F17 Settembre 2025
martedì 16 settembre 2025 20:37
GLOBALIZATION
There is no globalization in terms of something started a few years ago because we had Internet; there is no globalization as a simple economic process.
Globalization
= is a complex phenomenon, long lasting process with different interpretations about its origins and characteristics.
= is a historical process
= has not a specific date of origin
I.G of globalization:
- The financial system
- The rules of trade
- The spread of English
Imperialism as one of the biggest forces of globalization.
In every country we found racism.
The OPEN DOOR policy: idea that there should be free trade in all countries. It had to do with the colonialist and imperialist atmosphere.
It was intended to refer mostly to China since it was independent during the colonial period because it was a country too big to simply become a colony of one of the
major powers.
The solution found: let's leave China independent, but each of the other countries will take small portion of business in China. At the same time, the most powerful
countries (the French, the British, the Russia) wanted to create special areas in China where they only were intitled to have access to trade.
The US came with the proposal: OPEN DOOR POLICY so everybody will have free open access to trade in China <- the British accepted this solution.
Why for the Americans and British was the Open door the best solutions (everyone was able to trade) when the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Japanese … wanted
to open China creating a special zones and speres of interest were only them could have access and could trade?
China position in trade is OPEN. US position in trade before was OPEN, now it is CLOSE with tariffs.
There is a question of POWER: if a country is strong because its economy and its industry are strong, the country doesn't need protection and it wants free trade because
its goods for sure will find someone that will buy them. It wants free trade because it knows that it can win. While if a country is weak, it'll want to protect itself because
other could invade its market (closeness and tariffs).
So back to the 19th century, the US and the Britain were strong -> so they wanted free trade.
SCRABBLE FOR AFRICA: period of the strongest competitions for the partition of Africa among the Europeans powers; Berlin Conference (1884) is its origin.
Map of the Holy Roman German Empire, 1648
The beginning of the modern international system took place in the end of the 30 years' war: the concept of State existed also before, but it's with the end of the 30 years'
war that it was introduced the MODERN concept of what a State is and its characteristics. It was also the transition from a system in which the Emperor had no real
power, but still some coordination powers, superior authority, the capability to mediate; but the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was not controlling the entire
Empire.
During the Treaties of Westfalia, it was introduced a concept: the king now does not recognize any superior authorities -> it's the beginning of the modern state.
The Qing Empire (China's Empire):
- China was and it is an Empire: the way it see the rest of the world and the other is different.
- Chinese model like Korea, … were countries under the Chinese system, they were independent countries and recognize China's influence in terms of cultural
influence. That's the reason why China used to be called the Middle Kingdom because it was culturally and geographically at the centre of the system. It was a
system based on hegemony: China didn't have to invade Korea for example because the Korea itself recognize that the good came from China.
- All of this was also true for Japan. But later, in the 11th century, Japan started to detach from the system and to compare itself as equal as China, but Japan was still
culturally align, it dependent on China.
- When the Europeans started to reach these countries, the first reaction was to ask China to help them -> China was the State responsible for the wealth of the other
countries (China was the centre of the system).
DESCRIBING GLOBALIZATION
Globalization in terms of the original globalization -> there are many different definition about globalization among the scholars.
- It is common to consider the beginning of globalization with the age of discoveries and the exploration of the world (America).
- Others think that the start at the end of the 18th century, others go back to the Ancient time.
From the Professor' pov: globalization is an old process that has to do with the spread of human communities across the world. It's a human process of influences; this
process of changing is always compensate with the need to stay connected.
E.g. one of the basis aspects of globalization is CULTURE
It's still a working process in share info and things.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified 4 basic aspects of globalization:
1. Trade and transactions
2. Capital and investment movements
3. Migration and movement of people
4. The dissemination of knowledge
Globalization: 3 major areas:
1. Cultural globalization is the most important and powerful area: language is the main asset that we use to communicate and to do things in our daily life. Language is
also corresponding to a way of thinking, it change our bodies; it reflect how people see the word
2. Economic globalization is mostly based on rules, is a consequences of human regulation
3. Political globalization: it's an ideology (people hope that the world can be as they want so they can decide that there is a political globalization)
There's "winners" and "losers" of globalization (negative and positive effects of globalization).
History of globalization Pagina 1
,F18 Settembre 2025
giovedì 18 settembre 2025 08:48
COLONIALISM
=the establishment, exploitation, maintenance and expansion of a colony in one territory by a political power from another territory -> neutral definition
Many schools associated different interpretations of the term "colonialism".
DEFINITIONS
- A set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and usually between the colonists and the indigenous population
- The policy and practice of a power in extending control over weaker people or areas
- Control by one power over a dependent area of people
- The process of settlement and political control over the rest of the world
-> the common element among these 4 definitions is that: there is an external actor (it can be a big Empire or little power) that for political, economic, demographic reasons
is expanding its control (direct or indirect expansion) in another territory.
