I learned about Lorenzo Veracini, a "leading theorist" of settler colonialism. His view was that 'colonialism' and 'settler colonialism' are not just different from one another, they actually contrast each other. One way I learned they are different from one another is the time period they refer to. Veracini theorizes that "colonialism apparently refers to the late 19th-century European scrambles for Africa and Asia". Grenville's novel takes place almost a century prior, and to Veracini, the 'colonialism' Will and his family were a part of is different from the 'colonialism' of the late 19th century. It is also important to note that Veracini differentiates the setting as well. 'Colonialism' only refers to Africa and Asia, while 'settler colonialism' to the Americas, Australia, South Africa, etc. I also learned 'settler colonialism' can be seen as a 'variant of colonialism'. The key takeaway is that settler colonizers 'never go home'. The lecture pointed out that long-term effects will likely remain even after the initial invasion of a colonized area. For example, language, education, clothing, food, and religion.
In my final project, I am reading about a group of Jesuit Missionaries from Portugal sent to colonize Goa, India. It is becoming more apparent how many of these long-term effects were pushed onto the area's original inhabitants. For example, the colony ordered all native people must give up their native languages within three years and learn Portuguese. Even before this language ban was put into place, the Portuguese tried to evangelize the original inhabitants to Catholicism. Using the printing press, they translated religious Portuguese texts into native languages so that the natives could be more easily converted. It was cool to take what I learned from the micro lecture and relate it to my final project.
interesting
Hi John, thank you for bringing this back to my attention. I forgot that colonialism happened pretty much after the settler colonialism that happened in Australia and in the Americas. It does bring me to ask the question: was there any sort of lasting impact on the indigenous of Africa and Asia besides brief moments in history? I found it interesting that settler colonialism forever changes the "language, education, clothing, food, and religion" of a place and people, and wonder if colonialism had a different impact.
ReplyDeleteHey, John! It's really fascinating to see how Veracini's theory of settler colonialism can be applied to your final project. It's clear that the long-term effects of colonialism, such as language and religion, had a significant impact on the native inhabitants of Goa. One other aspect of settler colonialism that I think is important to note is that the colonizers often view the land and resources of the colonized area as their own, and that the native population is seen as an obstacle to be removed or assimilated. This is evident in the way the Portuguese attempted to force the native people to give up their own language within three years and adopt Portuguese. This is not just a language issue but also an identity issue, native people were forced to give up their own identity. This is an example of the dehumanizing nature of colonialism and the effect it has on the colonized population's sense of identity.
ReplyDeleteHow does the forced assimilation of culture impact the colonized population's sense of self and identity? How does this history continue to affect the relationship between settlers and the colonized today? I think these questions are important if we want to overcome the affects settler colonialism has had on our world.