2/1-2/8 Summary

In class this week we focused on the causes and effects of imperialism. I really liked Danielle's comment regarding the Boer war in her post--namely, to what lengths were European powers willing to go in exercising their imperial policy? She asks the question "How can imperialism ever be successful if people will ALWAYS revolt?" I agree with her assessment that European powers needed a variety of power structures (like a nominally independent Congo Free State, one-sided trade agreements with China, and puppet rulers in India) to deal with their subjects without resorting to overt tyranny. However, in some cases this strategy failed egregiously, thereby highlighting the paradox of a liberal imperialism--Britain had to wage total war against the Boers with concentration camps, creating its own guerrilla forces, and a scorched-earth policy to suppress the rebellion. Military necessity forced the British to abandon 'civilized' practices of warfare, as encapsulated in the trial and scapegoating of 'Breaker' Morant.