Colonialism 2

Immediately after my arrival in India, on the first island I discovered, I forcibly seized some of its inhabitants so that they would learn and inform me about what existed in these regions. And so they soon understood us, and we them, through language or signs, and they were very useful. I still have them with me and they are sure that I came from heaven.

Andres Bernaldez (1930): The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Being the Journals of his First and Third, and the Letters Concerning his First and Last Voyages, to Which is Added the Account of his Second Voyage. London: The Argonaut Press.

Christopher Columbus (ca. 1451-1506) was an Italian navigator and human trafficker. The search for a sea route to India led him to the Americas. Columbus was thus instrumental in the colonization of the continent.

European colonial expansion is often divided into three phases: [1] Spanish and Portuguese colonialism, mainly that of the Americas from the end of the 15th century, which was based on the exploitation of resources. [2] The British, French and Dutch colonization of Asia and parts of America and South Africa from the 17th century onwards (with the support of the British East India Company and the Dutch West and East India Companies) as well as settlement colonialism in the Americas and [3] the colonial division of Africa into zones of influence of European superpowers at the end of the 19th century. Although the different phases differed, they were united by the violent subjugation of the population and the belief in white superiority, which is already evident in Columbus' quote. Colonization was accompanied by great resistance in many areas: In South Africa, there were wars with the Xhosa from 1779 to 1879. The British conquest of India also lasted 100 years. In Algeria, it took the French 20 years to occupy the country.

*Josephine Apraku (2017): Colonialism in the classroom. Webinar. *Bernd-Stefan Grewe & Thomas Lange (2015): Colonialism. Stuttgart: Reclam. *Al Jazeera (2019): Because Colonialism. 25min. *Raoul Peck (2021): Exterminate All the Brutes. Trailer. *Göran Olsson (2014): Concerning Violence. Trailer.