page_title: Colonialism
section_title: The status and cost of European colonization at the turn of the 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Colonialism / History / The status and cost of European colonization at the turn of the 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Colonial Governor of the Seychelles - Sir Bruce Greatbatch - inspecting police guard of honour in 1972
context_page_description: Colonialism is the policy of a country seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their religion, economics, and other cultural practices on indigenous peoples. The foreign administrators rule the territory in pursuit of their interests, seeking to benefit from the colonised region's people and resources.
  Colonialism is strongly associated with the European colonial period starting with the 15th century when some European states established colonising empires.
  At first, European colonising countries followed policies of mercantilism, aiming to strengthen the home-country economy, so agreements usually restricted the colonies to trading only with the metropole. By the mid-19th century, however, the British Empire gave up mercantilism and trade restrictions and adopted the principle of free trade, with few restrictions or tariffs. Christian missionaries were active in practically all of the European-controlled colonies because the metropoles were Christian.
context_section_description: The world's colonial population at the time of the First World War totalled about 560 million people, of whom 70% were in British possessions, 10% in French possessions, 9% in Dutch possessions, 4% in Japanese possessions, 2% in German possessions, 2% in American possessions, 2% in Portuguese possessions, 1% in Belgian possessions and 1/2 of 1% in Italian possessions. The domestic domains of the colonial powers had a total population of about 370 million people.
  Asking whether colonies paid, economic historian Grover Clark argues an emphatic "No!" He reports that in every case the support cost, especially the military system necessary to support and defend the colonies outran the total trade they produced. Apart from the British Empire, they were not favoured destinations for the immigration of surplus populations. The question of whether colonies paid is, however, a complicated one when recognizing the multiplicity of interests involved. In some cases colonial powers were paying a lot in military costs, while the benefits could be pocketed by private investors. In other cases the colonial powers managed to move the burden of administrative costs to the colonies themselves by imposing taxes.
caption: Colonial Governor of the Seychelles inspecting police guard of honour in 1972
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