The Long, Strange, and Not-So-Complete Death of Colonialism

Q1: Even before beginning to read the chapter, what are at least three things that you
already knew about the topic of the chapter?

Even before reading the chapter, I knew that the struggle to end colonialism or kill it had
been long. In countries, such as India, the struggle had taken many decades to become
successful. The struggle to end colonialism was also generally difficult for the colonial subjects
especially in countries where the colonial masters were more deeply invested in both politically
and economically, such as Algeria and Vietnam.

Additionally, I also knew that the struggle against colonialism had been strange. Granted,
in some Middle Eastern and Asian countries, local religion, such as Hinduism and Islam, had
provided the ideological framework for fighting against colonialism. However, for the most part,
colonialism had been fought by native populations using European ideas. For instance, almost all
anti-colonial movements used the ideas of nationalism and self-determination to oppose
colonialism. Surprisingly, these ideas had been developed and brought to colonized lands by the
Europeans themselves.

Lastly, I knew that colonialism is not completely dead. Even in the 1960s when most
colonial subjects had just been independent for a few years, anti-colonial leaders, such as Kwame
Nkurumah were already articulating the idea of neo-colonialism. The idea that while overt and
direct control of the colonies by the European colonial powers had nominally ended with the
formal declarations of independence, most of the newly free states were still under indirect
control of their masters thus making a mockery of their independence.

3

Q2: What is at least one thing that surprised you as you read the chapter? What did you
not know (or not expect)?

The thing that surprised me the most as I read the chapter was how decolonization had
increased, rather than reduced, the power and influence of western-based multinational
corporations. I assumed that with the Europeans no longer completely in charge of their previous
colonies, western corporations would have a harder time making money in the newly
independent countries. However, to my surprise, it turns out that the new post-colonial
environment was more beneficial to the western corporations than during colonial times.

Q3: What is one way that your prior knowledge (your answer to question 1) was either
confirmed or challenged by what you read in the chapter?

With my prior knowledge of the topic, the idea that western corporations not only
continued to thrive but also increased their strength after the nominal end of colonialism
confirmed what I already knew. Even though former colonies became free countries, their former
European colonial masters made sure that the independence of these colonies did not have a
negative impact on their economic interests. Thus, even after they formally left after
independence and relinquished control of the newly independent states to their new leaders, they
still continued to exert indirect control of the countries by having them enact policies that
favored the economic interests of their ex-colonial masters (Imhoof, 2020). It is thanks to these
policies that their corporations managed to prosper in the new post-colonial environment.

4
Q4: In your own words, what is the author\’s \”big idea\” in this chapter? How does he
connect it to the broader themes of the book?

The big idea in this chapter is that colonial subjects used European ideas to fight
colonialism. However, Europeans still got the better of them through as evidenced by their
continued control of their former colonies, albeit indirectly. This idea connects to the broader
theme of the book which holds the 18 th century Enlightenment ideas have and continue to
influence the daily lives of both Europeans and non-Europeans (Imhoof, 2020). The
enlightenment ideas of liberation and control are at the heart of acquisition of colonies by
Europeans, their nominal liberations, and the current indirect control of the former colonies.

Q5: What is one question that you still have or one thing that you still want to learn about
this topic, even after reading this chapter?

The one thing that I would still like to learn about this topic even after reading this
chapter is the factors that make colonialism’s death to be not-so-complete in some countries
while being more or less dead in others. For instance, former French colonies in Africa are still
largely dependent on France economically, politically, and militarily while former colonies, such
as Singapore have by and large achieved real and complete independence with its former
colonial master, Britain, having almost zero influence on its political and economic affairs.

5

References

Imhoof, D. (2020). So, About Modern Europe…: A Conversational History from the
Enlightenment to the Present Day. Bloomsbury Publishing.