ABSTRACT
By the end of Chapter 1, you will be able to:
Distinguish the difference between imperialism and colonialism
Examine the relationship between imperialism, colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade and the construction of the racialised subject
Interrogate the impact of this relationship on the modern world
Apply your understanding to case studies.
The relationship between imperialism, colonialism and the racialised subject takes the focus of Chapter 1. We discuss how this relationship has shaped the modern world. Imperialism and colonialism are related to modernity. Modernity is a contested term. But we can understand it as grounded in the Enlightenment Movement. The Enlightenment refers to an intellectual, political, scientific and social movement led by European philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Think of the Enlightenment as the precursor to modernity. The Western discourse of modernity is characterised by human progress. It involves individuals breaking away from the unmodern era. In this chapter, we unpack how the Enlightenment and modernity relate to the transatlantic slave trade, chattel slavery and the construction of the racialised subject. African American activist and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) helps us to understand the phenomenon of racialised subjectivity and the psychological legacies of slavery. We discuss Du Bois’ two key concepts: double consciousness and the veil.