HS 201 World Civilizations and Cultures

Module D – Modern World

Establishment of
European Colonies
Background

• Colonialism is a political and economic

movement, mostly by the European nations,
in particular, Western European nations like
Britain, Portugal, Spain, France, Denmark and
the Netherlands

• These nations were engaged in the intense

exploration, conquests, settlements and
exploitation of vast areas, including complete
countries, for their economic benefits.

• The age of colonialism almost began with the

discoveries of sea routes to Asia around
Africa (1488) and the New World (1492) (North
and South America)

• Colonization began by occupying new

territories spreading their religion and culture
into new regions.
Colonialism

• As per the Oxford Dictionary, Colonialism comes

from the Roman word ‘colonia’, meaning ‘farm’
or ‘settlement’, referring to Romans settling in
other areas but retaining their citizenship.

“settlement in a new country…a body of

people who settle in a new locality, forming a
community subject to or connected with their
parent state; the community so formed,
consisting of the original settlers and their
descendants and successors, as long as the
connection with the parent state is
maintained.”

• Colonialism can also be defined as the conquest

and control of other people’s lands and goods.

• Colonialism broadly refers to the European

expansion from the 16th c. CE onwards
Colonialism

• However, earlier examples are also available:

Romans during the 2nd c. CE extended their territory
from Armenia to the Atlantic

• Chengiz Khan in 13th c. CE held a territory far larger

than Alexander and China.

• Aztecs (14th – 16th c. CE) and Incas (15th – 16th c. CE)

are other examples of the pre-industrialist era.

• Indian rulers' control over southeast Asia can be

cited as other examples (11th – 13th c. CE)

• Modern European colonialism can also relate to

earlier contacts and expansions: Crusades, Moorish
invasion of Spain, Mongols and European contacts
with Kublai Khan, Incas, Mughals and others.

• Modern European colonialism ushered into new

colonial practices which altered the globe.
Colonialism

• Modern colonialism not only extracted tributes and

fleeced the wealth of its colonies but also changed the
economic structure entirely of the occupied regions.

• A complex relationship developed between the colonizer

and the colonized

• There was the flow of people and natural resources

between colonized and colonial countries

• The flow of natural resources happened in two

directions

• The natural resources and raw materials from the

colonized regions reached the manufacturing centre,
often located in the colonial countries

• The colonized countries often served as a market for the

manufactured goods that were dumped, thereby
depleting the natural resources, ending the local
manufacture
Colonialism

• Slaves were moved from Africa to America and

West Indian countries to work in the sugarcane
plantations; finished products like sugar reached
Europe for consumption.

• Similarly, cotton was taken from India for the

manufacture of cloth in Britain and sold back to
India, thereby completely depleting the cloth
manufacture in India.

• The profit accumulation always benefitted the so-

called ‘mother country.’

• Flows of profits and people as it is termed:

• Settlements and plantations in the Americas
• Trade in India
• Induced enormous global shifts in population
Colonialism

• Both the colonized and colonizer moved:

• Colonised moved as slaves and indentured
labourers, domestic servants, travellers and traders
• Colonial masters as administrators, soldiers,
merchants, settlers, travellers, writers, domestic
staff, missionaries, teachers, and scientists

• European colonialism penetrated deep into the society

of colonized, superficial contact with others, producing
an economic imbalance that only benefitted European
capitalism and industry.

• It is often said that without colonialism and expansion,

the transition to capitalism would not have taken place
in Europe.

• Colonialism can be taking over of territory,

appropriation of material resources, exploitation of
labour and interference with political and cultural
structures of another country or territory
Colonialism Vs Imperialism

• Two broad categories of imperialism, political and

economic

• Political Imperialism: political system in which the

Imperial centre governs the colonised countries, then
granting independence ends the empire and collapse
of imperialism

• Economic Imperialism: Economic system of

penetration and control of markets, not affected by the
political systems or taking over territories

• E.g., American Imperialism, which wields enormous

military and economic power across the world without
taking political control or regions

• Another term in circulation is ‘postcolonial’, which in

simpler terms can be put as the colonial period is over,
and as the once colonized people live everywhere, the
world is postcolonial
Colonialism

• By the 1930s, colonialism exercised control over

84.6% of the land surface across the globe.

