- At the Berlin Conference in 1885 Leopold's claims were recognized. -Brutality was used on the people in Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, he discusses the cruelties used in the Congo. Southern Africa -Fertile pastures and farm land and deposits of coal, iron ore, gold, diamonds, and copper made it appealing. -Boers or Dutch descendants of 17th and 18th century settlers. -British took over the Cape colony after Napoleonic Wars.
Chapter 20 Study Guide Vocabulary: 1. Factories - Portuguese trading fortresses and compounds with resident merchants; utilized throughout Portuguese trading empire to assure secure landing places and commerce 2. El Mina - most important of early Portuguese trading factories in the forest zone of Africa. 3. Royal African Company - chartered in 1660s to establish a monopoly over the slave trade among British merchants; supplied African slaves to colonies Barbados, Jamaica, and Virginia 4. triangular trade - commerce linking Africa, the new world colonies, and Europe; slaves carried to America for sugar, and tobacco transported to Europe 5.
Boldly described as a “fateful event in the history of fiction” (Watt: 365), Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness delves into Imperialism in the 1890s, loosely based on his experiences travelling through the Congo into the ‘heart’ of Africa. This essay will explore Ian Watt’s essay ‘Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness’ in relation to the veracity of his definitions of impressionism and symbolism, and his application of the definitions to the text. It will compare these with other understandings of impression and symbolism, and against Conrad’s own opinions of the writing techniques. In Watt’s assessment of the nature of Heart of Darkness, he uses the establishment of the narrative frame to dissect the novella’s plot, and provide the grounds from which to begin his critical essay. The act of placing the ‘story within a story’ is categorised by Watt to be a symbolic act, and the content of the ‘inner kernel’ of the story displays impressionistic elements (350).
They made the claims that because they were uncivilized, this was a perfect justification for conquest. Europeans were looking for excuses to make Africa look like it needed European help; this made all African customs seem savage and not normal in the eyes of the Europeans. All of this encompassed the myth of the Dark
In both cases, the slave trade worked to undermine the legitimacy of political institutions and sustain large gulfs between the interests of the ruling classes and those of the common people. Although the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a global system that involved several continents, the trade as a whole was controlled by European middlemen. As Walter Rodney wrote, "Only the European capitalist had such world-wide power, and they used Africans for their own purposes. "[1] However, views differ as to the causes and consequences of the African slave trade in Europe. Eric Williams' economic reductionist argument presented in his 1944 Capitalism and Slavery supported the theory that the move toward African enslaved labour in the Americas was entirely a matter of economic expedience that helped catapult Western Europe to the forefront of a new global capitalist economy.
Paper #4 In Aime Cesaire, A Tempest, the role of Caliban is a monster that is controlled by Prospero who later plots a revolt against him. Through the character of Caliban, Cesaire addresses the acts of British Imperialism in Africa. Throughout the play we see Prospero overpower Caliban with his orders and magic. Caliban is constantly put into an inferior position. One of the key tools to Caliban’s inferior stature is his ability to understand the language of the Europeans’, which Prospero had taught him.
How does Conrad provide a critique on European colonisation in his novella? Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad regarding the imperialism that occurred in Africa, specifically the Congo area. Conrad uses the protagonist, Marlow to show the truth of the colonisation occurring in Congo. Marlow, a curious sailor who is fascinated by Africa received a job from a European trading company and sets off on a journey to the Congo believing the illusion that Europeans had good intentions of imperialism. As Marlow’s journey progresses, he is slowly exposed to the “colonisation” in action.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad provides a bridge between Victorian values and ideals of modernism. The characters face illness, violence and conspiracy and is as much about alienation, confusion, and profound doubt as it is about imperialism. Although it was one of the first literary texts to provide a critical view of European imperial activities, it was initially read by critics as anything but controversial. This novella is an exploration of hypocrisy, ambiguity, and moral confusion. It explores the idea of the choice between the lesser of two evils.
It is merely the motivation that has changed over time, as compared to the commencement of the same. As analysed by Marcus Rediker in his magnum opus, ‘The Slave Ship’; Africans would enslave people for different reasons contrary to the modern stereotype, profit. He highlights how war was a major source of slaves in West Africa, and had gone on much before the arrival of the Europeans. The memoirs of an Italian born French slave trader, Captain Theodore Canot, can testify to this claim. According to his writings, there were five principles for the enslavement of Africans by other Africans.
Conflict also brings out a sense of foreshadowing throughout both stories. In The Sacrificial Egg Chinua Achebe presents the conflict between an African civilization called Igbo and Westernization, specifically Europeans. The story focuses on Katipo, a god of smallpox, ravaging the people of Umuru as seen from the emptiness of the market named Nkwo and the story main character Julius Obi as he indirectly experiences the effects of the evil god. Being of African descent Achebe believes that no African writer can betray his heritage. As the story progresses the effects of the Europeans coming into contact with the Igbo people unfolds as it is seen from the prosperous Nkwo market, the fear imposed by Kitikpa, and the emptiness Julius experiences.