4.1 GLIMPSES OF CIVILISATION COLONIALISM AND THE SLAVE TRADE This practice dates back to the age of the great empires of Rome, Greece and Egypt who tried to conquer both neighbouring and faraway countries in order to extend their borders and increase their power. Can you name any? Search the Net and find it out. In one of his poems, the British writer Rudyard Kipling called this belief The White Man s Burden . border: confine burden: fardello to claim: asserire convict: progioniero, condannato to date back: risalire funder: finanziatore fur: pelliccia privateer: corsaro seafarer: navigatore to settle: stabilirsi 226 Extra What is meant by colonialism The term colonialism refers to the policy by which a nation tries to extend its control and power over other people and territories in order to exploit them economically . It also implies the occupation of entire areas by foreign invaders who settle there and impose their language, cultural traditions and religion on the local people. Modern colonialism Modern colonialism began during the period of the great geographical discoveries made by European explorers (mid-15th - mid-17th centuries). Just like other powerful monarchs of her time, Queen Elizabeth I became a funder of seafarers and privateers, such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, whose enterprises contributed to the British expansion under her rule. The hope was not only to find places that could provide the country with valuable materials, like silver, gold, ivory, spices and furs, but also to have access to new trade routes. The first British colonies served as trade posts, except for Australia, conquered in 1770 and initially used as a penal colony where convicts for minor crimes were sent. Elizabeth I Slave trade In order to fully exploit the resources made available by the conquest of new territories, British colonists needed to find new labour force. They started therefore trafficking in African slaves, who were transported from the Western coasts of Africa to the Americas and were mainly employed to work on plantations and in mines. Britain was the most successful slave-trading country, despite being also one of the first to abolish this practice in 1808. Justification of colonialism Colonial powers always tried to justify their rule over others claiming that it was their duty to civilise, educate and bring order and discipline to barbaric people . Actually, colonialism was based on the idea that the morals and values of the coloniser were superior to those of the colonised, which led to attitudes of racial, cultural and religion discrimination.