Even after the de-colonization of Africa, the boundaries of the newly born states drawn with no regard to tribal lands and the European and American companies that own the majority of Africa's most resourceful land, are reminders that a form of imperialism still exists. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" depict the 19th century belief that it is the white man's destiny through God to colonize Africa and other under-developed nations. It is up to the reader to decide how each of these works are to be taken, and whether or not they will see the horror of it all. These two publications along with a 20th century African charter demonstrate that the imperialism existing in 19th century Africa

[When] a’servin of ‘Er Majesty the Queen, Of all them black-faced I knew…

still exists to some extent today.

The first point made in the Charter is that the heads of the African States are "convinced that it is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny." According to the essay read in class about the diamond wars and this charter, the destiny of Africa was controlled by Europe and even the United States in 1963, and is still controlled to some extent today. A good example of this is the Ogoni tribe in Nigeria whose lands were taken and exploited by American and Scandinavian oil companies. About two thirds of all the best land in Africa is owned by European and American companies. This charter is an attempt to renew control of their own land.

Imperialism was at its height in this period. In 1897, the year before the Spanish-American War, Queen Victoria had reigned half the world for sixty years. This was the occasion for which “Recessional” had been written, and it celebrated a vast empire that had “dominion over palm and pine,” and a “far-flung battle-line.” The poem speaks of ‘lesser breeds without the Law,’ and it is this law that “if, drunk with sight of power,” must not be forgotten. It is a prayer for the eternal altruistic mission that the white man had been destined for, as well as a hopeful prayer that England should not decline:

The mission for the “white man” was to raise “those ignorant millions from their horrid ways,” and, as it is phrased in the second stanza of “White Man’s Burden,” his purpose was altruistic, and merely “to seek another's profit, /and work another's gain.” As the whole, and especially the fifth stanza, of the poem suggests, the only satisfaction for the white man would be that the deed was worth doing. It was definitely not for material goods:

The true nature of European philanthropy in the Congo is revealed to Marlow by the chain gang and the and the ‘black shadows of disease and starvation,’ left to die in the ‘greenish gloom’ … from the moment he sets foot in Congo, Marlow is clear about the meaning of ‘the merry dance of death and trade’

Some topics in this essay:
Heart Darkness, Man's Burden, Savage Customs, Sudanese Kipling, British Empire, Gunga Din, Twenty-first Century, Barrack-Room Ballads, Man’s Burden”, Queen Victoria, heart darkness, white man's, serve serve, man’s burden”, 19th century, white man's burden, man's burden, serve soldier, “white man’s, white man’s, tommy an', “white man’s burden”, ignorant millions horrid, serve serve serve, serve serve soldier,