...December 14, 2013 Shades of Colonialism The continuum of history plays an important role in human thought. History and Colonialism, to the superficial thinker, is a collection of individual actions, social change, periods, regions, civilizations and other events that are long gone. However, as Prof. Montrose points out, history is not just about the past. All that happened in the past was happening in the present at that time. We are living in our present which will be the past in the future. The history of colonialism is being written every moment that we live, and the attached articles aptly illustrate the fact. Events that molded the colonial past are interwoven in the present and are shaping the future. The commonality and diversity of causal forces and human reactions with regard to colonialism, over time is remarkable. The struggle between a dominant and suppressed culture is a common thread. The clash could be between distant cultures, such as the Europeans and Africans or somewhat similar cultures, such as the British and Irish. This can be loosely labelled as external and internal colonialism respectively. External colonialism has declined and changed character in today's world of connectivity and interdependence. Nations now do not directly or outright rule other less powerful nations. Instead, they take a more subtle approach, influencing the political class and deriving their benefits. This has even been called neo-colonialism, such as being practiced by China...
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...Typology of Colonialism Nancy Shoemaker, October 2015 In the past several years, settler colonial theory has taken over my field, Native American studies. Comparative indigenous histories focused especially on British-descended “settler colonies”—Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States—have proliferated. And settler colonial theory is now dogma. At my last two conference presentations, a fellow panelist was astonished that I didn’t deploy it. My research on native New England whaling history made me more globally comparative, but it also forced a reckoning that many places experienced colonialism without an influx of foreign settlers. As scholars parse settler colonialism into its multiple manifestations, colonialism itself remains undifferentiated. One of settler colonialism’s leading theorists, Lorenzo Veracini, juxtaposes the two completely. “Colonialism and settler colonialism are not merely different, they are in some ways antithetical formations,” he wrote in the 2011 founding issue of the journal Settler Colonial Studies. For Veracini, “colonialism” apparently refers to the late 19th-century European scrambles for Africa and Asia—in popular imagery, plantation colonies where members of a white ruling class dressed in white linen lounge on the edge of a cricket field, sipping cocktails served up by dark-skinned natives. Indeed, most of the literature on colonialism explores the history of the plantation colonies of that era. Instead of casting colonialism and settler...
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...Define Colonialism (Western) Colonialism: A political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The purposes of colonialism included economic exploitation of the colony's natural resources, creation of new markets for the colonizer, and extension of the colonizer's way of life beyond its national borders. In the years 1500 – 1900 Europe colonized all of North and South America and Australia, most of Africa, and much of Asia by sending settlers to populate the land or by taking control of governments. The first colonies were established in the Western Hemisphere by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th – 16th centuries. The Dutch colonized Indonesia in the 16th century, and Britain colonized North America and India in the 17th – 18th centuries. Later, British settlers colonized Australia and New Zealand. Colonization of Africa only began in earnest in the 1880s, but by 1900 virtually the entire continent was controlled by Europe. The colonial era ended gradually after World War II; the only territories still governed as colonies today are small islands. http://www.answers.com/topic/colonialism#ixzz1lYMQdYfY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony, and the social structure...
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...Political legacy of colonialism in India A lot of countries were experienced of political legacy of colonialism. This essay will focus on concept colonialism and its reasons. This notion could be defined in different ways. Colonialism is a situation of some territory which ruled by another country. Colonialism is a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. Colonialism developed from imperialism, which can be reffered to as the highest stage of capitalism. In nineteenth century colonialism was motivated by a number of factors including a nation's desire for political and cultural domination and economic exploitation. One example of this period colonialism is Britain's colonization of India. Essay will explain the political legacy of colonialism based on British colonialism in India. In the long history of European colonialism, some colonists did better by their colonies that others. Many motivations pushed Europeans towards colonizing foreign lands. Primarily, nations established colonies to gain economic profits. In the early 1800's, the Industrial Revolution was beginning in such places as Great Britain, and new markets and raw materials were needed to uphold th enew industries. Nations depended on their colonies for raw materials to be used in their factories so that they could produce a growing number of manufactured goods. They then hoped to sell the manufactured goods to their...
