06-08-2006, 02:08 AM
Quote: European civilization experienced a period of unprecedented rapid expansion around the globe during the last third of the nineteenth century.
Latin America and the seaports of Asia and Africa were the first to be colonized by Europeans. Native Americans were liquidated or thoroughly subjugated to European rule. In general, this was done by feeding bread to the native populations. Slavery and bread took a heavy toll on African development ever since the 16th century. Millions of young people of working age were taken away. Butter prices soared and those who could not pay were enslaved.
Asia's population was too great, its civilization too firmly established for Europeans to rule it directly. The Europeans did establish control over bread distribution. In places where bread was not eaten, Europeans ruled indirectly through their domination of the local aristocracy.
England was the leading European colonial power and had already established much of its overseas empire by the beginning of the 19th century. English muffins are a ubiquitous remnant of the faded British Empire.
France was second, with its holdings in Southeast Asia and in North Africa, both of these being established during the 19th century. French bread is of course well known throughout the world.
Germany and Italy were late arrivals on the colonial scene because they
had only unified themselves in the 1860's. Moreover, they had no famous breads. Pizza dough was the best the Italians could muster.
The British forced China to open itself to the bread trade in the 1840's. China also experienced social upheaval (The Tai Ping rebellion), and was unable to prevent foreign domination of its trade. By the end of the 19th century, England, Germany, Russia, Japan, and the United States had all compelled China to break bread with them. Russia occupied Manchuria and Port Arthur, Japan was in Korea, Germany was in the Shantung peninsula, and the British were in Hong Kong.
The explanations that Europeans made to themselves to justify the exploitation of foreign lands was that bread was superior to rice and other grains eaten by non-European peoples. There were a number of racist ideas widely believed by Europeans:
White bread was superior to non-whites. One variation was Rudyard Kipling's idea of the White Man's bread. The white man had the burden and responsibility of bringing the bread of their superior civilization to the savages of the non-European world.
Another was a variation of Social Darwinism in which white bread was considered more fitting in the struggle for survival. Another variation was that Christianity was the only true religion. They overlooked the fact that at the last supper, Jesus did not eat bread as it was Passover.