Imperialism and Racism in 19th Century - Assignment Example

Cocker ends with German onslaught of the Herreros in Southwest Africa.1 Cocker seems to agree with the idea that today’s modern world emerged from European expansionist settlements, colonialism and slavery in addition to the fundamental factor that shaped it, i.e. white domination over nonwhites.2In his book, Cocker focuses on four cases of European racial imperialism and its consequences on indigenous people. This paper analyses the nature of racism and imperialism as Mark Cocker narrates in The Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Gold.

Various studies including Cocker revealed that imperial violence often has systematic genocidal constituent. The main objective of this kind of genocide is to establish control over land and manipulate regional environments that suite imperialistic aims. Violence is used in order to eradicate any kind of opposition and ensure compliance from indigenous peoples.3For instance, Horowitz (1976) explains, “The conduct of classic colonialism was invariably linked with genocide.”4Surprisingly, the western political theory managed to keep this white domination unnoticed on both theoretical and condemnation level.

5 Cocker summarizes this account in the preface of Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Gold and states, “The story of how a handful of small, highly advanced and well-populated nation-state at the western extremity of Eurasia embarked on a mission of territorial conquest. And how in little more than 400 years they had brought within their political orbit most of the diverse peoples across five continents.”6Cocker bluntly regards European imperialism as outstanding human accomplishment in adversity, conferring on the subjugators’ physical resources, a catastrophic tragedy that claimed millions of lives and extermination of several distinct peoples.

Cocker regards the European extermination as a single process that is inflicted on tribal society and refers to it as the greatest and most incessant chain of human destruction that has ever been recorded.