Around the World in Eighty Days

Victorian imperialism and colonization were embedded in Victorian ideals. Those ideals, in turn, developed alongside the massive spread and global control of the British Empire, which fueled and benefitted from intense industrial and economic growth. The Industrial Revolution led to the rise of an educated middle class in England that believed in the moral imperative to provide less well-developed cultures with progress through British influence. This imperial impulse stemmed from and was used to justify colonization and the acquisition of resources. In other words, British imperialism and colonization are situated in the Victorian belief that Britain was culturally superior to all other cultures. This demonstration of period-typical racism appears in many Victorian-era texts, including Around the World in Eighty Days.

Verne’s novel demonstrates period-typical racism by emphasizing British superiority and the positive influence of the British on the British Colonies. For example, Chapter 19 begins with a description of Hong Kong and the British impact on the city. The narrator describes “the colonizing genius of the English” as transforming Hong Kong into “an important city and an excellent port” (124). As Passepartout wanders through Hong Kong, he sees everywhere “the evidence of English supremacy” (125). Verne primarily references British influence on trade and travel, disregarding the demands Britain placed on colonies to provide resources for England or the impact of British influence on local religious and cultural behaviors.