Rilee Brazda

Ms. B

World History

22 February 2019

Was European Colonization and Imperialism Good or Bad?

  In my opinion, European colonization and imperialism was bad. This is because the Europeans practically stole the other countries’ wealth, which led to poverty, it started slavery and they forced labor upon the natives, leading to thousands of deaths, and it destroyed the ancient cultures of the countries.

Colonization is defined as the process of establishing control over an area and its native people. Similarly, imperialism is when a country extends its power over other nations. European colonization and imperialism took place throughout the 1400s to the 1600s as well as the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. It began because of God, glory, and gold. In other words, people wanted to spread the Christian religion, began promoting humanism, competition between nations for wealth increased, and trade shared many goods and new ideas. 

Firstly, the Europeans practically stole the wealth from those countries. By taking and importing goods for their own trade and wealth, they caused a lot of poverty that still lasts to this day. For example, Western Africa had limited inter-African trade, meaning most of their trade was by exporting goods. This is a major cause of their poverty, since it took away a large source of income for them. Australia too had been affected by this, since people began flooding into the country because of a gold rush at the time. Other industries, such as wool and coal, started popping up and using and selling their resources, which left them in poverty, as well. Europeans colonized and industrialized India because of its goods, too. Spice, tea, cotton, and other raw good industries began. Like Australia and Western Africa, this took away a ton of their wealth.

A second reason why European colonization and imperialism was more bad than good is because it led to slavery and many deaths of the natives. Slave trade became popular in Western Africa, which influenced new states to begin basing their economy off of slave trade. The same situation happened in South America when the Europeans forced the natives to mine and work for them. Europe was superior to the Indians, as well, and they too were forced to work for them. This slavery and forced labor led to thousands of deaths and influenced how people saw the natives for many generations. People treated them poorly and saw them being lower than them.

Lastly, imperialism and colonization overall destroyed the cultures of the countries. In Australia, the Europeans began taking the native Aborigine children from their families and they taught them how to be British, in hopes that their culture would eventually die off. Many of the natives of Australia were killed in order to get them off the land, in addition. In South America, the Catholic Church was very controlling, which destroyed many of their ancient religions and traditions. Indian religion was divided, as well, since they began bringing over their religions and there was a loss in ancient Hindu traditions, such as the domination of women.

One major argument saying that the Europeans colonizing was more positive is that the world wouldn’t have become what it has without these things happening. I would agree that this is true. This is very good for European countries, since we were the ones that ended up with all the wealth, though for a lot of the countries affected by it, it was a very negative thing. If Europe had never colonized, countries like Africa, India, Australia, and so on wouldn’t be stuck in as much poverty as they are now. People would also have a much more positive view on the natives instead of seeing them as slaves or lower down in status. Their cultures would’ve been saved instead of destroyed, which would have preserved history. Another major argument for European colonization would be that it helped them discover and spread new goods throughout the world. This too is true, though it could’ve been done in a much less violent and controlling way. The Europeans could’ve worked themselves instead of forcing the natives to do it for them and they could have let the countries keep at least a portion of the wealth in order to prevent poverty.

In conclusion, European colonization was bad because it led to poverty, slavery and tons of deaths of innocent natives, and it destroyed their cultures. Though there are pros to the situation, I believe that the world may have much less problems if everyone worked together to improve instead of controlled each other.

Sources:

taylorbarrett22. “Was European Colonization a Positive or Negative Force in the World?” English Portfolio, 1 Apr. 2016, taylorbarrett2018.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/was-european-colonization-a-positive-or-negative-force-in-the-world/.

“Benefits of Colonization.” Scribd, Scribd, www.scribd.com/document/352771286/Benefits-of-Colonization.

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