Introduction to
Colonization & Decolonization:
Case Studies in Modern Africa and Asia
Colonization in 1945
Terms
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colonialism: one country’s domination of another country or people, usually
achieved through aggressive actions; involves formal political control of one
country over another
colony: the territory acquired, usually through aggressive actions
colonization: the act of colonizing
imperialism: similar to colonialism but used more broadly to refer to political
or economic control exercised either formally or informally
new imperialism: period of European imperialism involving extension of
formal political control in Africa and Asia, 1870-1914
decolonization: process of granting independence to a colony; refers
particularly to the period after WWII when European colonies in Africa and
Asia achieved independence
History of Imperialism – Periods:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Imperialism before 1450
Age of European Exploration & Early Modern
European Imperialism (1450-1700)
European Merchant Empires (1700-1815)
Imperialism of Free Trade (1815-1870)
New Imperialism (1870-1914)
Mandates (post-WWI) & Trusts (post-WWII)
Decolonization (1945-1970)
Modern Economic Imperialism & Neocolonialism
I. Imperialism before 1450
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one state attempts to dominate all others
through unified system of control
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new territories usually adjacent or nearly
adjacent to imperial center
Alexander the Great’s Empire,
320 B.C.
Roman Empire, 117 C.E.
Mongol Empire, late 1200s
Ottoman Empire, 1300-1699
Aztec Empire, 1400s-1521
II. Age of European Exploration & Early
Modern European Imperialism (14501700)
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emerging European nation-states compete for
political and economic power  drives
exploration of and expansion into new lands
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extension of formal political control over
territories
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new territories typically overseas – in S and SE
Asia and New World
Why?
ECONOMIC/POLITICAL POWER
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desire for products
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mercantilism – control trade of
colonies in order to reap benefits
trade as war
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Trading Companies
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British East India
Company (1600)
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Dutch East India
Company (1602)
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Dutch West India
Company (1621)
Why?
GOD (i.e. RELIGION)
Who?
1.
2.
3.
Portugal (1415)
Spain
Netherlands, England, France
In 1492 ….
… Columbus sailed the
ocean blue …
… and the lucky guy ran into a giant heap of
dirt in the way of his targeted destination.
Result: Spain builds a colonial empire in the
so-called “New World.”
Going back a bit to 1488 …
Bartholomeu Dias reaches the Cape of Good Hope
[And 518 years later, so did I!]
And in 1498…
Vasco da Gama rounds the southernmost tip of Africa...
… and reaches India
via the sea
Cape Agulhas
Portuguese Empire, at maximum
extent in the 16th c.
Spanish Empire in 1770
Dutch Colonies, 17th c.
British Colonies in North America,
1763-1775
French Colonial Empire
Key
light blue = first empire of 1600s-1700s;
dark blue = second empire, built after 1830
III. European Merchant Empires
(1700-1815)
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by 18th c. European exploration and
expansion resulted in the creation of
powerful sea-based empires
world system = area where different
cultures are related through commercial and
other interactions
3 world systems
North
Atlantic
South
Atlantic
Indian
Ocean
North Atlantic system
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regions: Western Europe, Russia, the Baltic,
Scandinavia, Newfoundland, Canada and
northeastern USA
colonial powers: French, Dutch, English
main products: timber, fish, fur
South Atlantic system
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regions: South and Central America, Brazil,
Caribbean, West Africa, southeastern USA
colonial powers: Spanish, Portuguese,
English
main products: silver, sugar, tobacco,
African slaves, cotton
Indian Ocean system
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regions: South and Southeast Asia, East
Africa
colonial power: Britain
main products: spices, silk, other luxury
goods
IV. Imperialism of Free Trade
(1815-1870)
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extension of informal influence (namely
economic) rather than asserting formal
political control
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driven by capitalism
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product of Industrial Revolution
(begins in Britain ca. 1780)
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776)
“The sun never sets on the British Empire.”
V. New Imperialism
(1870-1914)
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states resume extending formal political
control, not just economic or diplomatic
influence
territories acquired in Africa and Asia
still driven by capitalism
Imperialism in Africa, 1914
Imperialism in Asia, 1914
VI. Mandates (post-WWI)
& Trusts (post-WWII)
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League of Nations mandates – transferred
control of German and Ottoman colonies
to WWI victors
United Nations Trust Territories –
successors to mandates when UN replaced
League of Nations in 1946

colonial power required to set target date for
trust’s independence
League of Nations mandates in Africa,
the Middle East, and the Pacific
VII. Decolonization
(1945-1970)
VIII. Modern Economic Imperialism &
Neocolonialism
economic domination: the domination by a powerful,
usually Western nation of another nation that is
politically independent but has a weak economy greatly
dependent on trade with the powerful nation