by Zig-Zag
2007
"Liberation is the task imposed upon us by our conquest and colonization.”
(Chinweizu, The West and the Rest of Us, p. 33)
INTRODUCTION
Colonialism: the practise of invading other lands & territories, for the purpose of settlement and/or resource exploitation.
When an invading force confronts an Indigenous population already occupying a territory, colonialism becomes a violent conflict between two hostile and opposing ways of life, with one attempting to impose its will on the other.
This is a standard definition of war, and colonization itself can be considered a war for territory involving all the means used to carry out wars: military, political, economic, psychological, diplomatic, cultural, etc.
Cecil Rhodes, a British colonial official for which Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was named, articulated the motives and goals of European colonialism in the 19th century:
“We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.”
Due to its history and culture, European colonialism is characterized by genocidal practices, including wars of extermination, massacres of non-combatants, biological warfare, and scorched earth policies (destroying food & shelter). Other atrocities include the torture of prisoners, rape, and enslavement of Indigenous populations. These acts are fueled by racist & patriarchal ideology (i.e., Christianity & white supremacy), greed, and a psychopathic desire to kill and inflict violence and suffering on others.
Psychopath n. A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.
(The American Heritage Dictionary, p, 1415)
Stages of Colonialism
The methods & history of colonization are unique in every case, due to many different variables (geography, population density, resources, etc.). Despite this, there are common patterns that can be easily recognized. In the Americas, Africa, and Asia, colonization generally consisted of 4 stages: recon, invasion, occupation, and assimilation.
1. Recon
Colonialism begins first with small recon forces that map out new lands or regions and gather intelligence. These are often celebrated today as voyages of “exploration” & “scientific discovery.” The 1492 voyage of Columbus, for example, was a recon expedition to find a new route to Asian markets. There were only 3 ships: the Pinta, Nina, and the Santa Maria.
2. Invasion
The second phase is invasion, which begins a period of armed conflict as Indigenous nations resist colonial forces. For example, when Columbus returned to the Caribbean in 1494, he had 17 ships and over 1,000 conquistadors. Invasion can begin immediately after the recon, or may be delayed by a period of trade & settlement that serve as a basis for later invasion (i.e., N. America). In every case, colonial military strategy is genocidal and includes the destruction of food supplies, resources, & shelter, as well as massacres & biological warfare (disease).
3. Occupation
When Indigenous peoples are militarily defeated, the occupation is expanded. A colonial government is set up to control the surviving population of Natives, who are contained in reservations, or enslaved. By the 1700s, many colonial authorities were corporations (i.e., the Hudson’s Bay Company, French Senegal Company, etc.). They organized settlement & resource extraction, including the construction of railroads, dams, roads, ports, etc.
4. Assimilation
An important part of imposing control is the indoctrination of surviving Natives into the European system. In order to do this, Indigenous society & culture must be dismantled & erased as far as possible. Colonial violence, including physical destruction and biological warfare, achieve this through depopulation, often during the period of invasion. Once occupation is entrenched, this process becomes institutionalized, with generations of Indigenous youth being removed from their people & forced into government or Church-run schools.
The period of occupation and assimilation are connected, as only through occupation can systems of assimilation be imposed. This phase can be long and drawn out over centuries, as has occurred in the Americas.
1. HISTORY OF COLONIALISM
Colonialism is neither new nor limited to any specific historical period (i.e., the ‘colonial period’ of the 15th to 19th centuries). Ancient civilizations were the first to begin colonizing other lands & people. When their populations became too large, and as resources became depleted, colonists were sent out to occupy and settle new lands. When these lands were already occupied, military campaigns were carried out to gain control.
When nations & territories were conquered, the survivors were enslaved and forced to provide resources, including human labour, food, metals, wood, spices, etc. The invaders then imposed their own forms of governance, laws, religion, and education. Over time, these populations became assimilated into the culture & society of their oppressors.
Early Egyptian Colonialism
In ancient Egypt (around 1,500 BC, or 3,500 years ago), all the methods of colonialism were already being practiced. An African scholar, Cheikh Anta Diop, described these methods:
“In some towns, as in Jaffa, the conquered princes were purely & simply replaced by Egyptian generals… Egyptian garrisons were stationed at strategic points, important towns and ports… 1,400 years before Rome, Egypt created the first centralized empire in the world.
“The children of vassal [conquered] princes were taken as ‘hostages’ & educated in Egyptian style, at the court of the Egyptian emperor, in order to teach them Egyptian manners and tastes and to assimilate them to Pharoanic culture and civilization…
“The Pharoah [emperor] could at any moment require money, chariots, horses, compulsory war service; the vassal was constantly under the orders of the Egyptian generals… The vassals enjoyed only internal autonomy; in fact they had lost their international sovereignty; they could not directly deal with foreign lands”
(Cheikh Anta Diop, Civilization or Barbarism, p. 85-86).