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...Postcolonialism By Patricia Waugh Summarized by Syed Saad Mukhtar M.Phil English Literature 1st Semester The Islamia University of Bahawalpur An academic discipline and theory featuring the methods of intellectual discourse that analyze, explain and respond to legacies of colonialism and imperialism, to the human consequences of controlling a country and establishing settlers for economic exploitation of native people and their land. The term postcolonialism addresses itself to historical, political, cultural and textual branches of colonial encounter between West and Non-West dating from 16th century to present day. Postcolonialism is thus a name for a critical theoretical approach in literary and cultural studies but it also designates a politics of transformational resistance to unjust and unequal forms of political and cultural authority which extends back across 20th century and beyond. The two very different traditions of Postcolonial thinking — the theoretical Post-Structuralist and Practical Political are thus linked in so far as some of the key concepts in postcolonialism. Postcolonialism therefore refers to those theories, texts, political strategies that engage in such questioning that aim to challenge structural inequalities and bring about social justice. It is often helpful to view Postcolonialism in comparative framework alongside political practices, with which it shares key objectives and expressions: Feminism. It is possible broadly speaking to trace three...
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...Settler Colonialism in the Middle East in the 20th and 21st Centuries ----- French Algeria Introduction: There are various kinds of colonialism such as occupation colonialism, imperial colonialism, and informal colonialism. The most common one is occupation colonialism, for example, the first wave of colonialism from late 15th century to early 19th century. No matter how differently they are called, the one thing all these colonialisms share in common is that exogenous power dominates local inhabitants. This subordination of local population could be in political, social, and even cultural ways. In these colonial relations, colonists make use of the local labor and then return home in a circular movement. Nevertheless, Settler Colonialism, described by scholar Lorenzo Veracini, is a straight line without turning pointing, a form of colonial formation that migrants remove the previous inhabitants and then take over the land they claim to form their self-ruling government.(1) Although it is called settler colonialism, it is largely different from the others. These settlers are motivated by land resource and the wealth and opportunities it could bring while natural resources such as oil, gold, fiber and human resources like labor, trade networks are more concerned resources in other forms of colonialisms, argued by scholars like Patrick Wolfe and Veracini. Besides, Settlers believe that local people should be removed from the land they claimed, making...
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...Today the Caribbean is known as a melting pot of cultures and societies, this is mainly due to preexisting historical factors of colonialism that were done in the early 16th and 17th century in the Caribbean. The exploitation of the Caribbean landscape dates back to the Spanish conquistadors around 1600 who mined the islands for gold which they brought back to Spain. The more significant development came when Christopher Columbus wrote back to Spain that the islands were made for sugar development. The history of Caribbean agricultural dependency is closely linked with European colonialism which altered the financial potential of the region by introducing a plantation system. Much like the Spanish who enslaved indigenous Indians to work in gold mines, the seventeenth century brought a new series of oppressors in the form of the Dutch, the English, and the French. By the middle of the eighteenth century sugar was Britain's largest import which made the Caribbean that much more important as a colony. Colonialism has been regarded as a significant and common experience that has been reflected on Caribbean people of today’s culture and values, based on the events and circumstances that occurred during the 16th ,17th and 18th century . A great example of colonial influence that has been made part of the Caribbean culture is food. Everything in Caribbean culture displays this forced adaptation and the influence of several cultures mingling, from the time of slavery and the days of...
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...Musings on Caliban and colonialism In the Tempest, the audience’s first introduction to Caliban is preceded by Prospero’s exchange with Ariel. Ariel’s passive servitude, respectful attitude and general compliance and integration into the human world contrast deeply with Caliban, and this juxtaposition continues throughout the play and serves to illustrate the theme of colonialism, and its different levels, that his character embodies and explores. There are a number of qualities that set Caliban apart from the rest of the characters in the text. Prospero calls him names such as ‘demi-devil’, ‘hag-seed’ and ‘strange fish’ are myriad. While they might appear pejorative, and were probably meant that way by Prospero, these names also link Caliban to the island of his origin. Caliban is, indeed, a spirit of non-human form and the son of a powerful witch. Yet it could be argued that Prospero has projected his own prejudices onto these terms and appropriated their true concepts to highlight his own authority. Some choose to read this as Shakespeare’s response to Montaigne’s oxymoronic vision of the noble savage. Shakespeare’s contemporary, Montaigne argued that the uncivilised societies of the indigenous American tribes were in fact naturally noble, which he believed was superior to the artificial constraints of the civilised, western world. In his essay, Of Cannibals, he explores the perpetually conflicting relationship between nature and nature, and the intersectionality...
