Globalization and Colonialism

1. Globalization and Colonialism

2. What is globalization? The term “globalization” has quickly become one of the most fashionable buzzwords of contemporary political and academic debate. In popular discourse, globalization often functions as little more than a synonym for one or more of the following phenomena: • the pursuit of classical liberal (or “free market”) policies in the world economy (“economic liberalization”) • the growing dominance of western (or even American) forms of political, economic, and cultural life (“westernization” or “Americanization”) • the proliferation of new information technologies (the “Internet Revolution”) • the notion that humanity stands at the threshold of realizing one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished (“global integration”) ~Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

3. Colonialism • Colonialism: political control of one country over another • Imperialism: broadly refers to political or economic control

4. Types of Colonies • Colonies of Settlement • migration of citizens from one country to another • migration of foreign crops and animals • settler culture substituted from existing one • native inhabitants excluded from settler’s society • settlement often involved violence and/or exposure to diseases brought in by settlers • settlement usually in temperate zones like England Examples: Unites States, Canada, Australia • Colonies of Exploitation • involves smaller number of settlers • settlers include planters, administrators, merchants, military • foreign powers establish political control, often through force • native societies (indigenous cultures) not displaced nor necessarily destroyed • Territories usually associated with production and exportation of crops or natural raw resources (spices, cotton, palm oil, minerals, etc.)

5. Types of Colonies • Contested Settlement Colonies • permanent residence by European settlers with own independent government • native peoples usually dominated by whites • native population still majority and major work force • Native population eventually contested whites for control

6. Motives for Colonization • Economic Mercantilism • crop exports • raw materials/ mineral wealth • Slave trade • Religious and Strategic Motives • spread of European religions • elimination of other religions • Roman-Catholic countries used religion as a motive for expansion • Protestant countries used religion as motive for expansion • some populations converted; some populations combined religions • Strategic reasons included military goals and control of transportation routes • Humanitarian reasons often cited as justification

7. History of Colonialism • Early Examples • Ancient Greeks and Romans through the 4th Century BCE • Vikings through Anglo-Saxon Period • Christian Europeans from 11th Century to 13th Century (Crusades) • Mongols during 13th and 14th Centuries • Ottoman Turks from 13th Century to 20th Century • Age of Exploration (1450-1700) • competition among European nation states • expansion linked to struggle for political and economic power • primary early powers: Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, England, France • trade considered a form of war • early modern Europeans (especially Catholics) gave high priority to converting people with other beliefs • other early missionary groups often settled elsewhere in order to avoid religious persecution

8. History of ColonialismAge of Exploration Colonies • Spanish: conquistadors take over Aztecs and Incas (Mexico and Peru), marking beginning of Spanish empire; mined for silver and gold • Portuguese: began settlements in Brazil; took over land and forced native population to work it; set up a system on trade and war; established strategic bases on Persian Gulf, coast of India, and others • Dutch: supplanted the Portuguese by early 17th Century as primary European colonial power in Asia; instituted a plantation system for cash crops where labor was a commodity , thus making slave labor its central feature; also colonizes parts of North America (ex. Henry Hudson) • English: maintained monopoly of trade with East India Company, trading with Africa, Virginia and elsewhere • French: colonized parts of Canada while establishing missionaries funded by fur trade; expansion later occurred westward ( i.e. Louisiana)

9. History of Colonialism • European Merchant Empires (1700-1850) • above empires more powerful by 18th Century; broken into regions • Atlantic Ocean System • North Atlantic Ocean: included Western Europe, Russia, the Baltic, Scandinavia, Newfoundland, New England, Canada, northern U.S.; relied heavily on French, Dutch, and English colonies • South Atlantic Ocean: included Spanish colonies in South and Central America, Caribbean islands, West Africa; death rates from imported diseases high • Indian Ocean world system • trade primarily in spices, silk, and luxury goods; Industrial Revolution allowed Europeans to increase productivity to labor and gain advantage; Europeans also had military power • British were particularly powerful in Asia • Imperialism of Free Trade (1815-1870) • Britain was dominant economic and political power in world; “The sun never sets on the British Empire • French recovering from revolution • Dutch were on decline

10. History of Colonialism • New Imperialism (1870-1914) • surging rivalry with Germany entering expansion • same motives as earlier expansions, just more countries involved • Scramble for Africa: Germans got southwestern Africa; Portuguese got territory in southern Africa; Belgium took the Congo; France got Senegal and colonies in eastern Sudan and Central Africa; British got the rest (Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, etc.) • Pacific: British, French, Germans face competition from America for Hawaii, from Spanish for the Philippines, from Japanese for Korea, from French for Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos); spheres of influence established in China • Mandates and Trusts (post WWI) • colonial possessions of WWI losers called “mandates” and put under direction of winners, particularly Britain and France ; areas included Africa, the Pacific, and the Middle East; really just colonies under new names • the Middle East: France and Britain have administrative control over Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon • Outside Middle East mandates, Britain exerts control and influence over Egypt and holds protectorate treaty with Kuwait, Oman, UAE; the French hold colonial power over Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia; Iran is controlled and influenced by Britain, U.S., and Russia • Japan also growing imperial power; territories include Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Malaya, Indochina, and Korea; rule often severe • After WWII, United Nations labeled mandates as trusts and set target dates for independence, gradually leading toward decolonization throughout world, though it would take years

11. Reflect How has American and British colonization lead to globalization, and in modern times, how has globalization evolved, due to the advent of new technologies? Please give specific examples. ~2 paragraphs (5-7 sentences each)

12. Works Cited Cell, John W. “Colonialism and Colonies.” Microsoft Encarta. 2009 . Web. 08 Sept. 09.