ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes to and addresses some of the questions related to the colonization of Asia and Africa by European states and the mobilization of the populations of Africa and Asia to end European colonialism. The notion of sovereignty serves as a thread throughout this chapter because colonization constitutes a loss of sovereignty to the colonized. Since it is European states that colonized Asia and Africa it is essential that we bring state formation in Europe into the equation because colonization requires a colonizer and the colonized. Thus, I emphasize and analyze the processes that informed both the loss and the reclamation of sovereignty in nations across Asia and Africa. Although the focus of this chapter is Africa and Asia it is important to first note that the colonization of Asia and Africa by European states was preceded by, and overlapped with, the expropriation of land and colonization of the Americas by the same nations. In fact the link between the colonization of the Americas, Asia and Africa created the world economy, as we know it today. For instance, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company which operated in Asia and the Dutch West India Company which operated in Africa and the Americas in the chattel slavery enterprise. The economic activities of each one complemented the other; African captives were forcibly transported to the Americas to work under coercion in order to extract minerals such as gold and silver, and produce goods such as cotton, sugar, coffee and tobacco, for European consumption, as well as to facilitate European trade with Asia. Thus, it is important to remember that while this chapter focuses primarily on Africa, the Americas and Asia, Europe remained a pivotal fulcrum in all the activities (Nimako & Willemsen, 2011).
