Colonialism - Sociocultural Evolution

Sociocultural Evolution

As colonialism often played out in pre-populated areas sociocultural evolution included the creation of various ethnically hybrid populations. Colonialism gave rise to culturally and ethnically mixed populations such as the mestizos of the Americas, as well as racially divided populations as found in French Algeria or Southern Rhodesia. In fact everywhere where Colonial powers established a consistent and continued presence hybrid communities existed.

Notable examples in Asia include the Anglo-Burmese people, Anglo-Indian, Burgher people, Eurasian Singaporean, Filipino mestizo, Kristang people and Macanese people. In the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) the vast majority of Dutch settlers were in fact Eurasians known as Indo-Europeans, formally belonging to the European legal class in the colony.