Colonialism and Global Trade

Question 1

How did colonisation affect Indigenous food systems?

Answer 1

Displaced them
Introduced export-oriented monocultures
Suppressed traditional practices (e.g. fire use in Australia)
Systems focused on profit

Question 2

How did global trade reshape food systems?

Answer 2

Crops and goods moved continents, often through slavery and exploitation
e.g. sugar, rubber, spices

Question 3

What is neo-colonialism in the context of food and trade?

Answer 3

Economic systems where wealthy nations benefit from labour and resources in poorer nations, maintaining global inequalities
e.g. cheap production in global south for consumption in the global north

Question 4

What is an example of a colonial extraction with long-term ecological effects?

Answer 4

Rubber exploitation in the Congo, driven by European demand, linked to extreme violence and deforestation

Question 5

How did colonialism contribute to the Anthropocene?

Answer 5

It accelerated land-use change, species movements, deforestation, fossil fuel use
Laid foundations for the global extractive economy

Question 6

How did colonialism lead to long-term food insecurity in colonised regions?

Answer 6

Focused on cash crops for export
Replaced local food production
Increased vulnerability to famine and dependence on imports

Question 7

What was the role of trade liberalisation in continuing colonial patterns?

Answer 7

e.g. NAFTA (North American Fair Trade Act)
Promoted export agriculture in developing countries, often displacing small-scale farmers and deepening dependence on global markets

Question 8

How did colonial botany affect biodiversity?

Answer 8

Movement of species across continents changed ecosystems, often introducing invasive species and reducing local diversity