History Commons^™

"By Any Means, Fair Or Foul": The Tactics Of Britain And Germany In Colonial Southern Africa, David James Moore

Wayne State University Theses

This thesis investigates the use of noncombatant-focused tactics by European colonial powers through the comparison of two specific instances of colonial conflict in southern Africa at the turn of the twentieth century: the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa and the series of conflicts commonly referred to as the Herero Wars in German Southwest Africa. It maintains that the propensity for meaningful shifts in the treatment of noncombatants depended greatly on the nature of the victims (i.e., whites of European descent, as opposed to native Africans) and the prevailing viewpoints on their roles in the respective colonial societies. Moreover, it argues …

Claiming The Mad, Samar Nour

Theses and Dissertations

Mental asylums in Egypt during the colonial period.

An Inquiry Into The Harshness Of German Colonialism In Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, Jessica Rohr

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis investigates German colonialism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It discusses the pressure and competition Germany experienced as neighboring countries also aggressively expanded and as Europe underwent massive and rapid industrial growth. It also analyzes the harshness Germany employed in colonizing foreign lands and the reasons for such measures, such as perceived racial and social superiority and economic need.

Sobering Anxieties: Alcohol, Tobacco, And The Intoxicated Social Body In Dutch Painting During The True Freedom, 1650-1672, David Beeler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the second half of the seventeenth century, alcohol and tobacco were consumed at all levels of the social strata in the Dutch Republic. These products and their consumption were important to long standing traditions and were vital to the Dutch economy. Paradoxically, however, moralists and ministers attempted to curb intoxication by associating it with the loss of one's masculinity or femininity. Intoxicated men and women were stigmatized as morally inept, unruly, and a threat to the family, community, and even the nation. Dutch genre paintings depicting alcohol and tobacco consumption are often described as moral warnings or didactic messages, …

The Congo As A Case Study: The Making Of Unipolarity, Justin Tepper

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current international system has been described by some as unipolar. After World War II, the United States was able to develop and solidify a liberal international order built upon multilateralist principles but founded upon American military and economic supremacy. As a result of the orders success, it has become global. The Cold War is generally understood as the conflict between the liberal capitalistic American-led order and the Marxist-Leninist Soviet-centered bloc. To fully understand the making of unipolarity, however, scholars must shift their focus to the process of decolonization and the intra-NATO tensions that developed. This paper will use the …

Jesuits In The Philippines: Politics And Missionary Work In The Colonial Setting, Francis B. Galasi

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Gendering Of Space In Colonial Burma : Race, Sex, And Power On The Road To Mandalay 1888-1948, Michael Zaborowski

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis contends that British colonials reproduced Victorian ideas about separate roles and spaces for the genders in Burma during the period of British rule from 1888 to 1948. This reproduction affected and was affected by issues of race, sex, power, and identity in the ruling British class and the subject Burmese population.

Facing The Epokolo : Corporal Punishment And Scandal In Twentieth Century Ovamboland, David Crawford Jones

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation charts the history of corporal punishment in Ovamboland, the north-central region of present-day Namibia. Long used as a method for disciplining cattle thieves, rapists, and men who had impregnated women outside of wedlock, the region's institution of public flogging sparked a scandal in 1973, when the epokolo, the five-foot long thorned branch of the Makalani palm tree, was deployed on members of SWAPO, the leading liberation movement in the territory then known as South West Africa. In the wake of that scandal, and in a rare rebuke of the traditional authorities who had long collaborated with the South …

Poesía E Historicidad En Ernesto Cardenal Y Roberto Fernández Retamar, Alberto David Rivera Vaca

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the meta-poetic and historicist thought in Ernesto Cardenal and Roberto Fernández Retamar’s poetry. The concept these poets have poetry is closely related to the historical moment of their times. They ponder about poetry and its function, poetic thought that is nourished by a historical consciousness. This close relationship between poetry and history inevitably includes sensitivity to the social situation in their respective countries and in Latin America. These poets seek to understand the concrete reality thus coming closer to the truth of things. The study shows that these poets, based on history and poetic thought, assume their …

