Winston Churchill's Influence
Winston Churchill is a man most notable for his position as Prime Minister during World War II and his triumphant stand against Hitler and the Nazis. However, unbeknownst to those who hear of his successful legacy, leading Britain through her finest hour, Churchill proved to be his own monster of a dictator against those who did not align with his ethnocentric views. Born in 1874, at a young age, Churchill vowed to take his part in “a lot of jolly little wars against barbarous people (Toye, pg. 35).” Winston Churchill grew up with a racist and discriminatory dark side; even though the majority of his encounter with indigenous people subsisted through his parliamentary powers, his views on those in the Empire who were not inheritably white and
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When concentration camps were built in South Africa for black Africans, he only condemned the suffering of white Boers. In the 1920s when the Kurds rebelled against British rule, whilst he was serving as Colonial Secretary, he publicly stated that he would use poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes (Toye, Churchill’s Empire).
Perhaps one of the clearest examples of Churchill’s abhorrent views towards those in the British Empire was in India. One instance occurred during Gandhi’s campaign for peaceful resistance. In utter disgust for civilians in India, Churchill stated, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion (Toye, pg. 227).” Furthermore, this loathing not only existed as hateful speech, but also translated into action.
In 1943, a famine in Bengal caused the deaths of three million civilians. Whilst British officials sought out Churchill for assistance for food and aid, he refused, blaming the Bengalese for their demise citing that they were, “breeding like rabbits (Toye, pg. 235).” Many examples exist of Churchill’s true character, which only begins to contradict his ruthless attack on the Nazi regime; at a time of widespread discrimination across Europe, Winston Churchill seemed to be discriminating against his own British subjects, in
When concentration camps were built in South Africa for black Africans, he only condemned the suffering of white Boers. In the 1920s when the Kurds rebelled against British rule, whilst he was serving as Colonial Secretary, he publicly stated that he would use poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes (Toye, Churchill’s Empire).
Perhaps one of the clearest examples of Churchill’s abhorrent views towards those in the British Empire was in India. One instance occurred during Gandhi’s campaign for peaceful resistance. In utter disgust for civilians in India, Churchill stated, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion (Toye, pg. 227).” Furthermore, this loathing not only existed as hateful speech, but also translated into action.
In 1943, a famine in Bengal caused the deaths of three million civilians. Whilst British officials sought out Churchill for assistance for food and aid, he refused, blaming the Bengalese for their demise citing that they were, “breeding like rabbits (Toye, pg. 235).” Many examples exist of Churchill’s true character, which only begins to contradict his ruthless attack on the Nazi regime; at a time of widespread discrimination across Europe, Winston Churchill seemed to be discriminating against his own British subjects, in