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Mark Twain and Imperialism |
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Mark Twain and Imperialism | |||||||
Mark
Twain is known the world over for his books He lived during a time when the nations of Europe had possessions all over the world, particularly Asia and Africa. Imperialism was the norm and generally people in the imperialist nations accepted it not just as an
economic bonanza but as a responsibility to "civilize" the world. When horrible abuses of imperialism in the Belgian Congo came to light, he worked for an international investigation. He brought the issue to the public and eventually the outcry brought about reforms. He also expressed his views in the way he preferred - the satire. In King Leopold's Soliloquy, he lambasted the Belgian King's policies.
He became outraged when the United States became involved in imperialism. In 1898 the United States fought the Spanish-American war. It began with intervention on behalf of the Cubans, but the American victory in Cuba led to the Spanish surrender of all their possessions in the Pacific. The United States had to decide what to do with them. This began the American experience with imperialism. An English author and poet, Rudyard Kipling urged America to play the imperialism game. His famous "The White Man's Burden," often called the "Anthem of Imperialism," appeared in McClure's Magazine in 1899, and was written to appeal to America keep the Philippines.
President McKinley decided to keep most of the possessions. Most controversial was the Philippines. The Filipinos resisted American rule and the Philippine American War was the result. Forcing the Philippines to accept American rule outraged Twain. He wrote the satire To the Person Sitting in Darkness and commented often to express his Views on Imperialism. See also The Philippine Mess.
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More
fascinating facts from the HistoryWiz archives
and humor, but less well known is that he was an active anti-imperialist.
After his death, his executors suppressed some of his more
political writings and only in recent history have these opinions
become more widely known. 