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In 1974, President Idi Amin of Uganda sat atop a throne while forcing four white British businessmen to carry him through the streets of Kampala; as the businessmen groaned under the weight of Amin, he joked that this was "the new white man's burden".
A controversial poem that advocates for white imperialism and colonialism as a moral duty. Learn about the poem's themes, symbols, poetic devices, context, and responses from LitCharts.
The White Man’s Burden. 1899. (The United States and the Philippine Islands) 1. Take up the White Man's burden—. Send forth the best ye breed—. Go bind your sons to exile. To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness.
A poem that expresses the imperialist attitude of the 19th century towards other cultures and peoples. Learn about the poem's structure, themes, literary devices, and controversial message with expert insights and commentary.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Learn the meaning and origin of the phrase "white man's burden", coined by Rudyard Kipling in 1899 to justify colonialism. Find out how the phrase was used before and after Kipling's poem, and see examples and synonyms.
“The White Man’s Burden,” published in 1899 in McClure’s magazine, is one of Kipling’s most infamous poems. It has been lauded and reviled in equal measure and has come to stand as the major articulation of the Occident’s rapacious and all-encompassing imperialist ambitions in the Orient.
In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations.
