Page 34 - Encyclopedia Of World History

384 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

A Sioux pictograph drawn to commorate theitr victory over U.S. forces at the Battle of the
Little Bighorn. The drawing shows warriors leading off horses with U.S. military saddles
after the battle.

movement in Kenya, and the Maroon wars in Jamaica. of a political and economic structure and infrastructure
Local Christian churches were often used as vehicles of that allowed for postcolonial modernization and democ-
resistance to oppression and inequality. Educated mem- ratization. But those claims are contentious: Others argue
bers of the local population often contributed to the that the economic and political structure and infrastruc-
struggle through poetry, literature, and the media. ture of colonialism were meant to serve the colonists and
had little positive impact on the local populations fol-
Costs and Benefits lowing decolonization.
of Colonialism The list of the costs of colonialism, on the other hand,
There is little dispute that the colonizing nations bene- is a long one. It includes massive loss of life through dis-
fited from colonialism, while the colonies suffered—and ease, relocations, and slavery; inhibition of local eco-
often continued to suffer after independence. Nonethe- nomic growth; new ethnic rivalries and conflicts;
less, some scholars argue that there were benefits to the psychological damage to the colonized people, reflected
colony. While colonizers depended on slavery in some in increased suicide and homicide rates; disruption of
regions, such as the Americas, they also ended it in indigenous kinship and family relationships; a reduced
many regions. Arguably, other benefits of colonialism role for women; and destruction of craft specializations
included control of regional wars and the establishment as crafts were replaced by imported goods.