Introduction: Corruption, Empire and Colonialism in the Modern Era: Towards a Global Perspective

Scandal, corruption, exploitation and abuse of power have been linked to the history of modern empire-building. Colonial territories often became promised lands where individuals sought to make quick fortunes, sometimes in collaboration with the local population but more often at the expense of them. On some occasions, these shady dealings resulted in scandals that reached back to the metropolis, questioning civilising discourses in parliaments and the press, and leading to reforms in colonial administrations. This book is a first attempt to discuss the topic of corruption, empire and colonialism in a systematic manner and from a global comparative perspective. It does so through a set of original studies that examines the multi-layered nature of corruption in four different empires (Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and France) and their possessions in Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

Corrupt and Rapacious: Colonial Spanish-American Past Through the Eyes of Early Nineteenth-Century Contemporaries. A Contribution from the History of Emotions

Around 1800, merchants, scientists and adventurers travelled to Latin America with different purposes. Their multifaceted interests in a world region, experiencing a threshold of independence from Spanish colonial rule, inspired new historical and political works about the continent’s recent past. The Enlightenment provided not only the philosophical armamentarium against corruption, but it also paved the way to a new expression of sentiments and to the loss of fear when addressing injustice. Some examples of these are Hipólito Villaroel’s list of grievances and Humboldt’s Political essay. These two authors provide some thoughts on the political landscape of New Spain (now Mexico), while the two Swiss physicians Rengger and Longchamp describe the ruthless and odd dictator Francia of independent Paraguay as a champion of anti-corruption. Finally, Argentine dictator Rosas—and his robberies as described by Rivera Indarte, Sarmiento and other anonymous authors—represent the embodiment of corruption through pure larceny, for whose crimes the Spanish colonial past apparently no longer served as a comparison.