The English translation of colonialism is derived from the Latin word colonia, which means property acquired in a planned manner in foreign countries. There are many similarities between colonialism and imperialism as well as some technical differences. For example, for imperialism it is not necessary to directly take control of another country, nor is it necessary to send your people there and establish your own law and administration. Even without this, relations of subordination towards the imperialist centre can be established, but for colonialism in India, it is essential to establish a colony in the conquered country. The political, economic, social and cultural sys
tem of the people there should be taken over, as the imperialist countries did in their colonies. The manner in which European powers forcibly occupied non-European countries, especially those in Africa and Asia (including America for some time) and imposed their foreign policies, values and structures on their governance, administration, justice, education, language, art-literature, religion-society and lifestyle, reflects the complex process of colonialism. The sea voyages undertaken by Spain and Portugal’s brave sailors like Columbus and Vasco da Gama and the new areas they found became the initial victims of colonialism. Thus, the imperialist expansion started by European powers in the 15th century was identified as colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries.
There are mainly two types of colonies under colonialism. On the one hand are colonies like America, Australia and New Zealand, whose geographical location and climate were similar to Europe and convenient for them. The maximum number of Europeans possible were settled in these areas. These migrant Europeans completely massacred the local population like Red Indians and Maoris and took complete control of the place. Within no time, these countries (America, Australia and New Zealand) became homeland for the Europeans. You cannot imagine that America, Australia and New Zealand were originally the homeland of the Red Indians, who were the inheritors of civilizations like Maya, Aztec and Inca.
On the other hand, they were African and Asian colonies whose climate was different from Europe and hot and was troublesome for the Europeans, like India. After taking over, Europeans settled here in small numbers. Usually government employees, traders and Christian missionaries who used to return to Europe after the completion of their tenure and work.
The essence of this process of colonialism was to link the economy of the colonies with the economy of the imperialist countries or to use it according to their needs and economic interests. For example, the use of India and the abundant resources present here was done to fulfill the needs and interests of England and in this sequence, India became an exporter of raw material, yarn, cotton, grain, human labor and military services for England and an importer of finished goods manufactured in England’s mills. This was the total meaning of British colonialism in India, i.e. the cotton from India went to England at very cheap rates, while the readymade clothes produced by the cotton mills of England were sold at very high rates in the Indian markets.
Here, the labourers of India were used for cheap labour in the plantations and industries of the world over. The soldiers of India had to fight against the countries of the world on behalf of England with very low wages and facilities. Overall, not only the economy of India but the entire socio-economic system was sacrificed for the interests of Britain. As Prof. Vipin Chandra writes- ‘Not only the Indian economy was involved in colonial modernization but social, political, administrative and cultural lifestyles were also involved. An entire world was lost in it, the fabric of social life was destroyed.
This process continued till the twentieth century when a wave of national liberation struggles and revolutions under decolonization put an end to it. As far as the history or other characteristics of colonialism are concerned, they are inseparably linked to the history and characteristics of imperialism. Students can see this from the section related to imperialism.
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Stages of Colonialism
Suppose the complex process of colonialism is studied step by step. In that case, it can be best understood by analyzing the presence of colonialism in India, because India is the largest and oldest among the countries directly colonized by imperialism. Its population is more than the population of all the colonies. Therefore, as historian Rajni Palmadatta writes, the study of colonial functioning in India presents an accurate picture of colonialism. Because in the words of Lord Curzon himself, ‘India is the pivot of our British Empire spread all over the world. If the British Empire loses any other part of its dominion, we can still survive, but losing India will set the sun on the British Empire.’
The presence of imperialism and colonialism in India can be seen in three phases:-
- Mercantilism 1757-1813
- Free Trade Capitalism 1813
- Financial Capitalism
India was exploited by European powers, especially the British, in three phases. Initially, when European companies came here in the 16th and 17th centuries, they established small trading warehouses/houses and settlements. At this time, they used to buy Indian goods in gold and silver and sold them at high prices in their countries with great demand for Indian goods. Since there was little need or demand for Western products in India, this trade was costly for European companies. Political control over India could make this costly trade cheap and profitable.
In this sequence, European companies started intervening in the disputes of local kings taking concessions from them in return and occupying their territories. Its climax came in 1757 when the British conspired and conquered Bengal in the field of Plassey. The period from 1757 to 1813 was a period of open plunder and trade monopoly. When the company would buy Indian goods at very low prices and sell them in Europe and also collect tribute from Bengali Nawabs and officers.
According to an estimate by Dutt, from 1757 to 1765, the company officials received a sum of 60 lakh pounds as gifts, which was four times the annual income of Bengal at that time. Adam Smith himself called it plunder. After this, the industrial revolution in England, made possible by Indian capital, started the second phase of colonial exploitation. On this, clothes manufactured (from cheap Indian cotton) in the textile mills of Britain (Lancashire and Liverpool) were sold at high prices in the Indian markets. In Marx’s words, the house of cotton clothes was filled with cotton clothes. In this phase, India was made an exporter of raw materials and an importer/buyer of finished goods manufactured in Britain. Due to this, India’s traditional handicraft based economy was shattered and people became unemployed, as a result, the golden bird sank into the mire of poverty.
The third phase was financial imperialism when British capital was invested in the construction of railways and roads, irrigation projects, indigo, and tea gardens in India on the guarantee of high interest rates. All its financial profit with high interest went to British companies. The entire expenditure of India’s governance and military operations was recovered from India in the form of home surcharge and high rates of revenue were fixed for this, which were recovered strictly. Thus imperialism and colonialism adopted these methods of exploitation all over the world, although their time period and form may be different because not everyone was enslaved at the same time. As Sumit Sarkar writes, ‘Ranges should not be strictly divided but should be considered intertwined with each other, in which old forms of exploitation do not end completely, but keep merging into new forms.
