The race is a complex notion that allows individuals to categorize the world’s population based on their physical qualities. This paper discusses the reasons “race” was created and developed in colonial America. The report addresses the moral contradiction associated with the system of human bondage and the idea of equality among all individuals. The paper also refers to the role of the westward expansion in the development of “race”.
How “Race” Resolved the Moral Contradiction
The clear difference between free people and slaves, along with the notion that “all men are created equal” established a moral contradiction in colonial America due to several reasons (Race – The Power of an Illusion). First, regardless of the idea presented above, it was evident that not all people were equal at that time. Racial minorities were treated differently compared to whites and were proclaimed slaves. In his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson wrote that black people were inferior to whites from the perspectives of both bodies and minds (Race – The Power of an Illusion). Jefferson’s words contradict the idea that all people are equal because he states that there are significant differences among the population. The second reason for the moral contradiction is that in the nineteenth century, various public lectures addressed the issue of race, implying differences between black and white communities. For instance, at that time, many scientists tried to prove that people of different races are “different and separate creations” (Race – The Power of an Illusion). It is evident that such beliefs contradicted with the idea that “all men are created equal” and resulted in a moral contradiction in America.
The race helped to resolve the moral contradiction between the equality of all individuals and the system of human bondage in the following way. The notion of race can be perceived as an idea that develops and evolves with time based on the population’s needs. Although freedom was one of America’s most significant values, there was a need for labor forces in American colonies. The race was utilized as a tool that helped authorities to support human bondage (Race – The Power of an Illusion). On the one hand, all individuals should be treated equally, meaning that it was impossible to proclaim some of them as slaves without facing the moral contradiction. On the other hand, there was a significant need for labor power, and this problem could not be solved if all people were perceived as equal and had the same rights. Thus, there was a need for proclaiming some groups of the population less human and different from others. This way, society agreed to the idea of quality among all individuals but stated that minority groups are “not quite men” (Race – The Power of an Illusion).
It is vital to note that some people tried to oppose slavery at that time and question the idea of race. For example, a Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz arrived in America wanting to prove that all people were the same (Race – The Power of an Illusion). However, the works by the most distinguished scientists at the time made him rethink his perspective. The scholars of that time made systematic errors believing that some nations were smarter than others while black individuals were at the bottom of this hierarchy of races (Race – The Power of an Illusion). Although such mistakes are evident now, they affected the development of “race” and contributed to the resolution of the existing moral contradiction.
Westward Expansion
The westward expansion played a significant role in the development of the concept of race in colonial America. The majority of the white population of America believed that the West was designated to them (Race – The Power of an Illusion). This idea was the core reason for the expansion to the West in the middle of the nineteenth century, as many white individuals believed that Western territories belonged to them. Thus, the notion of race and the division between the “superior” and “inferior” races became very significant for the population of America. It was significant for white individuals to separate themselves from black communities and feel more civilized than other nations because they wanted to own the West (Race – The Power of an Illusion). They forced the peoples living in the West to leave their homes, and “race” was a significant justification for their actions. The development of “race” was useful for westward expansion because it allowed white Americans to decide who could be a rightful citizen of the country.
Conclusion
The paper shows that the development of “race” was necessary for colonial America, as there was a significant need for labor forces. If all individuals were considered equal, it would be impossible to make some of them inferior to others. The idea of the race allowed for resolving this moral contradiction, as the population started to believe that black individuals are less human than white ones and thus, could serve as slaves or be treated poorly.
Work Cited
Race – The Power of an Illusion. Directed by Christine Herbes-Sommers, Jean Cheng, Larry Adelman, Llewellyn Smith, Tracy Strain, California Newsreel, 2003.
Evolution of the African Region over the Past Century and Establishing of Cultural-Geographical Patterns
Long before the European invasion Africa had been organized into states that formed wider economic realms typified by trading activities among different states. Basically, one of the most economically productive realms was the West Africa who majorly traded with the north. To this effect, trading centers blossomed into thriving cities at the interior. Towards the south the cultural groups were readjusting while jostling one another while in the eastern coast of the Indian Ocean Arabian dhows were a common scenario. Batter trade was the most common means of trading.
The Arabs on the eastern coast received slaves in exchange for gold and copper. As mentioned before these regions developed into city centers with Timbuktu and Kano exemplifying some of the ancient cities. Moreover, several states were formed including ancient Ghana which encompassed the current states of Mali and Mauritania. This particular one was well organized with routine tax collections and tolls on the imported goods a common place. In other places as well states and kingdoms rose. For instance, Ethiopian state and Buganda kingdom happened on the east (Kimble 320).
With European contact, came in slave trade that played a major role in disorienting African cultural settings. Primarily, the initial habitats of the whites were the coastal regions which later overshadowed the interior states’ developing pace. Consequently, coastal states such as Dahomey (currently Benin) owe their existence to slave trade. Reorientation of the trade also happened with the interior states steadily becoming depopulated thanks to white man’s insatiable quest for slaves.
As the Europeans started getting a foothold on the African continent, their political spheres of influence started overlapping prompting the stakeholders to carve out boundaries that would bring together cultural diversities into what are now the present states of Africa. Today, this has resulted in mixed fortunes with some states experiencing tribal wars e.g. Rwanda and Nigeria while others appreciate the need of cultural diversities e.g. Kenya with a host of 42 tribes but live peacefully.
Social Geography of the Caribbean and Northeastern South America as a Reflection of the Aftermath of the Atlantic Slave Trade
The trans-Atlantic slave trade took place on the Atlantic Ocean not later than 16th century ago. Chiefly, Africans were being transported from their native habitats to the outside world including the north and southern American realms to work as slave laborers in plantation farms. Vitally, the trade was oiled by the respective states’ kingpins who traded with Europeans for goodies in return for slaves. The West Africa was the most rampant spot for slave trade owing to its orientation close to the destination- America. As such, and with an overwhelming demand most West Africans found themselves either in the north or southern America (Schaefer 109).
The aftermath of trans-Atlantic slave trade is widely evident in the regions of the south Americas Caribbean and northeastern South American states. The south Americas Caribbean states include Venezuela, the Guianas and Colombia. A closer look at the population constituents in these states underscores the fact that these were the destinations of the slave laborers of African descent. As portrayed by the cultural fragmentation map, it is evident that the south Americas Caribbean states are categorized as tropical-plantation sphere epitomized by the dominant African culture that are largely dependent on agriculture. As such, adverse climatic conditions are an anticlimax to this region reducing people to abject poverty as is present (MacLeod and Jones 66).
Map 1: Physical geography of sub-Saharan Africa.Map 2: Political-Cultural Map of sub-Saharan Africa.Map 3: Urban-Economic Map of sub-Saharan Africa.Key.
Works Cited
Kimble, Hebert. “The Inadequacy of the Regional Concept” London Essays in Geography 2.17 (1951): 301-617. Print.
MacLeod, George, and Jones Mother. “Renewing The Geography of Regions.” Environment and Planning 16.9 (2001): 66-70. Print.
Schaefer, Frankline. “Exceptionalism in Geography: A Methodological Examination.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 43.3 (1953): 82-104. Print.
The book “Shamanism, Colonialism and the Wild Man” (1987) is written by Michael T. Taussig, Professor of Anthropology at the Columbia University who has acquired great academic reputation due to his seminal works on highly unconventional topics like devil worship, shamanism and state terror. His subject matter is inherently provocative by dealing with both evil and supernatural. He is also known for his unique style of writing called fictocriticism also known as ‘gonzo anthropology’ (Eakin 1). Fictocriticism blends “fact and fiction, ethnographic observation, archival history, literary theory and memoir” (Eakin 1) and Taussig’s books are more like novels than academic works. His first book appeared in 1980 and it was titled “The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America”. He later published “Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing” (1987); “The Nervous System” (1992); “Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses” (1993); “The Magic of the State” (1997); “Defacement” (1999); “Law in a Lawless Land” (2003); and “My Cocaine Museum” (2004). Michael Taussig is basically an anthropologist specializing in South America. In the book “Shamanism, Colonialism and the Wild Man”, Taussig explores and explains the atrocities committed by the early-20th-century rubber traders in the Putumayo Valley by studying the phenomena of terror and shamanic healing in the region.
Analysis
Michael Taussig, an Australian by birth, studied medicine at the University of Sydney and sociology at the London School of Economics. He was deputed on duty to Columbia in 1969 to serve as doctor for rural Marxist guerillas during which time he took up writing and started keeping an account of his experiences. His first two books were ethnographies tinged with Marxist theory. He was motivated to write this book by a revelation he had while reading archival reports about the atrocities committed by early-20th-century rubber traders in the Putamayo Valley including the maiming and murder of dozens of Indians. He was both fascinated and repulsed by the violence and it is this dual conflicting reactions in him that made him write “Shamanism, Colonialism and the Wild Man”. “Taussig by pairing terror in his title with healing, insists that the two may be found together, that where there is terror there healing will also be found-in the powers of shamans” (Pratt, p., 249). Taussig notes that the rubber companies indulged in murder and torture to keep the Indians in control but ultimately this move backfired as it cut off their labor supply. According to Mr. Taussig, the terror might have been caused due to deep rooted fears about savage Indians: “The uncertainty surrounding the possibility of Indian treachery fed a colonially paranoid mythology in which dismemberment, cannibalism… body parts and skulls grinned wickedly” (Taussig, p.104). But that fear alone cannot explain the madness at Putumayo and an adequate explanation is possible only by exploring deeper and understanding what is at stake. Mr. Taussig has depended on detailed reports of witnesses and investigators as well as some gruesome archival photographs to recreate the atmosphere in which the violence took place. Hence the book is quite authentic in approach.
The book is structured into two parts – the first part dealing with terror and the second part dealing with the healing rituals performed by the Indian shamans with whom he had studied. He observes that the white population perpetrated atrocities on the Indians and also depended on them for magical cures. While the first section of Taussig’s book is a straightforward evocation making use of many and contradictory documents of the Putumayo terror, the second section is more focused on hallucinatory reality, which is expressed in its discussions on impoverished mestizos about Indians, folk Catholic rituals and hallucinatory yage’ experience of native healers and patients (Lewellen 196). The book embodies many elements common to postmodern ethnography: “it is evocative rather than rationalist; it has a fragmentary disordered style and it blends multiple disciplines such as history, literature, anthropology, philosophy, poetry and biography” (Lewellen, p. 196). It explores Foucaldian notions of discourse, power and knowledge and is both self reflective and self referential (Lewellen, p. 194).
