Exhibiting Imperialism at the Great Exhibition
The transept of the Crystal Palace, designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, at the Great Exhibition of 1851
The idea of
exhibitions in England
began with the Mechanics' Institutes. They
organised an exhibition with large displays of industry and art after the year
1837. It was a successful event and
provoked a chain of similar events across a large number of other towns and
cities. The purpose
if these exhibitions was to promote an understanding of industry and render it
“less despicable in the eyes of the educated classes, and to provoke debate on
the nature of the working class culture.” (Greenhalgh p.8)
One could
say that these kinds of exhibitions were a way of addressing and celebrating
the diversity of classes in Britain
and allowing the gap between educated and working classes to be bridged.
The Great
Exhibition in 1851 was initially intended to be just a national event but in
1850 international countries were invited to participate. What have been the motivations behind this
invitation?
The English
had a first class worldwide reputation in terms of industry but there were
growing concerns over mounting competition from other countries and so this
problem needed to be addressed.
“To invite
all nations of the world to take part in ‘the friendly competition’ of an
international exhibition was to create a potential for market expansion
abroad. One of the main motives behind
the international character of the Great Exhibition of 1851 therefore was
economic; Britain
wanted more market, and was confident when the foreigner came he would buy
British goods.” (Greenhalgh p.10)
The
economic motivations behind the invitation of international countries to
participate meant that
Britain
was keen to impress, and the sheer size and scale of the Exhibition in itself
helped to attract visitors. The
Crystal Palace
occupied nineteen acres of land,
33 million cubic feet and approximately six and a half million people visited
the exhibition. This impressive feat
took great motivation. Contemporary
discussions questioned the benefits of the exhibition and queried the potential
merits.
India at the Exhibition
The Indian Court at the Great Exhibition 1851
What was
the motivation behind displays from colonised countries at the Great Exhibition? By looking specifically at the
Indian Court
at The
Great Exhibition, we can behind to decipher the aims of the exhibition and what
this suggests about the nature of imperialism in
Britain
.
The East
India Company, who were the only entity who had trading rights in
India
at that
time were extremely supportive of the exhibition itself and of the
Indian Court
display. It would allow an opportunity
to display “the riches of
Britain
’s
empire in the East.” (Purbrick, p.150) The attitude of the exhibitors indicates
that although these products were essentially of Indian origin, they were seen
as British products. The display at the
Indian Court
would
be seen as a tribute to
Britain
and a testament to the achievements of the
British Empire
in the East.
The
Exhibition was opening following a time when the focus of rule in India
was shifting from trade to military domination. (Purbrick p.150) Political questions were being raised
regarding the role of the East India Company which then in turn led to a
questioning of the merits of Empire.
Therefore it becomes clearer why the East India Company would be keen to
support a display like the Indian
Court at the Crystal Palace. They wanted to show the British Public that
the links between Britain
and India
were beneficial. Historian
Paul Greenhalgh states that the East India Company wanted to “glorify and
domesticate” the subcontinent. The
Company went on then to assemble “an exhaustive display of raw materials that
attested to the financial benefits of Empire,” further emphasising the idea to
the British public that imperial presence in India was profitable. (Purbrick
p.150)
The
Official Catalogue of The Great Exhibition states that
India
was
allocated more space for its display that any other ‘Colony’, ‘Possession’, or
‘Dependency.’ In the light of
postcolonial theory and studies of imperialism, how do 21
st
Century
readers interpret these words? Can it be
interpreted as a generous attempt to represent
India
or it is empirical,
dominating and patronising?
This
inevitably leads us to questions regarding the nature of what exactly was
displayed and how
India
was represented. The Crystal Palace
Exhibition was seen as being an almost exact replica of
India
itself. French political economist
Jerome Adolph Blanqui claimed that the
Indian Court
was an “encyclopaedic
representation” of the actual country.
Blanqui found himself “tantalised by the Indian Collection” and was
“compelled to return to gaze at its holdings repeatedly.” (Purbrick p.151)
The Panopticon
Panopticon blueprint by Jeremy Bentham, 1791
In 1785
philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham invented the Panopticon, a type
of prison. It was a design that allowed
the observer to look in and watch while the prisoners were unaware that they
were being watched. For the prisoners in
a jail following the design of the panopticon there was nowhere to turn and
nowhere to escape the gaze of their jailer.
We can use
this idea of the panopticon and relate it to this picture of the howdah at the
Great Exhibition. The howdah on the
elephant was displayed at the court as an example of how the Indian Raj lived. Yet the meaning and significance of this can
be interpreted further. This howdah is
where one could place the coloniser – somewhere where they can observe and
control all that is around them. It
produces connotations of someone in a position of power and influence looking
down with authority over their subjects.
Visitors to the Great Exhibition begin to imagine themselves in that
same position of watching, gazing and dominating. This allows us to question the relationship
between the observer and the observed and it reflects how people viewed the
relationship between Britain
and India. Britain
was there to watch over, control and dominate India.
The Koh-i-Noor
The Koh-i-noor Diamond on display at The Great Exhibition
One of the
most famous attractions at The Great Exhibition was the Koh-i-noor jewel from India
. At 186 carats, this is one of the largest
diamonds in the world and now sits in the crown of the late Queen Mother. While it was mostly kept in what the
Illustrated London News referred to as “a golden cage or prison,” it was
occasionally put on open display in its “best dress,” which was a “tent of red
cloth.”
This
illustration gives us an idea of how the display looked and the reactions to
this diamond. What do we see when we
look at this image? In this picture, we
see crowds standing around the diamond, gazing and observing. This cage has a crown on top, a symbol of
control and domination. This jewel was
put on display as a material reminder of what Britain had gained through
imperialism. It was there to emphasise
how Britain
had succeeded as an Empire by the very fact they could be possession of such a
jewel.
The diamond
was also described in feminine terms and we could ask how gender roles feed
into the construction of Empire and colonies.
Imperialism was often seen as supposedly benevolent and maternal. The colonisers were viewed as taking care of
and nurturing the colony. Yet the
language of Empire is essentially patriarchal and in the Victorian period, it
was seen as much more of a masculine endeavour to have a ‘voice.’ This invokes connotations of empowerment and
disempowerment. The discourse of Empire
had clearly defined roles and India
was given the feminine role, relying on the British to be her ‘voice.’
Exhibition & Imperialism
An area of the Indian Court at The Great Exhibition
What can
the Great Exhibition tell us generally about British Imperialism? Firstly, that the representations at the
exhibition were constructed. The
displays were carefully organised to show the wealth of benefits Britain’s
Empire was attaining. It was profitable
economically for Britain to
encourage trade with foreign visitors to the exhibition, but it was also
profitable to attract the general British Public who had begun questioning Britain’s
occupation in the colonies. The
exhibition also highlighted the idea that colonised countries needed an Empire
like Britain
in order to reach their full potential.
Only with a country like Britain
to respect and revere would each colony see civilization, economy and progress
which The Great Exhibition celebrated with such pomp and vigour.
This page was written by Siobhan McErlean
This project was completed under the direction of Dr Leon Litvack as
a requirement for the MA degree in Modern Literary Studies in the School of English at the Queen's University
of Belfast. The site is evolving and will include contributions from
future generations of MA students on other writers and themes.
Email Dr Litvack with your comments: L.Litvack at qub.ac.uk
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