434. Importance of colonization. The part played by colonization in the general progress of civilization is suggested in the following: If elsewhere it may have seemed that colonization is sometimes regarded as a permanent condition which will continue in the coming ages, it is simply because it is deemed one of those inherent relationships arising from differences among individuals which must endure until the happy millennium of absolute equality in capacity and intelligence shall have dawned. Although in the abstract this connection may still long persist, some questions must ever be open. Whether any one people may be fitted for colonizers, or if a certain region be properly the object of their efforts, as well as whether a country has need or will find profit in colonies, and if it can confer benefits of liké proportion upon its wards, must always remain within the scope of legitimate discussion. Such problems must sooner or later be presented to every progressive nation for due consideration and solution. ... Historically, colonization is a great theme; for from the most remote ages colonial enterprise has been potent in both the moral and the intellectual advancement of the world. If at the time the results attained have been barren or mischievous, the correction of their evils has inevitably followed. If one promoter has failed, his work has been undertaken and the better consummated by another more fortunate. One of the most pronounced features connected with all systems has been the rise of liberty. Even under the goad of tyranny and oppression the aspiration for freedom has been cherished, until ultimately the distaste ful bonds have been broken; indeed, the period of existence as a colony has generally been shortened by arbitrary repression on the part of the parent state. ... If the facts of history be well understood, and the principles of colonial policy be accurately appreciated and carefully observed by the statesmen of the future, the stronger, better, and more enlightened doctrines to be developed by them must inevitably inure to the truer welfare of the colony not less than to the more substantial advantage of the nation: in other words, this activity - wherever it exists and under whatever name or disguise - will then accrue to the happiness of humanity. For colonization in reality is only the expression of civilization. 435. Consequences of national imperialism. Reinsch states as follows some of the results of the recent colonial expansion of national states: 1 The phantom of world empire is again beginning to fill men's minds with vague fears and imaginings, and is everywhere a most potent agency for the creation of international animosities. The continental nations ascribe to Great Britain the desire to Anglicize the world, while Russia is by her rivals looked upon as the relentless plotter for imperial power over all. . . . The existence, side by side, of a group of virile and powerful nations happily renders impossible, for the present at least, the consummation of such schemes of despotic imperialism with all the dead monotony and uniform decadence which it would entail. Still, if every act of a foreign nation, by which it desires reasonably to strengthen its vitality and to extend its sphere of usefulness, is to be interpreted as a deliberate attack on the liberty and civilization of other nations, far too much mutual suspicion and acrimony will be engendered in international life. This idea of world empire, therefore, though still a mere phantom, has nevertheless to be considered, if only for the purpose of showing the absurdity of the thought of its realization at the present time. Should the unreasonable international competition which is favored by many extremists carry the day, it would ultimately lead to a world conflict. To counteract this danger we must constantly emphasize the thought that there is sufficient work for all nations in developing and civilizing primitive regions. Each one of the leading nationalities can fully develop its own character and impress its best elements on the civilization of the world, without desiring the downfall and ruin of other powers. 1 Copyright, 1900, by The Macmillan Company. 436. Influence of foreign interests on home affairs. The danger of withdrawing public attention from home affairs, with resultant internal decay, is a phase of the colonial problem that needs consideration. It is to be feared that the present tendency of popular interest to become concentrated on imperial questions and affairs will still further weaken the public interest in questions of home politics, which are themselves of such a nature as to be little attractive to the general public, no matter how important they may be. This danger of absorbing political energies in outside matters to the damage of domestic concerns should at least be noticed and guarded against. A nation that is rapidly expanding and is directing its energies to territorial acquisitions beyond its borders, is quite likely to suffer in its social and political well-being at home. We need but advert to the example of Rome, where, with the successive stages of imperial extension, there was a growth of social antipathies and general disintegration; a concentration of wealth with a corresponding increase in the city proletariat. Similarly, the powerful and brilliant monarchy of Spain was ultimately corrupted and ruined by territorial conquests which were used only to draw sustenance for the everincreasing luxuries of the home country. 