Was Colonialism Good or Bad?
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Date: 2023-09-27
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Comments and reviews: 19
Jeanette
The People s Action Party (PAP, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, has no interest in tearing down statues of Raffles or his successors. In 1969, Singapore s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, said that before the British arrived, there was no organized human society in Singapore, unless a fishing village can be called a society.
Contemporary leaders also give the colonial regime measured praise. One of the grandees of Singapore s foreign policy establishment, Tommy Koh, delivered a pithy verdict: British rule, he said, was 60 percent good, 40 percent bad. Of course, he conceded, Britain s list of sins was long. The colonial regime was racist. It promoted opium smoking, which ravaged countless lives in Singapore. Unemployment levels were high, and working conditions were often horrendous. And in the Second World War, Britain utterly failed to defend the colony against invasion by Japan, which subsequently killed countless Singaporeans. And yet, and yet. Unlike other colonial masters in Southeast Asia, Koh wrote in the Straits Times, the British did leave us with a positive legacy. This includes the English language, the free port, free trade, open economy, good infrastructure, the rule of law, a good civil service and police force, town planning, public hygiene and modern medicine, a belief in science and modernity and an appreciation of nature and natural history.
Singaporean leaders have the balls to accept the truth unlike Indian and African leaders blaming British for their post-colonial failures.
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The People s Action Party (PAP, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, has no interest in tearing down statues of Raffles or his successors. In 1969, Singapore s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, said that before the British arrived, there was no organized human society in Singapore, unless a fishing village can be called a society.
Contemporary leaders also give the colonial regime measured praise. One of the grandees of Singapore s foreign policy establishment, Tommy Koh, delivered a pithy verdict: British rule, he said, was 60 percent good, 40 percent bad. Of course, he conceded, Britain s list of sins was long. The colonial regime was racist. It promoted opium smoking, which ravaged countless lives in Singapore. Unemployment levels were high, and working conditions were often horrendous. And in the Second World War, Britain utterly failed to defend the colony against invasion by Japan, which subsequently killed countless Singaporeans. And yet, and yet. Unlike other colonial masters in Southeast Asia, Koh wrote in the Straits Times, the British did leave us with a positive legacy. This includes the English language, the free port, free trade, open economy, good infrastructure, the rule of law, a good civil service and police force, town planning, public hygiene and modern medicine, a belief in science and modernity and an appreciation of nature and natural history.
Singaporean leaders have the balls to accept the truth unlike Indian and African leaders blaming British for their post-colonial failures.
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Veer
Well in indian xontext you have to check which region having progressive development and which doesnt people who think british started the banning buring of widows are entirely wrong marathas also pass legislation and maratha governorns or chiefs of 4 small capital cities very strictly ban in rajput hindu states also progression becuase of bhakti movemwnt in southern india there is no trace of widow burning exception doesnt count prevalence of that ritual for ex 1 and 2 cases
Note bhakti movement is started in 13 th century is the progessive mowement to chqllenge caste misogny and even against hierarchy of power a bit anarchist in nature to overthrow but cant get fulfledged support becuase of unstable kingdoms in bengal and rajasthan birning of widows is prevalent so telling all the hindus buring their widows is completely wrong and for that 2 region someone justify colonialism do good to stop that practice bbla bla they wipeout 40 percent of that region population, burn graneries during peqce time what about them
The onoy good thing is giving a huge society a single legal code, railways and modernity at certain extent
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Well in indian xontext you have to check which region having progressive development and which doesnt people who think british started the banning buring of widows are entirely wrong marathas also pass legislation and maratha governorns or chiefs of 4 small capital cities very strictly ban in rajput hindu states also progression becuase of bhakti movemwnt in southern india there is no trace of widow burning exception doesnt count prevalence of that ritual for ex 1 and 2 cases
Note bhakti movement is started in 13 th century is the progessive mowement to chqllenge caste misogny and even against hierarchy of power a bit anarchist in nature to overthrow but cant get fulfledged support becuase of unstable kingdoms in bengal and rajasthan birning of widows is prevalent so telling all the hindus buring their widows is completely wrong and for that 2 region someone justify colonialism do good to stop that practice bbla bla they wipeout 40 percent of that region population, burn graneries during peqce time what about them
The onoy good thing is giving a huge society a single legal code, railways and modernity at certain extent
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Itsa
Depends on how you define bad. If we define bad by the standards of the post world war 2 order, then yes. Colonialism was bad. If we define it by the standards of before World War 2, then its more complicated then that. Its important to keep in mind that the nations we think of today as colonized didn't exist when the first europeans showed up on their shores. Most them were aristocratic monarchies, where the land the nation would emerge from was simply an extension of the personal remit of whatever chief, sultan or king ruled over it. Not a defined nation state with definitive borders, unified culture and wat not.
On that note its important to remember the entire CONCEPT of a Nation state didn't even come into being until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. 40 years after the first Brits landed at Jamestown and almost 200 years after the Colonial era got under way with the Portuguese.
