Colonialism

Colonialism refers to a bigger or more powerful country taking control of a smaller or weaker country or territory for economic and political gains, thereby allowing the colonizing country to expand its geographic and political territory. Typically, the colonial power imposes its political, cultural, and educational systems on the colonized country. Colonialism is inherently exploitative and [Page 205]oppressive and is antithetical to the Anglo-American tradition of individualism, natural rights, and autonomous domains. For the survival of the colonial administration, colonial authorities often conducted surveillance of citizens by whatever means were at their disposal (e.g., hiring indigenous people as paid informants to spy on their own people). Such tactics helped undermine the resistance of the colonized people. Accordingly, the colonized people often had no say in ...