Colonial Trajectory As A Determinant Of Economic Development In Cuba And Puerto Rico: A Comparison, Carleigh Haron

Senior Theses and Projects

As an effect of globalization, the disparity between the richer and poorer nations grows increasingly larger. Colonialism marginalized many poorer, “developing” nations, two of which are Cuba and Puerto Rico. In economic development scholarship on former colonial nations, Cuba and Puerto Rico are rarely focused on as a central point of comparison. I believe that these two islands prove to be particularly interesting to compare due to their distinct colonial trajectories, which are unique within the realm of all former Spanish colonies in the Americas and from each other. I believe the distinctive character of their colonial development translates into …

Exploring Moroccan Identities: The Tension Between Traditional And Modern Cuisine In An Urban Context, Miriam R. Dike

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Colonial Legacy Of Environmental Degradation In Nigeria's Niger River Delta, Joseph England

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nigeria’s petroleum industry is the lynchpin of its economy. While oil has been the source of immense wealth for the nation, that wealth has come at a cost. Nigeria’s main oilproducing region of the Niger River Delta has experienced tremendous environmental degradation as a result of decades of oil exploration and production. Although there have been numerous historical works on Nigeria’s oil industry, there have been no in-depth analyses of the historical roots of environmental degradation over the full range of time from the colonial period to the present. This thesis contends that the environmental degradation of Nigeria’s oil producing …

Rule Britannia: Britain, Breadfruit, And The Birth Of Transoceanic Plant Transportation, Annabel Tudor

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This paper examines the events that precipitated transoceanic plant transportation and British imperial expansion during the second half of the eighteenth century. Combined circumstances forced the British to explore transoceanic plant transportation to make colonies, especially those in the British West Indies, more self-sufficient. Hurricanes in the Caribbean destroyed ground crops vital for slaves and plantation operations, and fallout from a volcanic eruption in Iceland poisoned soil in Britain and northern Europe for years. Wars with France and America inhibited oceanic trade and trade routes. These circumstances fostered the British desire to control its own food supply and resulted in …

French Colonialist Journals And Morocco: A Decade Of Debate Before The Protectorate, Samantha Schmidt

All Theses

After French colonization of Algeria in 1830, the expansion of France into additional colonies was a slow process. By 1900, few new colonies had been added to the French Empire and significant interest in colonization was limited to 10,000 men, the colonialists, who dedicated themselves to the expansion of the French Empire. These men came from the upper reaches of society had had a variety of reasons for desiring French colonialism. Whether for economic or nationalistic reasons, the colonialists formed formal groups, working both inside and outside of government to increase the size of the colonial empire. The journals of …

Confraternity And Community : Negotiating Ethnicity, Gender And Place In Colonial Tecamachalco, Mexico, Annette Dionne Richie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Cofradías, lay religious brotherhoods introduced to New Spain by Mendicant friars in the mid-16th century, were optimal vehicles for corporate consciousness. This case study in colonialism, evangelization and ethnic politics centers on avenues and strategies for assessing, accommodating and rejecting cultural elements from "foreign" groups, as well as the freedom to assemble and incorporate, but also marginalize, others.

Making The Desert Blossom: Public Works In Washington County, Utah, Michael Lyle Shamo

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis is a study of how communities of Washington County, Utah developed within one of the most inhospitable deserts of the American West. A trend of reliance on public works programs during economic depressions, not only put people to work, but also provided an influx of outside aid to develop an infrastructure for future economic stability and growth. Each of these public works was carefully planned by leaders who not only saw the immediate impact these projects would have, but also future benefits they would confer. These communities also became dependent on acquiring outside investment capital from the …

Evaluating The Effects Of Colonialism On Deforestation In Madagascar: A Social And Environmental History, Claudia Moon Randrup

Honors Papers

This project examines the historical roots of deforestation during Madagascar's colonial period in order to shed light on contemporary conservation efforts. Through activities ranging from logging concessions and the encouragement of cash crop production, the French colonial government directly caused massive forest loss. Restrictive protectionist conservation legislation failed to adequately protect forest reserves, instead prompting many Malagasy to use the forests as tools of resistance to colonial governance. Furthermore, Madagascar's convergent colonial and environmental history created a problematic association between colonialism and conservation that has persisted post-independence. I will address the formation of this association and its consequences for both …

