Imperialism Theme Analysis

When Around the World in 80 Days was published in 1873, the British Empire owned enormous swaths of territory throughout all seven continents and exerted significant cultural, economic, and technological dominance over the rest of the world. In the novel, Phileas Fogg and his companions travel to three British territories (India, Hong Kong, and Yokohama) as well as the American West, and find that these areas are a blend of Anglo-Saxon and native influences. From a modern perspective, colonialism is generally regarded as an entirely negative force that exploited and enslaved native peoples. As a Westerner in the nineteenth century, however, Verne’s outlook on British and American imperialism is conflicted—though he approves of the technological and commercial development that colonialism has brought forth in lesser developed nations, he is skeptical of how these practices have affected the native populations culturally. Through the curious exploration of these extensions of “English soil” by Jean Passepartout, Fogg’s servant, Verne looks favorably on the industrial progress and diversity that imperialism has facilitated yet is critical of the colonial presence that has infringed on other countries’ natural landscapes and traditional cultures. By portraying both the positive and negative aspects of imperialism, Verne conveys an ambivalent attitude toward this Eurocentric dominance and its effects on native populations.

In their travels to India, Fogg, Passepartout, and Sir Francis Cromarty (a newfound friend they meet on the train) find that Britain “exercises a real and despotic dominion over the larger portion” of the country—a presence that the novel portrays as both helping and harming the native population. On one hand, Verne takes on a reverent tone toward the innovation that imperialism has brought to India. The presence of the East India Company (an extremely powerful trading body and political presence of the British Empire) has created economic opportunity and technological progress in India. Former dangerous, antiquated methods of transport have been replaced by “fast steamboats” and “a great railway” that spans the country, making travel safer and more accessible for everyone. English influence has also brought about a diversity and mixing of cultures that Verne portrays in a positive light, since it allows Fogg, Passepartout, and Sir Francis to form a connection with Aouda, a young Indian woman, after they save her from being burned alive in a sacrifice. Having been educated at an English school in Bombay, Aouda represents the assimilation that was generally looked upon favorably at this time—she has both retained her native heritage and conformed to an increasingly globalized society, allowing her to navigate the world more effectively and form meaningful relationships with more diverse groups of people.

This English dominance and cultural mixing, however, has also had deleterious effects on India’s traditions, which Verne acknowledges. Many Indian rajahs resist British rule, resulting in racial divisions, political conflict, and wars. The novel questions what India’s ancient deities would think of the country in the 19th century, “anglicized as it is to-day, with steamers whistling and scudding along the Ganges.” In being forced to assimilate to Anglo-Saxon influence, India has progressed into a more modern, industrialized nation—but the novel suggests that the prosperity and diversity may not be worth the loss of a cultural identity that imperialism brings about.

Fogg and Passepartout experience a similar colonial presence and diverse population in Hong Kong, Yokohama, and the American West, as the novel continues to argue for both beneficial and detrimental effects that imperialism has on native peoples. The travelers find that Hong Kong is “a little English colony” despite being a Chinese city, and that in Yokohama, Japan there are “mixed crowds of all races, Americans and English, Chinamen and Dutchmen, mostly merchants ready to buy or sell anything.” Passepartout feels intimidated and alienated by this diversity rather than exhilarated by it, suggesting that close proximity does not always guarantee a smooth relationship between disparate cultures.

Later, when Fogg and Passepartout arrive in San Francisco, they are impressed to see that the city is a prosperous “commercial emporium” whose progressive atmosphere has allowed people from China, India, and other nations to freely immigrate and thus improve their economic status and quality of life. Yet they later find that the American West has a similarly complicated relationship with the native population as Great Britain does with its Indian subjects, as they are attacked by a Sioux tribe who have likely been driven out of their land by colonial settlers. Like British imperialism, westward expansion in the United States has created prosperity, opportunity, and diversity for a variety of people, yet some groups have experienced far more injustice than benefit from American colonialism.

As a Frenchman like Passepartout, Verne was well-known to have mixed feelings about the imperialism and globalization that pervaded his contemporary era. Colonialism has always been a polarizing topic—the mainstream nineteenth century opinion of this practice was favorable in the West, yet historians today commonly hold that it has had overwhelmingly negative effects on native peoples. The novel’s perspective toward British and American imperialism is indicative of Verne’s perspective as both a skeptical outsider of these two powerful empires and a product of his time, when these practices were widely accepted. This ambivalent attitude is evident throughout the story, as Fogg and Passepartout’s exploits abroad show that, while a colonial presence has the potential to benefit the native population and foster connections among diverse groups of people, it often brings about violent conflict, resentment, and cultural decay.