In this political cartoon thirteen countries are represented; all of which still exist to this day, either as their own country or as subunits to other countries. England is the label on the octopus and the head of the octopus is the face of John Bull, who was an imaginary figure of England. Kind of like Uncle Sam for the U.
S. The other countries the octopus is holding are Ireland, Australia, Jamaica, Egypt, India, Canada, Malta, Gibralter, Cape Colony, Cyprus, Heligoland, Boersland. This cartoon is related to the idea of imperialism because in the cartoon the countries are practically being strangled, just like countries under an imperial government. The countries England took over were doing fine without an Imperialist government. Sure England helped but they hurt more than they helped. I think the artist was trying to show that once England had you they had you for good until their own infrastructure broke down. The picture shows an octopus who can move grabbing at land which cannot move, which shows that the author thinks those countries have no say in whether they are going to be taken over or not.
I agree with the viewpoint of the author because England had all of those countries under their rule until they would no longer support them. Some of these places are still owned by other European countries, but not by England.I do not think any country today could set up an empire like the British did in the 19th and 20th centuries. One reason would be that all the world is already divided up, except Antarctica; which the UN has agreed to not divide. If you were to take over a country you would mess with International borders, get kicked out of the UN, and have blockades established on your new country by the UN. Another reason would be a third world war. If one of the countries in the world just decided to start taking over other countries other states would start backing up both sides which would lead to a world war. Just look at how the second world war started; Germany was invading different parts of Europe which led to Britain and France declaring war on them, which started WWII.
Lastly, if a country gains another state most likely they will turn it over to the UN or the UN will just take control over it. Also taking over a country would hurt your relationship with that country and other countries that support it.
