British colonial and postcolonial history
Outpost 2nd Hut
www.ekpyrosis.de
"The White Man's Burden" (Rudyard Kipling) - the sense of responsibility to share and spread the 'benefits' of European culture
Isolation and loneliness of colonists
Elephant
"Going native" - Colonial officers assuming native customs
Circumstance
organization in a central state Meeting
Christianity and 'salvation'
Circumstance technological progress
Western bigotry and racism
Outpost
... to "bring civilization"
2nd Hut
protect people from famine and civil war
Horse Lack of communication Path
Colonial encounters Mimicry - the adoption or mimicking of Western ideals and customs by the colonial people
Meeting Muhammad Ali in Good Advice
Justifications of colonial ideology
Destruction of native cultures
Picture: "Britannia and her children"
Social Darwinism - the idea that it is the natural right of stronger peoples to dominate others
The Atlantic Triangle
to strengthen Britain's role in the world
Meeting and Path Christian missionaries: suppression of tribal religions and 'superstitions'
Migration of Europeans to colonies
Black Madonna Jeans "Hybridity"
Fanatic Parvez in Fanatic
Colonialism Windrush generation - people from the Caribbean moving to England in the 1950s-1960s
Interests of the colonial powers
economic interests
tea, sugar, cotton, minerals, spices, tobacco, ...
raw materials from the colonies
Outpost
colonies as markets for products most famous example: cloth made from cotton imported from India
Immigration from the colonies to Britain
Integration
Slavery abolished in the Empire in 1833
slave trade (abolished in the Empire in 1807)
M. Gandhi's boycott of British cloth as a means of protest
multicultural society in Britain Black Madonna
Racism, bigotry and exclusion Good Advice "mixed races"
Fanatic
military interests
Civil war and conflicts
control of trade routes
Africa
Homegrown terrorism London bombings Jeans
Post-colonial reverberations
Isreal and Palestine
generation conflicts - 1st versus 2nd generation immigrants
control of large portions of the continents
colonies for settlement
British colonial and post-colonial history
India and Pakistan: Hindus against Muslims
2nd Hut
control of strategic points of interest, e.g. Cape of Good Hope, the Suez Canal, Falkland Islands, ...
"The flag follows trade" new forms of expression - e.g. Dub poetry
Outpost
early short stories - told by Europeans for Europeans stressing the exotic and foreign element
Circumstance Elephant 2nd Hut Meeting Horse
later short stories - told by native people for native people - use of language and forms of story-telling to stress their identity
Late 16th century: Colonies in Northern America and the Caribbean
Art and culture History of the Empire Short stories characteristics (E.A. Poe)
Jeans the role of women Good Advice
Path can be read in one session
Good Advice
Beginnings
1617: Jamestown in New England founded Britain is strongest naval power, role of the global policeman
East India Company rule in India American revolution and loss of the 13 American colonies in 1783 (end of the "First Empire")
"The sun never sets on the British Empire" global economic and military power
brevity
deals with one particular conflict or theme
Britain's imperial century (1815-1914), "Second Empire" under Queen Victoria
condensed narration: every detail can be important, must be read closely
"Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves..."
the Raj in India - the "Crown Jewel" of the Empire, Queen Victoria is "Empress of India" "Scramble for Africa" / "From Cape to Cairo": British colonies in Africa
2nd hut Cecil Rhodes and Rhodesia
Opium wars in China
usually begins "in medias res" (without a long introduction)
structure Dominions: autonomous states under British sovereignty - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, ...
often has an open ending or a surprise ending with a twist
Decolonization and decline of the Empire
often shows a "slice of life", a pivotal point in a person's life use of symbols and telling names
Commonwealth of Nations
Following WW I
Independence of Ireland
Following WW II - Britain was virtually bankrupt, could not afford to uphold most of its colonies
1947: Independence of India and Pakistan (partition) 1960s: Decolonization of Africa 1997: Return of Hong Kong to China
eg. The American in Horse, Muhammad Ali in Advice, etc.
sometimes use of 'flat' characters
Colonies today: Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, British Indian Ocean Territory, ...
