The European Colonialism in 16th century to mid 20th - Research Paper Example

Introduction Colonialism entails the establishing, exploiting, maintaining, acquiring and expansion of a colony by a political power in one territory to another territory. A relationship that is not equal between the colonial power and the colony and even between the indigenous population and the colonial power was evident. The European colonialism was from the 16th century to mid 20th century, an era when authorities from different European countries established their colonies in Africa, Asia and within America (Margaret, 2006). Initially, countries followed mercantilist policies meant to strengthen the home economy. By the mid-19th century, the powerful British Empire dropped mercantilism as well as trade restrictions followed by the introduction of free trade with very few restrictions and tariffs. African countries were the major victims of colonization. The main aim of the colonial rule was to exploit the colony’s economy and repatriate them to their home countries making the colony depend on them (Frederick, 2005). Definitions of Colonialism Colonialism can be defined as the policy and practice of a power to extend and take control over weaker people specifically during the process of European settlement along with political control over the rest of the world. Osterhammel defined colonialism as the essence and the existence of colonies, which were governed in a different form from other territories with a relationship existing between the indigenous majority and a minority of foreign intruders (Osterhammel, 2005). The colonial rulers implemented the fundamental decisions that affected the lives of the colonies. There are two forms of colonialism; settler colonialism involves immigration on a large scale mainly inspired by religion, politics or economic reasons and exploitation colonialism that involves few colonialists that focus on accessing resources such as labor and materials for export (Margaret, 2006). History of colonialism Colonialism has a long history starting with the African empires in the pre-colonial error in Egypt, Phoenix,, Greece and Roman where colonies were built in antiquity. The word "colony" comes from the Latin colonies that mean "a place for agriculture". The Vietnamese created military colonies south of their original territory between the 11th and 18th century absorbing the territory. The modern colonialism started with the age of Discovery where Portugal and Spain had discovered new links across the oceans and established trading posts. It was a period that was associated with revolutions in the commercial sector that saw changes in accounting and banking industries in Italy. The 17th century was characterized by vast creations. French colonial empire along with Dutch Empire as well as the overseas possessions of Britain, which all together became the British Empire. Colonial empires in Denmark were also established (Frederick, 2005). The Revolutionary Wars of America led to the reduction in the spread of colonial empires in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many powers from Europe were involved in the scramble for and partition of Africa in the late 19th century (Frederick, 2005). Strong countries dominated weaker ones to advance their national self interest, for economic, religious, cultural, or other reasons. The three prime reasons for setting up colonies were gold, God, and glory. However, the main incentives were usually economic. The main markets were manage and controlled by the settlers and the colonial rule. Colonies were good sources of raw material as well as good opportunities for investment. Colonists wanted to exploit the mineral wealth of their colonies. Colonies had strategic positions like the Cape of Good Hope, on the southern tip of Africa, which provided safety for sailors from European’s taking the southern route to Asia. Colonists also wanted to protect previous investments. The colonies also had the urge to spread and preach their beliefs in relation to their religion and cultures in which they had a strong belief that they were very powerful. Advantages and Disadvantages A number of advantages and disadvantages characterized colonization. Areas that had not been colonized were quite poor and underdeveloped (Walter 2006). The colonists were powerful and wealthy with vast developments evident in their home countries. As a result, the colonies benefited from the wealth and technology of their colonizers through improved infrastructure like electricity, telecoms roads and water. The power that colonizes an area can learn a great deal from their new colony. Often, the colony and the colonizing power had very different cultures, religions, and education. Each can learn a lot from interactions with each other. The colony provides resources that cannot be found elsewhere. A great deal of land for farming and growing crops and a land that is rich in valuable resources such as gold and coal that could benefit the colonizing power (Walter 2006). A number of negative effects also characterized the process of colonialism. When a colony takes power over an area, the colony’s native way of life is interrupted and changes beyond recognition. This leads to a loss of traditions, cultures and identity of the people within that colony. There was no balance in power between the colonizer and the colony. The colonial rule were considered to be very powerful. This resulted to the disrespect towards the native inhabitants of the colony who are treated very badly by the colonizing power (Frederick, 2005) A potential conflict and hostility are developed when the natives of the colony have their land invaded by outsiders, and their lifestyles completely changed. Colonialism and Marxism Marxism terms colonialism as a form of capitalism, which enforces exploitation and social change, closely associating colonialism with uneven development. This exploitation produces distorted economies, socio-psychological disorientation, massive poverty and neocolonial dependency (Kris, 2010).Free trade thrived on exports of commodities from colonies,that where amassed profits in banks and industry, the highest stage of capitalism, with the exploited nations inevitably losing. Conclusion The impacts of the colonial rule on the colonies are considerable, with large impact experienced on local economics, traditions, culture as well as political systems. Decolonization also took place in a manner that led to problems. Colonial past is seen as the initial condition for underdevelopment since colonies were deprived of their resources and their labor was exploited. Imports from Africa were banned by the metropolitan powers of Europe who contrarily flooded the colonial market with their cheap goods that destroyed the local industries in the end. Colonialism was merely a system of exploitation that aimed to repatriate profits and surplus produced by the colonies to the mother countries of the colonists. Europe developed at the expense of underdevelopment in the colonies. Reference Frederick .C. (2005).Colonialism in question. University of California: Amazon publishers Press. Margaret K (2006). "Colonialism": Stanford publications Stanford University. Osterhammel, J (2005). Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview.Trans Shelley Frisch: Markus Weiner Publishers. New York City. Kris M (2010).Marxism and Colonial Cosmopolitanism.Routledge India. Walter R (2006)How Europe Underdeveloped Africa: East African Publishers. Read More