Colonial Legacy: The Three Gs and Their Impact

A: All right, to frame our session today, we’re working from LESV 112—specifically, Lecture 1 Set 2, which digs into the reasons behind English colonisation and traces a Caribbean example. Let’s start at the root: do you recall what historians often call the 'Three Gs' that motivated early colonisers?

B: Yes—I think it’s God, Gold, and Glory, right? But... in my own words, maybe that’s like spreading religion, chasing riches, and, um, building a reputation or power?

A: Excellent paraphrasing. God for spreading Christianity, Gold for securing wealth, and Glory for national prestige or personal fame. But those weren’t the only reasons, according to the notes. Can you think of some others mentioned in the lecture?

B: Let’s see... Wasn’t there something about using colonies as a market for English goods? And—oh—a source of raw materials. Also, for some poor English people, it was a chance to start over, or escape religious trouble back home.

A: Perfect. Now, one idea the lecture really highlighted is capitalism’s role—how the drive for profit fed the entire colonial system. Slavery sadly became a tool to acquire that capital. Do you remember how colonisers justified their treatment of enslaved people?

B: They, uh, used religion and science and even philosophy to claim slaves were inferior. That made it easier, maybe, for Europeans—even though they saw themselves as enlightened—to allow things like capture, torture, and—I guess, really cruel treatment.

A: Yes, and that contradiction—Enlightenment ideals alongside such brutality—is something to reflect on. Now, for context: colonisation began with the Portuguese and Spanish in the 15th century. Later, in the late 16th and 17th centuries, England, France, and the Dutch Republic entered the scene, often competing for control.

B: Okay, so how did the Caribbean become the 'West Indies'? The name always confused me.

A: Columbus thought he’d reached Asia—what they called the 'Indies.' To distinguish, colonisers called these islands the West Indies. The real Indies—or East Indies—are actually what’s now Indonesia. The indigenous people there—Taíno and Carib—suffered greatly: wiped out by disease and brutal enslavement. After that, colonisers turned to bringing in African slaves.

B: That’s, honestly, really heavy. And maps from those links—like the British Empire one, or the Caribbean—make it all feel... huge, not just numbers. The scale really hits you.