COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM
Difference between Colonialism and Imperialism Colonialism is part of Imperialism and Imperialism is a natural extension of Colonialism in the age of Industrial revolution. Imperialism has the basic feature of political acquisition of a foreign territory. Thus according to some authors, Militarism (which implies invasion of a territory for its annexation) is a must for Imperialism or is a form of Imperialism (because political acquisition can happen without vanquishing or invading a territory but by using it as a threat). In contrast, Colonialism implies domination of people’s life and culture.
The main goal of colonialism is extraction of economic benefits from the colony while Imperialism includes political control. Thus, colonialism may be done by companies who secure special trading privileges and setup trading posts , while Imperialism is done by the state through government diplomacy to acquire territories, protectorates and spheres of influence and to promote industrial trade and investments. Colonialism results in control over life of natives in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. It is more subtle whereas Imperialism is more formal and aggressive.
Some books like n.c.e.r.t.--- the term Imperialism as distinct from Colonialism. While the nomenclature followed by other authors treat Colonialism equivalent to Imperialism, what the N.C.E.R.T. refers to as Imperialism is called New Imperialism or Neo-Imperialism. The basic dividing line is the era of Industrial Revolution. The events after the Industrial Revolution in the colonial empire building are termed as New Imperialism.
Now what was new? The New in this NewImperialism, which started after the Industrial Revolution in Europe was the race component. There was also an increase in the degree of every aspect of the Colonial actions. Race signified the economic competition between the European powers to get hands on to as many colonies as possible. It was a race for raw material sources and export markets, both of which would be provided for by the colonies. It was also a race for securing sea-lanes of commerce by either colonizing the ports of call or signing treaties with other nations to provide safe harbors to the merchant vessels. The race component also included a race for naval supremacy and build up of land based military forces.
But why this race phenomenon did not occur in as explicit a form before? The answer lies in important factors like Industrial Revolution, which spread to the rest of Europe, USA and Japan in 19th century; the rise of Nationalism which fueled the national rivalries for quest of economic and military supremacy; and also the decreased geographical space. The last factor is interesting and had important bearing for the world peace. Earlier there was enough territorial space for the European powers to colonize but in the 19th century, except for the interior lands of Africa, nearly the whole world had come under influence of one powerful nation or the other.
Thus, now the major powers of the world could only grow at expense of one another. There was brute competition to protect whatever colonies one nation had, and at the same time try to displace the rival colonial power from the other colonies. Here came in the factor of degree. The colonial powers in the New Imperialism had to use greater force to protect their colonial assets and secure own frontiers. This made political control in the colonies much more imperative to ensure an economic control. To secure political control, military was required and thus a peculiar feature of the New Imperialism was the rise of State power. Trading companies like the East India Company were slowly replaced by the their governments.
The main goal of colonialism is extraction of economic benefits from the colony while Imperialism includes political control. Thus, colonialism may be done by companies who secure special trading privileges and setup trading posts , while Imperialism is done by the state through government diplomacy to acquire territories, protectorates and spheres of influence and to promote industrial trade and investments. Colonialism results in control over life of natives in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. It is more subtle whereas Imperialism is more formal and aggressive.
Some books like n.c.e.r.t.--- the term Imperialism as distinct from Colonialism. While the nomenclature followed by other authors treat Colonialism equivalent to Imperialism, what the N.C.E.R.T. refers to as Imperialism is called New Imperialism or Neo-Imperialism. The basic dividing line is the era of Industrial Revolution. The events after the Industrial Revolution in the colonial empire building are termed as New Imperialism.
Now what was new? The New in this NewImperialism, which started after the Industrial Revolution in Europe was the race component. There was also an increase in the degree of every aspect of the Colonial actions. Race signified the economic competition between the European powers to get hands on to as many colonies as possible. It was a race for raw material sources and export markets, both of which would be provided for by the colonies. It was also a race for securing sea-lanes of commerce by either colonizing the ports of call or signing treaties with other nations to provide safe harbors to the merchant vessels. The race component also included a race for naval supremacy and build up of land based military forces.
But why this race phenomenon did not occur in as explicit a form before? The answer lies in important factors like Industrial Revolution, which spread to the rest of Europe, USA and Japan in 19th century; the rise of Nationalism which fueled the national rivalries for quest of economic and military supremacy; and also the decreased geographical space. The last factor is interesting and had important bearing for the world peace. Earlier there was enough territorial space for the European powers to colonize but in the 19th century, except for the interior lands of Africa, nearly the whole world had come under influence of one powerful nation or the other.
Thus, now the major powers of the world could only grow at expense of one another. There was brute competition to protect whatever colonies one nation had, and at the same time try to displace the rival colonial power from the other colonies. Here came in the factor of degree. The colonial powers in the New Imperialism had to use greater force to protect their colonial assets and secure own frontiers. This made political control in the colonies much more imperative to ensure an economic control. To secure political control, military was required and thus a peculiar feature of the New Imperialism was the rise of State power. Trading companies like the East India Company were slowly replaced by the their governments.
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