19th Century Firearms

Handguns

NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Le Mat C&B**	Revolver C&B	.42 & 28Ga.	9+1	£2 5/7	3.6 lbs	USA/Fr.
S&W Russian SA* 1871	Revolver	.44 Russian	6	£2 3/8	2.5 lbs	USA, Rus
.Colt.38RF Police	Revolver	38RF	5 GL		2.3	USA
Colt 1-shot .41 1856	Derringer C&B	.41	1		0.25	USA
Colt Army 1860	Revolver C&B	44	6		2.8	USA
Colt Dragoon 1844	Revolver C&B	44	6		4	USA
Colt Lightning .38 1877 DA Revolver	38		6 GL		2.3	USA
Colt Navy 1851	Revolver C&B	36	6		2.5	USA
Colt No.2 derringer	derringer	41RF	1			USA
Colt Police 1862	Revolver C&B	36	5		2.3	USA
Colt SA Army 1873*	Revolver	45LC, .44-40, 38-40, 32-20	6GL	£3 15/4	2.5 lbs	USA
Colt Thunderer 1878	DA/Revolver	.41LC, .44-40, .45LC	6GL	£4 4/6	2.5 lbs	USA
Colt Walker 1847	Revolver C&B	44	6		4.5	USA
Colt.38RF Navy 1866	Revolver	38RF	6 GL		2.5	USA
Colt.44RF Army 1866	Revolver	44RF	6 GL		2.8	USA
Ethan Allen Pepperbox 1837	DA C&B	36	4-6			USA
Marlin "Never Miss"	Derringer	22, 32	1			USA
Reid .22 knuckleduster 1866	revolver	22RF	7GL		.5lb	USA
Reid knuckleduster 1866	revolver	32, 41RF	5GL		.5lb	USA
Rem .46RF N.M.Army 1863	Revolver	.46RF	5 GL		2.5	USA
Rem. 1875 .44-40	Revolver	44-40	6 GL		2.5	USA
Rem. N.M.Army 1860	Revolver C&B	44	6 GL		2.5	USA
Remington DD 1856	Derringer	.41RF	2	£1	0.7 lbs	USA
Remington New Army 1866	Revolver	.45LC,.38-40	6 GL	£1 5/6	2.5 lbs	USA
Remington Rolling Block Pistol 1867	Single shot	.50	1		1.5lb	USA
S&W American SA 1873	Revolver	.38SW, .44SW	6	£2 12/7	2.5 lbs	USA
S&W DA 1880	DA Revolver	32, 38, 44	5			USA
S&W Model 1 1860	Revolver	.22RF	9DetCYL	£1	1 lbs	USA
S&W Model No.1.5 1865	Revolver	.32SW	5 DetCYL	£1 6/4	1.25 lbs	USA
S&W Model No.2 1861	Revolver	.32SW	6 DetCYL	£1 6/4	1.5 lbs	USA
S&W Wells Fargo/ Schofield 1873	Revolver	.38SW,.44SW	6	£1 6/5	2 lbs	USA
Sharps "Pepperbox" 1859	4 barrel derringer	22, 30	4			USA
Tipping & Larden	4 barrel derringer	38	4			USA
NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Abadie DA	Revolver	9.1mm	6 GL	£1 5/5	1.6 lbs	Portugal
BODEO DA	Revolver	10.4mm	6 GL	£1 7/7	1.7 lbs	Italy
Beaumont Adams Converted to Metallic Cartridge c1865	DA Revolver	.32,.38, .45	5 GL		2.3	Great Britain
Beaumont Adams 1855	DA Revolver C&B	.32, .36, .442, .50	5		2.2-6	Great Britain
Enfield 1880	DA/Revolver	.476, 455	6	£2	2.5 lbs	Great Britain
Howdah Pistol 1840s	Double barrelled C&B	.70	2		3lb 11oz	Great Britain
Howdah Pistol 1880s	Double barrelled	.577 Short Boxer	2		3lb 11oz	Great Britain
Howdah Revolver	DA Revolver	.577 Short Boxer	6 GL		4.5lb	Great Britain
John Adams DA 1867	DA Revolver	.32, .38 .45Adams	6 GL	£1 12/5	2.1 lbs	Great Britain
Lancaster Pistol	4 barrel	.476, 455, 38	4	£1	2 lbs	Great Britain
Lancaster Pistol	2 barrel	.476, 455	2	£1	2 lbs	Great Britain
Lancaster Pistol	2 barrel	.577 Short Boxer or 20 bore	2			Great Britain
Tranter 1863	Revolver	23, 32 RF	7 GL			Great Britain
Tranter Solid frame	DA Revolver	32,38,43,45,50	6 GL			Great Britain
Webley Bulldog	DA/Revolver	.442, 45, 38, 32	6 GL	£2	2.7 lbs	Great Britain
Webley New Army Express 1881	DA/Revolver	.45, 455, .476, .44SW, .45LC	6 GL	£2 3/7	2.6 lbs	Great Britain
Webley RIC 1863 and RIC No.1 1883	DA/Revolver	.45	6 GL	£2 3/7	2.6 lbs	Great Britain
Webley RIC 1883	DA Revolver	.45, 32, 36	5 GL	£2 3/7	2.6 lbs	Great Britain
Webley Service MKI* 1887	Revolver	455, 476	6	£2 5/0	2.2 lbs	Great Britain
Webley-Wilkinson	Revolver	.45	6	£2 6/12	2.8 lbs	Great Britain
Mauser zig zag	Revolver	9mm	6 GL	£1 9/12	1.6 lbs	Germany
ReichsRevolver M1883*	Revolver	10.6mm	6GL	£2 10/12	2.2 lbs	Germany
Frankenau Purse Pistol 1877	Revolver built into purse	5mm PF	6 GL			German
Breakopen Pinfire 1865	Revolver	7mm,9mm, 12mm PF	6			France
Coup de Poing Fist pistol 1867	DA Pepperbox or revolver	7mm, 9mm PF or 5mm, 7mm, 9mm RF	6 GL (8 for 5mm RF)			France
Lafaucheux Revolver 1870	DA or SA revolver	7mm, 9mm, 12mm PF	6 GL			France
Lafaucheux Revolver 1870	DA or SA revolver	7mm, 9mm, 12mm PF	7 GL or 7 DetCYL		1lb 7oz	France
Lafaucheux Revolver 1870	DA or SA revolver	7mm, 9mm, 12mm PF	12 GL			France
Le Page 20shot 1867	Revolver	7mm, 9mm, 12mm	20 GL		?	France
NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Le Mat Pinfire	Revolver	.42PF & 28Ga.	9GL+1ML Shot barrel	£4 9/4	3.4 lbs	France
Biedermann	4 barrel derringer	12mm	4			Belgium
Belgian M1871	Revolver	10.4mm	6 GL		2.1	Belgian
Nagant M1878	Revolver	9mm	6 GL		2.1	Belgian
Nagant M1883	Revolver	9mm	6GL		2.1	Belgian
Gasser-Kropatschek 1878	DA/Revolver	9mm	6 GL		1.7	Austria
Gasser-Montenegrin 1882	DA/Revolver	11.3mm	6 GL	£2 10/0	3.1 lbs	Austria
Double barrelled Muzzle Loader	Flintlock or C&B	.5-.7	2			Any
Single Shot Muzzle Loader	Flintlock or C&B	.5-.7	1			Any

