Colonies and Colonialism

The potential for colonization is inherent in a world composed of political entities at radically different stages of economic and technological development; the powerful are always tempted to dominate the weak. Power disparities only make colonization possible, however, not necessary or inevitable. The powerful are not always willing to expand, and when they do, the weak sometimes manage to resist.

Any moral evaluation of colonialism must be sensitive to changing historical circumstances. According to contemporary standards of international behaviour, colonialism is inexcusable because it conflicts directly with the rights of national sovereignty and self-determination. Such rights, however, have only recently been recognized as applicable worldwide. Thus, 19th-century empire builders believed they bore the moral responsibility to rule “backward peoples” and bring them the fruits of Western civilization.

The effects of colonialism can best be described as mixed, both for the colonizers and the colonized. Clearly, an empire brought numerous benefits to the colonial powers, including emigration opportunities, expanded trade and profits, and strategic resources. At the same time, conquest brought with it significant costs. Colonizers were obliged to provide for colonial administration, defence, and economic assistance and were frequently dragged into conflicts they would rather have avoided.

That colonization had harmful effects on the peoples of the colonized areas is indisputable. Traditional lifestyles were disrupted, cultures destroyed, and entire peoples subjugated or exterminated. As a result, the developing countries continue to harbour a deep resentment of the former colonial powers. On the other hand, contact with European civilization also brought the subject peoples numerous economic, health, technological, and educational benefits.