What You Weren't Taught About Colonization

Colonization of the New World is one of the most important events in world history. Unfortunately, many people today don't treat these events with the seriousness and deep thought they deserve. Did European colonization have more positives than negatives? I argue so. In this video on Pax Tube, I explain why European Colonization was a historic achievement that brought good things across the globe. At the same time, it also had some dark moments that are worth considering and analyzing. Buckle up for this dive into the events that would change the fate of the world as we know it.

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0:00 Intro
1:59 Origins of Colonization
8:52 How European Colonization Worked
13:12 Colonization Controversies
21:28 Positives of Colonization

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Citations:

The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600 by Alfred W. Crosby

Accounting for the Great Divergence: Recent findings from historical national accounting by Professor Stephen Broadberry

Slavery - Forced Labor, Oppression, Inequality by Encyclopedia Britannica

Hernan Cortes | Expeditions, Biography, & Facts by Encyclopedia Britannica

We Need More Junipero Serra, Not Less by Christopher Check

Rebellions in Late Colonial Spanish America: A Comparative Perspective by Anthony McFarlane

Sublimis Deus: On the Enslavement and Evangelization of Indians by Pope Paul III

[orboakin]

As a Nigerian, my opinion on colonialism will be more nuanced than that of most westerners. On one hand, it was brutal in some ways but on the other it did play a huge role in bringing much of Africa into the modern age via introduction of modern tech, medicine, western education, and nation building.

Also, one major good it did was abolish slavery. I cannot be more thankful for the British using their naval power and economic might to suppress the slave trade in Africa. Oh, I know they partook in it for a time, themselves, but it existed here long before whites ever came to Africa. Even my own ancestors of the Edo kingdom were slavers. What makes the British different is that unlike other regional African and Arab powers, they had the cultural & religious framework, wisdom, humanity and courage to actually stop the evil of slavery even at huge cost to their economy. God bless them.

[odonnell]

I’m glad you mentioned St. Junipero Serra, a man who loved the natives unconditionally and walked all the way from California to Mexico City to protest the treatment of the natives by Spanish soldiers.

[CantusTropus]

Technology was part of the reason why the Spanish beat the Aztecs, but it was far from the most important one. 1, 000-3, 000 muskets and 32 cannons would not have mattered if they were alone, outnumbered roughly a thousand to one. The Native allies were by far the more important part of their victory - and that occurred because the Aztecs were so thoroughly hated by their subjects.

[snipman]

There was also the trans Saharan slave trade that the Muslims partook in, which was significantly larger than the Atlantic slave trade, and has existed for well over 1k years and is still to a lesser extent still active and was paused when the Europeans colonized Africa due to rising anti-slavery ideals in Europe. You also had the British West Africa squadron which raided slave ships and shut down the slave trade.

Forgot to mention even in India, when the East India Company ended the practice of Sati in India, where widows were burned alive. The story of its banning is also amazing. The governor general of India arrived and saw a bunch of guys building a pyre, so he asked "why are you building a funeral pyre?" They told him they were going to practice Sati and what it was. The governor said "oh, well if you want to practice your custom of burning widows alive, I will have to practice mine and hang every single one of you for burning a widow alive." He built gallows and subsequently hanged all of them when they brought the widow back to the town to burn her alive. Ever since then, Sati has been banned.

[lancelessard]

From 1500 to 1650 the native population of the Americas was reduced by about 90%. The vast majority of those who died in that apocalypse died without ever having seen a European colonizer. They died mostly of respiratory illnesses that to Europeans were relatively minor infections, but to the native populations they where 30% to 80% fatal. By the time the pilgrims landed at Plymouth rock in 1620, there was nearly no one left in that area. Then when they made contact with the remnants of the local tribe, they were asked to join in fighting against the neighboring tribes that had been at war with them since time immemorial. That kind of scenario played out over and over again all across the Americas for over 150 years.

[olekcholewa]

As an adult, you begin to understand the greatness of Spanish and Portugese Empires.

[joanhuffman]

When I was younger I was taught that the conquistadors were all bad. But now I notice that the old Spanish empire has the greatest number of indigenous Americans and mixed Indigenous Americans. It turns out that when a multitude of infectious diseases are introduced to a new people it can be a real life saver if you have a monastery nearby with people who are already immune and have a long tradition of nursing care even of strangers.

[uberfeel]

The "Spaniards genocided the natives" claim is so absurd that it's funny to think about it, when you read some history about the colonial racial laws and relationship with natives of South America and European Spaniards.

The Tlaxcalan Indians wore conquistador outfits and colonised the Philippines in service of the Spanish crown.

The majority of conquistadors who defeated the Japanese & Muslims in Phillippines were Hispanicized Indians and mestizos from Mexico.

[upi]

People seem to forget that before colonialism people that lived in America weren’t different. They did horrible things themselves.( oh and they killed their kind with colonizers together for money and land )

[CatholicCrusaderofYeshua]

As a spaniard i would like to




















TO ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!!!!
VIVA ESPAÑA🇪🇸⚔️
VIVA CRISTO REY ✝️

[efolnxu]

As someone living in the Italic penisula, everytime i hear Arab nationalists say that Europeans should apologize for their imperialism, i tell them if they ever apologize for bringing pirates to our coasts.

[pathkeepers]

As a person of English and Portuguese descent, I personally love colonizing things, and I suggest everyone try it.

[mayachico]

Reddit liberals in the comments ate gonna flip out

[Augusto]

As a Brazilian, that was the best thing to ever happen here.

[JohnDoe-vzmu]

It's upsurd that anyone would think europe was less than thriving before colonization, because you need resources to colonize and explore

[TheGeneralGrievous]

I am a Spanish Empire history enjoyer. Probably the most demonized out of the modern colonial empires. And it was in the Spanish Empire were the first efforts for human rights & limiting slavery happened on international scale. The life in the Spanish colonies was complex. The peninsular Spaniards were usually the most priviliged but creoles, natives, mestizos & blacks also had some rights. Spaniards build cities & started universities in Latin America. I think the Spanish Empire deserves A similar kind of respect as the Roman Empire.


Edit: There was slavery (not racial slavery per se), and encomienda system which were bad or even terrible but it was also abolished later, at least officially. They were massacres commited during the conquest. I am not saying Spanish Empire was sunshine and rainbows, I am saying it was not the worst of empires. It was relatively 'good' empire to conquered peoples as far as empires go. Analogical to the legacy of the Roman Empire.

[mrvictorian]

We should be thankful for these brave Colonists, they were able to truly transform entire parts of the world for the better

[lucaspettersen]

Since Greece "we have" always known the earth is round...

[youkokun]

I was reading a history of knitting around the world and it was really cool to see how Spaniards from different regions taught different knitting techniques to natives in Peru vs Guatemala. E.g., rural Peruvians knit in the round, mostly purling, on five needles, and they employ intarsia for their ear flapped hats, whereas rural Guatemalans mostly knit and use a thicker weight of yarn.
And in the Pacific Northwest the Sisters of St. Ann were one of many missionary groups who set up schools for knitting instruction exclusively for natives. Settlers shared knitting patterns with natives as their neighbors and natives made their own knitting patterns!
I realize this may not sound exciting but it makes me a bit emotional to think of how real relationships between settlers and indigenous are erased by revisionist history.

[Skyrimkid]

I’m half Greek half Puerto Rican, Greek Orthodox Christian too. I’ve always had a huge respect for my Hispanic Catholic roots. A lot of my ancestors on my Puerto Rican side come directly from Spain and Portugal, I even have a distant aunt that moved to Colorado from Spain in the 1760’s, and died there.