Notes.
Pepperboxes may be classed as Muzzle loading Revolvers if Cap and Ball or Gate Loading Revolvers if loaded with metallic cartridges. The Sharps Pepperbox was in fact a four barrelled breech loading pistol, not a revolver.
Muzzle loading pistols are usually large calibre and therefore "Heavy pistols" for determining Wounding effects. Duelling pistols and some civilian weapons may be medium powered.
The Coup de Poing were low cost weapons and formed the basis of the Apache pistol. Apache pistols have a folding knife blade and a folding grip that can be used as a knuckleduster. Knuckledusters are used with the Fisticuff skill and subtract one from the targets unarmed combat save.
Reid's "My Friend" revolver was a firearm that incorporated a finger ring that could be used as a knuckleduster.
A couple of thousand Le Mat pistols were used in the American Civil War, mainly by the Confederates. At least three generals carried them. After the war they continued to be made in France, Belgium and Birmingham and while rare in the US they can still be found in parts of the world that are under French influence. They are found in both Cap and Ball and Pinfire chamberings and a few Centrefire weapons may be found too. In all models the shot barrel is muzzle loaded. The 9mm version is quite rare.
The Webley RIC model is the standard sidearm of the London Metropolitan Police.
The 20ga Lancaster pistol can be treated as a Howdah pistol or as the shot barrel of a Le Matt pistol. The Lancaster in .577 Short Boxer is a Howdah pistol.




Rifles and Shotguns.

NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Hawkens Plains Rifle 1800	Muzzle loading rifle	.50	1		15	USA
Henry Carbine	LA Carbine (Pistol calibre)	.44RF	12SFT	£1	7.5 lbs	USA
Henry Rifle 1862	LA Rifle (Pistol calibre)	.44RF	18SFT	£1	8.3 lbs	USA
Remington Rolling Block Rifle	BL Rifle	.45-70/ various	1	£1 ¼	9 lbs	USA/ various
Sharps Buffalo Rifle	BL Long Hunting rifle	50-120, 45-120	1	£4	16 lbs	USA
Sharps 1867	BL Rifle	. 45-70	1	£3 5/7	9.1 lbs	USA
Sharps carbine 1867	BL Carbine	45-70	1		6.5	USA
Spencer 1863	LA Carbine (Pistol Calibre)	.56RF	7SFT	£1	7.3 lbs	USA
Springfield Rifle-Musket 1853	Rifle-Musket	.577 Minie Ball	1		8lb 10oz	USA
Springfield Rifle-Musket Carbine	Rifle-Musket carbine	.577 Minie Ball	1		6lb 10oz	USA
Trapdoor Springfield 1873*	BL Rifle	.45-70	1	£1 4/12	8.4 lbs	USA
Trapdoor Springfield*	BL Carbine	.45-55	1	£0 15/4	7.6 lbs	USA
Winchester 86	LA Carbine	.45-70	5SFT	£1 4/3	7.5 lbs	USA
Winchester 86	LA Rifle	.45-70	7SFT	£2	8.8 lbs	USA
NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Winchester Carbine2	LA Carbine (Pistol Calibre)	.44-40	10SFT	£1	7.5 lbs	USA
Winchester Rifle2	LA Rifle (Pistol Calibre)	.32-20,.38-40, 44-40	15SFT	£1 5/3	8.6 lbs	USA
Remington-Lee****	BA Rifle	.45-70	5SFM	£4 12/5	9.5 lbs	US Navy/USMC
Berdan M1871*	BA Single shot rifle	10.75mm x 58R	1			Russia
Mauser Kropatschek M1886*	BA Rifle	8x60R	8SFT			Portugal
Murata type 18 (1885) *	BL Rifle	11mm x 60R	1			Japan
Murata type 22 (1889) *	BL Rifle	8mm x 53R	1			Japan
Vetterli M1870	BA Single shot Rifle	10.4mm x 47R	1			Italy
Vetterli-Vitali M1870/87 *	BA Rifle	10.4mm x 47R	4SFM	£1 ¾	8.25lbs	Italy
Beaumont Rifle*	BA Rifle	11mm	5SFM	£1 5/3	9.25lbs	Holland
Martini-Henry Carbine *	BL Rifle	.45 (.450/.577)	1	£1	7lb 8oz	Great Britain
Martini-Henry*	BL Carbine	.45 (.450/.577)	1	£1	8lb 10oz	Great Britain
Martini-Metford	BL Rifle	.303			8lb 12oz	Great Britain
Martini-Metford Carbine	BL Carbine	.303			7lb 10oz	Great Britain
Brown Bess Musket	Muzzle loading Smooth bore	.75	1		10lb 3oz	Great Britain
Enfield 1853	Rifle-Musket	.577 Minie Ball	1		8lb 10oz	Great Britain
Enfield Carbine	Rifle-Musket Carbine	.577 Minie Ball	1		6lb 10oz	Great Britain
Snider	BL Rifle-musket conversion	.577 Snider Cartridge.	1		9lb 3.5oz	Great Britain
Holland & Holland	BL Express Rifle (Heavy Hunter)	.600 Nitro	2 barrels	£10	10.5lbs	Great Britain
India pattern Smoothbored Musket 1858	Smoothbore musket	.656	1		7lb 14oz	Great Britain
Lee-Metford MK I	BA Carbine	.303	8SFM	£1 15/5	7.5 lbs	Great Britain
Lee-Metford Mk I* 1888	BA Rifle	.303	8SFM	£2	9 lbs	Great Britain
Mauser 1871 11mm	BA Single shot rifle	11.15mm x 60R	1		9	Germany
Mauser 1871 carbine	BA Single shot carbine	11.15mm x 60R	1		7	Germany
Mauser 1871/84 11mm* 1884	BA Rifle	11.15mm x 60R	8SFT		9	Germany
Commision 1888*	BA Rifle	7.92mm	5CFM	£2 10/5	9 lbs	Germany
Commision 1888*	BA Carbine	7.92mm	5CFM	£1 19/4	7.5 lbs	Germany
Charleville Musket 1830	Muzzle loading Smooth bore	.69cl	1		11	France
Gras M1874	BA Single shot rifle	11mm x 59R	1			France
Kropatschek M1884	BA Rifle	11mm x 59R	8 SFT			France
Le Page Carbine	Revolver carbine (pistol calibre)	9mm, 12mm PF	20			France
Lebel 1886*	BA Rifle	8mm Smokeless	8SFT	£1 12/5	9.3 lbs	France
Lebel 1886*	BA Carbine	8mm Smokeless	8SFT	£1 3/5	7.8 lbs	France
Krag-Jorgensen*	BA Rifle	8mm	5SFM	£1 5/10	9.2 lbs	Denmark
Winchester RCMP*1	LA Carbine	.45-75 WCF	12SFT	£1 7/6	7.8 lbs	Canada
NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
Albini M1873*	BA Single shot rifle	11mm x 50R	1			Belgium
Comblain M1882 *	BA Single shot rifle	11mm x 50R	1			Belgium
Mauser M1889*	BA Rifle	7.65mm Smokeless	5ChLM		8lb 0.5oz.	Belgium
Kropatschek M78 Naval Rifle*	BA Rifle	11mm	8SFT	£1 6/5	9.5 lbs	Austria & French Navy
Mannlicher M1886 *	BA Rifle	11.15x58R	5CFM		10	Austria
Mannlicher M1888*	BA Rifle	8x50R	5CFM	£1 8/6	9.4 lbs	Austria
Werndl M1873	BL Rifle	11.15x58R	1			Austria
NAME	TYPE	CALIBER	SHOTS	COST	WEIGHT	COUNTRY
12ga. Double (eg Greener)	Shotgun	12 Gauge	2Barrels	£3 8/5	8.5 lbs	USA/ Any
Greener Sawn off	Scattergun	12 Gauge	2Barrels	£2 ¾	7.8 lbs	USA/Any
Martian Shield gun	Scattergun –C&B	12 gauge	1 Detachable			Martian
Spencer & Roper 1882	Pump action shotgun	12 gauge	5SFT		8.8lbs	USA
Winchester 1887	LA Shotgun	12 Gauge	5SFT	£4 5/7	8.8 lbs	USA
12ga. Single 1863	Shotgun	12 Gauge	1		8	Any
20ga. double 1863	Shotgun	20 Gauge	2		8	Any
20ga. single 1863	Shotgun	20 Gauge	1		7	Any

