All along, my mindset towards imperialism has always been negative. I regard it as a brutal act, whereby subjugation is inevitable in the midst of a particular country seeking to impose its own culture, economics and way of life upon another.
But what surprises me the most, is the manner in which most colonist are deluded by the mindset that they are in fact doing the natives a “favor” by trying to “improve their lifestyle and help the people”. They paint a positive picture, of them aiding in the country’s economics and governance, when the real bare fact, is that they are trying to rip off and attain the country’s economic prosperity for their own benefit. In the case of the Americans, it is clear that their aim is to obtain the sugar cane present in Hawaii, so as to boost their economy and supply of sugar without having to deal with trade and the need to pay tariffs. They were not acting with the native Hawaiians’ interest at heart. If it were the case, they would have known for a fact that the people were happy and did not in the slightest bit seek to have their monarchy overthrown and their Queen imprisoned. Also, if their act of imperialism is really for the greater good, why is there a need to have the Queen suppressed and confined?
This thus goes to show that regardless of which country, state or place is being colonized; colonizers will always seek to find a way to justify their wrong actions. They will present their misdeeds as a form of generosity and kindness; a gesture that they need not have to trouble themselves with, but the “goodness” of their heart makes it impossible for them to turn a blind eye towards the situation. The entire act of imperialism, whereby a country believes in their own superiority towards another, is basically just appalling to me.
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