Breaking The Chains: A Dissection Of The Caribbean's Tourism Mirage, Megan Nellis

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Clash Of Worldviews: The Impact Of Modern Western Notion Of Progress On Indigenous Naga Culture, Tezenlo Thong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term "progress" is a modern Western notion that life is always improving and advancing toward an ideal state. It is a vital modern concept which underlies geographic explorations and scientific and technological inventions as well as the desire to harness nature in order to increase human beings' ease and comfort. With the advent of Western colonization and to the great detriment of the colonized, the notion of progress began to perniciously and pervasively permeate across cultures.

During the classical colonial period, Western anthropologists, sociologists and others had hypothesized, or at least ardently bought into the notion, that human beings, …

The White Chief Of Natal:Sir Theophilus Shepstone And The British Native Policy Inmid-Nineteenth Century Natal, Jacob Ivey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The native policy of Sir Theophilus Shepstone was influential in the evolution and formation of mid-nineteenth century Natal. From 1845 to the incorporation of Natal into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the native policy of Theophilus Shepstone dictated the organization and control of a native population of well over 100,000. The establishment and makeup of this system was an important institution in not only the history of Natal, but South Africa as a whole. While Shepstone was significantly impacted by the events of his early life, the main aspect of Shepstone's policy remained the Locations System. This system, …

A Kenyan Revolution: Mau Mau, Land, Women, And Nation., Amanda Elizabeth Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya, resisted colonial authority, which culminated into what became known as Mau Mau, led by the Kenya Land Freedom Army. During this time, the British colonial government imposed laws limiting their access to land, politics, and independence. The turbulent 1950s in Kenyan history should be considered a revolution because of its violent nature, the high level of participation, and overall social change that resulted from the war.

I compared many theories of revolution to the events of the Mau Mau movement. Then, I explained the contention for land in the revolution, the role …

French Influence Overseas: The Rise And Fall Of Colonial Indochina, Julia Alayne Grenier Burlette

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis concerns colonial French Indochina, specifically the area known today as Vietnam. Located south of China and east of India on the southeastern-most peninsula of the Asian continent, Indochina comprises the modern-day countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. After European contact, the future country of Vietnam was divided into three main provinces: Tonkin in the north, Annam in the center, and Cochinchina in the south. After their establishment in the Southeast Asian country in the mid-nineteenth century, the French sought to improve existing, and to build new infrastructure to increase the productive capacity of the colony. The more efficient …

Exploring Transient Identities: Deconstructing Depictions Of Gender And Imperial Ideology In The Oriental Travel Narratives Of Englishwomen, 1831-1915, Carrieanne Deloach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Englishwomen who traveled to the "Orient" in the Victorian era constructed an identity that was British in its bravery, middle-class in its refinement, feminine in appearance and speech and Christian in its intolerance of Oriental heathenism. Studying Victorian female travel narratives that described journeys to the Orient provides an excellent opportunity to reexamine the diaphanous nature of the boundaries of the public/private sphere dichotomy; the relationship between travel, overt nationalism, and gendered constructions of identity, the link between geographic location and self-definition; the power dynamics inherent in information gathering, organization and production. Englishwomen projected gendered identities in their writings, which …

Kipling And Imperialism, Deborah Melvene Cooper

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

No abstract provided.

The Rise Of The Banana Industry And Its Influence On Caribbean Countries, John L. Williams

Historical Dissertations & Theses

The phenomenal growth of the banana industry is one of the most outstanding features of commerce during the last half century. Like the banana tree itself, this industry has grown to stupendous size in a relatively short span of time. Why has this business continued to grow and why at the present time is it still expanding? The answer is that the banana has become internationally recognized as a very nourishing food and as populations increase, so must he banana trade increase in order to supply the demand. In order to thoroughly understand the banana industry one must first acquaint …