Colonialism: Crash Course Geography #39

Summary

This episode of Crash Course Geography, hosted by Alizé Carrère, explores the historical and ongoing impacts of empires, imperialism, and colonialism on territories around the world. The video discusses how colonial and imperial relationships shape economies, cultures, and political power, with examples like Taiwan, Myanmar, and Thailand. The episode highlights theories like dependency and world systems theory to explain how unequal global power structures persist. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the history of their own homes and acknowledge Indigenous connections to the land.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The land we inhabit has a rich history of changing control among various nations and empires, influencing its perception today.
• 🏛 Empires are formed when a single authority controls multiple territories, and imperialism involves unequal economic or power relationships.
• 🌱 Colonialism, often associated with European expansion, involves the settlement of people and cultural control in addition to land and resource control.
• 🌐 The impacts of colonialism and imperialism are still felt globally, even in places where these systems have been formally ended.
• 💡 Dependency theory suggests that the historical extraction by colonizers leaves former colonies economically reliant on them post-independence.
• 🌐 World systems theory categorizes the world into core, periphery, and semi-periphery areas based on wealth and power distribution.
• 🌟 Neo-colonialism refers to a situation where a country appears independent but is economically and politically controlled by external forces.
• 🏝️ Taiwan's history illustrates the complex motivations and varied outcomes of colonization, from Dutch strategic use to Japanese economic exploitation.
• 🏞️ Colonizers can exacerbate ethnic conflicts or create new ones by favoring certain groups, as seen in Myanmar's colonial history.
• 🍽️ Thailand, though never colonized, felt the pressure to conform to dominant cultural narratives, leading to initiatives like promoting Thai cuisine abroad.

Q & A

What is the significance of understanding the historical control of land in geography?

Understanding the historical control of land is significant in geography because it helps to explain the current political, economic, and cultural landscapes, as well as the relationships between different states and nations.

What does the term 'empire' signify in the context of the script?

In the script, 'empire' refers to a single authority that controls multiple territories, states, and countries, which can range from intrusive to hands-off in its functioning.

How is imperialism defined within the script?

Imperialism is defined as the domination and subordination of one state over others, often motivated by the acquisition of land, resources, or strategic positions, and can create unequal economic or power relationships.

What is the difference between imperialism and colonialism as discussed in the script?

While both imperialism and colonialism involve control over other territories, colonialism often implies settlement of people in an area with a degree of cultural control in addition to control of land and resources.

Why is Taiwan's history relevant to the discussion of colonialism and imperialism?

Taiwan's history is relevant because it showcases various forms of colonialism and imperialism, from Dutch colonization for strategic shipping to Japanese economic colonization, and its current status as a semi-periphery area.

What is dependency theory as mentioned in the script?

Dependency theory suggests that the long history of extraction between a colony and its colonizer creates an economic situation where former colonies remain reliant on the colonizer even after gaining independence.

How does world systems theory categorize the global economic landscape?

World systems theory categorizes the world into core areas with wealth and power, periphery areas that send raw materials to the core, and semi-periphery areas that rely on relationships with both core and periphery.

What is neo-colonialism and how does it relate to the script's discussion?

Neo-colonialism refers to situations where a country is outwardly independent, but its economic and political power is closely monitored and controlled by external forces, which is a concept used to explain certain international relationships.

How did the British Empire's colonization of Myanmar impact its cultural and political landscape?

The British Empire's colonization of Myanmar led to the suppression of local cultural expression, changes in local knowledge and education, and the dismantling of the existing economy, which resulted in ongoing conflicts between different cultural groups.

What is the concept of 'culinary colonization' as discussed in the script?

Culinary colonization refers to the pressure to change and conform cultural traits of food for diplomatic reasons, as seen with Thailand's efforts to make its cuisine palatable to non-Thai audiences while maintaining cultural heritage.

Why is it important to acknowledge the traditional and ongoing relationship of Indigenous peoples with their land?

