From the late 16th to 20th century, Great Britain was an influential figure in history because of its control over the world economy, different countries, and trade, but their influence was not entirely positive. Diseases, war, and the exploitation of natural resources caused by the British are all undeniably negative effects, but that is all in the past, right? 

Wrong. British colonialism still has a lasting effect on the 50+ countries that it had control over. 

Colorism (prejudice towards people with dark skin tones) is a discriminatory practice deeply rooted in British colonialism. Common in countries throughout Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, colorism became prevalent because of the British’s mindset toward skin color. British leaders were more likely to hire those with lighter skin tones into higher positions, which gave people with lighter skin tones more opportunities because they were closer to the skin tone of white people.

Eurocentrism (viewing societies from a European perspective) was generally perpetuated by European empires, especially the British empire. An example of this is the region shared by Asia and part of Africa that we call the Middle East because of its relation to Europe on the map. Truly, what we call the Middle East is not east at all. It is made up of predominantly West and Southwestern Asian countries.

Lastly, British rule has significantly impacted the world’s economy today. The British’s main motive for colonizing other parts of the world was money. Therefore, they deprived the countries they colonized of natural resources and exploited much of their agriculture, all with the intention of bringing the money from those practices back to Britain, leaving the colonized countries with little to no resources to trade with themselves after they became independent. This led these countries to experience economic complications such as food insecurity and lack of infrastructure after they gained freedom.

The British and European powers, in general, believed that the native people of colonized countries were “uncivilized” and thought that it was their responsibility to help the “less fortunate” by colonizing them. They believed they were doing the work colonized countries weren’t able to do themselves, such as establishing trade routes and connections with other countries. Often this reasoning was used to justify colonization.

Needless to say, the British did not help the colonized countries. In fact, the exploitation of natural resources and agriculture caused by trade routes led to devastating environmental effects, and the perpetuation of colorism and eurocentrism still has large social impacts in these countries today.