INTRODUCTION

• The term colonialism refers to a large-scale political and economic system that allows one geopolitical entity such as a nation state or a City State to establish their controls beyond its traditional geographic borders in the service of increased profit or power.
• So, this State will often take over other areas, setting up their own political and economic systems, with the intent of using the colonies’ materials, lands etc., to benefit the colonizing country.
• It usually involves large-scale immigration of people to a new location and the expansion of their civilization and culture into this area.
• Some of these were settler colonies where colonizers settled permanently like current Australia. Some were under direct political control like India.
• There were other examples of indirect colonialism under which a country was though not ruled politically but was exploited by various other means. For example- 19th century China.
• In this new phenomenon, a new kind of social formation came into existence where the control over economy and society was in the hands of a foreign capitalist class.
• Colonialism came into existence before the industrial revolution in the 16th Century.
• Actually colonialism describes the difference between traditional economy and modern capitalist economy.
• Some defenders of colonialism believed that it was a process under which modernization, economic development and transplantation of capitalism had flourished and it was the right step to restrict the role of tradition in the colonies.