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Which colonial empire was "most evil"?

Many people say the British Empire was the most evil colonial empire, IMO though I'd say the Spanish Empire was worse.

They almost decimated the native Americans, and were amongst the first slave traders. They also had the Inquistion, which is something the British Empire never had on that scale.

Yes, the British Empire didn't treat India well and massacred Aboriginies in Australia, but it signed treaties with native Americans securing their protection, and didn't massacre them as the Spanish did.

Also, all of the other empires committed atrocities. What about the Belgian Congo, or experimenting on natives in Namibia? Or even starting the slave trade, which the British never did?

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Reply 1
Relatively, the British Empire wasn't that oppressive compared to other countries. That is why many of them are in the Commonwealth and also share the same monarchy.
Reply 2
belgian, you should research the belgian's attitude to the africans
Reply 3
The British empire was comparatively good-natured compared to many others. If we ascribe the cruelty of the Spaniards to their times, then I would have to say the Belgians or the Portuguese had to be up there in terms of cruelty. The Germans also deserve a special mention for the Herero and Namaqua Genocides in Namibia.
Reply 4
The Japanese and their rape of nanking was probably one of the worst sackings of a city in the last 200 years.

The ottomans weren't too nice to their colonies either.


IMO Russia was the worst, it was brutal to those living in areas such as the Caucasus etc.
Reply 5
The French left much to be desired. Forced labour from it's poorer colonies to the more productive ones (Congo-Ocean Railway anyone?) The fact that it forcefully made colonies grow crops for France and assimilated the local populations for forcing them to learn the French language and culture, which is pretty abhorrent if I may say so. Algeria was a bit of a mess as well when it came to independence matters. And there was the case of the pacific colonies receiving a nice dosage of nuclear bomb in the 1950's and 60's. Entire rainforests were torn down in Haiti. Slaves in Africa, and Indochina was the hotbed for rubber plantations and with it more squalid slavery. They sound like a nice bunch, don't they?
Reply 6
French, Belgian, German, Russian or Japanese.

Take your pick.
Reply 7
Some would argue America was... their empire might not have been aquested through land but they made sure they got their way or else with an innumerable list of examples ranging from africa to europe to the middle east and of course south america... but thats just one view. You cant objectively answer this kind of question without a little more specifics can you?
The Roman Empire?


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Reply 9
Original post by Thriftworks

The ottomans weren't too nice to their colonies either.



True, especially with their system of Devşirme, the practice of taking Christian Serb boys as slaves for the military/bureaucracy, but I don't think the Ottoman Empire counts as a 'colonial' empire any more than Austria-Hungary or Ancient Rome, at least not in the sense that Britain, France, Spain, et al had colonies.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Habsburg
True, especially with their system of Devşirme, the practice of taking Christian Serb boys as slaves for the military/bureaucracy, but I don't think the Ottoman Empire counts as a 'colonial' empire any more than Austria-Hungary or Ancient Rome, at least not in the sense that Britain, France, Spain, et al had colonies.



Well just because they weren't overseas doesn't mean that they aren't colonies, but I can see the distinction, it's hard to distinguish.

Why don't you think its in the same sense?
Reply 11
Original post by Thriftworks
Well just because they weren't overseas doesn't mean that they aren't colonies, but I can see the distinction, it's hard to distinguish.


Why don't you think its in the same sense?


'Colony' implies that a territory has some official extraordinary status as a separate, though subordinate, body. Whilst you are right that the Ottomans maintained non-overseas protectorates, vassal or tributary states such as the Principality of Wallachia and the Crimean Khanate, most of the Empire was organised in the same system of Eyalet provinces, implying a more unitary nature.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by wortandbeer
Many people say the British Empire was the most evil colonial empire, IMO though I'd say the Spanish Empire was worse.

They almost decimated the native Americans, and were amongst the first slave traders. They also had the Inquistion, which is something the British Empire never had on that scale.

Yes, the British Empire didn't treat India well and massacred Aboriginies in Australia, but it signed treaties with native Americans securing their protection, and didn't massacre them as the Spanish did.

Also, all of the other empires committed atrocities. What about the Belgian Congo, or experimenting on natives in Namibia? Or even starting the slave trade, which the British never did?

With all due respect but the Spanish Empire was indeed tolerant. For example all people from the former Spanish colonies are of mixed descendant while in the US there is almost no Natives.
Reply 13
Original post by Umar1
French, Belgian, German, Russian or Japanese.

Take your pick.

Neither of them. The Ottoman Empire was evil.
Reply 14
Original post by player19
With all due respect but the Spanish Empire was indeed tolerant. For example all people from the former Spanish colonies are of mixed descendant while in the US there is almost no Natives.


The Spanish Empire was exceedingly cruel if you look into it's history. They and the Portuguese have perhaps the worst history of slavery in the chattel slavery era.
Original post by player19
Neither of them. The Ottoman Empire was evil.


Reasons?
Original post by player19
Neither of them. The Ottoman Empire was evil.


This!
Reply 17
Original post by Steevee
The Spanish Empire was exceedingly cruel if you look into it's history. They and the Portuguese have perhaps the worst history of slavery in the chattel slavery era.


Sure, but if you carefully laws of the Spanish Empire you would notice that slaves had some rights. First, although there was slavery the master had no right to abuse the slave like in the French colonies or in America, a child born in a relationship between the a slave and a free man, the child would be born as free person. Also, the Spanish Empire importet not so much slaves like the others did, and at the end they were among the first to abolish it.
Reply 18
Original post by de_monies
Reasons?


Because of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Tower

+jannisary system = if a non-muslim family could not afford to pay the non-muslim tax the Ottomans would use their child as a compensation and raise them to killer
+slaver = the Ottomans and arabs were the worst slave traders; they are the one who abused most with slavery.
+Their rule turned Balkan into a ****hole although the Balkans were more culturally advanced than northern Europe.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by player19
Because of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_Tower

+jannisary system = if a non-muslim family could not afford to pay the non-muslim tax the Ottomans would use their child as a compensation and raise them to killer
+slaver = the Ottomans and arabs were the worst slave traders; they are the one who abused most with slavery.
+Their rule turned Balkan into a ****hole although the Balkans were more culturally advanced than northern Europe.


OK IM gonna look at this stuff later, but looking at your posts, I don't particularly trust your opinion, purely because of your massive bias - against any one pretty much non white, Muslim etc...

Just looking at that now, that does sound pretty horrible and before I go, I'd like to say whilst the Arabs were slave traders, they certainly weren't the "worst" ie: slaves did actually get some rights from Arabs. One historian put it that often slaves were no worse off than the peasants in the streets.

Some slaves didn't even want to be freed, because they were treated properly, and their lives would be at risk in the real world after freedom (Though I guess this also happened in Greece)

I don't want to condone slavery,but the opinions that Arabs were the "worst" is quite wrong.
(edited 10 years ago)

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