One may describe the success of Colonisation due to ‘Guns, God and Gold.’ Where ‘Guns’ refer to weaponry or military strength, ‘God’ refers to missionary traditions and religious beliefs and ‘Gold’ refers to the precious metals, goods and wealth. Colonisation can be attributed to the fear of Guns and God. But the history has shown that such expeditions and conquests have always been driven Gold.
Colonisation started when the Asian silk routes were not productive and safe for the Europeans. In order to monopolise trade, the ships sailed from the coasts of Spain and Portugal. They explored the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean in search of goods. The discovery of routes to America and Africa led to the slave trade for various plantations. The lust for Gold led major European powers to increase exploration, build trade networks, and divide colonies. The Potato, Sugar, Tobacco and metals from America; Minerals and Labour from Africa; Oriental goods from Asia lead to the flow of wealth in the European Continent.
Even Karl Marx viewed the British conquest as both a horrific reflection of greed and inhumanity and as an unintentionally progressive step that quashed the backwardness of Hindu culture and opened up the possibility of a capitalist. Colonisation is nothing but capitalism i.e. exploiting the resources of the colonies for the empire’s economic gains and profits in terms of goods and precious metals.
The man with more Gold had more power. The man with more Gold had better Guns. The man with more Gold lives in a more civilised and ethical society which believed in God which should be followed by all. In Africa, the Europeans justified their acts of exploitation, advertising colonialism as a humanitarian mission. They made them rebel against their own culture and bow to their foreigners. They created racial supremacy by giving authority and force to rich settlers and plantation owners. In reality, they designed a system to promote imperial interests and maintain a level of colonial law and order conducive to maximum economic exploitation. With the use of Guns and God, the Europeans gained slaves and natural resources of the African Continent. The slaves worked on American soil for enormous productivity and precious metals boomed the economy. The French and the British had the largest territories compared to other countries by 1913 due to greater military strength which was a result of their greater wealth in the past. Due to the inhuman exploitation of Africa’s citizens and natural resources for wealth by Europeans disabled the continent to heal itself economically even after their Independence.
Also, the thirst for Gold led to competition for colonies, territories, trade, goods and labour which in turn led an empire with the genius mind, strategies and surviving instinct to emerge out of all to rule over the region. In India, even though the Dutch, French and the Portuguese had already landed before the British for the spices, tea and cotton goods but the British created the legacy. All of them had guns, military strength and power. They came with the motive to loot goods using brutal methods but the British sustained initially through trade and then build a revenue system for the maximum exploitation of India’s resources. Rather than killing men and raping women, the British recognised the value of the labour. Even the humanitarian mask of Christianity (carried by all) failed to establish itself in India due to pre-existence of culture which does not persecute other beliefs and also Christian messiah was not exceptional for the Indians. Even today, the British policies are being followed in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Industrial Revolution and other technological advancements are the results of the ‘Gold’ gained from the colonised regions. Colonization gave to access to various metals, raw materials, knowledge and wealth which led to boost the mass production of processed goods. Goods produced by industries such as textiles were sold in the markets of the colonies at high prices. The presence of financial institutions and proper administrative system were also one of the factors which ignited the revolution. Due to Industrialisation, military technology was enhanced which enabled the British to hold pressure in colonies, gain cheap labour and more profits. British Empire was at its peak in 1914 due to their profits gained by trading in colonies apart from the existing revenues and taxes. Also, the Europeans helped colonies by increasing world trade, using raw material to feed industries back home, and improving infrastructure by building roads, railways and electricity plants and improving irrigation projects. The Industrialisation spread across the globe with time.
Hence, the ‘Gold’ has left a lasting legacy in the history of colonialism.