We Can Gain a Better Understanding of Contemporary Racialised Relations by Studying Europe's Colonial Past. Discuss.

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We Can Gain a Better Understanding of Contemporary Racialised Relations by Studying Europe's Colonial Past. Discuss

The tension existing between different ethnic groups in Europe and America has a long history. Nationalist political groups often draw on the imagery of a once great country, which has been diminished through its incorporation of other ethnic groups, and seek a return to the chimera of an unpolluted, white, supreme land. In their particular take on history it is not recognised that there have been black people in Europe for over 2000 years. In fact, although there has always been a certain amount of European distrust of people's of darker shade1, the common racist preconceptions, fears and ideals exhibited in contemporary Europe can largely be traced back to the later part of the seventeenth century and the advent of European colonialisation. For the purpose of this essay I will draw mainly on the effect of British imperialism on racialised relations in Britain, as this is the country with which I am most familiar and to which I have the greatest access to information. However colonialisation has given rise to similar racialised relations throughout Europe and in the countries, which these European nations