For as long as we can recall, colonialism has been engraved in the world since time immemorial to seep through the doors of its counter-part imperialism. At its most basic, colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another. It occurs when one nation subjugates another, conquering its population and exploiting it, often while forcing its language and cultural values upon its people. By 1914, a large majority of the world's nations had been colonised by Europeans at some point. As synonymous as these two concepts are,history has provided clues on how they differ.
This root reminds us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin. Imperialism, on the other hand, comes from the Latin term imperium, meaning to command. Thus, the term imperialism draws attention to the way that one country exercises power over another, whether through settlement, sovereignty, or indirect mechanisms of control.
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In antiquity, colonialism was practised by empires such as Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, and Phoenicia. These civilisations all extended their borders into surrounding and non-contiguous areas from about 1550 B.C. onward, and established colonies that drew on the physical and population resources of the people they conquered to increase their power. Modern colonialism began during what’s also known as the Age of Discovery. Beginning in the 15th century, Portugal began looking for new trade routes and searching for
civilisations outside of Europe. In 1415, Portuguese explorers conquered Ceuta, a coastal town in North Africa, kicking off an empire that would last until 1999. Soon, the Portuguese had conquered and populated islands like Madeira and Cape Verde, and their rival nation, Spain, decided to try exploration. In 1492, Christopher Columbus began looking for a western route to India and China.
Instead, he landed in the Bahamas, kicking off the Spanish Empire. Spain and Portugal became locked in competition for new territories and took over indigenous lands in the Americas, India, Africa, and Asia. A similar case can be traced from how Vasco Da Gama entered India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrived at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa. With the aid of an Indian merchant he met there, he then set off across the Indian Ocean.
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The legitimacy of colonialism was also a topic of debate among French, German,and British philosophers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Enlightenment thinkers such as Kant, Smith and Diderot were critical of the barbarity of colonialism and challenged the idea that Europeans had the obligation to “civilise” the rest of the world. At first, it might seem relatively obvious that Enlightenment thinkers would develop a critique of colonialism. The system of colonial domination, which involved some combination of slavery, quasi-feudal forced labour, or expropriation of property, is antithetical to the basic Enlightenment principle that each individual is capable of reason and self-government. However, the rise of anti-colonial political theory required more than a universalistic ethic that recognised the shared humanity of all people.
Readings suggest that colonialism in itself adds fuel to the fire lighting the brutal concept of racism which stands supremely internalised. The classic example of the British taking over India for innumerable years proves the potential vengeance caused by the separation and dominance whites have over the blacks. The basis of colour stands inescapable to a point where regions and places have been taken over.
Ironically enough, Professor Daron Acemoğlu and Professor James Robinson from the University of Chicago write that colonialism has shaped modern inequality in several fundamental, but heterogeneous, ways. In Europe the discovery of the Americas and the emergence of a mass colonial project, first in the Americas, and then, subsequently, in Asia and Africa, potentially helped to spur institutional and economic development, thus setting in motion some of the prerequisites for what was to become the industrial revolution. But the way this worked was conditional on institutional differences within Europe. In places like Britain, where an early struggle against the monarchy had given parliament and society the upper hand, the discovery of the Americas led to the further empowerment of mercantile and industrial groups, who were able to benefit from the new economic opportunities that the Americas, and soon Asia, presented and to push for improved political and economic institutions.
As a conclusion to my piece, I would like to shed some light on the Palestine and Israel ailing conflict for years. Since prehistoric times, Palestine has been a land of civilisation, with various Neolithic and post-neolithic cultures flourishing in it. Though the land of Palestine was always a bone of contention between the Jews and Arabs since medieval times, the 20th century worsened the situation and the tussle escalated into a crisis. Arabs have been inhabiting the land including the West Bank and Gaza strip for a large part of Modern History.
The immense influx of Jews into Palestine, which was formerly controlled by the Ottoman and later by the British posed a serious threat to the peaceful existence of Arabs in their homeland. Successive wars intensified what Arabs perceived as European Imperialist attempts to annexe their land. The UN promised a 56% share of the total land to Palestine.
However, as a result of the brutal wars, Israel ended up acquiring and forcefully occupying more than 70% of the land, which had a large Palestinian Arab population. The Zionism
movement became the foundation for Israel’s racist–imperialist project by systematically disenfranchising the Palestinians. Constant attempts by Israel to locate more Jews in the area and its bigoted policy of religious nationalism approves the fear of Palestinians losing
their homes.
The Zionist militia’s gained the upper hand over the Palestinians, aided considerably by the US. Military actions in civilian areas account for brutal Human Rights Violations that have been reported by various media outlets. Recently, Israel and Palestine resistance group, Hamas announced a ceasefire on May 21, 2021. Hamas had a major role in dictating the terms of this ceasefire.However, the loss done to infrastructure and civilian life by Israel was immense and accounted for horrific human rights violations. There’s a strong need to acknowledge that a ceasefire does not indicate the termination of the standard slow violent routine of Israel’s occupation. The imperialist occupation is a systematic one and will require systematic resistance to counter it. The settler-colonizer pattern continues to haunt the lives of Palestine.
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About the Writer
Aysha Saleem is currently pursuing literature from Jesus and Mary College. She loves everything about music, cinema and desserts and can devour into them all day everyday.
Through her enthusiasm for gender advocacy, she wishes to be a part of the change through her words which she believes are bound to bring revolution.