History essay
To what extent did Charles Darwin’s theories of “survival of the fittest” and the “process of natural selection” contribute to the development of racial attitudes adopted by white imperialists to justify colonisation, power and privilege in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
Social Darwinism and the impact on 19th and 20th century society
Social Darwinism is the theory that persons, groups, and races were subject to the same laws of natural selection. According to the theory, which was popular in the late 19th and late 20th centuries, the weak were diminished and their cultures delimited, while the strong grew in power and in cultural influence over the weak. Social Darwinists held that the life of humans in society was a struggle
…show more content…
Colonialism was seen as natural and inevitable. People saw natives as being weaker and more unfit to survive, and therefore felt justified in seizing land and resources. Social Darwinism was applied to military action as well. It also gave the ethical nod to brutal colonial governments who used oppressive tactics against their subjects.
Social Darwinism was useful for colonialists in terms of taking over countries and justifying their treatment of the native people.
Impact of Social Darwinism on indigenous Australians as an example of racial attitudes adopted by white imperialists
The racial theories of Social Darwinism were used to justify settler treatment of the aboriginals, as “subhuman”, “primitive” and an “inferior race”. Social Darwinism accelerated the deaths of aboriginals. Between 1920 and 1930, thousands of aboriginals were used in “scientific” investigations into brain capacity and the cranium size. Australian fascination with eugenics is similar to the obsession of Nazi Germany society in relation to the jews in the 1930s and