In this book, Michael Taussig, analyzes the “culture of terror” that gripped the Putumayo region of Colombia and suggests that when one tries to understand the practices and semiotics of terror one finds that they are constructed mostly out of what people do not know, what people have heard from others and from other third party accounts. Because of this the cultural and ideological engine of terror runs not just on distorted conceptions each side holds of the enemy but on the distorted conceptions each side holds about the distorted conceptions enemy holds about it (Hinton 140). The book aims at removing some of those distortions and helps the people see things both from the viewpoint of the colonizers and the colonized.
In the context of terror, the book interprets the atrocities committed against the natives of the rubber collecting regions of early twentieth-century Colombia (1984) through accounts of other journalists. For example Taussig says: “From the accounts of Casement and Timerman it is also obvious that torture and terror are ritualized art forms and that, far from being spontaneous, sui generis, and an abandonment of what are often called the values of civilization, such rites of terror have a deep history deriving power and meaning from those very values”. This interprets terror as a ritualized art form with a history and not some spontaneous event. Taussig analyzes colonialist discourse and concludes that forms of violence practiced in Putumayo can be considered as logical extensions of the ideological and normative patterns of colonizing culture (Hinton, p. 140).
In the second part of the book, Mr. Taussig points out that the colonizers of Latin America sought healing from the colonized and sometimes they sought such cures from even the victims of prior colonial violence – the Indian and the African ex-slaves. Taussig says that rites are associated generally with solidarity, but in the case of shamanic healing, the rites are based on otherness of the participants: “what are we to make of rites such as this wherein the Indian heals the souls of the colonist? Surely the healing here depends far more on the existence, the reproduction, and the artistry of difference as otherness and as oppression than it does on solidarity?… the colonized turning back to the colonizer the underside of this hate and fear congealed in the imagery of savagery”. Taussig links the healers’ prior exposure to violence to the events of colonial conquest and structural oppression. He also sees the descendants of the colonizer expressing postcolonial contradiction in illness and disease. The colonizer seeks emblematic victims for his healing and also implicit historical resolution. Taussig describes this idea as “healing through hallucinogenic creation of the anti-self” by which the “colonizer gains release from the civilization that so assails him”. In the words of Kathleen Biddick, “The turn to the “native” for healing can repeat the colonialist desire for redemption from the Other”.
He says that the ghosts of domination from the past such as the slave master, the ex-slave, the abolitionist, the ill colonizer, and the curing colonized are all linked to the present day violence and they cannot be just considered as belonging to a pre-human rights past. Taussig’s ethnography suggests that there is colonialism has had its impact on the postcolonial projects of “historical clarification and civilizational cure”. Thus Taussig links the postcolonial shamanistic healing project with a complicated history of violence between the colonizers and the colonized and this link “remains tacit but unacknowledged” (Feldman). The overall finding of Mr. Taussig is that the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized was very complex and full of contradictions and only something like fictocriticism can convey it (Eakin, p. 1).
Conclusion
I personally found that the book offers a great deal of insight in the context of increasing violence and terrorism in the present times. Colonialism can be redefined in the context of the oppressing nations versus the oppressed nations, and terrorism can be then understood as a phenomenon having its roots in the oppression. Thus, the book is bound to be interesting to socially and politically aware people from all walks of life.
Works Cited
Biddick, Kathleen (1998). The Shock of Medievalism. Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 1998
Colonization of other planets of the Solar system is a fundamental idea of most science fiction. Space colonization means making living possible for humans on other planets beyond the Earth. Numerous movies and books tell stories of courageous astronauts and not only, attempting to settle down and create a new life. Although it is only illustrated in media products, space colonization is not far from being realistic in our world. This topic is highly controversial in our society.
Proponents of this idea suggest that human civilization needs to expand to another planet due to the shortage of natural resources on earth, and other planets would provide shelter in case of a global disaster. Opponents, on the other hand, are rather skeptical about the possibility of creating necessary conditions and appropriate infrastructure for human existence on other planets, because building colonies on other planets would require access to energy, life support, materials and radiation protection, and more. This essay will analyze depictions of space colonization inside and outside our solar system in science fiction movies and books, and compare them to reality regarding their feasibility.
Mars
Mars, also known as the Red Planet, the fourth in the distance from the Sun and the seventh-largest planet in the Solar System, is a favorite destination for colonization of science fiction authors, and the reasons are obvious. Thanks to the discoveries of NASA a lot of knowledge about Mars is available to people today. Mars is relatively close to Earth, which implies simplification of transportation, and there is a suitable atmosphere for human survival.
It is much like the Earth in other aspects as well: Mars has seasons, volcanoes, and canyons, but it is rather rocky and cold (Dunford). Red Mars written by Kim Robinson is a famous classic of science fiction literature. The novel provides a very detailed description of Mars during its terraformation (Robinson 156). The colonization of Mars in this book is technologically and ideologically possible; however, it highly depends on the psychological state of protagonists and social conformity. In reality, Elon Musk, businessman and an inventor recently claimed to colonize Mars with his company.
SpaceX is the only private company that was able to return a spacecraft from the low-earth orbit and to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (“About SpaceX”). It develops and manufactures reusable rockets, thus reducing the cost of access to space and encouraging the colonization of Mars and “multi planetary” life in the nearest future. Thus, the depiction of colonization of Mars in science fiction and real-life matches, as technological advancements in Astronautics are close to making colonization of Mars possible.
Mercury
Mercury, the closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in our solar system, is also often depicted as a target for space colonization in science fiction. For example, Ray Bradbury’s short story Frost & Fire describes extreme living conditions on Mercury. According to the plot, a spaceship with people suddenly arrived on an undiscovered planet closest to the sun. The atmosphere on it was suitable for breathing; there were water, animals, and plants that could be eaten. But, due to its location, Mercury got unbearably hot during the day, and in the evening it got bitter cold. Because of high radiation, all life processes in people’s organisms occurred much faster than if they lived on Earth (Bradbury 4).
In such conditions, a person could live only about eight days. Indeed, despite its high temperatures and rarefied atmosphere, colonization of Mercury is theoretically possible. Mercury has many minerals, water ice, and solar energy. However, some challenges for settlement might include the absence of atmosphere, extremely high or low temperatures, radiation, and long traveling distance (Williams). On the other hand, gravity in Mercury is relatively suitable for human survival. Despite the availability of energy and other minerals, the colonization of Mercury is still unfeasible due to meager living conditions and difficulties in terraforming.
Proxima b
The new sci-fi movie Passengers directed by Mortin Tyldum was released last year. According to its plot, a new planet was discovered to be habitable for people, and an enormous starship with thousands of people in hibernation capsules traveled 120 years to colonize a new world (Passengers). In reality, scientists extensively study planets outside our solar system and always look for new planets that would resemble the conditions of Earth.
Just recently discovered Proxima b is the nearest known planet outside of our solar system that has a habitable zone. Conditions there might be suitable for living due to the possible existence of water (Lee). Although the atmosphere is not discovered yet, Proxima b can become a target for interstellar explorations in the future as it is located only 4.2 light-years away from Earth. It may be feasible, but it would take tens of thousands of years to reach it. Therefore, reaching a planet in 120 years, as illustrated in the Passengers movie is very unlikely (Lee).
It would require technological advancements in light-speed traveling spaceships. Speaking of which, the Avalon spacecraft which is illustrated in the movie accommodated five thousand people. It was equipped with all the necessary conveniences, such as a gym, swimming pool, a large cafeteria with automated serving, and more. However, current technology lacks sufficient advancement to be able to fit such a significant amount of people at the same time (Lee).
For instance, Musk’s reusable spacecraft reportedly can accommodate between a hundred and two hundred people. Furthermore, while on a spaceship characters in Passengers continue to live a normal life, using standard facilities, and even doing leisure time activities. In reality, living in space changes lifestyle completely and everyday activities require more effort than on Earth.
Conclusion
Water, air, soil, and other natural resources of Earth are depleted; wildlife is threatened, and the environment is damaged by pollution. As the population of the Earth continuously increases, soon humanity will need to colonize other planets to ensure the survival of human civilization. Space colonization has been a leading trend in science fiction for years. While many books and movies are completely fantastic and unrealistic, few manage to match the possible future for space colonization closely. Many factors contribute to Mars being the main potential planet for human colonization. Mars is similar to Earth and has the capacity for creating habitable conditions.
Most importantly it is achievable – Elon Musk is already aiming to colonize Mars with his reusable rockets within the next decades. Mercury is also often mentioned in science fiction books. However, the lack of atmosphere and high radiation colonizing Mercury imposes difficult challenges that cannot be easily realized. A newly discovered exoplanet Proxima b might also become a new home for humans. Although, the presence of atmosphere there is still not verified.
Works Cited
“About SpaceX.” 2017. Web.
Bradbury, Ray. Guys Read Frost and Fire: A Short Story from Guys Read: Other Worlds. Harper Collins, 2013.
Warwick Anderson (2007) discusses that the indigenous health is related to the subjects of geography and colonization. The status of aboriginals involves a history of colonization and dispossession where subsequent struggle and adaptation to invaders and settlers is involved. Now we first have to understand the term ‘Colonization’. Colonization is the act of succession of the sovereignty of any other area, which later called a ‘colony’. In ancient time the Roman colonization expanded across three continents. Most of the famous European countries have been Roman colonies (Colonization, 2009).
As the ideas develop, they provide with better glimpse of the whole background of colonization and dispossession, which rigorously damaged the whole health system of Australian aboriginals. The essay passes through the points how aboriginals were confined by European settlers to prevent killing diseases and what kind of life they had in those institutions. Later it talks about the role of the Social Justice Commissioner who protects the aboriginals’ rights.
As the colonization expands, the infectious diseases also pass through the area where the colony is established. In this way the diseases are transmitted from one area to another area, from one group to another group. The colonization not only affected the health of the aboriginals but also it severely affected their well settled and successful economic system (Jan Ryan).Aboriginal people always lived with the land but the European settlers started to destroy the vegetation which was the aboriginal’s main source of survival (Dispossession and the frontier war, 2009).
