Reading Information

Jurgen Osterhammel, “Colonization” and “Colonies,” Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview

Overview

This introductory chapter talks mainly about the history of colonialism. Osterhammel believes that there was minimal research done on this topic, as “no entry for this term is found in the seven-volume encyclopedia “Basic Historical Concepts” (Osterhammel, 3).” The author also states that colonization occurs in six different forms. They were: total migration of entire populations and societies, mass individual migration, border colonization, overseas settlement colonization, empire-building wars of conquest, and construction of naval networks.

There are a few forms of colonialization that is worth mentioning. One of them is colonial rule without colonization, which is arguably the most beneficial to the ruler. The British Raj is a prime example of this form of colonization. The British never fully established and settled in India, but still managed to effectively control the territory thousands of miles across the world. However, if expansion was achieved by conquest or war, territories were integrated into empires “depending on the political traditions of the conquering power (Osterhammel, 9). Traditional empires simply annexed the new territory into the existing government. In contrast, modern empires assigned different authorities to each territory to supervise, not rule.

The author also made sure to distinguish between “colonization” and “colony.” He stresses the point that colonization can occur without having an actual colony. Different types of colonies include exploitation colonies, maritime enclaves and settlement colonies. An example of an exploitation colony is the British Raj. The purpose of exploitation colonies is usually for economic and political reasons. There is also very limited colonial presence in exploitation colonies. An example of a maritime enclave is British Hong Kong and Singapore. The purpose of maritime enclaves is “informal control over formally autonomous state (Osterhammel, 11).” An example of a settlement colony is New England. Their purpose is find new forms of social and religious freedom from a mother country, and cheap land and labor.

Keywords

1. colony: a newly established territory that has been conquered (often through war)
2. gunboat diplomacy: when military force is used to achieve a political objective
3. colonization: a process of acquiring territory and establishing control in the area

Argument

The author seeks to divulge deeper into the meaning of colonialism. Many people “typically associate this term with manipulation, usurpation, and illegitimate appropriation, terms that betray a negative assessment of everything related to “colonialism” (Osterhammel, 1).” However, this term holds much more meaning.

Evidence

The author has done a great job with providing examples for each term that was used. Osterhammel compared mass individual migration to the Chinese workers in the Pacific and San Francisco’s Chinatown. He also uses New England as an example of an overseas settlement colonization. Examples of naval networks included Gibraltar, Cyprus, Hong Kong, and Singapore. However, the most applicable example (in my opinion) is “the gradual expansion of the Han Chinese agricultural zone at the cost of the pastoral economy of Inner Asia (Osterhammel, 6).” These examples have helped me grasp the meanings of the new terms.

Historiographical Debate

The author does not explicitly situate himself in a wider scholarly debate in the text. However, he does refer to the seven-volume encyclopedia Basic Historical Concepts in the beginning of the chapter.

Contribution to Our Understanding of Colonial Rule

This is the first detailed work I have read about that pertains to colonialism. As the author predicted early in the chapter, I also thought that colonialism was about the exploitation and manipulation of those being ruled. However, I soon learned that there is more than meets the eye. Colonialism can take many forms, and that a colony is not necessary to establish colonialism.

I always had the misconception that the rulers of a colony must have heavy and significant military presence in the area. However, I soon learned that was not always the case. For instance, the British were able to control the British Raj (an exploitation colony) with “relative insignificant numerical colonial presence, primarily in the form of civil bureaucrats, soldiers, and businessmen who return to their mother country after completing their assignments (Osterhammel, 11).” The British were also able to rule Hong Kong and Singapore using similar tactics.