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10. Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa, Oceania

Under European rule

incorporation in European colonial empires often traumatic

lost life, homes, cattle, crops, land

e.g. Vietnamese elite

schooled in Chinese-style Confucian thinking

conquest meant natural harmonies of life had been badly disrupted; “water flowed uphill”

often withdrew into private life; feigned illness when asked to serve in French public office

Cooperation and rebellion

Cooperation

many men found employment, status, security in European-led armed forces

Local intermediaries

colonial rulers had to rely heavily on local intermediaries

reasons

shortage, expense of European administrators

difficulties of communicating across cultural boundaries

Indian princes, Muslim emirs, African rulers often found it possible to retain earlier status and some privileges while gaining considerable wealth; exercised authority locally (both legally and not)

e.g. French West Africa in late 1930s: 368 French administrators, over 50,000 African “chiefs”

Western-educated class

promoted European education

both colonial governments and private missionary organizations

small Western-educated class grew

served colonial state, European businesses, Christian missions

teachers, clerks, translators, lower-level administrators

some got higher education abroad; returned as lawyers, doctors, engineers, journalists

Europeans became increasingly dependent on Western-educated class at expense of traditional elites

Opposition

Different forms

Cherokee Nation (United States)

formed in early 19th

some Cherokees feared encroachment of white settlers; migrated to other areas of North America

ultimately forced on Trail of Tears to Oklahoma during westward expansion movement

Zulu Kingdom (southern Africa)

Shaka Zulu established it at edge of Dutch colony of South Africa

eventually conquered by British; became part of its colony

Rebellions

occurred periodically everywhere

Indian Rebellion of 1857-1858

triggered by introduction of new cartridge smeared with cow, pig fat for militaries

Hindus worshipped cows

Muslims viewed pigs as unclean

people viewed the innovation as a plot to defile them and convert them to Christianity

many groups of people with grievances from British presence

local rulers lost power

landlords lost estates or rent

peasants were overtaxed and exploited by both urban moneylenders and landlords

unemployed weavers were displaced by machine manufacturing

religious leaders were outraged by missionary preaching

rebellion triggered by mutiny among Indian troops in Bengal

some presented cause as effort to revive almost-vanished Mughal Empire

attracted support from those who strongly resented British

impacts

widened racial divide in colonial India

heightened British intolerance towards Indians (untrustworthy)

convinced British government to assume direct control over India → end of British East India Company’s rule

British became more conservative, cautious about deliberately trying to change Indian society

Distinctive features of colonial empires

Race

Racism

race made rulers “superior”

East Africa: white men were addressed as bwana (Swahili for “master”); Africans often called “boy”

scientific racism in Europe coincided with acquisition of Asian and African colonies

particularly affected when Western eduction and aspirations threatened racial divide

1883: proposal to allow Indian judges to hear cases involving white people; provoked outrage, demonstrations among European inhabitants of India

Racial distinctions

colonies that had a large European settler population had more pronounced racial distinctions than in places with few permanently settled white people (e.g. Nigeria)

most extreme case: South Africa

Black and white people brought into closer, more prolonged contact than ever before

large European population

widespread use of African labor in mines, industries

racial fears; efforts to establish race as legal feature of South African society (not just customary)

separate “homelands”, education systems, residential areas, public facilities, etc.

apartheid

South African white people attempted to create industrializing economy based on cheap African labor

limited African social, political integration

Social penetration

Daily lives

daily lives affected more than in earlier empires

centralized tax-collecting bureaucracies

new means of communication and transportation

imposed changes in landholding patterns

integration of colonial economies into a global network of exchange

public health and sanitation measures

activities of missionaries

Classifications

Europeans extensively counted and classified subjects

used anthropologists, missionaries to gather information, organize it “scientifically”, manage societies

India

British found idealized description of caste system in classical texts and Brahmin ideology

four ranked and unchanging varnas

possible to bring order out of complexity and variety of current caste

appropriated Brahmin version of “traditional India”

favored and sought to preserve

scorned as “non-Indian” the new elite that were educated in European schools and were enthusiastic about Western ways of life

reflected influence of Brahmins on British thinking; served interests of Indian upper class

Africa

identified and sometimes invented distinct tribes

language

territory

customs

chief

Western view that African societies were primitive or backwards; represented earlier stage of human development

reduced complexity, fluidity of African society to more manageable state; made colonial administration easier

Gender

linked inferiority of women with that of people of color

European colonizers took pride in “active masculinity”; “conquered races” were soft, passive, feminine

intersection of race, gender, empires was complex and varied

European men viewed own women as bearers, emblems of civilization

above reproach in sexual matters

protected against alleged lust of native men

some races were gendered as masculine/martial and targeted for recruitment into British military or police

Sikhs and Gurkhas in India

Kamba in Kenya

Hausa in Nigeria

Contradicted European values

French and British colonies were becoming dictatorships even as their home countries were becoming more democratic

few colonial subjects participated in government

empire went against European notions of national independence

ranked racial classifications went against both Christian and Enlightenment ideas of human inequality

Europeans were reluctant to encourage modernization in colonies

urban growth, industrialization, individual values, religious skepticism

feared that such “detribalization” would encourage unrest, challenge colonial rule

preferred “traditional” rural society

established authorities and social hierarchies

did not have abuses like slavery, sati (widow burning)

became increasingly apparent to Asians and Africans; played major role in undermining foundations of colonial rule in 20th