• It was not a monolithic operation all the while; it

adopted diverse strategies and methods of
control during various time periods.

• Maintained a method of inequity and domination

to gain control all over

• Us vs. others used to be the motto through which

gradual subjugation and control of resources
could be gained, again to suit the interests of the
colonial masters

• Scholars also caution against the notion of

bringing back the past glory, or ‘nativism’ or the
pristine cultures that pre-existed before the
arrival of colonialism
Setting the stage

• Discovery of new sea routes, Asia and New World

• Crusades opened a new communication network with

the West Asia

• Competition to control the trade networks, European

countries had to settle with the Arab domination and
could not venture beyond the Mediterranean coasts

• Venice and Genoa, dominant in this trade, controlled

most of the trade up to the 16th c. CE; most important
imports being spices like pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg,
cloves

• Overland routes, even though existent, were not

beneficial, that too after the conquests of Mongols and
later turmoil

• Technological improvements in shipbuilding (heavier

ships, 3-mast, slightly rounder); navigational implements
(compass, astrolabe, maps) aided explorations Portuguese map of Asia, 17th c. CE
Portuguese Expansion

• After the discovery of the Americas by

Christopher Columbus, Spain and Portugal,
after some initial skirmishes, entered a
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

• Partition of the non-Christian world by an

imaginary line on the Atlantic, 1300 miles
west of Cape Verde islands; east of line for
Portuguese and west for the Spanish

• Portuguese rule in India, Brazil, and even the

Papal sanction of 1514, forbidding others not
to interfere in Portuguese possession,
remained dominant for nearly a century
without any rival.

• Superior ships, gunnery, and seamanship

scuttled some minor oppositions in the new
territories with much ease.
Portuguese Expansion

• Not a political empire but mainly to facilitate trade

by establishing ports and trade centres

• Two prominent viceroys, Francisco de Almeida

(1505-09) and Afonso de Albuquerque (1509-15)

• Almeida captured East African and Indian ports

and defeated a combined Muslim naval expedition
near Diu.

• Albuquerque seized all control points to dominate

the spice trade from India through the Cape of
Good Hope and captured Goa in 1510, also later
Malacca and Hormuz.

• Own army in limited numbers entered alliances

with the native rulers and engaged locals in the
army, later followed by the French and British.

• Lacked superior warships to gain control of the

entire Indian Ocean region
Portuguese Expansion

• Conflict between the Arabs and Portuguese to gain control

of the trade; Arabs were dominant before the Portuguese
arrived, and slowly, they gained control

• Slowly ventured into the Southeast Asian region, in

modern Thailand and China, initially facing difficulty to
trade with China due to exclusionist policy, later got
Macau in lease (1557), for 300 years trade flourished with
China through Macau.

• Reached Japan in 1542, again faced exclusionist policy

• Portuguese could not gain complete control due to the

exploitation by the individuals, be they soldiers, seamen,
or viceroys, who benefitted themselves by depriving the
royal treasury

• The lack of a true monopoly also deprived the Portuguese

a poor distribution network from Lisbon

• Could not match the superiority of Italian-German trade

networks; Italians gained much through trade
Portuguese Expansion in Africa

• Portuguese reached Africa in search of gold, on the

coast of Sierra Leone on the West African part in 1460

• The West African coast was explored from 1460 to the

1600s

• Main items of trade included gold, ivory and pepper;

however, many slaves were also exported to Europe and
the Americas, numbering around 170,000 from Guinea,
Congo and Angola

• The Portuguese found African cities and towns as equal

to those of Europe, ruled and governed by dynasties,
organized their trade and commerce around artistic
guilds, well-managed agricultural systems

