There are many aspects of colonialism that continue to affect the lives of the colonised people. Insidious forms of violence, unequal citizenship, prisons and labour conditions are still present today. Furthermore, colonialism continues to impact supply lines, healthcare, education and tourism. Indentured servants and a host of other issues are still influenced by European colonialism.
Extractive colonialism
Extractive colonialism is a form of colonialism that involves the dispossession of native peoples of their land, natural resources, and people. The logic of exploitation guided this practice, which largely characterized colonialism in many African countries. These colonial powers sought to expand their land base and exploit indigenous people to produce natural resources. As a result, colonizers only stayed in colonies for as long as was necessary to obtain the desired extraction. As a result, land became the most sought-after resource. In addition to extracting natural resources, colonizers often sought to replicate the political and social structures of their own homelands.
The effects of extractive colonialism on African countries continue today. The extractive economy continues to be used by many colonial regimes and still has an impact on the development of African countries. While some African countries have begun to diversify their economies, most remain economically reliant on the extractive industries.
While the first mineral revolution began in South Africa in 1867, the cash crop revolution began decades earlier in West Africa as the region shifted from a slave trade to the production of agricultural commodities. Ultimately, these natural resources proved to be more important than the minerals that colonial powers extracted. By the end of colonialism, cash crops accounted for 63% of all exports in 38 states.
Settler colonialism
Settler colonialism is an ongoing system of relations between nonindigenous and Indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada. This social formation has distinctive, predictable dynamics and offers new sociological insights about the United States. Settler colonialism provides a coherent framework for examining contemporary social and political phenomena, including the persistence of extraconstitutional tribal governments and recurrent Native-white conflicts. It also illuminates the distinctive nature of contemporary Indigenous social agency.
The primary aim of settler colonialism is to replace the indigenous population with nonindigenous people. This process often involves genocide, erasure of indigenous cultures, and exploitation of land and resources. It is often accompanied by racism. Unlike the postcolonial movement, settler colonialism is ongoing and operates on a local level.
Settler colonialism is an ideology that targets specific groups of people based on their race. In this way, race is constructed and established. In the case of black people, for example, blackness was defined by their servitude as slaves. Meanwhile, Indigenous North Americans were not treated as the original owners of the land, which explains the racist attitude towards Indigenous people.
In addition to being racist, settler colonialism also dehumanizes indigenous people. The colonial system erases their cultures and traditions. The settlers often assume that they are superior to other cultures. They then systematically displace them from their historic homelands. They steal their lands, and even destroy their culture.
Settler colonialism is a system of colonial relations that is often characterized by violence. When it goes on unchecked, settler colonialism can lead to genocide. It is a form of colonialism that does not have a formal state apparatus.
Exploitation colonialism
Exploitation colonialism is the systematic use of force to rule over another nation. Its primary purpose is to take advantage of the population and natural resources of a colonized country. Compared to settler colonialism, exploitation colonialism involves fewer colonists and focuses on enslaving indigenous people and using them as cheap labor. In both cases, the goal is to extract as much wealth as possible.
Exploitation colonialism takes many forms. One form involves large-scale immigration. It is often motivated by political, religious, or economic reasons. The colonized population is replaced and exploited for agricultural and natural resource extraction. Examples of this type of colonialism include Australia, Canada, and the United States. Another type is surrogate colonialism, which involves a settlement project that is supported by the ruling power.
A plantation colony is considered an example of exploitation colonialism. The colonists use slaves in order to cultivate crops and export the products. Settler colonialism can also include colonialism involving a pre-populated area. The colony may become ethnically mixed or racially divided. Surrogate colonialism, on the other hand, refers to the process of establishing settlement projects with settlers of different ethnic groups.
The process of colonisation has impacted all human societies. Even today, the wealthy countries of the world continue to monopolize the resources of other countries. This is a symptom of colonialism and must be addressed. Today, the term is often used in a pejorative way. This is the result of the ideology that colonisers sold, which was based on the idea that warmer climates produced less civilized populations.
The Europeans brought slaves to the Americas to exploit the labor of native peoples. In addition, the Portuguese, Dutch, and French also imported slaves. Once the colonists arrived, they redirected the local economies into exploitation management.
Indentured servants
Indentured servants were essentially bonded to their masters for a term of years. Their wages were paid in full by their masters, and they were given room and board. Their job was to work in the master’s fields, presumably earning money and land for their masters. The masters also gave the indentured servants “freedom dues,” which could be anything from land, money, clothes, or food.
Most indentured servants were of English origin, but some were of foreign descent. In the 17th century, the vast majority were transported to the Chesapeake and the West Indies. Between fifty and seventy thousand white indentured servants migrated to the West Indies. Other types of indentured servants included convicts and political prisoners. They were common in British and French colonies.
Demand was high, but there was also a shortage of labor. The colonies’ export industries grew rapidly, and the demand for labor grew faster than the supply. Natural population growth and immigration were inadequate to meet this demand. As a result, the price of indentured servants increased substantially, up to sixty percent in the Chesapeake Bay alone. This did not deter European workers from emigration. Indentured servants were able to earn higher wages in the colonies because they could be paid higher wages than in England.
European indentured servants were often promised freedom, but in many cases they could only become free after their contracts were up. The same was not true of enslaved Africans, though. Indentured European men and women did intermarry, and sexual intercourses between free European women and enslaved African men were common. Interracial relationships between free European women and enslaved African men were not uncommon during the early days of settlement.
Other forms of colonialism
Other forms of colonialism are those that take place outside of an empire. These are forms of colonialism that occur when a foreign state or group takes control of a territory and imposes its laws and culture upon the local population. These types of colonialism are different from each other, but they have similar goals: to control the land and resources of a particular area and to eliminate or replace the indigenous population.
The first known example of colonialism dates from the sixteenth century and began with the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. He began the Age of Exploration by setting up trading posts in Africa. In 1492, both Portugal and Spain encountered the Americas by sea travel. Both Portugal and Spain began colonising the Americas. As these countries expanded their empires, they established colonies in the areas they had conquered. In 1494, the European powers began dividing up areas of the “new lands” into distinct territories. However, other would-be colonial powers paid little attention to these theoretical demarcations.
Settler colonialism, on the other hand, has its own goals and ends. In contrast to the other forms of colonialism, settler colonialism tends towards the supremacy of the settler state and its people. This form of colonialism does not attempt decolonisation and instead seeks to wipe out indigenous peoples’ land claims and establish false narratives about the colonial peoples’ history and current conditions.
Settler colonialism has a long history in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, Turkey is currently considering settling Syrian Arab refugees in Afrin, an area with a Kurdish majority. This initiative builds on decades of Turkish experience in Northern Cyprus and falls under the category of settler colonialism. It would create an alternative Syria, one that is separated from the rest of Syria and supported by a foreign power.
