Week 3 - Colonialism and the Persistence of Colonial Legacies Flashcards
What was the key to the emergence and growth of global capitalism?
colonialism
What did colonisers attempt to do?
colonisers attempted to commodity, extract, and appropriate land and labour surplus from differently racialised groups
What does Rodney say colonialism was about?
not just economic exploitation, focuses not he active “underdevelopment”
What does Pailey say about colonialism?
beyond a system of economic exploitation but a cultural and ideological imposition that continues to shape development discourse today
What did colonialism involve?
deep institutional transformation which continued into post-colonial period (e.g. governance structures, rule of law, property rights)
What was primitive accumulation (Marx)?
feudal, communal, customary rights transformed to individual property rights (customary rights and institutions persist, leading to dualistic and hybrid systems of “legal pluralism”
Why and what are the different forms of colonialism?
depth of impact and historical duration varied widely
militarised mercantilism (16th-18h centuries, fortified enclaves for monopoly trade)
colonisation and settlement of the ‘new Europes’ (!7th-19th centuries)
plantation slave colonies of the Caribbean (17th-18th centuries)
Europe’s overseas empires in Africa and Asia (17th-18th centuries)
What are the statistics on the wealth disparities colonialism created?
10% of the world’s people were allocated 85% of its wealth, 90% of all present and rural people had their lands expropriated
What does Mkandawire say about the colonial state?
the colonial state was a surplus extraction regime and systems of taxation were a defining characteristic of various forms of colonisation even by the same imperial power
What is path determination?
colonial activities determined post-colonial ones, or at least conditioned them, such that departure from the colonial pattern was, and perhaps remains, difficult and costly
What is the difference between West Africa and East and South Africa’s colonial experience?
West African colonial governments more responsive to expand income and welfare, but did little to promote industrial expansion up value chain
East and South Africa colonies were worse on poverty alleviation, but did more for structural transformation (settler colonies)
What does unequal exchange regarding colonisation refer to?
periphery countries drawn into sphere of industrial capitalism without themselves becoming industrial producers (just a persistent transfer of economic surplus from the periphery to the core, produces ‘distorted’ economies in the periphery)
What was the cause of unequal exchange in the periphery countries?
export orientation
less manufacturing and expansion of services
tendency to use less productive technologies
What is “primitive accumulation” regarding colonialism?
a process where European countries amassed capital by exploiting colonies
What provided the necessary capital for Europe’s industrial revolution and economic expansion?
inflow of wealth from the colonies (by extracting vast wealth from their colonies, including raw materials, agricultural products, and human labour)
How did colonialism open new markets for European goods?
colonised regions were often forced to buy European products, which helped European industries thrive and grow
global trade system established through colonialism gave European merchants and industrialists significant economic advantages
How did colonialism shape labour systems?
forced labor, slavery, and indentured servitude in the colonies provided cheap labor that supported European industries (European capitalist systems were built on the exploitation of colonised peoples, allowing European)
What does Blaut argue about the wealth disparity between Europe and its colonies?
(later, the Global North and South) was a direct result of the colonial system (unequal exchange of goods and labour benefited Europe at the expense of the colonised)
What does Blaut argue that contemporary global capitalism continues to reflect?
the colonial exploitative relationships in a different form
What traditional narrative does Blaut reject?
the traditional narrative that capitalism is the result of European cultural or intellectual superiority
insists that the economic growth of Europe cannot be separated from its colonial ventures
In Africa, what were the forms of colonial incorporation?
cash from economies (enlarged West Africa)
Africa of the concession companies (Congo Basin)
Africa of the labour reserved (East and Southern Africa)
What is the Indian legacy regarding colonialism and what does Kohli refer to India as?
restructured India’s economy for British benefit
systematic destruction of Indian industries
focus on extraction of raw materials, cash crops, forced labour
‘fragmented multiclass’ development states
What is the Indonesian legacy regarding colonialism?
farm surplus was siphoned off to subsidise plantations
post-colonial elites now control the sugar and palm plantation system put in place by the Dutch colonialists and still contracted to foreign corporate interests
stagnant ‘traditional’ farming sector
How did colonialism help to lead to capitalism?
colonialism created a single global economy
How did colonialism help to lead to capitalism? (land use)
by 19th century, commodity trade generates massive changes in global land use
arable land for food converted to commodity crops and prairies and forests converted into wheat fields (colonial trade expands to provide raw materials to fuel Europe’s Industrial Revolution)
Why was Africa crucial to the growth of industrial capitalism in the West?
slave trade provided England with capital for its industrialisation
What is neocolonialism as why is it persistent?