• The African cities were also well-organized, hygienic

• Mozambique was colonized in the 16th c. CE and was

under Portuguese control until 1974

• The abolishment of the slave trade in 1869 ended the

interest of the Portuguese in most of the African regions
Portuguese Expansion

• Portuguese paid less attention to Brazil after the treaty

of Tordesillas

• Considered the new territory as useless simply as a

way station

• The productions from this area are also considered of

not much importance (Brazilian dyewood) in
comparison to the spice markets of India

• The littoral territory was divided into provinces named

capitania and only in 1549 could they appoint a
Governor General station at Bahia (~Salvador, Brazil)

• The conquest of Portugal in 1580 by Spain slowly

altered the scenario, and slowly, the properties and
areas occupied by them were encroached upon

• Portuguese also had to face stiff opposition from its

eastern region, and had to concede defeat, and later
gained independence in 1640 CE
Spanish Supremacy

• The discoveries of the New World started to slowly

influence the Spanish, even though they did not realise
their true potential.

• Occupied the larger islands of the West Indies by 1512;

however, avoided the smaller ones

• Considered the island unworthy of treasures and

resources, locals also naked and died in contact with
Europeans.

• In 1513, they reached the Isthmus of Panama, and

Balboa marched to the Pacific; they came across
fables of the wealth of the Incas.

• Davila, who succeeded Balboa, explored Central

America and reached Nicaragua.

• Meanwhile, the Spaniards contacted decadent Mayans

in Central America and the Aztecs; in 1519, they
overthrew a confederation of Aztecs and found
numerous local allies who feared and hated the
dominant Aztecs.
Spanish Supremacy

• The conquest of the Aztecs enabled the Spaniards to

reach Mexico, and almost the entire Yucatan
peninsula came under their control.

• The natural resources of Mexico in the form of gold

and silver attracted them, and the Spaniards moved
further north in quest of more treasures.

• Several expeditions followed in the regions of

northern Mexico and the southern parts of the
present United States by land;

• The coast of California and Oregan and southeastern

parts by Sea Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (1536)

• However, the Spaniards were not impressed as many

treasures could not be found as imagined and started
to neglect the regions further north.

• These expeditions gave the Spaniards the much-

required geographical knowledge of the entire region.
Spanish Supremacy

• In 1531, the Pizarro brothers, Francisco Pizarro

and his half-brothers, Gonzalro and Hernando,
entered the Inca region from Panama.

• Taking advantage of a civil war, they captured

and executed the occupant, Atahualpa.

• Also had to face stiff opposition from the natives,

and their conquest could not be consolidated
initially; later, they defeated Diego de Almagro,
their former associate, who rebelled due to the
unequal distribution of shares.

• The capture of the Inca enabled the amassing of

enormous quantities of gold and silver and
raised prospects of other such wealth and
treasure.

• Turned their attention towards Peru and Bolivia

• Other outcomes: control of Chile by Pedro de

Valdivia and exploration of Amazon by Francisco
de Orellana; Equator, Colombia, Argentina
Spanish Supremacy

• A House of Trade (Casa) was created in 1504 to

control the trade between Spain and their
colonies, and its main purpose was to fill the
royal coffers.

• In turn, the colonized regions were not provided

with manufactured goods, and competitors and
smuggling of goods grew.

• In 1524, a Council of the Indies (Consejo) was

formed by Charles V, empowering it to make
legislation for the new colonies.

• The practice of appointing Viceroys came into

existence in 1535 to govern from New Spain or
Mexico.

• Bureaucracy used to be largely Spaniards

• New colonists were sent, and new cities were

founded in modern Chile, Paraguay, Peru,
Argentina, Uruguay
Spanish Supremacy

• The locals or the Indians were treated as inferiors

and slaves and often attached to the Spaniard
bureaucrats and rulers as properties.

• The system of slavery was opposed by Spanish

Dominical friars, who secured a law in 1542 for its
abolition.