Warwick Anderson (2007) additionally states that the history of aboriginal health requires understanding of both the impact of colonization and the beginning of white nation-state. At the same time Warwick Anderson (2007 argues that it also needs to know about the dark side of these contacts, civilization and development. It necessitates the appreciation of the numerous propositions of the related processes such as integration, assimilation and self determination (Warwick Anderson, 2007).
Dispossession had an effect on the health of the indigenous people as well. In Australia, the legal dispossession was direct and it was achieved before the European settlement. In 1770 James Cook captured the Eastern part of Australia to the British Crown and announced it Terra Nullius- no ones land. Aboriginals were severely affected with this by not having any legal right to their homeland. The British Crown hold the possession of all the lands except it was sold to any individual (Jan Ryan).Then the colonization started. Marcia Hewitt (2006) describes that it completely changed the life of aboriginal people in Australia as it affected their health adversely. It not only put influence on their traditional life style but also today it is considered as the most important issue for building poor the health status of Australian indigenous.
Marcia Hewitt (2006) talks about that the meaning of health to aboriginal people is in contrast to the western meaning of well-being. Marcia Hewitt (2006) delivers that it is a multi-dimensional concept which affects all aspects of living. Marcia Hewitt (2006) describes in her paper that The National Aboriginal and Island Health Organization presents the definition of health as “it is not just the physical well being of the individual but the social emotional and cultural well-being of the whole community. This is a whole of life view which includes cyclical concept of life” (Marcia Hewitt 2006).
Marcia Hewitt (2006) additionally says that Eckermann et al (1992) investigate that at the time of colonization indigenous people were not having any major issues related to any diseases rather they were leading a healthy life which was in contrast to the vast population of the British. Marcia Hewitt (2006) says that in a semi nomadic lifestyle, Indigenous Australians could use the land and its resources freely with which they used to compose their traditional medicine and due to this the Australian population was very healthy and well nourished but after some time this hale and hearty population became the sickest minority group in Australia (Marcia Hewitt 2006).
Dispossession of the aboriginal land and destruction in the economic system with lots of new spreading diseases influenced the whole population and resulted in its loss. Marcia Hewitt (2006) points out that Smith’s analysis in Saggers and Gray reflects that before the colonization that aboriginal population was approximately 314,500 and then Smith estimated that in 1933 it reduced to 73.828. These records show that the colonization affected the Indigenous Australians’ health status drastically.
Marcia Hewitt (2006) recites the views of Lappe and Collins (2001) by stating that colonialism spoils the whole cultural patterns on which the traditional societies of underdeveloped countries are dependant and if these patterns are disturbed the other kinds of imbalances occur like with in a few years after European colonization the important conditions for maintaining good health were missing from the lives of Aboriginal. Marcia Hewitt (2006) talks about the Better Health Commission established that may factors were responsible for this situation as suitable nutrition, adequate health, income, companionship and healthy environment. Marcia Hewitt (2006) accepts the view of Saggers and Gray (1991) and discusses that on top to these factors, aboriginal people’s health was in risk by many new diseases and in opposition to them they did not develop their resistant power since their traditional life did not recognize these diseases. The diseases were measles, small pox, tuberculosis, leprosy and influenza which all affected severely the health of Indigenous Australians (Marcia Hewitt, 2006).
Marcia Hewitt (2006) cites that Knowles (2001) reports during 1890s under a government protection policy aboriginal people, who had been compelled to leave their countries, were separated and confined in reserves to create an ideal environment for the conduction of infectious diseases. Marcia Hewitt (2006) further delivers that the living conditions were not of high-quality in such kinds of institutions where the people were confined as they were overcrowded. The government did not provide the people with any fundamental facilities like toilet, water etc. and the large population and malnutrition allocated the diseases. Marcia Hewitt (2006) says that the response of European people for the transmittable diseases such as leprosy was dreadful. Instead of providing the Indigenous people with high-quality healthcare, they just kept themselves away. In 1911 the first medical examination were brought into practice for Aboriginal people. This was because of European settlers’ fear who wanted to protect themselves from the infectious diseases (Marcia Hewitt, 2006).
Marcia Hewitt (2006) indicates that Aboriginal people had to follow the policies of these institutions where they lost their freedom of independence, choice and mobility. Many children were separated from their families. European colonization devastated the whole kinship infrastructure and the right to use bush food which was excellent for the Aboriginal health (Marcia Hewitt, 2006).
Later than going through a long trauma the aboriginal population in Australia is receiving now privileges. In December 1992 the Aboriginal and Torres straight Islander Social Justice Commissioner was introduced by the federal parliament. It was in response to the severe social and economic disadvantage which the Indigenous Australians were facing. Its important role is to protect the right of indigenous people and provide them support and strength which really can help in supporting them (Dr William Jonas).
The whole idea in the essay provide with some important issues such as struggle of Australian Aboriginals with not only European settlers but also with their health system, their struggle for their own land and to survive in an unhealthy environment. Later the development of Social Justice Commissioner gives the originals some relief who can protect their rights and can offer them better life.
Reference List
Anderson, W 2007, ‘The Colonial Medicine of Settler States: Comparing Histories of Indigenous Health’, Vol 9, No.2. Web.
Thesis Statement: The Puritan religion’s members and related colonial literature affirms happy acceptance of suffering as part of the Puritan religion’s predestined redemption through Jesus Christ.
Paper Outline:
Introduction
The Puritans and early colonial literature shows suffering as part of their redemption process.
The research focuses on the redemption theory of the Puritan religion’s members.
The research includes a study on the Puritan religion’s members’ suffering concept.
Body
Redemption.
Suffering.
Conclusion
Colonial literature and the Puritans wholeheartedly accepted suffering as part and parcel of their redemption process.
The Puritan religion’ members believed in predestination.
The same members accepted Jesus Christ as the only way to reach heaven’s redemption area.
The Puritan religion’s members considered suffering as a consequence of original sin.
Indeed, the Puritan religion’s members and related colonial literature affirms happy acceptance of suffering as part of the Puritan religion’s predestined redemption through Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Puritans and early colonial literature show suffering as part of their redemption process. The research focuses on the redemption theory of the Puritan religion’s members. The research includes a study on the Puritan religion’s members’ suffering concept. The Puritan religion’s members and related colonial literature affirms happy acceptance of suffering as part of the Puritan religion’s predestined redemption through Jesus Christ.
Puritanism and colonial literature during the 16th century was a sweeping revival the enveloped the Church of England. The Puritan member took to heart John Calvin’s religious teachings. Calvin’s teachings focused on the nature of a person. Similarly, Puritan beliefs included man’s free will as well as predestination.
After King Charles II rose to England’s throne in 1660, Puritanism split into three major religious groups. The three groups are Presbyterian Church, Congregational Church, and Baptist Church groups. The Puritans believed that God as the Father God of the Old Testament. The Puritans firmly believed in God’s righteousness, majesty, and control of the universe for God’s own glorious magnificence.
Main Body
In terms of redemption, Tom Webster (315) emphasized the puritans believe that God is the author of redemption. Puritan theory employed the medieval distinction of Go’s absolute and ordaining power. God can do all things possible, including the redemption of all members of the Puritan church.
The puritans strongly believed in predestination and the assurance of salvation of all its members. Predestination states that each person has been predestined to enter heaven or hell after one’s temporary stay on earth. God predestined some persons, some are called saints, to never fall from grace. The reformation movement places great emphasis on the doctrine of assurance.
The Puritan’s teaching runs counter to the Catholic Church’s teaching. The Catholic teaching dictates the members of the church are not sure whether they will go to heaven or hell during the dooms day. The Catholic faith does not incorporate predestination. Puritan stance of predestination is grounded on faith alone. A puritan’s faith in Jesus Christ, salvation by faith alone, is enough qualify one to enter the gates of heaven. Puritan faith is self –validating. The puritan member’s faith is enough to ensure one’s redemption process.
The puritans and colonial literature interpreted the Bible as showering its members with redemptive piety. The puritans strongly believed that the only way to enter heaven, redemption, was to be converted to convert to Puritan religion. The redemption dictates that good works is not required for one to enter the kingdom of heaven. A primary source indicates John Winthrop, a Puritan, stating in 1630 “There is a time when a Christian must sell all and give to the poor, as they did in the Apostles times”[1].
The grace of Jesus Christ is the only requirement needed to be redeemed. Thus, the redemption principle dictates that once a person is saved, such person is always saved. This is the very essence of the Puritan religion’s redemption concept. However, the Puritans believed that they are required to do good works while they are on the short journey on earth.
The Puritans emphasized strict compliance with the bible’s instructions. Hard work was a considered the Puritan members’ duty to God and one’s community. The puritans encouraged people in the community to be converted to the Puritan religion. Failure to convert was a signal to the Puritan members to expel the unbeliever from their ranks.
To spread their redemption theory, the Puritans placed importance on education. The Puritans prioritized the education of their children.
In terms of suffering, the Puritan religion’s members as well as colonial literature shows belief in enduring suffering for the sake of their religion. The Puritan religion’s members considered themselves the descendants of the English martyrs. Many of the Puritan religion’s pastors were literary ejected from their church pulpits when the crackdown their religion cropped up.
The Puritan religion’s members had been taught to accept suffering willingly. The members trusted God to reduce the degree of their sufferings. The Puritan religion’s members believed that God will lessen the length of during endured by each suffering Puritan religion’s member.
Thomas Watson reiterated Jesus Christ is their model of suffering. The Puritan religion’s members should happily endure each suffering minute as an offering their God in heaven. Favorite Puritan religion’s members’ quotes include “A sanctified person, like a silver bell, the harder he is smitten, the better he sounds” (George Swinnock). Another favorite quote goes “He that rides to be crowned will not think much of a rainy day’ (John Trapp).
Anna Duane (40) proposed during the colonial times literature, the Puritan religion’s members’ parents were classified as protectors and not abusers of the faith. In contrast, the Indian parents were classified as too soft on their children. The Indian parents were overly gentle parents. The Puritan religion’s members’ parents were disciplinarians. The Puritan religion’s members’ parents often use the rod to breed the children in upright ways.
