Imperialism and Colonialism – Postcolonial Studies

Imperialism and Colonialism

(Postcolonial Studies)

What is ‘Imperialism’? What are its features?

‘Imperialism’ is the principle of expansion of power over a state. It is considered almost negative, as it aims to get rich easily by exploiting the local people. The term ‘Imperialism’ was coined in English in its current sense by the opposition in the late 1800's to accuse British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli of his aggressive and imperialist policies. Proponents of ‘Imperialism’, such as Joseph Chamberlain, quickly applied the idea.

In modern times it is mostly accepted that ‘Colonialism’ is the manifestation of ‘Imperialism’ and cannot exist without the latter. "Informal" imperialism without existing legitimate colonies is a contentious issue among historians.

From ‘Industrial Capitalism’ to ‘Imperialism’

In the last nineteenth century, capitalism developed and spread from country to country; finally it took over the whole world. With the development of capitalism, its painful contradictions became more and more evident and intense. At that time industrial capital was at the forefront of capitalist development. This is why the era is called the era of industrial capital or ‘Industrial Capitalism’.

The rise and development of the fundamental contradictions of ‘Industrial Capitalism’ led to a new stage in the development of capitalism called Imperialism. Imperialism emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century as a new and higher stage in the development of capitalism. All the fundamental contradictions of capitalism intensified under imperialism. Imperialism is also dying capitalism. Under imperialism, the capitalist system stood in the way of further development of society.

The origin of Imperialism

Scholars give various reasons for the explosion of ‘Imperialism’ after 180 years. British economic theorist J. A. Hobson gave an economic explanation of ‘Imperialism’. Hobson said there was no higher goal for Neo-imperialism. The economic goal was the root of this Neo-colonialism. According to Hobson, in this capitalist society, capitalists accumulate a lot of capital by making profits. As a result, the hill of capital freezes. By investing this capital in the colony, the capitalists force the government of their own country to occupy the colony in order to increase their profits. The capitalist class accumulates a mountain of profit by investing capital in new colonial industries. They flourished by monopolizing the raw materials and markets of the colony. Thus the main economic root of Neo-imperialism was the “surplus capital pressure” for investment in the colony. That is, the pressure of excess capital is the main reason for the occupation of the empire or the colony.

The famous communist leader Vladimir Lenin, in his book, ‘Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism’, elaborates on the economic interpretation of ‘Imperialism’. According to him, the seeds of ‘Imperialism’ are rooted in ‘Capitalism’. The foreign policy of the capitalist states is conducted in the interest of ‘Capitalism’. In the hope of making more profit, the industrialists produce more products than the people of the country need. The capitalist state occupied the colony to sell these surplus goods and get cheap raw materials. The number of colonies in the world is limited. As the capitalist countries tried to occupy the colonies, competition and war broke out between different countries. War is also the ultimate consequence of the capitalist economy. Lenin attributed the cause of the First World War to the rivalry of various capitalist powers for colonization. He continued his scientific analysis of ‘Imperialism’ in many more works. By summarizing the vast amount of practical information and theoretical material, he came to the important scientific conclusion that the development of capitalism in the age of imperialism could win unequal and leaping, socialist revolutions at first in a few, even in a separate capitalist country. The importance of this decision to the world revolutionary movement is immense.

The era of Imperialism

Conflict between imperialist rival monopoly capitalists and states escalates dramatically, resulting in war. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the imperialists had completed the task of dividing the world among themselves. The earth is not infinite, and man has not yet traveled into space. So the new field of expansion was no longer seen, so the question of the struggle to redistribute the world came to the fore. The great powers had no choice but to quarrel with each other over the country and the market. So the first and second world wars appeared. In the age of imperialism, some empires will always try to seize each other and divide the world in a new way for their own convenience. This is what happened in the First World War and the Second World War.

What is ‘Colonialism’? What are its features?

Etymologically the word "colony" comes from the Latin colony, which means "place of farming".

‘Colonialism’ refers to the political control taken by one country over another, often through the establishment of colonies. Economic domination is usually the motive behind the establishment of colonies. The term settlement is a set that is utilized to portray the inconsistent connection between frontier power and the state and regularly the inconsistent connection between the homesteaders and the natives.

In the 1700s and 1800s, rich, powerful European countries (such as Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands) colonized the continents of Africa, South America, Asia, and the Caribbean.

This European colonial period was between the 16^th and 20^th centuries when many colonies were established in Asia, Africa and America by various European powers. In order to strengthen the formulation of economically cost-competitive infrastructure, countries first pursued a policy of commercialism, so that the colonies were only allowed to trade with the motherland. In the middle of the 19^th century, the powerful British Empire formulated a policy of commercialism and the removal of all its restrictions and policies, and instead formulated free trade.

Classification of Colonialism:

Historians often distinguish between different types of ‘Colonialism’, which are divided into four types: ‘Settler Colonialism’, ‘Exploitation Colonialism’, ‘Surrogate Colonialism’, and ‘Internal Colonialism’.

‘Settler Colonialism’ includes huge scope movement, regularly roused by strict, political or monetary reasons. It actually tries to replace the population. Here, large numbers of people migrated to the colony for the purpose of settlement and agriculture. Australia, Canada and the United States are examples of colonial societies.

‘Exploitation Colonialism’ focuses on the exploitation of natural resources or the exploitation of the labor of the local people through the establishment of colonies, usually for the benefit of the center of the colony.

is a settlement project supported by colonial power, where most of the settlers do not come from the same ethnic group as the ruling colonists.

‘Internal Colonialism’ is the concept of unequal structural strength between different regions of a state. The source of ‘Internal Colonialism’ comes from inside the state.

Difference between ‘Colonialism’ and ‘Imperialism’

In conclusion, we may say that ‘Colonialism’ is a term where one country wins over another region and rules over them; on the contrary, ‘Imperialism’ builds an empire, extends to neighboring territories and extends the spread of its dominance. Again, in ‘Colonialism’, one can see the great movement of the people in the new area and live as a permanent resident, whereas, ‘Imperialism’ only exercises power in conquered territories through indirect processes of sovereignty or control.

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