“the nature of relations after independence between European powers and their former colonies of the non-European world”
“is inevitable, given the structure of colonial institutions that were intended to foster dependency”
persists through economic dependency and global inequalities
What are examples of how neocolonialism persist specifically?
loans, trade deals, global structures
In what ways can you see colonial legacies today?
shape of post.colonial state borders
infrastructure and institutions
economic exploitation of commodity-rich countries (coffee, cocoa, copper, diamonds, etc.)
racism in Western societies
concealed power in language of development policy and practices
Western ‘white savour’ complex
What are examples of phrases used that show the concealed power in language of development policy and practices? (colonialism)
“capacity building”
“good governance”
What is legal pluralism?
age idea that multiple legal systems exist in a given geographical area
Against what were colony differences smaller between British and French colonial experiences than what?
within British settler (Kenya, Rhodesia) versus peasant agriculture colonies (Nigeria, Ghana)
What is the “stylised date” of independence and why?
the year 1960, because it saw the end of colonial rule in most of the French colonies south of the Sahara as well as in the most populous British and Belgian ones (Nigeria, Congo)
What is the strongest form of colonial legacy?
“path determination”, implying that colonial choices determined post-colonial ones, or at least conditioned them, such that departure from the colonial patter was and remains difficult and costly
What is the “rational choice” growth economists argument? (colonialism)
Africa’s relative poverty at the end of the 20th century was primarily the result of the form taken by European colonialism on the continent
What are “peasant” colonies?
land remained overwhelmingly in African ownership
major parts of the services sector were monopolised by Europeans
What is considered the original sin of colonialism?
it did not introduce a capitalist system, based upon private property and thereby generating the pressures towards competition and accumulation necessary to drive self-sustained economic growth
What is the reservation wage?
the minimum wage rate sufficient to persuade people to sell their labour rather than work for themselves
Where did modern manufacturing stem from? (colonialism)
earlier and larger beginnings were in colonies where Europeans appropriated land on a large scale, for settler or for companies
What are settler-colonies?
large-scale land appropriation by European settlers was a key feature
Africans were often forced into labour on plantations or mines, creating a dual economy with significant income inequality, while settlers benefited from protective policies, coercive labour laws, and capital-intensive industries (e.g. South Africa, Southern Rhodesia)
What are peasant economies?
African farmers retained control over their land and became primary producers of cash crops like cocoa and palm oil
In what way were peasant economies more inclusive (allowing for more widespread participation in economic growth)?
African entrepreneurs and farmers were able to engage in market activities and build wealth, leading to a more equitable development compared to settler economies (e.g. West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria)
What did colonial economy’s focus on?
extracting resources for the beneift of the colonising countries
What did development under colonialism look like? (infrastructure)
colonial governments built infrastructure like railways and ports to facilitate the export of raw materials, which helped expand African economies but were primarily aimed at benefiting European settlers and companies
What did development under colonialism look like? (eduction)
colonial governments generally neglected education and industrial development, so African countries were left with low levels of human capital and a limited industrial base
What did development under colonialism look like? (population)
there was a significant increase in the population of sub-Saharan Africa from around 1900 to 1960 (public health measures introduced by colonial governments helped reduce mortality rates)
What were the post-colonial economic challenges? (economy)
African countries struggled to diversify their economies, beyond raw material exports and many remained dependent on a narrow range of export commodities, making them vulnerable to global market fluctuations
What were the post-colonial economic challenges? (industry)
lack of industrial capacity, compounded by economic policies favouring capital-intensive projects, meant that many African countries were slow to industrialise (while some countries like South Africa developed significant manufacturing sectors, most African nations remained primarily agricultural)
What were the post-colonial economic challenges? (public goods)
inadequate investments in education, electricity and other public goods limited the stage for potential labour-intensive industrialisation due to population growth
What were the post-colonial economic challenges? (SAP)
structural adjustment programs in the 1980, implemented by the IMF and World Bank, aimed to transition African economies from state-led to market-oriented models and often led to economic stagnation or contraction in the short term
What is the difference between legacies for settler and peasant economies?
settler economies left behind deep inequalities and rigid class structure, while peasant economies allowed for greater economic mobility and opportunities for Africa farmers and traders
What is Samir Aman’s division of Africa? (colonialism)
Africa of the colonial economy (cash crop economies)
Africa of the concessionary companies
Africa of the labour reserves
What does Africa of the colonial economy (cash crop economies) involve? (Samir Aman’s division of Africa?
the low labour class dominated the production, whilst the state (colonial powers) typically controlled the marketing houses
What does Africa of the concessionary companies involve? (Samir Aman’s division of Africa?
