Was Colonization of Other Peoples’ Land Justified on any Ground

People have been basically fighting for the possession of land- lands not occupied or inhabited by others, lands inhabited by hostile groups, lands in possession of neutral people. Every person having a sort of authority or position wanted to add some feather to his / her cap. This could easily be done by grabbing more land and thus expanding his domain (read empire).

There is a proverb that “Woman, Wealth and Land are the root cause of war”. And history has proved it also. At times possession of one tract of land would lead to the possession of another, and the process goes on unabated. This was true during the agrarian era of the history and same is true even today when we breathe in twenty-first century. The ensuing periods of history that witnessed the aggressions and expansionism of ancient, medieval and modern ages-

The colonial period and then the world wars- further confirms the same myth.

The big questions today facing the humanity are:-

• Should we allow this to continue forever?
• Should we not learn to get mature enough to harness our animal instincts?
• Should we not sincerely and seriously endeavor to make this planet safer for our coming generations?

People have been moving from one part of the world to the other in quest for more resources and more land. The Asiatic peoples colonized the Americas by crossing over the Bering Straits. The Europeans then discovered Americas and occupied the newly found world. Then with the power of weapons and having a sense of superiority the British Empire tried to keep her 13 colonies in North America under their domain. However it was not acceptable for those people who had made America their homeland through generations. They got up and snatched their freedom, paving the way for a super power with the name of United States of America. But the present leaders of the USA lack the acumen of George Washington and are towing the line of the colonial powers. They are unnecessarily stretching themselves in the world beyond limits, not comprehending the disastrous results of the expansionism. They must know that other nations, big or small, will not accept their hegemony as the American people had not accepted the British colonial rule.

The European colonial powers – British, French, German, Dutch etc- went out to colonize the backward people of Asia and Africa with a plea that they were going to spread civilization in the world. In reality the colonial powers made them slaves and plundered their wealth. The occupants did make railways, roads and other infrastructure in their colonies but the real purpose behind it was to facilitate the exploitation of those lands. With lethal weapons they killed their subjects in cold blood. They never allowed any freedom of speech, action or expression. All such political activities were crushed ruthlessly naming them as ‘rebellion’. An end to colonial rule was made possible only when the enslaved people rose against their brutal rule with force and armed struggle. Despite colonizing the African nations for decades the colonial powers could not do anything for their welfare. Even today those African lands give a look of prehistoric era. People are dying with diseases, famine, poverty and malnutrition. The curse of tribal strife and genocide is also a gift of the colonial powers who always tried to rule these lands with the policy of  “Divide and Rule”.

So there is a message from all the peace lovers of the world for the powerful countries not to make any fresh effort to colonize the world on any pretext. The intentions of domination are the same but the tactics have changed. But these modern tactics also have the ability to plunge the world in perpetual conflict, bloodshed and devastation. It is better that all such tactics and conspiracies should be done away with immediately, for the sake of a sustainable global peace.

Also Read:

History of Zambia – Struggle for Independence against Colonial Rule.

History of Zimbabwe – Country known as Rhodesia during & after Colonial period got independence.

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