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Depends on how you define bad. If we define bad by the standards of the post world war 2 order, then yes. Colonialism was bad. If we define it by the standards of before World War 2, then its more complicated then that. Its important to keep in mind that the nations we think of today as colonized didn't exist when the first europeans showed up on their shores. Most them were aristocratic monarchies, where the land the nation would emerge from was simply an extension of the personal remit of whatever chief, sultan or king ruled over it. Not a defined nation state with definitive borders, unified culture and wat not.
On that note its important to remember the entire CONCEPT of a Nation state didn't even come into being until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. 40 years after the first Brits landed at Jamestown and almost 200 years after the Colonial era got under way with the Portuguese.
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JumboCod91
I find it hilarious that the Progressives on those days were in fact the colonialists, and it was Progressivism that motivated colonial powers to move away from mercantile trade empires to very real expansionist, culture re-defining and land/people conquering forces. And then, just as the Progs of that era had redefined Empire, the American Empire of the 20th century dethroned the Colonial British Empire as a new neo-mercantile world spanning Empire, only for the degenerate rejects of this new empire to look at the British Empire and claim oppression for things that happened hundreds of years ago while their empire remains the most culturally oppressive force the world has even known.
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I find it hilarious that the Progressives on those days were in fact the colonialists, and it was Progressivism that motivated colonial powers to move away from mercantile trade empires to very real expansionist, culture re-defining and land/people conquering forces. And then, just as the Progs of that era had redefined Empire, the American Empire of the 20th century dethroned the Colonial British Empire as a new neo-mercantile world spanning Empire, only for the degenerate rejects of this new empire to look at the British Empire and claim oppression for things that happened hundreds of years ago while their empire remains the most culturally oppressive force the world has even known.
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The
Colonialism had its sins and errors, but also its virtues and accomplishments. And, of course, [w]hat someone does or makes is not the same as that _by_ _means_ _of_ _which_ he does it or makes it. There were many sinful ends in practice during European colonialism, but the moral dictates were relatively good. For example, the dictate that principled Spanish colonialism was that dominium was a state of nature, not grace, reflected in the Laws of Burgos which involved asking the natives a series of questions.
You only ask of another people if you regard them as your moral equals.
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Colonialism had its sins and errors, but also its virtues and accomplishments. And, of course, [w]hat someone does or makes is not the same as that _by_ _means_ _of_ _which_ he does it or makes it. There were many sinful ends in practice during European colonialism, but the moral dictates were relatively good. For example, the dictate that principled Spanish colonialism was that dominium was a state of nature, not grace, reflected in the Laws of Burgos which involved asking the natives a series of questions.
You only ask of another people if you regard them as your moral equals.
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Incurable
Blaming evil colonizers is a very convenient alibi for the incompetence, dogmatism and corruption of post-colonial leaders.
You can see this a lot in India where it's become fashionable to blame the British for all their problems: despite the fact their country wouldn't exist without Britain, all their institutions are based on British ones, and their economy magically started taking off once they dispensed with the socialist ideology they adopted for the first 40 years after independence.
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Blaming evil colonizers is a very convenient alibi for the incompetence, dogmatism and corruption of post-colonial leaders.
You can see this a lot in India where it's become fashionable to blame the British for all their problems: despite the fact their country wouldn't exist without Britain, all their institutions are based on British ones, and their economy magically started taking off once they dispensed with the socialist ideology they adopted for the first 40 years after independence.
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Huwhite
It was a blessing for the West. It kept the rest of the world in check and allowed our civilization to flourish like never before. De-colonization was one of the most treasonous moves the post-WWII elites ever pulled. It has dramatically weakened our civilization, and it didn't even need to happen. The UK and France could've easily maintained their empires, and if they allowed other Western/European nations could've had empires too.
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It was a blessing for the West. It kept the rest of the world in check and allowed our civilization to flourish like never before. De-colonization was one of the most treasonous moves the post-WWII elites ever pulled. It has dramatically weakened our civilization, and it didn't even need to happen. The UK and France could've easily maintained their empires, and if they allowed other Western/European nations could've had empires too.
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shokkwave
Japan Was bever colonised. Japan Then Industrized Itself under Emperor Meiji And become the One of the most Industrilized Nation in This World. All Asian Must Thank Him. Because he stared the Domino of Industrialization in Asia.
Freedom is necessary for Industrialization and Modernization not
Colonization. Colonization also came with Missionary Christianity which Further Created Genocidal Division in Society.
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Japan Was bever colonised. Japan Then Industrized Itself under Emperor Meiji And become the One of the most Industrilized Nation in This World. All Asian Must Thank Him. Because he stared the Domino of Industrialization in Asia.
Freedom is necessary for Industrialization and Modernization not
Colonization. Colonization also came with Missionary Christianity which Further Created Genocidal Division in Society.
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Some
I suppose colonialism was inevitable in the face of the militaristic expansionism running rampant in Europe at the time. Its effects are still being felt to this day, and the intent behind its pursuit was always cold, calculated personal interest.
