Category Archives: History

Colonization: Africa vs. United States

Posted on October 8, 2014 by | Leave a comment

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The colonization of Africa differs from the Unites States colonization in many distinct ways. For the United States, European nations first came to America with the intent of increasing their wealth and boarding their horizons. The Spanish were then the first to settle what is now we call the United States. In 1607, the first colony in the US was founded in Jamestown, Virginia. Many people that came to settle in the new land came to get away from religious problems in their former countries. In 1620 was when The Pilgrims, founders of Massachusetts, arrived and settled on the new land. In both of these new found places, the colonist made it through with some help form some Native Americans. They then survived off of corn that kept them from starving and tobacco then became a valuable cash crop. In the early 1700s is when slavery began and Africans made up a big percentage of the colonial population. Finally, by 1770, there were more than 2 million people in the population in the 13 North American colonies

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African colonization was extremely different and a lot harder than it was for the United States. Europeans had and increased fascination with Africa starting into the late 18th century. The 3 men that had importance of the begging of African colonization are James Bruce, Mungo Park, and David Livingstone. James Bruce who was a Scottish traveller was the one who was interested enough to seek the source of the Blue Nile and traced its origins. Mungo Park is the man who was responsible for discovering the interior of Africa and along the River of Niger along and crossed the whole contention from east to west. David Livingstone discovered the sources for the River Nile and was also anti-slavery crusader.

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In 1807 the African Slave trade was finally over thanks to Great Britain. It was extremely hard for them to make a transition form slave trade to trading things such as palm oil and groundnuts. This then allowed people the Europeans to increase their mark on Africa because of their trading companies. Later after all of the countries were somewhat colonized Africans became increasingly involved in the worlds economy with getting cash for crops and begging to mine for diamonds and gold. Africans began to get a sense of identity because of the colonialism thought the continent.

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World War II was the begging of the Africa political awareness. Shortly after the United Nations was then created with leaders from all around the world. Ghana became the first African nation to gamin independence and then the European settlers made it much harder for places like Kenya and other east Africa nations to gain independence. The Pan African Movement was then started in order to try to get Africans to stick together and think of themselves as unified. Africa had many ups and downs, but all of it made it what it is today and is still a work in progress

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I think that the history of Africa plays a huge role on my present day life and it will for the rest of my life. Being a black woman in society is often very hard, but it can never be used as an excuse. Yes, we may have to work twice as hard and be twice as good, but it ultimately makes you appreciate life and everything you have worked for. We have come along way, even being allowed to be at a school like Penn State is history that has been made and continues to be made with African Americans who come here and are able to succeed. I am proud of who I am and how far my people have come and it is just a stepping stone for what shall come in the future.

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Posted in Development, History, Uncategorized

Colonization: A Sad Comparison

Posted on October 8, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Many have heard the phrase “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in reference to the discovery of North America and subsequent colonization. It seems like an innocent child’s rhyme, recited to foster memorization of our country’s history. Sadly however, the process of colonization of the Americas by European countries is anything but innocent. Not only did European countries colonize America, they also had a heavy hand in the colonization of Africa. Two beautiful countries with amazing potential, savagely ruled because of greed and a thirst for power. Slavery also was a huge factor with founders exploiting both Native Americans and Africans and the negative effects are still being dealt with in today’s society with inequality being a continuous fight.

The three g’s that governed the exploration and later colonization of the Americas I believe also had an affect on what was happening in Africa though with slight variance. They are: God, Glory and Gold. Religion played a huge role in that the European countries believed (wanted to believe) that what they were doing in these parts of the world was governed and blessed by God. God would have wanted them to bring life and love and Jesus to these poor heathens who probably have never even heard of the bible. Countless actions were excused on behalf of bringing the Christian faith to these “naïve” people of the world. Now I am a Christian myself and this greatly saddens me because at its core, these explorers and conquerors of the land were committing acts that fostered inequality in the name of religion.