Acknowledging the traditional and ongoing relationship of Indigenous peoples with their land is important to recognize their historical and contemporary contributions to the cultural landscape and to respect their rights and identities.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Historical Control and Geopolitical Impacts

This paragraph discusses the historical control of territories and how it influences current perceptions and relationships. It uses south Florida as an example, highlighting its past control by various entities such as the Spanish, and its traditional territories of indigenous peoples. The narrator, Alizé Carrère, introduces the topic of empires and imperialism, explaining how a single authority can control multiple territories and create unequal economic or power relationships. The paragraph also touches on colonialism, its history, and its impact on the world, including the lasting effects of European colonialism and the empires of China, Japan, and the Mongols.

05:03

🏛️ The Complexities of Colonialism and Imperialism

The second paragraph delves into the intricacies of colonialism and imperialism, using Taiwan's history as a case study. It outlines the Dutch colonization for strategic shipping, the Qing Dynasty's imperial relationship, and Japan's economic colonization to transform Taiwan's agricultural production. The paragraph also discusses the economic theories of dependency, world systems, and neo-colonialism, which help explain the economic relationships and power dynamics between countries. It further explores how colonialism can exacerbate ethnic conflicts and shape cultural landscapes, as seen in Myanmar's history with the British Empire.

10:06

🍽️ Cultural Impacts and Contemporary Colonialism

The final paragraph focuses on the cultural impacts of colonialism and the concept of settler colonialism, using North America as an example. It discusses how colonial language and narratives have shaped stereotypes and tensions. The paragraph also touches on how countries like Thailand, which was never colonized, still felt the pressure to conform to dominant cultural narratives. It highlights Thailand's efforts to promote its culture internationally through culinary diplomacy. The narrator emphasizes the ongoing relevance of colonialism and the importance of understanding its influence on the cultural landscape, economic opportunity, and political power.

Keywords

💡Empire

An empire is a political entity that exerts control over multiple territories, states, and countries. It can range from being highly intrusive to more hands-off in its governance. In the video, the concept of empire is used to discuss how different authorities have controlled various lands throughout history, such as the Spanish control over what is now South Florida, and the Mongol empire's influence over Central Asia.

💡Imperialism

Imperialism refers to the practice where one country extends its power and influence over another, often through economic, political, or military means. It is characterized by the creation of unequal relationships between the dominating and the subordinated states. The video discusses imperialism in the context of how it has led to lasting impacts on the world, such as the European colonialism that occurred globally from the 15th century to the present.

💡Colonialism

Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. It often implies a degree of cultural control in addition to control of land and resources. The video uses the example of Taiwan's history with the Dutch and the Qing Dynasty to illustrate different forms of colonialism and its effects on the cultural and economic landscape.

💡Dependency Theory

Dependency theory suggests that the long history of extraction and exploitation between a colony and its colonizer creates an economic situation where the former colony remains economically reliant on the colonizer even after gaining independence. The video mentions this theory to explain the lasting economic impacts of colonialism, where former colonies continue to be influenced by their historical relationships with colonizers.

💡World Systems Theory

World systems theory is a framework for analyzing the economic and political relationships among countries. It categorizes the world into core areas (wealthy and powerful), periphery areas (sending raw materials to the core), and semi-periphery areas (intermediaries with some wealth and power). The video uses this theory to explain the global economic hierarchy and how countries relate to each other in terms of power and wealth.

💡Neo-colonialism

Neo-colonialism is a term used to describe a situation where a country appears to be independent but is, in fact, under the economic and political control of external forces. The video touches upon this concept to discuss how some countries might still be influenced by former colonial powers, even after achieving formal independence.

💡Settler Colonialism

Settler colonialism is a form of colonialism where settlers from the colonizing country move to the colonized territory, often leading to significant cultural and demographic changes. The video uses the example of Taiwan's history with the Qing Dynasty to illustrate how settler colonialism can have a profound impact on the cultural landscape and land ownership.

💡Cultural Landscape

The cultural landscape refers to the ways in which human activity has modified the natural landscape. The video discusses how colonialism can shape the cultural landscape by introducing new practices, place names, and cultural norms, as seen in the case of Taiwan where Chinese settlers changed the local agricultural practices and land use.

💡Economic Relationships

Economic relationships refer to the connections and interactions between economies of different regions or countries. The video emphasizes the importance of studying these relationships, especially in the context of colonialism, to understand how they have led to uneven development and the current global economic landscape.

💡Geopolitics

Geopolitics is the study of how political dynamics are influenced by geographic factors, including the control and influence over territories. The video discusses how empires, imperialism, and colonialism are tactics of geopolitics used to achieve economic, political, or cultural dominance over other territories.

