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| “The White (?) Man’s Burden.” |
This political cartoon depicts the natives of various colonized regions carrying on their backs representatives of the countries who claimed them. This represents the hardships endured by native peoples for the sake of benefiting imperialistic western nations. Further satire is added to the cartoon by its caption, “The White (?) Man’s Burden,” because the question mark is implying that the true burden is carried by the people of the regions affected by European territorial expansion. I completely agree with the message of this cartoon, because from the perspective of modern-day society it is clear that European exertion of control in the rest of the world generally worsened rather than improved the lives of the natives, contrary to the opinion of those who believed in the “white man’s burden.”
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| Alfred Hiscocks, 1904 |
This cartoon shows a colossal Japanese soldier marching from his home country to Australia. He carries with him a bloody knife and a can of brown paint. The knife symbolizes the Japanese use of force to acquire territory during the era of new imperialism. The paint symbolizes Japanese control of or victory over the nations labeled “All Brown,” and now the soldier has his imperialistic sights set on Australia and the surrounding islands. This drawing is an expression of the fear among Australians, New Zealanders and other British subjects that Japan would attempt to gain control over the southeastern part of the globe, which was intensified by Japan’s new imperialistic and military power. I personally believe that the artist was justified in guessing that this would happen, but today we know that the Japanese never colonized the area.