The father was described as the religious practice of ensuring the children’s unyielding obedience to the father’s strict family policies. The strictness was considered necessary in order to keep the children away from harm’s way. Robert DeBellis (5) mentioned that Puritan religion’s members considered are suffering because of their original sin. The Puritan religion’s members’ suffering includes illness, spiritual weakness and death.
Catherine Martin (283) stated that a Puritan religion’s member, Ludlow, suffered for his Puritan religion’s sake. Sam-son-like exile, public humiliation, imprisonment, feelings of Godly desertion united a broad spectrum of Puritan religion’s members from Ludlow to Algermon Sidney and Sir Henry Vane, and many others during the colonial times.
During his two year incarceration, the Puritan religion’s member Vane was finally executed by the King’s soldiers. In addition, Ludlow waited for God to restore the saints to power or lead them to martyrdom.
The Puritan religion’s members and colonial literature believed in the world of heaven and hell. The heaven is reserved for those who God has predestined. God knows who would enter heaven long before the person was born.
In the same light, God knows who would predestined to hell long before the person was baptized. The Puritan religion’s members believe that one must comply with their religious concept in order to be counted as one of God’s chosen few to enter the kingdom of heaven. The puritans believe that only the Puritan religion’s members will be allowed to enter the gates of heaven.
The Puritan religion’s members’ redemption and colonial literature focus is on Jesus Christ. The Puritan religion’s members do not consider praying to Mother Mary, mother of Christ, as a way to redemption. The Puritan religion’s members do not consider praying to Saint Peter as a way to redemption.
The Puritan religion’s members do not believe asking for the priest’s prayer would trigger the Catholic Church members’ redemption. The Puritan religion’s members emphasized that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Jesus Christ is the only roads towards redemption. The Puritan religion’s members believe that giving alms to the poor, visiting the sick in the hospitals, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, are necessary for one to be redeemed.
However, the Puritan religion’s members’ faith does not include avoiding helping others during times of need. For example, a Puritan religion’s members should help the old person cross the street. The Puritan religion’s member must aid a limping physically disabled person trying to board a train. In addition, the Puritan religion’s members should not stop giving alms to the poor.
Colonial literature shows the Puritan religion’s members’ long thorny journey towards salvation, they were normally theologians. They love to read the bible. The spend most of their time acting as theologians. Many acted as pastors. Other members of the Puritan religion’s members acted as soul healers. Other Puritan religion’s members did perfectly well as counselors to the community. Many believe that the Puritan religion’s members understood how the people think and do.
To further secure their redemption, colonial literature indicates the Puritan religion’s members normal go out of their way to do pleasing things in the eyes of God. The members tried their best to avoid doing acts that would be classified as sinful in nature. The Puritan religion’s members feared sinning in the eyes of God.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, colonial literature and the Puritans wholeheartedly accepted suffering as part and parcel of their redemption process. The Puritan religion’ members believed in predestination. The same members accepted Jesus Christ as the only way to reach heaven’s redemption area.
The Puritan religion’s members considered suffering as a consequence of original sin. Indeed, the Puritan religion’s members and related colonial literature affirms happy acceptance of suffering as part of the Puritan religion’s predestined redemption through Jesus Christ.
Works Cited
DeBellis, Robert. Suffering: Psycholocial and Social Aspects . New York: Routledge Press, 1986.
Duane, Anna. Suffering Childhood in Early American Violence. New York: University of Georgia Press, 2010.
Martin, Catherine. Milton Among the Puritans. New York: Ashgate Press, 2010.
Webster, Tom. Puritans and Purtitanism in Europe and America. New York: ABC Press, 2006.
Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity.1630. Web.
Footnotes
Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity. Web.
For almost a half a century after most of the countries in the sub-Saharan Africa gained independence and the self rule status from their colonial masters, these countries still struggle to gain efficient trends of development.
The stagnation in the pace of development in the region even after gaining independence raises the question about the models of development that were utilized by the colonial masters and the models of development that were later adopted by the Africans in this region.
A historical overview of most of the countries in the sub-Saharan region denotes the stagnation of growth and development for a substantial number of years long after the colonialists had left. At the same time, history denotes an accelerated pace of development in this region during the colonial rule.
It is only in the recent times that a number of countries in the region have begun to show aggressiveness in terms of the initiation of large economic projects that are geared towards transforming the region into a strong industrial and economic centre in Africa.
Therefore, this paper explores the variations in the models of development in the colonial times and post-colonial times in the sub-Saharan Africa.
This paper argues that while the colonial masters adopted a rapid pace of development that was based on the intense commercialization of development for the sake of making economic gains, the Africans could not sustain that pace of development as they took over from the colonial masters.
The paper begins by presenting an overview of the patterns of development in the region during the colonial period. This is followed by a comparative discussion of the aspects of development in the region in the colonial and post-colonial times. The greater essence of the discussion is the unearthing of the critical variations in the models of development in the two periods and the factors that promoted such differences.
Understanding colonialism and patterns of development in sub-Saharan Africa
One critical question that needs to be asked when exploring the history of colonialism and development in all regions of the world concerns the critical factors that attracted colonialists from their motherlands into different regions of the world. A study of the trend of colonialism across the world reveals that economic interests were the main forces behind the scramble for the world by the colonial masters (Abbott 1971).
According to Jennings (2009), the policy of the colonialists was clear and cantered on imposing controls in the countries in which they colonized to create a better landscape for the exploitation of resources that were in these countries.
An exploration of the trends of development in the East African region during the colonial period denotes the embrace of the trends that culminated in the formation of states, instead of the nations that were spread across individual countries. The colonialist pulled the communities in these countries together with the aim of forming a new form of society that would embrace the new trends of development.
This is what most commentators in the field of political science refer to as coercive utopia. Therefore, the development of key structures of economic functioning was vital as far as meeting the development goals of the mother countries were concerned. Most of the structures of development in the society during the colonial period were developed through political compulsion.
To a larger extent, it can be argued that the development that took place during the colonial period was largely based on aspects of coercion where Africans were pushed to support certain policies, even those that deemed unfavourable to the Africans (Jennings 2009).
Jennings (2009) observes that the pace at which the expansion of economic activities in sub-Sahara Africa took place was quite high during the 1940s. It is argued that this period denoted the period that the Great Britain, which was one of the dominant colonialists in the region, was facing a financial crisis.
Thus, there was a need for the colonial master to quickly create the avenues of economic expansionism in the region to aid in offsetting her economic needs. The economic losses that had been incurred during the world wars pushed the colonialists to pursue economic avenues in the region to cover for these losses and help the colonialists to return to economic glory (Jennings 2009).
The most critical thing that needs to be noted here is that the structures of development that were put in place during the colonial period were only meant to foster the economic benefits of the colonialists. This is why these structures were not quite important to the Africans when the colonialists left the region.
For example, the colonialists established production systems that could not be sustained by the Africans because Africans were used to traditional production systems and could only advance on the basis of the support and strengthening of such systems of production and not the imposition of a totally new production system that was industrial-based rather than agrarian in nature (Jennings 2009).
A good example that can be given here is the change from the traditional systems of agriculture that encouraged the cultivation of indigenous crops to the introduction of cash crops that were cultivated on a large scale. This is a pointer to the difficulties that later faced the African countries immediately after the colonialists had left (Fieldhouse 1986).
According to Seidler (2011), the colonial masters demolished the traditional institutions and formed the modern institutions that acted on a formal basis rather than the pre-colonial institutions in sub-Sahara Africa that were largely informal in nature. These institutions depicted the efficiency with which the colonial governments enhanced their activities in most countries.
The paths of development during the colonial period were determined by the efficiency of the institutions that were developed by the colonialists. The infrastructure that was developed courtesy of the colonial policy in sub-Sahara Africa was meant to speed up the pace at which the raw materials were produced to feed the industries in Europe and enhance the production of finished products to be sold in the colonies.
However, one thing that comes out is that at least some structures were left behind by the colonialists. These structures could be used by the Africans as a basis for development. This observation is based on the rationale that most countries in the region were plunged back into underdevelopment, irrespective of the presence of these structures that could have been used to foster development (Seidler 2011).
Models and forms of development in colonial and post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa
Models of administration and development of economic institutions in colonial and post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa
As noted in the introduction, almost all the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have faced difficulties in fostering their development agenda long after decolonization. Havinden and Meredith (1993) observed that the articulation of development by the colonialists in Africa advanced with their stay in the region.
They build their argument from the observation of the trends of development by the colonialists in the late years of the 19th century and the mid-years of the 20th century.
At this point, it is worthwhile to argue that the late 19th and the early 20th centuries in the history of colonialism in sub-Saharan Africa marked the period of familiarization and development of institutions and structures that could foster the economic activities by the colonialists in the region.
This observation is backed Seidler (2011) who ascertained that the colonialists took time to establish their control in the region before developing important institutions to help them foster their development agenda.
According to Abbott (1971), most of the development policies that were advanced during the colonial period were not focused on the economic development of the colonies, but they were largely focused on the development of the mother countries. This argument is picked from the assessment of the Colonial Development Act by Great Britain.
The origin of the policy pointed to the tackling of the economic problems that prevailed in the colonies, but in reality the policy did not address the economic nightmare in the colonies. Instead, it focused on the modalities of increasing production through the tightening of controls on the economy of the colonized countries (Abbott 1971).
Seidler (2011) observes that one of the factors that made it hard for the colonialists to develop workable institutions in sub-Saharan Africa was the intense decentralization and fragmentation due to the intense organization of the society along ethnic lines.
However, these structures re-emerged during the post-colonial period as communities within the sub-Saharan Africa sought to regain their glory through a reunification that was based on ethnic grounds.
To this effect, the colonialists had to break the structures that were established under the decentralized traditional policy frameworks through the introduction of the western structures of administration to reform the customs and laws that guided the functioning of the society.
The definition and scope of development by the colonial masters in sub-Saharan Africa changed as time progressed. The later years of colonialism saw the involvement of the communities in the Sub-Saharan nations in development (Seidler 2011).
However, it is apparent that the development that was fostered by the colonialists was based on exploitation of resources for the sake of the creation of wealth in the mother countries.
A reflection of the systems of administration deployed during that time, like direct and indirect rule, as well as assimilation and association denotes the need to either befriend or divide the local communities for the sake of easing the exploration of the resources in these communities (Fieldhouse 1986).