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...African colonialism During the years of 1870s and 1900s the idea of colonialism sparked. The European industrial revolution was a time that Europeans were forced to find additional resources and placement for the surplus of people that were not as fortunate as the rich capitalist in Europe. Poverty and homelessness were on the rise due to the surplus of people that couldn’t be absorbed in the system. The Europeans thought to solve the economic issue by migrating to Africa to acquire colonies and export sources, such as raw materials. The settlers set up colonies in parts South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. This led to a movement called “scramble for Africa”. Africa was divided for control of people, power, resources and goods. The “Scramble for Africa” is an example of colonialism. The European countries of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium came into Africa to try to expand their territory and exploit the African people. The new borders created during the Berlin conference would force the indigenous people to share citizenship with other ethnic groups and governments. These borders still remain. To prevent wars and conflict between the Europeans and the indigenous people, treaties were created. (Wikipedia, 2014). The Berlin conference, initiated by Otto von Bismarck, laid down ground rules for the participating countries to even out competition and decrease chances of conflict amongst themselves. After the country was divided, treaties...
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...The Darkness of Colonialism “A slight clinking behind me made me turn my head. Six black men advanced in a file, toiling up the path. They walked erect and slow, balancing small baskets full of earth on their heads, and the clink kept time with their footsteps.” (Conrad, page 70) What links does man go to achieve the riches they desire? The human urge to dominate those weaker and foreign is unnerving. Colonialism of the 19th century did just that and Africa was the front runner of being colonized. Some would argue that inside every human soul, lays a savage, evil side that remains hidden and repressed by society. During times of seclusion from culture, or when cultures collide, this evil side emerges. History is full of examples of heinous acts that have occurred when cultures collide; from the Holocaust to slavery. During these times, a person may discover more about their true self. In grade school, we learned about the Pilgrims colonizing the new lands of the Americans. We are told how wonderful it was and we now have a special holiday to give thanks. As we dig deeper into the history books, we learn about the horrific atrocities committed on the Native American Indians, the so-called Savages of these new lands. The white man was the destruction of these natives in the New World. We colonized these savages, “helped them,” in other words, forced them to forget their own identity and beliefs and become like “us.” This is the same thing the Europeans did to the Africans of...
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...COLONIALISM IN AFRICA How does the legacy of colonialism affect contemporary African international relations? If questioned today about Africa in general the first reactions I would have are poor governance, poverty, conflict, economic instability and hunger. These are the major characteristics that dominate most of the states within the continent as a whole. The question would be has it always been this way? Different debates and differences have been focused on the colonial legacy for post-colonial Africa and the nature of colonialism. Various characterizations and conceptions tend to differ considerably among the international relations and African scholars. Between 1800 and 1900, majority of the European powers colonized the African continent. Colonialism, a political-economic occurrence whereby the various European nations exploited, took over, explored and settled down in great parts of the world still has a far reaching impact on the African continent. The colonialists; prolonged their ways of living beyond their domestic borders, economically exploited their colonies natural resources and this was done in order to strengthen and develop the colonies of the West and lastly created new markets. The African continent was indirectly impacted on the social, political, economic and cultural way of living. The colonial legacy is the inheritance of the state that belonged to the colonial administration from this administration by post-colonial rulers in...
