The Fabians and the British Empire, Part IV
fact that the British and the Indians were two distinct cultures in which neither could understand the other and of which neither was superior to the other, drew into question the existence of the British Empire itself. Though novel in his argument, however, Margan-Browne does not seem to have had much impact on the Fabians. A great many more supported Hewin’s premise that one could learn a lot from the colonies.
Nevertheless there is something to be said for misunderstandings and lack of understanding being the cause of many conflicts, some of which may have been unnecessary. One of the latter, it seems, was the Boer War of 1899-1902. Ostensibly about the rights of "uitlanders" (or "outsiders" in Afrikaans) in the Transvaal and Orange Free State versus the Boers’ desire to live according to their past traditions without undue interference by the British, the war had a much deeper and significant impact. For the first time, imperialism became highlighted as a serious political issue, and divided people as no other political concern had to that point. The Fabians were no different. The war instantaneously brought to the surface competing visions of imperialism that had been forming for the previous fifteen years and brought them into conflict for the first time, splitting Fabians as never before or since. [10]
Footnotes:
[1] Labour Leader, 10 Dec. 1898.
[2] Fabian News, vol. 6, no. 3 (May 1896), p. 10, lecture entitled "Socialism and Foreign Politics."
[3] Ibid., lecture entitled "Chartered Companies."
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., vol. 8, no. 10 (December 1898), pp. 37-8.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., vol. 7, no. 5 (July 1897), pp. 17-18, lecture entitled "The Social Problems of India."
[9] Ibid.
[10] Norman and Jeanne MacKenzie, The Fabians, (NY: Simon and Schuster, 1977), p. 269.
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