Reply #18: British colonialism had terrible effects on its colonies [View All]

Three that come to mind are:

- Deliberate destruction of local industries (such as the Indian cotton industry) in order to turn colonies into mere exporters of raw materials.

- Sending the most promising local kids off to be educated in England to make sure they would become alienated from their own people and be unable to become strong local leaders.

- Drawing borders between colonies where it was convenient for the colonial administrators (often along rivers), with no regard to existing tribal territories, thereby insuring endless border wars when those colonies became nations.

From what I've heard, French colonialism had certain abuses of its own but was in many ways less destructive than the particularly arrogant form practiced by the British.