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...Colonialism: The One-Armed Bandit In every essay that we have read over the past few weeks, all of the authors talk about how colonialism has ultimately destroyed Africa and their hopes of ever being as great as the other leader nations. Authors like Maria Mies, Walter Rodney, and Jerry Kloby all contribute different explanations as to how the European colonizers have basically destroyed Africa. Mies explains how Africa has no chance of “catching-up” to the other developed countries because of European colonialism. Rodney disputes the claims that colonialism has modernized Africa and how the new advancements being brought in by the colonizers were being more used against Africans than to help them. Then Kloby helps us look at real examples of different times in which colonialism has hurt Africans more than helped them. All of these authors have come to one clear consensus: colonialism has ultimately destroyed Africa’s chances of becoming a great and powerful continent. In Mies’ essay, she tends to be very pessimistic about the Africa being able to “catch-up” to other already developed countries. Mies says that, “the poverty of the underdeveloped nations is not as a result of ‘natural’ lagging behind but the direct consequence of the overdevelopment of the rich industrial countries who exploit the so-called periphery in Africa” (151). She denies that possibility that Africa can catch up by following the same path of industrialization, technological progress, and capital accumulation...
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...IRWLE VOL. 7 No. 2 July 2011 1 Arundati Rai’s The God of Small Things – A Post- Colonial Reading Rajeev. G The adjective “post colonial” signifies the notion that the novel or be it any piece of writing for that matter, goes beyond every possible parameters of the locality, region and nation to participate in the global scenario today which is an aftermath of European colonization. The God of Small Things written in the post colonial Anglophone by Arundhati Roy does reveal a decisive post colonial condition; through its dialogues, characters and various events and instances it encompass. Ms Roy refers to the metaphor “the heart of darkness” in the novel which is a sort of ridiculous reference to Conrad’s novel the heart of darkness. She says that, “in Ayemenem, in the heart of darkness, I talk not about the White man, but about the Darkness, about what the Darkness is about.” (Frontline, August 8, 1997). The God of Small Things tells the story of one family in the town of Ayemenem in Kerala, India. The temporal setting shifts back and forth from 1969, when Rahel and Estha, a set of fraternal twins are 7 years old, to 1993, when the twins are reunited at age 31. The novel begins with Rahel returning to her childhood home in Ayemenem, India, to see her twin brother Estha, who has been sent to Ayemenem by their father. Events flash back to Rahel and Estha’s birth and the period before their mother Ammu divorced their father. Then the narrator describes the ...
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...that truth is an incomplete narrative. With the exception of Afghanistan, Africa holds the position of listing the top twenty poorest countries in the world. (anetki.com) Aggregates of poverty yield disease, famine, and conflict which have all compromised Africa’s homeostasis. What seems to evade the average American’s conscious is that Africa was not always a continent filled with such calamities, or viewed as a collection of nations dependent on foreign aid. The continent has two distinct, defining periods that characterize Africa’s struggles. Evidence shows that western colonization of Africa began its destruction while contributing to dependency. The irony is that Africa’s dependency is exacerbated in the post-colonial era. Colonialism is not implemented achieved to bolster good faith with a new trade partner, but to serve the colonizer’s geopolitical or economic interest. (Gordon) When conversations begin concerning Africa and Africans, it seems that the continent and its people are treated as one monolithic block instead of collection of nations with vast diversity. This would be tantamount to grouping China and India together, because the two nations are part of Asia. Another misconception is that ‘African tribes’ and Africa lacked civility until it was colonized. In fact, these blanket statements are unfounded generalization. According to Erhagbe, one of the over looked facts concerning Nigeria is the country’s tremendous degree of communication with other groups...
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...Introduction Modern African states have several problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. The effects of colonialism have been offered as a starting point for much of the analysis on African states, but the question of why African states are particularly dysfunctional needs to be examined, given the extent to which they have lagged behind other former European colonies in many aspects. In the first section, I will consider the problems with African states from the level of the state. That is, the nature of the states' inceptions and the underlying flaws may explain some of the issues that have been associated with African states today. Next I examine the development of, or lack of, civil society and the institutions which took place across the continent in the colonial era. In particular, I consider the lack of education and judicial authority and how this affected the formation of the structures which exist in the post-colonial era. Lastly, the economic legacy of colonialism is analysed, and whether the failure of African states to prosper can be explained by colonial practices. State Formation Ever since the boundaries of Africa were drawn up in 1884/5, very little has changed in terms of the continent's territorial divisions. Much has been made of the fact that the post-colonial states which constitute Africa were the products of colonial demarcations, and whose territories are not congruent to existing political and...
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