Seidler (2011) observed that security was a major factor in colonial Africa. Therefore, one of the things that are outstanding when looking into the aspects of development during the colonial rule in sub-Sahara Africa is the fact that the colonial governments enhanced security across all the colonies.
This is the only way through which they could have gained a stable environment for the enhancement of their economic goals in the region. The only lapses in security were witnessed in the form of the resistance against the colonialists by the Africans.
Dependency and the models of development in post-colonial sub-Sahara Africa
In his exploration of the trends of colonial rule and development in colonial Africa, Fieldhouse (1986) observed that the African nations were intensely converted into peripheral extensions of the western societies. The argument is founded on the fact that the structures that the political and economic structures that were developed during this period denoted capitalism.
Also, there is the issue of threading the African economies with the western society by the colonialists, which can be better expounded by exploring the broader subject of the state of dependency in the post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa (Fieldhouse 1986). When looking at dependency, the issue of economic autonomy and colonial rule comes out first.
The European countries embraced the idea of creating Africa nations in terms of independent economic units in the course of economic exploration of sub-Sahara Africa. The issue of the creation of independent economic units in Africa is backed by the fact that each colonial master was interested in enhancing economic exploration.
This could only work well through the separation of nations from one another. Patterns of trade that were fostered in the region in the pre-colonial times, which saw the interaction in trade between people from different nations, were cut off by the colonial masters.
However, it is critical to note that the post-colonial sub-Saharan African countries have been developing and implementing economic structures that are meant to promote economic cooperation to foster the development and economic independence in the region.
Contrary to the policies of development that segregated nations in the colonial times, there has been a realization among a large fraction of the African countries that economic integration and cooperation amongst themselves is their key tool as far as the elimination of the problem of dependency is concerned.
Although a number of aspects of dependency through aid and indirect economic and social support are still seen, such trends keep reducing each day. Stronger political and economic blocks have already been put in place in the region.
They include ECOWAS, the East Africa Community, IGAD, and COMESA, among others. In this respect, a number of commentators argue that the path of development that has been taken by the African nations denotes the move towards political decolonization.
Political colonization has often been fostered through the dependency cycle, which these countries seek to break by strengthening these bodies of development (Meyns & Musamba 2010).
What is being witnessed long after the decolonization is the struggle of the African countries to disentangle themselves from the economic ties that were established between these countries and the European countries?
Thus, one of the main variations between the models of development in colonial and post-colonial sub-Sahara African is the creation of wealth. This is what most African economies are doing. There is also the exploitation of wealth. This is what the colonialist did throughout their stay in the region (Fieldhouse 1986).
Jennings (2009) opines that the separation of the aspects of development is another common feature in the comparative analysis of the patterns of development in the colonial and post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa.
The colonial administrations in most of the colonies had to foster social development not as part of embracing the collective development of the colonies, but largely as a way of increasing the efficiency of colonial administration in the colonies.
The human aspects of development that are supposed to feature in the patterns of social development were not eminent in the social development programs that were designed by the colonial rules in East Africa, as well as West Africa and Central African regions. However, it is evident that a lot of social transformations took place courtesy of the social development policies that were developed and implemented by the colonialists.
The immense disentanglement of the Africans from their culture played a great role in the civilization and the westernization of the region. An example is the establishment of socioeconomic institutions like schools and health facilities to help in transforming Africans by dissolving the influence of traditions (Jennings 2009).
The contemporary development trends in the region depict peasantry for subsistence purposes rather than the development of agriculture on a large-scale basis for commercial purposes. However, it is evident that there have been significant improvements in the field of agriculture in the countries that lie in the sub-Saharan region in this post-colonial period.
Some of the modes of agricultural production that were begun by the colonialists have been sustained. Most of these aspects of development are eminent in the region where cash crop farming was highly embraced by the colonialists and the Africans have upheld the production of the crops, which are sold in the western markets. Coffee and tea farming are good examples here (Jennings, 2009).
As noted earlier, the colonialists in sub-Sahara Africa used coercion to enforce the policies of development that were meant to benefit their mother countries. In this line, it is important to note that the aspects of coercion are still evident in the modern development of post-colonial sub-Sahara Africa, only that there is a variation in the manner in which coercion is applied in aspects of political and economic governance.
Aspects of centralization re-emerged in Africa soon after decolonization, with both individuals and communities seeking to gain control through political dominance.
Therefore, bad competition through political dominance and other aspects of coercion have intensely marked the patterns of development in post-colonial sub-Sahara Africa. Individual leaders have kept developing poor political and economic policies that aim to help them amass wealth at the expense of the citizenry.
Vices like corruption, nepotism and tribalism have dominated the development landscape in this region for a long time. This is one of the reasons why it has been extremely difficult for these countries to gain stable grounds of development. This is reflected in the state of development that has so far been attained by these countries (Austin 2010).
Conclusion
From the discussion conducted in the paper, it can be concluded that most countries in the sub-Saharan region of Africa could not build on the structures left by the colonialists. Instead, they chose to put up new structures of development that they could hardly sustain.
However, certain aspects of development like the emphasis on commercialization are being slowly incorporated into the development landscapes in the region, although these aspects of development are highly impeded by the negative attributes of development that feature in the use of coercion to implement policies.
Moreover, most of the development policies in this region are still ill-informed, making it hard to meet the development goals. Therefore, it can be argued that the policies of economic development that were pursued by the colonialist wee better, only that they were aimed at enriching the colonies.
This is in comparison to the models of development adopted by Africans in the post-colonial period, most of which were geared towards benefiting individuals and communities besides being affected by aspects of dependency.
Reference List
Abbott, G. C. 1971, ‘A re-examination of the 1929 Colonial Development Act’, The Economic History Review, vol. 24 no. 1, pp. 68–81.
Austin, G. 2010, ‘African economic development and colonial legacies’, International Development Policy 1|2010, 11-32.
Fieldhouse, D. K. 1986, Black Africa, 1945-1980: Economic decolonization and arrested development, Routledge, New York, NY.
Havinden, M., & Meredith, D. 1993, Colonialism and development: Britain and its tropical colonies, 1850-1960, Routledge, London.
Jennings, M. 2009, ‘Building better people: modernity and utopia in late colonial Tanganyika’, Journal of Eastern African Studies, vol. 3 no. 1, pp. 94-111.
Meyns, P., & Musamba, C. 2010, The developmental state in Africa: Problems and prospects. Web.
Seidler, V. 2011, Colonial legacy and institutional development: The cases of Botswana and Nigeria. Web.
The European Union (EU) has an expansive history of development cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, with available literature demonstrating that the Union is, in fact, the world’s largest provider of Official Development Assistance mostly targeted at poverty reduction, sustainable development, democracy and good governance (Hurt 2003; Dearden 2008; Hurt 2010).
It is without a doubt that the EU has over the years taken the initiative to develop and implement more enduring partnerships with ACP countries, while at the same time ensuring that the relevant financial regulations targeted at aid recipient countries continue to be streamlined with the view to enhancing administrative efficiency (Dearden 2008).
However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that the EU’s credibility as the world’s largest provider of development assistance continues to be heavily damaged by the discrepancy between its own protectionist agricultural, fisheries and trade policies (Forwood 2001), as well as by its demonstration of the highly unequal and political nature of a relationship that was officially perceived as non-political (Hurt 2003).
This report illuminates some neo-colonial perspectives predominant in ACP states (e.g., economic influence, political interference, financial dependence, and security concerns) to demonstrate why the EU’s development policy is largely perceived as a neo-colonial project.
Overview of the EU’s Development Policy
The EU’s development policy towards ACP states is centred on two major agreements, namely the Lome’ Convention and the Cotonou Agreement. Available literature demonstrates that the Lome’ Convention was a trade and aid agreement between the EC and 71 ACP countries first signed in February 1975 in Lome’, Togo, while the Cotonou agreement came into existence in June 2000 to define the new relationship between the EU and ACP nations after the expiry of the Lome’ Convention (Hurt 2003).
The first Lome’ Convention (Lome’ 1) and the subsequent renegotiated agreements (Lome’ II, Lome’ III and Lome’ IV) were basically structured around non-reciprocal trade preferences, while the Cotonou Agreement was structured around regional free trade agreements to be negotiated by the EU and a multiplicity of groupings in ACP countries (Forwood 2001).
A number of researchers are in agreement that the EU’s development cooperation in both agreements was intrinsically tied to a number of factors or conditionalities that seemed to perpetuate a neo-colonialism perspective (Forwood 2001).
For instance, available literature demonstrates that, after the end of the Cold War, the EC/EU policy towards Africa broadened “from the original goal of promoting economic and social development increasingly towards giving priority to the promotion of stability, security and democracy” (Olsen 2004, p. 426).
This author further argues that the reorientation of the EC/EU’s policy towards Africa was to a large extent influenced by the new international system in the 1990s and subsequent attempt by the Community to become a significant international actor by relying more on instruments related to foreign and security policy, rather than the traditional instrument of development assistance.
Following a Statement on Development Policy developed in 2000, “poverty reduction was recognised as the main objective of community development policy with seven areas identified as demonstrating the EC comparative advantage – trade and development, regional integration, macroeconomic support, transport, rural development, health, and education and institutional capacity building” (Dearden 2008, p. 188).
The Statement, according to this author, further reiterated the EU’s unwavering dedication to coherence, coordination and complementarity in its development policy to ACP states, and also to the orientation of aid programming in the direction of achieving mutually fulfilling results by the development and implementation of an appraisal culture.
Moving on, it is important to note that most of the development cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement is tied to the respect for democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights; however, the narrow national interests of the individual EU member states toward ACP countries place clear limitations on how far it is possible to commence common policy initiatives that would benefit aid recipient countries (Forwood 2001).
Although the EU still pursues this development assistance approach in ACP countries, it is increasingly being tied to a number of new goals and objectives that, in the view of critics, are neo-colonialist in nature and scope (Elgstrom & Pilegaard 2008). The subsequent section provides evidence to demonstrate why the EU’s development policy in ACP states is a neo-colonial project.
Understanding Neo-Colonialism and its Characteristics
In the wake of the EU’s rapid expansion as the world’s largest provider of Official Development Assistance and of its mounting role in the global geo-political and economic domains, there are escalating passionate debates around the world on whether the Union’s development policy is actually a neo-colonial project (Olsen 2008; Scheipers & Sicurelli, 2008).
