French, British colonialism grew a root of terrorism

French, British colonialism grew a root of terrorism

By Stephen Kinzer – Boston Globe – Feb. 11, 2015

EUROPE IS shaking with intensifying conflict between traditional populations and people whose families emigrated from abroad. France and Britain, two countries with long traditions of tolerance and stability, have been hardest hit. Violent Islamic militants have emerged in both countries and built followings that threaten to upset national life.

It is no coincidence that during the Golden Age of colonialism — from about the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries — France and Britain were the most rapacious conquerors. Much of France’s wealth was squeezed from the sweat of colonized people from Polynesia to Senegal. Britain prospered by suppressing and exploiting colonists in a global empire over which the sun never set. If these and other European powers had not crashed into countries around the world and sown the seeds of hatred, those seeds would not be flowering into the poisonous weeds that are now spreading across Europe.http://origin.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/02/11/french-british-colonialism-bred-root-terrorism/GSaZbcZuqXtbRE9CiwWPcO/story.html