Why This Conference?

Sömürgecilik, yaklaşık 15. yüzyıldan 20. yüzyıla kadar dünyanın büyük bir bölümünü etkisi altına alan ve insanlık tarihinin gidişatını kökten değiştiren bir olgu olmuştur. Avrupalı güçlerin Amerika, Afrika, Asya ve Okyanusya’da kurdukları sömürge imparatorlukları, sadece siyasi sınırları değil beraberinde toplumsal ve ekonomik yapıları da kalıcı biçimde dönüştürmüştür. Ne yazık ki bu dönüşüm, genellikle şiddet, sömürü ve insanlık dışı uygulamalar eşliğinde gerçekleşmiştir. Bugün bile sömürgeciliğin açtığı yaralar tamamen iyileşebilmiş değildir çünkü sömürge düzenleri, hedef aldıkları toplumların sosyal, ekonomik ve siyasal yapılarını altüst etmiş​ ve kuşaklar boyu sürecek travmalara yol açmıştır. ​ Sömürge yönetimleri, kendi çıkarları uğruna işledikleri suçlarla milyonlarca insanın hayatına mal olmuş, sayısız kültürel değeri yok etmiş ve kolonileştirdikleri bölgeleri uzun süren bir bağımlılık döngüsüne sokmuştur. Amerika Kıtası’nda 1492 sonrasında Avrupa sömürgeciliğinin başlamasıyla birlikte Amerikan yerlileri eşi benzeri görülmemiş bir demografik çöküş yaşadı. Avrupa’dan gelen hastalıklar, fetih savaşları ve zorla çalıştırma nedeniyle yerli nüfusun yaklaşık %90’ı yok oldu. Araştırmalar, 15. yüzyıl sonunda yaklaşık 60 milyon olan yerli nüfusun bir yüzyıl içinde sadece 6 milyona düştüğünü ortaya koymaktadır​. Diğer taraftan Afrika Kıtası, sömürge suçlarının en acı sahnelerinden birine tanık oldu. Transatlantik köle ticareti kapsamında yaklaşık 12 ile 13 milyon Afrikalı, Avrupa devletlerinin çıkarlarına hizmet etmek üzere zorla Amerika’ya taşındı. Bu yolculuk sırasında 1-2 milyonu aşkın insan gemilerde can verirken, yakalanma ve sevk edilme süreçlerinde de milyonlarcası öldü. ​Köleleştirilen insanlar kendi vatanlarından koparılıp insanlık dışı koşullara mahküm edildi, geride kalan toplumlar ise nüfuslarını ve üretim güçlerini kaybetti. Bunun yanı sıra, 19. yüzyılın sonlarında Belçika Kralı II. Leopold’un kişisel mülkü olan Kongo’daki zorla kauçuk toplama rejimi, toplu cezalandırma ve katliamlarla anılır. Sömürge dönemi kayıtlarına göre bu dönem boyunca Kongo nüfusunda milyonlarca kişilik bir azalma meydana gelmiş, modern tahminler nüfus kaybının 10 milyona yaklaşmış olabileceğini göstermektedir​. Sayısı onları hatta yüzleri bulan bu tür vahşet örnekleri, sömürgeciliğin toplumlara insani ve ekonomik bakımdan onarılmaz zararlar verdiğinin en özet kanıtıdır. Sömürgeci güçlerin Asya’daki egemenliği de ağır insani bedellere yol açmıştır. Örneğin Britanya İmparatorluğu’nun Hindistan’daki sömürge yönetimi, halkı ekonomik olarak sömürürken ciddi kıtlıklar ve yoksulluk yaratmıştır. Yapılan kapsamlı tarihsel araştırmalar, Britanya idaresinin zirvede olduğu 1881-1920 döneminde sömürge politikaları nedeniyle Hindistan’da yaklaşık 100 milyon “normalin üzerinde” ölüm gerçekleştiğini ortaya koymuştur. ​Bu sayı, tarihte tek bir bölgedeki en büyük politika kaynaklı kitlesel ölümlerden biri olup, 20. yüzyılda farklı rejimlerde yaşanan büyük kıtlıkların toplamından bile fazladır.​Sömürge idaresi altında tarımsal üretimin ve kaynakların metropole aktarılması, milyonlarca insanın açlıktan ve hastalıktan kırılmasına zemin hazırlamıştır. Sonuç olarak Hindistan, sömürge döneminde ekonomik açıdan gerilemiş, aşırı yoksulluk ve düşük yaşam standartları kalıcı hale gelmiştir.​ 

Colonialism, from approximately the 15th century to the 20th century, was a phenomenon that gripped a large part of the world and radically altered the course of human history. The colonial empires established by European powers in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania permanently transformed not only political boundaries but also the social and ecoColonialism, from approximately the 15th century to the 20th century, was a phenomenon that gripped a large part of the world and radically altered the course of human history. The colonial empires established by European powers in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania permanently transformed not only political boundaries but also the social and enomic structures of those regions. Unfortunately, this transformation was often accompanied by violence, exploitation, and inhumane practices. Even today, the wounds inflicted by colonialism have not fully healed, because colonial regimes upended the social, economic, and political structures of the societies they targeted, causing traumas that would last for generations. Colonial administrations, with the crimes they committed for their own interests, cost millions of lives, destroyed countless cultural assets, and forced the regions they colonized into a prolonged cycle of dependency.

