You will have heard that British colonists invaded this land in 1788 and through violent dispossession and attempted genocide, they set up what we now know as ‘Australia’. 

But did you know that colonisation isn’t just an event that happened hundreds of years ago but is a system that still exists today? 

Colonisation wasn’t just successful through brute force but used cultural control to create a system that justified the oppression of Indigenous people and formed a state that mirrored Britain. 

Colonialism has devastating effects. Under colonial rule, Indigenous communities around the world have suffered from genocide, the spread of disease, and the erasure of their culture, languages, religions, and beliefs. Before the British invaded, this island continent was cared for by over 400 different nations, with rich and complex languages, customs, spirituality, and lore. Learn more about First Nations history, culture, and resistance here. 

And … Britain wasn’t the only country invading other people’s land, many European powers invaded countries all over the world to extract resources, steal labour (put people into slavery), and force its cultural values and language onto the population. These countries are still feeling the effects of colonisation today. 

This history was not that long ago, and the system they created still rules our society in many ways. 

A (brief) history of colonisation

Across the world: 

Colonisation refers to a period from the 1500s to the present day when European powers sailed across the world to invade lands and set up societies that looked like theirs. These powers included Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands.

This period of history was incredibly violent as European powers sought to control Indigenous populations. This was done through murder, starvation, disease, and forcing people to farm and mine in incredibly harsh conditions. In South and Central America, due to the brutality of Portuguese and Spanish colonialists, 80% of the Indigenous population died across the 400-year colonial rule of the continent. 

Resistance is a vital part of this history. From the beginning of the colonial period, Indigenous peoples were not passive, they fought back. They staged riots and revolts in attempts to oust the colonial powers and take back their land and freedom. Some examples include the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962) and Mahatma Gandhi’s movement of nonviolent resistance, which helped India gain independence in 1947. Many other colonised countries gained independence in the 20th century, when there was a rapid collapse of numerous empires. 

 To learn more you can watch this video about the revolution in Haiti and this video about the Pueblo revolts in New Mexico.

Historian Phillip Hoffman has estimated that by the year 1800, Europeans controlled at least 35% of the world, and by 1914, it was 84%. This is because the 19th century saw the “scramble for Africa,” where European powers essentially divided up territory in Africa to suit themselves. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, these powers drew arbitrary lines that subdivided portions of Africa based on how much resources the European powers could steal for themselves. They created borders that ignored centuries-long histories of tribal cultures and connection to land. 

In so-called ‘Australia’:

In so-called ‘Australia’, British colonisation was just as brutal. This violent period is known as the Frontier Wars. There are many documented conflicts between Indigenous people and white settlers, militias, colonial soldiers, and police. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were stripped of their land, and culture, and many were killed. Much of this history is not taught or talked about; this is known as the Great Australian Silence. 

Here is a map of all the massacres that occurred on this land from 1788 to 1930 — that’s less than 100 years ago.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were forcibly moved off their land and into missions, reserves, and stations. These were institutions set up by the government to control Indigenous peoples and erase their cultural identity.

Missions were religious institutions that educated Indigenous people and children in Christianity, eradicating language, connection, and culture through the forced insertion of British values. Reserves were land that Indigenous people were forced to live on separate from their ancestral land, such as the largest in Victoria: Coranderrk. Stations were controlled work, schooling, and housing environments where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were paid in rations  — or rocks! — for their work and were unable to leave. 

@abcindigenous The $180m Indigenous stolen wages settlement #Indigenous #FirstNations #Aboriginal #TorresStraitIslander ♬ original sound – ABC Indigenous

This brutal and violent history lives on today as Indigenous people in so-called ‘Australia’ are still facing institutional racism, over-policing and incarceration, intergenerational trauma, and lower health and life expectancy rates than non-Indigenous Australians.

What is Coloniality?

So it is clear that colonisation was an incredibly violent process. But it was more than just brute force that made colonisation so impactful.

Colonisation was executed through a hierarchical system of thought, known as ‘coloniality’. This mindset positioned Europeans at the top of the hierarchy. Coloniality is a harmful psychological mindset that made Europeans believe they have the right to rule others, take their land, and extract their resources.

Theorist Anibal Quijano coined the term, which describes the power systems that created social orders and forms of knowledge. 

Dr Liliana Conlisk Gallegos explains that coloniality replaced “spectrum thinking” with binary, hierarchical thought. This mentality privileged white heterosexual cis-gender men and women over people of colour, who had more diverse and nuanced understandings of gender and sexuality. This hierarchy was used to justify the violence perpetrated against Indigenous people. 

Think of it like this: ‘colonialism’ is the process, and ‘coloniality’ is the mindset that justifies it. 

Systems of power  

Coloniality is a system of power that was used to regulate and control. European powers set up hierarchical systems that rationalised and perpetuated Western dominance. This process enshrined ideas about race and gender into today’s societal understanding. 

