Colonialism: Facts and Information

Definition and Overview

• Colonialism: Control by one power over a dependent area or people.
• Involves subjugation and exploitation of one nation by another, often imposing language and culture.
• By 1914, most of the world's nations were colonized by Europeans.
• Exceptions: Japan, Korea, and Thailand never colonized by Europeans.
• Imperialism: Related concept involving use of power to control others, underlying colonialism.

History of Colonialism

Antiquity

• Practiced by Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Phoenicia from 1550 B.C.
• Expansion for resources and power, e.g., Greek city-states establishing colonies.

Age of Discovery

• 15th Century onward: European exploration and colonization.
• Portugal started with conquering Ceuta in 1415.
• Spain followed with Columbus's 1492 voyage, initiating Spanish Empire.
• Western Europe including England, Netherlands, France, and Germany engaged in empire building.
• Colonization often involved small European parties seizing lands from Indigenous peoples.

Subjugation and Revolutions

• Colonialism involved recruiting or enslaving Indigenous people for labor.
• Example: Bandeirantes in Brazil captured Native people for labor.
• Atlantic slave trade: Central and West Africans kidnapped for labor.
• Former colonies like the U.S. became colonizers post-independence.

Colonial Rationale and Resistance

• Justified by supposed legal and religious obligations to civilize others.
• Religious conversion often promoted by church leaders.
• Doctrine of Discovery: Papal bulls justifying colonization for Christian conversion.
• Resistance: Indigenous people resisted colonizers through uprisings and rebellions.
• Example: Ethiopia resisted Italian invasion at Battle of Adwa in 1896.

Colonialism's Legacy

• Positive Aspects: Infrastructure, trade, medical knowledge, literacy, human rights standards.
• Negative Aspects: Coercion, forced assimilation, environmental degradation, disease spread, economic instability, ethnic rivalries, human rights violations.
• Complex legacy debated by scholars, with significant negative impacts noted.

Notable Figures and Events

• Cecil Rhodes: British imperialist linked to apartheid legacy in South Africa.
• Mahatma Gandhi: Led India's independence movement against British rule.
• Historical instances of resistance and independence: American Revolution, Haitian Revolution, etc.