COLONIALISM: REASONS AND

CONSEQUENCES
HIS 1143
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 AIM

TO PRESENT AN OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF ‘COLONIALISM’, ITS

REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES

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 SCOPE

Background
Defining ‘Colonialism’
Reasons for colonialism
 Types of Colonies
Consequences of colonialism

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BACKGROUND

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BACKGROUND (Cont.)

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BACKGROUND (Cont.)

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 DEFINING ‘COLONIALISM’
Colonialism is defined as political and economic dominance
expressed by European capitalist states (Great Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Portugal and
Russia but also USA and Japan), mainly all over Africa,
Oceania, Asia & North America.
 It occurred in the period from the first of the XIX century to
the first half of the XX century
The main reasons for colonialism were political, economical,
ideological, social and demographic.
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 ECONOMIC REASONS

Economic = Industrialisation and Mechanisation

Increase in production & in productivity

Over production crisis

Companies needed new markets

Where to sell their products and where to find new materials for their
factories

For this
reason
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They ‘encouraged’ states and governments to new

colonies and to impose their commercial monopoly
 DEMOGRAPHIC REASONS

High increase of
population in Europe Encouraged
A period of over
Millions of Europeans citizens to leave to
production,
colonies
unemployment, misery
1850 – 1914 + more than 50 million

Britain 17
Italian 10
Population Germans 4.5
Any 1800 180 millions Spanish 4.4
Any 1900 430 millions Others 13

Emigration to other countries (USA,

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Canada, Australia, South Africa, North 4/28/2021

America, South America) was an

opportunity for Europe’s poorest
 POLITICAL, IDEOLOGICAL & STRATEGIC
REASONS
Political
Strategic
Ideological

Governments & military men

encouraged colonialization

To protect the
country’s trading
because routes & their
It strengthened the companies’
national spirit of the policies from
country and prestige & foreign
they got medals and competitors 4/28/2021 10

promotions
 OTHER REASONS

1871
1841 -1871
Darwin
David
The spirit of publishe 1910 expeditions to
Livingstone
adventure s on the the South Pole
expeditions
origin of
in Africa
species

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FURTHER REASONS OR JUSTICATIONS
Civilising Mission
The Europeans believed that
their civilisation was superior
and that they had the duty to
impose it to the barbarians
Racism
The believe that one’s one
race was superior to the
other races. A believe that
could only be proved by 4/28/2021 12
exerting some political
influence on other people
 TYPES OF COLONIES
Settler colonies Trading Companies
States granted private
companies large territories to
administer who were only
Europeans settled interested in exploiting and
themselves in the country plundering natural resources of
permanently the territories.
They took control of the Natives worked merely as slaves
territory for the companies who
(Canada, Australia, New employed racist and draconian
Zealand, South Africa and policies
Algeria) Army & military governed the
colony and kept the natives
under control (India, African
Protectorates
Consisted of an independent
native governments who
voluntarily demanded military
protection from a colonial
power.
Most of protectorates became
subordinate to the protecting
powers and lost their
independent statehood (Egypt
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and Morocco)
CONSEQUENCES OF COLONIALISM

Specific consequences

Economica
Political Cultural l

Exploitation of men &

women and their
territories for the
Creation of Acculturatio benefit of the
artificial n metropolis
boundaries
Expropriation of land
and destruction of
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traditional agriculture
Forced trade
CONSEQUENCES OF COLONISATION (CONT.)

General consequences
(Across the World)

Increase in
international conflicts
(Morocco, Cuba &
Balkans)
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?
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