Save the children...

[Jetgirl]

Doesn't sound like a great success for colonisation to me.

It got squashed before they had a chance. Anyway, they were better than most while they were at it.

 

[Ninja Turtles]

The problem is that colonization isn't really about building up a region as much as it is about exploiting a region for its resources. This explains the many artificial borders and exploitation of divisions among different ethnic groups in many countries.

Colonization will not work and even if people went with the purest intentions, the past exploitation at the hands of powerful nations before will make too many wary.

 

[Harlan Norris]

There is more than enough food, building material, ect. to go around. Rich nations will depleat the natural resorces of a third world country, then abandon it. Or if such a nation has nothing of interest to us, we pay them no heed. Frankly I do feel guilty when I see those adds. The truth is I've never sent a dime. It's something to consider.

 

[ebia]

Colonization brouhgt an end to the slave trade, established a centralized government, brought an end to all most all tribal disputes, gave back economic growth to dying regions of Africa. Now Africa has all these problems due to a lack of control.

So nothing was achieved in the long run. Colonisation can't last forever, so if the country is doomed to collapse as soon as the controlling country leaves, colonisation has failed.

Why are they prevented? This seems more an issue with government officials than with the Europe and US. Can you elaborate?

I don't have good examples with me here, but one that springs to mind that isn't perfectly in that mode but helps illustrate is bananas:
The UK used to restrict imports of bananas to heavily favour certain small ex-British colonies such as the various Windward Islands. This supported the enconomies of those tiny countries which rely heavily on bananas as an export. The plantations are mostly locally owned, and the trade, although not perfect, was reasonably fair on the plantation owners and workers. Then the US goverment took the UK government to the WTO, insisting that US owned banana plantations in Costa Rica not be 'unfairely' excluded from the British market . The US goverment won, and so now windward island bananas are being pushed out of the market by Costa Rican ones (where most of the profit goes to US companies, not Costa Rican workers).

I know that isn't a perfect example, but it's the only one I can quote off the top of my head.

This was a statement ment to imply that existing taxes and public spending would be better managed.

Well, hopefully corruption would be less, but I don't have much faith that the taxes would be spent to the best advantage of the people of said country. The temptation would be to spend it in ways that advantage the interests of the colonising power - after all, that's what happens with a lot of the government 'aid' to 3rd world countries.