During the time of colonization in the Americas the second g “Glory” was quite important to those countries investing in the exploration. To obtain pieces of land, establish a new sector of trading, and be known to other parts of the world that you have lived and conquered, all fall into the category of glory. Countries such a France, Brittan and Spain saw Africa and the Americas as parcels of land waiting to be divided and thrived in. Wars were fought, treaties were signed and lives were lost often times with little respect for the native inhabitants. Why should their needs, desires and customs matter? These countries believed that no matter what African’s and Native Americans original methods of living were, theirs would be better, stronger, and more civilized.

The third g “Gold” was also a huge factor in colonization. In this world and throughout history, there is one thing to be counted on: people’s love of wealth. The pilgrims traded the Native Americans beads and other worthless trinkets for knowledge of the land and other life-saving information/tools that they had no way of providing for themselves. As discussed in class, Africa was sought after for jewels, gold and other goods. When a country is discovered to have goods worth trading, suddenly the value and desire for parts of that land skyrocket. Countries began to carve away at the rich country of Africa, all seeking personal gains for their own economies with little heed to what would become of the societies they were pillaging.

As a person who is of both Native and African American decent I cannot help but feel overwhelming remorse for the suffering of my ancestors. While colonization of the Americas and Africa did bring about definition of the nations that we know and love today, it went hand-in-hand with the crushing of economies and the spirits of those natives who were expected to follow willingly into a life of despair and pain. Those hurtful actions are still being seen in our society today in fights for equality and reparation for past grievances. The toil of those who went before us is not to be soon forgotten as it can still be seen all around us.

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African and American colonialism under Britian

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The European nations were of the quickest in the world to develop. This led them to explore the world to expand and to grow even bigger. The United States of America was one of the colonies of Britain, amongst other European countries like France, Spain and the Netherlands, Along with an array of African countries that fell under British imperial control. lets compare and contrast the differences between British colonization of Africa and America.

England's colonial expansion

AMERICA
The British colonized the Americas during the late 16th century, they had colonies in North and South America. The British pretty much wiped out the Native population as their warrior were no match for the superior military and advanced weapons. The Europeans brought to the Americas foreign diseases which along with the military and weapons killed off the natives. The British government set up their system in the Americas. The Christian church launched a massive evangelism crusade, which is the start of the colonization of the Americas.

Africa
The British Government moved in on the continent of Africa seen as a means to expand their arm of imperialism. They arrived in Africa in 1539. The European nations of Belgian, Britain, French, Germany. Italy, Portuguese, and Spain all had colonies in Africa. The only countries in Africa not to be colonized would be Ethiopia and Liberia. Britain began taking over the territory of Nigeria in the 1880s, dividing the more than 200 ethnic groups into three regions: the Northern Region, the Western Region, and the Eastern Region. They brought with them the Christian religion that they tried to convert all the people of Nigeria to. Nigeria became part of the British empire January 1, 1901.

Comparison
The British colonization of the Americas was very similar to that of Africa. They basically came into these areas and began changing and altering peoples way of life to match that of theirs. The good that the British did in Africa was helping the Nigerians with health, agriculture, and education, schools. They taught the Nigerian people how to speak English. The British, in my opinion, designed the new Nigerian colonies to economically serve the British needs. Nigerians traded materials such as palm oil, cotton, rubber, and tropical wood for expensive British things such as clothes, and metal tools. However it wasn’t all good and jolly. The Nigerian people began trading humans for British weapons.
In the Americas the main influence or effect of the British colonization was the eradication of natives of the lands and the establishments of Coalition parties from British political establishments.

Ultimately America became sort of a spitting image of Britain while Africa was left damaged and ruined. America followed in British footsteps and began the exploitations of Africans as well. the mid Atlantic slave trade is started and Africa would never be the same. I think that Africa suffered most from the colonization from Britain as opposed to the Americas. The was an enormous amount of Africans brought to the Americas, which they benefitted from by selling them and making them work on Farm crops like cotton.

source: http://www.studygroup-bd.org/colonialism-british-colonisation-of-the-americas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Nigeria

