European colonialism is a thing of the past but, nevertheless, it is a brutal thing of the past. History was great, bloody great. There were the dark ages where everything, according to British historians, went dark and we all just suffered. But there was one time in history never to be forgotten: the European colonial period.
You see, Europe was starting to expand. It all started when humans first, well, became humans. See, as humans kept evolving, we just kept invading our neighbours to expand. The Romans invaded, well, the whole entire Mediterranean Basin and had a nice time subjugating other European and North African peoples. This kicked off the thought that Europeans were superior against other races, religions, and countries.
By the late Middle Ages, European countries were having a jolly good time beating each other up, but by the end of the middle ages, came newer ideas. At the end of the Middle Ages, people, especially European elites, wanted to conquer more lands. Why, you may ask? Well, this is because Europeans needed resources. You may ask, why couldn’t they get it themselves? Because 15th century Europeans needed their spices.
You see, after the fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans banned all spices traveling from India to Europe, cutting off their exclusive suppliers of spices. Europe, unhappy with this, set out to get their spices back. Christopher Colombus set out to explore the world, and find a new route to India. And after a very long journey, about 36 days, he landed in India. There was much rejoicing and- oh wait. He didn’t land in India? No. He landed in Latin America. ‘‘Oh well’’, said the Europeans, ‘‘Let’s just make them work for us like we would’ve done to the Indians.’’
And so, after Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, nearly 600 years of European colonization occurred in the New world and Africa. This might not sound tragic on the surface, but European settlers killed, enslaved, and tortured local peoples. They believed they were superior to other, non-European, people. Over the centuries, as more and more lands were conquered by the Europeans, more people were captured and enslaved to work for rich Europeans who lived in immaculate conditions, while they were living in shacks, barely having enough supplies to survive.
European colonialism is a tragic occurrence, where many people were subjugated and forced to do things they shouldn’t have been forced to do. Today, we live in a world of equality, but have you ever imagined your life as a servant in Mexico 200 years ago, or an African miner in the Congo Free State?
