Colonization Essay

Paige T.
World History
Colonization Essay
2/13/18
Negative Effects of European Colonization
European Colonization or Colonialism is when different countries from
Europe came to different parts of the world and took over. This happened in many different periods of time, from about the 1400s to the 1800s. The first period was 1400-1700. This was mainly caused by the Europeans wanting new resources from these different areas of the world. They established trade routes to gain these new products. The second part was in the 1800s, focused on the Europeans wanting more raw materials from these areas of the world. I think that European colonialism was more negative than positive. The Europeans took away and forced many things on different countries. They treated the people awfully in these countries.

One reason that colonization was bad was because the Europeans
brought things to these areas that had many negative effects on the people of these countries, specifically diseases and drugs. For example, many different diseases were brought to areas of the world by the Europeans. These were particularly brought to Mexico, the Caribbean area, and Australia. The diseases that were brought caused the native people and even some Europeans to be sick and die. Some of the specific diseases brought to North America included chicken pox, bubonic plague, cholera, influenza, measles, and many more. Obviously, this is not good for anyone, and it is one of the reasons that colonization was very negative. Another reason is that the Europeans brought a drug called opium to China. This caused many addictions and sicknesses in the Chinese people that were there originally. PBS states that the Chinese thought that opium was awful and barbaric, but they were forced to do it anyway because of the Europeans.

Another reason that colonialism was bad is that they caused many problems in the native people of the countries, specifically slave trade. In Japan and Western Africa, slave trade was one of the many negative effects of colonization. The people of the countries were traded between European countries as slaves, for very little money. They had little to no say in what was going on. Another example is the Taino Indians in the Caribbean area. When the Europeans came into their country, they were taken over and wiped out, like they never existed. They were forgotten because other people took over their country.

Another reason that colonialism was mostly bad is because of how they treated the people and land of the country they took over. One example is how the Europeans disrupted the lifestyle of the people living in the country that they took over. This happened in mainly Australia, but it was a problem all over the place as a result of their colonization. They didn’t care about how the people felt about their land or culture, but they immediately took over it and didn’t look back. They came into the land and almost pretended that the people who’d been there longer didn’t even really exist. The Europeans forced their culture and society on the people who lived there and didn’t think about what the other people could’ve possibly wanted. Things like this also happened in India. When they were taken over by Europe, they were treated like 2nd class citizens in their own country. They were given little to no opinion on what they could do or what would happen to their country. These invaders also created a lot of tension between Muslims and Hindus. This could’ve potentially led to war and battle in India.

While there were many negative effects of colonization, we cannot ignore some of the positive effects that it had. There were many new ideas and technologies that came out of colonization. For instance, in India, roads, harbors, and a telegraph system came from the European colonialism. This highly advanced the society of the times, and India became more powerful as a country. There were also new opportunities that opened up in countries that the Europeans colonized. This mainly happened in Eastern Africa, but effects of this were seen all over the world. New jobs opened up, creating work and the possibility of money for many people. Society and culture was also more protected by the Army and the Navy. This resulted in many countries in Eastern Africa becoming more of a presence in the world. The last example of positive effects of colonization is the spread of Christianity. Even though it was forced on people, religion was a major outcome of colonialism and is one of the reasons why Christianity is so popular today.

In conclusion, European colonization of countries across the world had more negative effects than positive. Some of these negative effects included diseases, treating people badly, forcing things on them, and disrupting the lifestyle and culture of the country. Although there were many negative effects, there were many positive, which included new technologies, the spread of Christianity, and opening up of new opportunities.

Sources:
Class presentations
http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/325
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heroin/etc/history.html

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