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Colonialism

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Submitted By poshty
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Nupur Dixit
Mr. Randolph
English II – C Period
December 14, 2013

Shades of Colonialism
The continuum of history plays an important role in human thought. History and Colonialism, to the superficial thinker, is a collection of individual actions, social change, periods, regions, civilizations and other events that are long gone. However, as Prof. Montrose points out, history is not just about the past. All that happened in the past was happening in the present at that time. We are living in our present which will be the past in the future. The history of colonialism is being written every moment that we live, and the attached articles aptly illustrate the fact. Events that molded the colonial past are interwoven in the present and are shaping the future.
The commonality and diversity of causal forces and human reactions with regard to colonialism, over time is remarkable. The struggle between a dominant and suppressed culture is a common thread. The clash could be between distant cultures, such as the Europeans and Africans or somewhat similar cultures, such as the British and Irish. This can be loosely labelled as external and internal colonialism respectively. External colonialism has declined and changed character in today's world of connectivity and interdependence. Nations now do not directly or outright rule other less powerful nations. Instead, they take a more subtle approach, influencing the political class and deriving their benefits. This has even been called neo-colonialism, such as being practiced by China in present-day Africa. Internal colonialism or “hidden colonialism” has taken prominence in current times as dominant communities try to exert influence at the expense of the less powerful. An example is that of the Israelis colonizing the Bedouins. The underlying goal, for the most part, is economic gain. This could be in the form of cheap

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