MCQ of Colonialism:
What is colonialism?
a) A policy of extending the authority of a nation by territorial acquisition
b) A system of social stratification
c) Abolition of monarchy
d) Process of industrialization
Answer: a
Which was the first European country to establish overseas colonies in the 15th century?
a) England
b) Spain
c) Portugal
d) France
Answer: c
British colonial rule in India is often referred to as:
a) British Dominion
b) British Empire
c) British Raj
d) British Protectorate
Answer: c
Who was the first Viceroy of British India?
a) Lord Dalhousie
b) Lord Canning
c) Lord Curzon
d) Lord Mountbatten
Answer: b
Which European power colonized Indonesia?
a) British
b) Dutch
c) Portuguese
d) French
Answer: b
What was the primary purpose behind colonial expansion?
a) Religious conversion
b) Political alliance
c) Economic exploitation
d) Cultural exchange
Answer: c
Which term refers to the exploitation of resources in colonies for the benefit of the colonizers?
a) Mercantilism
b) Feudalism
c) Imperialism
d) Nationalism
Answer: a
The struggle for Africa was formalized at which conference?
a) Paris Conference
b) Berlin Conference
c) Geneva Conference
d) Brussels Conference
Answer: b
Who led the anti-colonial struggle in South Africa?
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Kwame Nkrumah
c) Nelson Mandela
d) Jomo Kenyatta
Answer: c
Which country colonized Vietnam?
a) Britain
b) Portugal
c) France
d) Japan
Answer: c
The East India Company was founded in:
a) 1498
b) 1600
c) 1757
d) 1858
Answer: b
What was the main export from the colonies of the Caribbean?
a) Spices
b) Sugar
c) Tea
d) Silk
Answer: b
The Opium Wars were fought between Britain and which country?
a) India
b) China
c) Japan
d) Burma
Answer: b
The age of exploration began in which century:
a) 13th
b) 14th
c) 15th
d) 16th
Answer: c
The system of indirect rule in the colonies was introduced by which British Governor-General?
a) Lord Wellesley
b) Lord Ripon
c) Lord Lugard
d) Lord Hastings
Answer: c
Which African country was never colonized?
a) Ghana
b) Ethiopia
c) Kenya
d) Sudan
Answer: b
What was the primary economic system in during colonial rule?
a) Capitalism
b) Communism
c) Mercantilism
d) Socialism
Answer: c
When did India gain independence from British rules?
a) 1945
b) 1947
c) 1950
d) 1952
Answer: b
Which of following was a Portuguese colony:
a) Goa
b) Bengal
c) Malacca
d) Ceylon
Answer: a
The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the New World between:
a) Spain and England
b) Spain and Portugal
c) Portugal and France
d) England and France
Answer: b
The Dutch East India Company also known as.
a) VOC
b) EIC
c) BEIC
d) DEIC
Answer: a
What the primary objective of Christian missionaries during the colonial rule?
a) Trade expansion
b) Industrialization
c) Conversion of local people
d) Scientific advancement
Answer: c
Which African country was colonized by Belgium?
a) Sudan
b) Congo
c) Ghana
d) Libya
Answer: b
Which European country colonized the Philippines?
a) Britain
b) Spain
c) France
d) Netherlands
Answer: b
When was Berlin Conference held:
a) 1878
b) 1884
c) 1890
d) 1901
Answer: b
The concept of “white man’s burden” is associated with:
a) Socialism
b) Colonialism
c) Democracy
d) Feudalism
Answer: b
The Atlantic slave trade was primarily associated with:
a) Asia
b) Africa
c) Europe
d) Australia
Answer: b
Which Caribbean nation was colonized by France?
a) Haiti
b) Jamaica
c) Cuba
d) Trinidad
Answer: a
Cecil Rhodes was a key figure in colonizing:
a) Egypt
b) South Africa
c) Zimbabwe
d) Ghana
Answer: c
Which colonial power founded the colony of New France?
a) Spain
b) Portugal
c) England
d) France
Answer: d
The word “colony” is derived from which language?
a) Greek
b) Latin
c) French
d) German
Answer: b
What was the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 in India called?
a) Indian Mutiny
b) Indian War of Independence
c) First War of Independence
d) All of the above
Answer: d
Which colonial empire was known as “the empire on which the sun never sets”?
a) Spanish Empire
b) British Empire
c) French Empire
d) Ottoman Empire
Answer: b
Which colony in Africa did Italy colonize?
a) Kenya
b) Libya
c) Nigeria
d) Egypt
Answer: b
When was the slavery officially abolished in the British Empire:
a) 1807
b) 1833
c) 1850
d) 1875
Answer: b
Which European country colonized Brazil?
a) Spain
b) Portugal
c) France
d) Netherlands
Answer: b
In which country were the Zulu Wars fought?
a) Kenya
b) Nigeria
c) South Africa
d) Ghana
Answer: c
Which part of South America did the Dutch colonize?
a) Guyana
b) Suriname
c) Venezuela
d) Brazil
Answer: b
The colonization of Africa is often associated with:
a) Industrial Revolution
b) Slave Trade
c) Partition of Africa
d) All of the above
Answer: d
The term “imperialism” is closely related to:
a) Decolonization
b) Expansionism
c) Nationalism
d) Socialism
Answer: b