MetaFilter posts tagged with colonialism

Latin American Science

tellurian — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:02:18 -0800

History of Science in Latin America and the Caribbean [flash required] – the history of science from a Latin American perspective.

Isla del encanto?

krikkit261 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:43:48 -0800

With all the dust that's been* riled up by Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor (previously), everyone is suddenly taking an interest in Puerto Rico. A basic question that may come up is why we're there in the first place. Understanding that, we can see how the complicated relationship has played out between Puerto Rico, the US, and, most recently, the United Nations. Although the UN has urged the US to take steps towards establishing Puerto Rico's sovereignty, referendums held on the island have overwhelmingly preferred the status quo and the US has been indifferent at best. But independence activists, after a twenty-year decline, may be on the rise. The island's current governor, Luis Fortuño, is pro-statehood. But the whole issue has taken a back seat since plans have been made to fire 30,000 government workers, privatize some public services, and sell some the the government's US$3.2 billion debt. Still recovering from the 2006 economic crisis that some say never ended and struggling with a 15% unemployment rate, Puerto Rico's future is cloudy. * Warning: Youtube link with butchered Spanish.

Nothing To Do With Wonder Woman

The Whelk — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:30:34 -0800

"Percy Harrison Fawcett ... convinced himself, based on a mix of archival research, deduction and clairvoyance, that a large undiscovered city lay hidden somewhere in the Amazon" Greg Grandin of The Nation talks about the allure of the Amazon in history and the repeated attempts made to domesticate, colonize, control, or explore it. previous discussion of failed Amazon ventures here ( via )

Daewoo to Buy Madagascar

KokuRyu — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:53:59 -0800

Korea blog the Marmot's Hole reports on the crisis in Madagascar: Madagascar’s defense minister has resigned after security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters Saturday (in late January), killing 28. More than 100 have been killed since anti-government protests began two weeks ago. And what may have been the impetus for the protests? The final straw for many was the mooted plan to lease one million acres in the south of the country to the Korean firm Daewoo for intensive farming. Malagasy people have deep ties with their land and this was seen by many as a betrayal by their president. The Financial Times has been covering this story: Daewoo Logistics of South Korea has secured farmland in Madagascar to grow food crops for Seoul, in a deal that diplomats and consultants said was the largest of its kind... The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year that the race by some countries to secure farmland overseas risked creating a “neo-colonial” system. According to a Korean agricultural group: Daewoo Logistics is a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate Daewoo Corporation. In November 2008, world media reported that it was securing rights to 1.3 million hectares of farmland in Madagascar -- half the country's arable soils. Daewoo Logistics: FT is LIES! ALL LIES! Daewoo Logistics — its corporate executives no doubt sitting on the porch of some bungalow in Antananarivo sipping gin-and-tonics and bitching about how the natives can’t fix a proper cup of tea — said the Financial Times got its report on the company’s recent deal for Madagascar’s farm land all wrong. It’s Not Imperialism! It’s a Uniquely Korean Dream! I feel more convinced than before that Korea needs Daewoo’s success in Madagascar, not only to prove that its model is different from the models of Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan during their colonial pasts, but also that it is setting a new precedent for both African states and outside investors to benefit from. Some background on the crisis in Madagascar: The latest, and ongoing, spate of violence has President Marc Ravalomanana pitted against the charismatic Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. Since the power tussle started on 26 January, more than 100 lives had been lost. Rajoelina has been able to mobilize his supporters to take to the streets of Antananarivo to demand Ravalomanana's ousting on the grounds of his alleged "autocratic" style of government. UNHCR provides some analysis, plus a Q+A to the latest in the Madagascar Crisis.

Britain's torture of Obama's grandfather

jonesor — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:56:44 -0800

The Mau Mau rebellion against British rule in Kenya lasted from 1952 to 1960. Although there were atrocities on both sides, there has been a movement in Kenya to claim compensation from the British government for their actions. Obama's grandfather took part in the uprising (some have labelled him an "insurgent") and was captured and brutally tortured by the British. The UK press now asks what effect this family history will have on US policy towards Britain and terrorism: "he may draw the broader historical conclusion that the imposition of torture and repressive violence has a habit of undermining the political legitimacy of world-class powers".

China Colonizing Africa With Dire Consequences for Africans

MetaMan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:03:01 -0800

China is making a concerted effort to colonize Africa with dire consequences for Africans. In protest to China's involvement in Darfur's genocide, Steven Spielberg has resigned as Artistic Director of the Beijing Olympics.

Terrorism or fearmongering?

Dillonlikescookies — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:25:23 -0800

Tame Iti, Maori activist, is no stranger to controversy - with his full facial moko he has a face you won't soon forget. But is he a terrorist? Recently, the New Zealand Police force carried out a series of "raids" against a "training camp" in the north island, in the first use of the Terrorism Suppression Act, legislated in 2002. The act itself is not without it's critics but the country seems divided about the raids. Deluded extremists? Harmless Activist? or Real Threat? Some have claimed the raids are politically motivated, enacted by a police force with a declining public image. The whole case is racially loaded The "culture of fear" that is so written about seems to have trickled down somewhat, but time will tell whether it stays with the NZ public. By one account the camps are "amateurish" and with the exception of Tame Iti the most significant charge seems to be possession of a firearm without a license. The police, however, are certainly not helping matters - releasing information suggesting the group intended to start a "race war" and aimed to created an independent state through methods borrowed from the IRA, while keeping quiet on other details. Their press release here Troublesome, to me, is that the police also conducted a "non-raid" of the homes of environmental activists simultaneously, most notably in Christchurch, over a thousand kilometres away. I don't mean to start the thread with strong bent on it, but personally I find this worrying. New Zealand has had it's share of radicals, gun-wielding-forest-living cultists and so on, but the hype that this has reached in the media is unsettling. Worth noting, of course, is the Tuhoe tribe, of which Tame Iti is a member, with unresolved/ignored disputes with the government, which are a significant sticking point. Given this, and the harsh treatment of Tame Iti in regards to the flag protest, was further "radicalization" inevitable? Does the government have a responsibility, not so much to prevent radical groups from acting violently, but instead to incorporate them into public discourse rather than disenfranchise, and thus alienate them and antagonize them? Your thoughts?

