Historicizing the Present: Global White Supremacy

Introduction

If one looks at the historical events, one can notice a wide range of discrimination and segregation’s occasions, rules, and concerns within the British Empire. Indeed, white supremacy has always been in the hot seat, and it seems like it is impossible to alter this bias. Throughout history, the British Empire gave a head start for whites to dominate on the global arena, and it is still evolving in the state-of-the-art community.

White supremacy is one of the concepts based on the research of some racial theorists and stating that white people are superior to other people regarding racial characteristics. White superiority with the idea of racism as a whole focuses on dangerous ethnocentrism and the pursuit of political and economic hegemony. This is due to varying degrees of racism and the desire for racial division. Ideology about the superiority of whites often arises regarding anti-black racist policies, anti-Semitic policies, as well as the violation of international treaties on human rights, and so on.

Though British Empire deems to be robust and largest empire, it promoted terrifying things toward non-whites. The British Empire was based on the ethnic exclusivity of the Anglo-Saxons, the principle of the rule of the race of conquerors. One of the main pillars of British colonial law is that conflicts between different ethnic groups served to maintain colonial rule. This classic “divide et impera” principle is the cause of many modern conflicts, such as in Northern Ireland, India, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Uganda or Iraq. A typical example was the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya from 1952 to 1957 when small revolutions turned into bloody wars of developed tribes. A total of 22 whites died, while in indigenous tribes there were between 18,000 and 30,000 victims. Hence, the paper reveals the premises, structure, and consequences of white supremacy across the globe.

Slavery

Indeed, the first topic which occurs all nations is the problem of slavery in the British Empire. Indeed, white supremacy as we now know it evolved in response to global forces.[1] The main carrier of slaves was the British Empire.  The first time when British captured hundreds of cities and lands, they made it quite clear about their dominance over other races. British people were interested in slavery, supremacy in political and economic matters, and ruling in the entire world. American slavery, as a bright example, was invented by British immigrants who created 13 colonies. As a result, English settlement promoted segregation regarding blacks. Thus Englishmen saw slaves only as a profit. Simply put, the economy of the British Empire (all colonies) has been built on slave labor for centuries.[2]

Scholars argue that slavery is the genuine sign of white supremacy, which existed many years ago. British conquerors saw other races and nations as the ideal trade, cheap labor, and superiority on the global arena.  The British Empire embraced the belief that Anglo-Saxons had a duty to educate backward civilizations in Christianity, Western modernity, and capitalism.1 They promoted their economic, political, and religious ideas and concepts to seized minorities. British people established their rulings in the USA to encourage them to cooperate with them while diminishing the status and role of other races. This shared undertaking provided a network for the exchange of ideas and policies aimed at cementing global white supremacy that transcended national borders.3

At the end of the XVII century, a quarter of the ships of Britain were transporting slaves. In Europe, the use of slave labor was resumed, and a massive transatlantic slave trade began, which flourished until the 19th century. Africans were seized in their native land, loaded onto ships and sent to America. Nearly 13 million African slaves were brought to the United States.[3] On average, out of 3-5 captured slaves, only one was delivered to the plantation, the rest died during the capture and transportation. Africa lost up to 80 million lives as a result of the slave trade. The benefits of cotton and sugar cane plantations and the rising cost of slaves in the southern states of the United States prompted various measures to protect the institution of slavery and keep slaves in a subordinate position. Slaves were actually in full control of their masters.3 The UN calls the transatlantic slave trade one of the worst violations of human rights in the history of humankind. This was the most massive deportation of the population when more than 17 million people were displaced over 400 years.

Genocide

Not only was the slavery the main characteristics of the British Empire, but also extermination of tribes. The essence of the British “gentlemen” was most vividly manifested during the colonization of Australia.[4] By 1788 (the beginning of settlement), the indigenous population of Australia was, according to various estimates, from 300,000 to 1 million people, united in more than 500 tribes. In 1921 there were less than 60 thousand Australian Aborigines. The British destroyed up to 90-95% of all Aborigines in Australia. On the island of Tasmania, the indigenous population was utterly destroyed – to the last man.

Deliberately imported diseases, mainly smallpox plagued Australian aborigines. However, the local Aboriginal people did not have immunity from pneumonia, tuberculosis and venereal diseases either. As a result, the British “civilizers” used it to the fullest. They organized raids on the Australian and Tasmanian tribes, poisoned them, drove them into deserts, where they died of hunger and thirst. White settlers hunted Aborigines like wild animals, not counting them as humans. It was considered normal entertainment for “enlightened navigators” to drive a whole family of Aborigines (best with little kids) into the river with crocodiles and enjoy the spectacle. In the 1970s, children were taken out of Aboriginal families, who were subsequently prohibited from knowing their native language and in any way contacting their parents.5 Hence, the Anglo-Saxons are the only exterminating nation on earth. Never before — up to the beginning of the now inevitable extermination of the Indians, Maori (indigenous New Zealanders), and Australians — not one of such a numerous race was wiped out by conquerors.

White supremacy today

Taking all above-stated facts and events into account, it is fair to say that global white superiority has not faded away. Today hundreds of different races (especially Africans, Arabs, and probably Latinos) are still prone to racial discrimination and colorism. White supremacy, like nearly everything else, has been fundamentally altered by globalization.[5] Though laws and stereotypes evolve with each generation, there are still a plethora of prejudices and labels on minorities within post-British Empire states. The prominent example can be racism in the United States, when a law enforcement official can calmly kill a black man since “he is a criminal” whereas giving a verbal warning or even arrest without violence to a white man. Besides, people with darker skin are more likely to have struggled in education or airport than whites. Furthermore, within European states and the former white settler states, whites still are privileged over all non-whites.[6] All of these details are shaping white supremacy on the global arena.