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The Two Unique Colonialism

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Since the beginning of the 19th century, the European nations’ effort to exploit the human and natural resources of Africa became the definition of colonialism. Between 1450 and 1750 Europeans just regarded Africa as place for trade and they had settled only couple colonies. But with the industrialization booming up in Europe, bye 1850, Africa was being taken over by imperialistic powers such as Great Britain, Germany, and France. Thus, by the end of 19th century, multiple colonies existed in the continent of Africa.  However, the colonial era in the Americas started a lot earlier than African as it began during early as 16th century by countries such as Spain and Great Britain. The place was also settled permanently in order to extract natural resources of the land. Accordingly, there seems to be a great similarity between colonization of Africa and colonization of America. However, multiple historic evidences prove that they were actually completely unique.

The first main difference between the two was the difference in competitors. During the colonization of America, it was the main three powers that fought over control of the territory. Initially, it was Spain, the first country among the three to have gained national stability through Reconquista (Spanish Revolution), that started to look westward to find new trade routes. However, it was soon joined by other new nations with similar domestic peace and militaristic power; France and England. Thus it was the three that exploited much of the resources in the Americas. But, during the colonization of Africa, there was a greater competition. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, much more European nations were sufficient enough to look towards foreign inputs and outputs. Thus, countries such as Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Russia joined the fray of intense colonization. I believe this greatly contributed to the reason why after each colonization periods, North America created just Canada and US whereas African ended up with many countries with disorganized borders. It was easy for America because Canada had French/English influence and US just had English background when independence happened. Accordingly, the inhabitants of the Americas had similar background that allowed for them to united under that same background. However, same phenomenon could not have happened for Africa. The issue of independence was really difficult with territories because they have been controlled by various countries. It prevented Africa from cooperating and regaining its wealth compared to America’s independent countries because they all had very distinct colonial experiences. This was displayed by the aftermath of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 where the fate of the nations in Africa was decided by the rulers, not the citizens. Since there were so many countries with difference interests and goals, the distribution of borders were careless and inconsiderate to the different backgrounds of diverse Africans. I personally think this  ignorant division of borders and territories by the Europeans led to conflicts later in our history regarding countries such as Nigeria, Uganda, and Sudan.

Another reason why the colonial experience was distinct between American and Africa was the goal and nature of it was fundamentally different. Colonialism in America began when the Europeans wanted to expand their territory to gain more trade routes. Therefore, they were interested in flourishing the new land and give support to become a self-sustaining place. This was accompanied by establishing permanent towns and cities throughout the continent. They sent their citizens to permanently settle and start new lives. Thus, people sent to colonize the Americas were to live there forever. Consequently, even after colonialism was over, the people in the Americas were able to continue living prosperously by themselves. In a way, colonialism actually helped the continent by sending more citizens that had hopes and dreams of accomplishing their new dreams.  However, Africa was faced with a different policy. Imperialistic nations were not interesting in expanding trade routes or gaining territories as much as the colonizers in America. But, they were solely interested in exploiting as much natural and human resources as possible. This meant that they were not concerned with the consequences and did not care about long-term effects that their actions could bring. Therefore, Africa was reaped heavily of its fortunes and valuables as the Europeans were only concerned with bolstering its wealth. Thus, after they have left, the citizens of Africa had very less capital to self-sustain as their human and natural property have departed away from them.

It was very compelling for me to find out how the two different aspects of colonization ended up deciding the fate of the inhabitants. Although we might think they are similar, it is evidently true that the colonialism in America and in Africa were very different regarding number of colonizers and their main policies that resulted in contrasting consequences in our history.

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Colonization: the enemy of mankind.

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Colonization spread around the world before the World War II began to start. It was an industrialization era started in England and continuously proliferated into other European countries. This industrialization allow the countries to produce many products in high quantity as well as power. To produce these mass products, it needed a great number of resources to put into system. And after the product had been produced it needed the market to distribute and make money from it. Colonization is the result from these great demand. European countries conquered so many countries and in almost every continent around the world as well as trying to find new land to provide resources for the system of European industry. America and Africa are among the colonized countries at that time.