• Largescale conversions of the locals happened, and

a majority died (around 50 lakhs) due to infections
carried by the Europeans, particularly smallpox.

• The occupation of the Americas and the conquest of

regional powers by the European colonists shifted
the focus of European nations towards the New
World.

• As the initial trade was centred around the

Mediterranean, Europeans considered themselves on
the fringe, but now they became the centerstage of
trade as opportunities into new regions emerged.
Revenue fortunes for Spain and Portugal

• The new opportunities and establishment of new

colonies were beneficial for Spain and Portugal to start
with, as they were the first to grab this opportunity.

• Portuguese prospered from the trade with eastern

regions. However, they were costly when compared to
European goods.

• Exchanged with gold, the drain towards the east

continued, as it used to happen and was lamented
upon during the Roman times.

• The gold landing in India and other regions was not

used as the monetary system but converted into
ornaments and jewels.

• Gained the precious metal through their trade from

Lisbon, later from Antwerp; ultimately, the drain
towards the east proved costly, and they withdrew their
own supply of gold and jewels from Brazil in the 17 th c.
CE
Revenue fortunes for Spain and Portugal

• Spain’s occupation of the Americas did not yield

much revenue to begin with; however, later, from
1520 onwards, Mexico and by 1540s, Bolivia
provided much bullion for the royal treasure.

• Later, American silver and gold provided enough

revenue to create a price revolution in Spain.

• Spanish industry declined in the 16th century, partly

due to higher taxes, the necessity to purchase more
foreign merchandise

• This necessitated the pouring in of extra bullion to

meet the empire's costly affairs and the costs of war.

• The price rise was soon followed in other European

countries

• Mainly due to the influx of bullion by the Spanish,

price rise of 250% seen between 1500 and 1650
Mercantile System

• Coined by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith in 1776 CE

• The wealth of a nation was measured by the amount of gold

and silver they possess

• The overseas colonies provided the ideal platform for the

accumulation of bullion, and Spain benefitted enormously.

• The colonies were considered useful if they could contribute

bullion or other economic benefits for the mother country.
Otherwise, they were disregarded and considered useless.

• The European countries followed the system of fleecing the

colonies with raw materials and supplying finished products
in return.

• Adopted economic policies in such a manner that only the

mother country benefitted at the cost of colonies

• Even though Spain was in control of regions having enough

economic wealth, much bullion reached them; they were a
poorer country by 1700, often due to regional trades
Dutch

• By the 17th century, the Dutch became a superior

naval power, putting to an end the already declined
Spanish power due to Britain’s victory in 1588

• They succeeded in navigating all oceans, including

the Arctic and were in constant wars with Iberian
kingdoms.

• Dutch were in a struggle with the Portuguese and

coveted their positions more than the Spanish
ones.

• Gained control of part of Brazil, as Angola, due to

the supply of slaves for the sugarcane plantations
in Brazil

• Also occupied Dutch Guiana (Suriname), Curacao

(southern Caribbean Sea), Guyana

• The Discovery of Cape Horn in 1616 by a Dutch,

William Schouten, enabled a southern route,
known as the Drake Passage, around South
America.
Dutch in South East Asia

• Dutch also proceeded eastwards; their main

mission was not religious conversions but to
end the dominance of English, Spanish and
Portuguese.

• The United East India Company or Dutch East

India Company was established in 1602

• Gained navigational rights to the east of Cape

of Good Hope, made treaties with the local
rulers, and established forts and garrisons.

• Established their headquarters at Bantam in

Java in 1607, shifted it later to Jakarta, and
renamed it Batavia, now known as Jakarta.

• Dutch could gain dominance in these parts,

the Portuguese already on the decline, and
successful in eliminating the East India
Company of the British, who then diverted
their attention towards India.
Dutch in South East Asia

• The main credit for building the Dutch Empire

in this part goes to Jan Pieterszoon Coen,
Governor-General from 1618-23 and 1627-29

• Ended the monopoly of local plantations of

spices, often ruthless, which ended in the
massacre of 2500 inhabitants of Great Banda
and capturing another 800

• Mainly concentrated on clove production in

Amboina and neighbouring islands, even
destroying 65,000 clove trees in Moluccas
(~Malaka, or Spice Island) to gain their
monopoly.