The essence of colonialism is the existence of colonies, which are by definition governed differently from other territories such as protectorates or informal spheres of
influence.
a. Informal sphere of influence (of the great powers) = an area where that great power is capable of influencing the local people, not necessarily controlling them, but
with soft power, economic pressure, …
b. Protectory = specific kind of structured territory under foreign control; it's a situation in which the local administration and the local rulers (including the king) have no
real power, all real power is in the hands of the occupying country that is responsable for rappresenting that territory in external relations, controlling the army and the
internal security. The counsellor transfers the orders and power from the motherland to the local administration and takes decisions. The territory of the protectory
existed, but all the main and important sectors were under the control of the motherland.
○ e.g.: France established a protectory in Indonesia and Marocco
○ Somalia and Ethiopia were protectories of Italy, …
○ Before and during the 2WW, when Germany occupied the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, the rest of the Czech's lands (Moravia and Moldovia) were created as the
protectory of Moravia and Moldovia -> It's the only example of an Europe country ruled as a protectory
c. Colony = area where there is no local administration
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COLONISERS AND THE COLONIES
During the apex of the colonial period (end of IXX century), most of the colonies were not entirely inhabited by the colonisers (e.g. there were only a few colonizers in
Uganda), while there were a lot of colonizers in Algeria, Libia, South Africa … -> There were areas where the colonizers decided to set (these are the settler colonizers), while
in the larger part of the colonial Empire, there were only a few colonizers, so the way of regulating was different, usually they established an align with the local élite.
In a large perspective, which was the way the colonisers saw the colonies?
PICTURE: probably from the central part of Africa, end of 1880; for the time, it's a normal picture. Usually there were models of photos:
1. This kind or photos
2. Photos showing traditional actives from routine
3. Picture with naked women
picture
EUROPEAN COLONIZER AFRICAN COLONY
- Educated grown man - Little boy
- Is dressed - Undressed
- Has a weapon (gun) - Has African weapons
represents MODERNITY and superiority represents that AFRICANS IS BRAVE (because he is a kid, but still he has weapon)
Some elements are normal ones in Africa and Europe, but at the same times the comparison between the 2 arms is different: Western recognized that Africans were
educated and civilized people, but have no powerful weapons - > We can understand how European think of Africans: not good in fighting, but good in other things (trade).
TYPES OF COLONIALISM
Not all colonies were the same, there were differences:
1. SETTLER COLONIALISM: those areas in which there were a large-scale immigration, often motivated by religious, political, or economic reasons.
○ If we only focus on the IXX century: for the French we have Algeria, Indonesia and part of Marocco; for the British we have South Africa, Australia, New Zeeland,
Canada; for the Italians we have Libia, Ethiopia; the Germans tried to create a settler colony where now is Namibia; the Duch partly failed in trying to colonize
It was a way of colonializing that changed the social environment and the demography.
○ E.g. Algeria (the most important French colony): started a war for independence and become independent in 1962; when the war began more than half of
Algeria's population was French
○ The British Empire was the most successful in the settler colonialism because today when we think about Australia, New Zeeland or Canada, we immediately think
about the British past, and not to the Māori or the indigenous communities
○ Japan and Italy: they needed a lot of time and years to conquer specific areas (process of colonization with fights). They were too ambitious.
2. EXPLOITATION COLONIALISM: fewer colonists, focus on access to resources for export. This category includes trading posts as well as larger colonies where colonists
would constitute much of the political and economic administration, but would rely on indigenous resources for labour and material.
○ They exploit every possible resources of the territory
3. PLANTATION COLONIES: an exploitation colonialism where colonizing powers utilize either type for different territories depending on various social and economic
factors as well as climate and geographic conditions.
○ the entire economy of the colony, including its natural environment, changes in order to transform the colony in a producer is a specific good. Producing for self-
consumption (=food) was reduced, enough to feed the people, but not enough for the market -> transformation of the land
○ In some other areas it created a dangerous situation: the mono-agriculture economy (in the global trade) of a new independent country created problems when
the prices were bad and that product was not requested. It's a risky thing
4. SURROGATE COLONIALISM: a settlement project supported by colonial power, in which most of the settlers do not come from the mainstream of the ruling power
○ when a country (both an independent country and a colonizer) decides that for economic, political and social reasons, it needs people and workers
○ Country wanted to create a selected growth of their population. There were companies that assisted the process of immigration in terms of quantity and quality.
○ Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela were countries with specific purpose to control immigration (e.g. they wanted white immigration, so pure and civilized people to
work their territory -> Germans, Italians, Japanese (pure people) moving in Brazil)
○ Australia have always had a strict policy in immigration.
