126 sats \ 7 replies \ @freetx 31 Mar \ on: France, Russia, & The CFA Franc econ
Not directly related (nor 100% true), but a friend of mine once remarked about the colony-rank guide:
- English Colonies: Successful mostly 1st world countries.
- Spanish Colonies: Functional countries
- French / Belgian Colonies: Complete Disasters
The reason for this is subtle.
The English method of "control" was to institute law education and court systems. Then English companies would engage in contracts with colony....and since their law system shared a common base, it made business possible
Spanish Method used the Church as the main method of control....with some less amount of success but still successful.
French/Belgian method was straight-up Might Makes Right and they just took what they wanted.
This is interesting, and probably at least partially based in fact. I'm not a historian, and all my knowledge of colonialism is Anglo/ English. I have been only learning about the French African history recently. I must say, it's damning if accurate.
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My friend said this to me today :
I have a rule of thumb about non white countries:
- If you were colonized by Britain or the Netherlands, there's half a chance you're at least OK.
- If you were colonized by Spain or Portugal, there's a low but nonzero chance you're OK.
- If you were colonized by France of Belgium, it's almost guaranteed you're a shithole country.
Your friend and my friend agree 99 percent
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Gandhi was a lawyer in South Africa, extensive knowledge of English common law. Civil disobedience was a legalistic strategy
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I think this is right.
Portugal is similar to the Spanish model
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Look at Haiti vs Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
French vs Spanish
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It's true for French African colonies in second colonization wave, but completely different story in the first one (North America).