European Invasion of Asian Countries - Essay Example

The history of European colonization of Asian countries began as early as the 1500s. Some of the colonizing countries include Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and France. Some of the countries colonized by Europeans include Vietnam, the Philippines, India, China, Indonesia, and Singapore. There are varied reasons why colonialism was at its peak between the 14-19th centuries. Historians have identified the motives as ranging from economical, cultural, and political. Some of the political motivations for colonialism include the need by European countries to expand their territory, increase military and national pride or acquire status as a world power. As different empires started acquiring new colonies in Europe, countries such as France, Spain, and Great Britain expanded their territory in neighboring lands to gain more world status and power. As a result, France and Great Britain looked for colonies in Africa, North America, and Southeast Asia. Spain conquered South America and the Philippines (Tewari and Alvarez 154-160).

There were also various economic motives behind colonization. Some of the motives include the desire for international trade, commercial enterprise, and scarce raw materials. For example, many European explorers were looking for spices or valuable metals. The colonizers obtained resources from the colonized countries at low prices. As a result, the colonizers improved the economic status of their home country. This was without any regard for the societal implications of their activities on the colonized countries.

Finally, several cultural reasons necessitated the European colonization of countries in Asia, Africa, and America. Nita et al coined the term ‘White Man’s burden’ to refer to the notion held by colonizers, who believed their culture was better than that of colonized people.  The European countries also viewed indigenous cultures as having inferior and immoral beliefs. This made European force religion, particularly on the cultures of the colonized (Tewari and Alvarez 154-160).

Has colonialism been a good or a bad thing?

The amount of time spent by the different European countries in the Asian countries differed. The impacts of colonization varied from one colony to another with time. To understand the influence of colonization on the different countries, the essay will examine three major eras of European colonization of Asian countries: Great Britain colonized India from 1633-1947; Spain colonized the Philippines from 1550-1898; and French, colonized Indochina from 1859-1984. Historians have explored the three types of colonization because they were the largest and longest European settlements in Asia. The three colonial powers are valuable since they each created a historical and cultural impact on the colonized countries (Tewari and Alvarez 154-160).

Economically, the colonizers exploited the Asian countries for their raw materials and natural resources. The colonial supporters viewed colonization as beneficial because it led to modern economic and technological growth within the colonized countries. For example, the French colonial rule constructed irrigation systems making it possible for the Vietnamese to increase the amount of land under rice cultivation. Britain constructed railways, and irrigation systems and promoted the establishment of cash crops such as tea, coffee, and silk.

In the education sector, the colonizers established new education institutions that glorified colonizers' values while degrading the colonized values and cultures. The institutions projected the notion that European ideals and intellects were more important than that of indigenous Asian cultures. Western education created tension among the educated and non-educated. Education created hierarchies and competition for power in previous collectivistic cultures. Education systems granted privileges to wealthy individuals. Positively, western education led to the emergence of great writers such as Mahatma Gandhi of India and Jose Rizal of the Philippines (Tewari and Alvarez 154-160).

Culturally, European colonialism influenced the culture of colonized countries in many ways. The cultural forms took different forms such as standards of beauty, shifts in values, .language, and food. Food affected colonized countries. For example, Southeast Asians include French influence on bread in their meal. The degree of religious influence depended on the duration the colonizer occupied the colonized countries. For example, Spain colonized the Philippines for more than 350 years, with religion being one motion of their colonization. As a result, the Spanish catholic friars coerced the Filipinos to accept Christianity as their religion (Tewari and Alvarez 156-160).