1. Objective: Analyze the perspectives of the colonizers and the colonized concerning: A) A) Indigenous Language B) B) Natural Resources C) C) Labor D) D) Political Systems E) E) Religion

3.  Imperialist powers gave a little thought to the rights of the people whose lands they took over.  A feeling of superiority and entitlement kept these nations from even considering whether the people had a right to own and govern their own land.  Imperialist nations ruled their colonies in a way that was most profitable and productive for them, not for the good of the people.

4.  The native people’s perspective on how to run their lives and societies was very different from that of the people who colonized them.  This often caused conflict between the two groups.  Colonizers attempted to force their political structures and cultural values, including religion and language, on the colonized.

5.  For example, when European powers established colonies in Africa they drew boundaries that separated their colonies from those of other European colonizers.  The new boundaries did not follow the people’s traditional political boundaries.  Not only were native groups of different cultures forced together in a single colony, they were forced to assimilate, or conform, to the culture of their European conquerors.

6. Example of Assimilation-Joke

8.  Western nations used a number of means to force indigenous peoples to give up their cultures.  Imposing their Western languages on African people is a major example.  In order to participate in the economy or deal with the colonial government, the people had to learn the language of the European power that ruled them.

9.  In government run-schools, teachers spoke the language of the colonizer, not the language of the pupils.  Legal documents were written in the language of the colonizer.  In some colonies, the colonizers taught that economic and social success could be achieved only by learning the new language.

10.  For instance, France believed colonized peoples should “aspire to be French,” and offered its best African students the opportunity to study at universities in France.  In general, the perspective of the colonizers prevailed.  Today, major languages spoken on the African continent include French, English, and Portuguese.

13.  Colonizers and the colonized had different viewpoints about natural resources as well.  To the colonizers, colonies were sources of cheap raw materials.  They felt justified in helping themselves.  They believed that manufactured goods improved the lives of indigenous peoples, but they did not want the colonies to industrialize.

15.  They were afraid that if the colonized people acquired factories and began to manufacture goods, they would use the natural resources that the colonizers felt belonged to them.  They also feared that the colonized people would complete with them on the world market.  As a result, imperialist nations made sure that their colonies’ raw materials were exported to the home country for use in its factories.

17.  Although the land and resources rightfully belonged to the colonized, they received no money for them.  The colonizers paid their workers as little as possible to work on farms and in mines.  The profits from development and mining went to the investors and manufacturers in the colonizing nation.

18.  From the perspective of the colonized, the Western development of colonial resources was theft.  In addition, lumbering and mining these resources often damaged the environment of the colony.

19. Premier Diamond Mine in South Africa

21.  Local economies changed dramatically under colonial rule.  Before colonization, many groups had economic systems based on agriculture.  People worked for themselves and farmed small plots of land or herded cattle, sheep, or goats.

23.  Once a European nation or the United States seized control, the labor force was transformed from self-employed people to hired laborers working for foreign companies.  The colonizers seized local lands from farmers to create huge plantations and then forced the farmers to work on them.  People who were once subsistence farmers began harvesting cash crops, such as cotton, cocoa, rubber, sugar, tea, and coffee, for foreign owners.

25.  Worker’s livelihoods depended on decisions made by colonial businesses and governments.  At times, workers rebelled against their colonial overseers, but they were always unsuccessful.

27.  Imperial powers found a variety of political systems in the lands they conquered.  Some societies had strong central governments.  Others were decentralized, that is, they were local political units ruled by chiefs or leaders.  Some communities were ruled by consensus- there was no specific ruler who made political decisions.

28.  Once in power, imperialist nations imposed their own systems.  They ruled colonies in one of two ways: 1)indirect rule or 2) direct rule.  In indirect rule, a nation ruled a colony through established local leaders.  Indirect rule was considered good because it was cost-effective (inexpensive).  The colonial power did not have to hire a great number of government officials to rule a new colony.

29.  Indirect rulers had no real power, however, they were subordinate to the colonial power.  This was the government system that Great Britain generally used.

31.  Under direct rule, the colonial power ousted the indigenous leaders and installed European officials to manage the colonial government.  France preferred this system.  Either way, indigenous people were expected to accept the political system imposed by the colonizers.  Native traditions and institutions were replaced by foreign models.

33.  Religion was also a source of tension between colonizers and the colonized.  Christian missionaries often accompanied colonial rulers.  In many places, missionaries set up schools and hospitals as well as churches.

34.  Unfortunately, their attempts to help people were hindered by the belief that the people they wanted to benefit belonged to an inferior race.  Missionaries believed they had a duty to “civilize” colonial peoples by converting them to Christianity.  In many areas, the people’s resistance to conversion led to friction and even violence.

35. This is an illustration depicting David Livingstone, one of the great early explorers of Africa, surrounded by natives of Africa.