What is neocolonialism?

In the late 1400s, European explorers set out to find new trading routes and civilisations beyond Europe. After the discovery of the continent that came to be named America, European powers conquered those lands, settled there, and exploited the land and its people. The colonised areas were, and still are, rich in resources such as gold, minerals, and fertile land: raw materials that the colonists didn’t have in large amounts in their home countries. But by the mid 1800s, most colonies in the Americas had fought for independence from their European rulers, and succeeded! This wasn’t the end of European colonialism though.

Having lost the wars for independence in America, the European powers looked elsewhere for new parts of the world that were also rich in resources and raw materials. They colonised large areas of Africa and Asia. It was only in the 1970s that most of the colonised countries became independent. But gaining independence was just the first step. Building up a country from scratch is a struggle.

One problem was that the borders of the newly formed countries were drawn by the colonial powers, who didn’t consider the various groups of people living in these areas. This led to conflicts and wars. Another problem was that the newly independent nations didn’t have functioning economies. They had to borrow money from richer countries, in many cases the ones they just became independent from. Many of the former colonies, especially in Africa, are still struggling to repay these loans today, because of internal conflicts and economic problems.

In order to get money, these countries have no choice but to make their land and their resources available to foreign companies. These companies often spend large amounts of money on equipment and technology to extract and transport raw materials, such as oil, gold, or minerals. Their exploitation of natural resources often harms the local people and the environment. However, the foreign companies may only pay small amounts of money to buy the actual raw materials, which are then processed in other countries, and eventually sold for much higher prices around the world. This means that the countries from where these raw materials are taken only gain a small portion of the profit.

Although the foreign companies might create a few jobs for the local people, the countries usually lose more than they gain from this arrangement. The small profit they do make usually goes to repaying loans, rather than investing in their own nation. Another strategy that former colonies sometimes use is to let foreign companies farm their fertile areas of land, and get money for this. In this way they can try to repay their loans and strengthen their economies. The foreign companies normally come from the world’s largest economies, like Russia, China, the United States, or wealthy European countries.

The local people usually don’t have enough income to pay as much as the foreign companies, and can’t afford to buy or rent fertile land in their own country. This might lead to the local farmers not being able to produce enough food for themselves and their fellow citizens. This type of foreign influence on a country — particularly on a former colony, is called: NEOCOLONIALISM. This term was first used by Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of independent Ghana. Asian, African, and Latin American countries now have their own flags and governments, but for some countries the fight to be truly independent is far from over.