It seems to me that European colonialism gets talked about in a different, more negative way than the various Empires that came and went in Europe, the Near East, and North Africa (Roman, Byzantine, Abbasid, etc.)
I'm not sure what you mean by "European" colonialism. Post-Colombian colonialism in the New World? 19th-century imperialism?
(In addition to being a great deal more recent, I'd hazard the guess that part of the disgust lies how tightly "European" colonialism is attached to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demands the oppression of the colonial territories for very cold-blooded and rational reasons. And as mercantilism is preceded by evangelicalism and followed by nationalism as "reasons to colonize," European colonization efforts can appall the modern global citizen in a wide variety of ways!)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 02:49 am (UTC)I'm not sure what you mean by "European" colonialism. Post-Colombian colonialism in the New World? 19th-century imperialism?
(In addition to being a great deal more recent, I'd hazard the guess that part of the disgust lies how tightly "European" colonialism is attached to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demands the oppression of the colonial territories for very cold-blooded and rational reasons. And as mercantilism is preceded by evangelicalism and followed by nationalism as "reasons to colonize," European colonization efforts can appall the modern global citizen in a wide variety of ways!)