Colonialism The acquisition and settlement of a territory or country by another nation. OR in another words.. One more “powerful” or “developed” country going into another and taking over lands, taking resources and usually imposing their religious, political and cultural beliefs…as well as language. This was due to the mercantile system – colonies were establish in other countries (such as in Africa) solely for economic benefit

Key Example…Colonialism in Africa

Five Major Colonial Powers In Africa Great Britain (colonized Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda) France (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad) Portugal (Angola, Mozambique) Belgium (Congo) Germany (Cameroon, Namibia, Tanzania) Spain (Western Sahara) Italy (Eritrea, Somalia and Libya) Dutch (South Africa)

Why did it begin? Desires of the European countries to establish trade routes to East Asia

But really? A lot had to do with getting natural resources from other countries to make a PROFIT – peanuts, tea, sugar, and coffee – raw materials for factories like timber, rubber, iron ore, copper – Luxury resources: platinum, silver, gold, diamonds All resources used/taken from Africa

Impacts of Colonialism? They are mostly negative… Ownership of land (land tenure) was disrupted as only a few people owned a great deal of land while others had very little to support themselves Plantations (large estates or farms) were generally mostly owned by the European settlers

Local people became more dependent on imported goods (especially food) and the colonial powers took over land for their own cash crops Trade and manufacturing restrictions imposed led to a lot of armed conflict Colonial mining, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing paid little attention to environmental protection

Imposition of European political systems Colonial powers trained local residents to take less important administrative jobs or to enlist in the army because they were unable to supply enough of their own people to fill these jobs Colonial powers created new countries that did not take into account tribal or cultural boundaries

Imposed their language on the people in the colonies Introducing European ways of life or culture into the colonies (i.e. Cricket in India) Colonizers built transportation infrastructure that served trade purposes rather than for the needs of the local people

Neo colonialism New form of dominance in the post-colonial period Instead of dominating weak countries through direct political control... – Strong wealthy nations now use economic policies, trade policies, and cultural influences

What does it all mean? A wealthy country may grant foreign aid to a poor country, provided the poor country buys its manufactured products, or it may subtly dominate a country through the gradual imposition of its culture (eg. By its entertainment, language, and access to news and other sources of information).