Page 11 - Colonization and Decolonization: A Manual for Indigenous Liberation in the 21st Century

That same year, the Metis and Cree in southern Manitoba rebelled against .British Canadian authorities (led by Louis Riel and Poundmaker). The British were able to use the destruction of the buffalo herds to impose control on the plains nations in Canada, forcing them to sign treaties and live on reserves.
At the same time as these military campaigns were being carried out, diseases continued to have a devastating impact on Indigenous populations. At times, the intentional use of biological warfare was also used to destroy Indigenous resistance.
By ·1890, Indigenous peoples in both Canada and the US were militarily defeated. That year, nearly 300 unarmed men, women and children were massacred by the US Cavalry at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. At this time, the systematic assimilation of the surviving populations began; with Indigenous peoples relocated to reserves and generations of children forced into residential schools, where they were indoctrinated with European culture & ideology, language, religion, etc. Many suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse, while tens of thousands would die from diseases such as tuberculosis & influenza.
Africa, Asia, and the Middle-East
Although the Portuguese had begun trading and raiding along the African coasts in the mid-1400s, European
colonialism on the continent remained limited for several centuries.' The first attempts by Portuguese forces to invade were
met with strong resistance and deadly African diseases. The main concerns for Europeans 'were economic trade and
securing slaves for the colonization o f the Americas. In North Africa, Europeans were limited by the presence o f large and
th-12th
equally powerful Islamic civilizations, Despite the crusades of the 10 centuries, Europe was unable to invade and
conquer these empires.
Until the mid-1800s, most of the African interior remained unmapped and unknown. It was referred to as the
'Dark Continent', a land of black 'savages' and deadly diseases. At this time, new antibiotics were developed and more European explorers began to penetrate beyond the coastlines into the heart ofAfrica. Here they encountered nations already depopulated and weakened after centuries of the slave trade. Europeans were also armed with far more deadlier firearms, cannons,etc. Asaresult,anewphaseofEuropeancolonialismbegan. AsintheAmericas,millionsofIndigenousAfrikans were killed and enslaved, while European nations looted and plundered the natural resources.
By this time, colonization -in both North America and Africa were at similar stages. In 1876, the Lakota, led by
th
Crazy Horse and others, destroyed Custer and the 7 Cavalry. In 1879, Zulu warriors completely destroyed British forces at
the Battle of Isandhlwana. Likewise, by the 1890s, machine guns were used to massacre men, women & children, both in N. America and the African Congo.
in the 1920s, as a result of World War 1, the Ottoman Empire was weakened. This empire held together the Arab Islamic civilizations of the Middle-East. During the war, the Ottoman rulers had sided with Germany. Following their defeat, the Mid-East was divided up between the Western powers, especially Britain and France. They took control of countries such as Iraq, Iran, etc., as well as their oil and gas resources.
In Asia, Spanish and Portuguese forces had conducted extensive recon missions during the 1400s, establishing trade with the Chinese and other Asian empires. Here again, in the face of an equally powerful civilization, the Europeans were unable to simply invade and occupy (with the exception of islands such as the Philippines, invaded in 1565 by the
th th
Spanish). While Europeans were able to take control of international trade in Asia during the 16 & 17 centuries, it was
not until the mid-1800s that many Asian nations came to be controlled by Europeans (primarily the French & British, including India, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, etc.).
8