Starting the colonization period of each place. America was habited by the native and the European migrated to the continent of America. The first one to found this continent is Portugal Amerigo Vespucci. Starting from the east side, European gradually migrated to the whole continent, it had been divided into partial of area as the territories of the owning countries. Almost of the area was conquered by Spanish, British, Portuguese, France, and more. The migrated European poached the native dwellers time by time until the native people almost gone. The whole continent is the territory of European countries as their colony. Unlike Africa, it was started from the west side of the continent. There was a little bit of occupation by European (in the America it’s the main action). The European used former African leader or the honors to dominate the areas by giving him interests. Many leader that didn’t cooperated was eliminated and appointed the new one. But the same thing is that British, Spanish, and French are the main role of this raids for colonies.

The colonization of America came from the exploration for “new land” to expand the country area. The space that was plentiful and valuable resources for the European wealth. While in the Africa colonization came from slavery, the hunt for man labor. The reason for this labor hunting was for developing a new territory (America), it needed so much labor to build the whole new community. As you can see the people in American colony was the former European while the African colony it was still African people. This was how the “Triangular trade” established. It looked like buying slaves from Africa (sometime hunted) and transferred them to America then used them as a resources to produce primary productions then shipped those to Europe for secondary productions and made more value from them. After the final products had been released, they had to find new place to sell and that followed the new colonization. It was loops of raid back then, nightmares that came from development.

After almost everywhere was conquered, the military power of the ‘giant’ countries” were decreased because it was a long time ‘war’ and it was the time to return. The costs for wars that took so much time were very expensive. Taxes were the solution for the costs. Back then, former Europeans were now American because of time that took them parallel to each other and significantly different. They didn’t find any good for paying taxes to Europe. North America was the first to repelled European power out from their ‘country’ using force (if needed) and money (if could). There were many important events following the ‘Boston Tea Party’ (initiation of resistance to European power) and finally the day of independence came. But there still existed the ‘African’ slavery in America and Europe. African people, following the independence of America, started to beg for their treat. There were protests and peaceful action then, some of the ‘Europeans’ didn’t want to release because it was their own interests and wealth. Luckily, the day of ignorance finally over, the end of slavery came. Africans were free.

—–Colonization is now over and the world is back to peace again. No one can do this bad thing to his brother but a man himself. Let’s hope the colonization idea won’t be back again ever. The day of ignorance is perished, but memories and evidences still exist in the world of ‘humanity’ where ‘human’ is ‘human’ and a man can be treated as a ‘human’ equally.—–

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Posted in Conflict, Development, History

US colonization vs African countries colonization

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We all know that most African countries (basically the entire continent) were colonized by European countries and so were the United States of America but, there were many differences between Us colonization and African countries colonization.

First difference is that European countries and Kingdoms “discovered” and colonized African countries earlier. African countries were discovered in the 15th century (XV). The Portuguese started to explore Africa after conquering Ceuta in 1415.  Even though Columbus discovered “The New World” in 1492  the British only settled in North America in 1607, 17th century (XVII).
Besides that African countries were colonized for several centuries some of them until the 20th century while the United States of America become independent in 1776. So most African countries were colonies for five centuries, half of a millennium while the United States were a colony for less than two centuries.

There’s also the slave trade, African suffered a lot from this and Africa was the only continent that loss so many natives to work in other continents far away from home, against their will and many dying before reaching the destination. African colonialism was also more violent, I don’t mean to disrespect Americans neither devalue the suffering that the native Americans went through during their colonialism  but being from Africa, knowing the history and because I visited museums and forts from the colonial time and saw how the native Africans were treated, they were dismembered, whipped and killed (many times for unnecessary reasons). It was really hard for me seeing what I saw and knowing what happened, and try to imagine how many generations suffered so much through many years, decades and centuries!

