on the information of the Austro-Hungarian consul at Buenos Aires, to be worth in 1909, 8,750 millions of francs. It is not difficult to imagine what solid bonds, consequently, finance-capital (and its faithful ally, diplomacy) create between Britain and the Argentine bourgeoisie, what influence it guarantees Britain with those who control all the economic and political life of the country.
The example of Portugal shows us a somewhat different form of financial and diplomatic dependence coinciding with political independence. Portugal is an independent sovereign State. But in fact, for more than two hundred years, since the war of the Spanish Succession (1700-1714), it has been under British protection. The British have defended Portugal and its colonies in order to fortify their own positions against Spain and France. In return they have received commercial advantages, preferential import of goods and, above all, of capital into Portugal and the Portuguese colonies, the right to use the ports and islands of Portugal, its telegraph cables, etc.73
Relations of this kind, between big and little States, have always existed. But during the period of capitalist imperialism they become a general system, they form a part of the process of dividing up the world, they constitute, in short, one of the links in the chain of operations of world finance-capital.
Before leaving the question of the division of the world, we have still to remark the following. American literature after the Spanish-American war, and English literature after the Boer War, clearly and definitely stated this question at the end of the 19th century. German literature which al-