1 The Winchester RCMP Carbine was not actually made "in" Canada, but was made for the RCMP by Winchester, almost exclusively. In other words, it's HARD to get.
2 The Winchester rifles and carbines could be bought in a variety of calibres. Including, but not limited to .32-20, .44-40,.38-40, (Pistol ammo) and .45-70, .45-55, .45-75WCF (rifle ammo) and several other popular calibres of the period.

*=Military Issue weapon of the manufacturing country –or that most likely to be encountered in the hands of troops. Natives, militia, levies etc would probably have the older weapons listed for a country.
**** Several thousand Remington-Lees were brought by the US Navy and are most likely to be found in the hands of United States Marines.
Lee Metford carbines were not produced until 1894 so the weapon listed is probably a shortened rifle, and may cost more than the list price. When adopted the Lee Metford carbine had a 6 shot magazine so that it would fit more easily in a saddle boot.
The Martian Shield gun is a single barrelled scatter gun fitted in the centre of a shield. The chamber is removable so that it can be reloaded without the need to lower the shield. Often several preloaded chambers are carried. A chamber takes the same time to reload as a smoothbore pistol but takes an additional action to fit or remove from the gun. Shield guns using Earth built weapons may also be encountered.

Glossary
GL -gate loading revolver or pepperbox.
C&B -Cap and Ball. Weapon muzzle loaded or revolver chambers loaded from the front with loose powder or paper cartridges.
ML -Muzzle loading
DetCYL- detachable cylinder. Empty revolver cyclinder can be removed and replaced with a pre-loaded one, rather like magazine loading.
DA -double action
SA -Single action
BL -Breech loader
LA -lever action
BA -Bolt action
SFT -Single Feed Tubular magazine. Rounds must be inserted one at a time.
SFM -Single Feed box magazine. Rounds must be inserted one at a time.
CFM -Clip Fed Magazine. Must be loaded by Clip -cannot be loaded with individual rounds
ChLM -Charger Loaded Magazine. Can be loaded by charger or by individual rounds.

---

Space 1889 British Army Swords

Cavalry

All Cavalry swords are single edged slightly curved blades with a double edge for last 8.5-9.5"

1864	35.5"x 1.25"	?
1882 long model	35 3/8" x 1 1/8"	2lb 3oz
1882 short model	33" x 1 1/16"	2lb 1 oz
1885	34.5" x 1 1/8"	2lb 6 oz

Household Cavalry

Straight bladed single edged weapons with a double edged spear point

1882 long model	38 1/8 x 1 ¼ "	2lb 5oz
1882 short model (bandsman)	34 ¾ x1 ¼"	2lb 2oz
1888	37 1/8 x 1 ¼"	2lb 9oz

Infantry

Slight curve, double edged at end

1845

32 ½ x 1 1/8"

1lb 13oz

Scottish Broadsword

Straight and Double edged.

1865

32 3/16" x 1 3/16"

2lb 13oz

More Info:

http://www.the-shipyard.de/

Director's Cut WAR OF THE WORLDS

In the year 1898, critically acclaimed author H.G. Wells conceived
of a tale so terrifying that it has captured the imagination of millions
of readers for more than 100 years. Now for the first time ever, the
true adaptation of the classic novel hits the screen with devastating
effect! During a time of growth and prosperity for mankind, came the
ultimate threat to our very existence. The events that were to take place
at the turn of the 20th century would shake the foundations of life as
we know it. The future of the human race was at stake as man's greatest
fear was realized...Suddenly we are no longer alone in this universe
and to preserve our species, we must be victorious in
The War of The Worlds.

