Neocolonialism represents the political, economic, cultural and social domination of the European capitalist powers over some regions of the African and Asian continent, principally.
This process started in the beginning of the 19th century and lasted until the 20th century, with the First World War. The main capitalist nations of the time that benefited from neocolonialism were: United Kingdom, Belgium, Prussia, France and Italy.
With the development of the Second Industrial Revolution, European nations witnessed an intense expansion of economic sectors. From this scenario, the powers of Europe began to look for ways to expand their markets, either to look for differentiated raw materials, cheap labor and new places to market the products that produced.
With the fallacious argument that Europeans would be "intellectually more developed" than Asian peoples and, above all, the Africans, the powers of Europe interfered in these regions with the discourse of "bringing the progress of science and technology to the world".
See also:meaning of liberalism.
England is one of the most successful examples of neocolonialism, being able to found a great Colonial Empire, mainly in Asia. In fact, this supremacy of the British in Asian territories was the subject of much debate among the other European powers.
On the neocolonialism of Africa, the "Berlin Conference", held in 1884, served to bring together the main nations of Europe and define how African territory would be divided into colonies.
Neocolonialism was one of the main reasons for the development of the First and Second World Wars.
Currently, the term neocolonialism continues to be used to refer to the economic dependence that some Asian and Latin American nations have on rich countries.
Neocolonialism and Imperialism
Imperialism consists in the domination and exploitation of developed countries over underdeveloped ones, with the objective of expanding the territorial domain of the dominant ones.
Contemporary imperialism can be considered synonymous with neocolonialism, the latter having many characteristics that resemble imperialism.
Learn more about meaning of imperialism.
Colonialism and Neocolonialism
Colonialism developed between the 16th and 18th centuries, based on commercial and mercantile capitalism. Neocolonialism, as seen, started in the beginning of the 19th century and lasted until the middle of the 20th century, based on the consequences of the Second Industrial Revolution.
The main objective during colonialism was to obtain precious metals, accumulate capital and maintain a favorable trade balance for European countries. Neocolonialism, as said, aimed to guarantee raw materials, consumer markets and cheap labor.
The main justification used by the colonizers during Colonialism was the spread of the Christian faith in the dominated regions, which consisted mainly of the Americas. On the other hand, the justification used in Neocolonialism was the "European superiority", as said, with Asia and Africa being the main colonized continents.
See also about the meaning of Imperialism and Neocolonialism.
