By Fjordman, with introduction by Lewis Loflin
As a Deist, I reject the lazy claim that Europe’s scientific and industrial triumphs rode on colonial plunder. Fjordman’s analysis aligns with reason: innovation bloomed despite—not because of—centuries of Islamic raids. While Spain and Portugal hoarded colonial wealth, nations like Sweden and Germany, with little or no empires, led in science. Universities, clocks, and optics emerged under siege, not supremacy. This challenges the guilt-laden narrative of European success, exposing a truth forged in resilience, not theft.
Extract from Europeans as Victims of (Muslim) Colonialism by Fjordman
A persistent myth claims the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions stemmed solely from European colonial plunder. This collapses under scrutiny: colonial empires don’t correlate with scientific-industrial prowess. Portugal, a colonial player and slave trader, remains one of Western Europe’s poorest nations, unlike Sweden, Switzerland, or Finland, which lack colonial pasts.
Spain extracted vast silver and gold from Latin America, often brutally, yet never led in European science or technology. Italy, without a colonial empire until late unification, outshone Spain scientifically. Germany, with minimal colonies, surpassed France and rivaled Britain in the early twentieth century, despite their global empires.
Post-Roman Europe faced near-constant siege from hostile forces, yet triumphed. By AD 1300, Europeans pioneered universities—a unique network fostering debate and progress—plus mechanical clocks and eyeglasses. These tools, critical for the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, enabled precise measurements, microscopes, telescopes, and advances in medicine and astronomy. All emerged centuries before colonialism, while Europe endured Islamic occupation and raids.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this updated format. The original content remains Fjordman’s, with my introduction and edits.
