Ideas of ‘Managing’ Natives in Stevenson’s "The Beach of Falesá" and Buchan’s "Prester John‪"‬

Early industrialization, overproduction at home and the resulting economical pressure to locate new markets had forced English people to explore far away shores all over the globe. During the imperial period the British Empire consisted of manifold countries and British colonialists encountered as many different native races. Due to advanced European technological achievements and military power natives were regarded inferior to the culture of white men. Ruling them and exploiting natural resources seemed to be very profitable at this time, but dealing with native cultures was not that easy. On the one hand, the proud British people claimed their cultural superiority and leadership. But on the other, it was not possible to enforce cooperation, or rather compliance, by any means, just because native populations clearly outnumbered British settlers in most colonised countries. It was vital for British people to think about ‘managing’ natives in a particular way to gain as much benefits as possible out of the colonies and, on the other hand, to avoid native uprisings.