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From a historical point of view
Western colonial expansion is an important part of modern world history. This activity runs through the whole process of the development of modern capitalism. From the end of 15 to the beginning of the 20th century, the western colonial expansion can be roughly divided into three stages:

1. The period of commercial capitalism (from the end of 15 to the end of 18)-primitive accumulation of capital period.

At this stage, the development of capitalism was in the primitive accumulation of capital period, and the main purpose of external expansion was to plunder gold and silver wealth and accumulate capital. The means of expansion is "naked plunder in the most cruel and violent way", including plundering wealth, selling black slaves, fraudulent trade and so on. The expansion area is mainly in the United States.

The important consequences of colonial aggression in this period are: opening up and strengthening the economic and cultural exchanges between the old and new continents and Asia and Europe, laying a solid foundation for the formation of the world market later; Accelerated the process of primitive accumulation of capital in Western Europe; However, it aggravated the backwardness of the colony and caused extremely negative effects; The impact on China was that the Portuguese stole the right of abode in Macau in the16th century, and the Dutch colonists occupied Taiwan Province Province in the17th century.

II. The period of industrial capitalism (from the end of 18 to the middle of 19)

With the industrial revolution, capitalist colonial expansion has entered a new era, and the colonial policy has undergone major changes from content to form, which has also had a more profound impact on international relations between the East and the West. The main purpose of colonial aggression by countries such as Britain, France and the United States, which carried out the industrial revolution earlier, was to expand the commodity sales market and the origin of raw materials to meet the development needs of their own industrial capitalism. The means of colonial expansion is to launch a war of aggression and export cheap goods.

The main area of aggression is Asia in the East. The important influences of colonial expansion in this period include: Asian countries were involved in the capitalist world market, and the international relations in which the East was subordinate to the West were formed; In the face of colonial disasters, Asian countries have made different reactions (Asian revolutionary storm and bourgeois national movement); After two Opium Wars, China began the painful history of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

Third, the period of monopoly capitalism (65438+the late 20th century).

After the second industrial revolution, with the transition of major capitalist countries to the imperialist stage, the motives, methods and colonial policies of imperialist colonial expansion have changed greatly.

Judging from the purpose and mode of colonial expansion, imperialist aggression embodies the interests of monopoly capitalists in various countries, that is, seizing the capital export place, exporting capital, setting off a frenzy of carving up and carrying out imperialist wars has become the main mode of aggression at this stage. Judging from the invaded areas, many countries and regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America have suffered from imperialist colonial aggression.

Early colonization

1. For colonial countries, it promoted the economic development of the local capital.

2, for the colonial people:

(1) The brutal slaughter, plunder and enslavement of the colonies by colonialists brought great disasters and disasters to the colonial people, interrupted the historical process of Asia, Africa and Latin America, caused the long-term backwardness of these areas, and greatly widened the distance between the historical process of the East and the West.

(2) At the same time, colonialism also brought advanced modes of production, lifestyles and ideas, which promoted the development and progress of colonial history.

3. With the further expansion of the world market, the economic ties between regions of the world are getting closer and closer.

4. The imbalance of political and economic development will inevitably lead to a large-scale war between colonial countries. ?