437. Colonies and the position of the United States. In a paper delivered before the American Political Science Association, the following were suggested as some of the effects of outlying dependencies upon the people of the United States: The United States has advanced with giant strides, for it the era of isolation is closed; its people have begun to take a lively part in the wider interests of humanity; its opinion on a vast variety of subjects has been expressed, welcomed and respected by the great powers of which it has suddenly become one. With the acquisition of dependencies the nation has not only been brought face to face with problems purely incidental to them, but it has likewise learned that the assumption of these obligations involves, as a necessary corollary, manifold duties toward other states. While its fleets operate on the farther waters of the Western Sea, its statesmen and diplomats do not forget to confer and debate with their contemporaries to the East of the Atlantic. And here emphasis may well be laid upon the transition of which we have lately been witnesses; the step which, coincident with the opening of the twentieth century, will probably mark the advent of a new age. As the medieval era was finally closed with the frequent navigation of the Atlantic by Europeans, so another epoch terminated when the United States and Japan began to compete for the mastery of the Pacific. The scepter of power then passed from the shores of the Mediterranean; so now the Eastern fringe of the Atlantic is apparently destined soon to lose its supremacy; for the United States at least the outlook is toward the Occident. If in council the nations of Europe still rule, the field of action lies in Asia; the East has become the West. One of the most important doctrines of American policy, it is felt by many, is jeopardized by the expansion of American interests. The Monroe Doctrine as well as the protective tariff, our distinguished fellowcitizen Professor John W. Burgess considers doomed to annihilation. In his address at the University of Berlin he said: "There are, for instance, two tenets which have almost come to be looked upon as sacred as articles of faith in American politics, the abandonment of which no outside power could even dare to hint at without danger of arousing the enmity of the Union. I refer to the protective tariff and the Monroe Doctrine. "Our politicians seem not to have the slightest appreciation of the fact that both these political tenets have almost got to be antiquated, that the political, geographical, and constitutional changes among the powers of Europe, as well as the assumption by the United States of its place as a world power, have rendered both almost meaningless." II. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIES 438. Essential conditions for colonization. Successful colonization is possible only if certain requirements are more or less completely fulfilled.1 To render any effort or system in colonization successful, certain welldefined conditions must exist, not only in the land to be colonized, but likewise in the parent state. In the first instance, the connection implies power on the one side and weakness on the other; it necessarily involves superiority and inferiority. This principle not only applies to the form of government and the code of civil conduct, but also equally as well to individuals. The colonizing nation must be strong, possess a well-developed social organism, and be inhabited by men of intellect and education. The region to be brought under control must, on the contrary, be without a recognized method of rule, or with an administration very imperfectly constituted; its society must be more or less crude and 1 Copyright, 1900, by Henry C. Morris. uncultured, while its people must, as a race, be untrained in the higher type of civilization and inexperienced in manufactures, commerce, and statecraft. Just as soon as the colonists approach a degree of culture similar to that of the mother country, the association between the two becomes irksome and difficult to sustain, unless, indeed, the latter practically renounces all participation and intervention in colonial affairs. While power, then, is a prime necessity in the parent state, not the less is density of population. There must be excessive competition in some lines of occupation and trade; a surplus of labor and a want of work; hence a certain degree of discontent, a desire for new fields of exertion, a feeling that there is not any further chance at home; the belief must prevail that the avenues of advancement are there closed before many individuals will be found ready to go to the ends of the earth to gain their livelihood. . . . The essential of power on the part of the mother country likewise implies the element of wealth. That a poor nation cannot afford the luxury of colonies is almost an economic maxim. Vast expense is requisite for the maintenance of an army and navy, and without adequate military and sea forces any possessions would be of brief duration. Money is also necessary to the utilization of colonial resources; to the clearance of forests, to the tillage of fields, to the operation of mines, to the improvement of harbors, rivers, and watercourses, to the construction of railways, to the creation of manufactures, to the marketing of products, to the proper inauguration of government, to the education of the people, and to the development of all the varied material and intellectual forces within the colony. Not riches alone suffice to support a colonial policy; something more is demanded, there must be an excess of capital. Money must be plentiful and cheap, investments difficult, interest low; all or many of the conditions must exist which would cause financiers to welcome with pleasure new opportunities for ample returns. The stress of affairs should be even more pressing; for colonial risks involve exceptional danger, and even the higher rates of profit always prevailing will not attract capitalists unless the home market be such as to preclude safe, steady, and at least slightly remunerative transactions; only then can the colonies secure the funds necessary to their progress. The situation of trade must also be similar. Warehouses must be overstocked; there must be overproduction; the demands of domestic consumption and of buyers in independent foreign lands must be less than the supplies of national industry. Manufacturers and merchants must feel the need of new openings for their goods and wares, while they must find in the colonies an outlet for them. Farming, on the other hand, in the dominant state should be insufficiently developed to satisfy |