IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM
1.1 Meaning
and origin in the European context.
IMPERIALISM AND COLONIALISM:
MEANING
Imperialism
means the extension of power or rule by a country over the social, economic and
political life of areas outside its borders. This may be done by establishing
colonies by conquest or other means, and making them dependent via direct (eg
India) or indirect (eg. China) methods.
While
imperialism is the system which prevails in the metropole, colonialism is the
system of domination which prevails in the colonies. It may be thus defined as
the system by which the colony is exploited in different stages for the benefit
of the capitalist class of the metropolis.
In
other words, the same system of capitalism, which produces development in the
metropolis, creates under development in the colony, and the colony gets linked
with the world capitalist system, but in a subservient way. Therefore, the two
can be said to be the two sides of the same coin. From the metropolis side, it
is imperialism from the colony’s side, it is colonialism.
The
phenomenon of imperialism and colonialism need to be also classified into
formal and informal forms, or colonialism and semi-colonialism:
(a)
Formal
– Involves annexation of territory and thus direct political rule. Eg India.
(b)
Informal
– involves indirect rule by local elites who are independent legally but
dependent politically. In the case of a semi colony like China control was over
the economy rather than over the polity. Also, no one imperial power had a
monopoly of control as it was exploited by many powers unlike the case of
India, where it was mainly Britain which retained absolute political control.
EXPLORING THE CAUSES – ‘HOW’.
‘WHEN’ AND WHY DID THIS PHENOMENON ORIGINATE
HOW: Between 1500-1800, western Europe
acquired 80%of the world’s land surface. This happened in two overlapping
phases:
(a)
The 15th and 16th
centuries saw the conquest of new territories for settlement. Eg. America,
Siberia, Africa, Australasia. The European countries involved in this conquest
were Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, Holland. The trigger was the beginning
of the modern state and bureaucracy in politics in Europe, the scientific
revolution in knowledge and rise of commercial capitalism in economy (Recall
the renaissance and the enlightenment movement in Europe). These were to form
the basis of the next phase. The consequences of this phase were a virtual
sweep out of the entire populations of America and Siberia, forced
transplantation of millions of African slaves to America and accumulation of
capital in western Europe which was to give rise to Industrial capitalism,
which formed the basis of the next phase.
(b)
The period between late 18th
century to early twentieth century saw another phase of conquest (This wave
came to be known as new imperialism). The European countries involved in this
conquest were France, Britain, Dutch, USA, and Germany. It was based on:
-
Industrial capitalism, which had the
capacity for infinite expansion. ( As the Industrial revolution had occurred in
Britain by this time.)
-
Rise of the modern bureaucratic state and
democracy as the most effective form of rule
-
Knowledge as a form of conquest, dividing
the world into west and the oriental east
WHEN:
The following table will help understand how these phases were linked to
transformation of feudal Europe into a capitalist Europe:
TIME
PERIOD
|
RELATIONSHIP
WITH GROWTH OF CAPITALISM
|
NATIONS
INVOLVED IN CONQUEST
|
RELATIONSHIP
WITH MODERN INDIA
|
1480s
to 1650
|
Rise
of commercial capitalism and rapid growth of world commerce.
|
Portugal
and Spain
|
Mughal
rule
|
1650
to 1780s
|
Commercial
capitalism ripens into a rapid economic force. As a result we witness
mercantile wars between different European countries.
|
Britain,
France and Dutch.
|
Tussel
between the three East India companies. (Eg- The 3 Anglo French wars), The
Plassey plunder
|
1780s
to 1870s
|
Rise
of Industrial capitalism (with Industrial revolution in Britain)
|
Britain,
France and Dutch
|
Post
Charter Act 1813
|
1880
to WW1(1914)
|
Rise
of monopoly capital, division of globe etc (As Industrialisation spreads to
different European countries, a new wave of conquest called new Imperialism
is witnessed.
|
Britain,
France, Germany, USA
|
Construction
of Railways, post, telegraph
|
Post
WW1 (1918 onwards)
|
Socialism,
Decolonisation, Rise of MNCs
|
1.2 Structure
and stages of colonialism and their linkage with Drain of wealth theory
There
were three distinct stages of colonialism. The forms of subordination in the
colonies changed over time, as did colonial policy, state and its institutions,
culture, ideas and ideologies. However, this did not mean that stages existed
in a pure form. The older forms of subordination continued into the later
stages.
1. First Stage: Monopoly
Trade and Plunder The first stage had two basic objectives.
-
In order to make trade more profitable
indigenously manufactured goods were to be bought cheap. For this competitors
were to be kept out, whether local (which was done by territorial conquest) or
European (rival European companies were defeated in wars, eg Anglo- French wars).
