Chapter 18:Colonial Encounters In Asia, Africa, and Oceania (Week 9)

March 15, 2018

(1750-1950)

The Second Wave Of European Conquests:

The first wave of European colonialism was the previous takeover of the Americas. Now there is a second wave and Europe that is focused on Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The Europeans had a great military advantage over these areas and that was seen as power and strength. Europeans used war tactics and the fact that they were feared in order to takeover and create more European empires. The Europeans had economic interests in these countries and they saw the value that they withheld; that was their main motive.Territory was powerful and taking over these three places would just give them more strength and independence. Like the first wave, the second wave cause much of the native population to go down in numbers due to vicious diseases brought over by the Europeans. Many societies lost their homes, family members, and their land.

Here are pictures from our textbook (page 795,796) that shows Colonial Africa and Colonial Asia at this time:

Identity And Culture During The Colonial Era:

European takeovers caused much more racism and stereotyping than ever before. They brought over European culture and expect their ideas to dominate the “weaker” colonies. Asia, Africa, and Oceania had to deal with much change in their lives, but the most impactful changes were the cultural ones. They lost a sense of identity and conformed into what they thought was the right way to be. For me, when I read this, the idea of Eurocentrism that we previously learned about all started to make sense. Europe created many empires by taking over other countries and while doing that, they washed away other’s culture and replaced it with their own. As Strayer would say, their culture began to “echoe” around the world. Not only did their daily life change completely, but their education, religion, groups, and tribes also did. I could see how many native people would feel like their world is falling apart. Everything that they knew is beginning to disappear, they no longer knew who to identify with and who they were.

Scramble For Africa:

The scramble for Africa took place around 1875 and 1900. European countries began to “scramble” and develop into smaller colonies. Powerful countries at the time were Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, and they were all fighting for the African territory. No direct military fighting took place, but I believe that is because these countries were well armed and Africa would not be able to compete and fight for their own land. Each country saw something different in Africa and wanted in for different reasons, but they all agreed that the area was very valuable and could bring them more power. These countries quickly became rivals and it started the scramble for Africa. I understand that countries wanted to great powerful empires and grow their economy, but I believe it is very wrong to takeover land that is already occupied. It is not like this land was empty or “up for grabs”. These native people had to deal with this competition over them and they had absolutely no say.