WHITE MAN’S BURDEN: THE POEM THAT LEGITIMIZED WHITE SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Freedom Lapuz

October 23, 2026

This article was submitted as a paper for Twentieth Century U.S. Freedom Lapuz, all rights reserved. This article may not be used to train AI. 

The poem White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling is a piece that served as a source of validation for the United States’s annexation of the Philippine archipelago. Initially, the U.S. needed the Philippines to be its trade hub for the East’s goods. U.S. politicians, publications, and a percentage of the public found that Filipinos were not civilized enough to use their homeland’s potential, therefore; Anglo-Saxon leaders must step in and govern the country. Great Britian was also pleased to see that the U.S. was moving into the direction of annexing the Philippines. They would rather have an ally control the archipelago rather than another “predator nation- particularly Germany”[1] to annex the islands and leave them out of the profits to be exploited. In the U.S., the belief that Anglo-Saxons were the superior race was a common opinion in the country. Politicians and publications argued that Kipling’s poem demands the White people of the West to uplift and lead the uncivilized Filipinos. It is not only seen as a moral duty, but also a Christian duty. However, the U.S. did not want to tackle the mission of civilizing the Filipinos the way Spaniards did. They saw Spain’s colonization as barbaric, but in reality, the U.S. was expanding their empire silently- hiding their real goals. Furthermore, the civilizing duty of White men towards the Filipinos is seen as a thankless job- hence the title, White Man’s Burden. Publications groaned at the fact that Filipinos would be taught how to be civilized and governed, just for them to be ungrateful for the U.S.’s colonization of their country. Throughout Philippines’s history after 1898, whiteness and U.S. supremacy has become the pinnacle of everyday life in the country. It became the standards for education, beauty, success, etc. To this day, White saviours are still worshiped by Filipinos, like General Douglas MacArthur. Not only does Kipling’s poem reinforce White men as the saviours of the Philippine nation, but also legitimizes the white supremacy engraved in Filipino culture. White Man’s Burden by Kipling is a poem designed to legitimize the annexation of the Philippines by the United States of America. It presents the action of civilizing the archipelago not only as the duty of superior white Anglo-Saxons, but also as a spiritual calling to save Filipinos from being savages.

         The economical potential of the geographical position of Philippines was the biggest reason on why the U.S. wanted to annex the islands. Although Philippines can be seen as a gateway to the Eastern trade economies- its true strength is the access to Chinese trades. This was the underlying reason of Kipling’s poem. Great Britain wanted the U.S. to annex the Philippines because it would grant them access to these trades as well. Arguably, Britain was the only ally the U.S. had at this time due to other European countries staying loyal to the Spaniards. The Times wrote articles on “emphasizing ‘responsibility’ and urging the United States to position itself as both protector of the archipelago and… as the guardian of the gateway to trade with the Far East”[2]. Furthermore, pro-imperialist papers wrote articles for “America [to] accept her responsibilities in the Philippines, and not leave the islands virtually derelict or worse… allow them still to continue under Spain”[3]. Kipling tries to validate Western occupation in his poem by demeaning Filipinos. Words like “sullen, half-devil, half-child”[4] are used to describe Filipinos and tells the reader that they are untamed and resentful beings. The passage “In patience to abide, To veil the threat of terror”[5] justifies the saviour complex of American annexation. Kipling is telling the reader that with great patience and tolerance towards uncivilized Filipinos, the Americans can save them from their savage ways. Using poetry to shroud colonial intentions can be interpreted in White Man’s Burden. With the Philippines being in a geographical advantage for trading- U.S. with the support of Britian would utilize the archipelago as a means to maintain empirical power. The U.S. at this time were getting suggestions from English publications that they must model their annexation after British India. However, British India was still subjugated into assimilation and colonization. Using it as the pinnacle of an empirical colony does not justify the annexation of the Philippines. Americans desperately wanted to distinguish their annexation from Spain’s colonization, but in reality, the U.S. was conducting a silent empirical mission using media biases, public manipulation, and their belief in racial superiority.