5. INTERNAL COLONIALISM: the source of exploitation comes from and within the State; typical phenomenon of big States
a. USA: the USA internal colonialism was over by the begging of the XX century; the last territory to became a State of the federation was Oklahoma that became a
State in 1999
b. Russian Empire: it was a successful process in the beginning: Siberia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan… but the problem was the climate condition in its area (too cold) ->
History of globalization Pagina 1
, b. Russian Empire: it was a successful process in the beginning: Siberia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan… but the problem was the climate condition in its area (too cold) ->
geographical condition played a big roles
c. China: China is an ongoing process
TO BE NOTED…
Socio-cultural evolution included the formation of various ethnically hybrid populations.
Colonialism gave also rise to culturally and ethnically mixed population such as the "mestizos" of the Americans, as well as racially-divided populations such as those found
in French Algeria or in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia -> At the beginning of the 15th-16th century, especially for the Americans, the inter-mixing between the
colonizers and the colonized was not a big problem. Others countries, like Spain), didn't accept the inter-mixing because of their idea to protect the pure population (the
blood).
Moving to a colony was often a chance to improve social position for officials.
From an economic pov, we talk about "triangular trade" and "mercantilism"
TRIANGULAR TRADE
= trade developed between Africa, America and Europe
1. Europe: exported in Africa cotton fabric, weapons, iron tools, …
2. Africa: sold slaves in exchange of Europeans things
3. Europe: took the slaves and sold them to the planters of the American's colonies
4. America: from the American's colonies sugar, cotton, … were sold to Europe
… it's a circle
Slavery: there was an economic system of slavery in Africa, it was the most large regulated slave system.
The slave trade in east Africa was to Mid-east Asia (Ottoman Empire, Arabic area, Persia) and to Europe
The slave trade in west Africa first was used to sell slaves to North Africa and the Ottoman Empire; when Europe started develop relations with the Americans it was easy for
slaves to go to America because there was already the larger market of slavery of the world.
One of the reasons for African wars was that many Africans fought to capture people to transform in slave.
MERCANTILISM
= economic theory and practice, dominant in modernized parts of Europe (16th-18th century)
It promoted governmental regulation of the international trade: the State economy should be regulated with a national economic policy with the purpose of augmenting its
power at the expense of rivals and with the intend to protect the internal production (and forbid the import from abroad).
Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods.
It also motivated colonial expansion (mercantilism was one of the reasons for justify colonial expansion).
High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, were an almost universal feature of mercantilist policy. Other policies have included:
a. forbidding colonies to trade with other nation
b. forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships
c. monopolizing markets with the decrease of staple ports (=porti di base) <- there were specific ports entitled to receive trade
d. maximizing the use of domestic resources
Mercantilism is also related to a specific aspect: the way you pay for the products. The economy was based on silver and gold <- materials used to create coins. States were
stressed about losing gold and silver.
DUTCH COLONIAL EMPIRE
The Netherlands are interesting because when the Dutch colonial Empire was been created, Netherlands were not even independent because they were into a 17 years' war
against Spain. The Dutch Empire started to attack the Spanish (and after the Portuguese) stealing them; from it, they started to create some hotspots and colonies.
When the Duch became independent, they kept fighting against Spain and Portugal, and the strategy to steal was still there.
The thing that made the Dutch Empire different, was that it was a republic.
DUTCH COMPANIES
Companies that was quoted on the stock market (modern approach to colonialism based on trade).
1)
The United East India Company (VOC) was a chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established in March 1602 by the States
General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies.
Shares in the company could be purchased by any citizen of the Dutch Republic and subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets.
The VOC possessed quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish
colonies -> It was like an independent entity.
They were able to go everywhere, it was a powerful company.
VOC was responsible for the expansion of Duch interests and trade in the East and South Africa.
2)
The Dutch West India Company (WIC) was a chartered company founded in 1621 and active util 1792.
It was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and
North America. Most of the money came from the slavery market.
They tried to establish colonies in South America (Portuguese Brazil, the Caribbean and North America) -> they were not successful in the colonialism process because
Netherlands were a small country, the population were protestants (Calvinists), a place were other religions were tolerated. In order to avoid conflicts, Netherlands decided
to sell their colonies in North America because it was not a favourable/ lucrative/ profitable business.
The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese. The company became instrumental in the Dutch colonization of the
Americans (including New Netherland).
1624-1654: the WIC held territory in northeast Brazil.
WIC was responsible for the expansion of Duch interests and trade in West Africa and America.
Slavery was a profitable business, but with the beginning of the 18th century, the British took the upper hands on this trade, so the share that the Dutch companies had in
slave trade with Africa and America was going to reduce until it became almost nothing.
