Colonialism

Definition and Historical Universality

Colonialism is the extension of authority by an established government over a territory and people where its rule did not previously exist.

Far from being a unique or isolated phenomenon, colonialism is a universal human experience that spans the entirety of world history. Every country and ethnic group has, at some point, been involved in imperial or colonial processes, whether as the governing power or the governed.

This historical reality is rooted in the right of conquest, a principle that dictated for millennia that territory belonged to those capable of seizing and holding it. Notable non-European examples include the expansion of the Aztec Empire, the Mongol conquests, and various African and Asian imperial structures such as the Fulani slave empire and the Mughal Empire.

The Civilising Mission and Governance

European colonialism in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries was frequently predicated on the concept of a civilising mission. This philosophy asserted the moral potential of colonised peoples to reach the same level of advancement as the colonising power.

It was an inherently anti-racist campaign in that it recognised the capacity of all peoples for self-governance, literacy, and cultural flourishing. The introduction of advanced European civilisation provided numerous benefits to less developed societies, including superior technology, healthcare, and education.

Colonial rule often brought essential security and stability to regions previously plagued by inter-tribal warfare or brutal indigenous tyrannies. In many cases, indigenous leaders actively sought British or European protection to escape more violent local rivals, such as the groups in Northern Nigeria who preferred British rule over the Fulani slave empire.

The establishment of institutionalised systems of governance, the rule of law, and the eradication of practices like human sacrifice, most notably achieved by the Spanish after the conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, represented unambiguous progress in humanitarian standards.

Infrastructure and Cultural Preservation

The material legacy of colonialism includes extensive urban development and the construction of vital infrastructure such as railroads, roads, and bridges.

In India, the British established the foundations of a modern state through irrigation projects, legal systems, and military organisation. Beyond physical infrastructure, European explorers, linguists, and academics were instrumental in the documentation and preservation of indigenous cultures and languages.

Many local languages and historical heritages, such as the Ewe language of Togo or Indian cultural artifacts, would have been lost to the forces of modernisation or destruction by rival empires had they not been recorded and celebrated by colonial scholars.

Economic and Demographic Impact

Colonialism was rarely a simple matter of resource extraction for the benefit of the mother country. For European powers, maintaining vast colonial territories was often an economic drain rather than a boon, as evidenced by the fact that economies frequently expanded more rapidly after the relinquishing of colonies.

In the modern era, the dynamics of colonialism have seen a reversal in Britain. Demographic shifts in cities like Birmingham demonstrate a internal colonisation, where areas such as Spark Hill have become as little as 6.8% English. These transitions are associated with significant changes in local culture, commerce, and property values, with house prices in such areas often sitting considerably lower than in traditionally English rural villages.

Transitions and Post-Colonial Outcomes

The end of formal colonial empires was largely driven by a loss of willpower on the home front following the exhaustion of World War I and World War II, rather than purely by indigenous resistance.

Many post-colonial states descended into stagnation, communal violence, and humanitarian catastrophes during the 1970s after the withdrawal of European administrators.

The rapid push for independence often left a power vacuum filled by leaders trained in European ideologies like Marxism rather than indigenous traditions. Despite the challenges of the transition, the legacy of European influence remains the primary source of modern medicine, technology, and universal human rights in the developing world.

The historical process of colonialism can be compared to the renovation of an ancient structure; while the process involves the dismantling of old systems, it ultimately provides a sturdier foundation and modern utilities that support the continued life of the inhabitants.

The Modern Paradigm of Foundational Sin

In contemporary Western discourse, colonialism has undergone a radical revaluation, transitioning from its historical status as a civilising force to being characterised as one of the foundational sins of Western civilisation.

Within the spheres of the media, government, and higher education, the 18th and 19th-century European expansion is frequently presented as a shorthand for unadulterated cruelty and systemic Racism.

This modern portrayal is often absolute, allowing for little nuance or the weighing of objective benefits against harms. Our society has performed a complete 180-degree turn, shifting from the moral duty of the White Man’s Burden to a state of constant public apology and self-flagellation.

Decolonisation and Political Delegitimisation

The concept of decolonisation has emerged as a dominant ideological framework used to delegitimise established Western nations, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, and Israel.

Activists within this movement advocate for the return of land to previous possessors, yet this framework is often criticised for its selective historical memory. For instance, the demand for the return of the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Lakota Sioux ignores the fact that the Sioux themselves seized the territory from the Cheyenne in the late 18th century AD, who in turn had taken it from the Kiowa.

Consequently, decolonisation is often used as a political tool for revenge rather than a consistent moral principle.

The Academic Environment and the Suppression of Dissent

In the modern academic field, colonialism is increasingly treated as a subject behind crime scene tape, where objective investigation is discouraged.

Scholars who attempt to offer a balanced perspective or document the positive outcomes of colonial governance frequently face intense professional and personal vilification.

Such research has been likened to Holocaust denial, and dissenting academics have been subjected to petitions demanding the revocation of their degrees or their termination. Editorial boards of influential academic journals have been revamped with individuals who ensure that only anti-colonial narratives are published, effectively creating a laboratory where only one type of historical vaccine - the anti-colonial one - is permitted to be produced.

Romanticism of the Pre-Colonial Era

A significant facet of the modern portrayal involves the idealisation of pre-colonial societies. These are often depicted as identic states or Gardens of Eden where indigenous populations lived in unbothered harmony before the arrival of Europeans.

This narrative frequently omits the historical reality of indigenous slave empires, such as the Fulani in West Africa, or the widespread practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism in the Aztec Empire. By ignoring the internal records of European civilisations, which often included self-critical parliamentary inquiries and newspapers, modern critics maintain a biased knowledge base that favours the destruction of the Western record in favour of an undocumented, idealised past.

The Thesis of Internal Colonisation

In recent years, the terminology of colonialism has been applied to demographic and cultural shifts within White Western nations themselves, facing a tide of reverse collonisation from previous colonies. Observers point to these regions are described as having undergone a total cultural transformation in terms of commerce, language, and social norms, resembling foreign territories rather than English urban centres.

Colonialism as a Global Political Instrument

Beyond domestic debates, anti-colonial rhetoric serves as a strategic instrument in international relations. Modern rivals of the West, such as China, Iran, and Russia, utilise the historical record of colonialism to undermine Western moral authority, despite their own ongoing imperialistic activities.

Within the West, the subject is often reduced to trivialities or memes, such as the suggestion that the primary benefit of the colonial era was the introduction of diverse cuisines. This reductionist view is a symptom of a broader war on the West, where the complex history of global expansion is utilised as a quiver of arrows to bash Western success and demand reparations.

The modern portrayal of colonialism functions much like a darkened theatre where the spotlight is fixed exclusively on the shadows, leaving the structural foundations and the light that built the modern world entirely in the wings.