Each and every single form of colonialism is bad and wrong because every nation deserves freedom independence and control of its own future. The same with slavery. Any kind of slavery is wrong because freedom is the best thing a nation and its people can have and no race or nation is superior to any other. With that being said, looking deeper in what slavery is we find that slavery is when a group of people serves another involuntary (against their will) and instead of being treated as people are treated as property and labor and are forced to do every and any kind of work and obey every and any kind of order to avoid serious and harsh punishments. We all know that Africa is the continent that suffered the most because of slavery and many believe that its consequences can still be felt nowadays because most African nations didn’t have the opportunity to build and develop their own countries the way they wanted, the populations weren’t able to grow as much as they could (some estimate that African population would be twice as big in 1850 if they were not colonized and enslaved) and some social issues are still present n African countries nowadays as consequences of slavery.

Imperialism is the practice of power, domination, ruling and having authority over another group pf people or nation, have or acquire colonies. European imperialism “took away” most of Africa’s land, resources, freedom, peace and large quantities of its population. European imperialism had a big impact in the United States as well but as I mentioned before without disrespecting native Americans and Americans in general European Imperialism had a bigger impact on African countries because of all the factors I mentioned previously and specially because it lasted much longer.

In general Europe practiced imperialism, colonialism and slavery and that affected continents, many nations and millions and millions of people. The United States of America and most African countries suffered a lot from it with some differences but will always have this in common, at one time they were ruled by European kingdoms and were colonies!

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African and American Colonialism

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Africa and North America both experienced European colonialism. In some ways, the two continents had similar experiences such as the exploitation of natural resources. In other ways, the continents experienced different experiences such as the mass migration of Africans during the slave trade. In this blog, I will compare and contrast the experiences of North America and African colonialism. I will also explain my beliefs on how the slave trade has affected modern Africa.

African and North American colonialism shared similar experiences. One of which was the reason why Europeans settled the continents in the first place. Europeans believed that North America and Africa were full of natural resources ripe for the taking. Spanish settlement of South America proved that there were riches to be had in these unsettled lands. Unfortunately, North America was not as big of a gold producer as South America. It did have a lot of trees for lumber and as we discovered later, North America had oil. Africa on the other hand had gold and diamonds. Africa also had the slave trade which at the time Europeans thought of as a resource.

African and North American colonialism shared a similarity in how the Europeans dealt with the native populations. Europeans never gave the native populations mutual respect. When Europeans came to America they saw the Native Americans as savage people and displaced them from their land. In some cases, Native Americans were enslaved and worked for the Europeans. When Europeans settled Africa the same thing happened, they saw the native people as savage or primitive and enslaved them as well. On all levels, the African slave trade was on a much larger scale compared to the enslavement of Native Americans. In fact, the Native Americans low resistance to Europeans disease made African slaves more desirable. This just added to the demand for African slaves in the Americas.

A difference between African and North American colonization would be the level at which the slave trade was conducted in Africa. Millions of African slaves were ripped from their homes and sent over to the Americans to work as slaves. This is different from the colonization of America because Europeans did not export Native Americans as slaves to other countries. I believe that such a mass migration of people is one of the reasons why Africa is underdeveloped as a continent today.

The slave trade in my opinion is one of the reasons why Africa is relatively underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world. African slaves were traded by the millions. European traders bought these slaves with goods they had brought from England. The slave trade was literally a flesh for property business. Traders traded sugar, rum, linens, and even seashells for African slaves. So if you look at that situation on a large scale, there are millions of Africans being bought for random goods such as rum. These goods were made for European lifestyle not the lifestyle of the majority of the African continent. These goods were most likely useless to people other than slave traders. I believe that this lack of common currency as well as the displacement of millions of young Africans had a social-economic impact that Africa is still feeling the effects of today.

Another similarity I can see between the colonization of Africa and North America is the capacity for revolt found in the colonists. The United States of America overthrew Britain’s power in the American Revolutionary War. We were able to gain our independence and set up a democratic government. The same thing is happening to African countries today. South Africa is the first country in Africa to gain its independence and had its first democratic elections in 1994. Just as the U.S. and South Africa gained their independence, I believe that all African countries will follow suit given enough time.