When it comes to colonialism, we need to consider many aspects: economy, demography, religion, geography, … people years ago did not think as us today:
- slavery was considered a normal thing
- racism was a common thing as well, because people at that time were not traveling, there wasn't immigration. Most of the people didn't care about colonies, the
colour of the skin (…) a part of the administrators, intellectuals and capitalists (it was a business for them). People started to be interest in colonialism only when a crise
or a war happened, but when the wars/ crises ended, those who were interested for business reasons had to keep interest alive among the people.
History of globalization Pagina 2
, F19 Settembre 2025
giovedì 18 settembre 2025 11:09
THE GREAT 18TH CENTURY
A century of wars, philosophers, and revolutions
- The Seven Years’ war
- American independence
- French revolution
- Napoleonic wars
- The Congress of Vienna
THE 7 YEARS' WAR 1756-1764
It involved most of the great powers of the time and affected Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India and the Philippines.
In a sense, it was a true world war -> it was the major war of the time, the first global war.
It was made of more conflicts: the French and the British started to fight against each other in India year before the 7 years' war broke out in Europe.
- Global war in terms of the RESOURCES invested in the conflict and in terms of the consequences because it had to do with lands and trade (access to the resources,
the market, monopoly of the market).
3 major area:
1. North America (East Coast)
2. French Canada
3. Spain (in the South) (Luisiana was under Spain control)
A WAR THAT CHANGE THE WORLD
Europe: Germany was the main battlefield
North America
India: decisive fights between France and Britain for supremacy
Great Britain: became the main commercial and maritime power; it's the period in which the British had the greatest expansion in control of the major communication lines
(sea routes), becoming the most influential economic power.
French Canada become a Britain's colony <- French presence in North America was little; to the French was left only a couple of islands and those islands allow the French
to have access to the area of the Nord Atlantic Ocean where is easy to find huge quantity of fish.
THE WAR IN INDIA
India was an area of major conflicts between Britain vs France.
It was a private colony of Britain (a part of some territories of France, the Dutch Empire and Portugal). Britain was investing money in India, the consequence is that it had
no competitors in India.
French tried to conquer India attacking the British, but France lost almost all its possession in India.
1769: the French East India Company was unable to support itself financially, was abolished by the French Crown. France kept only the 5 “centers” until the independence
of India (1947).
The war in India had consequences also in Europe: it destabilized Europe and it was directly linked to the American Independence, and to the French Revolution.
THE AMERICAN INDIPENDENCE
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).
Practical problems:
1. Money: wars are expensive;
2. If you are involved in a long war, and then you won it, you don't think that there will be other wars in the future and that you have to fight again; you will think that the
war is over and you don't have the need to invest in the army. But still an Empire need some kind of protection. So the British' s government and parliament wanted to
reduce the military expenses after the end of 7 years' war, but they still have to spend some money to protect themselves and the new territories -> SOLUTION: put
the colonies to pay the cost of the army (tax increase in North America -> from the question of arise taxes there was "no taxation, without rap presentation"
○ It's one of the slogans of the American during the war of independence.
○ It was a political slogan and principle that became a rallying cry for the American colonists leading up to the American Revolution, arguing that it was unjust to
impose taxes on them by the British government without the colonists having elected representatives in the British Parliament. The principle emphasizes that a
population should not be subject to taxation unless it has a voice in the government that levies the taxes.
○ The colonized Americans were asking the settlors that, in order to pay taxes, they needed to be represented in the Parliament.
○ From the British pov: Americans had to pay, because the British had pay the war to give more lands to the Americans.
3. All those former French territories in North America were inhabited by a small number of Europeans because the French were not interest in creating cities and to
colonize to settle there. The French were interested in trade, in fact they had a good relation with the indigenous population. The British settlers were different
because they wanted LANDS. So the position of the British centre government was to deal and protect the interests of the local population as much as possible; but it
was something that the settlers didn't accept.
This contrast between the centre government (who was open to the dialogue and more understanding towards the indigenous population) and the settlers (who were
more aggressive) was a common thing (especially in Africa).
There was a large speculation about the NEW LANDS (the Appalachian mountain) -> another reason to complain and to fight for the independence.
The war of independence lead to the military intervention of the French on the America's side: the French wanted to take back some of the lands they lost from the Britain.
The French sent their army and navies to help the Americans to fight, and they won (they didn't got back much).
The French General on the America Independent' war was Lafayette: he wanted to come back from North America to France with new ideas, also the America Declaration
had a big impact on the French Revolution.
1778: France, signed an alliance with the new nation.
Escalation into a global war with Britain vs France, Spain, and the Netherlands.
FRENCH REVOLUTION -> NAPOLEONIC WARS
The American and the French's revolution destabilized also other European countries.
Economy, trade and finance were always there.
After the ending of the Napeoleone's wars, the British were again controlling cereals (they occupied some of the Dutch territory as Singapore,…) -> the British Empire kept
growing.