Regime change for the Big Orange.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 19:50:02 -0800

Hear our demands: give us back New York. Just think of the possibilities! Join the struggle. Or else.

Child migrants

serazin — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:04:39 -0800

A moving, four-part audio documentary tells the story of as many as 150,000 children of the British poor, sent to populate Australia, Canada, and other colonies with "good, white stock".

This will end badly

Pastabagel — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:30:20 -0800

Compassionate Slavery. A representative of the World Trade Organization proposes foreign corporate "stewardship" of workers in Africa from the moment they are hired until they die, describing it as "the best available solution to African poverty, and the inevitable result of free-market theory".

Echoes of the past.

insomnia_lj — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 19:24:11 -0800

Democratic presidential candidate rails against US imperialism. "The platform . . . condemns the experiment in imperialism as an inexcusable blunder, which has involved us in enormous expense, brought us weakness instead of strength, and laid our nation open to the charge of abandoning the fundamental principles of a republic."
A prominent American author who initially supported the conflict, changed his mind, calling it "a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater.” The US is “the kind of World Power . . . that a prairie-dog village is . . . it is the duty of our Government to stand sentinel, with solemn mien, and lifted nose, and curved paws, on top of our little World-Power mound.”

Must France stay in Algeria

matteo — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 08:21:21 -0800

It all comes down do one question: Must France stay in Algeria? “If the answer is yes,” he says, “then you must accept the consequences.”
Gillo Pontecorvo's "The Battle of Algiers", now out on a Criterion dvd, is a film of quiet, overwhelming power. The mix of subjective and documentary techniques holds the viewer's trust so authoritatively that many scenes come close to sneaking out of the mental "movies I saw" box to mix with the viewer's own memories. No matter how complicated or fragmented the action becomes, Pontecorvo gets the pace, tone and rhythm exactly right, filling the screen with eloquent details.
(Last year, Pontecorvo's masterpiece was discussed here, too. More inside)

B'Tselem's Map of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank

y2karl — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 22:38:48 -0800

B'Tselem's Map of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank is an incredible graphic. It'sa 612 KB jpeg but the PDF, which is 1,609 KB has even more amazing detail. Here is the directory for all their images and maps. As you can see, it is quite comprehensive. Here is the Full Fence Mag in English, for instance. Again, the PDF is even more detailed. Here is the summary of B'Tselem's May 2002 report Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank. The report is to the summary as the PDF is to the jpeg.
B'Tselem is The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Warning: While the pages linked are in English, the site itself is bi-lingual, so expect many a prompt for a Hebrew text download.

Anti-British Feeling In The United States

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:32:55 -0800

Kick A Brit In The Nuts: We've heard enough about anti-Americanism. What about anti-British feeling? Check out the USian website. Is there still a lingering, post-colonial resentment in the U.S., Australia and South Africa? Why not, apparently, in Canada or New Zealand? Is it anti-British, i.e. including the Scots and the Welsh, or just anti-English? Finally, is Usian the best collective noun for citizens of the U.S.A.? Will American eventually become politically incorrect, even though no one calls a Canadian an American? Sorry about so many questions. Me confused European!

Post-colonial African blues

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 25 Jun 2003 01:27:30 -0800

Getting The Hell Out Of Africa: An excellent article by R.W. Johnson describes the forces now driving out many African whites and quietly despairs. Post-colonial blues are sad and riddled with guilt and lost hopes. How far does collective guilt impinge on the individual? What if there is no guilt at all? What is the white man and woman's place in 21st Century Africa? I wonder whether it isn't still too early to think clearly about the many delicate issues involved. But then an all-black Africa wouldn't be Africa. Would it?

Human Zoos and Don'ts

dgaicun — Mon, 09 Dec 2002 06:29:10 -0800

In the late 19th and early 20th century, at a time that might be considered the height of colonial exploitation, the regrettable spectacle of human zoos swept through America and Europe. Two of the most popular victims of these ethnological exhibits were Ota Benga, a four-foot-eleven African pygmy with filed teeth, who was successfully (and fraudulently) billed as a wild cannibal, and Saartjie Baartman, a Khoisan slave woman who was exhibited naked in the streets of Paris and London for the public to examine her so-called 'Hottentot apron'.

Africa.

mrmanley — Fri, 06 Dec 2002 08:21:59 -0800

Africa. Whether you think of it as The Heart Of Darkness, the Dark Continent, or as an ecological laboratory, Africa is ultimately home to us all. But Sub-Saharan Africa is in peril of spiraling into chaos: the scourge of AIDS, near-continuous unrest, and a lamentable inability of most African countries to maintain anything like a modern civil society are precursors to what might become a humanitarian catastrophe unlike anything we have ever witnessed. Do we still blame the ghosts of colonialism for this, or is it time for Africans to take the responsibility for their own problems?