Daniel Headricks The Tools of Empire Analysis - Book Report/Review Example

Daniel R. Headrick, The Tools of Empire. (Oxford, UK Oxford Press. 1981. Pp. 232. $29.95. Daniel R. Headrick's book is a staple of history teaching in the United States, discussing as it does, the rise of Europeans in the 'New' World, due to the introduction of new technologies that aided the advent of travel and conquests in these previously unexplored regions of the world. It was one of the first books to discuss this broad topic, but has spawned a new generation of books that discuss these issues - its influence on research and on history teaching in the United States is therefore widespread. In the book, Headrick argues that it was the advent and success of the Industrial Revolution which aided the progress of Europeans in their domination of the world during the second half of the nineteenth century, as the major innovations of this period allowed them to conquer the native civilizations, and often volatile climatic conditions, of these regions and to be able to live, work and prosper in these mostly tropical regions. He argues throughout the book, with reference to many well-researched examples, that pre-Industrial Revolution, the journeying, living and conquering of such regions simply was not possible, as the technology was just not available for this to be achieved, managed or sustained successfully. However, as Headrick argues, with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the technological advances this forged, these technological advances allowed people to travel and live in countries other than their own, such that the expansion of the Empire became possible at this period in history. Continuing on from this general introduction, throughout the book, Headrick analyzes the technological advances that allowed this dominance to proceed, both by presenting a straight-forward mechanical analysis of the actions of the people and the inventions and technological advances involved, and by presenting a detailed analysis of secondary sources, which allows him to offer an interpretation of the thoughts and motivations of the people involved; this enriches the book, by highlighting why people were doing what they were doing at this time, in terms of advancing technology, bringing life to what could be a rather dry historical text. Thus, the text moves forward apace, discussing what could be rather dry historical texts and documents, in a light and easy to read manner. This use of interpreting secondary sources for his own means, to present information from entirely his own perspective leads, however, to several major problems with the text, which will be discussed later in this review. In the book, Headrick spends a long time discussing inventions of relevance in this period; for example, much of the book is devoted to a discussion of anti-malarial drugs and how they enabled Europeans to travel, live and work in the tropical regions. This discussion is not, however, centred around why there was a desire to colonize and conquer these regions and its people; indeed, the book steers away from this subject at every opportunity, almost as if it is something not to be discussed. Yet this is precisely the issue that is opportune in such a tome: in scientific or technological achievements, it is usually the motivations which drive people to achieve leaps of progress, and not the leaps of progress themselves which drive people to want to achieve technological or scientific advancement. It would have been extremely interesting, as a reader, to be presented with alternate arguments for why at this particular point in history, aside from technological advances which enabled travel to these regions to become easier, Europeans decided to travel to these regions - what were they seeking Where did the funds for travel and expeditions come from How did they plan and execute journeys and colonisation strategies A more strategic analysis of the era, in terms of political and economic motivations would have been welcome, as this would have offered a complete picture of the events of the time, which would then allow the reader to be able to decide for themselves what motivated Europeans to leave their homes, in search of new lands and opportunities. With the addition of this type of discussion, the book would be far more interesting, and far less of a dry tome that simply discusses the rise of technology of the era and the repercussions this had for travel and colonization. The book, aside from the points already raised, in terms of it not giving reasons for many of the most interesting questions that arise from this period in history (i.e., why were Europeans driven to conquer other lands), at times show some rather culturally imperialist views, with the impression being given by Headrick that Europeans were the great bringers of technology to the tropical regions they conquered; he says in one section, for example, "Europeans passed on to the peoples of Africa their own fascination with machinery and innovation", seeming to suggest that the 'more advanced' Europeans passed their knowledge on to the 'savage' natives - rather a backwards viewpoint, to say the least, even for a book written over twenty years ago now. It is a sentence which also seems to suggest that Europeans offered a choice to the people they conquered, and that the people gratefully replied "yes, please conquer us, we want you to show us how to live". This is not how the process occurred at all, and indeed, many thousands of the native peoples of the conquered regions were killed at the hands of the invading Europeans, precisely because they did not want to be colonized; theirs was simply a different way of living, not a more basic way of life that needed to be changed for the better. Many of the native people of these regions were technologically advanced themselves at this time; after all, in India, for example, medicine and medicinal practices were far more advanced than in some parts of Europe at this time. It is interesting to note also that certain parts of India were not conquered by the British as the Rajah's who controlled these parts of India had weaponry at least as powerful, if not more powerful, than the British weaponry, and as such, the British steered well clear of these regions. On balance, Headrick's book is a useful introduction to the technologies of the time which led Europeans to be able to travel, dominate and live, in lands other than their own; it leaves a lot to be desired, however, in terms of answering fundamental questions about the 'how's and why's' of how this expansion and colonisation came to be, and in parts could be considered to be insulting to non-white, non-European peoples, whom the book seems to dismiss as backwards and in needing of conquering in order for them to be successful. As such, the book provides a useful introduction to the topic but an introduction that would wisely be supplemented by reference to other books on this topic, and by reference to original research papers; whilst it is a classic of history teaching in the United States, the book is showing its age - perhaps the great Oxford University Press would be wise to commission a new edition, or an edition that, at the very least, comes with an updated Introduction or Preface, so that some of the issues raised in this review can be addressed for future readers of the book. In terms of whether the book is a success, in that it meets the point Headrick was trying to address, it can be argued that, yes, the book is successful under that framework. Headrick's aim, when writing the book, as can be deduced from the way in which he titles the book and writes the book, right from the introduction through all the text, was to provide an assessment of the impact of technology on the rise of the Empire; as we have seen in this review, Headrick explicitly addresses this in all of his presentation, discussions and the arguments that are presented throughout the book. In summary, then, Headrick's 1981 book The Tools of Empire, provides a good general background to the phenomena of the development of technological progress in the second half of the nineteenth century, leading to a discussion of how this leap in technological progress enabled Europeans to travel the world, conquering other lands and laying down roots in these lands which persist to this day. The European Empire, as Headrick points out throughout the book, was built on technological progress; the book presents a detailed analysis of these technological advances and the effects these advances had on the progress and growth of Europeans at this stage in history. As such, as we have seen, the book is a useful introduction to this topic, and can be recommended as a basic introduction to the subject, that should be read with an open mind, in terms of the rather narrow cultural viewpoint it presents, and with reference to other sources, in terms of the relatively narrow perspective it provides on this topic. Read More