Dismissing The European People

Africa nowadays is viewed as a pretty poor continent, but if it were not for a single event, it wouldn’t be in the shape it is today. This event is best known as the scramble for Africa. The European powers had begun taking land after King Léopold the second claimed that initial piece of land. European powers gathered in 1884 to discuss which part of Africa were theirs to avoid fighting, however this was done between European countries, and the thought of even inviting a spokesperson from Africa was beyond them. The people of Africa were enslaved and forced to work the land for natural resources such as rubber and diamond. After the European powers claimed all that they could, two independent countries remained. These two countries were Liberia and Ethiopia. The “Eurocentric” perspective that the European powers had at the time allowed for them to commit these horrible acts and see nothing wrong with what they had

It is unfortunate how often we hear about a disaster occurring in Africa. From civil wars in Somalia and Congo, famine in Yemen and viruses spreading through Liberia, people associate Africa as being chaotic, violent, corrupt, and incredibly poor to the point many Americans still believe animals freely roam in the cities. Naturally, many people and organizations feel the need to bring order and peace to the continent, by policing it, spreading the word of God among the natives, or provide resources such as food, water, or money. However, most people never take the time to learn of African culture and traditions, or understand that some Africans are content with what they have and how things work. We label them as being poor because they do not match our preconceptions of happiness, as we believe living comfortably with others leads to happiness.

As people experience events in their life, their events help shape and form their opinions, beliefs, and values. Between the 1760’s and 1910’s, when analyzed, it was shown that European’s views on non-European peoples and cultures reflected the intellectual changes of the period. Europeans learned to accept the non-Europeans mainly due to the Enlightened Absolutism that had occurred where enlightened absolute monarchs allowed freedom of speech, religious toleration, and right to hold property. Some causes that resulted in the intellectual change could’ve been the Europeans were influenced by the way a person lived/lifestyles of the non-Europeans, Nationalism, and superiority.

European explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration should be glorified and celebrated in the 21st century. Although they didn’t come to America for the right reasons, they ended up having a positive effect on the world, and we would not be where we are today if it wasn't for them. Some examples of this are when Spain conquered America. The goals of the Europeans exploring was to bring back gold, silver, and wealth. Spain also wanted to make the natives do labor for them. While doing that, they also wanted to convert the natives to christianity. After, there were some consequences that were both positive and negative. Overall, the Europeans should be celebrated in the 21st century.

The British colonization of Kenya destroyed the culture and economy of the native people, but it established a democratic government and left Kenya a more modernized country.[1] During the 1880’s through 1914, the start of WWI, was an age of imperialism. One place that felt victim to this imperialism was Africa. At this time Africa was a wholly unmodernized continent. The reason the Europeans went after Africa was the introduction of the idea of social Darwinism and the “white man’s burden”. Social Darwinism is the belief that only the strongest and the most cunning can make it to the top of the social ladder, and it was the White Man’s Burden to step in for these undeveloped countries

Preconceived notions of Western-European forms of kinship and societal relations influence anthropological studies of kinship in different cultures (Schneider). Morgan theorized that a sexual relationship between female and male constituted marriage. In addition to this, Morgan considered the biological reproduction of offspring the key determinant in kinship classification as parents of said offspring. This paradigm has influenced the viewpoint of anthropologists’ studying other forms of kinship in different cultures. Rather than examining what kinship is to those being studied, anthropologists attempt to classify it into familiar categories. Two ethnographies that attempt eliminate this Western-European bias are “Biology Unmoored” by Sandra Bamford and “Sport of Kings” by Rebecca Cassidy. “Biology Unmoored” examines the Kamea, an indigenous people of the Papa New Guinea Highlands. The Kamea do not solely base kinship on reproduction; rather, kinship and societal relations are based on the human relationship with the plant environment. Using the viewpoint of the Kamea, Bamford analyzes the biological paradigm proposed by Morgan, which has influenced many anthropological studies. In the ethnography “Sport of Kings” Rebecca Cassidy examines the British racing industry in Newmarket, the international headquarters of horse racing. Cassidy claims that by analyzing the relationship between humans and animals we may better understand kinship and social relations between humans. By

As human beings we are programmed to associate ourselves with certain people and distance ourselves from others. It is not always a conscious decision, but something based off of past experiences and environment. The Europeans went into Africa with the belief that the Africans would be savages and were sub-human, so they treated them the way that they felt was appropriate. The Europeans saw their actions as justified because they were “saving” the Africans from their savage ways, even if it meant chopping off their hands or whipping them. Since the Africans, physically looked different from the Europeans it allowed them to view them as different and strange, which helped them to justify their actions. We and They a poem by Rudyard Kipling,

They started concentration of all land suitable for Euro-pean settlers in Kenya (Muriel, 2000). All unoccupied land in the productive areas of central Ken-ya was assumed to be no man’s land and the British annexed it (Wamicha 2000). The annexed area became the “White highlands” and the British were advocating for more European settlers to occupy them (Swainson, 1980). The British needed more settlers to make investment in the Agri-culture for export to finance the construction and management of the railway connecting Kenya and Uganda.

My presentation is about the Somalis refugees’ crisis, and I have chosen this issue because people do not by much attention to problems that happen in African countries.

Though Kenya’s impoverished and underdeveloped conditions were certainly not highlighted in the film, I believe it is important to observe. These conditions are best displayed by the state of the primary school. In the film, students were forced to sit 5 students to a desk and were crammed into a tiny room. Moreover, the Kenyans were highly grateful for the concept of free education. This highly contrasts the state of American schools, which are typically well funded. Americans are used to the concept of free education, so much so, that people now desire free higher education. I believe this theme is important to note because it is the key difference between the Kenyan and American

The people of Kenya have gone though many changes since gaining their independence in 1963. They now have the freedom of speech and religion. Kenya has also increased its educational system by building more schools.

Known as the mother of mankind, Africa is a vast land full of resources and gracious people. However, most people do not see it as such. They think of the continent is being ravaged with disease, poverty, and war. Nevertheless, even though it does have those things, Africa is a thriving continent like any other. It has cities with vast highways and is advancing rapidly with the help of chivalrous people like Twesigye Kaguri. These people see Africa for what it really is, a place full of opportunity and they use their voices to bring attention to the real issues, trying to help the many villages and communities of the continent.

The paper seeks to understand the political, social and cultural variables that have thrown Kenya into the geo-political limelight insofar as the so-called ‘War on Terrorism’ is

Kenya is the regional leader in East Africa and this position is expected to be a constant over time. The economy is fairly diversified with a strong and well developed services sector. The financial services industry in particular is well developed and established, moreso the country is considered East and Central Africa’s hub for financial services.

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