Summary Of O. P. Austen's Does Colonization Pay

In an excerpt in O.P Austen’s “Does Colonization Pay” from The Forum, he says that colonization is mutually beneficial for both the colonizers and the ones being colonized. In the excerpt, he says that the colonizers receive tropical produce and other raw materials from the area that is colonized. But in return, the one being colonized would receive foodstuffs and manufacturing and other European innovations such as canals, school, roads. Austen describes these innovations as blessings of civilizations that non-Europeans cannot develop themselves. However, these “blessings of civilization” are not necessarily good for the ones being colonized. Colonization also results in discrimination against the people being colonized. Lastly, colonization

Instead, the benefits of colonizations are one sided only profiting the bourgeoisie of the colonizing country. Therefore making O.P Austen’s statement incorrect. First off, European imports that the excerpt describes as foodstuffs and manufactures, values, and other “blessings of civilization” are not good for the places being colonized. The reason for this is because of the general negative effects of European ideas or imports on colonized countries. One example of an import that had a negative effect on a society was opium in China. The Chinese were first introduced to the drug opium by the British. In Lin Zexu’s original letter to Queen Victoria, the text states, “The obnoxious odor ascends, irritating Heaven and frightening the spirits. O Sovereign can eradicate the opium plant in these places… Anyone who dares again attempts to plant and manufacture opium should be severely punished.” This shows that Opium use in China had a very negative effect on Chinese. Lin Zexu describes the plant as noxious and begs Queen Victoria to stop her countrymen from bringing Opium to his country. As you can see, European

Basically, when colonized the original citizens of the colony would have their labor exploited and would be treated unethically by their colonizers. According to a Congolese woman named Ilanga, while recalling her interactions with the Europeans she states, “We were all crying, for now, we knew that we were to be taken away to be slaves. The soldiers beat us with the iron sticks from their guns and compelled us to march to the camp of Kibalanga.” As you can, the white colonizers were very brutal toward Ilanga and her family who were among the people of the village that were colonized by the