The Black Man's Burden Analysis

For decades we have have been taught the meaning of segregation. Segregation between African Americans and whites was a huge act of inhumanity in the 1800’s. It was preposterous for humans to treat others in an unfairly manner all because of their skin color. In the very beginning of segregation between the blacks and whites, it was crucial on how white people detained African Americans as slaves and sold them like property they were forced into a life of mistreatment and no freedom. They were sent to America through slave trade by the Europeans capturing them. Slavery was found in the rural areas of the South. African Americans had to live in a repulsive cabin with very little to eat and spend all day long working in the plantation while the hot, bright sun beaming on them. With all of this happening,

In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4)

In Basil Davidson’s video, “Different but Equal”, Davidson examines ancient Africa, and how Africans were perceived in ancient and modern times. Davidson discusses pre-colonized Africa and its history, and how racism prevailed in the past and in modern day. By discussing early civilizations, as well as modern day perspectives, Davidson allows the viewer to have expansive information on how individuals view Africans and their culture.

In the late-nineteen century, the term new imperialism became an element of politics implemented by many European powers to impose their supremacy around the globe. Between 1870 and 1914, as a result of the Great Depression (1873-1879), imperialistic powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium, constructed colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa in order to exploit their resources and their labor . In 1880, France and Britain led European nations in the “scramble of Africa,” which divided the continent from 1880 to 1914. After the king of Belgium Leopold II conquered most of the Congo River with the excuse of promoting Christianity and civilization, other European nations caught “African fever.” As a result of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), to which Africans were not invited, the imperialist competition in sub-Saharan Africa began . Consequently, violence became an element implemented by all European nations to retain control and subdue the population. However, in Leopold II’s Congo Free State the levels of violence and brutality were excessively high. As a protest against the cruelty and abuses conducted by the Belgian troops, Edward Morel, a British journalist and socialist, wrote “The Black Man’s Burden” in 1903. In this document, the author condemned the conditions of African people in Belgian Congo, reconnecting them to the presence of European

Frederick Douglass’s “What the Black Man Wants” captures the need for change in post Civil War America. The document presses the importance for change, with the mindset of the black man being, ‘if not now then never’. Parallel to this document is the letter of Jourdon Anderson, writing to his old master. Similar to Douglas, Mr. Anderson speaks of the same change and establishes his worth as freed man to his previous slave owner. These writings both teach and remind us about the evils of slavery and the continued need for equality, change, and reform.

Within the 1800’s European Explorers forced their way through the insides of western and central Africa. Along the west coast of Africa, European nations traded for slaves, ivory, and gold. Africa was under full assault by the 1800s, as European nations competed with one another for control of the continent. Europe wanted to imperialism (take over) Africa and the forces (what they did) that helped them succeed is the new technology, Nationalism, and lastly the most important industrialism.

British and French European countries were considered the biggest winners in the “race” to size African colonies in 1914. By 1885 the only two African countries to remain independent was Ethiopia and Liberia.(Doc A)

This greed grew strong and grew into the establishment of imperialism through the use of slavery. While the greed is still growing the English have know lost all of their moral value and have cast aside the meaning of life for the Natives of the Congo. This hunger of greed allowed the civilized to become the uncivilized “savages” they paint the Natives to be. Mr. Kurtz is the man that the english view as the idol in a way but dies seeing “The Horror”(154) of all the darkness the “light”(68) has made.

She takes all of their belongings and puts them in their front yard, telling the people of Kilanga that they can have whatever they want, that she has no need for anything anymore. Orleanna, Leah, and Adah just leave. Nathan is oblivious to their action of leaving him, and Rachel ran off with the pilot, Eeben Axelroot. When Leah catches malaria from being outside and walking for a while, Anatole convinces some people of another village to let Leah stay there and rest. Meanwhile, Orleanna and Adah hit the road, leaving Leah behind. After a while, the village that Leah was being harbored in kicks her out and says that she can no longer stay. At this time, the people of the Belgian Congo are completely against all westerners, which happen to be white people. The Congolese blame the white people for everything wrong that has been done to them. When Leah learns of this hatred, she understands and takes their side. Leah takes on the burden of the black man. The burden of the black man is the time in the lives of the Africans where they have to defend themselves from the colonizers, or to them, the white westerners. In the poem The Black Man’s Burden, by H.T. Johnson in 1899 as a reply to The White Man’s Burden, Johnson says “Pile on the Black Man’s Burden/His wail with laughter drown/You’ve sealed the Red Man’s problem/And will take up the Brown.” (Johnson 9-12) This excerpt shows readers exactly what the Africans were forced to go through. The people of Africa were taken over and forced to do hard labor with no reward. This part of the poem says that the white men have already dealt with the red man’s problem, which were the American Indians. After receiving word of this, they knew that they weren’t far behind them. By witnessing Lumumba’s speech and moving to the Belgian Congo, Leah sees the pain and suffering that the African people