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The Tragic Histories of Colonization in the US and South Africa

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If you look at a 20$ bill, Andrew Jackson’s face looks right back at you. This is a man who oversaw the passing of a law that legalized ethnic cleansing and led to genocide. Something that is usually lacking when Apartheid is discussed in the United States is self-reflection. South Africa and The United States have endless similarities, especially when it comes to colonization and the treatment of each country’s respective native people.

The US and South Africa are home to enormous amounts of natural resources. The presence of these resources encouraged European exploration and colonization of both regions. The United States was colonized by many countries including Brittan, France, Spain and the Netherlands. South Africa was colonized by the Netherlands and Brittan. Pre colonization, both counties were home to a diverse number of nation/states often referred to as tribes.

With an abundance of resources and no single concentrated government, the land belonging to the native people of both regions was taken explored and colonized by European powers. As European exploration turned into colonialism trade turned into the displacement, enslaving, and murder of the native people of both regions. The fate of indigenous groups often depended on resources. If a group were in the way of possible wealth they were removed. One particular resource that was especially fateful for the native people of both regions was gold. The gold rush in the Western United States led to extreme violence resulting in the decimation of entire American Indian Nations. Similarly British and Dutch discovery of gold resulted in wars between European powers and subsequent violence and displacement of Africans. The discovery of gold in South Africa helped to start a chain of events that would lead to Apartheid.

It is common to end the discussion of the colonization in the United States at the end of the revolutionary war, but this is not the case. The result of the end of the war was the United States-a country whose inhabitants were previously European. The new country set on a course of Westward expansion dubbed “Manifest Destiny”. The philosophy known as manifest destiny, is really nothing more than imperialism. This form of imperialism encouraged organized and often militarized violence against Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 made the displacement of various Native American nations law in the United States. In 1851 land was designated to separate Native Americans from the rest of the population. These designated pieces of land were named reservations. Horrific events such as the Long Walk of the Navajos, the Trail of Tears, and the Massacre at Wounded Knee have come to define the brutal violence against Native Americans during this era.

In the late 1940’s South Africa Apartheid was enacted. This followed years of segregation and repression of non-whites in the country. Apartheid made it an official law that non-whites and whites would be separated. Laws made it illegal for non-white South Africans to travel in certain areas without documentation. Events such as the Sharpeville Massacre and the Soweto Uprising are reminiscent of the horrors that happened in the previous century across the Atlantic, in the United States.

In both the United States and South Africa signs of the past remain. Reservations and townships still exist with lingering social and economic issues caused by centuries of Oppression. It continues to amaze me that with all of the similarities of Apartheid and The Indian Removal Act that both subjects are taught with much different attitudes in the United States. Just recently I was watching Anthony Bourdain’s Part’s Unknown in which he visited Johannesburg, South Africa. In the show’s opening scene he questions why a statue of a Dutch solider, synonymous with colonialism and oppression, is still standing in post-Apartheid South Africa. It is a very valid question, but is it fair to criticize South Africa for the presence of a statue when Andrew Jackson (the president behind The Indian Removal Act) is on the United States’ 20 dollar bill?

Cited:

Bourdain, Anthony. “Parts Unknown: South Africa.” Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. CNN. N.d. Television.

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COLONIALISM: BEFORE AND NOW

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Social creatures is what best defines us as humans. Our history bears proof of this. We have lived in communities for as long as we can remember. We co-operate with each other both on the individual and community level. Just like a family, each community needs a head, these community heads are those who represent our interests when it comes to inter community relations. A well organized community structure is one that thrives and benefits in all facets of inter community interaction. Like individuals, groups tend to take undue advantage of other groups. This often leads to issues and can breed never ending conflicts, or on the other hand undeserved servitude for generations, these last so long it becomes the norm. The world has seen more than enough of such behaviour from the so called powerful nations. From the days of slavery through to colonialism and imperialism. It is ironical when the history of the current powerful nations of the world is scrutinized. It appears they have all been subjects to another authority of some sort one way or the other.

No matter how you look at it, I do not share the notion that colonization has any advantages. There are so many effects of colonization and in my opinion they leave nothing but whole generations dependent on others for their well being. Those however being looked up to have not the slightest interest in the well being of those they have subdued, they are indulging in self preservation.

