Colonization

Almost every country has been colonized at one point in time. Some of the more well known colonies are India, America in its beginning years. As discussed in class on Tuesday, a criteria the colonizing country needs to fulfill to exert power over the country or area it controls. In the case of Africa, Europeans were the dominant country for years. As describe in Conrad book, Heart of Darkness, "They were dying slowly -- it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now -- nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the green- ish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncon- genial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest. These moribund shapes were free as air -- and nearly as thin." In this book there seems to be sympathy shown by some of the members of the dominant race while there are some are the exact opposites. Until this colonization ended, most Africans were used as slaves and deemed savage and inferiors by many in the dominant race. Because of the years this country spent as a colonized country, there are many issues that arise when this control cease. There were still a negative and superior attitude towards the Africans by some outside countries. Many does not have the experience to live without the control of the Europeans, no matter how cruelly or good they were treated. Some African countries that were colonized in the past may have revert to their original lifestyle before the colonization or converts into a different type of country such as trade or tourist sites.