Thus the characteristic of the first stage was monopoly of trade.
-
Secondly, the political conquest of the
colony enabled plunder and seizure of surplus. For example, the drain of wealth
from India to Britain during the first stage was considerable. It amounted to
two to three per cent of the national income of Britain at that time.
This is described as the
Period of Monopoly Trade and Direct Appropriation .
To understand, let us take the Indian example
and study the Period of East India Company's Domination, 1757-1813. During the
last half of the 18th century, India was conquered by a monopoly trading
corporation - the East India Company. The Company had two basic objectives at
this stage.
i) The first was to
acquire a monopoly of trade with India, and keep competitors out. This meant
that other English or European merchants or trading companies should not
compete with it in purchase and sale of lndian products. Nor should the Indian
merchants do so. This would enable the East India Company to buy lndian
products as cheaply as possible (due to monopoly) and sell them in World
markets at as high a price as possible. Thus Indian economic surplus was to be
appropriated through monopoly trade. Lets understand how this was done:
- The English competitors
were kept out by persuading the British Government to grant the East India
Company through a Royal Charter a monopolies of the right to trade with India
and the East. Against the European rivals the Company had to wage long and
fierce wars on land and the sea.
- To acquire monopoly against Indian traders
and to prevent lndian rulers from interfering with its trade, the Company took
advantage of the disintegration of the Mughal Empire to acquire increasing
political domination and corltrol over different parts of the country. (you
must have read how Bengal, awadh, mysore etc were annexed)
After political conquest, Indian weavers were
also employed directly by the Company. In that case, they were forced to produce
cloth at below market prices.
ii) The second major
objective of colonialism at this stage was to directly appropriate or take over
governmental revenues through control over state power. Why ? The East India
Company required large financial resources :
- to wage wars in lndia
and on the seas against European rivals and lndian rulers
- to maintain naval forces, forts and armies
around their trading posts, etc. .
- Financial resources had
to be raised in India for another reason. lndian money was needed to purchase
Indian goods. This could be acquired either by:
(a) sale of British goods
in India. (Money could not be earned by selling British goods in India because
at that time, the British produced hardly any goods which could be sold in
lndia in competition with Indian products. British industrial products could
not compete with lndian handicraft products till the beginning of the 19th
century.) Or
(b) by export of gold and
silver to India. (British Government, heavily influenced by merchantalist theories,
was also unhappy with the export of gold and silver from Britain)
- Appropriation of
government revenue would also, of course, increase the profits of the East
India Company and dividents of its shareholders.
But the company did not
possess such resources and the British Government too wasn't ready to provide
them in that era of mercantilism. The much needed financial resources had,
therefore, to be raised in India from the Indian people. This provided another
incentive to make tenitorial conquests in India
Both the objectives -the
monopoly of trade and appropriation of government revenues - were rapidly
fulfilled with the conquest first of Bengal and parts of South India and then
over the years to the rest of India.
(a) Relationship with economic policy:
-
De-industrialisation: After Plassey and
Buxar, the East India Company used its political power to acquire monopolistic
control over Indian trade and handicraft products. Indian traders were
gradually replaced and ruined, while the weavers and other craftsmen were
compelled either to sell their products at uneconomic rates or to work for the
Company at low wages.
It is important to note that at this stage
there was no large scale import of British manufactures into India; rather the
reverse occurred, that is, there was increase in export of Indian textiles,
etc. The weavers were, for example, not ruined at this stage by British imports
but because of the Company's monopoly and their exploitation by being forced to
produce for the Company under uneconomic conditions.
-
Drain of wealth: With political conquest,
the East India Company acquired direct control over the revenues of the Indian
states. Moreover, both Company and its servants extorted illegally immense
wealth from Indian merchants, officials, nobles, rulers and zamindars. In fact,
this element of plunder and direct seizure of surplus was very strong in the
first stage of colonialism. Gradually, large number of highly paid British
officials were appointed in India and their salaries and pensions became a form
of surplus appropriation. There was intense struggle within Britain for British
appointments in India.
(b) Relationship with colonial polity and
administration: An
important feature of colonialism during this period was that no basic
changes were introduced in the colony in administration, judicial system,
transport and comhunication, methods of agricultural or industrial production,
forms of business management or economic organisation (except for the Permanent
Settlement in Bengal which really belonged to the second stage of colonialism).
(c)
Relationship
with socio- cultural policy: Nor were any changes
made in education or intellectual field, culture or social organisation. Only
two new educational institutions were started -one at Banaras for Sanskritic
learning and other at Calcutta for Persian and Arabic learning. Even the Christian
Missionaries and British capitalists, who might have acted as a channel for the
import of modern Western ideas, were kept out of British possessions in India.