MEANING AND HISTORY OF COLONIALISM
Colonialism is the process or policy where a state or group of states acquire political control of another state or states either through military invasion or diplomatic ways. The number one reason for this is economic, and it is resource (natural and human) based. Current political and economic ties between most nations stem from colonialism. Although it stretches far back into human history, destructive colonialism as I prefer to call it started in the 15th century when Europeans started to travel the world in the name of discovery, these trips were pioneered by the Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the American continent, and the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and East Asia. Even the mere mention of discovery sparks another debate, as most of these lands were already inhabited upon their arrival, however, this is a topic for another day. Upon their arrival, they were astounded by the wealth, order and diversity they found in these places. Most of these explorations were financed by the crowns of their respective states, so it was mandatory that they claim the “new found land” in the name of the crown. During the 16th and 17th centuries,England, France and the Dutch Republic had established empires overseas and were competing with each other. Evidently, this was taking on a competitive dimension. All colonies were property of the crown, that is to say the royal family of the colonialists owned the lands they had colonized, as strange as it sounds this was the order of the day. It must be noted that not all colonies fell without a fight. Some of them fought back and were killed almost to the point of extinction.

COLONIES
The world as we know it today has been shaped by events of the past, notably colonization. Countries are labeled either as french, english or spanish speaking,this is a direct result of colonization. Most Asian, African and middle eastern countries were colonies of one western power or the other. At one point in time, the queen of England was known as the largest land owner in the world. The most interesting colony based on its history and current policies is the United States of America. America was a british colony that completely severed all political control from england with the help of the french. This help was motivated by a longstanding rivalry between the french and english. It was a way of redeeming french pride from their defeat in the seven year war, and also heavily influenced by econmic gains should the enterprise succeed.
In the case of Africa, because there were a lot of players in the division of Africa, and the potential for Africa to be a break away colony, no western country aided in the independence of any African country. After all they all gained from the loot, and there was no reason to stir the boat. Even after independence, most countries still had to battle the political hurdles that were placed before them. That is where the concept of Neocolonialism comes in, this is simply indirect colonization or imperialism. Colonial masters still wanted a say in the politics of independent nations. America was a front runner in these practices. A CIA declassified document outlines these plans though not to the exact detail. There is however an admission of involvement. An example is the CIA “backed” coup that over threw Ghana’s first president.

EFFECTS OF COLONIZATION
The effects of colonization is evident today in many forms. It includes the extinction or near extinction of tribes,economic dependence, stymied development, corruption ( brought on by more modern forms of colonization), wide spread poverty, change of cultures and a loss of self esteem and identity. Most of the colonized territories were forced to change their way of life and to adapt that of their masters. The French for instance had the policy of assimilation, this was an ideological basis of French colonial policy in the 19th and 20th centuries. The French taught their subjects that, by adopting French language and culture, they could eventually become French. This led to the demise of various cultures within current french speaking countries of Africa. Economically, the colonists exploited the natural resources of the colonies after they had taken political control of them. A close study of the colonial transportation systems of West Africa reveals just that. Railways were laid from resource rich areas to the coast for transport to the west. All of these resources were taken free of charge, and they continue to be taken today for next to nothing. When the colonialists were finally thrown out, they ensured that they held a political influence on their old lands. This they did through various means, including but not limited to murder, espionage and economic hits. The new born countries were denied their rightful place in the modern trade of resources, the buyers fixed the prices of both the raw materials and finished goods. In a speech to the british parliament on 2nd February 1835, Lord Macaulay said “I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.”the bristish therefore developed methods to achieve just that. They referred to natives where ever they conquered as savages and bushmen. And where the people refused to be governed, they were subdued militarily. This trend persists today in the part of west africa where I come from. Anything european is considered better than its indigenous equal. This method is applied to materials as well as humans. All the third world countries can be found in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the middle East. Most or all of these countries were once colonies of one power or the other. Today African countries that are rich in natural resources are surprisingly dependent upon western powers. This defys common sense.

