This source would be useful to an historian studying the nature of imperialism in the early twentieth century it is from a reliable publisher and showcases white ideology; however it could not be considered useful due to the one- sided nature of the cartoon and the limited evidence.
“The White Man’s Burden (Apologies to Kipling)” is a source by artist Victor Gillam and was published by Judge Publishing in 1899. This source is based off a poem by Rudyard Kipling and depicts the rivalry of imperialism between Britain and America and their race to provide civilisation to the ‘less- civilised’. The cartoon shows both figures carrying people from Asia, Cuba and different countries up a rocky hill and on the rocks are phrases such as “oppression, cannibalism, ignorance” this shows how the ‘white man’ is taking the ‘burden’ of these people and helping them become ‘civilised’.
This source could be considered useful as it is published by Judge Publishing who are a reliable publishing company and have been since 1881. They would not publish anything unreliable as that would bring down the reliability of the company. It would also be useful due to the fact that it is showing the ‘white mans’ ideology at this time- it showcases how America and England felt towards imperialism and it also shows the rivalry between the two and the race to the finish line. The source was also made during the peak time of imperialism and shows just how the ‘white man’ was viewing himself and the world at this time and showed the pure thoughts of how imperialism was happening at this time in the world.
This source could be considered not reliable due to the one- sided aspects of the cartoon- it only shows the point of view of the ‘white men’ and not the views of those who were the victims in this scenario. The artist Victor Gillam was British so he made the cartoon show the British in front of America in term of the race to imperialism, however this could be argued to be wrong so a historian would have to find other sources to see just how true the cartoon could be. It could also be considered not useful due to the limited evidence shown- a historian would need to analyse other sources to find out if this source lined up with other views at the time.
In conclusion, this source could be considered useful as the publisher is very reliable and it also showcases the clear ideology of ‘white people’ at this time and how they thought that they were been kind and helping humanity through imperialism. On the contrast, it could be considered not useful due to the British artist who depicts Britain as winning the race to imperialism when this view can be varied and a historian would need to do deeper research to come to a conclusion, the cartoon is also one- sided and doesn't show the side of those less 'civilised' so a historian would once again need to do deeper research to understand all sides of the nature of imperialism in the early 20th century.
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