The
only changes made were: i) in military organisation and technology which
contemporary independent Indian rulers were also introducing in their armed
forces, and ii) in administration at the top of the structure of revenue
collection so that it could be made more efficient and diverted to the Company.
Why was this so? Why were
so few changes introduced? Because the two basic objectives of colonialism at
this stage did not require basic socio-economic- administrative changes in
India. Colonialism of the first stage could be superimposed over its existing
economic, cultural, social and political structure. Also the British rulers did
not feel the need to penetrate the villages deeper than their indigenous Indian
predecessors had done so long as land revenue was successfully sucked out
through the traditional machinery of revenue collection. There was therefore no
need to disturb India's existing economic or political structure, or
administrative and social organisation, or cultural and ideological framework.
(d)
Relationship
with ideology of rulers: This lack of change was also
reflected in the ideology of the rulers. No need was felt to criticise
traditional Indian civilisation, religions, laws, caste system, family
structure, etc. for they were not seen as obstacles at that stage of colonial
exploitation. The need was to understand them sympathetically so that political
control and economic exploitation could proceed smoothly without arousing
opposition from Indians on religious, social or cultural grounds.
This period witnessed
large scale drain of wealth from India. This wealth played an important role in
financing Britain's industrial revolution. Drain of Wealth from India
constituted 2 to 3 per cent of Britain's national income at the time.
2. Second Stage: Era of Free
Trade
The interest of the newly developed
industrialists (after the Industrial revolution) of the metropolis in the colony
was in the markets available for manufactured goods. For this:
-
it was necessary to increase exports from the colony to pay for purchase
of manufactured imports.
- The metropolitan industrialists also
wanted to develop the colony as a producer of raw materials to lessen
dependence on non-empire sources.
-
Increase of exports from the colony would also enable it to pay for the
high salaries and profits of merchants.
The industrialists opposed plunder as a
form of appropriation of surplus on the ground that "it would destroy the
goose that laid the golden eggs". Trade was the mechanism by which the
surplus was to be appropriated in this stage.
Since
this was a period of exploitation through trade, it is also termed as
Colonialism of Free Trade.
Let’s understand this stage with the
Indian example.
Immediately after the East India company
became the ruler over most parts of India, an intense struggle broke out in
Britain to determine whose interests would the newly acquired colony serve.
Britain was after 1750 undergoing the Industrial Revolution. The newly
developing industrial capitalists began to attack the East India Company and
the forms of its exploitation of India. They demanded that colonial
administration and policy in India should now serve their interests. But their
interests were very different from those of the East India Company. They did
not gain much from a monopoly trade in Indian products or from the Company's
control over Indian revenues. So what did these newly developing class of
industrialist capitalists want?
-
They wanted India to serve as a market for
their ever-increasing output of manufactured goods, especially textiles.
-
They also needed from India exports of raw
materials, especially cotton, and foodgrains.
-
Moreover, India could buy more British
goods only if it earned foreign exchange by increasing its exports.
-
Increasing exports were also needed to
enable dividents of the East India Company and profits of British merchants and
earnings and pensions of British officials to be transferred to Britain.
So what was India to import and what was
India to export?
-
exports from India could consist only of
agricultural raw materials and other non- manufactured goods, which would not
give competition to British industrialists, but would rather aid their industrial
and food needs.
-
Imports would be of Britain made
industrially manufactured goods.
In
other words, to suit the convenience of British industrial capitalists, British
colonialism in India needed to enter its second stage. India needed to become a
subordinate trading partner of Britain, as a market to be exploited and as a
dependent colony to produce and supply the raw materials and food-stuffs
Britain needed.
India's economic surplus was to be thus appropriated
through trade based on unequal exchange. As a result, Britain
increasingly produced and exported goods which were produced in factories using
advanced technology and less labour, and in which level of productivity and
wages was high. On the other hand, India produced agricultural raw materials
through backward methods of production using great deal of labour leading to
low productivity and low wages. This international division of labour
was, moreover, not only highly unfavourable to India but was unnatural and
artificial and was introduced and maintained forcibly through colonial
domination.
In India this stage can be seen the 1813
Charter Act, by which the Company lost most of its political and economic power
in India; the real power being wielded by the British Government which ruled
India in the interests of the British capitalist class as a whole.
Now India could not be exploited in the
new way within its existing economic, political, administrative and
socio-cultural setting. This setting, therefore, had to be shattered and
transformed all along the line. The British Indian Government set out to do so
after 1813.