For us, the only good things to come out of it were purely incidental. Formerly colonized nations today only stand to prosper when they finally move on and let go.
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I suppose colonialism was inevitable in the face of the militaristic expansionism running rampant in Europe at the time. Its effects are still being felt to this day, and the intent behind its pursuit was always cold, calculated personal interest.
For us, the only good things to come out of it were purely incidental. Formerly colonized nations today only stand to prosper when they finally move on and let go.
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The
It depends on whose doing the colonising tbh. The British and Portuguese colonialism for example was objectively a net positive. The German and Spanish empires meanwhile were given over to unspeakable acts of cruelty and unlike the British and Portuguese for whom Empire building was merely a vehicle for trade were built on ruthless conquest for no other reason than to satiate their bl00dlust
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It depends on whose doing the colonising tbh. The British and Portuguese colonialism for example was objectively a net positive. The German and Spanish empires meanwhile were given over to unspeakable acts of cruelty and unlike the British and Portuguese for whom Empire building was merely a vehicle for trade were built on ruthless conquest for no other reason than to satiate their bl00dlust
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New
Eventually the remains of the Old Empires will be little more then memories relegated for the forgotten lore of dead civilisations. Just look at Australia in it's present form. We're in a state of flux right now as we revert back to our more primal and less cohesive natural state. We're currently billed to be the Carthage to China's Rome. Or the Britannia to America's Rome. Take your pick.
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Eventually the remains of the Old Empires will be little more then memories relegated for the forgotten lore of dead civilisations. Just look at Australia in it's present form. We're in a state of flux right now as we revert back to our more primal and less cohesive natural state. We're currently billed to be the Carthage to China's Rome. Or the Britannia to America's Rome. Take your pick.
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PurpleDevil
Bad for people, yet fundamentally the foundation of many societies and gave them a quicker Start technologically.
India would not have existed as an identity. Africa would be drastically different. And these nations would be less technologically advanced due to less pressures. - but there would be some modernisation, only through interaction and trade with Europeans.
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Bad for people, yet fundamentally the foundation of many societies and gave them a quicker Start technologically.
India would not have existed as an identity. Africa would be drastically different. And these nations would be less technologically advanced due to less pressures. - but there would be some modernisation, only through interaction and trade with Europeans.
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DisealedWesal
For future civilizations Yes all the great inventors and inventions have improved standards of living of all races. For the native populations No cause disease that came with the colonizers would kill off a majority of the population taking their culture with them before single shot was fired or arrow was slung.
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For future civilizations Yes all the great inventors and inventions have improved standards of living of all races. For the native populations No cause disease that came with the colonizers would kill off a majority of the population taking their culture with them before single shot was fired or arrow was slung.
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PeelSherrif099
The title should be was european colonialism good or bad. Europeans were not the first people to colonise, whether by settler colonialism or normal, economic colonialism. Many others like the chinese, the arabs etc colonised other peoples.
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The title should be was european colonialism good or bad. Europeans were not the first people to colonise, whether by settler colonialism or normal, economic colonialism. Many others like the chinese, the arabs etc colonised other peoples.
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Eliot
4: 32 He just claimed the british treated irish harsher than india
Did british murdered around 100 million irish or do they even have that much populauon even today
Also 35 million indians were starved to death under british induced famines
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4: 32 He just claimed the british treated irish harsher than india
Did british murdered around 100 million irish or do they even have that much populauon even today
Also 35 million indians were starved to death under british induced famines
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The
It s great you re privileged enough to sit in your ivory tower and ruminate on such issues. Others, typically the victims of colonialism and imperialism, don t have that luxury either because they re long dead or still suffering its effects.
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It s great you re privileged enough to sit in your ivory tower and ruminate on such issues. Others, typically the victims of colonialism and imperialism, don t have that luxury either because they re long dead or still suffering its effects.
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Ferdinand
I strongly recommend the new book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. In it, Biggar dispels the myths on the subject created by the left regarding the good natives vs the evil Europeans, without hidding the real crimes that took place.
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I strongly recommend the new book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. In it, Biggar dispels the myths on the subject created by the left regarding the good natives vs the evil Europeans, without hidding the real crimes that took place.
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Dominic
Fun fact if the shoe was on the other foot every single people group that the Europeans conquered would have done the same thing given the chance I mean China could have been a Colonial Empire but they were to isolationist
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Fun fact if the shoe was on the other foot every single people group that the Europeans conquered would have done the same thing given the chance I mean China could have been a Colonial Empire but they were to isolationist
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JG
Colonialism is responsible for more deaths than all the worldwars combined if truth be told. Colonialism is capitalism at its finest, so of course people want it to be a good thing. In fact its still going on in an evolving way.
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Colonialism is responsible for more deaths than all the worldwars combined if truth be told. Colonialism is capitalism at its finest, so of course people want it to be a good thing. In fact its still going on in an evolving way.
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