How do you report on a story that began hundreds of years ago, or cover a global phenomenon that spans continents and centuries? How does understanding the past help us make sense of the present?
Despite several hundred years of imperialism and colonialism, the midth Century marked a period when many countries in Asia and Africa freed themselves from formal colonial rule. As a result, it is often thought — in both former colonising and colonised nations — that colonialism is a thing of the past.
From Kashmir to Palestine, Western Sahara to Crimea and South Ossetia, many parts of the world remain under direct military occupation. Countries such as Britain and the USA also retain control over colonial territories. Growing up in Malawi in the s, I witnessed the enduring impact of colonialism for myself.
Even through the layers of privilege that swaddled me as a wee white Scottish boy, I could see that life in Malawi during those years was a kind of informal apartheid. Entrenched hierarchies of race, class and gender were unmistakable and entirely normalised. This figure remains low compared to most other countries in the world. Nonetheless, it is high compared to what it was under Belgian rule. Under colonial rule, the Congolese population declined by estimates ranging from three million to 13 million between and due to widespread disease, a coercive labour regime and endemic brutality.
Gilley argues the benefits of colonialism can be observed by comparing former colonies to countries with no significant colonial history. Yet his examples of the latter erroneously include Haiti a French colony from to , Libya a direct colony of the Ottoman Empire from and of Italy from , and Guatemala occupied by Spain from to By contrast, he neglects to mention Japan, a country that legitimately was never colonized and now boasts the third largest GDP on the planet , as well as Turkey, which up until recently was widely viewed as the most successful secular country in the Muslim world.
In short, the facts are in, but they do not paint the picture that Gilley and other imperial apologists would like to claim. Colonialism left deep scars on the Global South and for those genuinely interested in the welfare of non-Western countries, the first step is acknowledging this.
Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. By , a large majority of the world's nations had been colonized by Europeans at some point. The concept of colonialism is closely linked to that of imperialism, which is the policy or ethos of using power and influence to control another nation or people that underlies colonialism.
These civilizations all extended their borders into surrounding and non-contiguous areas from about B. Beginning in the 15th century, Portugal began looking for new trade routes and searching for civilizations outside of Europe.
In , Portuguese explorers conquered Ceuta, a coastal town in North Africa, kicking off an empire that would last until Soon the Portuguese had conquered and populated islands like Madeira and Cape Verde, and their rival nation, Spain, decided to try exploration, too.
In , Christopher Columbus began looking for a western route to India and China. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas, kicking off the Spanish Empire. Spain and Portugal became locked in competition for new territories and took over indigenous lands in the Americas, India, Africa, and Asia.
England, the Netherlands, France, and Germany quickly began their own empire building overseas, fighting Spain and Portugal for the right to lands they had already conquered. Despite the growth of European colonies in the New World, most countries managed to gain independence during the 18th and 19th century, beginning with the American Revolution in and the Haitian Revolution in However, the Eastern Hemisphere continued to tempt European colonial powers.
Starting in the s, European nations focused on taking over African lands, racing one another to coveted natural resources and establishing colonies they would hold until an international period of decolonization began around , challenging European colonial empires up to Though imperialism led to the control of the developing cultures colonies by the stable ones colonizers , it also led to a more forceful defense by easing the borderlines.
The creation of common borders favored different nations, both the developed and the developing. Despite the borderlines being mostly under the rights of the influential countries, the same enabled more people to gain from modern defensive technologies.
Through colonization, people fought for independence to enjoy their liberty. Liberation was attained, and individuals from different nations can now enjoy the freedom to explore markets overseas and improve their economies. There is even further aspiration by the people to venture out into more markets, seeking better commercial products and services, which they can then sell in their own countries and acquire more profits.
Additionally, colonialism cultivated unison amongst the colonies. Since all the natives were now fighting for one agenda-to attain independence, the entire populace of the colonies treasured one other, hence unity. Indeed, the struggle and fight for freedom brought the large community together in one accord.
As much as the colonies benefited from the positive features of colonialism, many instances still depict the downsides of this era. Many people suffered exploits, mistreatments, forced labor, and some, even death, all in the hands of the cruelty of colonial masters. The cons of colonialism include:. Before the colonizers invaded the countries of their subjects, the now-called colonies enjoyed a great sense of harmony.
However, once their nations were overrun in the name of colonization, it marked the beginning of constant wars and conflict. All these features of colonialism distorted the peace that existed amongst the nations for an extended period. Also, through the arrival of the colonialists to Africa, the natives somehow lost their culture and identity. In this case, the colonial masters aimed at bringing their cultures, behavior, and other ways of livelihood to the African community.
The Africans could abandon their traditions and adapt to the cultures and customs of the colonialists. The Africans were used to the ways of respect, conformity, and commitment to their village elders and other rulers.
However, the colonial entry made the people of Africa exhibit a lack of significance for their culture by changing their behaviors and attitudes. It was a sign of the lack of regard for their old and valuable practices. They acted out of fear for the colonialists rather than logic; and submitted excessively to the techniques and mannerisms of the colonial masters.
Another downside is that they lost big acres of land, which were grabbed powerfully from them by the colonialists, who used force, hence making the Africans own almost nothing both at individual and community levels. Families suffered much in their land and under the acts of mistreatment from the colonial masters. Life was tough for most Africans. They had to release their family lands by giving them to the Europeans, who hardly cared for the welfare of the colonies.
Sadly, the colonialists would sometimes abandon the sick Africans who labored for them, die since the African natives were not much enlightened medically, establish what these diseases were, and find out the treatment techniques.
Before the colonial masters came in, the Africans controlled their overall economy without any issues. However, when the colonizers came, they began exploiting the African land resources, forcing the inhabitants to again depend on them for food and other basic needs.
It is during such moments that the African economy was left vulnerable. Related: Pros and Cons of Fascism. The colonial masters took advantage of the uncivilized society and exploited the people.
They also misused African wealth accumulation. The colonizers had some top-ranking groups of rulers who were chosen to rule the colonies. Therefore, the colonial bosses would use these rulers as their secret agents to spy on the Africans, identify whether they were following all regulations regarding the things they were asked to do, and other ways of living that they were forced to adapt. Sadly, the colonial masters could misuse the colonies and still laugh at their levels of ignorance.
Consequently, the Africans were referred to as native savages, meaning uncivilized people.
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