2. What is a colony?
a country or area that is ruled by
another country
3. What is colonialism?
a policy in which a country rules
other nations and develops trade for
its own benefit
4. Europe’s 3 G’s of Colonialism
God: Missionaries established
colonies to promote Christianity
Gold: Colonies provided resources
that helped the economy of European
states
Glory: Colonies were a sign of power
5. Beginnings of Colonialism
1400’s: explorers sailed westward for
Asia and reached the Western
Hemisphere instead
Started colonizing the territories
1776: US declared independence
1800-1824: Latin American states
declared independence
7. Top Colonizers
United Kingdom
France
Portugal
Spain
Germany
Italy
Denmark
Netherlands
8. French Colonial Practices
Tried to assimilate into French
culture
Educated an elite group to provide
administrative leadership
9. British Colonial Practices
Created different government
structures and policies for various
territories
This helped to protect diverse
cultures, local customs and
educational systems
10. End of Colonialism
Most African and Asian colonies
became independent after WWII
Boundaries of the new states
coincided with the former colonial
boundaries (but not always)
11. Few Remaining Colonies
US: Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin
Islands
France: French Polynesia, Mayotte
and New Caledonia
Netherland: Netherland’s Antilles
United Kingdom: Pitcairn Island
12. Political Legacy of Colonialism
Colonial political systems were un-
democratic—no mechanism for the
people to officially express their
opinions
13. Political Legacy of Colonialism
Law and order was a primary
objective of colonial governments—
more money spent on police force and
army then spent on education, housing
and healthcare combined.
14. Political Legacy of Colonialism
Colonial governments lacked the income
and revenue needed to develop a
government system able to go beyond
maintaining law and order—unable to
provide basic infrastructure
(roads/communication networks) or
social services (education, healthcare,
housing)
15. Economic Legacy of Colonialism
Emphasis on exploitation of raw
materials for export—profits from
export sent back to Europe and not
spent to promote social and economic
developments in the colonies.
16. Economic Legacy of Colonialism
High demand for labor—mass
migration of Africans to labor in poor
working conditions for long hours and
inadequate pay
17. Social Legacy of Colonialism
Movement of people—resulted in
dislocation of peoples that impacted
society and culture (beliefs and
practices were challenged in these
migrations)
18. Social Legacy of Colonialism
Dislocation of families—men
recruited to work in
mines/plantations, leaving women and
adolescents to take on new roles
Extended family structure changed
to nuclear families
19. Social Legacy of Colonialism
Urbanization—occurred rapidly and
resulted in changes to economic
activities and occupation, and the way
people lived
20. Social Legacy of Colonialism
Religious Changes—prior to colonialism
less than 5% were Christians, now almost
50% of Africans identify themselves as
Christians
French and British discouraged mission
work in Muslim areas—Islam able to
consolidate in certain African colonies
21. Social Legacy of Colonialism
Education—Koranic schools became
widespread and students learned
Arabic (to read the Koran) in Islamic
areas.
Christian missionaries taught Africans
to read the Bible in their own language
to help convert them.
