In the literature dealing with colonialism/imperialism this term evolved from its European imperialist Chinese context to refer to an intermediary from among the colonized who emerges to serve the interests of the colonial or imperial power in exchange for personal (material) benefits (but within the limitations of the colonial/imperial system). In the case of the Belgian-ruled colonial Congo, the compradorial elite were referred to as the évolués (Western-educated Africans who had evolved to become “civilized,” as defined by the colonialists). The comprador’s position in the colonial or imperial order is analogous to that of the much despised position of the “trustee” in a prison system in that the comprador is, in the final analysis, also an oppressed person like the rest of the population even while he helps in the maintenance of the system. Remember, it is impossible for colonization/imperialism to succeed without the cooperation of some from among the colonized, who are willing to participate in the new system of oppression that is brought forth by colonialism/imperialism, in exchange for the limited benefits dispensed by the colonial/imperial order that accrues to the position of a “trustee.”[1] Very often the compradorial elite were drawn from the traditional pre-colonial elites where they existed, or where no such elites existed, or where there was resistance from such elites, a wholly new group of people were selected for the compradorial role. In rare circumstances, the comprador may undergo a change in political consciousness and emerge to challenge the colonialists/ imperialists with the objective of not simply supplanting the colonialists (the usual trajectory pursued by most compradors) but creating a new political and economic order that will truly reflect the interests of the entire citizenry. In the African context, Patrice Lumumba was, for example, one such évolué. In today’s post-colonial but neo-imperialist world, compradorialism is still very much alive with, depending upon the specific circumstances of the country or territory under focus, ethnicism, political corruption, economic corruption, kleptocracy, brutality, a deep disdain for human rights, cultural subservience, etc., an integral part of compradorialism.
[1]. To give a graphic example: Consider, by around the middle of the nineteenth century the British were in complete colonial control of India, a process that had begun some hundred or so years before. Now, this country of some 150 million people was ruled by a force of Britons numbering only a few thousand! This could have only been possible through the cultivation by the British of a mentally-enslaved Indian compradorial “yes, massah” (or more correctly, “yes, sahib”) class willing and able to do their bidding—and the legacy of which continues to this day where East Indians (and their fellow Southeast Asians in general) often betray a tragic, comical, and deeply embarrassing inferiority complex vis-à-vis Westerners.