European Colonization
When looking at the world today, we can see that this process still continues, sometimes referred to as imperialism, globalization, or even ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘humanitarian’ missions. Whatever term is used, the principles of invasion, occupation and exploitation remain the same.
Today, the European states & their settler nations dominate the global system. How did this come to be? Why is it that Western Civilization is now the primary economic, political and military power in the world? The answer to these questions can be found in the history of civilization.
Early civilizations concentrated vast amounts of human and material resources under the control of a central authority. This authority was usually in the form of kings and priests, who based their right to rule on spiritual or religious tradition. They controlled all governance, economic trade, law & order, education, etc. Through religion, mind control was imposed over citizens, which created a culture of obedience, slavery, and war (just as we see today).
The first civilizations were established in northern Africa and Mesopotamia (the Middle-East), comprised of the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Babylonians. Other civilizations also began in India, Asia, and the Americas, but those in Egypt and the Mid-East had a direct influence on Europe.
The Greeks were the main transmitters of civilized culture into Europe, based on both Egyptian and Mid-East models. The Greeks, southernmost in all of Europe, were strategically located to serve just such a role. Prior to this, southern Europe was inhabited by tribal peoples. While Egyptians built massive pyramids and cities, had a written language, advanced science and astronomy, etc., Europeans were still hunting & gathering.
This history tells us that colonization results from a society’s culture, not its racial or biological background. This culture, based on expansion, control, and exploitation, arises from civilization. Despite this, it is the European system that now dominates the world, the result of history, geography, and the exchange of culture & technology that occurred throughout the Mediterranean.
Roman Colonization
The first people colonized by Western Civilization were the European tribal peoples, such as the Goths (Germany), the Gauls (France & Spain), etc. They were invaded & occupied by the Roman Empire, beginning around 200 BC (some 2,300 years ago):
“Conquered territories were divided into provinces ruled by governors appointed in Rome for one-year terms. Governors ruled by army-enforced decree… Conquered peoples all had to pay extraordinary taxes to Rome.”
(Jack C. Estrin, World History Made Simple, p. 65)
Early accounts by Romans described these peoples as worshipping Mother Earth, organized in clans and tribes, living as semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers. They were also strong and adept military forces that inflicted numerous defeats against Roman forces, with some regions never being pacified or conquered (i.e., the Scottish Picts).
Despite this resistance, some areas such as present-day Spain, Portugal, and France, as well as parts of Germany and Britain, were occupied by Roman forces for as long as 400 years. Forced to work as slaves, to build houses and fortifications, to serve as expendable frontline soldiers, to provide resources and manufactured goods, or as servants (cooks, janitors, barbers, tutors), these conquered peoples were also increasingly assimilated into Imperial Rome.
Tribal chiefs and high-ranking families were targeted for systematic assimilation; often, their children were taken and taught how to speak and read Latin (the language of Rome). Roman clothing and overall culture were imposed. After several generations, these peoples were effectively Romanized or Latinized, with some gaining citizenship and high ranking positions in the Roman military or political system. These families, along with the Roman governing system and the Christian church, served as the basis for the feudal system which evolved in Western Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire (5th century BC).
Perhaps more than any other region, Europe stands as a stark example of the effects of colonization & assimilation. Today, very little remains of the European tribal cultures, which were destroyed & assimilated into the Roman imperial system (which explains why European civilization is essentially fascist in nature).
1492: Invasion of the Americas
In 1492, the European colonization of the Americas began with the voyage of Christopher Columbus, in command of the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. This recon expedition arrived in the Caribbean and landed on the island of present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which was named Hispaniola. In 1494, Columbus returned with a second, larger force, comprised of 17 ships and 1,200 soldiers, sailors, and colonists.
By 1496, it is estimated that half of the 8 million Indigenous peoples on Hispaniola were dead, killed by a combination of European diseases & massacres. Both priests & conquistadors have left detailed accounts of their atrocities, killing for fun, hunting Indigenous peoples as if they were animals, and devising all kinds of cruel and inhuman methods of torture.
Survivors were enslaved and forced to supply gold, silver and food to the conquistadors. Those who failed to meet their quotas had their hands, ears or nose cut off. From this strategic location, military campaigns were conducted into nearby islands; by 1510, the Spanish were relocating Indigenous peoples from the Bahamas and Cuba to replace the dying slaves on Hispaniola.
By 1535, Spanish conquistadors had launched military operations into Mexico, Central America, and Peru. Using guns, armour, and metal edged weapons, as well as horses, siege catapults, war dogs, and biological warfare, the Spanish left a trail of destruction, massacres, torture and rape. Tens of millions of Indigenous people were killed within the first century. The Mexica (or Aztec) alone were reduced from some 25 million people to just 3 million. Everywhere the death rate was between 90-95 % of the population.
