Colonialism
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Colonialism
Colonialism is a global concept that enveloped the world for over four centuries. Having begun after the discovery of the sea-route traversing across the Atlantic Ocean to both America and African continents by the Europeans, the battle for supremacy shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coasts and sea lines. This meant that the then European powers, England, France Dutch Republic, Portugal and Spain that were already nation-states started to struggle for supremacy through expansion of territories. The focus was to collectively but competitively spread the European culture, rule,and institutions across the world with a distant idea of a European-controlled world. The idea developed over the next centuries to an organized process of conquering and rule that ended in the 1950s (Césaire, Kelley & Pinkham, 2000). This paper analyses the specific process of development and its importance to date. The paper is based on the idea that the impacts of colonialism are still relevant in contemporary times and can be traced back to the factors that championed for its growth and development. The paper will analyze the concept of colonialism from the context of the desire to expand territories, the trade requirement and the political pressure in the European block.
The Historical Development
In 1488, the European travelers traversing the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean in their travels to Asia discovered that the sea route was going around Africa’s coast in the south and that the largely unexplored land was already inhabited. On reporting to the European authorities, the desire to expand territories and explore the economic and political opportunities that the land offers enhanced. The same process happened for the American continent in 1492, when the explorers used a similar tactic to report back to the European authorities of the existence of a broader and more expansive land within the Atlantic Ocean (Tignor, 2014). The success of these discoveries was enhanced by the improvement of the navigational instruments such as new compasses and the scientific revolution that led to a better understanding of the North Pole as different from the Magnetic Pole. Through the identification of the compass direction and how they would direct travelers, the European countries attempted to use them to subdivide the world between themselves.
The Desire to Expand
The first such subdivision was based on the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 that came after the successful first voyage by Christopher Columbus. The treaty was between Spain and Portugal and was based on an understanding that the non-Christian world (non-European) would be subdivided between them. An imaginary line 1300 miles west of Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean was the boundary and Spain was to rule all that was on the West while Portugal would rule the East of the boundary. Nonetheless, at this time, the countries did not realize that the boundary would divide even the other side of the globe(Tignor, 2014). This was the beginning of the colonization of West Indies, India,and Brazil by the Portuguese. This treaty existed for nearly a century without competition due to the limited information about the colonies and their opportunities.
The rest of the nation-states in Europe followed suit after 1560s voyages across the nations. Most especially England had already made for themselves ships that would travel across the target lands and make their own analysis of the colonies and the distant territories. This resulted in an increased focus on the opportunities and enhanced the struggle for the nations to acquire colonies. From this context,therefore, colonialism was not based on any desire to obtain civilization(Marx & Engels, 2001). This is largely because the issue of colonialism destroys the very fabric necessary for civilization. The European nations who needed to expand their territories did not do it for the sake of those who were being colonized but rather for their selfish desires. The traveler's message already noted that the distant land, despite being uncivilized, was already inhabited by communities who had a way of life unique to them. However, this did not deter them from pursuing their desires to achieve control of the world.
Colonialism and Trade
After the 1500s successful attempts to increase the occupation in Asia and America, there were major changes in the European concept of colonialism. The Portuguese were the first beneficiaries and had already experienced major economic boosts due to the newly opened trade links and interests especially in the relationship with Asia. In addition, the country was already draining the gold reserves in the east and this proved critical to the rest of the European countries who felt left out. Spain was also benefiting from the Mexico mines although the wealth did not translate to improved standards of living of the Spaniards who still felt that they were highly taxed(Tignor, 2014). The commercial revolution in the European block following the colonialism first attempts increased the value of the practice and also served asan incentive for further exploration and colonialization. It also facilitated the deeper exploration of the African continent that was yet to be well explored. By the 17th century, the European continent had already been well introduced to new commodities such as coffee from Eastern Africa and particularly Ethiopia, and Tobacco from America. These particular commodities conquered the market in the century and this challenged the governments to focus more on initiatives that would promote the trade based on these products.
In this context, therefore, the European powers were instilled with the perception that there was progress with the improvement of their own economy. Most were relatively envious of both Portugal and Spain that had already acquired substantial wealth from their colonies and therefore subconsciously proved to be future political threats. This necessitated the continued focus on more opportunities across the world which then brought about the idea of control. Most of the European countries decided to seek control of the areas where they believed that there was significant wealth to control and exploit and hence the scrambled for the subdivision of continents such as Africa that was evident in the 18th century.
The Need for Political Superiority
The real image of colonialism emerged with the increased desire by the European nations to conquer new territories, establish own rules and as a result control the local resources. The basic definition of colonialism is based on the concept of the developmental differential. This implies that there is a control that is initiated by a group of people, in this case, a nation, by another group of people who are aliens or foreigners (Marx & Engels, 2001). Colonialism from this context developed as a result of the will to expand the rule of the foreign nations, expand the political power and also exploit resources for individual gains. The most significant justification for colonialism was the notion that the colonialists sought to expand civilization to the uncivilized regions of the world as well as facilitating the expansion of the European religions especially Christianity. This facilitated the moral and ethical cushioning that colonization enjoyed and also enhanced the spread of the concept.
Although there were people who were opposed to colonialism, the justifications related to civilization and spread of religion were broadly accepted and the various countries in Europe expanded their political influence to other foreign regions, last on the list being Africa in the 1880s. However, immediately the colonizers established their rules in the colonies, issues related to mismanagement of local resources and injustices that were associated with genocides were already evident. Their aspiration was domination and not equality (Césaireet al., 2000 p.37). However, due to the influence of politics on other issues such as religion and trade, there was very little action from other players and most people accepted colonization as a political necessity and a fact.
The Relevance of Colonialism Today
Whereas the age of decolonization is already past and most people across the world only read about the colonial eras in history, save for most of the African countries, the impacts of colonialism are still relevant today. The contemporary society is based on both religion, economy,and politics that originated from the colonial era(Tignor, 2014). The capitalism that exists in the contemporary society today, as well, is strongly attached to the struggle to retain control over resources that was first evident from the perspective of the colonialists. This means that the colonialism mentality successfully established itself in the cultures of the colonized across the world, making them less mindful of the plight of the other people but focused on themselves.
In addition, it is evident from life today that all the political forces are directed towards seeking control of resources and to ensure that one particular group of people, whether alien or local has the power and the control over the success of the others. The desire to use the political, military and economic force to control the resources held by other nations is also relevant today when one focuses on the various wars that are being witnessed today. Political struggles and pressures result from internal and external forces that seek control of resources (Césaire et al., 2000 p. 43). In addition, the clear alliances that are seen today often are based on the ideologies and concepts developed during the colonial time, which are sometimes hurting to the colonies in terms of constrained political and economic opportunities.
References
Césaire, A., Kelley, R. D. G., & Pinkham, J. (2000). Discourse on colonialism;A poetics of anticolonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2001). The Communist Manifesto. Waiheke Island: Floating Press.
Tignor, R. L. (2014). Worlds together, worlds apart: Volume C.1750 to the Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company