A tribute to H G Wells and the early years of film making.

War of the Worlds is a dark tale written in 1898, taking place around 1900, about man's transient place in nature, and the effects of modern machinery on human struggle, whether the machines are in the hands of humans or another species entirely. In the original book, humankind and the narrator are both in defeat and despair at the end, saved for the time being not by any human effort or invention, but by the accidental vulnerability of the Martians to a bacterial organism--another natural species entirely.

This engaging film tells the story in full, including dialogue taken almost verbatim by the page from the original. The visuals are photographed or processed to simulate early 20th Century hand-cranked cameras and projectors, so motion is at variable speeds, with the flickering quality of sub-24-frame-per-second projection. The color is in the style of tinted or two-color process early film (such as sequences in Hell's Angels or the original King of Kings). The actors act like people of 1900, in speech, manner and sentiment. The audio quality is modern, with a good symphonic score.

Special effects echo an earlier age of film, even those effects probably duplicated with CGI rather than modelling and stop-motion. Folks who have to have modern graphics won't like it, period. However this film is a story being told, not an imitation of an imaginary hyper-reality handed to an audience. It requires an extention of the viewer's mind, and rewards that effort with a journey through the world of Herbert George Wells. The Martian war machines and the reduction of their victims to skeletons, as well as the occasional squashing-flat of the stomped-on are efforts which Harryhausen would appreciate (though one sequence of naval combat would have been regarded as primitive by D W Griffith).

Because of the fidelity to the book, and probably because the film is released on DVD without preliminary editing for an American theatre audience, it runs three hours, a sort of director's cut. For those who get into the creative stye of the film and enjoy the details of the authentic story, this is not too long.

http://www.pendragonpictures.com/WOTWKEY.html

Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds CGI movie

TEST ANIMATION CLIPS -
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
War of the Worlds Online has been very
fortunate in obtaining some Research and
Development test animation clips from the
upcoming Jeff Wayne CGI movie due for
release in 2007.

http://www.waroftheworldsonline.com/

Imperialism: A Italian Viewpoint

At the time we are covering, in order to compete with the other European powers, Italy followed a policy of colonial expansion in Africa. She occupied Eritrea (1885-96), Somalia (1889-1905), Libya and the islands of the Aegean (1911-12). A commercial concession (500 sq miles) centered on Tien-Tsin was obtained from China in 1902.

Imperialism: A German Viewpoint

The following extract from Friedrich Fabri's book Does Germany Need Colonies, published in 1879, makes the German argument for colonial expansion, one similar to those made by English and French writers of the period. While France and Britain had long experience of colonial conquest and foreign trade contacts, colonial-minded Germans could only bemoan their country's late arrival on the world scene and consequent diminished possibilities for colonial acquisitions. The late 1870s i n Europe--a time of economic depression--brought to a head decades of commercial rivalry among the powers. This was rendered all the more sharp by the general perception that the securing of trade and influence overseas, particularly in the virtually unta pped interior of Africa, could solve national economic problems and enable countries such as Britain and France to maintain their dominant positions in world trade. Inevitably, similar conclusions were drawn in Germany which was soon to emerge as Britain' s rival in industrial production and technological advance. Dr. Friedrich Fabri, though director of a German missionary society that had been active in Africa for decades, earned the name of 'Father of the German Colonial Movement' through his forceful propaganda in promoting colonial development. As a result of h is influence, several important elements of German society--bankers, intellectuals, businessmen, military leaders--joined in the establishment of a German Colonial Union (Kolonialverein) and similar societies. Such was the force of propaganda and the publ ic opinion these created that the German chancellor Bismarck, no avid exponent of colonial ventures, was compelled to endorse the acquisition of a small strip of land along the coast of South West Africa (present-day Namibia)at Angra Pequeña (now Lüderitz Bay) in 1884. Further acquisitions followed in West Africa (Togo and Cameroon) and in German East Africa (now Tanzania).

