This cartoon depicts how many of the more dominant Western countries tried to split up China among themselves without even consulting China at all. China is shown in the background taking no part in the division; this is what China was afraid of and as the picture shows, the Chinese man is panicking. This panic is what caused China to become isolated for as long as it could in order to preserve itself. The artist was trying to show that China had no say in what Western powers were trying to do and that is why they closed off their ports. I believe that what China did was in self-defense for they saw what was happening around them and they were attempting to nip the problem at the bud.
This cartoon represents the struggle for the division of Africa. As the cartoon shows, many European nations all wanted a piece of Africa at one time and they were all struggling to pull a piece of it for their own country. This picture shows that at first the division was very unorganized and chaotic. The artist is trying to show how Africa was seen only as property for one’s gain instead of a place that was inhabited by people who had cultures and traditions since the beginning of man. I think that this is a very good depiction of what was going on in Africa before the Berlin conference along with how the West looked at the continent itself.
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