(a) Relationship with colonial economic
policy (drain of wealth) : In the economic field this meant:
-
(TRADE) integrating India's colonial
economy with the British and world capitalist economy. The chief instrument of
this was the introduction of free trade. All import duties in India were either
totally removed or drastically reduced to nominal rates. Thus India was thrown
open to British manufactures. Free entry was also now given to British
capitalists to develop tea, coffee and indigo plantations, trade, transport,
mining and modern industries in India. The British Indian Government gave
active state help to these capitalists.
-
(AGRICULTURE) The agrarian structure of
India was sought to be transformed in a capitalist direction through the
Permanent Settlement and the Ryotwari systems.
-
(TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION) The
large-scale imports and their sale in land and even more the large-scale export
of the bulky raw materials and their gathering at the ports from long distances
inside the country required a cheap and easy system of transport and
communications. Without such a system India could not be opened to large-scale
foreign trade. The Government, therefore, improved rivers and canals,
encouraged the introduction of steamships on the rivers and improved the roads.
Above all, during latter half of the 19th century, it encouraged and financed a
large network of railways linking India's major cities and markets to its
ports. By 1905 nearly 45,000 kms. of railways had been built. Similarly, a
modern postal and telegraph system was introduced to facilitate economic
transactions.
(b)
Relationship with colonial administrative policy:
Many changes were now brought about in the administrative field.
-
Administration was made more elaborate and
comprehensive and it reached down to the villages and- out-lying areas of the
country so that British goods could reach, and agricultural products drawn
from, its interior villages and remotest parts.
-
Legal and judicial structure of India was
overhauled to promote capitalist commercial relations and maintain law and
order. The changes, however, related to criminal law, law of contract and legal
procedures. Personal law, including that relating to marriage and inheritance,
was largely left untouched since it did not in any way affect colonial
transformation of the economy.
-
Further more it was in the 1830s and
1840s, that English replaced Persian as the official language in India. Lord
William Bentinck's resolution dated March 7, 1835 stated that 'the funds
appropriated to education would be best employed in English education alone'.
(c)
Relationship
with socio- cultural policy: Modern education was now
introduced basically with the objective to man the new, vastly expanded
administration. But it was also expected to help transform India's society and
culture. This transformation was needed for two reasons; it was expected to, i)
create an overall climate of change and development and, ii) generate a culture
of loyalty to the rulers. It is to be noted that it was around this period that
many Indian intellectuals like Raja Ram Mohan Roy began to work for social and
cultural modernisation for different reasons, mainly as part of national
regeneration.
(d)
Relationship
with the ideology of the rulers: The second stage of
colonialism generated a liberal imperialist ideology among many British
statesmen and administrators. They talked of training the Indian people in the
arts of democracy and self Government. Britain was at this time, the workshop
of the world -it was the only rapidly industrialising country. Consequently,
many in Britain believed that the pattern of trade with India (explained above)
could be maintained so long as law and order, free trade and sanctity of
business contract were maintained there. For this, India's socio-economic
structure was to be radically transformed. This meant that its existing culture
and social organisation had to be declared unsuitable and decadent. Indian
culture and society were now subjected to sharp criticism. No racialism was,
however involved in this criticism for it was simultaneously maintained that
Indians could gradually be raised to the level of Europeans.
India
played a crucial role in the development of British capitalism during this
stage. British industries, especially textiles, were heavily dependent on
exports. Moreover, Indian army played an important role in extending British
colonialism in Asia and Africa. Throughout this stage Indian wealth and capital
continued to be drained to Britain.
3. Third Stage: Era of Finance
Capital
This is described as the Era of Foreign
Investments and International Competition for Colonies. A new stage of
colonialism was ushered in India from about 1860s, and was for raw material,
food and markets for capital investment. This was the result of several major
changes in the world economy:
i)
Spread of industrialisation
to seveal countries of Europe, the United States and Japan with the result that
Britain's industrial supermacy in the world came to an end.
ii)
There was intensification of
industrialisation as a result of the application of scientific knowledge to
industry. Modern chemical industries, the use of petroleum as fuel for the
internal combustion engine and the use of electricity for industrial purposes
developed during this period.
iii)
There was further unification of the world
market because of revolution in the means of international transport.
A new search for raw material, food and
markets:
-
The new industries in many industrialised
countries consumed immense quantities of raw materials.
-
Rapid industrial development also led to
continuous eypansion of urban population which needed more and more food. There
now occurred an intense struggle for new, secure and exclusive markets and
sources of agricultural and mineral raw materials and foodstuffs.
