Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa, and Oceania 1750 - 1950
The capitalistic culture birthed by the Industrial Revolution set up European second-wave colonial initiatives. Europeans discovered that foreign investment and global imperialism was beneficial to their economy. The industrial era also influenced Europeans to develop a sense of secular superiority that caused them to diminish their perceptions of other cultures and view them as uncivilized, animal-like savages. Nineteenth century colonialism was distinctive from first-wave initiatives in several ways. For example, Europeans justified their superiority and acts of conquest through "scientific racism" (Strayer 799). Socially, political forces like tax-collection and class status divides were deeper integrated, like the British appropriation of the traditional caste system in India. Europeans even established a tribal Africa that sharpened the Western "we" versus "them" divide of "weaker races" (Strayer 792) and underdeveloped countries, the idea of social Darwinism, and the view of these places as feminine and thus weak and incapable. All the while, this conquest was not reflective of actual European homelands that were progressing more toward democracy.
In the Afro-Asian world, Europeans, which became known as the "Great Powers," used military for conquest and established colonial rule through their previous interactions, taking advantage of socially weak areas, bloody competition against one another. Due to conquest, many places experienced a disruption of lifestyle, such as in Vietnam, where violence disturbed peace. Some regions cooperated with the colonial regime because it created opportunities for status, employment, wealth, such as "chiefs" in Africa, and also because it inspired education. Inevitably, it also created rebellions in other areas due to loss of land, power, wealth, and religion, like the Indian Rebellion of 1857 - 1858.
The most important impact of colonial rule was the transformation of labor and the economy. One such colonial state policy change was through forced labor, such as in the Congo, Indonesia, and German East Africa. Reading about the takeover of the Congo by Belgium made me recall when I read Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible, in the summer of 2016. It is about a white family from Georgia that moves to the Belgian Congo as missionaries to the village of Kilanga. The story revolves around their adaptation to Congolese life and culture, Congolese resistance to Christianity, and the Congolese political fight for independence. This relates to the chapter as it demonstrates the challenges of facing European invasion. Another such example was through cash-crop agriculture that transformed the lives of colonized peoples because value was for commercial value and not for the grower's profit through slaves and exploited workers. It was problematic because though small farms benefitted and lifestyles improved, the environment was harmed and colonized economies were disrupted and dependent on colonial rule. Finally, colonized subjects also sought to migrate for wage labor to support living. People worked in mines as plantations as unskilled laborers with very minimal pay in poor condition, cultivation also taking a toll on the environment.
The lives of African women were altered by colonial economies because their responsibility for food production grew as men became distanced from their families. In precolonial Africa, women were more active and involved, but men began to control cash crop production. They sought opportunities by remaining close to their birth families and getting involved in small-scale trade. The debate of the overall impact of European colonial rule in African and Asian societies is still up in the air. Some point out that it served to integrate Afro-Asia into a larger network of exchange. However, others point out that modernization didn't really take place and that an industrial breakthrough never occurred in colonized places.
Colonial rule contributed to racism, economics, and social unrest, as well as culture. The concept of education, for example, was glorified. The conversion to Christianity also took hold as it appealed to education, social cohesion, and the supernatural in colonial societies. Of course it also caused opposition because it challenged traditional practices such as polygamy, nudity, and female circumcision. In India, Hinduism became more defined because it was an identity for India would emerge as a single nation. According to the book I am reading in World Religions called God is Not One by Stephen Prothero, Hinduism is one of the eight rival religions that run the world. The idea that African culture deserved to be cherished, recognized, and celebrated just as much as Western culture was another product of colonialism. Another result was the tribal label that has been ascribed to Africa, but peoples of Africa also celebrated and felt with pride that they lived this identity.
Working with Evidence: The Scramble for Africa
As Europeans discovered that Africa was a source of opportunity through raw resources, trade, and exploration, the Scramble for Africa emerged as they rushed to colonize, divide, and occupy African land through conquest and imperialism. The chapter sources provide some reactions and representations of this scramble. Source 18.2 stood out to me because I was confused as to why the African troops were fighting alongside the French. Maybe the Africans thought they would be benefitting through helping the Europeans. Maybe they were forced or promised money. Maybe they thought they were contributing to a larger purpose like pride or nationalism, but I wasn't too sure. Maybe they didn't realize they were helping to establish colonial rule through battle. The French army leader is placed in the center of the artwork as all the Africans are scrambling to fight in the background. Source 18.1 stood out to me because its title: "Prelude to the Scramble." The overall setting of the artwork is very bright and peaceful. The greenery is lush and the sun is shining bright, so it is saying something about how precolonial Africa was peaceful and better off. I didn't even realize it was a board game, but I think it is depicting European trade and sail.
