NationStates Jolt Archive


Imperialism vs. colonialism

imported_ViZion
23-11-2004, 01:03
What do you think the difference is? (This is part of a research paper I gotta do for Enlish... why english, I donno... all I can say is never take a hippie-run college class...)
Andaluciae
23-11-2004, 01:08
Imperialism is going out and making a place or people part of the homeland, colonialism is going out and making a place or people subservient to the homeland.
Gaza Strip
23-11-2004, 01:09
Defining the terms is always a good start.

Imperialism
Extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations.

Colonialism
A policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies.
So you might consider the distinction between 'other nations' and 'foreign dependencies' - the former implying pre-existing sovereignty [of an indigenous people], the second implying that pre-existing sovereignty does not exist, or has been ignored.

I'd go on to compare two situations, e.g. British imperialism in India with British colonialism in the US.
The Black Forrest
23-11-2004, 01:14
Well basically

A colony has some autonomy while imperial teritory has less independence.

Examples

England Australia, Canada, the US.

Vs

Rome and the territories.
Letila
23-11-2004, 01:40
There is no real difference between them. They, along with capitalism, statism, sexism, etc., are all variations of the same act: the denial of freedom.
Greater Anacreon
23-11-2004, 01:41
Keep to the subject.
Utonium
23-11-2004, 01:47
Well, AFAIK, the difference is the people being pwned. Colonies tend to consist of people from the homeland, whereas imperial territories consist of a different, conquered people.
Mapalgetia
23-11-2004, 01:49
For example, the US invasion of Iraq is imperialism in that it seeks to install a new government in Iraq, thereby establishing a political hegemony, making it imperialism according to the definitions we are using.
Paradise Colony
23-11-2004, 02:05
Except Iraq is still an independent and sovereign nation, the US just took out a dictator that was raping his own people and committing crimes against humanity and now the US is rebuilding the damage it caused in the process. No, Iraq is not an example of imperialism or colonialism, it is something else entirely, sort of like Germany after the second world war. Iraq will not be held by anyone, it even has an interim government ruling the country independently, the US is just being the bodyguard and construction worker while this fledgling Iraq government asserts its power.