1. Exploitation: Many European powers exploited their colonies primarily for economic gain. They extracted natural resources, established plantations, and forced locals to labor under harsh conditions.
2. Subjugation: Colonisers often established systems of political control and administration to maintain power and dominance over the colonised territories. This included the suppression of local languages, cultures, and traditions.
3. Religious Conversion: European powers frequently sought to convert the indigenous people to Christianity or other religious traditions brought from Europe.
4. Cultural Assimilation: Some colonisers attempted to assimilate the indigenous people into their own culture, language, and way of life. This could include forced education and the suppression of native languages and practices.
5. Segregation and Discrimination: In many cases, European settlers created segregated societies, reserving the best resources and opportunities for themselves while subjecting indigenous people to discrimination, segregation, or even removal from their ancestral lands.
6. Forced Labor and Indentured Servitude: European colonisers often relied on forced labor systems to work their plantations and mines. This could involve the enslavement of indigenous people, African slaves, or indentured servants.
7. Military Control: European powers frequently maintained military presence and control over their colonies to maintain order and suppress any resistance from the local population.
8. Disease and Epidemics: The arrival of European colonisers brought with them diseases to which the indigenous people had no immunity, leading to widespread epidemics that decimated the local populations.
9. Cultural Exchange: Despite the negative aspects, there was also some degree of cultural exchange between European colonisers and indigenous societies. This led to the adoption of certain European customs, technologies, and ideas by indigenous people, and vice versa.
The legacy of European colonialism has had profound and lasting effects on the countries that were once colonised, shaping their political, economic, social, and cultural structures to this day.