Should not the German nation, so seaworthy, so industrially and commercially minded,.....successfully hew a new path on the road of imperialism? We are convinced beyond doubt that the colonial question has become a matter of life-or death for the develo pment of Germany. Colonies will have a salutary effect on our economic situation as well as on our entire national progress.
Here is a solution for many of the problems that face us. In this new Reich [i.e., the new Imperial Germany] of ours there is so much bitterness, so much unfruitful, sour, and poisoned political wrangling, that the opening of a new, promising road of na tional effort will act as a kind of liberating influence. Our national spirit will be renewed, a gratifying thing, a great asset. A people that has been led to a high level of power can maintain its historical position only as long as it understands and proves itself to be the bearer of a culture mission. At the same time, this is the only way to stability and to the growth of national welfare, the necessary foundation for a lasting expansion of power.
At one time Germany contributed only intellectual and literary activity to the tasks of our century. That era is now over. As a people we have become politically minded and powerful. But if political power becomes the primal goal of a nation, it will lead to harshness, even to barbarism. We must be ready to serve for the ideal, moral, and economic culture-tasks of our time. . . . . . .
No one can deny that in this direction England has by far surpassed all other countries. ............I has been customary in our age of military power to evaluate the strength of a state in terms of its combat-ready troops. But anyone who looks at the g lobe and notes the steadily increasing colonial possessions of Great Britain [will perceive] how she extracts strength from them, the skill with which she governs them, how the Anglo-Saxon strain occupies a dominant position in the overseas territories................
The fact is that England tenaciously holds on to its world-wide possessions with scarcely one-fourth the manpower of our continental military state. That is not only a great economic advantage but also a striking proof of the solid power and cultural fib er of England. Great Britain, of course, isolates herself far from the mass warfare of the continent, or only goes into action with dependable allies; hence, the insular state has suffered and will suffer no real damage. In any case, it would be wise for us Germans to learn about colonial skills from our Anglo-Saxon cousins and to begin a friendly competition with them. W hen the German Reich centuries ago stood at the pinnacle of the states of Europe, it was the Number One trade and sea power. If the New Germany wants to protect its newly won position of power for a long time, it must heed its Kultur-mission and, above all, delay no longer in the task of renewing the call for colonies

Imperialism: A French Viewpoint

The main impulse behind the Western phenomenon known as Imperialism was economic--the desire of the West to expand markets, provide opportunities for investment, and secure access to needed raw materials. Other motives necessarily intruded, given the arrogance of power and racist pretensions that existed among elites that saw non-Western areas as backward and lacking civilization. As a consequence of the latter notions, it became easy for the industrial and militarily powerful countries such as Britain, France and Germany, to embark on a program of colonial conquest that would serve both national economic interests as well as the much vaunted, and ofttimes hypocritical, civilizing mission that was purveyed. The following extract from the (1891) book of Paul Leroy Beaulieu on 19th-century colonization illustrates these controversial themes.

It is impossible not to consider imperialism as one of the tasks imposed on the civilized states for the last four centuries, more particularly in our own age.
The present-day world is composed of four different parts in terms of types of civilization. That of Western civilization - our own part. A second part [is] inhabited by people of a different civilization, but organized in compact, coherent and stable societies and destined by their history and present character to govern themselves - the Chinese and Japanese peoples for example. In the third part live peoples advanced enough in some respects, but ones which either stagnated or had not been able to constitute themselves as unified, peaceful, progressive nations, following a regular development.... India ... before the British conquest, Java, and the Indochinese peninsula represent particularly this third type.
Finally, a great part of the world is inhabited by barbarian tribes or savages, some given over to wars without end and to brutal customs, and others knowing so little of the arts and being so little accustomed to work and to invention that they do not know how to exploit their land and its natural riches. They live in little groups, impoverished and scattered, in enormous territories which could nourish vast numbers of people with ease.
This state of the world implies for the civilized people a right of intervention ... in the affairs of the peoples of the last two categories.
It is neither natural nor just for the civilized people of the West to be cooped up indefinitely and jammed into the restricted spaces which were their first home. Nor is it natural and just that they there accumulate the marvels of science, the arts and civilization, that they see the rate of interest fall more each day for lack of good investment opportunities, while they leave perhaps half the world to little groups of ignorant, ineffectual men who are like feeble children . . . or to exhausted populations, without energy, without direction, who may be compared to old men . . .
Imperialism is often confused with commerce or with the opening of commercial markets.... Imperialism means something quite different from the sale or purchase of commodities. It entails a profound action on a people and a territory, providing the inhabitants with some education and regular justice, teaching them the division of labour and the uses of capital when they are ignorant of these things. It opens an area not only to the merchandise of the mother country, but to its capital and its savings, to its engineers, to its overseers, to its emigrants. . . . Such a transformation of a barbarian country cannot be accomplished by simple commercial relations.