The only thing Europeans loved more than political power was increasing their trade. In the 1800’s European nations had a desire to get a lead to widespread imperialism in Africa. With the end of slavery in 1833, European interest in Africa shifted to seizing colonies. King Leopold of Belgium acquired a private country in Africa that was 95 times bigger than Belgium and his purpose was to make money by taking out ivory and rubber. European leaders then became aware of two things: Africa was contained with natural resources, and a scramble of the riches could begin a war between European nations. At the Berlin Conference in 1885, European Nations claimed parts of the African continent through rule of occupation. Though they did not consider the land claims of Africans, they did agree to specific principles concerning colonization, which included free trade, and improving the moral and material well being of Africans. Before European nations stayed away from the African continent, and now powers such as England, France, and Germany want large amounts of land of Africa. Several reasons European nations began to colonize Africa included political competition and ideological superiority; however, economic profit was the primary driving force to imperialize Africa.

European countries tried to civilize Africa and succeeded in their movement on trying to imperialize them but only lead the Europeans to making a profit and nothing for the African workers. The only independent African states were Ethiopia and Liberia, the rest was ruled over strong European nations, like Britain and France. European nations ruled over Africa from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, King Leopold was one of the most notorious rulers over the African estates, Leopold ruled over the Congo free state and was considered to be one of the richest near his death. What motivated European nations to imperializing Africa were, money, resources, and nationalism.

Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa is a historical fiction published in 1998 (Hochschild, 1998). It comprises a myriad of evidence to testify the Belgian King Leopold II’s atrocities in Congo between 1885 and 1908 for the sake of capturing the attention of various readers towards the Belgian imperialist delinquencies through a detailed narration of a number of main characters’, including George Washington Williams and William Henry Sheppard, experiences in Belgian Congo (Hochschild, 1998). In this excerpt, it illustrates William’s peaceful exploration in Congo as the first American-Black missionary. During his journey, not only did he explore the Congolese culture,

As argued by Olaudah Equiano, “I doubt not, if a system of commerce was established in Africa, the demand for manufactures would rapidly augment, as the native inhabitants would insensibly adopt the British fashions, manners, customs, etc.” (pg 181, WTWA). Equiano’s vision for a British Africa drove the colonization of West Africa and the creation of new plantations. In this new colony, there was the continued use of slavery until its abolishment by the Victorian empire. To a society who has always seen the value of using slave labor, the abolishment of slavery meant the complete change of their lives. This is demonstrated in the book Abina and the Important Men, a historical account of the life of

Before World War I began, imperialism was a growing idea in Europe. Imperialism is defined as when a dominant country exerts its power over a weaker country. Many European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and Belgium, sought to dominate and gain imperialism over African countries for their natural resources. Germany’s chancellor Otto Von Bismark organized a meeting in Berlin to map out the European colonies in Africa. Britain grained control of the Suez Canal, placed a major naval base in Alexandria, and profited from the cotton cultivation. Belgium exploited the Congo with slavery, torture, and mass murder; the Congo’s population was halved in thirty years. Eventually, the United States sought an end to this imperialism with the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine declared the U.S. would respond if European powers seek to expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere, and the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine declared the U.S. would intervene in Latin America to protect U.S. interests.

Imperialism is the demonstration of extending a nation's domain through the utilization of power, colonization, or pressure. Amid the hundreds of years, vast and effective European nations, similar to Spain and England, set forth significant push to secure and run different nations and domains. For instance, the colonization and improvement of the United States was begun on the grounds that England needed to grow its realm to new regions that could give it more noteworthy force and assets. In spite of the fact that it has a genuinely straight-forward definition, imperialism is really an extremely muddled procedure that has a tendency to unravel through the span of many reasons and numerous races.