💡Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of a particular region or country who have a historical connection to the land and its cultural heritage. The video acknowledges the importance of recognizing the traditional and ongoing relationship of indigenous peoples with their land, which is often overlooked in modern geopolitical narratives.

Highlights

The land in south Florida has been controlled by various nations and empires throughout history.

The concept of multiple names and rulers for a place can influence its perception today.

Geographers study why territories change control and the impact of that control on relationships and landscapes.

An empire is a single authority controlling multiple territories, states, and countries.

Imperialism is characterized by the domination and subordination of one state over others, often for resource acquisition.

Colonialism implies settlement and cultural control in addition to land and resource control.

Colonialism and imperialism have shaped the world's cultural and economic landscapes.

Dependency theory explains how former colonies remain economically reliant on colonizers post-independence.

World systems theory categorizes areas into core, periphery, and semi-periphery based on wealth and power distribution.

Neo-colonialism describes situations where a country's economic and political power is controlled by external forces despite formal independence.

Taiwan's history illustrates various forms of imperialism and colonialism, from Dutch colonization to Japanese rule and Chinese influence.

Colonizers can exacerbate ethnic conflicts or create new ones by promoting one group over another.

Myanmar's colonial past has left a legacy of ongoing conflict and genocide due to the British Empire's divisive policies.

Settler colonialism, as experienced in North America, has a profound impact on cultural landscapes and social tensions.

Thailand, though never colonized, felt pressure to conform to narratives of desirable culture, leading to culinary colonization.

Colonialism's influence can be found even in places never colonized, as seen with Thailand's efforts to control its cultural narrative.

Crash Course Geography acknowledges the traditional and ongoing relationship of Indigenous peoples with their land.

Transcripts

Let’s think together, for a moment, about all the people who have lived where you live

now and all the different states and nations and empires who have claimed that land.

Like right now I’m standing on land in what’s now south Florida that’s currently controlled

by the US but in the past has been controlled by the Spanish, is possibly named after the

Mayaimi, and is the traditional territory of the Calusa, Miccosukee, Seminole, Taino,

and Tequesta nations.

As we’ve talked about a few times here on Crash Course Geography, each place comes with

multiple names and a long history of rulers and claims that can still influence how it’s

perceived today.

As geographers, we can look at why those territories change control so much, and what the impact

of that control has on relationships and landscapes.

I’m Alizé Carrère, and this is Crash Course Geography.

INTRO

Last time we explored the relationships different economic systems can create between states.

This can be a relationship like the one between Bulgaria and Germany.

Their shared communist-then-capitalist history has led to long-standing alliances and being

committed trading partners through all sorts of governments and economies.

Though we’ve also seen how geopolitics and different governments can influence the relationships

between states.

And today, we’re going to talk about a particular form of governing and the lasting impact it

can have throughout the world.

That’s right, get out your Risk boards, we’re talking about empires.

An empire forms when a single authority controls multiple territories, states, and countries.

There are several ways an empire can function ranging from intrusive to rather hands off.

But when an empire also creates unequal economic or power relationships, that relationship

is considered imperialism, though this relationship can eventually be more hands-off too.

Imperialism describes the domination and subordination of one state over others, and is often motivated

by the acquisition of land, resources, or strategic positions.

From there, we can look at different types of colonization, which is either a type of

imperialism or just another type of empire, depending on who you ask, that often implies

settlement of people in an area, and a degree of cultural control in addition to control

of land and resources.

Which kind of sounds like “imperialism-plus.”

Imperialism and colonialism do have really similar definitions -- in fact, they’re

still debated within geography and other disciplines.

In the early 21st century, when we talk about colonialism, we’re often referring to European

colonialism, which happened globally between the 15th century to the present.

But the Chinese, Japanese, and Mongols built vast empires too.

In this case, we talk about imperialism because of the way each expanded through force, and

each had elements of extraction of resources and control of local politics.

We feel the impacts of colonialism and imperialism around us in almost all places in the world,

even though many of those systems have been formally ended.

For instance, the Mongol empire consolidated a huge chunk of Central Asia, and even though

the territory has changed hands many times, it’s still more or less together.

Today that land makes up much of what’s now Russia and Mongolia.

