Introduction to Colonization & Decolonization: Case Studies in Modern Africa and Asia

Colonization in 1945

Terms

colonialism: one country’s domination of another country or people, usually achieved through aggressive actions; involves formal political control of one country over another

colony: the territory acquired, usually through aggressive actions

colonization: the act of colonizing

imperialism: similar to colonialism but used more broadly to refer to political or economic control exercised either formally or informally

new imperialism: period of European imperialism involving extension of formal political control in Africa and Asia, 1870-1914

decolonization: process of granting independence to a colony; refers particularly to the period after WWII when European colonies in Africa and Asia achieved independence

History of Imperialism – Periods:

I. Imperialism before 1450II. Age of European Exploration & Early Modern

European Imperialism (1450-1700)III. European Merchant Empires (1700-1815)IV. Imperialism of Free Trade (1815-1870)V. New Imperialism (1870-1914)VI. Mandates (post-WWI) & Trusts (post-WWII)VII. Decolonization (1945-1970)VIII. Modern Economic Imperialism &

Neocolonialism

I. Imperialism before 1450

one state attempts to dominate all others through unified system of control

new territories usually adjacent or nearly adjacent to imperial center

Alexander the Great’s Empire, 320 B.C.

Roman Empire, 117 C.E.

Mongol Empire, late 1200s

Ottoman Empire, 1300-1699

Aztec Empire, 1400s-1521

II. Age of European Exploration & Early Modern European Imperialism (1450-1700)

emerging European nation-states compete for political and economic power drives exploration of and expansion into new lands

extension of formal political control over territories

new territories typically overseas – in S and SE Asia and New World

Why?

ECONOMIC/POLITICAL POWER desire for products

mercantilism – control trade ofcolonies in order to reap benefits

trade as war

Trading Companies

British East India Company (1600)

Dutch East India Company (1602)

Dutch West India Company (1621)

Why?

GOD (i.e. RELIGION)

Who?

1. Portugal (1415)2. Spain3. Netherlands, England,

France

In 1492 ….

… Columbus sailed the ocean blue …

… and the lucky guy ran into a giant heap of dirt in the way of his targeted destination.

Result: Spain builds a colonial empire in the so-called “New World.”

Going back a bit to 1488 …Bartholomeu Dias reaches the Cape of Good Hope

[And 518 years later, so did I!]

And in 1498…

Vasco da Gama rounds the southernmost tip of Africa...

… and reaches India via the sea

Cape Agulhas

Portuguese Empire, at maximum extent in the 16th c.

Spanish Empire in 1770

Dutch Colonies, 17th c.

British Colonies in North America, 1763-1775

French Colonial Empire

Keylight blue = first empire of 1600s-1700s; dark blue = second empire, built after 1830

III. European Merchant Empires (1700-1815)

by 18th c. European exploration and expansion resulted in the creation of powerful sea-based empires

world system = area where different cultures are related through commercial and other interactions

3 world systems

North Atlantic

South Atlantic

Indian Ocean

North Atlantic system

regions: Western Europe, Russia, the Baltic, Scandinavia, Newfoundland, Canada and northeastern USA

colonial powers: French, Dutch, English

main products: timber, fish, fur

South Atlantic system

regions: South and Central America, Brazil, Caribbean, West Africa, southeastern USA

colonial powers: Spanish, Portuguese, English

main products: silver, sugar, tobacco, African slaves, cotton

Indian Ocean system

regions: South and Southeast Asia, East Africa

colonial power: Britain main products: spices, silk, other

luxury goods

IV. Imperialism of Free Trade (1815-1870)

extension of informal influence (namely economic) rather than asserting formal political control

driven by capitalism product of Industrial Revolution

(begins in Britain ca. 1780) Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776)

“The sun never sets on the British Empire.”

V. New Imperialism (1870-1914)

states resume extending formal political control, not just economic or diplomatic influence

territories acquired in Africa and Asia

still driven by capitalism

Imperialism in Africa, 1914

Imperialism in Asia, 1914

VI. Mandates (post-WWI) & Trusts (post-WWII)

League of Nations mandates – transferred control of German and Ottoman colonies to WWI victors

United Nations Trust Territories – successors to mandates when UN replaced League of Nations in 1946 colonial power required to set target

date for trust’s independence

League of Nations mandates in Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific

VII. Decolonization (1945-1970)

VIII. Modern Economic Imperialism & Neocolonialism

economic domination: the domination by a powerful, usually Western nation of another nation that is politically independent but has a weak economy greatly dependent on trade with the powerful nation