So, in essence, it is important to define the concept of neo-colonialism and its characteristics with the view to establishing whether indeed the EU’s development policy is laced with neo-colonial connotations.
Various authors have attempted to define the concept of neo-colonialism, though up to date, there is no universally agreed-upon definition of the concept.
As demonstrated in the literature, the first official description of neo-colonialism was conceptualised in the 1961 Resolution on Neo-Colonialism Conference, with actors describing it “as the survival of the colonial system in spite of formal recognition of the political independence in emerging countries, which become victims of an indirect and subtle form of domination by political, economic, social, military, or technical means” (Haag 2011, p. 9).
Since then, the concept has been defined differentially, with a major highlight being that of Kwame Nkrumah, who argued that “the essence of neo-colonialism consists in that the state subject to it is officially independent and sovereign, while its economy and political policy are controlled from outside” (Haag 2011, p. 9).
Consequently, drawing on the works of Rodney (2011), the main characteristics of neo-colonialism can be listed as (1) existence of ongoing influence of the former colonial powers long after the colonised nations gain independence, (2) excessive exploitation of resources found on formerly colonised nations by former colonial powers, (3) inhibition of independent political and economic policies in former colonies, and (4) maintaining the former colonies in a dependent position which allows for economic exploitation.
Perspectives of Neo-Colonialism & EU’s Development Aid
The justifications for assuming the approach that the EU’s development policy is a neo-colonial project are many and varied. One critical argument projected by McKinlay and Little (1979), cited extensively in Olsen (2004, p. 427), is that “the amount of aid received by any low-income country is proportional to the level of interest to the donor.”
Furthermore, it is evident that the aid motivations literature extensively cited in European studies and international relations acknowledges that ‘donor interests’ and not ‘recipient needs’ have always served as the main motivators of the EU to provide development aid to third world countries (Olsen 2008; Scheipers & Sicurelli 2008). It has also been acknowledged in the literature that most of these ‘donor interests’ are selfish in nature (Olsen 2004), thus are most driven by a neo-colonialist connotation (Hurt 2012).
Indeed, according to Hurt (2003), it is increasingly becoming clear that the language of the Cotonou Agreement mixes notions of consent and coercion to propagate the interests of the EU at the expense of aid recipient ACP countries.
Consent is attained through the conceptions of ‘dialogue’, ‘partnership’ and of ACP nations ‘owning’ their development strategies, while coercion is present in the EU’s presentation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as the only feasible alternative, phased programming of aid, and also through the implementation of frequent reviews of aid provision that have conditionalities attached.
The subsequent sections of this report discuss the relevant neo-colonial perspectives predominant in most ACP states and how they lend credence to the assertion that EU’s development policy is laced with neo-colonial connotations. The perspectives that will be reviewed under the following subtopics include economic influence, political interference, financial dependence, and security concerns.
Economic Influence
From an economic standpoint, it can be argued that the Cotonou Agreement is basically a continuation of the neoliberalisation of the EU-ACP relationship as it builds on trends that have developed over the course of the various Lome’ Conventions, particularly apparent during Lome’ IV in the 1990s (Hurt 2003).
As postulated by this author, one of the most fundamental inclusions within this agreement was to use part of the European Development Fund (EDF) to provide support to World Bank-imposed structural adjustment programmes (SAPS) that are remembered for disrupting the economic and social orientation of ACP nations.
Although the EC had been accused of lacking clear objectives particularly in reducing poverty in ACP states (Dearden 2008), its successor, the EU, went ahead to support SAPS and in the process widen poverty gaps and economic stagnation in aid recipient countries (Bogayoko & Gibert, 2009).
It is evident that EU’s economic strategies in its development policy are firmly embedded in the “Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which [resulted] from the decision in the Cotonou Agreement to replace the preferential trade agreements that defined the relationship in the past with reciprocal free trade agreements (FTAs) between the EU and seven sub-regions of the ACP group” (Hurt 2010, p. 161).
However, although the EU looks at the EPAs as comprehensive development partnerships, they have nevertheless being accused of focussing too much on Africa and the trade-related features of EPAs rather than on the more familiar deliberations over market access. But while economic considerations of the EU are illuminated more broadly, it becomes apparent that a concern for the needs of developing countries under the ACP flagship is often of secondary nature and importance.
For example, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has had a damaging effect on many developing countries, with available literature demonstrating that EU subsidies have often led to overproduction of products that are later ‘dumped’ in developing countries (Hurt, 2010). Moreover, the tough sanitary, phytosanitary and environmental standards imposed by the EU present additional challenges for ACP countries attempting to gain access to European markets (Elgstrom & Pilegaard 2008; Elgstrom 2009; Carbone 2010).
Consequently, it is justifiable to suggest that the perceived economic partnerships between EU and ACP member countries, though largely beneficial to countries in the developing world, are masked in neo-colonial connotations as most of the former colonies are maintained in a dependent position, thus allowing for economic exploitation.
Economic issues cannot be divorced from trade. The EU has emerged as an important and distinctive player in the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations, with available literature demonstrating that the Union “has been the most persistent and vigorous advocate of a broad trade agenda, going beyond the built-in agenda on agriculture and services, to include non-agricultural products, competition policy, investment, government procurement and trade facilitation (the Singapore issues)” (Young 2007, p. 769).
However, the Union continues to adopt a liberal position as well as the deployment of liberal rhetoric with respect to some aspects of the agenda, leading to a situation whereby the EU is perceived as offering too few concessions, particularly in agriculture, labour, education, healthcare and audio-visual services.
In the view of critics, such protectionist interests projected by the EU are increasingly making the Union to be perceived as a power through trade, rather than as the most powerful trading bloc in the world (Meunier & Nicolaidis 2006; Elgstrom 2009).
Additionally, the EU is increasingly being accused of using “market access as a bargaining chip to obtain changes in the domestic arena of its trading partners, from labour standards to development policies, and in the international arena, from global governance to foreign policy” (Meunier & Nicolaidis 2006, p. 906).
When such orientations are targeted at international trade partners in the ACP countries, it is justifiable to suggest that they are neo-colonial as they demonstrate the use of economic issues to control and influence former colonies in the developing world.
Political Interference
In the mid-term review following the Lome IV negotiations and agreements of the 1990s, it became clear that the high-profile partnership between the EU/European Commission and ACP countries was increasingly being pegged on non-financial elements such as observation of rules of democracy and respect for human rights (Olsen, 2004). This author notes that “the introduction of such political conditionalities moved the Convention one step further away from its original concept of political neutrality” (p. 429).
The introduction of politically-oriented performance-based policy on aid to ACP countries diverted substantially from the original Lome´ model that was originally grounded on the principles of partnership. As noted by Olsen (2004), such a development coming from the mid-term review was perhaps meant to show that most EU/EC countries had lost faith in the capability of the ACP countries to take sole responsibility for enhancing their own development.
However, as acknowledged by Meunier and Nicholas (2006), this could have served as the basis for the introduction of the neo-colonialism paradigm in the guise of shifting the global context of EU’s development assistance. It is important to note that the reality of democracy/political facilitation in ACP member countries is far less exciting than the rhetorical assertions made by the EU insinuate (Hurt 2010).
Olsen (2004, p. 430) argues that, ‘as in its predecessor, the non-financial elements of the Cotonou Agreement represented an additional step towards tightening the conditionalities for receiving development assistance from the Union.” Other politically-oriented measures introduced under the Cotonou Agreement included anti-corruption, good governance, political dialogue, fight against drugs, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention.
However, while such measures could pass as some of the most highly profiled policies of the EU/EC during the 1990s and 2000s, their implementation have at best been weak and inconsistent, leading to the conclusion that Europeans have a neo-colonial agenda particularly in ACP countries (Olsen 2008; Scheipers & Sicurelli 2008).
For example, although the 1993 Maastricht Treaty underlined that the development and consolidation of democracy, the rule of law and observance of human rights and elementary freedoms were among the most imperative objectives of the development policy of the EU, it is evident that the amount of aid channelled into enhancing democracy and respect for human rights was astonishingly constrained and the implementation was deeply flawed (Olsen 2004).
Hurt (2003, p. 171) argues that the political conditionalities that came with these changes have functioned in two major ways: “first in targeting aid towards projects that have the direct aim of improving human rights and the practice of democracy, and second by the introduction of sanctions on aid, if violations of these core principles are observed.” However, it is argued here that such politically-oriented conditionalities have only served to further EU’s neo-colonialism agenda in most ACP states.
The examples to support this claim are many and varied. In Uganda, for instance, most EU-member states are threatening to withdraw their development aid due to the passing of a bill that criminalises gay acts as unnatural. The main point here is not whether gay acts should be criminalised or not; rather, it is how the EU has continued to use threats of introducing sanctions on aid to force the political leadership in Uganda to change its position and agree to gay relationships (Africa Review 2014).
The shallow interests of the EU in Uganda are further exhibited by the fact that it now wants the Ugandan people to adopt practices that are against their culture and tradition, yet it is the same EU that professes respect for human rights and capacity of ACP countries to take control over their own development. Such political interference in the guise of development aid, in my view, is neo-colonialist in nature and scope.
Overall, the global context of aid provision has been reflected in the Cotonou Agreement, with politics now firmly embedded in the EU-ACP relationship concerning the political elements that need to be met by ACP states so as to benefit from development aid. As already mentioned elsewhere, the fundamental political components of the Cotonou Agreement include the “respect for human rights as defined in international law, the promotion of universal democratic principles and the independent rule of law” (Hurt 2003, p. 171).
Although the agreement allows for the suspension of development aid if any of these fundamental components are violated, it nevertheless fails to define the components in sufficient detail, giving room for neoliberal interpretations to be adopted by the EU. Some of these neoliberal interpretations qualify the EU’s development policy to be perceived in the context of a neo-colonial project due to frequent political interference in ACP states (Nunn & Price 2004; Carbone 2010).
During the 2013 general elections in Kenya, for example, the EU and other aid donors were quoted in the mainstream media as attempting to use development cooperation to sway the results of the presidential election in favour of their ‘preferred’ presidential candidate (Africa Review 2013).