colonial governments gave private governments land and property rights, and taxes were meant to develop the workers, however this was often missed
What does Africa of the labour reserves involve? (Samir Aman’s division of Africa?
economy based on racial segregation where ‘white settlers’ controlled the best land, while forcing indigenous people into low-wage production labour
What are the characteristics of neocolonialism?
political and geopolitical
economic
socio-cultural
What does the political and geopolitical characteristic of neocolonialism refer to?
former colonial powers still meddle in former colonies by endorsing leaders with similar interests or having military presence
What does the economic characteristic of neocolonialism refer to?
remaining economically dependent on former colonial powers, through international organisations (e.g. IMF or World Bank)
What does the socio-cultural characteristic of neocolonialism refer to?
western influence in global education systems and media
What does taxation capacity of a country depend on? (colonialism)
in African countries, with differences in tax reliance on trade versus direct taxes based on the colonial economic categorisation
reach of state depends on how formalised the economy is
What does taxation capacity of a country depend on? (colonialism, specifically economy formalisation)
High level informalisation provide ‘exit options’ that undermine state tax efforts
(Levels informalisation much lower in labour reserve economies than cash crop economies)
Most post-colonial states sought maintain barriers against informalisation until economic liberalisation under structural adjustment reforms forced a relaxation of these
What does taxation capacity of a country depend on? (colonialism, specifically inequality)
Greater inequality in Africa leads to higher tax share
While tax structure was redistributive among whites, helping explain intra-race inequality less pronounced, it wasn’t redistributive in aggregate
Labour reserve economies tended produce more nationalist movements, having popularity removing racist order, and led to greater state powers for taxation and redistribution
Why do post-colonial labour reserve economies typically have higher tax shares?
partly because ‘tax handles’ they inherited from colonial past (include, administrative and coercive capacity, low level of informalisation, high level inequality)
What does Pailey argue there is an absence of despite development theories and discussions being largely about socio-economic processes among non-white communities and countries?
race
(outlook of development literature has been mostly from a white/Eurocentric perspective with the developing regions/racial communities needing input and aid)
What does Pailey argue the colour blind approach avoids?
approach avoids addressing the power, privilege, and inequality that continue to favour whiteness (many development interventions, in fact, can be seen as reinforcing these structures of white domination)
What is the White Gaze of development?
viewing the Western, white, or Eurocentric ideas as the golden standard or norm with which all socio-economics processes are compared
(communities are always viewed as the object of study and are considered incapable of returning the gaze)
Why and how has the White Gaze endured?
The Racial Contract (there exists a social contract through racism that imposes a power structure that benefits whiteness and all white people are benefactors to this, even if not signatories)
White fragility (there exists a discomfort and defensiveness among white counterparts to discuss their race and privileges)
What is an example of a push against the White Gaze?
with the emergence of Black Lives Matter movement, there is a push for it to be inclusive and connect with African Lives Matter since racism is universal
What is Derrick Bell’s concept of “interest convergence”?
both white and non-white groups need to view race as necessary and important for change (race is a fundamental aspect of development and needs to be integrated into all aspects of development analysis)
How did healthcare look under settler colonies?
at beginning of colonial period, hospitals and other medical facilities were available for only settlers and expatriates
during mid periods of colonial rule in Africa, colonial governments recognised that African workers needed basic health to carry on their labour, thus introduced healthcare services for African workers (healthcare services were a two-tier system where settlers and Indigenous Africans received different services with different qualities)
healthcare services that existed for the African people was only meant for those Africans who worked for the colonial economy (other Africans were excluded)
How did healthcare look under settler colonies? (Portugal)
after five hundred years of colonising Angola, the Portuguese have produced on one doctor in Angola
How did healthcare look under settler colonies? (Algeria)
the mortality rate for Europeans was 39 per 1,000, whereas it was 170 per 1,000 for Algerians
How did healthcare look under settler colonies? (Nigeria)
in Ibadan Nigeria, the 50 Europeans had a hospital with 11 beds and was well furnished, whereas the half million Africans had only 34 beds available for them
How did infrastructure look under colonialism?
all infrastructure services introduced by the colonial government were not for the African peoples to connect, but to facilitate the economy (Rodney)
no road or railway that connected the colonies, but all roads and railways led to the sea
regions that did not offer anything to the colonial economy were ignored and had no type of transportation
How did infrastructure look under colonialism? (Kenya and Sudan)
regions of northern Kenya and the south of Sudan were neglected and transportation systems were only introduced after independence
How did education look under colonialism?
