Introduction:

THE POST-COLONIAL PERSPECTIVE

Post-Colonialism:
Researchers usually look at the beginnings of Colonization from
Imperial conquests of Africa, to the Middle East and the Indian SubContinent. This Post-Colonial lens looks at Africa, the Middle East and
India as rich and flourishing nations, who were stripped of all their
natural resources and when the Colonizers left they were left in a very
poor and a third world poverty situation that they are still today trying
to recover from.
In these colonized lands we research the stories of people who are
struggling with their identities in the aftermath of colonization. For
example, the British Empire had a colonial presence in India from the
1700s until India gained its independence in 1947.
The people of India are still dealing with the economic, political, and
emotional effects that the British brought and left behind. The British
Empire left India very divided after they left in 1947. India was a united
nation under the Indian Mughal Empire and one of the richest nations
in the world before the British Invasion. After the British Empire left
India it was one of the poorest nations in the world.
As Post-Colonial Theorists we use a Critical Lens: This Critical Lens,
Post Colonial Theory or Post-Colonialism asks the reader to analyze
and see the effects that colonization and imperialism, or the extension
of power into other nations, have on people and nations.

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World

Us v.s. Other Mentality

Dehumanization of
Colonized Peoples
Distorted World-View

Nation

Value Shifts
Loss of Identity
Challenges to Faith,
Language and Politics

Person

Dehumanization of Self
Inability to support/protect
Self and Family
Self Doubt

Edward Said: Saids Book Orientalism (1978) is considered the

foundational work on which Post-Colonial Theory developed. Said,
then could be considered the Father of Post-Colonialism.
His work, including Orientalism focused on exploring and
questioning the artificial boundaries or the stereotypical boundaries,
that have divided us from each other.

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Colonization: British Empire

Africa

MiddleEast

India

These Lands were colonized and still are feeling the effects of
colonization. Why were the British Imperialist there? How did the
British Empire conquer these lands, when the Indigenous peoples of
these lands had a larger population, and where united by shared
culture, languages/ dialects, world-views, and Indigenous spirituality?

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Colonized By
Britain and France
(15th Century)

Colonized By
Britain, Spain, Italy,
Portugal and
France

Colonized By
Communist China

Canadian Indigenous
Peoples

American Indigenous:

Tibet

First Nations, Metis,

and Inuit

Lakota, Hopi,Apache,
Sioux,Cherokee,
Navajo, Nez Perce, and
other smaller Tribes.

United Nation with

large amounts of Gold,
Water Resources,
precious metals, and
large land mass.

European Imperialists came from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France.

The voyage of these imperialists and the countries they originated
from were motivated by various reasons foremost being to expand
their empires: i) Increase POWER in Europe, ii) Wealth, gold, silver,
spices from raw materials from new lands, iii) Prestige, and iv)
Spreading the Christian religion.

Question: Theory Into Practice

1. Is Imperialism still alive today? Name some nations today trying
to expand their Empires in the year 2015?
2. Divide and Conquer is usually the method used by Imperialists
to conquer foreign lands, how do they achieve it?
3. Why is unity so important to help rebuild colonized lands? What
are the obstacles to the colonized peoples securing unity with
their peoples and conquered lands?

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