The masters of colonialism

[mahnmut]

This video examines the last 200 years of British colonialism; particularly in relation to Africa, Israel and Iraq. Don't mind the music, it's a bit melodramatic. Also, please be warned that this video contains images of deceased persons...

Courtesy of an article by Junaid Khan, here's some of the dialogue (more or less paraphrased) from the video:


The idea on which the foreign policy of the West is based is the spread of capitalism and to make this viewpoint dominate the whole world. Colonialism is a tool for spreading capitalism to the world and forcing it on others and a master of this tool is Britain.

The most important principle of the foreign policy of Britain is that there are only national interests and no friends and enemies. After the 'capitalist revolution', Britain has been controlled by rich capitalist families who've formulated her foreign policy ever since. A 1950 foreign office document entitled "British overseas obligations a regional survey" reveal Britain's post-war colonial interests and priorities. It mentions the different colonies in context of their wealth and resources. About Africa it says that "Africa is an important source of raw material in peace and war whereas Southeast Asia a substantial economic asset. The colony of Malaya alone has a surplus of $145 million". The report goes on to mention Middle East as a very important region, noting that the oil produced is very essential for the economic interest of Britain. A denial of this region to Britain would result in loss of 150 million pounds annually.

Often colonial exploitation has been presented in the guise of development. A 1945 memorandum by the foreign office clearly mentions that: "We have to devise techniques for bringing influence to bear upon other countries' internal decisions". A very interesting example of the kind of exploitation that was carried out reveals that between the years 1946-1951 the total colonial development and welfare expenditure throughout the empire was 40 million pounds or 8 million pounds per year. On the other hand, colonial sterling balances gained from the empire and held in London was 150 million pounds. In 1951 the West-African marketing board had 93 million pounds on deposit in London. Colonies were given or lent 40 million pounds and 250 million pounds were taken from them. This was disinvestment on the grand scale and the extent of British imperial exploitation for its own interest at the expense of the 3rd world populations.

Another foreign policy strategy was the deception of independence shrewdly designed by Britain to protect her economic and political interests in the changing world circumstances. This kind of fake independence helped in changing the formal into informal empire and extended the life of colonial control.