-
Moreover, the development of trade and
industry at home and extended exploitation of colonies and semi-colonies
produced large accumulations of capital in the capitalist countries.
Simultaneously there occurred concentration of capital in fewer and fewer
corporations, trusts and cartels and merger of banking capital with industrial
capital. Outlets had to be found for this capital. This led to large scale
export of capital. Once again the developed capitalist countries began a search
and compete for areas where they could acquire the exclusive right to invest
their surplus capital.
Thus in their search for markets, raw
materials and fields for capital investment the capitalistic countries began to
divide and re-divide the world among themselves.
Political and ideological purpose: Colonialism
at this stage also served important political and idealogical purpose in the
metropolitan, that is, imperialist countries. Chauvinism or aggressive
nationalism based on the glorification of empire could be used to tone down
social divisions at home by stressing the common interests in empire. The
British, for example, raised the slogan that "The Sun never sets on the
British Empire" to spread pride and a sense of contentment among workers
on whose slum-houses the Sun seldom shone in real life. The French talked of
their "Civilising Mission", while Japan talked of Pan-Asianism and
claimed to be the champion of the Asian people.
Let us understand this stage with the
Indian example.
As we have seen above that during this
stage, Britain's position in the world was constantly challenged and weakened
by the rival capitalistic countries. It now made vigorous efforts to
consolidate its control over India. Reactionary imperialist policies now
replaced liberal imperialist policies. This was reflected in the viceroyalties
of Lytton, Dufferin, Lansdowne and Curzon.
(a) Relationship with colonial economic
policies: The strengthening of colonial rule over India was
essential to keep out the rivals, to attract British capital to India and to
provide it security. After 1850, a very large amourt of British capital was
invested in railways, loans to the Government of India, trade and to a lesser
extent in plantations, coal mining, jute mills, shipping and banking in India. India
also performed another important role for Britain. Its army -men and financial
resources - could be used to fight Britain's rivals in the struggle for the
division and re-division of the world. In fact, the Indian army was the chief
instrument for the defence, expansion and consolidation of British empire in
Africa and Asia. The result was a costly standing army that absorbed nearly 52
per cent of the Indian revenues in 1904.
(b) Relationship with British polity and
administration: Politically and administratively the
third stage of colonialism meant renewed and more intensive control over India.
Moreover, it was now even more important than ever before that colonial
administration should reach out to every nook and corner of India. The
administration now became more bureaucratically tight,efficient and extensive
than earlier. Railways were built at even a faster rate.
(c) Relationship with socio- cultural
policy: Even the limited changes produced an intelligentsia
which began to oppose colonialism and analyse the mechanism of colonial
exploitation. The British administrators increasingly assumed a neutral stand
on social and cultural questions, and then began to support social and cultural
reactionaries in the name of preserving indigenous institutions.
(d) Relationship with ideology of the
rulers: A major change now occurred in the ideology of
colonialism. All talk of training the Indian people for self-government died
out. (It was revived in the 20th century after 1918 as a result of pressure
from the Indian national movement). Instead, the aim of British rule was
declared to be permanent 'trusteeship' over the Indian people. Indian people
were declared to be a permanently immature, a 'child' people, needing British
control and trusteeship. Geography, 'race', climate, history, religion, culture
and social organisation were cited as factors which made Indians permanantly
unfit for self- government or democracy. Britain had, therefore, to exercise
benevolent despotism over them for centuries to come.
WHY:
The more pertinent question is why? If one glances at the 16th
century world, one finds that the Ottoman empire, the Mings in China, and the
Mughals in India were doing very well. Then, what enabled this imperialism and
expansion by these European nations?
Lets
take a jist of this with the help of the following table,
MERCANTILE
STAGE
|
FREE
TRADE COLONIALISM
|
FINANCE
CAPITAL STAGE
|
Exploitation
through establishing monopoly of trade and direct appropriation of revenues
|
Exploitation
through free trade based on unequal exchange and international division of
labour
|
Exploitation
through invested accumulated capital in colonies to extract profit.
|
From
1757- 1813 in India
|
1813-
1860s in India
|
1860s
onwards
|
No
major change in socio economic policy. No criticism of local culture etc
|
Radical
change in socio- economic policy (esp law of contracts, legal procedures and
local culture subjected to sharp criticism
|
British
support to socio cultural reactionaries, criticism of indigenous culture
continues
|
1.3 How colonialism and imperialism impacted the
world, especially india
ECONOMICALLY,
Colonialism is a social formation in which
different modes of production coexist from feudalism to petty commodity
production to agrarian, industrial and finance capitalism. Colonialism produced
a society which was neither capitalist as in Britain nor was it pre-colonial or
pre-capitalist. Thus, for example, India under British rule neither resembled
capitalist Britain nor was it basically similar to Mughal India. The
development of agrarian relations in the colonies- in India, or Egypt, or
Indonesia- makes this aspect quite clear. For example, landlordism in both
zamindari and ryotwari areas of British India was something new; it did not
exist in Mughal India. It was the creation of British rule. It was the result
of the colonial rulers' efforts to transform Indian agriculture. Indian
agriculture was not capitalist but it had many capitalist elements; for
example, property relations were capitalist; land was now a private property
which was freely bought and sold on a large scale.
