Colonialism: Rise, expansion and continuation

Understood successful its barebones essentials, colonialism is the economical and governmental process of capturing markets for the intent of enforcing a peculiar economical and trading narration of subordination. The subordination often takes the signifier of buying superior goods specified arsenic spices oregon fabric from the colonies, and selling them manufactured goods. The manufactured goods are often sold forcibly to the colonised markets, sometimes nether the veneer of ‘free trade’.

Origins of modern colonialism

Colonialism arose initially arsenic a effect of the naval enlargement of a fig of European countries. One of the archetypal large seafaring nations of the satellite was Portugal. With notation to exploratory and assemblage efforts by Portuguese navigators, it was erstwhile observed that they ‘had a tiny federation arsenic a cradle, but past made the full satellite their grave’.

Portugal and Spain led the Age of Discovery – the hunt for a oversea way – and assemblage enlargement successful the 15th and 16th centuries. But by the 17th century, they were outpaced by the emergence of the French, Dutch and English navies. 

The constituent remains that the origins of modern colonialism are rooted successful the improvement of ship-building and the constitution of sea-routes specified arsenic the 1 that went astir the Cape of Good Hope connected the southbound occidental extremity of Africa. It reduced Europe’s reliance connected the overland commercialized routes that connected Europe with Asia specified arsenic the Silk Route, which passed done galore Muslim lands. 

What the improvement of seafaring, the opening of caller naval routes and the domination of almighty navies did was to found and grow assemblage empires successful distant parts of the world.

This was initially facilitated by almighty trading companies specified arsenic the British East India Company, the French East India Company and the Dutch East India Company. Slowly, the seizure of assemblage markets by the trading companies developed into much overt forms of governmental control.

The governmental and radical justifications of colonialism

The archetypal commercialized impetus for the origins of colonialism was soon supplemented by much overt governmental elements that were accompanied by ideological forms of justification specified arsenic racism. A peculiarly egregious lawsuit of this is the ‘White man’s burden’ –  the expected humanities imperative of achromatic Europeans to bring the inferior non-white races successful the colonies up to a desirable taste standard.

Colonialism was frankincense accompanied by an acquisition strategy that was enforced by the colonisers successful the signifier of domination of a peculiar episteme oregon signifier of cognition implicit indigenous cognition systems. Therefore, the effects of assemblage regularisation extended beyond outer governmental power and led to the internalisation of a consciousness of inferiority among the colonised.

The celebrated Palestinian-American world Edward Said, successful his acclaimed 1978 publication Orientalism, explained however assemblage countries specified arsenic France and Britain dominated their colonies simply by acquiring ‘knowledge’ astir them. Said’s publication frankincense reveals the nexus betwixt powerfulness and knowledge.

Colonial regularisation successful India

In bid to recognize the trajectory that colonialism took successful India, the pursuing aspects of British assemblage regularisation assistance america recognize the process.

Consolidation of trading institution outposts into a much overtly governmental project – The nodal origins of British colonialism successful India were important trading centres connected the Indian coastline that provided the British with the archetypal constituent of introduction and interaction with India arsenic an incipient colony.

Captain William Hawkins of the East India Company archetypal landed successful the Western larboard municipality of Surat during the clip of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s reign. 

Other European assemblage powers specified arsenic the Portuguese were progressive connected the occidental Malabar and Konkan seashore of India successful Goa and Kerala. The British were past capable to get important bridgeheads successful the west, southbound and eastbound successful the signifier of what would go the Presidency towns of Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai), and Calcutta (Kolkata). Calcutta became the superior of British India until it was shifted to New Delhi successful 1911.

Rule done gross –  Consolidation of British powerfulness successful Bengal was achieved successful the June 1757 Battle of Plassey by the British East India Company nether Robert Clive. This consolidation was past followed by a important governmental improvement with the assistance of diwani rights oregon the close to cod gross successful Bengal, Bihar and Orissa that was fixed to the East India Company by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II aft the Company’s triumph successful the conflict of Buxar successful 1764.

The adverse effects of the activities of East India Company officials specified arsenic Governor-General Warren Hastings did not spell unnoticed adjacent successful Britain. The distinguished British parliamentarian and governmental theorist Edmund Burke initiated the celebrated impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings.

While the proceedings against Hastings did not pb to his conviction, it highlighted the devastating interaction of the East India Company’s exploitation of Bengal. In 1793, the Governor-General Lord Cornwallis, introduced a caller gross model, the Permanent Settlement that consolidated a people of landlords (zamindars) and transformed Indian nine by transplanting ideas from British governmental principles. 

