The Country of the Blind

Wells chose to set “The Country of the Blind” in Ecuador, a South American country that was colonized by the Spanish Empire from the 16th century until 1820. Although most of Latin America had declared independence from their European colonizers by the time Wells published the story, colonialism was still a widespread phenomenon at the start of the 20th century. While the history of imperialism and decolonization is vast, its specific impact during Wells’s time informs “The Country of the Blind.”  

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Wells’s native British Empire grew into the world’s largest imperial power. Part of its spoils during the Napoleonic Wars included colonial territories that were previously held by France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The British Empire continued its expansion into Africa and Asia, consolidating its sovereignty over territories that included India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, South Africa, and Egypt. The British Empire’s reach stretched as far as New Zealand, which it declared sovereignty over in 1840. The Empire’s power during this time granted it enough power to compensate for some of its losses in the previous century, most notably the Thirteen Colonies in North America.

The impact of the American Revolution in the 18th century galvanized independence movements in many colonized territories during the two centuries that followed.