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Social Darwinism and the White Mans Burden

Background
During the Age of Imperialism (1800 1945) European nations invaded and colonized Africa and parts of
Asia. From 1500 to 1800, Western Europe messed up in North and South America their armies were not
strong enough, they wasted resources fighting against each other, and their colonists (Whites in North
America, Creoles in South America, and slaves in Haiti) rebelled and declared independence. When these
European nations (France, Great Britain, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy) colonized
Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Asia, they were not going to make the same mistake.
The problem is that during the 1800s, many citizens of the mother countries believed that colonizing foreign
lands was cruel, so these mother countries had to justify their imperialism God, gold, and glory wasnt
enough anymore.
So the governments and intellectuals of these mother countries developed two ideas: Social Darwinism also called intellectual racism - was used to explain why poor people, Africans and Pacific Islanders, and
Native Americans were not as successful as rich, white Europeans, and the White Mans Burden was used
to explain the solution to this problem for Africa and the Pacific Islands.
The Englishman Cecil Rhodes was one of the most successful imperialists in British history. He started the
diamond company De Beers, was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (later it became South Africa), and the
country named Rhodesia (now its Zimbabwe) was named after him. As far as colonizing Africa goes, he was
the most famous colonizer.
Your Task
Cecil Rhodes has returned from South Africa to negotiate the sale of diamonds to a new jewelry store in
London. On his way out of his office, he is faced with a mob of protesters holding up signs saying he is a
thief, a killer, and that he will go to Hell. He then asks the protesters to stop yelling at him so he can explain
himself and why he colonizes poor countries in Africa. You must write what he would say, using both the
theories of Social Darwinism and the White Mans Burden as his ways of explaining to the crowd that not
only is he a good man, but that what he is doing is better for Africa than doing nothing.
Criteria

Your response to the crowd must be at least 15 sentences long.

You must explain all the bad parts of imperialism to show the crowd that you understand their
frustration.
You then need to prove how Social Darwinism shows that your method of colonizing is necessary for
the Africans.
Finally, explain how your solution to this issue represents the idea of the White Mans Burden and
shows that youre helping.