This famous poem by
Rudyard Kipling, written by Britain's imperial poet, was a response to the American take over of the
Phillipines after the
Spanish-American War. The American government in 1898 under President William McKinley, buoyed by Admiral Dewey’s conquest of the Spanish navy in the Battle of Manila Bay, found itself in the unprecedented position of unchallenged supremacy in the Pacific, capable of taking possession of the Islands by force if necessary. There was a caveat, however: the Filipinos wanted independence. To calm his conscience, McKinley adopted the Jingo philosophy that the acquisition would in essence amount to taking up the “white man’s burden”i.e., to civilize and educate the natives, train them in government, etc. It was based on the assumption that the white man knew better. The so-called “white man’s burden” was nothing more than a pretext to justify the cost of acquisition of the Islands at the cost of 20 million dollars, as if the transaction covered real estate and the inhabitants no more than chattel. The cost of acquisition soon multiplied tenfold even as precious American lives were wasted in the ensuing protracted war with Filipino patriots. Branded “insurgents” by American policy-makers, the Filipinos, who had waged a popular revolt against Spain and were on the verge of victory when Dewey arrived on the scene, yearned for freedom after centuries of colonization by Spain. In effect, McKinley’s aim to educate and civilize the natives was to be achieved at the point of the bayonet, as the troops who were later sent to occupy the territory sang ditties about civilizing the Filipinos with a Kragg rifle. In fine, the wars that led to the annexations of Texas, Cuba, the Philippines , which were justified by diverse excuses ranging from protection of territorial sovereignty to defense of the national interest, were nothing more than efforts to expand American territory and radiate power. Often the moral expediency is invoked: McKinley stated that he “took up arms only in obedience to the dictates of humanity and in the fulfilment of high public and moral obligations.” In view of such pronouncements, the pacification campaigns waged by colonizers resulting in the deaths of thousands of non-combatants become an oxymoron. They look at colonies as the “white man’s burden”, betraying their racial prejudice, their belief in the superiority of the white man over other peoples. The “white man’s burden” is portrayed as ignorant savages who, left to themselves, may either perish from tribal wars or conquered by other Western powers. They gloss over the fact that their so-called “burden” may in fact be more educated and civilized than they realize, capable of self-governance, yearning to be independent and free. The destruction and suffering wrought on the hapless Filipinos and on other colonized peoples have a made a mockery of
Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The White Man’s Burden which calls for the white man to undertake the sacrifices of working for the freedom of colonized peoples.
Anti-imperialists like Mark Twain see greed masked as altruism, expansionism as benevolence, intervention as rescue. In such adventurist undertakings, they may underscore the fact that the “best ye breed” – the young men and women of America – are sent to forth to die in distant battlefields for a foolhardy cause.