introduced schooling to African colonies, but intention was not to teach Africans science and mathematics, but intention was to produce an African who viewed his tradition and background as inferior to the colonialists
was also only intended to produce African workers who knew basic literacy and numeracy so that they could work in industry, thus educating them was an economic investment
focused on religion, where the colonial governments wanted to change the local religion with Christianity (Rodney argues was part of a plan to change how the African view the colonialists)
When did the major political phenomenon of neocolonialism emerge?
in the newly independent countries of Asia, Latin America, and Africa in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s
What does neocolonialism describe?
the nature of relations after independence between European powers and their former colonies of the non-European world (despite formal independence, struggled with continued economic, political, and military influence from former colonial powers)
What is the difference between how Western and Global South scholars view neocolonialism?
Western scholars rejected the concept, while leaders from the Global South, e.g. Ghana’s Nkrumah, viewed neocolonialism as the most dangerous stage of imperialism, where control is exercised economically and politically, without direct presence of colonial rulers
Global South scholars argued that neocolonialism allows former colonial powers to wield control without responsibility, leading to exploitation without redress
What does the word “tribe” serve according to Uzoigwe and what does the word tribalism mean? (colonialism)
only to preserve the West’s self-image as a civilised, superior race whose pride in their own exceptionalism is not in doubt
used to explain the ‘colonial’ character of a post-colonial independent regimes
(“would be truer to say that tribalism is a product of colonialism and that what colonialism produces, neocolonialism reproduces”)
What is the partition of India and the establishment of Pakistan framed as? (colonialism)
“divide and rule”, neocolonial strategies to maintain control (political and geopolitical neocolonialism)
What relationship enabled neocolonial powers to exert control through indirect governance and what did it create? (colonialism)
political leaders in post-colonial states often had to balance power between nationalists and elites who were co-opted by former colonial powers
created client states
(political and geopolitical neocolonialism)
Why did many post-independence leaders struggled to govern effectively? (colonialism)
due to inherited colonial structures and ethnic divisions exacerbated by colonial rule
(political and geopolitical neocolonialism)
What did political and geopolitical neocolonialism in general lead to the development of?
in general led to the development and ongoing refinement of democratic institutions, political constitutions, political practice and behaviour
a deeper awareness of civil rights and obligations
limitations on governmental power
What organisations played significant roles in maintaining economic neoliberalism?
the World Bank, IMF, and other Western financial institutions played significant roles in maintaining this dependency by enforcing policies like structural adjustments
(economic neoliberalism marked by continued dependency on foreign capital, often through exploitative trade agreements and loans)
What aspect of colonialism left many Global South economies underdeveloped and reliant on foreign powers?
focus on raw material extraction by multinational corporations (economic dependency fostered ongoing inequality, with African countries suffering from the “development paradox” of resource wealth alongside poverty)
(economic neoliberalism)
What did economic neocolonialism in general lead to the development of?
in general also led to some economic progress and especially to infrastructural development in Global South (e.g. roads, railroads, economic growth, and other amenities, especially in countries with less corrupt leaders, have been financed by loans and economic aid from rich nations)
What did economic neocolonialism in general lead to the development of regarding resources?
would not have been possible for many countries to exploit and develop their natural resources as fully that now exists (or grow the current nouveau-riche population who have helped build industries that employ millions of people, established schools, offered thousands of scholarships, and thus helped raise standard of living of millions of individuals)
What does economic neocolonialism have the potential for and what impedes it?
although neocolonialism (like capitalism) is by nature exploitative, if it is properly managed it has potential to lead to economic growth and development
indigenous corruption (which cannot thrive without foreign support), ethnic issues, and nepotism often impede the realisation of these goals
Since when has sociocultural neocolonialism received emphasis?
not much emphasised in the early post independence period but has received considerable emphasis since the 1980s
Through what can you see sociocultural neocolonialism?
former colonial powers maintain influence through education, media, and religion (this cultural domination fosters sense of inferiority among post-colonial nations, which are encouraged to adopt Western values and limits capacity for indigenous knowledge production)
What were significant tools of both colonialism and neocolonialism?
racism and cultural superiority (indigenous elites often complicit in sustaining these attitudes )
What has helped neocolonialism to survive in India?
British economic and political investments in the country over the centuries were safeguarded by working through the trusted elite groups
Why is neocolonialism inevitable according to Uzoigwe?
given the structure of colonial institutions that were intended to foster dependency, a reality that undermines the sovereignty of the states concerned ab initio
is resilient due to its ability to change its tactics to achieve its ends
cannot operate effectively without the cooperation of the indigenous leaders
its proponents and opponents alike tend to adopt extreme positions
