoroughgoing racist”; Heart of Darkness platforms this clearly. Throughout the novella Conrad describes and represents the Africans and Africa itself in a patronizing and racist way.
In the United States of America, the richest nation of the world, one in six Americans do not have enough food to eat. Have you ever wonder why there are so many food banks and food pantries throughout the country? They are not simply, as you thought, existent to offer emergency food assistance. Indeed, they are the main sources of food to millions of food-insecure Americans. Food insecurity, the state of not having sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food, has been very widespread and common in America. It affected millions of Americans and has been increasing dramatically in recent years; in 2012, more than 48 millions of food-insecure Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (McMillan). The depth
Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope in 1498. This marked the beginning of
In the setting that Joseph Conrad gives the characters in the Heart of Darkness, Africa was still greatly unexplored by Europeans. It was thought by many Europeans to be a dark place of savages and strange beasts. As the author Gary Adelman writes in his book Heart of Darkness Search for the Unconscious, "As the journey proceeds from the Coastal Station to Kurtz’s outpost, darkness increasingly becomes associated with savagery, cannibalism, and human sacrifice, with Africans as the embodiment of these ideas" (p.87). Conrad depicts his ideas about Africa in this way as well as through the character of Marlow. As author Gary Adelman comments on this in his book Heart of Darkness Search for the Unconscious "Africans, in their free state, as described by Marlow, epitomizes not only the primitive condition of humankind, but also an actively demoralizing influence, which a white man coming to Africa must challenge." (p. 69) In many description located in the novel Conrad depicts Africa and it’s people as being dark and of inhuman nature. "It was unearthly, and the men were -No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it -this suspicion of t...
Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman. Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as "so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness" (Conrad 94), as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life, but he also manages to depict Africans as though they are not worthy of the respect commonly due to the white man. At one point the main character, Marlow, describes one of the paths he follows: "Can't say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I absolutely stumbled three miles farther on, may be considered as a permanent improvement" (48). Conrad's description of Africa and Africans served to misinform the Western world, and went uncontested for many years.
India was the first major Asian civilizations to fall victim to European predatory activities (Duiker 31). With conquering India, the British had various purposes behind it. Their main purpose was to achieve a monopolistic trading position (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). The second purpose was the control of India; this was a key element in the world power structure, in terms of geography, logistics and military manpower (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). When the East India Company continued to trade under the British, huge armies were created, largely composed of Indian sepoys (Marshall). The armies were used to defend the Company’s territories protect the Indian states (Marshall).
Imperial Britain was the most powerful empire of its time. The British would capture any country that they felt had resources to offer. There is no argument that the British made their impact on the way India is today. India, before Britain, was a country filled with groups of independent princedoms but this all changed under British rule. The British introduced English to the Indians and later on started educating the Indians in a Western Fashion. In addition to the language they brought to India, they also brought industrial advances with them. Even though the British took harsh measure to gain rule of India, India would not be as developed as it is now without the British and would not be one of the world 's largest industrial countries