The system of agrarian relations that
developed was thus' neither capitalist nor feudal - it was semi-feudal and
semi-capitalist. The techniques of production in agriculture remained stagnant.
The colonial government paid no attention to modernisation in this area. (This
aspect needs to be understood when we study permanent settlement or ryotwari or
mahalwadi, and only then we’ll be able to explore linkages of these with
peasant movements)
One basic feature of colonialism is that
under it the colony is integrated into the world
capitalist system in a subordinate position.
capitalist system in a subordinate position.
1. But
this integration is characterized by unequal exchange. The exploitative
international division of labour meant that the metropolis produced goods of
high value with high technology and colonies produced goods of low value and
productivity with low technology. Eg. The colony produced raw materials while
the metropolis produced manufactured goods.
2. The
colony was articulated with the world market but internally disarticulated.
Its agricultural sector did not serve its industry but the metropolitan economy
and the world market. Eg. All cotton
from Egypt was going to Britain for its mills, while there was not a single
mill in Egypt.
3. The
drain of wealth took place through unrequited exports and state
expenditure on armed forces and civil services. (Refer bipin chandra drain of wealth chap)
4. Foreign
political domination
POLITICALLY,
Unlike capitalism, where the surplus is
appropriated on the basis of the ownership of the means of production, under
colonialism surplus is appropriated by virtue of control over state power.
1. The colonial state itself was a major channel of surplus appropriation. The state was actively involved in reproducing conditions for appropriation of capital, including producing goods and services. The metropolitan ruling class used the colonial state to control colonial society.
2. The colonial state guaranteed law and order and its own security from internal and external dangers. Eg. The way Indian army was used to guard Britain’s own interests.
1. The colonial state itself was a major channel of surplus appropriation. The state was actively involved in reproducing conditions for appropriation of capital, including producing goods and services. The metropolitan ruling class used the colonial state to control colonial society.
2. The colonial state guaranteed law and order and its own security from internal and external dangers. Eg. The way Indian army was used to guard Britain’s own interests.
3.It suppressed indigenous economic forces
hostile to colonial interests.
SOCIOLOGICALLY,
1. The colonial state actively fostered the
identities of caste and community so as to prevent national unity.
2. India’s
culture and social organisation were declared unsuitable and decadent. Indian
culture and society were now subjected to sharp criticism. This is also a form
of conquest and subjugation. It is the conquest of the processes by which
people understand themselves, and find their peace.
We shall discuss this in detail with
reference to India in the coming chapters.
APPLICATION
An effort has been made above to explain
briefly the process by which India underwent 200 years of colonial rule, and
what the phenomenon of colonisation actually means for the economy, polity and
society of a country. Now, it becomes important to discuss as to how the above
knowledge may be useful for UPSC mains paper one.
Before
going further, lets look at the kind of questions that can be asked from this
theme. Again remember these are the questions requiring amalgamation of world
history concepts and modern Indian history analysis.
Although
there is no perfect way of answering them, I have attempted to share different
approaches of writing answers here like:
1.
Simple explanation/ definition with an elaborate big
example. (Q1)
2.
Dissecting the question itself and justifying both
sides of it with varied examples in points. (Q2)
3.
Taking a stand in the question and defending it with
examples in points. (the most difficult but powerful)(Q3)
4.
To learn to use similar data and examples in tackling
different kinds of questions asked from the same theme. (Q4)
Q1.
What to you understand by the terms imperialism and colonialism? Do you agree
with the view that the two were the two sides of the same coin, viewed from
different sides? Explain with an example.
Q2.
Imperialism was portrayed as the white man’s burden, which it definitely was
not. In fact it turned out to be poor man’s burden. Do you agree?
Q3.
To what extent, did the expansion of European powers in the late 19th
century help in the modernisation of Africa?
Q4.
To what extent did the British colonial conquest of India help in the
modernisation of India?/ A different way of asking this can be “Examine the
linkages between the simultaneity of the birth of Industrial revolution and the
British empire in India.” Or “Examine the importance of India as a colony in
the expansion of British imperialism.”
