Historical Causes of Diffusion (College Board AP® Human Geography)

New Forms of Cultural Expression

• Interactions between cultural traits, such as language and religion, can lead to new forms of cultural expression

• Creolization is the process of mixing cultural traits between groups, primarily languages, resulting in new cultural forms

  • Haitian Creole combines French and African languages to create a new, distinct language

  • Creole food in New Orleans is a mixture of European and African cuisines that created a unique culinary tradition

• A pidgin language is a mixture of two languages that does not function as the native language of any group. Pidgin languages develop when two groups are in close contact but there is no common lingua franca between them

  • Pidgin English exists in multiple contexts, including in India, where multiple languages exist. The simplified pidgin language is used as a shorthand form of communication

• A creole or creolized language is a language that began as a combination of two other languages and is spoken as the primary language of a group of people

  • Haitian Creole, a combination of French and several West African languages, is an example of a creolized language

  • Acculturation refers to the process whereby a group of people in one culture adopts traits from another

    • Tex-Mex food, which incorporates both Mexican and American flavors and ingredients, is an example of acculturation

Colonialism, Imperialism, & Trade

• Colonialism, imperialism, and trade have all contributed to the diffusion of cultural traits, especially language and religion

• Colonialism is a specific form of imperialism in which one country establishes a settlement in land already developed by another group to impose its own political, economic, and cultural principles on that land

  • Historically, colonization has led to cultural diffusion

• Colonizing powers brought their languages, religions, customs, and cultures with them, and often imposed them on the indigenous population. 

  • European colonization of the Americas led to the diffusion of Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism)

  • European languages (English, Spanish, and French) diffused to the Americas, Africa, and parts of Asia as a result of colonialism

• However, indigenous cultures also influenced the colonizing power. Most often, this led to a blending of cultures and the development of syncretic religions, languages, architecture, and foods

  • Examples of these syncretic traditions are Haitian Creole, Vodou, and blending of architectural traditions

• Colonization also resulted in the creation of unstable borders, which artificially separated traditional ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious groups. These borders continue to cause tension into the present day

  • The Berlin Conference of 1884 divided the African continent into colonial territories for European states, imposing artificial borders

• Trade networks such as the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade routes spread goods, religions, and technology (e.g. paper and gunpowder)

• Additionally, many countries maintain strong trade relationships with their former colonies. For example, France and Algeria, the Netherlands and Indonesia, and Britain and India are all strong trading pairs. This is a result of their former colonial relationship.

  • The continued economic dominance of one country over another, especially of a former colonial country over a former colony, is known as neo-colonialism