History of globalization Pagina 1
martedì 16 settembre 2025 20:37
GLOBALIZATION
There is no globalization in terms of something started a few years ago because we had Internet; there is no globalization as a simple economic process.
Globalization
= is a complex phenomenon, long lasting process with different interpretations about its origins and characteristics.
= is a historical process
= has not a specific date of origin
I.G of globalization:
- The financial system
- The rules of trade
- The spread of English
Imperialism as one of the biggest forces of globalization.
In every country we found racism.
The OPEN DOOR policy: idea that there should be free trade in all countries. It had to do with the colonialist and imperialist atmosphere.
It was intended to refer mostly to China since it was independent during the colonial period because it was a country too big to simply become a colony of one of the
major powers.
The solution found: let's leave China independent, but each of the other countries will take small portion of business in China. At the same time, the most powerful
countries (the French, the British, the Russia) wanted to create special areas in China where they only were intitled to have access to trade.
The US came with the proposal: OPEN DOOR POLICY so everybody will have free open access to trade in China <- the British accepted this solution.
Why for the Americans and British was the Open door the best solutions (everyone was able to trade) when the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Japanese … wanted
to open China creating a special zones and speres of interest were only them could have access and could trade?
China position in trade is OPEN. US position in trade before was OPEN, now it is CLOSE with tariffs.
There is a question of POWER: if a country is strong because its economy and its industry are strong, the country doesn't need protection and it wants free trade because
its goods for sure will find someone that will buy them. It wants free trade because it knows that it can win. While if a country is weak, it'll want to protect itself because
other could invade its market (closeness and tariffs).
So back to the 19th century, the US and the Britain were strong -> so they wanted free trade.
SCRABBLE FOR AFRICA: period of the strongest competitions for the partition of Africa among the Europeans powers; Berlin Conference (1884) is its origin.
Map of the Holy Roman German Empire, 1648
The beginning of the modern international system took place in the end of the 30 years' war: the concept of State existed also before, but it's with the end of the 30 years'
war that it was introduced the MODERN concept of what a State is and its characteristics. It was also the transition from a system in which the Emperor had no real
power, but still some coordination powers, superior authority, the capability to mediate; but the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was not controlling the entire
Empire.
During the Treaties of Westfalia, it was introduced a concept: the king now does not recognize any superior authorities -> it's the beginning of the modern state.
The Qing Empire (China's Empire):
- China was and it is an Empire: the way it see the rest of the world and the other is different.
- Chinese model like Korea, … were countries under the Chinese system, they were independent countries and recognize China's influence in terms of cultural
influence. That's the reason why China used to be called the Middle Kingdom because it was culturally and geographically at the centre of the system. It was a
system based on hegemony: China didn't have to invade Korea for example because the Korea itself recognize that the good came from China.
- All of this was also true for Japan. But later, in the 11th century, Japan started to detach from the system and to compare itself as equal as China, but Japan was still
culturally align, it dependent on China.
- When the Europeans started to reach these countries, the first reaction was to ask China to help them -> China was the State responsible for the wealth of the other
countries (China was the centre of the system).
DESCRIBING GLOBALIZATION
Globalization in terms of the original globalization -> there are many different definition about globalization among the scholars.
- It is common to consider the beginning of globalization with the age of discoveries and the exploration of the world (America).
- Others think that the start at the end of the 18th century, others go back to the Ancient time.
From the Professor' pov: globalization is an old process that has to do with the spread of human communities across the world. It's a human process of influences; this
process of changing is always compensate with the need to stay connected.
E.g. one of the basis aspects of globalization is CULTURE
It's still a working process in share info and things.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified 4 basic aspects of globalization:
1. Trade and transactions
2. Capital and investment movements
3. Migration and movement of people
4. The dissemination of knowledge
Globalization: 3 major areas:
1. Cultural globalization is the most important and powerful area: language is the main asset that we use to communicate and to do things in our daily life. Language is
also corresponding to a way of thinking, it change our bodies; it reflect how people see the word
2. Economic globalization is mostly based on rules, is a consequences of human regulation
3. Political globalization: it's an ideology (people hope that the world can be as they want so they can decide that there is a political globalization)
There's "winners" and "losers" of globalization (negative and positive effects of globalization).
History of globalization Pagina 1
,F18 Settembre 2025
giovedì 18 settembre 2025 08:48
COLONIALISM
=the establishment, exploitation, maintenance and expansion of a colony in one territory by a political power from another territory -> neutral definition
Many schools associated different interpretations of the term "colonialism".
DEFINITIONS
- A set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and usually between the colonists and the indigenous population
- The policy and practice of a power in extending control over weaker people or areas
- Control by one power over a dependent area of people
- The process of settlement and political control over the rest of the world
-> the common element among these 4 definitions is that: there is an external actor (it can be a big Empire or little power) that for political, economic, demographic reasons
is expanding its control (direct or indirect expansion) in another territory.