On the American continent, after European colonialism began in 1492, the Indigenous peoples experienced an unprecedented demographic collapse. Diseases brought from Europe, wars of conquest, and forced labor wiped out about 90% of the native population. Research shows that at the end of the 15th century the Indigenous population was around 60 million, which fell to only 6 million within a century. On the other hand, the African continent witnessed one of the most tragic scenes of colonial crimes. In the transatlantic slave trade, approximately 12 to 13 million Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas to serve the interests of European states. During this journey, over 1 to 2 million people perished aboard the ships, and millions more died during the capture and transport processes. Enslaved people were torn from their homelands and condemned to inhumane conditions, while the societies left behind lost their populations and productive capacity. In addition, the forced rubber collection regime in King Leopold II’s personal colony of the Congo is remembered for mass punishments and massacres. According to colonial era records, the Congolese population declined by millions during this period, and modern estimates suggest the population loss may have approached 10 million. These atrocities, of which there are dozens or even hundreds of examples, are the clearest proof that colonialism inflicted irreparable human and economic harm on societies.

​The dominance of colonial powers in Asia also led to heavy human costs. For example, the British Empire’s colonial administration in India economically exploited the people while creating severe famines and poverty. Comprehensive historical research has revealed that during the period 1881–1920, when British rule was at its peak, colonial policies caused approximately 100 million “excess deaths” in India. This number constitutes one of the largest policy driven mass deaths in a single region in history, and is even greater than the total of the major famines that occurred under various regimes in the 20th century. Under colonial administration, the transfer of agricultural production and resources to the metropole paved the way for millions of people to perish from hunger and disease. As a result, India experienced economic decline during the colonial period, and extreme poverty and low living standards became permanent. 

​Colonialism did not only cause loss of life; it is also remembered for its policies of systematic cultural destruction. Many colonial administrations suppressed the languages, religions, and traditions of indigenous peoples, imposing cultural assimilation through tools such as missionary activities and compulsory education. For example, the residential school system imposed on Indigenous peoples in Canada aimed to create “model citizens” by separating children from their families and distancing them from their own culture and languages. Such practices are today described as “cultural genocide” by scholars and human rights advocates. Similarly, in the lands they occupied, colonial powers destroyed religious and cultural artifacts and libraries, or carried them off to Europe. In this context, many nations lost not only their populations and material resources, but also a significant portion of their cultural heritage during the age of colonialism. Colonialism also established an order that made the occupied regions economically dependent. Throughout the colonial period, colonies were used as sources of raw materials and labor; industrialization or self sufficient economic development was largely hindered. Monoculture agricultural economies and trade structures dependent on external markets were deliberately encouraged by colonial administrations. This led to many former colonies being condemned to fragile economies and unfair global trading conditions even after independence. Indeed, post-colonial neo-colonial relationships and the unequal structures of the global economy continued former colonies’ dependence on the metropoles in new forms. For this reason, the “wounds” caused by colonialism have not been fully healed.

Humanity Transcending Ages: A History of Unaddressed Colonial Crimes

Humanity Transcending Ages: A History of Unaddressed Colonial Crimes The bitter legacy of the colonial era remains significant on the world agenda today, despite the decades that have passed. One reason is that the injustices of the past remain alive in social memory and in the search for justice. The descendants of millions of people have not forgotten what was done to their ancestors, and the psychological and economic effects of these historical traumas continue to be passed down through generations. Academic studies have shown that phenomena such as racism and discrimination often have their roots in colonial-era ideologies and practices. Therefore, contemporary movements for equality and human rights frequently refer to the history of colonialism and emphasize the need to confront this legacy.

On the other hand, the international community has also begun to re examine colonial crimes from the perspective of historical justice. In recent years, some former colonial powers have moved to apologize for past crimes, and even to take steps toward reparations. For example, Germany has officially recognized the massacres carried out by its colonial administration against the Herero and Nama peoples in Namibia in the early 1900s as genocide, and has agreed to provide reparations to that country. Similarly, in a case in Belgium, a court deemed the forcible removal of mixed race Congolese and Rwandan children from their families and their placement in institutions during the colonial period to be a crime against humanity, and held the Belgian state responsible. Such developments show that the legacy of colonialism has not remained confined to history books, but is a current issue in legal and political terms. Many countries continue to debate statues, names, and symbols from the colonial era, and steps are being taken to return looted cultural artifacts, repair collective memory, and raise awareness of colonialism in educational systems. Even in 2025, the problems inherited from colonialism still confront us both in the form of global injustices and in cultural and human dimensions. Modern forms of exploitation, known today as “neo-colonialism,” continue to exist in various ways. Therefore, to prevent the repetition of similar crimes against humanity, it is of vital importance to increase historical awareness and to continue discussing these issues on a scholarly basis. It is necessary to maintain academic and social support in order to raise awareness of such traumatic issues and to achieve justice for past atrocities, even if belatedly. In this context, the “Colonial Crimes Conference” aims to scientifically discuss the historical, social, and cultural impacts of colonialism on humanity and to increase awareness on this issue. Not forgetting, understanding, and analyzing what happened during the colonial period can help prevent a recurrence of similar tragedies and lay the groundwork for historical justice. This academic event will provide a platform for awareness, aiming to illuminate the dark chapters of inhumane activities in the past and to make sense of their ongoing effects.

Humanity Transcending Ages: A History of Unaddressed Colonial Crimes