Cultural Change and Colonialism Internal and External Sources of Change. Equitable Versus Hierarchical Sources of Change.

The Key Questions How do societies change due to internal factors? How do societies change due to external factors? What is the major sources of change in the world today?

Internal Source of Change Invention Diffusion, or borrowing Environmental factors –Increasing land/people ratios –Resource depletion

External Factors of Change: Colonialism Colonialism defined: the political subjugation of one people by another. –Loss of control over economic resources. –Indigenous populations often become the bottom rung of the social and economic ladder. –Spread of European political forms, populations, culture and economics throughout the world since c AD

Reasons for Colonialism Economic expansion: colonies becamee sources of cheap labour, raw materials and markets for European goods. Also territories where ‘surplus labour’ from Europe could settle. Economic systems of colonized countries became linked in a system of ‘surplus’ relations with metropolitan or colonizing countries. Led to ‘distorted development’, with profits being siphoned off at each stage of the chain.

Mechanisms of Insertion into a Colonial World Economy Taxation systems. Forced labour migration, e.g. slavery and indentured labour. Imposition of money economy and markets.

From Subsistence to Cash Crop Production Colonizers viewed subsistence production of foragers, horticulturalists and pastoralists, even agriculturalists as primitive. Introduction of ‘cash crops’ for the colonies to pay monetary taxation, e.g. cotton, sugar- cane, opium, tea, coffee, sisal, indigo, all oriented to an external, export market. Decline in locally based subsistence crops. –Introduction of plantations; mechanisms to force peasants to work on plantations including takeover of wide areas of lands. –Suppressing peasant farming.

A Contemporary Example: Debt and The Drug Trade in Peru Peru in debt to the World Bank and IMF, institutions set up in 1948 to help countries over balance of payments difficulties, due to recession. Forced to take a Structural Adjustment Loan in Goal of SAP was to: –to promote an environment conducive to foreign direct investment. –Tight fiscal and monetary policies: i.e. raising interest rates and decreasing the money supply, also cutting back on government spending, especially health and education. – Removing all tariffs and quotas against foreign consumer goods. (Although this is not the case with developed countries). – Devaluing the currency

Effects of the SAP Devaluation and trade liberalisation instituted immediately.  Rapid and steep rises in prices of imported goods, such as kerosene and drugs.  Severe cutbacks in health and education:  Public health infrastructure in rural regions completely collapsed.  Health consequences: child malnutrition, tuberculosis and meningitis increases.  Cholera epidemic: from 1500 reported cases before August 1990 to 200,000 cases 6 months later.  Cholera a water-borne disease and people couldn’t afford to boil their drinking water any longer.  Rural economy, land laws and the narco economy.