Table Of ContentStudieS in imperialiSm
General editor: andrew S. thompson FoundinG editor: John M. MacKenzie
RhetoRics of empiRe RhetoRics
R
h
Stirring language and appeals to collective action were integral to the
e
battles fought to defend empires and to destroy them. This collection
t
explores the rhetoric relating to empire and imperialism in a wide of empiRe
o
variety of geographic, political, social and cultural contexts.
R
Why did imperialist language remain so pervasive in Britain, France and
i
elsewhere throughout much of the twentieth century? What rhetorical c
Languages of colonial conflict
devices did political and military leaders, administrators, investors
s
and lobbyists use to justify colonial domination before domestic and
after 1900
foreign audiences? And how far did their colonial opponents mobilize o
a different rhetoric of rights and freedoms to challenge imperialist
f
discourse? These questions are at the heart of this collection, which
e
presents original essays from twelve contributors, plus an introductory
m
analysis of the empire-rhetoric phenomenon.
p
Chapters investigate the place of imperialist rhetoric in the history of
i
empire throughout the twentieth century. Issues examined include
R
discourses of imperialist modernization, and the language of colonial
e
‘civilizing’, as well as the rhetorical justifications advanced for violent
colonial practices. Essays range from the embittered rhetoric of the
South African War and Theodore Roosevelt’s articulation of American
imperialism in the early 1900s to the rhetorical battles surrounding
European decolonization in the late twentieth century. The volume
t
thus offers insights into the distinctive traits of differing European
t h
and American imperial rhetoric and traces their imprint in domestic
o o
politics and culture. Addressing anti-imperial campaigns as well as the
discourses of imperial assertion used by politicians, administrators and y M
E
settlers, the collection highlights the importance of rhetoric as a form a
of contestation in the politics of empire. ( s
E
Martin Thomas is Professor of Imperial History at the University of Exeter d a
Richard Toye is Professor of Modern History at the University of Exeter s n
)
d
ISBN 978-1-5261-2048-9
Cover image: Vintage World Map, 2015 ©
Michal Bednarek, bednarek-art.com
Cover design: riverdesign.co.uk
9 781526 120489 EditEd by Martin thoMas
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
and richard t oyE
General editor: Andrew S. Thompson
Founding editor: John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded by
Professor John M. MacKenzie more than thirty years ago,
emphasis was laid upon the conviction that ‘imperialism
as a cultural phenomenon had as signifi cant an effect on
the dominant as on the subordinate societies’. With well
over a hundred titles now published, this remains the
prime concern of the series. Cross-disciplinary work has
indeed appeared covering the full spectrum of cultural
phenomena, as well as examining aspects of gender and sex,
frontiers and law, science and the environment, language
and literature, migration and patriotic societies, and much
else. Moreover, the series has always wished to present
comparative work on European and American imperialism,
and particularly welcomes the submission of books in these
areas. The fascination with imperialism, in all its aspects,
shows no sign of abating, and this series will continue to
lead the way in encouraging the widest possible range of
studies in the fi eld. ‘Studies in Imperialism’ is fully organic
in its development, always seeking to be at the cutting
edge, responding to the latest interests of scholars and the
needs of this ever-expanding area of scholarship.
Rhetorics of empire
THOMAS 9781526120489 PRINT.indd 1 28/06/2017 11:50
SELECTED TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES
WRITING IMPERIAL HISTORIES
ed. Andrew S. Thompson
EMPIRE OF SCHOLARS
Tamson Pietsch
HISTORY, HERITAGE AND COLONIALISM
Kynan Gentry
COUNTRY HOUSES AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Stephanie Barczewski
THE RELIC STATE
Pamila Gupta
WE ARE NO LONGER IN FRANCE
Allison Drew
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
ed. Robert Burroughs and Richard Huzzey
HEROIC IMPERIALISTS IN AFRICA
Berny Sèbe
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Rhetorics of
empire
languages of colonial conflict
after 1900
Edited by Martin Thomas and Richard Toye
MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Copyright © Manchester University Press 2017
While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press,
copyright in individual chapters belongs to their respective authors, and no chapter
may be reproduced wholly or in part without the express permission in writing of both
author and publisher.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
Published by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
ALTRINCHAM STREET, MANCHESTER M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 1 5261 2048 9 hardback
First published 2017
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
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For Stuart Ward
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CONTENTS
List of figures—page ix
Notes on contributors—x
Acknowledgements—xiii
Introduction: rhetorics of empire 1
Martin Thomas and Richard Toye
1 ‘The people are grateful’: the discourse of modernization in
the concentration camps of the South African War,
1899–1902 22
Elizabeth van Heyningen
2 ‘We don’t want a pirate empire’: imperial governance, the
Transvaal Crisis and the anxieties of Liberal rhetoric on
empire 39
Simon Mackley
3 Civilization, empire and humanity: Theodore Roosevelt’s
second corollary to the Monroe Doctrine 58
Charlie Laderman
4 Franklin D. Roosevelt and America’s empire of anti-
imperialism 75
Andrew Preston
5 ‘The real question at issue’: Mers el-Kébir and the rhetoric of
imperial confrontation in July 1940 91
Rachel Chin
6 French late colonial rhetoric, ‘myth’ and imperial reason 108
Martin Shipway
7 ‘Boom! goes the Congo’: the rhetoric of control and
Belgium’s late colonial state 121
Matthew Stanard
8 The hard side of soft power: Spanish rhetorics of empire from
the 1950s to the 1970s 142
Andreas Stucki
9 Repression, reprisals and rhetorics of massacre in Algeria’s
war 161
Martin Thomas
[ vii ]
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CONTENTS
10 Arguing about Hola Camp: the rhetorical consequences of a
colonial massacre 187
Richard Toye
11 Extended families or bodily decomposition? Biological
metaphors in the age of European decolonization 208
Elizabeth Buettner
12 Rhetoric of the realm: monarchy in New Zealand, political
rhetoric and adjusting to the end of empire 228
H. Kumarasingham
Index 249
[ viii ]
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FIGURES
1 Berber women grieving over children’s corpses after a village
massacre in Algeria, from the 1957 Algerian government
booklet Mélouza et Wagram accusent page 168
2 The aftermath of the Mélouza massacre, Algeria (unattributed
French press source) 180
Every effort has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copy-
right material, and the publisher will be pleased to be informed of any
errors and omissions for correction in future editions.
[ ix ]
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