The essence of colonialism is the existence of colonies, which are by definition governed differently from other territories such as protectorates or informal spheres of
influence.
a. Informal sphere of influence (of the great powers) = an area where that great power is capable of influencing the local people, not necessarily controlling them, but
with soft power, economic pressure, …
b. Protectory = specific kind of structured territory under foreign control; it's a situation in which the local administration and the local rulers (including the king) have no
real power, all real power is in the hands of the occupying country that is responsable for rappresenting that territory in external relations, controlling the army and the
internal security. The counsellor transfers the orders and power from the motherland to the local administration and takes decisions. The territory of the protectory
existed, but all the main and important sectors were under the control of the motherland.
○ e.g.: France established a protectory in Indonesia and Marocco
○ Somalia and Ethiopia were protectories of Italy, …
○ Before and during the 2WW, when Germany occupied the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, the rest of the Czech's lands (Moravia and Moldovia) were created as the
protectory of Moravia and Moldovia -> It's the only example of an Europe country ruled as a protectory
c. Colony = area where there is no local administration
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COLONISERS AND THE COLONIES
During the apex of the colonial period (end of IXX century), most of the colonies were not entirely inhabited by the colonisers (e.g. there were only a few colonizers in
Uganda), while there were a lot of colonizers in Algeria, Libia, South Africa … -> There were areas where the colonizers decided to set (these are the settler colonizers), while
in the larger part of the colonial Empire, there were only a few colonizers, so the way of regulating was different, usually they established an align with the local élite.
In a large perspective, which was the way the colonisers saw the colonies?
PICTURE: probably from the central part of Africa, end of 1880; for the time, it's a normal picture. Usually there were models of photos:
1. This kind or photos
2. Photos showing traditional actives from routine
3. Picture with naked women
picture
EUROPEAN COLONIZER AFRICAN COLONY
- Educated grown man - Little boy
- Is dressed - Undressed
- Has a weapon (gun) - Has African weapons
represents MODERNITY and superiority represents that AFRICANS IS BRAVE (because he is a kid, but still he has weapon)
Some elements are normal ones in Africa and Europe, but at the same times the comparison between the 2 arms is different: Western recognized that Africans were
educated and civilized people, but have no powerful weapons - > We can understand how European think of Africans: not good in fighting, but good in other things (trade).
TYPES OF COLONIALISM
Not all colonies were the same, there were differences:
1. SETTLER COLONIALISM: those areas in which there were a large-scale immigration, often motivated by religious, political, or economic reasons.
○ If we only focus on the IXX century: for the French we have Algeria, Indonesia and part of Marocco; for the British we have South Africa, Australia, New Zeeland,
Canada; for the Italians we have Libia, Ethiopia; the Germans tried to create a settler colony where now is Namibia; the Duch partly failed in trying to colonize
It was a way of colonializing that changed the social environment and the demography.
○ E.g. Algeria (the most important French colony): started a war for independence and become independent in 1962; when the war began more than half of
Algeria's population was French
○ The British Empire was the most successful in the settler colonialism because today when we think about Australia, New Zeeland or Canada, we immediately think
about the British past, and not to the Māori or the indigenous communities
○ Japan and Italy: they needed a lot of time and years to conquer specific areas (process of colonization with fights). They were too ambitious.
2. EXPLOITATION COLONIALISM: fewer colonists, focus on access to resources for export. This category includes trading posts as well as larger colonies where colonists
would constitute much of the political and economic administration, but would rely on indigenous resources for labour and material.
○ They exploit every possible resources of the territory
3. PLANTATION COLONIES: an exploitation colonialism where colonizing powers utilize either type for different territories depending on various social and economic
factors as well as climate and geographic conditions.
○ the entire economy of the colony, including its natural environment, changes in order to transform the colony in a producer is a specific good. Producing for self-
consumption (=food) was reduced, enough to feed the people, but not enough for the market -> transformation of the land
○ In some other areas it created a dangerous situation: the mono-agriculture economy (in the global trade) of a new independent country created problems when
the prices were bad and that product was not requested. It's a risky thing
4. SURROGATE COLONIALISM: a settlement project supported by colonial power, in which most of the settlers do not come from the mainstream of the ruling power
○ when a country (both an independent country and a colonizer) decides that for economic, political and social reasons, it needs people and workers
○ Country wanted to create a selected growth of their population. There were companies that assisted the process of immigration in terms of quantity and quality.
○ Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela were countries with specific purpose to control immigration (e.g. they wanted white immigration, so pure and civilized people to
work their territory -> Germans, Italians, Japanese (pure people) moving in Brazil)
○ Australia have always had a strict policy in immigration.