• Dutch also gained the pepper trade from the

interior of Sumatra island

• Dutch firmly established at Bativia (~Jakarta),

controlling the trade from China, Japan, India,
Sri Lanka, and Persia with their destination to
Europe and other ports
Dutch in South East Asia

• Coffee was introduced in Java in 1696, and

the nature of trade changed; the Dutch also
introduced coffee in Sri Lanka, but it was
destroyed due to a blight attack.

• Coffee became a major island crop of Java,

which was exported to Dutch America.

• Sri Lanka was occupied by the Dutch,

eliminating the Portuguese to gain control
of the cinnamon, jewels, pepper and
elephant trade; ultimately lost Sri Lanka to
the British in 1796

• From Batavia, the Dutch explored the

Tasman Islands, New Zealand, Tonga and
Fiji islands but gave them less attention.

• The main intention was not colonization.

• Also occupied Mauritius, later passed on to

the French and then to the British
Dutch in South Africa

• Due to the necessity of a vantage middle destination to carry

out their commercial transactions better, the Dutch gave
prominence to the South African region.

• Cape Town was founded by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652

• Cape Town became an important destination for the Dutch

for fresh supplies like meat and vegetables.

• Starting from the 1680s, a regular influx of Dutch families

and French Huguenot exiles (groups of protestants) started
to occupy due to the salubrious climate and less dangerous
natives.

• The colony was passed on to the British in 1806

• The Dutch and French settlers formed the largest occupants

even after the British occupation.

• They spoke a variant of Dutch known as Afrikaans.

Dutch in West

• Dutch West India Company was founded in 1621

• The main zone of occupation was South Atlantic,

Guyana, West Indies, West Netherland (New York)

• The major Dutch occupation and colonization

was in New Netherland (New York) in 1624

• In 1626, the Dutch agents purchased Manhattan

Island for $24

• Dutch occupation was predominantly along the

Hudson Bay from New Amsterdam to Albany;
New Amsterdam served as the best harbour in
North America

• The population contained a mixture of French,

Scandinavian, Irish, German and Jewish

• However, the city was weakly defended, and the

English fleet captured it in 1664 renamed it New
York
French

• French during the 17th and 18th c. CE had a

stronger navy, economic prosperity and also best
army; it could have succeeded in colonization

• However, they were entangled with the issues in

Europe

• French mostly concentrated on the Guanabara

Bay (Rio de Janeiro) and Florida

• During the period of King Henry IV (1598),

exploration of Nova Scotia; later, Canada was
explored by Samuel de Champlain in 1603 and
named New France

• Champlain defeated the Iroquois, a confederacy

of five native Indians, of New York; founded
Quebec in 1608

• Also concentrated on a few islands of the

Caribbean
French

• Sugarcane was the main cash crop of these

islands, which also saw engagement of slaves in
large numbers.

• In 1637, the French founded the French Guyana

Cayenne settlement; the main crops were coffee
and cocoa.

• In India, the French could gain access to

Pondicherry and also access to Chinese trade.

• After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the French

and British adopted policies of collusion with the
natives initially and then into open wars to gain
domination.

• During the 1740s, the French dominated and even

captured Madras under Joseph-Francois Dupleix,
but later lost it and never regained their
prominence.
French colonization in New France

• New France, the eastern part of modern Canada, became a

royal province in 1663, and later, in 1665, the arrival of
troops strengthened their position against the Iroquois.

• Measures for the redistribution of land gained momentum,

encouraged agriculture, and increased the white
population, and by 1681, migration from France declined.

• Most Canadians born after 1700 were North American born,

so their loyalty towards the motherland also decreased.

• Several new regions were explored, spurred by the fur

trade: Lake Superior, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and
Arkansas.

