Cultural Transformation

Another major change happened in the culture of the people colonized. As the colonizers spread their influence and their domination was felt by the colonized territories their way of life changed. New religions were introduced, mode of travel and dress changed, new languages were introduced, farming techniques and technologies were introduced as well. Before long, life as they knew it was no more. 4. 1 Religion and social reformation in British India The major cultural transformation came when new religions were introduced.

Missionaries were not far behind explorers when it came to colonization, always looking for new converts.

It seemed that with a new religion came a new way of doing things. They natives could no longer go to the local shaman for healing, but now had to attend the new mission hospital. Because majority of the new converts were ostracized by their communities, they had to live with the missionaries and do things their way. They attended the new mission schools and many had to wear the “white man’s” clothes and shoes for the first time.

In India things were much the same and the various colonizers found the issue of religion and social tradition a difficult one to reconcile.

The caste system of India was one of the main problems that stood in the way. Syrian Christians of high caste were converted but refused to mingle with people of lower castes. Portuguese missionaries on arrival in the 16th century, ministered to the lower caste people converting many fishermen and their families. When protestant missionaries arrived in the 19th century, they would not have anything to do with the caste system, insisting on social reform when one converted to Christianity. Due to this, they converted many from the lower castes and had little impact on those of high birth (Christian caste, 2009).

Diagram 3 – The Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Old Goa, built in 1661. Source: http://www. shubhyatra. com/goa/the-church-of-st-francis-of-assisi. html Due to the fact that Hindu’s and Muslim’s had been there prior to the coming of these missionaries, they took their coming and teachings of social reformation as an attack on their religions. Moreover, the fact that Christianity is associated with the conquerors of India who in fact tyrannized the people has caused religious and cultural tension, with Christians seen as supporters of invaders and imperialists.

It is therefore considered a Western Religion (Birodkar). On the side of the church there is a fear that the Hindu culture of polytheism and religious pantheism will cause the Hindu’s to accept Christ as an addition to their other gods, instead of the only God. There is also a clash between the Muslims and Christians who both claim to worship the only true God (Birodkar). 4. 2 Legacy of language Another part of cultural transformation is language. The language of the colonizer was usually mandatory for the people colonized and on some occasions they even forbade the locals to speak their native tongue.

In the mission schools, speaking ones mother tongue was prohibited with punishment for the ‘crime’ including demotion, beatings and humiliation. It was a systematic plan to do away with the native languages and impose colonial languages on the people (Language). This has served the colonized people well in some areas and badly in others. Because of this colonization, many of the world’s languages have become extinct. Whereas in the past a child learned his or her mother tongue all through life, since colonial education has taken over, the language of instruction in most schools is the colonial tongue.

Therefore, the children grow up speaking and interacting in these foreign languages and never adequately learn their indigenous languages. On the other hand, the fact that they can interact in the language of their colonial masters has opened up doors for them far and wide. For example, people colonized by the British can easily communicate in the same language. An Indian, Kenyan and someone from the Bahamas can have a great conversation in English, regardless of the fact they come from totally different regions of the globe (Margulis & Nowakoski, 1996).

This elimination of a language barrier has gone a long way in enhancing relations of different countries as well as trade and education. 5. 0 Conclusion The world today is full of reflections of the past colonial era. Nations like Brazil where coffee and sugarcane were not indigenous are now the world’s largest producers and exporters of the same. Formal education has become the norm and indeed many governments in the developing world are doing all they can to provide free education to their citizens to enhance nation building.

The world has become a global village as cultural and language barriers are transcended thanks to colonization. Religious interaction has been enhanced leading to clashes in some places, and religious tolerance in others. Medical marvels have been achieved as scientists in one region work with scientists in another to try and find a cure for diseases spread in the colonial error, that plague mankind. Governments have been formed that lead to nations understanding one another as their colonial masters passed on democracy to the masses.

There may have been many negatives related to colonization, but there have been many benefits as well, that have led to the betterment of humanity at large.

References

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Birodkar, S. Christianity. Hindu Books Universe. Retrieved March 19, 2009. http://www. hindubooks. org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/christianity. html

Brazil demographic profile. The Christian Missionary Alliance. Retrieved March 19, 2009. http://www. cmalliance. org/im/imworld/demographics. jsp?

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Bruhn, T. C. (1984). Senegal: Country status report. Education Resources Information Center. Retrieved March 19, 2009. http://www. eric. ed. gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini. jsp? _nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED248703&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED248703

Central Intelligence Agency (2009, March 5). Brazil. The World Factbook. Retrieved March 19, 2009. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br. html

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