Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.77.7
Object Name
Poster
Title
In 1873 the 'great depression' began in all the industrial countries of europe
Place
Zimbabwe
People
Cecil Rhodes
Events
The great depression
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This poster is part of a set, "Whose World is the World?", comprising of twelve that were created for schools. The set depicts a different view of history and puts forward ways of understanding the basis for the development of Western economic power over the last 400 years. It was produced in
1979. This is the seventh poster in the series; it is beige with black and red text and photographs depicting police violence, diamond mines, and military preparations. In the centre of the poster is an illustration of Cecil Rhodes, a speech bubble coming from his mouth reads "WE MUST DO SOMETHING TO END UNEMPLOYMENT OR THERE WILL BE A CIVIL WAR. WE MUST CAPTURE NEW LANDS. WE MUST BECOME IMPERIALISTS!" text next to this illustration reads "CECIL RHODES LED THE CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN AFRICA. RHODESIA* WAS NAMED AFTER HIM. THE LAND WAS SOLD FOR A PENNY AN ACRE. RHODES LEFT A FORTUNE OF £4 MILLION MADE FROM MINING." Other text on the poster reads: "IN 1873 THE 'GREAT DEPRESSION' BEGAN IN ALL THE INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES OF EUROPE... BY NOW MORE GOODS WERE BEING MADE THAN COULD BE SOLD IN EUROPE. SO THE BOSSES WERE FINDING IT HARD TO MAKE A PROFIT. SO PEPLE LOST THEIR JOBS AND WAGES FELL. THE WORKERS' CONDITIONS GOT EVEN WORSE. POLITICIANS WERE AFRAID OF THE WORKERS ANGER. THEY DECIDED THAT
THERE WAS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THEIR PROBLEMS. THEY WOULD GET NEW MARKETS AND OTHER RAW MATERIALS BY CONQUERING OTHER COUNTRIES. THIS WAS CALLED IMPERIALISM. THE IMPERIALIST COUNTRIES GRABBED AND DIVIDED UP ALMOST ALL OF AFRICA. BY 1900 THE WHOLE WORLD WAS DIVIDED BETWEEN THEM. THE IMPERIALIST LEADERS ARGUED AMONGST THEMSELVES BECAUSE SOME HAD CAPTURED MORE LANDS THAN OTHERS. THIS WAS ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. THEY SENT MILLIONS OF WORKERS TO WAR TO SETTLE THEIR ARGUMENTS. MILLIONS DIED." This poster was printed by Gaffyne & Brown Ltd. and says it was "designed by the poster film collective and distributed by the institute of race relations. *Rhodesia was the colonial name of Zimbabwe, which gained liberation and changed name in 1980, a year after this poster was produced.
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