The effects of colonization on the indigenous people in the post-colonial era

Introduction 

The overarching need for cultural identity demystifies the humanistic tradition in post-colonialism. The fact that the victims of colonialism, especially the Africans, experienced adverse conditions of the colonial era based on the political dominance of the westerners that was comprised of all sorts of slavery tactics means that the objective of achieving national identity was their core value. The post-colonial theory outlines the culture and the need to establish a common sense of national identity in a bid to unite the easterners with an objective of resolving civil unrest and disputes that were created by the colonialists (Baldwin & Quinn, 2007). Understanding identity as a theme of post-colonial theory plays an essential role in understanding the colonial relationships that championed for division among different social-ethnic groups. The theme of identity reveals the differences that exist between the Eurocentric ideologies that were highly promoted by the colonialists and the mindset of the easterners with regards to achieving liberty. However, the paper presents a comprehensive understanding of identity as an essential theme that best fits the context of post-colonial theory. 

Oppression 

It is quite categorical to affirm that the indigenous people all sorts’ slavery by the Europeans during the colonial period that was conceptualized as a philosophical standpoint of oppression. The need to achieve political independence and economic dominance without interference from the westerners demystifies the sense of accomplishing national identity through the elimination of oppressive tactics that were employed by Eurocentric ideologies. It is quite imperative to note that during the colonial period, the Europeans highly devalued the potentiality of the easterners, and as a result, destroyed their cultures through the introduction of Eurocentric ideologies and oppressive tactics. The easterners experienced civil unrest based on the feeling of inferiority complex that was inflicted by the colonizers. Hence, the post-colonial era outlines the sense of cultural identity and the peace that comes with practicing cultures and embracing traditions through the elimination of oppressive phenomenon (Innes, 2007). Besides, the political independence gained by Africans came out as an idealistic platform for practicing their own culture and traditions in a bid to gain economic dominance alleviate slavery that was considered as oppression to the highest degree. However, it is quite significant to affirm that the post-colonial era also comes with challenges since the easterners had to deal with resolving boundary disputes and divisions that were created by the Europeans. On the same note, the modality of fighting the cultural dominance of the colonizers was also a challenge since the technique and advances in the industrial revolution heavily relied on the ideologies of the colonialists. The political independence and economic dominance that came with the post-colonial era majorly depended on the commercial motives of making the colonized nations more economically viable regions (Rohrer, 2017). The achievement of economic dominance required a series of transformation and resistance to the lingering effects of colonization that came with oppression. Hence, the resultant effects of oppression reflect on the concept and the theme of identity since the Africans could negotiate and reconcile their different ideologies upon gaining independence and through the elimination of the oppressive culture employed by the Europeans. 

Language 

Language defines the commonalities of national identity and unity that defines the culture of the indigenous people. It is evident that the colonizers highly disregarded the cultures and traditions of the easterners based on the fact that they believed that their ideologies language was more superior to the indigenous people. Hence, the need for reconstruction of national identity and unity by establishing a common language in the post-colonial era was inevitable. Redefining the perception regarding the language of the indigenous people was achieved through negotiation and reconciliations of the different ideologies that were inflicted by the westerners. Besides, it quite affirmative to note that there existed concerns of cultural and social strain based on the impact of the westerners disputing the language of the indigenous people as quite inferior. Some communities believed that embracing western ideologies would enable the easterners to realize progressive economic growth for decades to come. However, based on the changes in mindset, thoughts, and ideologies of human nature, the essentiality of establishing a common language that would speak for the indigenous people took center stage (Baldwin & Quinn, 2007). The post-colonial era is conceptualized as the heart of drawing boundaries for national unity. In as much as achieving the national identity and unity came with numerous economic challenges based on the disunity that was created by the colonizers through the technique of divide and rule the European domination was stamped out in a bid to achieve a common sense of identity and unity. Furthermore, the significance of cultural mediation was also an idealistic platform of disregarding the Eurocentric ideologies. In this context, it was evident that the African cultures and Language depicted a sense of commonalities and a system of shared cultures. Hence, the need to achieve independence was necessary for reasons of redefining their potential with regards to influencing human civilization and the dominance of Language (Innes, 2007). The concept of language connects with the theme of post-colonial theory based on the fact that achieving cultural identity dwells on the understanding of the ideology of language as a platform for identifying the mindset of a nation. 

Otherness 

The concept of otherness denotes the quality of being different based on the definition of ideologies that defines people or a nation. For instance, the European considered themselves more superior to the indigenous people, especially with regard to their thoughts as being the superpower of reshaping the industrial revolution. European domination left a series of damages to the cultures of indigenous people based on the philosophical standpoint that they were more superior to the indigenous people. The essence of battling with the reality of which culture fits the development of the economy and achieving industrial revolutions outlines the cases of numerous conflicts between and among the indigenous people in the post-colonial period. The system of a shared culture based on the quality and the priority of other cultures depicts the impact of Eurocentric ideologies on the culture of the indigenous people. The fact that the Europeans were using a technique of divide and rule during the colonial period means that the majority of the indigenous people experienced issues and challenges that come with different opinions, thoughts, and ideologies. Hence, some Africans picked diverse cultural practices and religions from the westerners since they believed that Eurocentric ideologies were more superior to the indigenous traditions (Rohrer, 2017). The fact that the achievement of the industrial revolution heavily relied on the Eurocentric ideologies means that the indigenous people in the post-colonial era were obligated to embrace the culture of the westerners for reasons of gaining professional insights and competence to advance in quality education, and this effectively defines the concept of otherness (Baldwin & Quinn, 2007). The advancement in education was intended to maintain the economic outlook of the colonized nations at the time of the colonial period and focus on the objective of achieving an industrial revolution. Hence, the concept of otherness connects with the theme of identity based on the fact that the indigenous people had to explore western ideologies in a bid to realize the industrial revolution. 

Conclusion 

Understanding identity as a theme that redefines the understanding of the post-colonial theory comes out as the platform for understanding the effects of colonization and all sorts of oppressive tactics that were imposed on the indigenous people in the post-colonial era. The European dominance in the colonial periods heavily influenced the culture of the indigenous people, and this concern caused conflicts and disunity between and among several nations in the African states, which are the most predominant nations of the indigenous people. The concern for understanding language and identity describes the culture and the livelihood of the indigenous people that heavily relied on a system of shared cultures and values. Ultimately, the changes that came with the need to have a sense of national identity outlines the reason for the struggle of independence in a bid to stamp out Eurocentric ideologies that disregarded the culture of the indigenous people. 

References 

Baldwin, D. R., & Quinn, P. J. (Eds.). (2007).  An anthology of colonial and postcolonial short fiction . Houghton Mifflin College Division. 

Innes, C. L. (2007). The Cambridge introduction to postcolonial literatures in English. Cambridge UP. 

Rohrer, T. P. (2017). The Epic of Gilgamesh.