The European invasion of the Americas was, without question, the most devastating genocide and holocaust in history. Despite this, it is still celebrated today as a ‘discovery’. With some exceptions, the history of this holocaust has been minimized or concealed.
The main goal of the Spanish and Portuguese was to take control of the land and enslave the surviving Indigenous people. Settlement was not a main objective. They established huge plantations to grow crops for export to Europe, while vast ranches were set up for cattle raising. Mines were opened to dig for gold and silver. Millions of Indigenous people were enslaved and died working in these mines.
In order to maintain a source of slaves, European traders turned to West Africa. There, Indigenous Africans, engaged in intertribal war, traded prisoners of war with the Europeans, clearly ignorant or indifferent to the long term effects such actions would have. As many as 15-20 million Africans were shipped onboard slave ships, with an estimated 40 million dying from disease & starvation on the trans-Atlantic crossing.
Despite this high level of violence & destruction, Spanish & Portuguese colonial forces were largely restricted to the coastlines of Central & South America. Many interior regions resisted for 2-3 centuries and were never conquered by the Spaniards. The Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula, for example, withdrew into the forest lowlands, where Spanish forces fell victim to disease and the intense heat. The Maya then launched military attacks and were able to resist total Spanish control.
By 1800, the Spanish laid claim to a vast region encompassing parts of South, Central, and North America. Despite this, it was an empire in decline, faced with ongoing Indigenous resistance, slave rebellions, and even settler revolts. By the mid-1800s, settler independence movements forced the Spanish out of the Americas (with the exception of Cuba & Puerto Rico).
At the time of the invasion of the Americas, Europe was in the Dark Ages, suffering from resource depletion, overpopulation, widespread poverty & social decline. Colonialism brought new resources & wealth into Europe, while destroying Indigenous nations in both the Americas and Africa. It is from the colonization of the Americas that the European nations were able to further expand and dominate the world.
1498: Invasion of North America
In 1498, John Cabot, sailing under command of the English King, claimed the east coast of present-day Newfoundland. He was followed by the French shortly after. Throughout the 1500s, the British & French attempted several colonies on the east coast of the US, but none survived the harsh winters (or, in the south, attacks by the Spanish). Finally, in 1607, a British colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia. It survived due to the help of Indigenous peoples (the tradition of Thanksgiving, adapted from Indigenous peoples, arises from this).
These early British settlers took great care to not engage in any offensive actions, especially as Indigenous peoples were militarily stronger. At first, peace & friendship treaties were made. As colonist’s numbers grew, they began to seek greater land and resources, especially the agricultural lands of Indigenous peoples. By the 1620s there was all-out war in the north-east, with colonists carrying out massacres and scorched earth policies. Combined with the effects of biological warfare (smallpox), these attacks gradually broke the ability of Indigenous nations to militarily resist.
Unlike the Spanish & Portuguese in the south, the British & French found little gold or silver with which to finance large-scale invasion. Instead, they relied on trade with Indigenous nations (i.e., the fur trade) as well as the gradual development of agriculture for export to Europe. For this reason, a dual policy of maintaining friendly relations with some, while waging war on others to gain territory, was used. Over time, however, even those that actively collaborated with the settlers were attacked, their lands taken, and their populations enslaved.
A main focus for the French & British was the transfer of large numbers of citizens to the colonies in order to relieve the pressure of over-population, as well as to garrison them against other European powers. Settlement was therefore a major factor in the colonization of N. America.
As in South & Central America, Indigenous populations suffered death rates of 90-95 % across North America. Although diseases had a major impact, they were most often accompanied by wars of extermination that targeted not only men, but also women & children. Those not killed by disease or massacre suffered starvation, as villages and crops were systematically burned by heavily armed European militias. Extermination of Indigenous people was an official policy of colonialism, limited only by the potential to make money through slavery.
Competition between the French & British led to a series of wars, fought both in Europe and in the American colonies. By 1763, France was defeated and surrendered its colonies to the British (including present-day Quebec). In turn, the British reorganized their colonial system and imposed new taxation on the colonies themselves, to help pay for the costs of war.
Along with this, the British issued the 1763 Royal Proclamation. This law limited the expansion of colonies by imposing a western boundary line (along the Appalachian Mountains). Only British Crown forces could trade, acquire land, and conduct other business in the ‘Indian Territories’. This act, which also recognized Indigenous sovereignty to land, served to limit some Indigenous resistance. At the time, the British were faced with an insurgency led by Pontiac, with an alliance of Ottawas, Algonquins, Wyandots, and others. They had captured 9 of 12 British forts and laid siege to Detroit for 6 months.
New taxes & the 1763 Royal Proclamation angered many settlers in the 13 original colonies, especially their exclusion from gaining more land. Real estate had become a huge business, with settlers taking land by violent conquest and selling it or growing cash crops such as tobacco. In response, they organized an armed revolt against the British in order to establish an independent Euro-American empire.
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