Me, Looking at Colonialism.
Knowledge and Belief
Before the Advance Meeting in Cape Town, I had a totally different perspective on the nature and legacy of colonialism, slavery, and religious empire. My thoughts about them are blurry and based on what I had learned before which was taken lightly as, just stories – no life to it. I envisioned that slavery and the religious empire rode on the back of colonialism, so to speak. In other words, I would say that as the empire expanded, the need of slavery increased as a necessity to the expansion. Not only that but, religion took advantage of the empire’s expansion by expanding the religious empire within their country’s empire. For instance, in the mid 1660’s, as the Spanish troops landed in the Marianans Islands along with Jesuits Priest and their helpers stated to evangelize the people of Guam.[1] Then it was started from Guam and then spread throughout the Micronesian region.
These are the stories that we were taught as part of Micronesian history as we grew up in elementary schools and high schools as part of learning about our history. Without being taught in formal education, we learned as stories of our great grandparents and elders were told. Culturally, we can see the see the after-effects of imperialism through the churches that built and how the Protestant Missionaries and the Catholic Jesuits were competing against each other. As a result of these incidents, somehow sub-consciously, we resorted to the idea of dependency on others. This would be an observation that I strongly believe.
The Reality of Slavery
The reality of slavery as we explored through the readings of ‘Colonialism’ and ‘A Brief History of Slavery,’ is an eye-opening for me personally as I had shallow and narrow perspective of slavery itself. Firstly, as Black introduced us to a brief slavery history, we see that slavery was universal, it was all over every empire even as the starting of civilization. And that slavery started way back and its happening throughout history. It is recurring and taking on different form as a means of exploitation. And slaves were not restricted to a certain ethnicity; there were Chinese, Japanese, European and Africans.[2] Secondly, or on the other hand, in ‘Colonialism,’ Biggar giving us another reality of the ‘necessity’ of slavery to an empire, as in the British Empire. He went further to argue that there were both undeniable injustices and significant contribution as well.
To dwell only on the negative aspects of history would not have painted the full picture; however, this is not to minimize the harms done through colonialism especially with regards to slavery. For instance, the British Empire was heavily into slave trades and employing slave labor for over two hundred years.[3] However, it began shift as the Parliament abolished the slave trade which took over 20 years to take effect empire-wide.[4]
Religion and War
During a sermon at Clermont, Pope Urban II called upon the West to take up arms to protect the eastern Christendom’s borders against Muslim’s imminent threat of invasion.[5] So, it began the First Crusade with the objective of rescuing Jerusalem, the Holy City from the hands of the Muslim Empire. Basically, the call of the Crusaders from the first to the rest of the crusades were to ‘take up the cross and fight the good fight.’[6] And the end, the lesson learned was that (1.) the Crusades were essential lynchpins in history that without it, the world we live in could be different place (2.) it did not occurred for the purpose of colonizing the mid-east, but to defend Christianity, and (3.) Finally, each side justified their actions.[7]
Is there a Benefits of Colonialism?
Now that my perspective on colonialism has improved a little, I could say that there are good takeaways from colonialism. That is not to discount the events and incidents that were unjust and brutal and unfit for humanity – they were part of history. Colonialism in many parts of the world had ushered in education, economic development, and the most important of all, is the Gospel! Just as the Scripture is not just filled records of events, but narratives that are filled with lessons to learn from, so is the history of human race. They are both narratives that God is seen as the one in control.
[1] Hezel, Francis X. SJ. Christianity in Micronesia. https://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/religion/frames/christmicrofr.htm. Accessed October 9, 2025.
[2] Biggar, Nigel. Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning (p. 69). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[3] Ibid (pg. 76)
[4] Ibid (pg. 79)
[5] Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land (p. 36). Harper Collins. Kindle Edition.
[6] Wellman, Billy. The Crusades: An Enthralling Overview of an Event in Christian History That Took Place in the Middle Ages (Religion in Past Times) (p. 16). Kindle Edition.
[7] Wellman, Billy. The Crusades: An Enthralling Overview of an Event in Christian History That Took Place in the Middle Ages (Religion in Past Times) (p. 100). Kindle Edition.
About the Author
Noel Liemam
14 responses to “Me, Looking at Colonialism.”
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Thank you, Noel for your perspective specially concerning your Micronesia teachings and upbringing. What type of “slavery” from the broad definition that Black presents do you see in your country’s history or present day?
