The Global to Local Impacts of Colonization on Diverse Groups

The legacy of colonialism persists in shaping policies and behaviours in countries that were colonized by European nations from the 15th to the mid 20th century. Salmon (2017) stated that colonialism has had a long-lasting effect on the internal and external policies of nations in the Global South, even after they gained independence. According to Acemoglu (2017), “The immense economic inequality we observe in the world today didn’t happen overnight, or even in the past century. It is the path-dependent outcome of a multitude of historical processes, one of the most important of which has been European colonialism” (para. 1). As the Global South attained greater independence, colonialism did not disappear, but transitioned into neocolonialism. This involves the Global North, typically Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, exerting economic and political influence in the Global South without establishing new colonies.

Countries that achieved independence still experience economic and political influence from their colonizers. While colonialism operated inside the colonized nation, neocolonialism operates externally. For example, in Jamaica, independence was attained through resistance, but this led to instability and reliance on foreign powers. British colonialism had positive and negative impacts on India and African nations. In Africa, colonialism resulted in reliance on colonial powers, issues with infrastructure, and conflicts over borders. The process of decolonization and independence throughout the Global South was often violent, leading to financial and political instability as various groups sought power, with some backed by the former colonial countries.

Decolonization

Decolonization is the “removal or undoing of colonial elements” (Queen’s University, n.d., para. 4), a process which led to fragile economic and political stability due to the rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union. European powers initiated decolonization as a reaction to independence movements in colonized territories, realizing that the expenses of maintaining colonies outweighed the benefits. The global economic restructuring that occurred during the Cold War (1947-1991) continues to have impacts today. This restructuring has perpetuated financial instability and poverty in some nations while other nations profit and flourish. This history of trade agreements and global economic structures is one result of colonization that continues to influence global migration patterns today.

Canada had a unique colonization process that has led to Canada being developed as a wealthy nation at the expense of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples’ livelihood and land rights. The colonial process that occurred in Canada is termed settler colonialism; it aims to “[normalize] the continuous settler occupation, exploiting lands and resources to which indigenous peoples have genealogical relationships” (Cox, 2017, para. 1). This process was done intentionally through the Indian Act and residential schools, among other policies.

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, North America was inhabited by Native American tribes with unique cultures, languages, and ways of knowing. According to Wilson and Hodgson (2018),

before the arrival of European explorers and traders, Indigenous Peoples were organized into complex, self-governing nations throughout what is now called North America. In its early days, the relationship between European traders and Indigenous Peoples was mutually beneficial. Indigenous Peoples were able to help traders adjust to the new land and could share their knowledge and expertise. In return, the traders offered useful materials and goods, such as horses, guns, metal knives, and kettles to the Indigenous Peoples. However, as time went by and more European settlers arrived, the relationship between the two peoples became much more challenging (para. 3).

The interaction between European traders and Native American tribes became increasingly complex because of differing worldviews concerning land, trade, economics, and culture. Settlers viewed the land as Terra Nullius, or nobody’s land, while Indigenous Peoples held a deep connection to the land and their place within it (Assembly of First Nations, 2018, p. 3). Indigenous Peoples had been living on these lands for thousands of years and had established patterns of trade and commerce, relationships to the land, and a rich history, inseparable from the land they resided on. The Doctrine of Discovery was “used as legal and moral justification for colonial dispossession of sovereign Indigenous Nations, including First Nations in what is now Canada. […] Christian explorers ‘claimed’ lands for their monarchs, who felt they could exploit the land, regardless of the original inhabitants” (Assembly of First Nations, 2018, p. 2).

While the history of colonialism in Canada was shaped in a particular way by the fur trade, treaties, and residential schools, colonization was occurring across the globe, throughout Africa, Asia, and South America. Each geographical space has its own unique history and relationship to colonialism, independence, and post-independence. This colonial history is the foundation of current global relationships in regard to economics, borders, culture, and migration, understood through the concept of globalization, neoliberalism, and postcolonialism.

Colonialism has been defined as “[t]he policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d.). Assembly of First Nations (2021) stated,

Colonization can be defined as some form of invasion, dispossession, and subjugation of a peoples. The long-term result of such massive dispossession is institutionalized inequality. The colonizer/colonized relationship is by nature an unequal one that benefits the colonizer at the expense of the colonized.

In Canada, a report by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (as cited in the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (2016, p. 2)) divided the history of colonization in Canada into four periods: Separate worlds (up to 1500 AD), contact and cooperation (1500–1870), displacement and assimilation (1871–1969), and negotiation and renewal (1970–present).

Currently, the stage of negotiation and renewal is a reconciliatory process to acknowledge and repair the deep harms that occurred during the displacement and assimilation period, which will be discussed further. The period of displacement and assimilation was an active assault on land acquisition for the benefit of the Crown, which has been recognized as cultural genocide. This is “a term used to describe the process whereby cultural, community, and family traditions have been systematically stripped from Aboriginal people. In order to accomplish this, Aboriginal people were seen by the Europeans and the Church to be inferior to their colonizers” (Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, 2021, p. 3).

The creation of the Indian Act in 1876 consolidated this process.

Through the Department of Indian Affairs and its Indian agents, the Indian Act gave the government sweeping powers with regards to First Nations identity, political structures, governance, cultural practices, and education. These powers restricted Indigenous freedoms and allowed officials to determine Indigenous rights and benefits based on “good moral character” (Parrott, 2022).

The Indian Act imposed patriarchal systems of governance on Indigenous communities, banned traditional practices, destroyed local economies, and created a pass system whereby “for an Indigenous person to leave their reserve, they now needed a pass signed by the Indian agent, stating when they could leave, where they could go and when they had to return” (Nestor, 2018, para. 10). This limited mobility and ability to hunt, and established the extremely damaging residential school system, devastating the family unit and generations of children.

References

Acemoglu, D. (2017, January 30). The economic impact of colonialism. Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) EU. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/economic-impact-colonialism

Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. (2021). Strengthening the spirit: The impact of colonization. https://acws.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Strengthening-the-Spirit-The-Impact-of-Colonization.pdf

Assembly of First Nations. (2018). Dismantling the doctrine of discovery. https://www.afn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/18-01-22-Dismantling-the-Doctrine-of-Discovery-EN.pdf

Assembly of First Nations. (2021). Plain Talk 3: Impacts of contact. 3. Glossary. https://education.afn.ca/afntoolkit/web-modules/plain-talk-3-impacts-of-contact/glossary/

Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. (2016). Colonialism and its impacts. https://www.criaw-icref.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Local-Women-Matter-3-Colonialism-and-its-impacts.pdf 

Cox, A. (2017, July 26). Settler colonialism. Oxford Bibliographies. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780190221911/obo-9780190221911-0029.xml#obo-9780190221911-0029-bibItem-0004

Nestor, R. (2018, July 16). Pass system in Canada. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pass-system-in-canada

Oxford English Dictionary. (n.d.). Colonialism. In oed.com dictionary. https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=colonialism

Parrott, Z. (2022, September 23). Indian Act. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act

Queen’s University. (n.d.). What is decolonization? What is Indigenization? https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/resources/decolonizing-and-indigenizing/what-decolonization-what-indigenization

Salmon, B. (2017, February 19). The legacy of colonization on the domestic and international policy of nations in the Global South. Medium. https://medium.com/@brittanysalmon1/the-legacy-of-colonization-on-the-domestic-and-international-policy-of-nations-in-the-global-south-9eb5e16f423b

Wilson, K., & Hodgson, C. (2018). Pulling together: Foundations guide. BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationfoundations/chapter/43/