Imperialism is thus the systematic action of an organized people upon another people whose organization is defective, and it presupposes that it is the state itself, and not only some individuals, which is responsible for the mission....
Colonization by capital is a very important phenomenon.... European capitalists - and by this word we mean not only a banker, but every person putting aside a little money, a modest employee, a peasant, a worker, a spinster or a widow - can work effectively at colonization, the exploitation of the globe, without leaving their firesides... All they need do is place their savings in an industrial enterprise which constructs railroads, digs canals, erects factories, clears the land in the young countries. In putting their savings to this use, the inhabitants of the old world are not in any way delinquent in their duty to their home country. The countries where civilization is old, like England or France, are enormous producers of capital, and the difficulties in employing their colossal annual savings remuneratively in their own lands becomes great. Of course, the substantial funds of the old countries can always be put into industrial, agricultural or social improvements [in the home country]; but the export of a part of these funds across the seas to the adolescent countries, is much more productive for the entire human race. The same capital which will produce 3 or 4 per cent when invested in agriculture in France brings 10, 15, or 20 per cent in an agricultural enterprise in the United States, in Canada, on the Plata River [i.e.,along the River Plate outlet bordering Argentina and Uruguay] in Australia, or in New Zealand. It is the same for funds put into building railroads.... in general terms, the old countries thus are becoming investors to which the rest of the world offers growing profit . . .
The great value of colonies ... is not only that they serve to catch the overflow population of the mother country, nor even that they open a particularly reliable area of investment for excess capital, it is also that they give a sharp stimulus to the commerce of the country, that they strengthen and support its industry and fumish to its inhabitants - industrialists, workers, consumers - a growth of profits, of wages, or of interest). But.... these advantages resulting from the prosperity of the colonies, are not limited just to the mother countries; they extend to all the countries of the old world [i.e., Europe] and in fact there is not a nation which does not derive a real benefit from this increase in the productivity of humanity.... Imperialism has caused the opening of new sources of production. . . . It is thus that unknown products have been brought to the consumers of Europe to increase their comfort. . . . . That is the the first and incontestable result of imperialism. And this is the second: It is to open the new markets for the sale of products manufactured in Europe, markets more profitable and more expandable than those we have been limited to previously, because the new societies have an ability to grow and to create and accumulate riches infinitely greater than the old societies. Thus trade is stimulated and extended, the division of labour is augmented; industry having before it wider openings can and must produce more and such production on a greater scale calls for new improvements and new advances. . ..
The advantages of which we have been speaking so far are general and apply not only to the mother countries, but to all the civilized countries, even those without colonies.... [But] it appears to us incontestable that the home countries gain a special advantage from their own colonies: first, it is the capital of the citizens of the mother country which is sent there, and in this more productive field it is assured of higher interest, which improves the fortunes of the investors, of which a good number without doubt remain in the mother country. Further, the community of language, habits, and traditions, gives an advantage to the home country over all foreign nations even in free trade with the colonies. The colonists retain for a long time the tastes of the mother country.... [and] their relations with her have a degree of intimacy which she rarely has with other nations....
It is extremely rare that a colony furnishes a net revenue to the mothercountry: in infancy it is not able, in maturity it does not want to.... Inasmuch as a colony must be administered by functionaries, and defended by soldiers and sailors, drawn from the mother country, it is probable that the mother country will be out of pocket a considerable sum....
Thus it is a great illusion to found colonies in the hopes of revenue: But on the other hand, the costs of colonies to the metropole [the mother country] have been singularly exaggerated by the adversaries of colonization....
The English colonies today cost the country nothing, on the whole at least.... Today only her possessions in South Africa require at one time or another substantial expenses.... In the not too distant future, perhaps 15 or 20 years, one can hope that the English colonies of Africa ... no longer will be a charge on the budget even in the least measure.... And after all, what are the few hundred thousand pounds which Great Britain actually pays for the upkeep of colonies as against the immense material and moral advantages which they procure for her?

A British Viewpoint on Imperialism

The speech of the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, at the annual dinner of the Royal Colonial Institute on March 31, 1897

The year 1897 witnessed the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria's assumption of the throne of England in 1837. Unlike the Jubilee of a decade earlier, the tone of abounding self- confidence and imperial self-congratulation evident in 1887 was noticeably absent on this occasion. The darker side of imperialism had been exposed in the aggressive inroads of French, British and German intruders against the native peoples. In West Africa, the British occupied the territory of the Ashanti whose king, Prempeh of Kumasi, was creating difficulties for the extension of British trade. In 1893 had occurred the treacherous attack on King Lobengula and his Matabele warriors by the British South Africa Company in which the King was forced to flee, his people massacred, and his territory occupied. Moreover, Germany's insistence on her 'place in the sun' as well as the rapid advance of the U.S. as an industrial giant seemed to diminish the hitherto dominant role played by Britain in world affairs. The time had come to reassert the idea of empire, and there was no greater champion of that idea than Joseph Chamberlain. The following extract demonstrates the common thread that served to rationalize the continued hold of the leading European powers on territories they had won both by guile and force of arms.

I have now the honor to propose to you the toast of "Prosperity to the Royal Colonial Institute." The institute was founded in 1868, almost exactly a generation ago, and I confess that I admire the faith of its promoters, who, in a time not altogether favorable to their opinions, sowed the seed of Imperial patriotism . .

