INTRODUCTION
Although one may commonly
think that war leads to conquest, this is not necessarily true in the countries
I have examined. Other ways that countries are conquered include: controlling
trade, taking away human rights, influencing them through education, and inadvertently
through bringing over new diseases. Nearly every country in the blogs was
overcome by one of the examples above.
CONQUEST
The first common way
countries were conquered was through the control of trade. The desire for
economic advantage caused the oppressors to manipulate trade routes and goods
that flowed through those trade intersections. For example, in Ghana, the British were trying to stabilize the trade
on the Gold Coast. In Argentina, Spain took
complete control over Argentina’s trade routes to increase Spain’s wealth.
The conquering countries
often took away the natives rights and property without their permission. In
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, every
village was required to send four men to work as full time slaves. The feeling
of superiority affected the conquering countries actions. To force men to work
full time without pay was inhumane. Often the first objective of a conquering
country was to establish absolute authority, which is what the British and
Germans did when they overcame the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Another less inhumane method was through education and religion.
When missionaries came to save the native people, it would cause disruption in
social style, like in Nigeria in the book Things Fall Apart (1). However, even this type of method can destroy the countries’
culture and social structure. The United States and France taught southern Vietnamese that communism was bad, and worked hard to
convince the Vietnamese that democracy was better. In the Philippines,
people were encouraged to go to school where the western ideas and democracy
were taught, and eventually encouraged.
An unintentional method of conquering other countries
was the inadvertent introduction of diseases to which the native people had no
immunity. In Kenya, people were weakened by
diseases, which made it easier for Britain to gain control. The Aztecs had no
immunity to the diseases brought over by the conquerors in Mexico.
Finally, a violent, but often effective method of conquering
was through war. The Soviet Union fought Afghanistan,
and defeated them. Cortes took a small army and was able to defeat the Aztecs partially due to the superior military
technology and skills.
INDEPENDENCE
Often a country can gain independence also through
violence. The Colombians won their independence
after the Battle of Boyacá. In Rwanda, the
Hutus massacred thousands of the Tutsi peoples, which allowed them to gain
control of the government and establish the type of governmental structures
that favored them. The Mau
Mau group in Kenya, who believed in violence to
achieve independence, created a spark toward nationalism, which led to
independence.
Independence is gained by forming new government
structures. For example, in Kenya, two parties united to form a strong
coalition. The U.S. federal constitution was a model for Brazil’s new constitution in 1891. When formally
opposing parties unite toward a common purpose, there is an increased
opportunity for gaining control over government.
Uniting diverse group of people toward a common
purpose, which often leads to nationalism, can increase the chance of gaining
independence. When Brazil’s national pride
increased through education, it brought more people into an urban community,
thus increasing exposure to different ideas, and allowing coalitions to form.
Finally, a great way for a country to gain independence
is when the oppressor is willing to leave. Agreements and treaties are reached,
such as, the Treaty of Paris, which granted independence of Cuba. Sometimes the conquering country simply abandons
the conquered people, such as when the U.S. left Vietnam
in ruins, but united under the communist government.
Source:
1. Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (New York: Anchor Books, 1959).