• Robert Cavalier explored the Mississippi up to the Gulf of

Mexico and claimed the entire basin of Louisiana to
France.

• Further explorations started: New Orleans in 1718, Santa

Fe in Spanish Mexico, the Black Hills of South Dakota and
Rocky Mountains.
British American Colonies

• New York was acquired from the United Provinces of

the Netherlands along with New Jersey.

• By 1763, the white population was around 1.3

million, larger than the Black (0.3 million) and French
Canada (55,000)

• The colonies occupied by the British were diverse in

nature, even though the basic occupation was
agriculture.

• New England: region of small farms,

• Middle Atlantic: large-scale operations and diverse

farming

• Southern Colonies: Plantations in which tobacco,

rice and indigo, raised by slaves, predominantly

• Shipping commercial activities mostly from New

England area with Europe, the West Indies and Africa
British American Colonies

• One of the major components of European

colonialism is the revival of the slave system, which
was persistent during the Roman period.

• The Portuguese were the first to revive this in the

15th c. CE, the African countries being the supplier;
the Portuguese initially enslaved the Berbers living
on the northern African coast, mainly from Morocco

• The European colonizers also faced the problem of

the large deaths of locals in the Caribbean due to
infections and the necessity to compensate them
with the black slaves from Africa.

• The English, French, Spanish, and Dutch all

adopted the policy of populating the colonized
regions with black slaves, mainly for the sugarcane
industry

• At its peak in 1763, 150 British ships left their ports

yearly to Africa with a capacity of carrying 40,000
slaves.
 Scenario in Europe during Seven Years War
Colonial Wars

• In America, Britain could win wars repeatedly in 1760;

on the fall of Montreal, Britain could gain the entire
French colony.

• British could also gain control of Havana and Manila in

1761

• In 1763, the Treaty of Paris (after the end of the Seven

Years War ended in 1754) enabled Britain to gain
control of the entire North America east of Mississippi,
Before and after Seven Years War
including Spanish Florida

• Britain became the dominant power and wealthiest,

ending Spanish, Portuguese and French domination.
also benefitted from its superior naval power

• The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th c. CE

enabled Britain, a major producer, to transform the
scenario from a major buyer to a major seller of
produced goods

• Shift in the goods traded, too

Colonial Wars

• The thirteen colonies of America revolted against

Britain, which was a major blow

• Reasons due to certain policies imposed by Britain

• Raising revenues from the colonies;
• Imposing mercantile restrictions favouring Britain
• Firm measures against smuggling
• Creating restrictions on trade between New
England and the West Indies
• Fewer forces from Britain after the French were
defeated in North America
• Spanish and French support to the American
revolutionaries

• American War of Independence (1775-83) led to the

defeat of Britain

• Britain diverted its attention to Australia for settling

down after the American defeat
Few outcomes of colonialism

• European commercial revolution got a stimulus due to the

new discoveries and colonialism

• Bullion from America created a money system, put an end to

the barter system

• Sugar, molasses and rum became an important export item

of the Americas

• The supply of spices increased, and hence, the Dutch kept

the supply low to maintain the price of nutmeg and clove
high

• New foods and beverages in Europe

• Coffee from Ethiopia; Cotton from Old World
• Tobacco from America
• Chocolate from Mexico
• Tea from Asia
• Potato from South America, became a staple food in
Ireland and central Europe
Few outcomes of colonialism

• The colonization before the Industrial Revolution took

place predominantly along the coastal areas, small
islands and complete ones

• During the 19th c. CE, spread of colonies into the

interior of countries and continents

• Aggressive policies by the colonizers:

• Large-scale decimation of indigenous populations or

forcing them to settle in demarcated areas so that the
most beneficial regions could be settled by the whites

• Conquests and transformation of the indigenous

populations, conversions, suiting to the needs of the
industrial nations

• The disparities in technology and innovations, its use

in industries, communication, and social life, existed
between the colonisers and the colonized, which
enabled the domination of the former.