Ultimately, empire, imperialism, and colonialism are all interrelated tactics of geopolitics

that are used to achieve similar goals of one state maintaining economic, political,

or cultural dominance over other territories, often for economic gain.

In geography, when we want to study how colonialism changes the cultural landscape, we’ll start

with economic relationships.

As we’ll talk about more next time, geographers are particularly interested in the mechanisms

that create uneven development, where one place has more wealth and power than another.

Modern economic relationships have deep connections to colonialism, and geographers have a few

different ways to think about the connection between colonialism and current economic landscapes.

One way to think about lasting impacts of colonialism on the landscape is through dependency theory.

The basic idea is that the long history of extraction between a colony and its colonizer

creates an economic situation that’s difficult to pull out of.

It leaves those former colonies still economically reliant on the colonizer after gaining independence.

To further explain the relationship between those with global power and those without,

world systems theory categorizes the world into core areas with a lot of wealth and power,

periphery areas that send raw materials to the core and rely on the core for economic

support, and then semi-periphery areas which rely on relationships with both the core and

the periphery and some wealth and power.

And neo-colonialism is another theory that attempts to explain situations where one country

is outwardly independent, but their economic and political power is closely monitored and

controlled by external forces.

Geographers use ideas like these and others to explain the way powerful and less powerful

countries relate to each other.

Like in Taiwan, which has had imperial and colonial-esque relationships a few times.

Around 1624, the Dutch colonized the indigenous people of Taiwan and used Taiwan mainly as

a shipping port to get goods out of Asia and back to Europe.

They fought for control of the island with the indigenous people who were already there

using mostly subsistence agriculture, or small-scale agriculture for local use by families and

communities, rather than for export.

The Dutch version of colonization was pretty much just for Taiwan’s strategic location

for their shipping needs.

But as the Qing Dynasty took control of Taiwan in the 1680s, it was a more imperial relationship,

at first mostly as a way to keep pirates from controlling key ports.

Then as Chinese refugees moved to the island due to political tensions in China, the new

settlers began farming sugar and rice on a small scale and changing land ownership arrangements.

For all intents and purposes, this was a settler colonial relationship, meaning that people

from China moved to the island to live, and in so doing, changed the cultural practices

of the area.

As Chinese people moved in, they negotiated and fought with the indigenous peoples as

they tried to set up their own small rice and sugar farms, along with planning out towns.

In some cases, indigenous peoples were able to claim ownership of the land and charge

rents, but in others, the indigenous peoples quit subsistence farming to work on the sugar

plantations or were forced to move their subsistence plots into more rugged territory.

Then by 1895 when Japan took control of Taiwan, Japan wanted Taiwan to move from a subsistence

to an industrial level of rice and sugar production.

They created restrictions on where people could live and farm that made it difficult

to continue subsistence farming.

People began to change what they grew and many had to work on plantations to make enough money.

As the Japanese empire rose, Japan became less isolated and more open to European trade.

They were trying and succeeding to be an imperial force, one that was strong enough militarily

and economically to avoid being colonized themselves.

To create that strength, Japan became an economic colonizing force, meaning they used land outside

of their own territory to improve their economic resources.

Taiwan became the source of primary goods like sugar and rice, and those goods mostly

went to Japan.

All of this extraction and separating of people from their land should have kept Taiwan from

having much power in economic relationships with larger economies like China and Japan

after World War II.

But at the end of the 1940s, China went through a civil war that led to communist rule, and

prompted the US and their allies to provide ample funding to set up strong, capitalist

economies to reinforce and maintain a containment zone around Chinese communism.

Today Taiwan still acts as a shatter belt between China and the West meaning it’s

strategically located between two large powers, the US’s allies and China.

So by the 1980s Taiwan was considered one of the Asian Tigers, which was a term used

for Asian economies that experienced intense growth and industrialization after WWII.

That’s a lot of land grabbing and economic movement, and all that just in this one island!

Taiwan shows us that there are a host of motivations for one country to colonize another and that

the outcomes of colonization aren’t uniform.

But a country is more than just its economy, and colonialism can shape the landscape in

other ways too.

Colonizers have been known to antagonize existing ethnic conflicts, or create new ones by promoting

one group over another and making sure both groups know why, which ultimately meddles

in both local politics and culture.