The capitalistic culture birthed by the Industrial Revolution set up European second-wave colonial initiatives. Europeans discovered that foreign investment and global imperialism was beneficial to their economy. The industrial era also influenced Europeans to develop a sense of secular superiority that caused them to diminish their perceptions of other cultures and view them as uncivilized, animal-like savages. Nineteenth century colonialism was distinctive from first-wave initiatives in several ways. For example, Europeans justified their superiority and acts of conquest through "scientific racism" (Strayer 799). Socially, political forces like tax-collection and class status divides were deeper integrated, like the British appropriation of the traditional caste system in India. Europeans even established a tribal Africa that sharpened the Western "we" versus "them" divide of "weaker races" (Strayer 792) and underdeveloped countries, the idea of social Darwinism, and the view of these places as feminine and thus weak and incapable. All the while, this conquest was not reflective of actual European homelands that were progressing more toward democracy.
In the Afro-Asian world, Europeans, which became known as the "Great Powers," used military for conquest and established colonial rule through their previous interactions, taking advantage of socially weak areas, bloody competition against one another. Due to conquest, many places experienced a disruption of lifestyle, such as in Vietnam, where violence disturbed peace. Some regions cooperated with the colonial regime because it created opportunities for status, employment, wealth, such as "chiefs" in Africa, and also because it inspired education. Inevitably, it also created rebellions in other areas due to loss of land, power, wealth, and religion, like the Indian Rebellion of 1857 - 1858.
The most important impact of colonial rule was the transformation of labor and the economy. One such colonial state policy change was through forced labor, such as in the Congo, Indonesia, and German East Africa. Reading about the takeover of the Congo by Belgium made me recall when I read Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible, in the summer of 2016. It is about a white family from Georgia that moves to the Belgian Congo as missionaries to the village of Kilanga. The story revolves around their adaptation to Congolese life and culture, Congolese resistance to Christianity, and the Congolese political fight for independence. This relates to the chapter as it demonstrates the challenges of facing European invasion. Another such example was through cash-crop agriculture that transformed the lives of colonized peoples because value was for commercial value and not for the grower's profit through slaves and exploited workers. It was problematic because though small farms benefitted and lifestyles improved, the environment was harmed and colonized economies were disrupted and dependent on colonial rule. Finally, colonized subjects also sought to migrate for wage labor to support living. People worked in mines as plantations as unskilled laborers with very minimal pay in poor condition, cultivation also taking a toll on the environment.
The lives of African women were altered by colonial economies because their responsibility for food production grew as men became distanced from their families. In precolonial Africa, women were more active and involved, but men began to control cash crop production. They sought opportunities by remaining close to their birth families and getting involved in small-scale trade. The debate of the overall impact of European colonial rule in African and Asian societies is still up in the air. Some point out that it served to integrate Afro-Asia into a larger network of exchange. However, others point out that modernization didn't really take place and that an industrial breakthrough never occurred in colonized places.
Colonial rule contributed to racism, economics, and social unrest, as well as culture. The concept of education, for example, was glorified. The conversion to Christianity also took hold as it appealed to education, social cohesion, and the supernatural in colonial societies. Of course it also caused opposition because it challenged traditional practices such as polygamy, nudity, and female circumcision. In India, Hinduism became more defined because it was an identity for India would emerge as a single nation. According to the book I am reading in World Religions called God is Not One by Stephen Prothero, Hinduism is one of the eight rival religions that run the world. The idea that African culture deserved to be cherished, recognized, and celebrated just as much as Western culture was another product of colonialism. Another result was the tribal label that has been ascribed to Africa, but peoples of Africa also celebrated and felt with pride that they lived this identity.
Working with Evidence: The Scramble for Africa
As Europeans discovered that Africa was a source of opportunity through raw resources, trade, and exploration, the Scramble for Africa emerged as they rushed to colonize, divide, and occupy African land through conquest and imperialism. The chapter sources provide some reactions and representations of this scramble. Source 18.2 stood out to me because I was confused as to why the African troops were fighting alongside the French. Maybe the Africans thought they would be benefitting through helping the Europeans. Maybe they were forced or promised money. Maybe they thought they were contributing to a larger purpose like pride or nationalism, but I wasn't too sure. Maybe they didn't realize they were helping to establish colonial rule through battle. The French army leader is placed in the center of the artwork as all the Africans are scrambling to fight in the background. Source 18.1 stood out to me because its title: "Prelude to the Scramble." The overall setting of the artwork is very bright and peaceful. The greenery is lush and the sun is shining bright, so it is saying something about how precolonial Africa was peaceful and better off. I didn't even realize it was a board game, but I think it is depicting European trade and sail.
Comments
Post a Comment