Colonialism

Colonialism denotes the extension of certain European powers into Africa, Asia, and the Americas during and long after the sixteenth century (Loomba 2005). It was characterized by the existence of an imperial nation from where power was exerted upon a colony in the form of domination and control. Colonialism and imperialism are two terms often used synonymously. However, the two can be distinguished by the fact that the latter was the ideological framework and form of governance from which the former was practiced. Colonialism involved the appropriation of land and creation of colonies. It embodied imperial power vis-à-vis “the implanting of settlements on a distant territory” (Said 1993: 9).

The creation of settlements/communities in colonial territories by colonizers resulted in the deconstruction and reconstruction of existing communities and their identities (Spivak 1999). Indeed, the process of colonialism differed by nation; however, similarities were evident in the unyielding...