Q2.
It were commercial and industrial interests which led to the phenomenon of
establishment of colonies by Europe. Examine.
Q3.
Different European powers followed different colonial designs, but their
ambition remained the same. Discuss.
Simple
explanation/ definition with an elaborate big example.
Q1. What to you
understand by the terms imperialism and colonialism? Do you agree with the view
that the two were the two sides of the same coin, viewed from different sides?
Explain with an example.
Imperialism
means the extension of power or rule by a country over the social, economic and
political life of areas outside its borders. This may be done by establishing
colonies by conquest or other means, and making them dependent via direct (eg
India) or indirect (eg. China) methods.
While
imperialism is the system which prevails in the metropole, colonialism is the
system of domination which prevails in the colonies. It may be thus defined as
the system by which the colony is exploited in different stages for the benefit
of the capitalist class of the metropolis.
In
other words, the same system of capitalism, which produces development in the
metropolis, creates under development in the colony, and the colony gets linked
with the world capitalist system, but in a subservient way. Therefore, the two
can be said to be the two sides of the same coin. From the metropolis side, it
is imperialism from the colony’s side, it is colonialism.
One
can analyse this with the help of the Indian example. The imperial economy of
Britain benefitted immensely from accumulation of resources from colonies which
contributed to the rise of industrial capitalism in Britain. Bipin Chandra
draws our attention to the simultaneity of birth of the Industrial Revolution
and the British Empire in India, which, interestingly, was not merely
coincidental. The conquest of Bengal in 1757 enabled the systematic plunder of
India and the Industrial Revolution took off around 1750. On the other hand,
the colonial economy of India remained neither pre- capitalist, nor capitalist,
but became colonial. Indian agriculture, for example, was not capitalist but it
had many capitalist elements; for example, property relations were capitalist;
land was now a private property which was freely bought and sold on a large
scale. Similarly, railway construction was done in a manner to benefit the
British capitalists.
Even
politically, Political control over India enabled Britain to mobilise its
material and human resources during the two world wars and protect Britain’s
own strategic interests. On the other hand if one looks at the colonial polity,
laws made in India were not to benefit India, but to protect commercial
interests of the British capitalist class.
Similarly,
sociologically, knowledge was used as a form of subjugation to benefit the
imperial country ( education policy designed to help in colonial administration
and to produce babus with British tastes who would in turn serve as a market
for british products) and exploit the colonial country (no education for
masses, no science and technology related education, condemnation of indigenous
culture).
Dissecting
the question itself and justifying both sides of it with varied examples in
points.
Q2. Imperialism
was portrayed as the white man’s burden, which it definitely was not. In fact
it turned out to be poor man’s burden. Do you agree?
Imperialism
means the extension of power or rule by a country over the social, economic and
political life of areas outside its borders. This may be done by establishing
colonies by conquest or other means, and making them dependent via direct (eg
India) or indirect (eg. China) methods. The phenomenon became a hallmark of
European expansion from 1492 to 1950s.
Having
advanced itself in scientific revolution, modern state and bureaucracy, and
later on in the industrial revolution, European countries used all of these to
control, dominate and exploit the non- European world, and portrayed this
domination as’white man;s burden’ to justify it ideologically. (here, I have
dissected the question itself, and explained it with examples)
WHAT
THEY PORTRAYED- ‘White man’s burden’
The
term ‘white man’s burden’ used by Rudyard Kipling in his poems was used
frequently to portray the following:
1.
Racial
superiority of the whites over other races and the concept of ‘social darwinism’.
Eg. The Illbert bill controversy.
2.
Europe
as ‘dynamic’ due to achievements in modern state, science and industry; and the
rest of the world as incapable of change to which now Europe wished to breathe
new life. Eg. The arguments like in future the ‘orientals could study their own
languages, histories and cultures ‘scientifically’ only in the western centres
of learning, reflected in the famous Macaulay minute.
3.
Europe’s
responsibility to ‘modernise these countries by transplanting capitalist
relations and restricting the role of ‘feudal tradition’.
WHAT IT WAS IN
REALITY: POOR MAN’S BURDEN
In reality all of
this was due to demand for cheap tropical raw material, cheap labour to work in
factories and plantations, control over bigger markets and for glory and
prestige in an age of nationalism.
For all the above
reasons, this phenomenon led to:
1.
De-
industrialisation in the colonial countries like India, where thousands who were
employed in spinning and weaving were thrown out of work into poverty.
2.
High
land revenue, changed land relations and skewed cropping patterns towards
commercial crops led farmers into poverty and famine.
3.
Continuous
drain of wealth in various forms from India to Britain led to impoverishing
India.