While this may be an isolated case, it nevertheless demonstrates how the EU may indeed be using its development policy to further its shallow interests in Africa and other ACP states without regard to the will of the people. Again, such an orientation is neo-colonialist in nature and scope, as it demonstrates an ongoing influence of the former colonial powers that to a large extent inhibits an independent political policy in ACP states.
Financial Dependence
Following Lome IV (1990-2000) negotiations, there was little doubt the negotiating positions assumed by many EU member states “reflected widespread disquiet about the effectiveness of common development assistance in general, as well as strong scepticism about the effects of giving aid to Africa in particular” (Olsen 2004, p. 428).
But even after the realisation that providing financial aid to ACP countries was not solving the multiplicity of challenges affecting these countries, the EU went ahead to provide more financial packages to developing nations that were perceived to be implementing the various policies and approaches agreed upon in the Cotonou Agreement (Hadfield 2007; Carbone 2008).
It is argued in the literature that such an orientation made many ACP states to become increasingly dependent on financial aid from the EU (Hadfield 2007; Hurt 2012). Subsequently, the EU gained more control over the political and economic affairs of these countries as most could no longer function without the financial packages.
Although today most ACP member countries are becoming less dependent on the financial incentives in the form of aid (Faber & Orbie, 2008; Gibert 2009), it is clear that the EU has used its development cooperation as a neo-colonial tool to further its agenda and influence major political and economic decisions in the developing world (Carbone 2010).
Indeed, it is argued that the political conditionalities attached to the financial aid have so far not scored highly in ensuring the aid recipient countries (1) take clearer leadership on making aid more effective for development results, (2) become fully accountable to domestic stakeholders, (3) mobilise domestic resources for development, and (4) continue to improve their systems on financial management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, as well as fighting corruption (Carbone 2008; Bogayoko & Gibert 2009).
Instead of transforming lives, the financial aid provided by the EU has perpetuated a cycle of dependency and subsequent exploitation for economic gains. This is one of the hallmarks of neo-colonialism.
Security Concerns
Available literature demonstrates that “in the post-cold war era, the EU has special (national) security interests in weak postcolonial states because as a postmodern state it is exposed to turmoil and general instability” (Olsen 2004, p. 428).
In recent years, especially after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the EU and other international aid donors have increasingly paid attention to the so-called ‘fragile states’ to pre-empt a situation where these states could collapse, thus providing an enabling environment for crime and terrorism to develop (Hout 2010).
Overall, according to Hout (2010, p. 141), “…the focus on fragility is part of a more general trend of securitisation of development, which is preoccupied with creating conditions for stability in the developing world.”
However, instead of stabilising the fragile states through the implementation of policies and approaches aimed at reducing poverty, satisfying basic needs, strengthening economic sustainability and creating representative civil institutions, the EU has largely incorporated governance issues into its strategies, with a highly technocratic character as well as a strong emphasis on public sector reform and public finance (Faber & Orbie 2008; Holland 2008; Versluys 2008; Gibert 2009).
This approach, it is argued here, is in stark contrast to the international recognised standards for the promotion of human security, provision of global security, and attainment of basic needs. Although security is the first condition for development as acknowledged in Hout (2010), there is need for the EU to take a comprehensive approach in addressing security concerns facing the fragile states instead of coming up with a whole raft of conditionalities related to governance issues as these states have unique challenges.
Furthermore, some of the EU support strategies in fragile states, including decentralisation, electoral support and civil society support, have been accused of interfering in legally elected governments in ACP countries by supporting opposition figures and funding civil unrest (Hurt 2012).
In Kenya and Zimbabwe, for example, the EU and other international donor agencies have been accused of propagating a neo-colonial perspective through their funding of governance programs that end up triggering civil unrest. Consequently, it can be argued that the EU’s development policy of funding governance issues with the view to dealing with security concerns in the so-called fragile states is neo-colonial due to the approaches used.
Conclusion
This report has illuminated some neo-colonial perspectives predominant in most ACP countries under the EU development aid to demonstrate why the EU’s development policy is largely perceived as laced with neo-colonial connotations.
The neo-colonial perspectives that have been reviewed in this report include economic influence, political interference, financial dependence, and security concerns. An overview of the EU’s development agenda has demonstrated that the Union’s development policy towards ACP member countries is centered on two major agreements, including the Lome’ Convention of 1975 and the Cotonou Agreement of 2000.
By and large, it has been well demonstrated how the EU’s development policy is often perceived by many as a neo-colonial project. In the economic influence perspective, for example, it has been demonstrated that the perceived economic partnerships between EU and ACP member countries, though largely beneficial to countries in the developing world, are masked in neo-colonial connotations as most of the former colonies are maintained in a dependent position, thus allowing for economic exploitation.
In the political interference perspective, it has been demonstrated how the various political conditionalities imposed by the EU under the guise of development cooperation end up compromising the political leadership and the rule of law in most ACP states, with examples of Kenya and Uganda provided to reinforce the assertion.
In the financial dependency perspective, it has been demonstrated how the EU has used its development cooperation as a neo-colonialist tool to further its agenda and influence major political and economic decisions in the developing world.
Lastly, in the security concerns perspective, it has been demonstrated how some of the EU’s security support strategies in fragile states, such as decentralisation, electoral support and civil society support, end up interfering with legally elected governments in ACP countries by supporting opposition figures and funding civil unrest.
This report does not wish to portray that all of the EU’s strategies embedded in its development policy and relationships with ACP member countries are neo-colonial in nature and scope.
However, evidence has been adduced to the fact that some of the Union’s strategies embedded in its development policy are indeed laced with neo-colonial connotations. The task, therefore, is for the EU to embrace more inclusivity and involvement of interested parties as it goes about designing future strategies and approaches for deployment in its development policy.
Reference List
Africa Review 2013, ‘Kenya cautions foreigners against interfering with elections’. Web.
Africa Review 2014, ‘EU backs Uganda, Nigeria sanctions over gays’. Web.
Bogayoko, N & Gibert MV 2009, ‘The linkage between security, governance, and development: The European Union in Africa’, Journal of Development Studies, vol. 45 no. 3, pp. 789-814.
Carbone, M 2008, ‘Mission impossible: The European Union and Policy Coherence for Development’, Journal of European Integration, vol. 30 no. 3, pp. 323-342.
Carbone, M 2010, ‘The European Union, good governance and aid coordination’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 31 no. 1, pp. 13-29.
Dearden, SJH 2008, ‘Introduction: European Union development aid policy: The challenge of implementation’, Journal of International Development, vol. 20, pp. 187-192.
Elgstrom, O & Pilegaard, J 2008, ‘Imposed coherence: Negotiating economic partnership agreements’, Journal of European Integration, vol. 30 no. 3, pp. 363-380.
Elgstrom, O 2009, ‘Trade and aid? The negotiated construction of EU policy on economic partnership agreements’, International Politics, vol. 46 no. 4, pp. 451-468.
Faber, G & Orbie, J 2008, ‘The new trade and development agenda of the European Union’, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 197-207.
Forwood, G 2001, ‘The road to Cotonou: Negotiating a successor to Lome’, Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 39 no. 3, pp. 423-442.
Gibert, MV 2009, ‘The Securitisation of the EU’s development agenda in Africa: Insights from Guinea-Bissau’, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 10 no. 4, pp. 621-637.
Haag, D 2011, Mechanisms of neo-colonialism: Current French and British influence in Cameroon and Ghana. Web.
Hadfield, A 2007, ‘Janus advances? An analysis of EC development policy and the 2005 amended Cotonou partnership agreement’, European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 12, pp. 39-66.
Holland, M 2008, ‘The EU and the global development agenda’, Journal of European Integration, vol. 30 no. 3, pp. 343-362.
Hout, W 2010, ‘Between development and security: The European Union, governance, and fragile states’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 31 no. 1, pp. 141-157.
Hurt, SR 2003, ‘Cooperation and coercion? The Cotonou agreement between the European Union and ACP states and the end of Lome convention’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 24 no. 1, pp. 161-176.
Hurt, SR 2010, ‘Understanding EU development policy: History, global context, and self interest?’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 31 no. 1, pp. 159-168.
Hurt, SR 2012, ‘The EU-SADC economic partnership agreement negotiations: ‘Locking in’ the neoliberal development model in Southern Africa’, Third World Quarterly, vol. 33 no. 3, pp. 495-510.
Meunier, S & Nicolaidis, K 2006, ‘The European Union as a conflicted trade power’, Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 13 no. 6, pp. 906-925.
Nunn, A & Price, S 2004, ‘Managing development: EU and African relations through the evolution of the Lome and Cotonou agreements’, Historical Materialism, vol. 12 no. 4, pp. 203-230.
Olsen, GR 2004, ‘Challenges to traditional policy options, opportunities for new choices: The Africa policy of the EU’, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, vol. 93 no. 375, pp. 425-436.
Olsen, GR 2008, ‘Coherence, consistency and political will in foreign policy: The European Union’s policy towards Africa’, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 157-171.
Rodney, W 2011, How Europe underdeveloped Africa, Black Classic Press, Baltimore, MD.
Scheipers, S & Sicurelli, D 2008, ‘Empowering Africa: Normative power in EU-Africa relations’, Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 15 no. 4, pp. 607-623.
Versluys, H 2008, ‘Depoliticising and europeanising humanitarian aid: Success or failure?’, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 208-224.
Young, AR 2007, ‘Trade politics aint what it used to be: The European Union in the Doha round’, Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 45 no. 4, pp. 789-811.
The Native American Timeline shows how the Native Americans suffered in the hands of both the American colonialists in the 1600s before the country gained independence and in the hands of the United States military during the first half of the 1800s after independence (Campbell 78). When the White settlers started pushing the Native Americans out of their ancestral land, the natives felt that they were justified to resist.
They, therefore, organized armed resistance against the colonial militia that was responsible for the forceful eviction. However, their resistance was met with excessive military force as most of them were killed, and others were injured, while their properties were destroyed. The colonial militia did not treat the natives as people who had rights to their land (Peskin 112). They had to not only obey the White settlers by moving away from their land but also support them by working on those lands as slaves.
When the country gained independence, the Native Americans thought that they will be part of the population enjoying the benefits of freedom. However, that was not to be as the American military started an ambitious expansion program towards the south. In the early 1800s, the Indian Removal Act was passed and the government started an ambitious project to push the Native Americans out of their lands into reservations.
