Historical Overview of British Colonialism

Running head: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BRITISH COLONIALISM
Historical Overview of British Colonialism
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1HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BRITISH COLONIALISM
Introduction
The human civilization has been progressing through the different time period ever since
its inception. Each major development of the human society has been characterized by a
particular landmark. Such land marks are important to be recognized as each of them signify a
particular development of the human society (Abernethy, 2000). The traditions and customs of
the society gain a character during such important land marks. One of the most important phase
of the development and growth of the human society was that of the period of colonization. The
aspect of colonization was present in the world since the ancient times when the different city
states of Phoenicia and Greece occupied the uninhabited lands and established their own
territories. Their main intention was to expand their trading influence over the region of
Mediterranean Sea (Andrews & Andrews, 1984). From this it can be seen that the period of
colonization has been in existence since times immemorial. This follows from the tendency
among the powerful nations of the world to gain more power and authority. One of the most
important ways to do this is by increasing the resources available with the countries in this
regard. Such resources can be in the form of land, human capital and natural resources of the
Earth and also that of financial resources (Bandyopādhyāẏa, 2004). All of them contribute
effectively to the increase in the power and influence of the nation. As a result of this aspect of
colonization, almost all the power hungry countries of the world have been interested in trying to
bring the poorer and weaker countries of the globe under its dominance under the garb of
colonization. One of the most noteworthy period of colonization was that which existed during
the seventeenth and eighteenth century (Brendon, 2008). This paper tries to understand the
period of British colonialism and the factors which led to the rise of British imperialism. In this
respect, the paper analyzes the different periods of British colonialism over the world and also

2HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF BRITISH COLONIALISM
discusses about the various cultural and economic changes brought about in the globe as a result
of such activities of Britain. The paper concludes with the period of decolonization that was seen
in the context of the Middle East countries in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Definition of British Colonialism
During the medieval period of human civilization, the country of Britain engaged in an
aggressive expansionist policy. In other words, they tried to expand their rule over different parts
of the world (Brock, 2011). This motive of the British state leaders was propelled by further
improvements in the navigation system which allowed the different ships of the country to
explore new lands all over the globe. The discovery of such lands led to the British Empire in
seeking more and more influence and power. In this respect it can be seen that the British
imperial masters ruled over the countries of Asia and Africa as they were rich in mineral
resources and also human capital (Louis, 1999). One aspect which was greatly harped upon by
such rulers was that of the difference in skin colors. The imperial rulers from the European
continent were ‘white’ in color while the colonized people were ‘black’ in their skin color. In
this regard, the British masters sought to justify their rule on the basis of the ‘white man’s
burden’. According to colonial rulers, the ‘black’ skinned people were not capable of ruling
themselves as they did not have the ability to organize themselves in a proper manner (Louis,
1984). The rule of the ‘white’ leaders were needed as the ‘black’ people were considered to be
barbarians and hence, incapable of forming any harmonious society. It was under this pretext that
the British Empire managed to rule over most of the lands in the world for the better part of the
medieval time period.

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Factors behind the establishment of British colonialism
There were various reasons which contributed to the introduction of the colonial era on to
the growth and development of the human civilization. One of the driving factors was the
intention of the powerful nations of the world to expand its territorial hold over the globe
(Fedorowich, 2009). They were desirous of gaining more power and this could be effectively
brought about by controlling more territorial lands and natural resources. In order to embark on
this motive, they travelled to the unknown and undiscovered parts of the world which was made
possible by their technological advancements. In such parts of the world, they established their
hold with the aid of their superior technology and machinery which was not available in the
native places (Burk, 2009). Thus, the power motives of the European countries especially that of
the British Empire propelled them to undertake the measures and the methods to expand their
hold over other parts of the world. This set the tone for the introduction of the colonial phase in
the medieval times of human history.
Another important factor which contributed to the growth of the colonial period was that
of the inability of the native people of the world to provide a strong resistance against the rule of
the imperial masters (Canny, 1998). Apart form the European continent, most of the countries of
the world were backward in terms of technological advancement and the usage of highly
mechanized instruments. Furthermore, these parts of the world were highly divided amongst
themselves as they were ruled by different rulers. The British imperial masters and the other
colonizing powers of the European continent found it easy to impose their rule over these parts
of the world as they faced no effective resistance from the rulers. In fact, in certain parts of the
world such as that of India, the different rulers sought the help and assistance of the British rulers
to fight their own wars (Clegg, De Jong & Kruijt, 2005). In return for their aid, the British were