The World Health Organisation (1948) defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease’. Warwick-Booth, Cross and Lowcock (2012) refers to this definition as having an ‘holistic’ approach to health through how it emphasises the significance of looking at the “whole picture” when it comes to discussing the topic of health. This definition has been revolutionary and is currently widely used across society. Despite this, health has often been a difficult term to define. The University of Tampere (2018) groups health definitions into two categories: positive and negative. They state that the ‘WHO’ definition is the “model” definition when looking at positive approaches. A negative approach views health as being free of disease/illness (University of Tampere, 2018). Horvath (1972) defines colonialism as a ‘form of intergroup domination in which settlers in significant numbers migrate permanently to the colony from the colonising power’ (Horvath, 1972, p. 2). This definition considers the term ‘domination’, insinuating that a colonising nation will seek to overrule in every aspect, having a substantial amount of influence. Due to a large influx of people, colonialism had huge health implications for both the receiving country and the colonising nation. Disease, relocation and unhealthy behaviours were seen to be significant outcomes of colonisation, not forgetting that there were some positive results as well. These aspects will be discussed throughout, along with a focus on the colonisation of Canada by European nations.
Dahlgren and Whitehead (1991) developed a model of health known as the ‘Rainbow Model’ which is seen to cover a wide range of aspects of life which all impact on health in some way. A key weakness of the model however is its inability to consider the history of geography and power, meaning that the impact of colonialism on health is unaccounted for when studying health using this particular model. Due to this, the focus of this essay will be surrounding the Barton and Grant (2006) model, as it is based around the rainbow model but has extended the ideas so that the environment is included as a key concept.
It is important to consider the circumstances occurring within both Europe and the Americas prior to colonialism. The indigenous people of the Americas – those who occupy the land and follow unique religions, faiths and inhabit their own ways of living (Canada’s University, 2017) – in many ways were behind in their development as a nation when compared to western countries prior to European invasion. Machinery and military equipment were far superior in Europe with the availability of materials such as steel. Wooden instruments were more common in The Americas. The wide range of food being produced in Europe came down to the availability of plant and cattle, which wasn’t present in native America. However, the fundamental difference between the areas, which as a result had the greatest impact on health once colonialism was under way, was infectious disease. (Diamond, n.d.)
The aboriginals – those inhabiting the land prior to colonialism – suffered various health problems as a result of invasion from the Europeans. One of the first incidences of this was when the indigenous population were stopped from residing in their typical areas, as well as being disallowed to gather food in their traditional ways. This proved to have significant health implications as it was found that traditional farming methods relates to high levels of independence and discipline which is seen to enhance health overall (Reading & Wien, 2008). Despite this, it has been found that in some cases, the aboriginals attempted to “befriend” the Europeans in order to develop trust (Oliver, 2010). These attempts were, however, small scale and health issues developed at a fast rate. Smallpox was another major issue in Northern America. In some cases, whole groups of aboriginals (tribes) were abolished through transmission of the deadly disease. The epidemics of smallpox across Northern America was a leading factor as to why the Europeans were successful in occupying the land, with smallpox outbreaks nullifying the resistance from the aboriginals. The rise of these epidemics comes down to the fact that smallpox was a new disease brought over by European colonisers, therefore, the indigenous people hadn’t previously built up any immune response to the disease, allowing for rapid transmission and traumatising impacts. Duffy (1951) refers to the Americas as a ‘virgin field’ for the disease to spread freely (Duffy, 1951, p. 325) When studying the Barton and Grant (2006) model, community is close to the heart of the model. The importance of community in health relates to the smallpox case, as during colonialism, many indigenous people stay part of close groups, which therefore impacts on the rate of transmission. As well as this, lifestyle is even closer to the centre of the model, highlighting the importance of the choices we make when it comes to pastimes and recognising how they impact on our health.
The effects of colonialism on the indigenous populations are still apparent today, with clear health disparities between the original indigenous people and the remainder of the population. Following the model of health, lifestyle as previously discussed has a big part to play in having good overall health. In a study conducted in 2010, it was found that indigenous people accounted for two thirds of the smoking population in Canada. The indigenous people were seen to indulge in other unhealthy activities, with 1.8% more people claiming they were drinking alcohol in excess on a weekly basis when compared to the rest of the Canadian population. These unhealthy lifestyle choices may have a direct impact on the results of investigations looking into the death rates, where the original population’s rate of mortality is double that of the rest of Canada (Canada’s University, 2017)
A prime outcome of the colonisation of Canada was the Residential Schooling System brought about by the government seeking to provide a unique educational environment in order to prepare the young aboriginal population for Canadian society. This coincides with the idea that the Europeans wanted to incorporate their way of life into Canada and aimed to help the aboriginal people onto a path of success. However, the outcomes of the schools brought about many health issues with the Prime minister Stephen Harpers describing the schools as ‘profoundly negative’ and having a damaging impact on the lives of the indigenous population during the official ‘apology’ in 2008 (Regan, 1941). Children were taken away from their homes and their families, were told they couldn’t practice any religious traditions during their time and also suffered severe physical, mental and emotional torment. Robertson, L. H. (2006) investigated the mental impacts of the schools on various children and concluded that many youths developed a form of post-traumatic stress disorder which they named ‘residential school syndrome’, highlighting not just the physical torture which they suffered during their time, but the lasting mental effects which are still apparent in survivors today.
What should also be noted is that it wasn’t just the nation being colonised that suffered health implications as a result of invasion; the Europeans suffered in similar ways. Smallpox was the stand out issue for the indigenous people of the Americas as previously discussed, but it was syphilis which infected numerous European colonisers. The Spanish colonisers in particular suffered badly from diseases such as malaria and yellow fever when they arrived. Before the discovery of these diseases, many deaths were associated with the European’s lack of ability to survive in more tropical climates. This was found to be the case during the colonisation of Africa. (Cox, 2007)
Despite this, there were some positive outcomes as a result of colonialism. Through an increase in the transmission of various, newly discovered diseases, the Europeans began to develop medicines and drugs to aid any infected troops. However, the Europeans discovered that it would be of benefit to them to also prescribe the treatment to any aboriginals who were doing jobs for the colonising nation. This meant that medical attention eventually became available for everyone, bringing about increased health to even the indigenous people. As this developed, a similar pattern occurred with the opening of hospitals, eventually becoming readily available to everyone. The Europeans also developed better sewage and insect control practices, which relates to the inclusion of the natural environment and how that should be considered a major determinant of health (Cox, 2007). As a result of the introduction of these health practices, the Europeans were able to implement another aspect of their lifestyles into the Americas, contributing to their overall goal of administering European behaviours into outside nations.
In conclusion, health is a very broad term and one that has numerous justifications, definitions and views. The ‘WHO’ definition of health, along with Dahlgren and Whitehead’s Rainbow model of health and Barton and Grants version of the same model all represent the broader, more widely used definitions and views on health in recent times. When colonialism is introduced around the topic of health, it is clear that it has had an outstanding impact even to this day on the likes of Canada, whether that be through the residential school system or the current lifestyle behaviours of the aboriginal population.