Imperialism should not, however, be equated with colonialism.
Colonialism, meaning the annexation and direct government of one country
by another, is a frequent but not universal adjunct of imperialism. The driv-
ing forces behind colonialism were additional to those motivating imperial-
ism, and brought about the political domination of a territory by an alien
power as an auxiliary activity to support economic control, not necessarily
of the same territory. Imperialism is thus mainly an economic concept,
whereas colonialism is a social and political concept. Colonialism was also
sometimes regarded as a cost by imperial powers rather than a benefit, albeit
a cost that in the context of international rivalry was unavoidable.
Not all Third World countries were colonies – the exceptions were
Thailand, Ethiopia, Liberia, Iran and Afghanistan – but the vast majority
were. More significantly, all Third World countries have as part of their histo-
ries some form of imperialism, if not direct colonial government of their ter-
ritory. As Michael Barratt Brown pointed out, in addition to the 800 million
people under colonial rule between the two world wars (a third of the world’s
population), a further 500 million in China, 150 million in Central and South
America, and 100 million in south-east Europe ‘had very limited economic
freedom of manoeuvre against the economic strength of the great industrial
powers’ (Barratt Brown, 1963, p. 159). So imperialism does not necessarily
mean taking political control of a country (Magdoff, 1972). As we shall see
later, some analysts wish to talk about imperialism in the post-colonial era as
a continuing phenomenon because they attach maximum emphasis to eco-
nomic exploitation that does not necessarily involve political annexation.
China, for example, was never a colony but experienced imperialism
through its economic relations with the Western powers. The establishment
of ‘treaty ports’, around which industrialization took place, was for the eco-
nomic benefit of foreign investors rather than for domestic development.
After the nationalist revolution in 1926 in China, British troops and war-
ships were sent to protect the concessions made to foreign investors in those
economic enclaves. In addition China lost parts of its own empire through
invasion and annexation by other powers: Indo-China to the French, and
Burma and Hong Kong to the British.
The first task in this chapter is to consider the major explanations of
imperialism and colonialism. Particular attention will be paid to the politi-
cal consequences for the dominated peoples. Criticisms of the dominant
interpretations will also be considered. The defensive and critical literature
on the subject of imperialism is vast. Even if attention is restricted to the
‘new’ imperialism of the late nineteenth century, with its associated colo-
nialism and therefore direct political consequences for those colonized,
Theories of Imperialism and Colonialism 23