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> European colonisation began due to rise of technology Technology enabled colonization, but that's not what drove colonization. > just because a country is a

> European colonisation began due to rise of technology Technology enabled colonization, but that's not what drove colonization. > just because a country is at the top now does not guarantee that it will be at the top forever. A quick look at history will tell you that No one is making this claim. Every empire rises and sets.

sumedh 2y ago
> but that's not what drove colonization. What drove colonization?
- defrost 2y ago
  Wealth, power, expansion of territory, and a state religion that made "spiritual expansion" a life goal for monarchs. If you read about various big colonial enterprises, eg the Spanish colonisation of the Americas it's rare to see technology mentioned as a motivation that drives the action, at best it's an enabler that provides success when expanding into less advanced territory. eg: The Spanish expansion has sometimes been succinctly summed up as being motivated by "gold, glory, God", that is, the search for material wealth, the enhancement of the conquerors' and the crown's position, and the expansion of Christianity to the exclusion of other religious traditions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas#Imperial_expansion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Am...
  - anon291 2y ago
    For some reason everyone forgets that the Spanish monarchs who funded Columbus had just reconquered their own land which had been colonized for centuries by foreign invaders. Not mentioning the reconquista is historical laziness. The conquering of the Americas and the mass evangelization of Christianity into the new world is directly due to Muhammed and his conquests and their descendants.
    - defrost 2y ago
      Oddly there are those that argue the Reconquista is more of a 19th Century construct: The linear approach to the origins of a Reconquista taken in early twentieth-century historiography is complicated by a number of issues. [.. etc.] The period is seen today to have had long episodes of relative religious coexistence and tolerance. The idea of a continuous Reconquista has been challenged by modern scholars. The consolidation of the modern idea of a "Reconquista" is inextricably linked to the foundational myths of Spanish nationalism in the 19th century, associated with the development of a Centralist, Castilian, and staunchly Catholic brand of nationalism, evoking nationalistic, romantic and sometimes colonialist themes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista Regardless of how we in the modern world think of as "the Reconquista" the question remains whether Spain at the time colonised the New World because for long periods of time Christians and Muslims peacefully coexisted and now that Muslims had been ejected it was "directly due to Muhammed and his conquests and their descendants" that Spain continued to do unto others what Islam was alleged to have done to them.
      - anon291 2y ago
        > alleged really? Like the US was allegedly colonized by English colonists?
- CMCDragonkai 2y ago
  Human ingenuity combined with greed, a sense of all encompassing mission, a god given directive to expand and conquer. Why did the Mongols do what they did? I do want to point out that the modern world is quite different. Extractive institutions tend to fail and network effects may create a new form of economic transparency. I don't believe humanity has to continue our old ways in the future. Although the space race might restart the conquest cycle.

sumedh 2y ago

> but that's not what drove colonization. What drove colonization?

defrost 2y ago
Wealth, power, expansion of territory, and a state religion that made "spiritual expansion" a life goal for monarchs. If you read about various big colonial enterprises, eg the Spanish colonisation of the Americas it's rare to see technology mentioned as a motivation that drives the action, at best it's an enabler that provides success when expanding into less advanced territory. eg: The Spanish expansion has sometimes been succinctly summed up as being motivated by "gold, glory, God", that is, the search for material wealth, the enhancement of the conquerors' and the crown's position, and the expansion of Christianity to the exclusion of other religious traditions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas#Imperial_expansion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Am...
- anon291 2y ago
  For some reason everyone forgets that the Spanish monarchs who funded Columbus had just reconquered their own land which had been colonized for centuries by foreign invaders. Not mentioning the reconquista is historical laziness. The conquering of the Americas and the mass evangelization of Christianity into the new world is directly due to Muhammed and his conquests and their descendants.
  - defrost 2y ago
    Oddly there are those that argue the Reconquista is more of a 19th Century construct: The linear approach to the origins of a Reconquista taken in early twentieth-century historiography is complicated by a number of issues. [.. etc.] The period is seen today to have had long episodes of relative religious coexistence and tolerance. The idea of a continuous Reconquista has been challenged by modern scholars. The consolidation of the modern idea of a "Reconquista" is inextricably linked to the foundational myths of Spanish nationalism in the 19th century, associated with the development of a Centralist, Castilian, and staunchly Catholic brand of nationalism, evoking nationalistic, romantic and sometimes colonialist themes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista Regardless of how we in the modern world think of as "the Reconquista" the question remains whether Spain at the time colonised the New World because for long periods of time Christians and Muslims peacefully coexisted and now that Muslims had been ejected it was "directly due to Muhammed and his conquests and their descendants" that Spain continued to do unto others what Islam was alleged to have done to them.
    - anon291 2y ago
      > alleged really? Like the US was allegedly colonized by English colonists?
CMCDragonkai 2y ago
Human ingenuity combined with greed, a sense of all encompassing mission, a god given directive to expand and conquer. Why did the Mongols do what they did? I do want to point out that the modern world is quite different. Extractive institutions tend to fail and network effects may create a new form of economic transparency. I don't believe humanity has to continue our old ways in the future. Although the space race might restart the conquest cycle.