Social Darwinism Dbq Essay

During early colonization Europeans felt that non-Europeans lacked knowledge but were still worthy of respect, later we see a shift to imperialism and a more strengthened view of European superiority. Europeans discovered new lands and created several instances of interaction between Europeans and non-Europeans lasting from the mid 1700s to early 1900s. Early interactions were widely influenced by Enlightenment ideals that created an attitude of respect from the Europeans to non-Europeans. However, European attitudes towards non-Europeans shifted from cautious regard to extreme feelings of superiority. This change was also brought on by ideas such as social Darwinism. The increasing feeling of superiority arose because of the idea that Europeans

The theory is that the race that continuously conquers others in competition is the one that will end up on top. This ideology was assisted by artistic movements such as Gaugin’s work in which he depicts Polynesian women naked, that feel nothing as an odd looking European man stares at them (Doc 5). This pointed out the European belief that non-Europeans were uncivilized due to their own lack of preservation and that because of this they were also vulnerable. As nationalism took over European nations, these opinions gained even more popularity and prominence. This tension can be seen in Dr. Schallmayer’s essay in which he explains Social Darwinism and brings about racism consisted within it. Schallmayer makes the argument that some races are just better than others, and that decades of non-European races losing in competition to Europeans just proves European superiority (Doc 6). However, this document should also be applied to other European nations because Germany was a particularly extreme center for racism. To prove this point, a British viewpoint reveals a less strained opinion on the subject. The Earl of Cromer’s memoir provides a positive outlook on the Egyptians ability to learn, but he still upholds his condescending European perspective, by stating that Egyptians would not have the ability to learn if it wasn’t for the British (Doc 7). The document must be examined with caution due to it being an excerpt from a published memoir which indicates time passing, thus making it a possible exaggeration to bring forth literature as a symbol of European nationalism. Non-Europeans were still seen with a condescending and superior attitude even as opinions seemed to