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Chapter 16: How does colonialism work?

This chapter focuses on the history and impact of colonialism, suggesting that it is the main reason for the contemporary divide between first and third worlds. Using the British in India as an illustrative example, the chapter defines colonialism, outlines its different forms and explains how it operates, focusing specific attention on how it structured, and continues to structure, relations between the coloniser and the colonised. Challenging the notion that colonialism belongs to the past – that it is a problem that we have managed to overcome – this chapter traces how colonialism continues to animate the postcolonial present whilst also drawing attention to new forms of colonialism.

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Chapter Abstract

How does colonialism work? Why is the world so unequal today? Why do we think certain races and regions are superior and others inferior? The discovery of the “new world” in 1492 and of a sea-route to the East Indies in 1498 by the Europeans inaugurated the trans-Atlantic slave trade and soon thereafter the colonization of much of Africa, Asia and Oceania. The wealth from these regions accrued overwhelmingly to European colonial powers and catalysed the emergence of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution there while deepening the underdevelopment and poverty of the third world. The legacy of colonialism is ongoing, powerful and very much evident in today’s world.

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Additional web content and audio-visual materials

1. The Scramble for Africa: A short video that demonstrates how the colonization and underdevelopment of Africa has left lasting consequences for its contemporary economic, political and social problems : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw12KGSj53k

2. Edward Said on ‘Orientalism’: Edward Said’s work has been highly influential on the role of colonialism and racism in our understandings of both the history of non-western peoples and their contemporary representations in film and media. An excellent interview with Said and his concept of “Orientalism” can be found here in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g

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Global Politics Film Club

Gandhi (1982), dir. Richard Attenborough
This highly acclaimed biography of the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is still worth watching to understand British colonialism and Indian nationalism.

Battle for Algiers (1966), dir. Gillo Pontecorvo
This film remains a timeless classic on French colonialism and Algerian resistance.

Lumumba (2000), dir. Raoul Peck
Focusing upon the story of Patrice Emery Lumumba, this film depicts the role of the Cold War and western greed for Africa’s mineral wealth in fomenting unrest and violence in that continent.

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Seminar room activities

Activity 1: Distribute an outline political map of the world and have students fill in the map with different colours representing the colonies of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are brief time lapse videos available on the internet that show the extent of colonization over the centuries. Students should be encouraged to not only reflect upon the significance of the global reach of colonialism, but also how their maps reflect contemporary global orderings (e.g. institutions such as the Commonwealth of Nations or distinctions between developed and less-developed countries).

Activity 2: Students should draw upon recent mainstream movies and television programs they have encountered in order to reflect upon the ways in which non-western peoples and places are depicted in them: what sorts of values, attributes and qualities are ascribed to them and how do these contrast with those of the (white) protagonists? Students should be encouraged to reflect upon the relationship between popular culture and colonialism. Students may want to reflect upon popular culture artefacts that challenge the dominant representational logics that they have already identified.

Activity 3: Students should produce a list of non-democratic or authoritarian regimes in Latin America, Africa and Asia. They should then list the main foreign aid provider and political supporter of each of these countries. If a democratic country, such as the United States, supports authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, for example, should we still call it a democracy? What wider implications for the character and function of global order do such relationships suggest?

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Assessment Questions

  1. Is colonialism over and done with today?
  2. In what ways do contemporary global institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations reflect colonial legacies and influences?