MODERN DAY COLONIALISM
Today, quite contrary to what most believe, colonialism still exists, but in more subtle forms. They come in the form of military co-operation, economic partnership and other forms that create the impression of trying to help. Like the popular american saying, “there is nothing like free lunch”. However most of the leaders of the third world do not realize this, or are coerced into accepting such programs. America is believed to be in the fore front of modern day colonization. Coming from a colonial past, you think they would know better. In his book “Confessions of an economic hit man1”, John Perkins outlines an intricate plan to form a global empire, this is identical to colonialism as we know it. It however takes on a complex form that can range from bribery of political leaders to mass murder through conflicts. Many of the current global political crises have their roots deeply embedded in modern day colonialism and rebellion.

Colonialism has its winners and losers. However you look at it, it is a bad practice that has profited many if not all the countries in the western world. It has worked to the detriment of the the victim countries. It still continues today albeit in different forms and under several guises. Many have suffered and continue to suffer because of this.
1. Perkins, J. (2004). Confessions of an economic hit man. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

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Colonization in America and Africa

Posted on October 8, 2014 by | Leave a comment

The colonization of America began with the explorations of the early European explorers from England, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. The reasons the first explorers wanted to colonize America were to build great empires, increase power in Europe, prestige, wealth, opportunities for trade and spreading the Christian religion. Although many people believe that Christopher Columbus first discovered America in 1492, America was actually discovered many times. Asians were the first people to come to North America, crossing the Bering Strait and entering Alaska at least 30,000 years ago. Accordingly, Europeans first came to North America during the 1000s and the Vikings landed in the area in which Massachusetts is located today.

The colonization of Africa by European countries was is an important factor in understanding the present condition of the African continent and of the African people. Colonization influenced not only the political and economic development, but also shaped the way the Africans perceived themselves. France and Britain were the two largest colonial powers in Africa as they controlled two-thirds of Africa before World War I. The reason Europe wanted to colonize Africa was because they were interested in gathering scientific knowledge about the unknown or the “Dark Continent.” It was a mystery for European explorers, many of which were geographers and scientists, traveled, observed, and recorded what they saw.

The colonial experiences between America and Africa differ significantly in terms of the perception of slavery. In 1619, the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. They helped with the production of crops and tobacco and nevertheless helped with the economic foundation in America. Although there was a growing debate over the slavery, the legacy of slavery continued. Although America was importing approximately 6 to 7 million slaves to the New World during the 18th century let alone to fulfill their mass production and prosper, Africans were exported out of their country to gain wealth. In Africa, villages or large clans typically held lands and they were given according to the families need. Nevertheless, to increase the amount of land, the number of laborers had to be increased in the family; they had no choice but to invest being slaves for distant villages. Furthermore, the Atlantic slave was developed in the mid 15th century in which the European colonies tried to expand their possessions in the New World by bringing 12 million slaves from West and west central Africa to Atlantic for sale in Portuguese-administered Brazil. Accordingly, the Atlantic slaves differ differed from previous slavery in its huge scope as well as its importance to the economics for world power. While the African slavery was practiced to help the communities increase land ownership, to gain food, and to gainwealth, America conducted slave labor for economic gain as well as for colonial powers. Gradually, slavery for Africa became more of a structural element with an increase demand for slavery.

The similarities, however, between the colonial experiences for America and Africa was that both countries were colonized by Europeans. One of the major motives the Europeans ventured these countries were to spread the Christian ideals. As well, there were religious freedom both Africa and America. There was variety of religions in America: Puritans and Pilgrams in Massachusetts, Quakers in Pennsylvania, and Catholics in Maryland represented the religious diversity as well as religious freedom. Nevertheless, many faiths coexisted in the colonies. In Africa, they practice varied religions such as Christianity and Islam. Also, the economic practice was similar during the colonial age; there was an emphasis on exploitation of raw materials for exporting the most profitable natural resources in each colony.

Regardless of the history of Africa and America, colonization helped develop into the nation they are today. Furthermore, it helps us to understand more about the perception and the ideals they have about slavery in both nations.

 

 

 

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