Race 

Race is a social construct. Which means it was created by humans — not science. European thinkers formed the theory to justify the oppression of people with a non-white skin tone or non-European geographical origin. 

Author Sophie Williams puts it simply: “If you are going to take a group of people and decide that they are not people anymore, then you need something to justify that.” And therefore Europeans invented the idea of race to justify their brutal treatment of people of colour. 

Gender 

Before colonisation, many cultures had diverse concepts of gender. Many didn’t stick to binary ideas of a man and a woman. However, European powers forced binary ideas of gender and sexuality on Indigenous communities, outlawing expressions of gender and sexual diversity. 

This binary system was also hierarchical — meaning that men had the most power and women were relegated to the sidelines. This system is called patriarchy and it was used by colonists to control Indigenous populations and enforce a European way of life. Listen to Alok Vaid-Menon describe how this was implemented in Asia. 

Watch this tik tok of Drew Afualo and Alok discuss what gender and womanhood mean in different cultures:

@alokvmenon There is no one way to be a woman, a man, or nonbinary. How meaningful to discuss how the gender binary holds all of us back with @Drew Afualo #feminism #nonbinary #trans ♬ original sound – ALOK

For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have diverse ways of understanding gender and sexuality, such as Sistergirl and Brotherboy identities. Crystal Love talks about her Sistagirl identity as a way to connect with others in a “spiritual sense.” As a Sistergirl Crystal is “someone who is respected as a mother, cousin, or sister, or grandmother”. You can also listen to more gender-diverse Indigenous people who are reclaiming their culturally specific forms of gender diversity.

What does colonisation look like today? 

So as we know now colonisation was not a one-time event but a system that was put in place that is still with us today. So what does colonisation look like now? 

• There have been many hurtful and discriminatory policies trying to control First Nations people in Australia such as the Northern Territory Intervention. In 2007 the federal government took extreme action and seized control of the daily lives of Aboriginal people living in remote communities in the NT. This was after false and racist accusations of abuse of Aboriginal children and drug use. This paternalistic policy only came to an official end in 2022. The NT intervention had a major impact on Aboriginal people’s lives and autonomy and would be unthinkable in any other community. 
• Another example was in 2020 when a sacred rock shelter in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was legally blasted by the mining company Rio Tinto. The blast destroyed artefacts of cultural significance that date back to over 46,000 years. Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation director Burchell Hayes spoke about the loss of sharing culture with future generations, saying we “can’t take them out there to stand at the rock shelter and say: this is where your ancestors lived, starting 46,000 years ago.” 
  • As history professor Claire Wright explains: “Juukan represents the pinnacle of the colonial mining project. In a matter of minutes, eight million tonnes of ore were ripped from the earth, and with them, 46,000 years of cultural heritage were destroyed… For this hefty price we all paid, Rio Tinto lawfully gained access to $135 million dollars of high-grade iron ore.” This shows how colonial logic surrounding land and Indigenous rights impacts Australian law today. This concept is explored further in our article on decolonising environmentalism. 

What is decolonisation? 

Decolonisation was originally coined as a term to describe former colonies that had achieved independence. However, it has come to mean a process of justice that undoes the legacy of colonialism psychologically, economically, culturally, and politically. 

Co-governor of the Aotearoa Liberation League, Pere Huriwai-Seger defines decolonisation as “recognising that we live under a colonial system. That things are the way they are not by accident but because a particular ideology has erased others by systematically normalising itself.” 

Professor Kehinde Andrews speaks about the importance of decolonising your mind as your thought processes have been created around the myths of coloniality. Without unpacking them within ourselves, we cannot begin the process of unpacking them in society. 

As Wiradjuri woman Kishaya Delaney says decolonisation is done when we: 

• Listen: Always listen to First Nations people and communities — centre First Nations voices and perspectives, and ensure you are respecting cultural authority. 
• Learn: Learn as much as you can about the history, culture, and experience of First Nations people. The more you learn, the more you can understand and contribute towards First Nations justice. 

Decolonisation is a vital process and the only way we can truly recognise the violence and trauma in our colonial history, and repair the damage that it has caused. You can read our other articles on decolonisation: ‘How can we decolonise environmentalism?’ and ‘What does decolonising mental health mean?’. 

Alongside this process of learning, we can take anti-racist action, show our solidarity, check our privilege, and pay the rent. 

To learn more about decolonisation and First Nation’s perspectives you can read our articles: ‘What is First Nation’s Justice?’ and ‘What does First Nation’s allyship look like?’. 

Further resources:

Books

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

Killing for Country by David Marr 

Orientalism by Edward Said

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of the Empire by Akala 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 

Documentaries 

The Australian Wars 

Aboriginal woman Rachel Perkins reveals the horrific colonial violence that so-called Australia has been built upon. 

African Apocalypse 

Follows British-Nigerian poet and activist Femi Nylander as he discovers the modern-day impacts of colonialism in Niger. 

5 Broken Cameras

A personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance to Israeli settlements in Bil’in — a village in the occupied West Bank — by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat.