Reminds me of the "What have the Roman's ever done for us?" skit in Monty Python's "Life of Brian" https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DExWfh6sGyso
Warrant Canary creator On Dec 5, 2016 8:15 PM, "Razer" <ray...@riseup.net> wrote: > I think I've found the worst article of 2016... > > Illustrated: https://listverse.com/2016/12/03/10-surprising-upsides-to- > colonialism/ > > "Colonialism gets a bad rep these days, often with good reason. You’d have > to be a madman to look at King Leopold’s adventures in the Congo, for > example, and conclude that the Belgians were awesome imperial overlords. > Same deal with the slave-trading powers. > > But that’s not the whole story of colonialism. Move beyond the headline > atrocities, and a more nuanced picture begins to emerge. Far from being a > nonstop cavalcade of horrors, colonialism often resulted in some seriously > awesome, surprising stuff. > > > 10 Spreading Good Government > > Most of us kind of take democracy and functioning government for granted. > But a largely democratic world was by no means inevitable. For most of > human history, “government” meant a military dictator or crazy king telling > you precisely where to live, what to wear, and when to die in battle for > some pointless cause. > > So why does most of the world now at least pay lip service to democratic > norms? For that, you can thank the European colonial powers. Wherever the > British went, they instituted governments that looked like their own. That > meant parliaments, an efficient civil service, and a basic package of > democracy. The French, meanwhile, folded their conquered territories into > France itself, promoting Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite. > > When decolonization finally rolled around, many of those democratic > institutions remained in place. > > > 9 Creating Modern Medicine > > For colonial powers, tropical diseases were a constant pain in the > derriere. Asia, Africa, and South America were swimming in bugs that had a > nasty tendency to kill colonists and subjects alike. That meant unnecessary > expenditure, time and men lost, and a problem extracting that sweet, sweet > natural wealth. > > The solution? Throw everything modern medicine had at the problem. > > Europe was at the vanguard of modern medicine in the 19th century. The > British discovered the antimalarial properties of quinine, which is still > our only effective antimalarial. The French became specialists in tropical > medicine thanks to their North African holdings. Public health in general > received a massive boost thanks to techniques learned in the chaos of the > colonies. > > Even conquered natives benefited from this, in the form of hospitals and > new treatments pioneered in Europe. It’s no stretch to say modern medicine > is a by-product of imperialism. > > > 8 Economic Booms > > Of course, colonialism isn’t something that exists only in that fairy tale > land we call “the past.” Welcome to Africa, where the Chinese are engaging > in a massive exercise in 21st-century colonialism. According to Zambian > economist Dambisa Moyo, the resulting economic boom has been the best thing > to happen to the continent in decades. > > Her data shows that this new colonialism has created jobs for millions of > Africans and lifted many out of poverty. The boon from Chinese investment > has massively benefited the poor in Africa and China alike. > > That’s not to say all colonial adventures improve people’s lives. Spanish > dalliances in the New World memorably crashed Spain’s economy. But it does > show that imperialism can be handled well, in a way that benefits the many > rather than the few. > > > 7 Global Languages > > Remember the story of the Tower of Babel? Humans were getting all uppity > with their engineering prowess, so God scrambled their languages so they > could no longer cooperate. Well, colonialism was sort of like that in > reverse. From hundreds of thousands of different tongues, the age of > empires whittled humanity down to just a handful of big ones. > > Seriously. There are currently 106 countries where English is spoken, many > of them former colonies. Spanish is spoken in 31, modern standard Arabic in > 58, and French in 53. Taken together, pretty much the entire world speaks > at least a smattering of English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, or > Mandarin—all languages associated with imperial nations. And that has > massive advantages. > > The ability to communicate breaks down barriers to trade and > understanding. It allows wildly different countries to find common ground. > While it’s not a prerequisite, it’s certainly helpful in uniting people. > > > 6 The Creation Of Modern Art > > Who likes Picasso? What about Art Deco architecture? Or modern sculpture? > We’re betting that at least half of you said yes to one of those. In that > case, you should probably be thankful for French and British colonization > of Africa. It was the display of African tribal art in Paris and London at > the dawn of the 20th century that inspired all of these movements. > > Artists like Picasso and Matisse saw the treasures from the Ivory Coast or > Benin City and were inspired. Architects were seduced by the simple, > powerful forms of ruined African temples. It was the imperial trade that > brought these objects to public view and allowed them to inspire everyone > from designers to artists to architects. > > It’s incredible to think that, without African art, something like Art > Deco wouldn’t exist. New York would look completely different. The cultural > benefits of colonialism are all around us. > > > 5 The Development Of Infrastructure > > Over the last few years, parts of Africa have been undergoing an > infrastructure boom. Great railways have unrolled across the plains of > Nigeria, the mountains of Ethiopia, and along the lakeside shores of Uganda > and Kenya. The projects are expected to send local economies booming, > lifting millions out of poverty. > > These vital new railways didn’t appear out of nowhere. They’re the remains > of colonial infrastructure, being updated for the first time in decades. > Ironically, the economic boom these railways will bring is partly thanks to > Africa’s former colonizers. > > Wherever the great empires went, they left robust infrastructure in their > wake. India still uses Raj-era rolling stock today, transporting millions > across the subcontinent. Old colonial roads are still in use alongside > ports, hospitals, schools, and universities. While the infrastructure > initially benefited the colonizers, it has been repurposed to help the > colonized. > > > 4 Removal Of Brutal Occupying Powers > > The story of the Spanish conquest is portrayed as one of bloodthirsty > Europeans super-murdering millions of Aztecs. While that definitely > happened, there is one part of the story that gets left out: The Aztecs > themselves were occupiers who were in the middle of conquering neighboring > states when Cortez arrived. And you’d better believe they were brutal. > > The Aztecs worked captured enemies to death. They sacrificed them by > ripping out their hearts. They forced prisoners into cannibalism. They > murdered children to appease the Sun. The Spanish, too, were mega-jerks, > but most of their jerkiness came from accidentally importing smallpox and > running off with people’s gold. Compared to the bloodthirsty Aztecs, they > were practically saints. > > You see this time and again in colonial societies. Before the British > arrived, the Mughals had marched over India and razed Delhi to the ground > eight times in eight centuries, building skull pyramids from its > inhabitants’ remains. Even at the Raj’s most brutal, no massacres touched > the mass murder and enslavement of those times. And while we’re on the > subject . . . > > > 3 Increased Peace > > For the vast majority of human history, life wasn’t fun. Competition for > resources forced tribes into a nearly perpetual state of warfare. In > Central America, for example, various Maya cities were only one failed > harvest away from massacring one another. > > Steven Pinker has identified the creation of nation states as integral to > ending this violence. In some places, the rise of those states was the > result of fierce battles and endless politicking. In others, it was a > direct result of colonization. Suddenly, once-competing tribes were bunged > together and told to get along and swear allegiance to France, Britain, > Spain, or wherever. While that created a ton of resentment, it halted the > almost continuous cycle of killing, forging brand new national identities > that still exist today (like Indian or Ghanaian). > > Sure, in some cases, like the Belgians in the Congo, the murder rate went > up after colonization. But the overarching story is one of enforced peace, > which isn’t great, but it’s still better than no peace at all. > > > 2 The Creation Of Modern Tourism > > One peculiar side effect of the age of empires was the creation of modern > tourism. Before the 19th century, going abroad was restricted to the rich > and the scientifically curious. Middle-class people in Britain who wanted > to go somewhere exciting went to the pub. > > Then the British Empire arose, bringing with it tales of adventure in > far-off places with exotic, romantic names like India, Egypt, Jamaica, and > Australia. Realizing the public hunger for these places, a guy named Thomas > Cook started offering package tours to the empire’s outposts. In one fell > swoop, the concept of the modern tourist was born. > > According to the Journal of Tourism History, empires provided the perfect > vector for the development of a global tourist industry. By repackaging > places like Australia from a convict island to a “Down Under paradise,” > people like Cook changed how we thought of these places forever. > > > 1 It Saved Millions Of Lives > > While their rulers and leaders were off gadding about the globe, it’s > worth remembering that Europe’s masses were living through hard times. Mass > famines were common. France alone suffered 40 devastating nationwide > famines between 1500 and 1800. Millions were dying every decade. > > Into this chaos stepped an unlikely savior: Peru. Spanish conquistadors > had brought back a wonderous foodstuff from the colonized nation. It was > durable, easy to farm, full of nutrients, and nearly always gave a bumper > harvest. It was the potato. > > Incredible as it may seem, introducing the potato to Europe saved millions > of lives. Suddenly, crops no longer failed en masse. Starvation rates > plummeted. Populations in rural economies like Ireland exploded, and rates > of stuff like scurvy dropped off. Without Spain’s imperialism in the New > World, this continent-transforming food would have never been adopted, and > your family tree would probably be a heck of a lot emptier." >