It seems to me that there are three distinct stages in our Imperial history. We began to be, and we ultimately became a great Imperial power in the eighteenth century, but during the greater part of that time, the colonies were regarded, not only by us, but by every European power that possessed them, as possessions valuable in proportion to the pecuniary advantage which they brought to the mother country, which, under that order of ideas, was not truly a mother at all, but appeared rather in the light of a grasping and absentee landlord desiring to take from his tenants the utmost rents he could exact. The colonies were valued and maintained because it was thought they would be a source of profit--of direct profit--to the mother country. That was the first stage, and when we were rudely awakened by the War of Independence in America from this dream that colonies could be held for our profit alone, the second chapter was entered upon, and public opinion seems then to have drifted to the opposite extreme; and because the colonies were no longer a source of revenue, it seems to have been believed and argued by many people that their separation from us was only a matter of time, and that that separation should be desired and encouraged lest haply they might prove an encumbrance and a source of weakness.

It was while these views were still entertained, while the little Englanders were in their full career, that this institute was founded to protest against doctrines so injurious to our interests and so derogatory to our honor; and I rejoice that what was then, as it were, "a voice crying in the wilderness" is now the expressed and determined will of the overwhelming majority of the British people. Partly by the efforts of this institute and similar organizations, partly by the writings of such men as Froude and Seeley [English historians and apostles of imperialist expansion], but mainly by the instinctive good sense and patriotism of the people at large, we have now reached the third stage in our history, and the true conception of our Empire.

What is that conception? As regards the self-governing colonies we no longer talk of them as dependencies. The sense of possession has given place to the sense of kinship. We think and speak of them as part of ourselves, as part of the British Empire, united to us, although they may be dispersed throughout the world, by ties of kindred, of religion, of history, and of language, and joined to us by the seas that formerly seemed to divide us. But the British Empire is not confined to the self-governing colonies and the United Kingdom. It includes a much greater area, a much more numerous population in tropical climes, where no considerable European settlement is possible, and where the native population must always outnumber the white inhabitants; and in these cases also the same change has come over the Imperial idea. Here also the sense of possession has given place to a different sentiment --the sense of obligation. We feel now that our rule over these territories can only be justified if we can show that it adds to the happiness and prosperity of the people, and I maintain that our rule does, and has, brought security and peace and comparative prosperity to countries that never knew these blessings before.

In carrying out this work of civilization we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission, and we are finding scope for the exercise of those faculties and qualities which have made of us a great governing race. I do not say that our success has been perfect in every case, I do not say that all our methods have been beyond reproach; but I do say that in almost every instance in which the rule of the Queen has been established and the great Pax Britannica has been enforced, there has come with it greater security to life and property, and a material improvement in the condition of the bulk of the population. No doubt, in the first instance, when those conquests have been made, there has been bloodshed, there has been loss of life among the native populations, loss of still more precious lives among those who have been sent out to bring these countries into some kind of disciplined order, but it must be remembered that that is the condition of the mission we have to fulfil.

There are, of course, among us--there always are among us, I think--a very small minority of men who are ready to be the advocates of the most detestable tyrants, provided their skin is black--men who sympathize with the sorrows of Prempeh and Lobengula, and who denounce as murderers those of their countrymen who have gone forth at the command of the Queen, and who have redeemed districts as large as Europe from the barbarism and the superstition in which they had been steeped for centuries. I remember a picture by Mr (Frederick) Selous [the famous African hunter and explorer] of a philanthropist--an imaginary philanthropist, I will hope--sitting cozily by his fireside and denouncing the methods by which British civilization was promoted. This philanthropist complained of the use of Maxim guns and other instruments of warfare, and asked why we could not proceed by more conciliatory methods, and why the impis [native soldiers] of Lobengula could not be brought before a magistrate, and fined five shillings and bound over to keep the peace. No doubt there is humorous exaggeration in this picture, but there is gross exaggeration in the frame of mind against which it is directed. You cannot have omelets without breaking eggs; you cannot destroy the practices of barbarism, of slavery, of superstition, which for centuries have desolated the interior of Africa, without the use of force; but if you will fairly contrast the gain to humanity with the price which we are bound to pay for it, I think you may well rejoice in the result of such expeditions as those which have recently been conducted with such signal success in [West and East Africa]; expeditions which may have, and indeed have, cost valuable lives, but as to which we may rest assured that for one life lost a hundred will be gained, and the cause of civilization and the prosperity of the people will in the long run be eminently advanced. But no doubt such a state of things, such a mission as I have described, involves heavy responsibility. . . . and it is a gigantic task that we have undertaken when we have determined to wield the scepter of empire. Great is the task, great is the responsibility, but great is the honor; and I am convinced that the conscience and spirit of the country will rise to the height of its obligations, and that we shall have the strength to fulfil the mission which our history and our national character have imposed upon us.

. . . It seems to me that the tendency of the time is to throw all power into the hands of the greater empires, and the minor kingdoms--those which are non-progressive--seem to be destined to fall into a secondary and subordinate place. But, if Greater Britain remains united, no empire in the world can ever surpass it in area, in population, in wealth, or in the diversity of its resources....