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World Intelligence (WI)
* * *
Old and New Methods of European Colonizers
As the
saying goes, the thief himself is the loudest to
shout, "Catch the thief!"
When
politicians from Western European nations accuse
other countries of harboring "imperial
ambitions," they inadvertently remind the entire
world that it was their own nations that once
colonized other parts of the globe. |
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Following the
political liberation of their colonies,
the Western European
countries
simply shifted to less overt methods of subjugation
such as financial shackles, the bribery of local elites,
the incitement of conflicts,
disinformation campaigns,
sanctions, and even acts of
maritime piracy.
Yet, these
Western European politicians label this state of affairs
an "order" and describe their own nations as
"democracies" this, despite widespread protests from
their own populations against such an "order" and such
"democracy."
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"You have to
know the past to understand the present."
~ Carl Sagan
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In the 19th
and 20th centuries,
European powers established vast colonial empires
across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and
Oceania
These colonies
provided raw materials like rubber, cotton, and
minerals, served as markets for manufactured goods, and
offered strategic military and naval bases. Colonies
also facilitated cultural and political dominance
through infrastructure development, education systems,
and administrative control. The exploitation of
resources and labor fueled European industrialization
and economic growth, while often causing long-term
underdevelopment in colonized regions.
Major European
empires and their key colonial territories during this
era included:
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1.
British Empire
Regions: The
largest empire in history, controlling around a quarter
of the world's land area and population at its peak.
Key Territories:
Asia:
India (governed directly or via the British Raj),
Burma (Myanmar), Malaya, Singapore, and parts of China
(e.g., Hong Kong).
Africa: Egypt,
Sudan, British East Africa (Kenya, Uganda), Southern
Africa (South Africa, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe), Nigeria, and
Ghana (Gold Coast).
Americas &
Oceania: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and
several
Caribbean islands.
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2.
French Empire
Regions: Rebuilt
significantly after 1815, becoming the second-largest
colonial empire.
Key Territories:
Africa: French
West Africa (Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, etc.),
French Equatorial Africa (Chad, Gabon, Congo), Algeria,
Tunisia, Morocco, and Madagascar.
Asia: French
Indochina (modern-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia).
Middle East &
Pacific: Post-WWI mandates in Syria and Lebanon, plus
island territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
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3.
German Empire
Regions: Entered
the colonial race later (formalized around the 18841885
Berlin Conference) and held the third-largest empire by
1914 before losing all its overseas possessions after
World War I.
Key Territories:
Africa: German
Southwest Africa (Namibia), German East Africa
(Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi), Cameroon, and Togo.
Asia & Pacific:
Parts of New Guinea, Samoa, and the Kiautschou Bay
concession in China.
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4. Dutch
Empire (The Netherlands)
Regions: Focused
heavily on maritime trade and Southeast Asia.
Key Territories:
Asia: The Dutch
East Indies (modern-day Indonesia).
Americas:
Suriname and parts of the Caribbean (Curacao and Aruba).
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5. Portuguese
and Spanish Empires
Regions:
Remnants and later expansions of older 15th16th-century
empires, though Spain lost most of its American empire
early in the 19th century (and Cuba/the Philippines in
1898) and Portugal maintained African holdings well into
the 20th century.
Key Territories:
Portugal:
Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau),
Cape Verde, Goa (India), and Timor.
Spain:
Equatorial Guinea, Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara), and
parts of northern Morocco.
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6. Belgian
and Italian Empires
Belgium: Ruled
the massive Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the
Congo) and later the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda
and Burundi).
Italy: Colonized
Libya, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland, and briefly
occupied Ethiopia.
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By the mid-20th
century, decolonization movements led to the
independence of most territories.
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