This is what happened in what is now called Myanmar, which most recently was part of the

British Empire.

This can be as simple as how different groups are talked about and how language gets used

to signal the “good” cultures.

The messaging throughout Myanmar’s colonial period about which groups were outsiders and

which groups belonged set up foundations for on-going conflicts between the peoples of

this region.

Usually the so-called “civilized”, “developed”, and “modern” cultures are either the colonizer’s

or the colonizer’s preferred cultural group.

And derogatory language like “uncivilized”, “primitive”, or “backward” refers

to the people being colonized or the more marginal groups.

This coding of people and cultural traits as acceptable and unacceptable allows for

the mistreatment, enslavement, and genocide of people.

And today, Myanmar is known for regular war and conflict between groups and an ongoing

genocide as of late 2021.

Both Myanmar and Taiwan are examples of how empires can treat a peripheral territory.

In the case of Taiwan, it was advantageous for the territory to build up a strong presence

through a powerful economy.

Because they have control over their own economy, and are strong enough to negotiate favorable

trade for themselves, they are not fully dependent on any one country, they are a semi-periphery.

But in the case of Myanmar, it went through a type of colonization that politically divided

different cultural groups leaving the resulting state fractured.

The British Empire united its own power through national pride and accumulating immense wealth

but destroyed local power through suppression of national cultural expression like languages

and religions, changing local knowledge and education and dismantling the existing economy.

So in Myanmar, and other former colonies, the long-term political consequences of colonization

are bound up in the impact of how colonizers treated their cultural heritage and landscapes.

In other parts of the world, settler colonialism like Taiwan experienced with the Qing dynasty

often makes the largest impact on the cultural landscape.

Settlers can use processes like forced migration, remaking place names, and other tactics that

rewrite the landscape to signal that one culture is prioritized over other, already existing cultures.

As North America also struggles to reconcile its history and present day settler colonial

system with social calls for equality for Black, indigenous, and other people of color,

we can see the roots of those stereotypes and tensions going back to colonial language.

So much of the world has spent time in one form of empire or colonial structure or another

that we can also find the imprint of colonialism even in places that were never colonized.

Like in Thailand, which was never a colony despite being nestled between territories

once part of Mongolian, Japanese, and even European empires.

But, it still felt the pressure of those narratives that dictated what was a desirable culture.

Now I’m going to use my psychic geography powers and guess that you have a Thai restaurant

somewhere near you.

Feeling pressure to fit in, the Thai government tried to both make their food seem palatable

to non-Thai audiences -- which would help them align with dominant cultures -- and remain

true to their cultural heritages.

And by 2003 the Thai government invested millions providing loans to Thai citizens who wanted

to create restaurants abroad.

This furthers their cultural outreach and international good will.

This is a form of culinary colonization, or pressure to change and conform the cultural

trait of food for diplomatic reasons.

While no one external leader or state required this change, the leaders of Thailand realized

that if Thai people were going to control the narrative about their culture, they would

have to get out ahead of the pressure to conform.

Thailand crafted their own story and worked to ensure the world could see them in a favorable

light, before any other cultural group could decide what to privilege and what to silence

about Thai cultural traits, like food.

So as cultural and human geographers, unraveling colonial influence is part of understanding

the cultural landscape.

And as economic and political geographers, being able to read the causes of unequal economic

opportunity or political power is part of our work.

But colonialism isn’t a thing of the past.

We still see the push and pull for control over resources in regions all over the world,

and we’ll begin to explore that relationship next time when we talk about development and

ways that countries measure their success on the global stage.

Many maps and borders represent modern geopolitical divisions that have often been decided without

the consultation, permission, or recognition of the land's original inhabitants.

Many geographical place names also don't reflect the Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples languages.

So we at Crash Course want to acknowledge these peoples’ traditional and ongoing relationship

with that land and all the physical and human geographical elements of it.

We encourage you to learn about the history of the place you call home through resources

like native-land.ca and by engaging with your local Indigenous and Aboriginal nations through

the websites and resources they provide.

Thanks for watching this episode of Crash Course Geography which is filmed at the Team

Sandoval Pierce Studio and was made with the help of all these nice people.

If you want to help keep all Crash Course free for everyone, forever, you can join our

community on Patreon.