British Colonialism - Essay Example

When a territory builds and maintains colonies in other territories, this is known as colonialism (Kohn, 2006). When the West or Europe pictured the Arabic and Asian states, they showed people living darkness and void (Kumar, 2007). They showed they did not want to grow and get updated. They showed that the people were simple and could be made to do anything. This is what was thought about South America and Africa when it was colonized (Kumar, 2007). This also brought these governments the support of their citizens (Kumar, 2007).

When Europe wanted to conquer these "Oriental" countries, they passed a message to the people that they wanted to develop the territory to be colonized. They planned to strip the territory of its history and cultures and create a new one as they seem to be fit (Kumar, 2007). Orientalism was so depicted and explained as if it was a curse or a bad thing going on in the world. The true meaning of orient was hidden and in the shade of Orientalism, the West exploited and colonized the Asian and the Arabic countries (Kohn, 2006).

Thus, Orientalism was one of the tools used by Europe to colonize the Arabic and Asian Countries (Kohn, 2006). . Vathek (Salah, 2007)One of the examples of orientalism among the British colonial writers was Vathek (1782) by William Thomas Beckford. Beckford (1760-1844) was and English novelist (introduction to Beckfordiana). He was also a member of the parliament from 1784 to 1790. Vathek was originally written in French at a time when orientalism was entranced in the European population. The plot tells the story of the fictional ruler Vathek who falls from power and then engages himself in deplorable activities with his mother to gain supernatural powers.

The setting of the tale is oriental, i.e., in the Arabic countries. The novel clearly shows how backward and downgraded the people of the East were considered. The story clearly shows the supernatural and superstitious beliefs and casts the image of the Eastern countries as those who live in the early ages when everything was considered to be supernatural and science and technology played no role.Kubla Khan (Library, 1999)Another example of orientalism among the British colonial writers is the poem Kubla Khan written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet and a romantic (Poetry Foundation). Kubla Khan is a poem describing about a king who claims to be Son of God and thus ascends to the throne on the grounds that God wants him to rule. He makes his subjects build him a house that is suitable for residence for the Son of God.This poem though short shows how the countries in the East are ruled through superstitions and that the British need to go and save the people from such superstitious beliefs of the people there.

Thus they could potrait the image among their people that they are colonizing the territory to revive but instead destroy the culture and history of the