The process of “internal colonization” in Britain and Ireland
Internal colonization is the process by which a country manipulates a part of its territories by withholding some important resources from the territory. Great Britain is one of the major nations that had the greatest shares during the colonization period that ended in the 90th century. The empire that is mostly referred to as the United Kingdom was made of a number of countries, including Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. The Kingdom Head Quarters are in London, Britain.
Internal colonization was vibrant in Ireland as a result of the language difference. The state experienced an inadequate development plan, given that it contributed highly in terms of the taxes to the kingdom. The unequal development led to an imbalance in the economy of the two nations. The resources were taken from the Irish people and were used for the development of the British. The act of alienating Ireland in the development process brought the distinction in the collaboration. The Irish and the British people drew a line between each other. The internal colonization process became established when the British began to give orders to Ireland that threatened their relationship. Ireland retaliated by announcing that they get out of the kingdom.
The ongoing alienation of Ireland in terms of economic alienation became politicized, and the Britain administration began to threaten the Irish workers. The workers were forced to work long hours, and their efforts were not adequately compensated. The Irish workers became irritated, and they revolted against the kingdom. They finally quit for a self-rule. Internal colonization has been witnessed in other parts of the world, such as the French-Algerian relationship.
The role of slavery within the British Empire
The British Empire is well known for the slavery activity in Africa, North America, and in the European continents. The trade that flourished until the end of the 18th century was beneficial to the British people especially traders. The economy of the country also benefited from the trade as they had an open source of labor that had no cost.
The role of slavery in the British Empire was commonly attached to the production system. The British Empire had huge tracks of land in the Caribbean colonies where sugar and tobacco were produced. The North America too was an important destination for the slaves where the American settlers used them in the production of the raw materials that were used in the British industries. Slaves were forced to work on the land, and their effort led to increasing in the production of the commodities.
The British ships transported the sugar and tobacco on their return journey to Europe. The raw materials that were mostly cotton were too formed part of the commodity that goods are taken to Europe for industrial production of textiles. In addition, slaves were part of the trade and the British people who engage themselves in the trade benefitted from the huge profits they made. Their collaboration with the African chiefs enabled them to acquire the slaves at a cheap prices. The traders sold the slave at a higher value due to great demand. The profit made was used in the development of the British economy.
Slave trade contributed to the growth of the economy of the British Empire via the production of the raw materials and finished products that were used in the Empire. They offered a free source of Labor for that British land. They also boosted the economy via the trade itself.
The relationship between nationalism and empire
Nationalism and imperialism are the different mode of governance that have for a long time been under a controversy. Nationalist leaders have a characteristic that is different from the imperialist leaders. The nationalist leaders consider the population needs in their leadership. They will discuss the issues that are affecting their subjects, and their leadership involves the various strategies that they can employ to overcome them.
They are elected by the subjects concerning the policy considerations that they will employ in tackling the problems. On the other hand, the imperialist leaders are the leaders of an empire. An empire is a territory that is established as a kingdom with the king or the queen at the peak of leadership. In an empire, the king is the sole decision maker and will induce laws that will only benefit him. The laws may have good or bad effects on the residents of the nation. The reason is that no one will have been consulted in the process of its establishment. Therefore, the imperialism is not widely appreciated as a form of governance.
The nationalist are a country’s citizens who take pride in their nation. They mainly focus on making the lives of their subjects better than the imperialists. Imperialists focus on abducting other countries so that they can increase their territory for the purpose of increasing taxes. The taxes collected mainly benefit the a small group of leaders. At most of the time, nationalists have attempted to change the focus of imperialists by ensuring that good governance prevails in the nation.