5. INTERNAL COLONIALISM: the source of exploitation comes from and within the State; typical phenomenon of big States
a. USA: the USA internal colonialism was over by the begging of the XX century; the last territory to became a State of the federation was Oklahoma that became a
State in 1999
b. Russian Empire: it was a successful process in the beginning: Siberia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan… but the problem was the climate condition in its area (too cold) ->
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, b. Russian Empire: it was a successful process in the beginning: Siberia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan… but the problem was the climate condition in its area (too cold) ->
geographical condition played a big roles
c. China: China is an ongoing process
TO BE NOTED…
Socio-cultural evolution included the formation of various ethnically hybrid populations.
Colonialism gave also rise to culturally and ethnically mixed population such as the "mestizos" of the Americans, as well as racially-divided populations such as those found
in French Algeria or in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia -> At the beginning of the 15th-16th century, especially for the Americans, the inter-mixing between the
colonizers and the colonized was not a big problem. Others countries, like Spain), didn't accept the inter-mixing because of their idea to protect the pure population (the
blood).
Moving to a colony was often a chance to improve social position for officials.
From an economic pov, we talk about "triangular trade" and "mercantilism"
TRIANGULAR TRADE
= trade developed between Africa, America and Europe
1. Europe: exported in Africa cotton fabric, weapons, iron tools, …
2. Africa: sold slaves in exchange of Europeans things
3. Europe: took the slaves and sold them to the planters of the American's colonies
4. America: from the American's colonies sugar, cotton, … were sold to Europe
… it's a circle
Slavery: there was an economic system of slavery in Africa, it was the most large regulated slave system.
The slave trade in east Africa was to Mid-east Asia (Ottoman Empire, Arabic area, Persia) and to Europe
The slave trade in west Africa first was used to sell slaves to North Africa and the Ottoman Empire; when Europe started develop relations with the Americans it was easy for
slaves to go to America because there was already the larger market of slavery of the world.
One of the reasons for African wars was that many Africans fought to capture people to transform in slave.
MERCANTILISM
= economic theory and practice, dominant in modernized parts of Europe (16th-18th century)
It promoted governmental regulation of the international trade: the State economy should be regulated with a national economic policy with the purpose of augmenting its
power at the expense of rivals and with the intend to protect the internal production (and forbid the import from abroad).
Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods.
It also motivated colonial expansion (mercantilism was one of the reasons for justify colonial expansion).
High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, were an almost universal feature of mercantilist policy. Other policies have included:
a. forbidding colonies to trade with other nation
b. forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships
c. monopolizing markets with the decrease of staple ports (=porti di base) <- there were specific ports entitled to receive trade
d. maximizing the use of domestic resources
Mercantilism is also related to a specific aspect: the way you pay for the products. The economy was based on silver and gold <- materials used to create coins. States were
stressed about losing gold and silver.
DUTCH COLONIAL EMPIRE
The Netherlands are interesting because when the Dutch colonial Empire was been created, Netherlands were not even independent because they were into a 17 years' war
against Spain. The Dutch Empire started to attack the Spanish (and after the Portuguese) stealing them; from it, they started to create some hotspots and colonies.
When the Duch became independent, they kept fighting against Spain and Portugal, and the strategy to steal was still there.
The thing that made the Dutch Empire different, was that it was a republic.
DUTCH COMPANIES
Companies that was quoted on the stock market (modern approach to colonialism based on trade).
1)
The United East India Company (VOC) was a chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established in March 1602 by the States
General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies.
Shares in the company could be purchased by any citizen of the Dutch Republic and subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets.
The VOC possessed quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish
colonies -> It was like an independent entity.
They were able to go everywhere, it was a powerful company.
VOC was responsible for the expansion of Duch interests and trade in the East and South Africa.
2)
The Dutch West India Company (WIC) was a chartered company founded in 1621 and active util 1792.
It was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and
North America. Most of the money came from the slavery market.
They tried to establish colonies in South America (Portuguese Brazil, the Caribbean and North America) -> they were not successful in the colonialism process because
Netherlands were a small country, the population were protestants (Calvinists), a place were other religions were tolerated. In order to avoid conflicts, Netherlands decided
to sell their colonies in North America because it was not a favourable/ lucrative/ profitable business.
The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese. The company became instrumental in the Dutch colonization of the
Americans (including New Netherland).
1624-1654: the WIC held territory in northeast Brazil.
WIC was responsible for the expansion of Duch interests and trade in West Africa and America.
Slavery was a profitable business, but with the beginning of the 18th century, the British took the upper hands on this trade, so the share that the Dutch companies had in
slave trade with Africa and America was going to reduce until it became almost nothing.
