how are indigenous communities marginalized in he novel

Underlying much of Quatermain’s narrative is the assumption that British and European progress necessitates colonization of more “primitive” parts of the world, such as Africa. Quatermain’s attitude toward Kafirs, Zulus, and specific non-European characters (particularly Umbopa/Ignosi) demonstrates the prevailing attitude of European superiority over the “uncivilized” non-whites.

The dangers of imperialism are noted as well. Upon gaining the throne, Ignosi almost immediately sets up an isolationist foreign policy, in which no white man (with the exception of his three friends and benefactors) will ever be allowed in Kukuanaland. He says he will turn them back. If they come in large groups, he will push them away, and if they arrive in an army, he will fight them. Ignosi does not want the European vices of violence (in terms of firearms), drunkenness, and greed to infiltrate his land. Haggard here depicts the harmful side of imperialism—the effect it has upon those people who are being colonized—in terms that are somewhat advanced for his day. His experiences in Africa have certainly made him more aware of the effects that Britain’s foreign policy is having upon other cultures.