         The Anglo-Saxon identity was used as a symbol of a superior human race to justify atrocities done to non-White communities and nations. Britian and the U.S. established their Anglo-Saxon unity by claiming that both nations have a “common heritage… that establishes their racial brotherhood”[6]. According to the idea of principle imperialism, “conquerors should not simply exploit the lands they occupy; rather, they have a responsibility to uplift the subject people”[7] and conform the subjects into Western ideologies. Publications such as the Economist and the Spectator encouraged the U.S. to “heed her Anglo-Saxon sibling in learning how to manage the people of colour whose lives they suddenly controlled”[8] implying that the British governed India is the right way to colonize. Furthermore, the publications critiqued America’s track record with African Americans in their own country, and “agrees that Britian should tutor”[9] the emerging empire of the U.S. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon saviour identity, the calling of saving the Philippines is intertwined with “religious duty”[10]. The American government wanted their role not only to be the ones to teach the islands about civilization, but to also “maintain its unblemished virtue, continue its role in the holy community, and prove its purity through acts of mercy”[11]. In other words, the mission is an evangelical undertaking. In Kipling’s poem, he implies that the work Americans will do to civilize and educate the Philippines will ultimately be thankless. Parts of the poem claims that the uncivilized will “blame… and hate”[12] the White man despite reaping their rewards. Kipling does offer a reward for those who teach the uncivilized people as he ends the poem stating “Through all the thankless years, Cold edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgement of your peers”[13]. The passage implies that despite the Filipinos being ungrateful, other civilized nations would still realize the work Americans have done to save the Philippines. The notion of Westerns saving a country that does not conform to their own set of ideas is preposterous. Difference in cultures and its divergency from Western ideology does not mean savagery or uncivil. Furthermore, the idea of annexing a country and using religion to justify it is blasphemous. Christianity, specifically the Bible, have been used to manipulate and terrorize non-Christian nations. The Spaniards used the Bible to control and unify the nations in the archipelago, and years later, the Americans use Christianity as a divine calling to save the Philippines. There was never a White man’s burden- only the White man’s greed.

        Kipling’s poem might be from a different century, but its effects can be seen in today’s Philippine culture. Unfortunately, White people as saviours of the Philippines is engraved in Filipino history. Most famously, General Douglas MacArthur is renowned as a saviour of the Philippines during World War II. Multiple statues of MacArthur can be found in the Philippines. The most famous one can be found in Leyte, Philippines, where MacArthur can be seen walking the shores of the province with other soldiers. Another statue comes in form of a hat. In Philippine culture, MacArthur’s hat became a symbol of saviours. In Cagayan de Oro, a MacArthur Memorial Marker can be found at a nearby fort celebrating MacArthur’s accomplishments in the Philippines. In addition, many smaller statues of MacArthur can be found all over the country. With the amount of recognition Philippines have rewarded MacArthur, anyone would expect him to be a legendary war general. But in reality, he was not the saviour many Filipinos think he is. Since MacArthur strategy usually relied on better weaponry against his foes, he ultimate became “the victim of his own ego and sense of infallibility”[14]. Furthermore, MacArthur’s defense of Luzon was extremely disorganized and led to unnecessary casualties that historians claim him to be “more of a criminal than a hero”[15]. In the context of Kipling’s poem- MacArthur was the White man that tried to take on the burden of saving the Philippines. However, just like MacArthur’s legacy, the White man being a saviour is nothing but a fantasy that held on to Filipino culture like a parasite. Westerners tried to justify that Filipinos needed to be civilized, but in a different perspective- the Westerners were the ones who were uncivilized. They were the one that inserted themselves in a nation that could function without foreign intervention. However, their undermining of Filipino identity was successful. Today, whiteness is the pinnacle of Filipino culture. The U.S. is still the standard of quality in terms of goods and everyday life. Unfortunately, many Filipinos are still under the spell of Western influence, and rejection of pre-colonial identities are overwhelmingly common.

       Overall, Kipling’s White Man’s Burden was used as a tool to justify the annexation of the Philippines by the U.S. It hides the true intentions of exploiting the islands by using superior race assumptions and religious manipulations. One of these intentions was simply for America and Britian to have an established trade post in the East and boost their economies. They claimed that the Philippines was not civilized enough to manage a nation and its economy, therefore they must step in and lead the uncivilized. In reality, this was nothing but an excuse to legitimize U.S. annexation. Furthermore, the notion of Anglo-Saxons being the superior race was crucial to the poem’s structure. Kipling presents the White man as a person who is only doing their racial and evangelical duty of saving uncivilized nations. Additionally, he claims that when the uncivilized do become civilized- they would not thank the White man but rather despise him. Of course, these were baseless and untrue statements. It is again trying to justify the exploitation of the Philippines by presenting them as savages that needed saving from the people chosen by God. Lastly, the idea of White saviours coming to the Philippines to liberate them have been engraved into Philippine culture. General MacArthur is a prime example of American mediocrity being celebrated in the Philippines despite being more of a criminal than a hero. Kipling’s poem is an example of whiteness being used to control the narrative of legitimizing imperialism. It is one of the many tools used to justify atrocities not only in the Philippines, but all over the world.

[1] Susan K. Harris, God’s Arbiters: Americans and the Philippines, 1898–1902 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011),132.

[2] Harris,135.

[3] Harris,135.

[4] Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden,” McClure’s Magazine 12, no. 4 (February 1899).

[5] Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”.

[6] Harris,133.

[7] Harris,133.

[8] Harris,137.

[9] Harris,137.

[10] Harris, 141.

[11] Harris, 142.

[12] Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”.

[13] Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”.

[14] Richard Connaughton, MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines (New York: Overlook Press, 2001), 112.

[15] Connaughton, 112.