Imperialism reader

The winds of change are blowing all over the world -especially in impe talism. This book of documents and readings explores every phase of this modern historical phenomenon. It is intended for all who may be interested in gaining insight into the scope of an important movement. It is a book of readings in the broadest and most diversified sense, ranging from fact to opinion, from poems and placards to most solemn official treaties, from eye witness reports to newspaper editorials, and much in between, all calculated to throw light on the meaning, origins, and development of imperialism. The opening section is devoted to the meaning of the term imperialism and such related words as empire, colony, and colonialism. The second section treats the characteristics, mechanics, and techniques of modern expan

sionism with a series of excerpts from the writings of experts in the field. As in the succeeding sections, the pieces are arranged chronologically. Parts 3 and 4 devote equal space to the advocates and to the critics of imperialism. The reader is given pro and con arguments by zealous pro ponents and opponents. Parts 5, 6, and 7 treat the development of nineteenth century imperialism in Africa, Asia, and the Near and Middle East. Part 8 describes American imperialism at the turn of the century, again with attention to the views of proponents and opponents. Part 9 reveals the twilight of Western imperialism in recent decades. Here

we see some forty new nations, embracing about a billion people, emerging

as national states. The great colonial empires of the West are shown as being

reduced to a fraction of their former size as the great age of imperialism

gradually comes to an end. The final section, Part 10, discusses the new Communist imperialism pouring into the vacuum left by the decline of Western imperialism. While Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev loudly condemns Western colonialism as "disgraceful, barbarous, and savage," and while the Soviet Union sets itself up as the sponsor of "liberation movements" in Africa and Asia, the U.S.S.R. swallows up whole nations as it builds one of the largest empires in history. We see both the Soviet and Chinese Communist empires as the only major imperial systems which are not liquidating themselves, as others have done, but are still seeking energetically to xpan in all directions.