Notably, it would be wrong to concede that whites are evil and blacks are good. No, it is not like that. Every nation has bad and good people, and we cannot judge the entire peoples as terrible, evil, and dangerous. However, here one can see how whites have been trying to take the top of everything leaving out black people from their plan. Dylan Roof, the murderer of nine African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, is a perfect example of hate adopting the “act local, think global” paradigm.6 Roof told that blacks rape their (white) women and are taking over the country as he put the bullets into their bodies. It is this situation when a white person thinks he/she is in charge of deciding who deserves death and who deserves life. The same perilous segregation still exists about white supremacy.5 Moreover, this absurd.

People always take the United States as a bright example of racism and segregation. This is entirely fair considering a bunch of facts and events blacks face on a daily basis. However, one should take European countries into in-depth consideration as well. Why? Because even European counties judge minorities within their lands and put labels on them, making them as “dangerous criminals.” One such example can be France, which is famous (in a negative way) for its racial biases and discrimination to Africans and Arabs. For instance, the French government forbids Muslim females to wear veils, and it clearly shows their attitude towards minorities. They also live with stereotypes that blacks should in their “black” countries instead of immigrating to “white” ones. One of such cultural powers is “the Eurocentrism and hegemony of white culture in matters of global knowledge, mores, and culture.”6 It implies that Americanism and Eurocentrism want to prosper in the world declining the possibility of blacks to be the central figures. Moreover, this vision proves that white supremacy does not stop to supersede blacks’ role in the contemporary world.

In the book How to be less stupid about race (2017), the author reveals the truth about ethics consideration about races and nations. The writer explains how people (primarily Americans) pay so much attention to a race that they start having ‘racial stupidity.’[7] Moreover, this is the pure truth since some people focus on skin color and race rather than on personality, ambitious, and humanity. This ‘stupidity’ is not only about average people who spend their time judging someone but also governmental and judicial institutions who try to continue the history of racism up to this day.8 Racism goes hand in hand with class oppression, patriarchy, and other forms of domination.[8] All of these things one can witness in daily situations between whites and blacks.

Conclusion

The paper reveals the premises leading to global white supremacy, namely slavery, and genocide. The British Empire was the first to disseminate these racial biases and the role of discrimination in various forms. All of these turned into Americanism and Eurocentrism trying to suppress blacks’ roles in the modern communities. Global white supremacy is not a new notion, yet it is gradually evolving and transforming into a ‘brutal’ form. Whites consider blacks as enemies even though both whites and blacks can be either good or bad in some cases.

Moreover, white superiority proves that they do not consider equity and equality, though one can continually hear news, laws, and movements about an equal world. However, there is almost no equality regarding blacks and whites. It is essential to understand that the British Empire and its rulings are over, and one cannot imply the past into the present. If one wants a bright future, then he/she should leave prejudices out on the way, and accept blacks as they accept whites. Therefore, the stated information successfully provides in-depth insight into the formation of global white supremacy.


[1] Joseph R. Parrot, “How white supremacy went global,” The Washington Post, Sept. 19, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/09/19/how-white-supremacy-went-global/?utm_term=.509153f54ea1

[2] Miranda Kaufman, ‘”The speedy transportation of blackamoores”: Caspar Van Senden’s search for Africans and profit in Elizabethan England”, BASA Newsletter, 45 (Apr. 2006)

[3] John Simkin, Slavery in the United States (Spartacus Educational Publishers, 2014)

[4] Richard Stockton, “Australia’s Centuries-Long Genocide Against Aboriginal People,” All That Is Interesting, Aug. 15, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/australia-genocide

[5] Lev Golinkin, “White supremacy movement is more than just an American problem,” CNN, Nov. 16, 2017, https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/16/opinions/global-white-supremacy-opinion-golinkin/index.html

[6] Thomas J.Donahue, “Global White Supremacy or Global Dark Oppression? On a Difference with Charles W. Mills,” Haverford College, http://www.academia.edu/10235411/Global_White_Supremacy_or_Global_Dark_Oppression_On_a_Difference_with_Charles_W._Mills, p. 7, 18.

[7] Crystal Marie Fleming, How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2018), p. 125, 201.

[8] Jessie Daniels, “Combating Global White Supremacy in the Digital Era,” CUNY Academic Works, 2009, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1216&context=gc_pubs

Bibliography

Daniels, Jessie. “Combating Global White Supremacy in the Digital Era.” CUNY Academic Works, 2009, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1216&context=gc_pubs

Donahue, Thimas J. “Global White Supremacy or Global Dark Oppression? On a Difference with Charles W. Mills.” Haverford College, n.d., http://www.academia.edu/10235411/Global_White_Supremacy_or_Global_Dark_Oppression_On_a_Difference_with_Charles_W._Mills

Fleming, Crystal Marie. How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, p. 256, 2018.

Golinkin, Lev. “White supremacy movement is more than just an American problem.” CNN, Nov. 16, 2017, https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/16/opinions/global-white-supremacy-opinion-golinkin/index.html

Kaufman, Miranda. ‘”The speedy transportation of blackamoores”: Caspar Van Senden’s search for Africans and profit in Elizabethan England.” BASA Newsletter, 45 (Apr. 2006).

Parrot, Joseph R. “How white supremacy went global.” The Washington Post, Sept. 19, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/09/19/how-white-supremacy-went-global/?utm_term=.509153f54ea1

Simkin, John. Slavery in the United States. Spartacus Educational Publishers, 2014.

Stockton, Richard. “Australia’s Centuries-Long Genocide Against Aboriginal People.” All That Is Interesting, Aug. 15, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/australia-genocide

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

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freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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