Just like they did during the colonial era, the Native Americans resisted their removal out of their ancestral land. This forced the United States government to use military force to implement the Act. The result of this military intervention was the loss of scores of lives, suffering from the locals due to injuries sustained in the war and loss of loved ones, and massive destruction of property. The way that the colonialists treated the Native Americans is the same cruel way that the American military treated them. Benn says that the United States military was meaner to the natives in their attack than the colonial militia (54).
Justification of the Actions of the Colonial Militia and the United States Military
The colonial militia and the United States military tried to justify their cruel actions towards the Native Americans based on expansion. The colonialists indeed wanted to expand their territory during the colonial period (Waddell 87). It is also true that the United States realized the benefit of expanding its territories to the south soon after gaining independence. However, none of them had any justifiable reason to use the amount of force that was witnessed against the Native Americans.
These natives were not on the offensive. They were not trying to gain new territories. They only felt that it was unjustified for the colonialists and the United States government to tell them that they had no right to land in this country (Tucker 71). The land belonged to them because they inherited it from their forefathers. They had lived in these lands for several years before the settlers even knew of the existence of the American continent. Therefore, they felt that it was illogical for these settlers to confine them to reservations while they had land they rightfully deserved. Both the colonial militia and the United States forces should have tried other means of getting land from the natives other than using force (Tucker and Fredriksen 24). The treatment of the Native Americans by the colonial militia in the 1600s and the United States military in the 1800s was unjustified.
Works Cited
Benn, Carl. The War of 1812: The Fight for American Trade Rights. New York: Rosen Pub, 2011. Print.
Campbell, Ballard. American Wars. New York: Facts on File, 2012. Print.
Peskin, Lawrence. Captives and Countrymen: Barbary Slavery and the American Public, 1785-1816. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1900. Print.
Tucker, Spencer, and John Fredriksen. The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Tucker, Spencer. Almanac of American Military History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print.
Waddell, Steve. United States Army Logistics: From the American Revolution to 9/11. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010. Print.
Somalia has in the recent past come to the limelight for all the wrong reasons and most recently after the seizure of a Ukrainian ship carrying military weapons destined for Kenya in the Indian Ocean by Somali Pirates. The rampant increase in the pirate related cases is due to the lack of a stable government in the country since independence.1 This has lead to mushrooming of a number of militant groups that are now attacking ships using the Indian Ocean and demanding ransoms as a way of making a living. Are the political problems in Somalia linked to colonialism? We discuss.
History of Somalia
The country is located in what is famously known as the horn of Africa in Eastern Africa neighboring Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti and enjoying a long seafront into the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. It has a population of approximately eight million people sharing a common religion (Islam), language and sharing relatively the same cultural beliefs and practices. The proximity of the country to Asia and its strategic position in controlling the waters connecting Asia, Africa and Europe made it a “hot spot” during the scramble for Africa by European powers in the late 19th and early 20th century2.
Three countries were locked in disagreement over who was to take control of the country; these were Britain, Italy and France. The greed of these three countries found no middle ground and hence they divided the country into three parts each controlling hers. With time France was to back out the country leaving behind Britain and Italy to share the spoils. Consequentially, the seed of division was planted.
Division of country
During this period of colonization the country was literally divided into three territories each occupied and governed by the respective European power. As a result there were three parallel governments in the same country.3 Their operations and management were totally different and all the three of them had total disregard for the traditional form of governance existing earlier. This led to resentment against the foreigners.
The traditional political organizations in Somalia were organized into clans with each clan having smaller clans and led by a leader. Taxes in these traditional governments were paid and they generally used the Sharia law as an Islamic nation. Pastrolism and nomadism as the major economic activities in the arid country were marked with inter-clan raids and warfare. With the coming of the colonizers this was to change as the westerners could not understand the logic in waging warfare against each other.
Unfortunately, some of the Somalia clan leaders were lured by the western civilization and were gradually adopting some of the impositions by the foreigners. In return, they received gifts in terms of weapons and finances. The three groups of colonizers also noticed this as an opportunity to expand their territories. They therefore used collaborating clan leaders to wage war and raids on other clans under a different colonizer.4
Britain was the most notorious colonizer in doing this. They targeted clans under the Italians in a bid to drive the Italians out of the region. Another alternative method that they used was funding some of the clans to rebel against their colonial masters. However, this trick was not as effective as the former one. As a result, hostilities between clans were to continue with each clan trying to subdue the other. The story continues today.
Nevertheless, the magnitude of these hostilities have escalated from mere cattle raids in the pre-colonization era into full blown conflict reaching genocidal proportions. Minority clans are making efforts to completely wipe out minority clans that do not tow their line. Again errors committed during the colonization era are being corrected now through revenge attacks. In most cases, clans that were friendly to colonizers during the colonialism era are perceived as traitors and are alienated up to now.5 When such factors are put into consideration, we understand why there seems to be no cohesiveness in a country that during the pre-colonization era had one of the strongest traditional forms of government.
On attainment of independence in 1960 as a unified nation, the British and the Italians left behind a very weak parliamentary democracy form of governance.6 This was because neither the Italians nor the British could take the full responsibility of fully instilling a strong government that would stand the test of time and unite the various clans in the country. As a result there was hostility by other clans towards the clan in power.
This was because there was a lot of nepotism in government and in the appointment of senior government positions. The disgruntled clans thus formed countless militia groups to help fight for their rights. It was in 1969 that the nascent government was dethroned through a coup headed by General Said Barre who took over the presidency. Once he occupied the top seat, General Said Barre banned all political parties and dismantled parliament in his first step in creating one of the worst tyrannies of the 20th century.
Another perspective attributes the woes ailing Somalia to neocolonialism especially during the Cold War era. The rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union saw the flooding of weapons in the area again due to its strategic position in a bid to win favor from the country leaders. It is reported that in the 1970’s, the USSR gave Barre a consortium of lethal weapons and in return the dictator professed socialism.
A note worth mention here is that Somalia by then was seeking weapons and military aid in preparation to attack Ethiopia and reclaim the Ogaden region, which Somalis recognized as ethnically theirs. According to a report by the Africa Rights Group of 2006, the influx of weapons in the region is the key driver to social, economic and political instability in the region.7 To blame for this influx of weapons is the US and the USSR. It height was reached in 1988 when a full blown civil war broke out pitting one militia group over another. As a result famine was to follow leading to massive relocations in hundreds of thousands into neighboring countries.
Attempts to consolidate a stable government with the current transitional government brokered with the intervention of Kenya facing massive challenges in containing violence and famine. On the other hand the US has distanced itself from the country claiming to have played no role in creating the current crisis in the country. England and Italy on the other hand have not in the slightest attempt reached out to salvage the country as a former colony the way Britain has to some of her former colonies like Zimbabwe and Kenya in time of a crisis8.
An expert in African politics and affairs Biyi Bandele says that “You can’t overestimate the impact of colonialism and how much it damaged the continent, but is it now being used as an excuse by some voices in Africa?”
“Can African leaders really go on blaming the past for the challenges and problems which now confront them?”9 The question posed by this analyst should help African leaders visualize the way forward. As much as colonialism and its impacts still affects Africa, means and ways to go around the problems that ail Africa. The damage has already been done and only the after effects remain. So it is up to Africans to solve their problems with the assistance of the colonizers and as the initial causers of the current situation in Somalia in this case.
The British and the Italians disorganized traditional governments in Somalia to suit their interests and upon leaving, did not leave behind strong institutions to help carry on with a parliamentary form of governance or if not the case, reintroduce the traditional system of governance. Therefore colonization contributes heavily to the current political and social crisis in Somalia.
Citations
Abdi, Samatar, “The Destruction of State and Society in Somalia: Beyond the Tribal. Convention,” Journal of Modern African Studies (Vol. 30, 2003).
Allan, Johnson “Somalia After the Cold War,” Kyle & Chris, eds., Altered States: A Reader in . the New World Order (Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, 2003).
Bandele, Biyi, “Forging the way forward in attaining millennium development goals in Africa”. Africa Affairs (Vol. 23, 2007).
Ismail, Razak, The root of hostility and animosity in Somalia, Somalia Today (Vol. 8 2006).
Kiragu, Maina, The scramble for Africa: The monster in colonialism, Africa Affairs (Vol.23,. 2007).
Lynn, Cecile, “Retreat From Somalia,” Christian Science Monitor (2006).
Mazrui, Ali, The guardian role played by colonizers over their former colonies, Africa Affairs . (Vol.23, 2007).
Said, Salim, Somalia: A Nation in Turmoil, London Minority Rights Group Report 2005.
Salim, Osman ed., The Somali Challenge: From Catastrophe to Reconstruction (Boulder: Lynne. Rienner, 2004).
Samatar, Nasri, “The Destruction of State and Society in Somalia: Beyond the Tribal.. Convention,” Journal of Modern African Studies (Vol. 30, 2002).
Stephen Shalom, “Gravy Train: Feeding the Pentagon by Feeding Somalia,” Z Magazine.. (2001).
Tiraku, Ntimama, A Modern History of Somalia (Boulder: Westview Press, 2005).
Footnotes
Salim, Osman ed., The Somali Challenge: From Catastrophe to Reconstruction (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004).
Kiragu, Maina, The scramble for Africa: The monster in colonialism, Africa Affairs (Vol.23, 2007).
Samatar, Nasri, “The Destruction of State and Society in Somalia: Beyond the Tribal Convention,” Journal of Modern African Studies (Vol. 30, #4, 1992).
Kiragu, Maina, The scramble for Africa: The monster in colonialism, Africa Affairs (Vol.23, 2007).
Ismail, Razak, The root of hostility and animosity in Somalia, Somalia Today (Vol. 8 2006).
Tiraku, Ntimama, A Modern History of Somalia (Boulder: Westview Press, 2005).
Allan, Johnson “Somalia After the Cold War,” Kyle & Chris, eds., Altered States: A Reader in the New World Order (Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, 2003).
Mazrui, Ali, The guardian role played by colonizers over their former colonies, Africa Affairs (Vol.23, 2007).
Bandele, Biyi, “Forging the way forward in attaining millennium development goals in Africa” Africa Affairs (Vol. 23, 2007).