When it comes to colonialism, we need to consider many aspects: economy, demography, religion, geography, … people years ago did not think as us today:
- slavery was considered a normal thing
- racism was a common thing as well, because people at that time were not traveling, there wasn't immigration. Most of the people didn't care about colonies, the
colour of the skin (…) a part of the administrators, intellectuals and capitalists (it was a business for them). People started to be interest in colonialism only when a crise
or a war happened, but when the wars/ crises ended, those who were interested for business reasons had to keep interest alive among the people.
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, F19 Settembre 2025
giovedì 18 settembre 2025 11:09
THE GREAT 18TH CENTURY
A century of wars, philosophers, and revolutions
- The Seven Years’ war
- American independence
- French revolution
- Napoleonic wars
- The Congress of Vienna
THE 7 YEARS' WAR 1756-1764
It involved most of the great powers of the time and affected Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India and the Philippines.
In a sense, it was a true world war -> it was the major war of the time, the first global war.
It was made of more conflicts: the French and the British started to fight against each other in India year before the 7 years' war broke out in Europe.
- Global war in terms of the RESOURCES invested in the conflict and in terms of the consequences because it had to do with lands and trade (access to the resources,
the market, monopoly of the market).
3 major area:
1. North America (East Coast)
2. French Canada
3. Spain (in the South) (Luisiana was under Spain control)
A WAR THAT CHANGE THE WORLD
Europe: Germany was the main battlefield
North America
India: decisive fights between France and Britain for supremacy
Great Britain: became the main commercial and maritime power; it's the period in which the British had the greatest expansion in control of the major communication lines
(sea routes), becoming the most influential economic power.
French Canada become a Britain's colony <- French presence in North America was little; to the French was left only a couple of islands and those islands allow the French
to have access to the area of the Nord Atlantic Ocean where is easy to find huge quantity of fish.
THE WAR IN INDIA
India was an area of major conflicts between Britain vs France.
It was a private colony of Britain (a part of some territories of France, the Dutch Empire and Portugal). Britain was investing money in India, the consequence is that it had
no competitors in India.
French tried to conquer India attacking the British, but France lost almost all its possession in India.
1769: the French East India Company was unable to support itself financially, was abolished by the French Crown. France kept only the 5 “centers” until the independence
of India (1947).
The war in India had consequences also in Europe: it destabilized Europe and it was directly linked to the American Independence, and to the French Revolution.
THE AMERICAN INDIPENDENCE
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).
Practical problems:
1. Money: wars are expensive;
2. If you are involved in a long war, and then you won it, you don't think that there will be other wars in the future and that you have to fight again; you will think that the
war is over and you don't have the need to invest in the army. But still an Empire need some kind of protection. So the British' s government and parliament wanted to
reduce the military expenses after the end of 7 years' war, but they still have to spend some money to protect themselves and the new territories -> SOLUTION: put
the colonies to pay the cost of the army (tax increase in North America -> from the question of arise taxes there was "no taxation, without rap presentation"
○ It's one of the slogans of the American during the war of independence.
○ It was a political slogan and principle that became a rallying cry for the American colonists leading up to the American Revolution, arguing that it was unjust to
impose taxes on them by the British government without the colonists having elected representatives in the British Parliament. The principle emphasizes that a
population should not be subject to taxation unless it has a voice in the government that levies the taxes.
○ The colonized Americans were asking the settlors that, in order to pay taxes, they needed to be represented in the Parliament.
○ From the British pov: Americans had to pay, because the British had pay the war to give more lands to the Americans.
3. All those former French territories in North America were inhabited by a small number of Europeans because the French were not interest in creating cities and to
colonize to settle there. The French were interested in trade, in fact they had a good relation with the indigenous population. The British settlers were different
because they wanted LANDS. So the position of the British centre government was to deal and protect the interests of the local population as much as possible; but it
was something that the settlers didn't accept.
This contrast between the centre government (who was open to the dialogue and more understanding towards the indigenous population) and the settlers (who were
more aggressive) was a common thing (especially in Africa).
There was a large speculation about the NEW LANDS (the Appalachian mountain) -> another reason to complain and to fight for the independence.
The war of independence lead to the military intervention of the French on the America's side: the French wanted to take back some of the lands they lost from the Britain.
The French sent their army and navies to help the Americans to fight, and they won (they didn't got back much).
The French General on the America Independent' war was Lafayette: he wanted to come back from North America to France with new ideas, also the America Declaration
had a big impact on the French Revolution.
1778: France, signed an alliance with the new nation.
Escalation into a global war with Britain vs France, Spain, and the Netherlands.
FRENCH REVOLUTION -> NAPOLEONIC WARS
The American and the French's revolution destabilized also other European countries.
Economy, trade and finance were always there.
After the ending of the Napeoleone's wars, the British were again controlling cereals (they occupied some of the Dutch territory as Singapore,…) -> the British Empire kept
growing.
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