The ‘long 19th century’ (1789-1914) was the century of imperialism. As the
countries of Europe – and later their former colonies, the United States and Australia –
scrambled to bring the largest portion of the world under their economic and cultural
influence, the peoples of colonies were subjugated, intimidated, enslaved, harassed,
hunted, displaced and abused in the name of economic gain (Hobsbawm, 1962). It was
this situation that caused Frantz Fanon (2004 [1963]) to remark that: