Page 6 - Colonization and Decolonization: A Manual for Indigenous Liberation in the 21st Century

1. HISTORY OF COLONIALISM
Colonialism is neither new nor limited to any specific historical period (Le., the 'colonial period' ofthe 15th to 19th centuries). Ancient civilizations were the first to begin colonizing other lands & people. When their populations became too large, and as resources became depleted, colonists were sent out to occupy and settle new lands. When these lands were already occupied, military campaigns were carried out to gain control.
When nations & territories were conquered, the survivors were enslaved and forced to provide resources, including human labour, food, metals, wood, spices, etc. The invaders then imposed their own forms of governance, laws, religion, and education. Over time, these populations became assimilated into the culture & society o f their oppressors.
Early Egyptian Colonialism
" In ancient Egypt (around 1,500 BC, or 3,500 years ago), all the methods of colonialism were already being practiced. An African scholar, Cheikh Anta Diop, described these methods:
"In some towns, as in Jaffa, the conquered princes were purely & simply replaced by Egyptian generals... Egyptian garrisons were stationed at strategic points, important towns and ports..; 1,400 years before Rome, Egypt created the first centralized empire in the world.
"The children of vassal [conquered] princes were taken as 'hostages' & educated in Egyptian style, at the court of the Egyptian emperor, in order to teach them Egyptian manners and tastes and to assimilate them to Pharoanic culture and civilization...
"The Pharoah [emperor] could at any moment require money, chariots, horses, compulsory war service; the vassal was constantly under the orders of the Egyptian generals... The vassals enjoyed only internal autonomy.in fact they had lost their international sovereignty; they could not directly deal with foreign lands"
(Cheikh Anta Diop, Civilization or Barbarism, p. 85-86).
Eu"ropean Colonization .
When looking at the world today, 'we can see that this process still continues, sometimes referred to as
imperialism, globalization,or even 'peacekeeping' and 'humanitarian' missions. Whatever term is used, the principles ofinvasion, occupation and exploitation remain the saine.
Today, the European states & their settler nations dominate the global system. How did this come to be? Why is it that Western Civilization is now the primary economic, political and military power in the world? The a~swer to these questions can be found in the history o f civilization.
Early civilizations concentrated vast amounts of human and material resources under the control of a central authority. This authority was usually in the form of kings and priests, who based their right to rule on spiritual or religious tradition. They controlled all governance, economic trade, law & order, education, etc. Through religion, mind control was imposed over citizens, which created a culture of obedience, slavery, and war (just as we see today).
The first civilizations were established in northern Africa and Mesopotamia (the Middle-East), comprised ofthe Egyptians, Sumerians, and Babylonians. Other civilizations also began in India, Asia, and the Americas, but those in Egypt and the Mid-East had a direct influence on Europe. ,
The Greeks were the main transmitters of civilized culture into Europe, based on both Egyptian and Mid-East models. The Greeks, southernmost in all of Europe, were strategically located to serve just such a role. Prior to this, southern Europe was inhabited by tribal peoples. While Egyptians built massive pyramids and cities, had a written language, advanced science and.astronomy, etc., Europeans were still hunting & gathering.
This history tells us that colonization results from a. society's culture, not its racial or biological background. This culture, based on expansion, control, and exploitation, arises from civilization. Despite this, it is the European system that now dominates the world, the result of history, geography, and the exchange of culture & technology that occurred throughout the Mediterranean. \
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