The precocious historiographer Ranajit Guha has elaborate this process successful his acclaimed publication A Rule of Property for Bengal (1963) wherever helium noted however determination were besides important European economical and enlightenment ideas that went into the instauration of the Permanent Settlement, notably those of the French Physiocrats, who argued that economical worth came from the land.

Rule by ‘Reform’ – In the aboriginal 19th century, determination were aggregate attempts to regularisation and ‘reform’ Indian nine according to the ascendant British doctrine of ‘utilitarianism’, which is associated with thinkers specified arsenic Jeremy Bentham and James Mill. This attack stressed the top bully for the top number. It is the taxable of a important publication by Eric Stokes, The English Utilitarians and India (1959).

There is simply a communicative of however Lord William Bentinck met James Mill conscionable earlier departing for India to presume the bureau of governor-general. Lord Bentinck told Mill that adjacent though helium would beryllium ruling arsenic governor-general, it was really the utilitarian ideas of James Mill that would beryllium down the ruling. Lord Bentinck’s regularisation is associated with betterment efforts specified arsenic the abolition of sati.

Rule done acquisition – The aboriginal 19th period is besides associated with the instauration of an acquisition strategy that was precise British and Western successful its orientation. This is champion known done the oft-quoted Minute connected Education (1835 ) written by British historiographer and person Thomas Babington Macaulay. In this document, Macaulay emphasised the centrality of English successful acquisition instruction. He aimed astatine creating a people of educated Indians who would service arsenic intermediaries betwixt the British rulers and the autochthonal population, and would beryllium brownish successful the colour of their skin, but English successful their literate and acquisition tastes. 

This argumentation was criticised for creating a acceptable of ‘anglophile’ Brown sahibs and for its lasting interaction connected the Indian acquisition system. It led to the request to further ‘decolonise’ the acquisition strategy adjacent aft independence.

Direct regularisation – The stranglehold of the British was completed with the suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known arsenic the Great Indian Mutiny) and diminishing the past Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, into a specified figurehead. His domain was confined wrong Delhi from the Red Fort successful the North of the metropolis to Palam colony successful the south. With the momentous developments of the 1857 Mutiny, the East India Company was efficaciously disbanded and ceremonial British regularisation was established with nonstop power of the British crown and the declaration of Queen Victoria arsenic Empress.

Rule by drain – While the effects of colonialism were felt successful the spheres of governmental regularisation and education, determination was a much important underlying economical logic. Dadabhai Naoroji identified it successful his celebrated drain mentation erstwhile helium complained astir however ‘Un-British rule’, arsenic helium termed it, was bleeding India of its wealthiness and resources and destroying her industries.

Types of colonialism

Most European countries specified arsenic Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Portugal and Belgium had colonies each implicit the world, with Britain leading. At the 1884 Berlin Conference a veritable scramble for African colonies happened. This contention among European countries gave emergence to a fig of antithetic types oregon variants of colonialism. 

Settler colonialism – One of the astir important types of colonialism successful which an outer colonisation presence decided to instrumentality power of a onshore and often drove retired the already existing colonisation sometimes done taste cleansing and genocide. 

Planter colonialism – It progressive the often strictly enforced request to turn a peculiar harvest specified arsenic sugar, coffee, fabric oregon rubber. Often indentured labourers from different colonies were brought successful to supplement the enactment force. 

Extractive colonialism – It was based connected the extraction of invaluable resources oregon peculiar earthy materials specified arsenic golden oregon sandalwood.

As the 20th period unfolded and reached its mediate decades, the nonstop holding of colonies, oregon old-style colonialism, progressively became financially unfeasible. This was particularly the lawsuit with the foremost assemblage power, Britain, whose astir important colony, the veritable ‘jewel successful the crown’, India, had to beryllium relinquished, soon aft the extremity of the Second World War. 

The past of the 20th period gives america a favoritism betwixt an older signifier of colonialism and modern neo-colonialism which persists contiguous contempt ceremonial decolonisation having taken spot successful the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America which, however, stay successful conditions of economical and governmental vulnerability.

Post Read Questions

How did the archetypal commercialized motivations down colonialism germinate into much overt governmental control, and however were these actions accompanied by ideological forms of justification?

How did the British initially consolidate their assemblage beingness successful India, and however did utilitarian doctrine power British governance successful India?

Discuss the cardinal reforms introduced nether British regularisation successful the aboriginal 19th century.

What was Dadabhai Naoroji’s ‘drain theory’, and however did it explicate the economical exploitation of India nether British assemblage rule?

How does neo-colonialism proceed to manifest contempt ceremonial decolonisation successful Africa, Asia, and Latin America?

(Amir Ali is an Assistant Professor astatine the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

Share your thoughts and ideas connected UPSC Special articles with ashiya.parveen@indianexpress.com.

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and enactment updated with the quality cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X.