Hi, Kari, thank you for your comment. When I try to think of what ‘modern-day slavery’ in the Micronesian context, I would say it is not explicit. However, we the most common one that I could refer to is the withholdings of legal document so the bearer can stay with them and give them his/her paycheck. Some Micronesians that they are already abroad pay tickets for those back in the Islands so they could come to U.S. and stay with them and work. Thanks again, Kari.
Noel,
Nicely written! I have appreciated throughout the blogs learning more about your home and how it has been impacted by outside forces. Wondering what your biggest takeaway from Cape Town was regarding these issues.
Hello, Mr. Styer, thank you for your comment. Well, I would say that my biggest takeaway is just reinforced by the readings and blogging for this week, which was the ‘universality of slavery.’ For one, back in the islands, slavery is not visible – but the concept exists. So, I was not really aware of it. And now that I am residing in the U.S. for the past 20yrs plus, the default is slavery refers to the African American. But after Cape Town, I was awoken to the fact that slavery happened to more ethnicity than I had imagined. I even wondered (back in Cape Town) if there were Pacific Islanders brought there to work as slaves. When growing up, I heard stories from the old men talking about times that them and others where brought to other places to work during the German and Japanese times. Thank you again, Mr. Styer.
Dr. Liemam,
Thank you for this great post! One day I hope to make the long journey to Micronesia myself. As a Christian living overseas, I was especially interested in your reflections on the lingering effects of imperialism through the churches established in Micronesia and the competition between Protestants and Catholics. You wrote, “As a result of these incidents, somehow subconsciously, we resorted to the idea of dependency on others.” I found that so insightful. What does this sense of dependency on others look like in the Micronesian context today?
Thank you so much, Elysse, for your comment. I think I can quit now since you have given me that ‘Dr.’ title, thank you, hehe. Well, ‘the subconscious idea of dependency’ is an observation that I have about Micronesians (which includes me). In my earlier years, I was working in the Church, I was impressed upon with this idea of dependency on the missionaries, those planted the churches. The idea that someone will do it for us always lingered. Government wise, our Country wanted to be independent but depends on a lot on aid from the United States. We have natural resources that can create sustenance which are not utilized. This sub-conscious mentality is widespread among our people as well. Personally, I believe that this subconscious mentality comes from ‘inferiority.’ We need to have the ‘can do attitude,’ or ‘at-least try-it mentality.’ Thank you again, Dr. Burns, for you comment.
Hi Noel,
How does coming to America impact ‘dependency on others’ mindset among the Micronesians you work with?
Hello, Julie, thank you for your comment. To answer your question, I would in some ways, it strengthens. But if we (Micronesians) really take advantage of this opportunity of being able to be out here in the U.S., we learn more to be self-sufficient.
For instance, these social welfares safety nets in the system are often abused. Many resorted to it instead of working hard to improve themselves. Thanks again, Julie, for your comment.
Hi Noel, thanks for your unique perspective on this issue. I appreciate how you share that there are some “good effects” as a result of colonialism, including sharing the gospel. I wonder, though, if “the ends justify the means.” That is, is it worth it to have had colonialism just to spread the gospel, considering all the negative effects of colonialism? Where was God in the midst of all this? What do you think?
Thank you, Debbie, for your comment. That is a great question, ‘does the end justifies the means?’ I could say yes because there is a good end result. However, does it mean that I could do a bad thing if it means my survival? I could only say that our God is in control that He worked out everything (the bad and the good) into something good. Thank you, Debbie, for the comment.
Hi Noel, Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have 2 questions. Do you still see the effects of the dependency you spoke of in Micronesian culture? How has living in the States for the last 20 years impacted your perspective on the stories you learned growing up?
Hi, Diane, thank you for your comment. I could say, yes, and others would argue that it is part of our culture. Not dependency but sharing. Living out here in the United States has changed my perspective on several things. One of them is learning to be on your own and to work hard. Back in the Islands are so connected that makes it easier to be depended on others. especially our culture encouraged sharing. Now that quite a few of us are out there, I started to see it within our community. Thank you, again, Diane.
Hi Noel, I appreciate your perspective. How do we hold space to celebrate the good that emerged from colonialism without minimizing or excusing the injustices?
Thank you, Christy for your comment. I am not sure, however, as a lesson learn from the South African, is the power of forgiveness. Ultimately is trust in the truth that through God has the power to bring forth good even from the midst of evil. Thank you, Christy.