4.
In
fact, even in the metropole, the poor remained in bad conditions. In words of
late Bipin Chandra, the slogan “the sun never sets on the British empire was
used to generate pride among British workers, on whose shovels the sun seldom
shone in real life”
Thus, in reality,
it were the poor who were shouldering the burden, whether it was the “civilising
mission of the French”, “sun never sets on the British empire of the British”
or the pan- Asianism of Japan.
Taking
a stand in the question and defending it with examples in points.
Q3. To what extent,
did the expansion of European powers in the late 19th century help
in the modernisation of Africa?
Both
colonial rulers and later day apologists presented colonial rule in Africa as a
blessing, however an objective analysis reveals a different picture.
It
may be true that modern infrastructure (railways, suez canal etc), capitalist
relations in agriculture, health and education development may not have reached
Africa without colonial rule.
However
the negative impacts were huge, in all spheres and long lasting. Hence this
modernisation was a pseudo – modernisation. (here I have chosen to take a stand
and justify it with examples)
SOME
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.
The
very manner in which this continent of 28 square kilometre was partitioned and
occupied via treaties and conquest reveals that the primary motive was never
and couldn’t be ever modernisation.
2.
Colonial
powers destroyed the self- sufficient African economies, and transformed them
into single- crop economies. Eg. How the British converted Egypt into a
supplier of cotton for the former’s textile industry; while there was not a
single mill in this land of cotton! Similar was the case of Ghana(cocoa),
Nigeria (oil) and Zaire (copper).
3.
As
regards, creation of modern infrastructure like railways, Suez canal etc is
concerned, yes modern infrastructure was created but the way Egypt was enmeshed
in loans for a project like suez canal in which she herself had no benefit at
that point of time reeals the nature of this modernisation.
4.
Colonial
powers harnessed Africa’s resources (natural, manpower and economic) not to
lead to Africa’s development, bot for the development of the mother country
leading to under- development in Africa. Eg.
-
Natural:
Iron ore and phosphorate of Algeria by France
-
Manpower:
Slaves to work in plantations
-
Economic:
How during the first world war, crops of Egypt were seized by British army and
British treasury took over the gold reserves of National bank of Egypt
5.
Superimposition
of artificial territorial boundaries in a n essentially tribal society led to
ethnic conflicts which have till today paralysed many ccountries of Africa.
6.
Cold
war politics and present problems.
To
learn to use similar data and examples in tackling different kinds of questions
asked from the same theme.
Q4. To what extent
did the British colonial conquest of India help in the modernisation of India?/
A different way of asking this can be “Examine the linkages between the
simultaneity of the birth of Industrial revolution and the British empire in
India.” Or “Examine the importance of India as a colony in the expansion of
British imperialism.”
Late
historian Bipin Chandra had drawn our attention to the simultaneity of the
birth o and of Industrial revolution in Britain and the British empire in
India. (If you know from where the statement in the question had been picked
up, there can be no better start that quoting the person). The conquest of
Bengal in 1757 enabled the systematic plunder of India, and the Industrial revolution
took off around 1750. It is important to understand how this systematic plunder
led to the accumulation of capital which helped the Industrial revolution in
Britain to take off. Not just the take off but India also played an important
role in sustaining it.
ECONOMICALLY,
1.
British
industries, especially textiles were dependent on exports heavily, and India
absorbed a good percentage of British exports.
2.
India
acted as a provider of raw material and export surplus with other countries.
Eg. How opium from India was sold in China, enabling the triangular trade with
China, thus beginning the indirect imperialist exploitation of China.
3.
India
helped in the growth of heavy industries in Britain. Eg. Backward linkage
effect of railway construction in India(to be discussed in chapters ahead).
Another example is of British shipping, which grew leaps and bounds on the back
of its control over India’s coastal and international trade.
4.
India
acted as a financer of British BoP deficit. Eg. The home charges and interest
payments on Indian public debt were used for financing Britain’s BoP deficit.
5.
India
strengthened Britain’s position as an International financial centre. EG. India’s
trade surplus with the rest of the world and her trade deficit with England
allowed England to square her international settlements on current account.
Also India’s monetary reserves helped England.
STRATEGICALLY,
1.
Indian
army was the only large scale army contingent available to Britain.
2.
India’s
location at the head of the Indian ocean was astrategic one.
POLITICALLY,
Back at home,
British ruling classes were able to keep their political power intact even when
it was being riven with class conflict using the pride and glory underlying the
slogan “sun never sets on the British empire” to keep workers contented.
This
similar data needs to be used in different manners to answer above questions.
Hope
it was helpful. Best wishes.