„Tryb życia kolonisty jest bardzo jednostajny”. Relacje kolonizatorów drukowane na łamach czasopism Ligi Morskiej i Kolonialnej

Abstract

An important element of the Polish colonial propaganda of the 1930s were the pioneers’ testimonies, which were not only a source of knowledge about the living conditions and countries where they established plantations, but – above all – an important element in shaping the image of the colonizer as a modern hero of the independent Poland – and thus a role model. The issue of “struggle for the Polish type of colonial pioneer” was one of the topics discussed frequently in the press of the period, and the image of the colonizer itself was changing. The initially dominant romantic vision of an emigrant pioneer who tames wild nature was over time often contrasted with the positivist model of a Polish entrepreneur, merchant, employee of commercial and trade companies or a merchant seaman. The article is an analysis of the testimonies of colonizers published in magazines issued by the Maritime and Colonial League. These articles, apart from the informative function, were primarily persuasive, showing the everyday life of these modern heroes of mass imagination, who – despite strangeness and adversities of fate, nature and politics – thanks to their determination and abilities, tried to achieve colonial success for themselves and for the Motherland.