POSITIVE

• Colonialism had many merits. At first, it aimed at enriching the mother country. The wealth that came from the colonies made the mother country prosperous.
• Colonization helps in exploring natural resources which was due to the provision of new technology known to the colonies by their colonial leaders.
• The use of new technology made investigation of natural resources easier and more efficient. This resulted in the development and progress of the colonies.
• It also increases job opportunities for the people, even though they were not well paying jobs, but this added to the experience of the people as they acquired knowledge and learned new skills which is beneficial to them. This meant cheap labor for the colonial masters.
• Colonialism contributed to the industrial growth of the mother country. Raw materials were brought to the mother country from her colonies.
• The factories ran quite well and produced more and more which were sent again to colonies for sale.
• The surplus population of the country was sent to different colonies. This lessened the burden of the mother country and helped in reducing poverty.
• The mother country sent many powerful and genius people to different colonies. They became the head of administration or army. They received their salary from the colonies. Thus, the mother country could very well govern her colonies.
• Colonialism increased the prestige of the mother country. The more colonies a country possessed the more prestige it had before others. It also considered herself more powerful.
• Colonialism had contributed to modernization of underdeveloped regions.
• Progressive technological equipment and amenities necessary for improvements in medical and healthcare services, building of railroads and other developments in transportation, modern education, all have helped in the development of the colonies.
• These developments have improved the status of the colonies internationally.
• The improvements in education have provided opportunities for competition in different disciplines like literature, mathematics, art and science.
• It also fostered unity among the people of the colony.
• By coming under the spell of their mother country, the people of the colonies loved each other and were united.
•  In due course of time, they fought against the mother country and became independent. The American War and Independence and India’s struggle for freedom were its glaring examples.
• In the process of learning the religion, the colonial masters also made the people attain new skills. This brought about a development in the people as they were being liberated from the illiteracy which had kept them in the dark for many years.
• The initiation of the Christian religion brought many modifications to the colonies. For example, in Southern Nigeria, Christianity helped stop the killing of twins as the religion addressed equality and encouraged education for all people.
• Colonialism also helped in the promotion of education, agriculture, administration, industry, trade and commerce. In due course of time, these colonies became self-sufficient.
• Colonialism taught the people about ‘Nationalism’, ‘Democracy’ and ‘Constitutionalism’. In later times, these ideas helped the’ people of the colonies to achieve independence.
• This helped a lot to the Missionaries. They taught English to the people in different colonies. This educated people who knew many new ideas and spread them among the native people.
• The implementation of the language of the colonial masters by the colonies have promoted unity to an extent in most multilingual and multicultural nations.
• It is apparent in Nigeria which has well over five hundred languages. Since no language is considered superior to the other, it would be difficult for any of the native languages to be made the lingua franca.
• The adoption of English language has made things easier for Nigerians as the language is foreign and does not belong to any particular ethnic group or people in the country.
• Countries like Holland, which were barren internally, made huge profits out of the colonies by providing ships for commerce to Britain and other European countries.