How the Colonial Powers Cultivated Compradors So how did the colonial powers cultivate their compradors?
The question is a no-brainer. The one word answer is – rewards. What were these rewards? A three-word answer – money, perks and power. The compradors’ services to their foreign masters made them very, very rich, rich enough to spawn long dynasties, many going back to contact with the first imperialists from Europe – the Portuguese. In fact, some of the wealthiest families in the ostensibly decolonized world – from East to West beneath the equator boast a comprador lineage. All the European powers who followed simply adopted the financial reward system established by the Portuguese: fees and/or commissions on every deal. As they established colonies through military might, the colonials consolidated their positions. Now they were omnipotent. Now they were in a position to offer their loyal servants even better perks for their services – land, titles, concessions, monopolies, in some cases even crowns; in other words, virtually unlimited opportunities to enrich themselves. So the comprad
