Colonialism and Imperialism

April 30, 2014 (Week #2)

Colonialism and Imperialism

http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/05-28-2012_omg-canada-at-mass-moca.htm

What’s the difference?

                Well, colonialism is the transfer of population to a new territory, the new arrivals lived as permanent settlers while retaining allegiance to the country of origin. This comes from the latin “colonos”, meaning farmer.

                    Meanwhile, Imperialism is the way a country exercises power over the other wether through settlement, sovereignty, or indirect mechanism of control. This comes from the latin “Imperium”, meaning to command.

                One interesting fact I learned is that the name of our country, Philippines, actually came from King Philip II of spain. He was known as the “lunatic” king of Spain and he saw the downfall of Spain. So do you really want our country to be named after a failed King of Spain?! I don’t think so.

Read more at  Why is the Philippines called the Philippines?

                The Spanish colonizers used religious discourse to penetrate our country. I mean, they did use cannons, swords, and soldiers. But it is through religion, that they were able to rationalize the reason behind their military conquest. According to them, this will facilitate conversion and salvation of Indigenous people.

Some Interesting information I’ve learned...

•      Ferdinand Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the world. Now, as a traveller myself, that is really impressive. At that time since planes didn’t still exist and they have to spend a lot of time in the open sea.

•      Franciscan Friars, called as Chronicers, are really keen at observing details. They would describe the Filipino natives down to the last scar on his body. This was funny, because when they described the Filipino warrior they first made contact with, it sounded like they were gays. They said that they have muscular bodies and this appeared really strong and shiny under the sun. But then again, that’s just my opinion. Turns out the natives were using “jole-jole” or sesame oil on their skin to prevent sunburn. Who knew they were already that beauty conscious at that time.

•     Colonialism is violent by nature and they exploited the raw materials and natural resources of our country. Some of these are Coffee, Indigo, Tobacco, Abaca, and Sugar. Some of the earlier writings even mentioned the abundance of gold in our country.